Was there anything down in November? Yes – rates and the US Dollar… and flying turkeys (WKRP anyone?)
Last week FTX – a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian – filed for bankruptcy. FTX customer funds were commingled (fraud), credit was extended to a related hedge fund, and leverage and illiquidity took it down quickly.
Nothing seemed scary this month, though plenty of goblins – active Fed, stubborn inflation, slowing global GDP, revenue forecasts – are lurking in the dark. Also see the end for updated I Bond rates.
The CPI-W index was released Oct 13 and we now have the Social Security inflation adjustment for 2023. Medicare premiums for 2023 are surprisingly going down from $170.10 to $164.90 per month per person.
That was nasty. The only market positives for September seemed to be more clarity from the Federal Reserve on rate hikes and resulting yield of 3-month treasury bills.
It’s that time of year for fall colors, football … and company benefits enrollment. Take a closer look - don’t just default to last year’s choices.
Markets flipped back to negative monthly returns in August. Only two major asset classes – emerging markets and commodities – were slightly positive. The Fed flexed its muscles in Jackson Hole.
Some kids are going off to college. Some ‘older kids’ wish they were. This blog post covers the mechanics of tapping a 529 plan to pay the bills and reminds ‘older kids’ with student loans about the end of the moratorium on loan payments set to expire 9/1/2022.
Here is a brief pre-vacation summary of the markets. I will let the pictures do most of the talking.
Congrats on your summer earnings! Set aside some for a little fun, then have the rest do double duty as reserve fund and tax-free savings.
We are half-way through the year. I hope your personal life was more solid than the markets which were anything but – except for commodities (energy in particular) and some alternative strategies.
Social Security and Medicare are important programs providing income and health coverage during retirement. Will the programs be around when you retire? The answer is yes, but benefits may be reduced. Here is a brief financial overview of these programs in a Q&A format.