| Most Employers Implemented FSA Rollover Rule | When flexible spending account (FSA) plan
changes became effective for plan year 2014, more than half of companies (51%)
adopted the rollover option, versus 49% that elected to offer a 2 1/2-month
grace period for using FSA funds, according to the 2014 Flexible Spending
Account Trends Study from the Healthcare Trends Institute. Sixty-eight percent
of employers that implemented the FSA rollover rule said they did so to
encourage participation by those employees that were reluctant due to the fear
of losing money they put into the account.Read more > | Nearly 80% percent of people carrying student
loan debt would like their workplace to offer assistance with paying it down,
iontuition, a member of the Ceannate companies, found in a survey of 1,000 individuals
carrying such debt. Which would workers choose between student loan debt
assistance, health care benefits and a 401(k)?Read more > | Half of Workers Lack a Plan for Retirement | Fifty-five percent of American workers do not
have a plan for their retirement, LifeCare and the Financial Planning
Association (FPA) found in a survey. Sixty-seven percent of those not saving
for retirement say they do not have the resources to do so after taking care of
their everyday expenses, such as housing, transportation, food, household
items, credit repayment and eldercare, and 24% do not have any idea about how
to begin.Read more > | The aggregate funded ratio for U.S. corporate
pension plans decreased to 83.3% for the month of August, according to Wilshire
Consulting, the institutional investment advisory and outsourced chief investment
officer (CIO) business unit of Wilshire Associates Incorporated. The decrease
in funding was the result of a larger decrease in asset value compared to the
decrease in liability value.Read more > | | Economic Events | In the week ending August 29, the
advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment
insurance was 282,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week’s revised
level, the Labor Department reported. The four-week moving average was 275,500,
an increase of 3,250 from the previous week’s revised average.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate
mortgage is 3.89%, up from 3.84%, according to Freddie Mac. The average interest
rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 3.09%, up from 3.06%.
| | Market Mirror | Major U.S.
stock indices ended mostly higher after the head of the European Central Bank
said it’s ready to give the region a bigger dose of stimulus should inflation fail
to pick up, the Associated Press reports. The Dow closed 23.38 points (0.14%)
higher at 16,374.76, the NASDAQ was down 16.48 points (0.35%) at 4,733.50, and
the S&P 500 increased 2.16 points (0.11%) to 1,951.02. The Russell 2000
slipped nearly one point (0.08%) to 1,145.15, and the Wilshire 5000 gained
32.22 points (0.16%) to finish at 20,590.63.
On the NYSE,
3.2 billion shares changed hands, with 1.8 advancing issues for every declining
issue. On the NASDAQ, nearly 2.8 billion shares traded, with an even split
between advancers and decliners.
The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 7/32,
decreasing its yield to 2.160%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond
increased 8/32, bringing its yield down to 2.941%.
