Quitting Our Way to a Stronger Economy
Americans are quitting their jobs at a gradually quickening pace, which is a reassuring sign that the labor market continues to improve.
READ MOREAIER Retirement Tips Featured By AAII, Wharton Radio
AIER’s research brief on retirement planning strategies continues to gather media attention as it was recently featured by a prominent financial advisers’ organization, as well as a business radio station. On Friday, the author of the report, AIER Research Fellow Luke Delorme, was featured on Wharton Business Radio, the Sirius/XM station run by the University of Pennsylvania business school. And the brief was also highlighted in the February edition of the journal of the American Association of Individual Investors. The report has already been noted by CNBC and the Today Show web sites, The Aspen Institute, Forbes and Bloomberg.
READ MOREFed Still Likely To Take Gradual Approach After Strong Jobs Data
The February employment report, released by the Labor Department this morning, was broadly strong, showing the economy added 295,000 jobs in February, helping to push the unemployment rate down to 5.5 percent. Other broader measures of unemployment rates fell as well. However, the participation rate also ticked down in February.
READ MOREWhat Is Your Retirement Planning Horizon?
Bill Bengen’s 1994 research that established the 4 percent rule was seeking the maximum constant dollar withdrawal that would have lasted for any historical 30-year period. But is 30 years the right planning horizon for you? If not, how should you adjust the guideline?
READ MOREFed, Heal Thyself
It is breathtaking to read about Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen berating Wall Street banks, as reported by Victoria McGrane in today’s Wall Street Journal, “to follow the law and to operate in an ethical manner.” Ms. Yellen’s speech to the Citizens Budget Commission in New York City is an apparent reference to the various probes of banks’ misdeeds around interest-rate manipulation, tax avoidance and other unnamed sins.
READ MOREGetting to Know Patrick Harker, the Next Philly Fed President
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia yesterday named Patrick Harker as its new president. What’s interesting about this appointment is Harker’s background: Unlike most reserve bank presidents, Harker does not hold a doctorate in economics, nor has he worked inside the Fed system, although he has served on the Philly Fed board for the last three years.
READ MOREMore on That Sluggish Inflation
There’s more data out this morning showing subdued inflationary pressures. The Commerce Department reported today that the price index for personal consumption expenditures increased at an annual rate of 0.2 percent in January. The Federal Reserve has set a target of 2 percent annual inflation, so this is far below that target.
READ MOREWhat Health Clubs and Acupuncture Tell Us About the Economy
Despite an economy that may have entered a soft patch, Americans are still beating a path to their health clubs, acupuncturists and spas.
READ MOREWith CPI, Softer Economic Growth Comes Into Focus
There’s a little more evidence this morning that the economic expansion is in a soft patch, as the Consumer Price Index fell 7/10ths of a point in data released this morning by the Department of Labor. But to really understand what’s going on, you need to look below the headline.
READ MOREAIER President Highlights Women in Tech in HuffPo
Writing in the Huffington Post, AIER President Stephen Adams applauds Intel’s efforts to increase the number of women and minorities in its workforce.
READ MOREJanet Yellen Tells Senate of Economic Progress, Challenges
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen was in front of the Senate Banking Committee this morning, as she continued to show patience about raising interest rates. She noted the recent economic growth, and said there was still plenty of room for improvement.
READ MOREHow the Rising Dollar Ripples Across the Economy
The strengthening U.S. dollar is a double-edged sword for the economy and investors, and in our new report released today, you can see how it affects everything from prices at the store – and the pump — to jobs and inflation.
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