Global shipping delays cast shadow over strong December jobs report

Global shipping delays cast shadow over strong December jobs report

Loaded containers stacked on top of a cargo ship sailing in a canal on Janvier 20, 2017 in Suez Canal, Red sea, Egypt.  Camille Delbos | Corbis News | Getty Images WASHINGTON — The strong December jobs report released Friday capped off a year of economic wins for the Biden administration. Now, global shipping delays … Read more

10-year swings back above 4% after December jobs report

10-year swings back above 4% after December jobs report

Treasury yields moved in mixed directions on Friday as traders weighed the U.S. economic outlook following the latest nonfarm payrolls data release. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was up 3 basis points at 4.019%, crossing back above the key 4% level. It had retreated earlier in the morning. The 2-year Treasury yield was last … Read more

Friday’s jobs report will be big signal for market seeking good news

Friday’s jobs report will be big signal for market seeking good news

A now hiring sign is posted in front of a U-Haul rental center on November 03, 2023 in San Rafael, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images When the December jobs report is released Friday morning, markets will be looking for a number that hits a sweet spot between not so robust as to trigger more … Read more

5 changes coming for retirement savers in 2024

5 changes coming for retirement savers in 2024

1. Student debt relief Many early career workers face a conundrum when it comes to tackling financial goals: pay down student debt or invest toward retirement? Starting next year, you may be able to do both at once. Secure 2.0 allows companies to “match” employees’ student loan payments with contributions to their workplace retirement accounts. … Read more

Student loan forgiveness, tech layoffs, big money stories from 2023

Student loan forgiveness, tech layoffs, big money stories from 2023

Student debt rose to $1.6 trillion Student loan borrowers spent the first half of the year hoping to see their balances reduced, if not erased, by the end of the summer. Many spent the second half of the year scrambling to figure out how they were going to resume making payments.  By the end of … Read more

McDonald’s, Chipotle prepare for fast-food worker battles in 2024

McDonald’s, Chipotle prepare for fast-food worker battles in 2024

Scott Olson | Getty Images News | Getty Images There will be no fooling California fast-food workers come April 1. That’s the day they can honestly believe the minimum wage in the Golden State will jump to $20 an hour from $16, and only in that sector. The pay raise exclusive for that workforce, estimated … Read more

Why employers can force out small 401(k) accounts when a worker leaves

Why employers can force out small 401(k) accounts when a worker leaves

Tom Werner | Digitalvision | Getty Images If you left behind a small 401(k) plan account at a former job, odds are your former employer has moved those funds out of the plan. That move may hurt your retirement savings over the long term, experts say. Current law allows employers to “force out” 401(k) accounts … Read more

Women face a retirement savings shortfall. Three ways to close the gap

Women face a retirement savings shortfall. Three ways to close the gap

What begins as a gender wage gap inevitably becomes a significant shortfall by retirement. In the U.S., women who work full time are typically paid about 80 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts. That gap has persisted despite women’s increasing levels of education and representation in senior leadership positions. Women are also still more … Read more

Student loan borrowers won’t face penalties for missed payments

Student loan borrowers won’t face penalties for missed payments

Miodrag Ignjatovic | E+ | Getty Images Borrowers don’t need to apply Borrowers do not need to enroll in the on-ramp period, the U.S. Department of Education says. If your loans were eligible for the pandemic-era payment pause, which mainly include those in the Direct program, then borrowers will also qualify for this relief. Loans … Read more

Boston recently narrowed the city’s gender pay gap. Here’s how

Boston recently narrowed the city’s gender pay gap. Here’s how

Tomasz Szulczewski | Moment | Getty Images Women continue to make great strides in the workforce, achieving increasing levels of education, and advancing into senior leadership positions. However, the gender pay gap — the difference between the earnings of men and women — has barely budged in recent years. In the U.S., women who work full … Read more