| | Compliance | DOL Accuses ESOP Fiduciaries of Wrongdoing | The Department of Labor (DOL) has filed a
complaint alleging that fiduciaries of the BAT Masonry Co. Inc. Employee Stock
Ownership Plan (ESOP) breached their duties of prudence and loyalty to the ESOP
and engaged in prohibited transactions in connection with the ESOP’s purchase
of the company stock and one trustee’s withdrawals of cash thereafter, in
violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The lawsuit says BAT
Masonry was valued at $13 million less than what its ESOP paid for company
stock.Read more > | | Investing | Retirement Investors Should Plan for Rising Rates | Asset managers and retirement plan advisers say
they do not expect the Federal Reserve to raise the Federal Funds Rate from its
current 25 basis points and that the uncertainty over when the Fed will raise
rates will lead to continued volatility in both the fixed income and equities
markets. However, if the Fed were to raise rates, it would benefit equities in
the short term, while fixed income investments would decrease in value.Read more > | | Small Talk | ON
THIS DATE: In 1609,
English navigator Henry Hudson began exploring the island of Manhattan. In 1781, Los Angeles, California, was
founded by Spanish settlers. The original name was “El Pueblo de Nuestra
Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula.” In 1833, Barney Flaherty answered an ad in “The New York
Sun” and became the first newsboy/paperboy at the age of 10. In 1882, Thomas Edison’s Pearl Street
electric power station began operations in New York City. It was the first
display of a practical electrical lighting system. In 1886, Geronimo, and the Apache Indians he led, surrendered in
Skeleton Canyon in Arizona to General Nelson Miles. In 1888, George Eastman registered the name “Kodak” and
patented his roll-film camera. The camera took 100 exposures per roll. In 1951, the first live, coast-to-coast TV
broadcast took place in the U.S. The event took place in San Francisco, California,
from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference. In 1957, the Ford Motor Company began selling the Edsel. The car was
so unpopular that it was taken off the market after only two years. In 1967, “Gilligan’s Island”
aired for the last time on CBS-TV. It ran for 98 shows. In 1971, “The Lawrence Welk Show” was seen for the last time
on ABC-TV. In 1998, Google was
incorporated as a privately held company.
And now it’s time for FRIDAY FILES!
| One thing I love about cats is their ability to
play it cool through pain or embarrassment.Read more > | This fearless TV reporter was embarrassed by his
reaction to a bug.Read more > | In Orient, Maine, police
say a 29-year-old man was driving with seven passengers who decided to take a
group selfie. The driver leaned over to join the photo, ran off the road and
into a tree. According to the local NBC News station, several passengers
suffered injuries, including cuts, a fractured nose and neck and back injuries.
The driver was cited for failing to maintain control of a motor vehicle due to
being distracted.
In Acailandia, Brazil, two
men on a motorcycle approached three women and demanded their cell phones. But,
they didn’t realize the women had just left jiu-jitsu training and one was an
MMA fighter. Realizing that the men were unarmed, MMA fighter Monique Bastos
lifted the rear wheel of the motorcycle and sent them tumbling to the ground,
according to MMAfighting.com. One man was able to get away, but Bastos put the
other in a chokehold with her legs and held him until police arrived.
| If your vehicle is already hoisted onto the tow
truck, you lost. Give up.Read more > | In Bradenton, Florida, a
man was arrested after attacking his mom—with potato salad. According to The
Smoking Gun, when the woman and her son sat down to dinner, they got into an
argument and the son started pelting her with potato salad in the face.
Allegedly he pushed her to the floor, and when she threatened to call 911, he
fled the house on a bicycle. A police officer, who said the man seemed
into.xicated, stopped him a few blocks from the home and arrested him. He is
charged with a misde.meanor battery count and a probation violation.
In Winchester, Kentucky, a
man hired a pros.ti.tute who stole his wallet and fled. He went after the woman
and when he reached her apartment door, he started banging on it and yelling
and saying he was a police officer. According to the local CBS News station, a
concerned neighbor called police. When a real police officer showed up, the man
told him to go away because he was a police officer. When the real police
officer tried to get the man away from the door, the man charged at him, and
the real officer tased the man. The man was charged with impersonating a peace
officer, menacing, disorderly conduct and public into.xication.
In Denver,
Colorado, two would-be robbers had a bad day. The local ABC News station
reports that the two men first approached a couple on a train, and demanded
money at gu.npoint. The couple didn’t have any money, so the suspects walked
away. The men then approached a second couple, who pointed out that their g.un
wasn’t loaded, so they couldn’t even shoot them. When the train stopped, the
two men ran, and one of them loaded the g.un while he ran. When they approached
another group of people, a fight ensued and the man with the g.un lost it in
the fight and was shot. He was taken to the hospital, and the other man was
arrested.
Have a wonderful holiday
weekend. NewsDash will be back in your inbox Tuesday. | Share the good news with a friend! Pass the Dash along – and tell your
friends/associates they can sign up for their own copy.Read more > |
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