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Iran Threatens to Hit Key Infrastructure After Trump's Ultimatum Bloomberg.comLive updates: Iran threatens US infrastructure after Trump threatens to ‘obliterate' Iran's power plants CNNIran unswayed by Trump's 48-hour deadline and threats to 'obliterate' energy infrastructure NBC NewsIran War Live Updates: Trump Threatens to Hit Power Plants Unless Strait Is Reopened, as Tehran Remains Defiant The New York TimesIran warns it will hit US, Israeli infrastructure if its energy sites are attacked ????? ???
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Trump threatens to ‘obliterate' Iran's power plants as Iran strikes 2 Israeli cities NPRLive updates: Iran vows to ‘irreversibly' destroy infrastructure after Trump's ultimatum on Strait of Hormuz CNNIran War Live Updates: Tehran Is Defiant After Trump Threatens Power Plants The New York TimesTrump and Iran step up threats over energy targets as war escalates ReutersIran says it will ‘irreversibly destroy' Middl
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CEO Jensen Huang hails "the new computer"—and "the single most important release of software, probably ever."
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The pressure on Trump to deescalate in the Middle East is building. Markets need to be convinced oil is back below $100 forgood before they can rally concertedly.
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Mortgage activity in the U.S. has contracted for consecutive weeks. In the week ended April 26, the mortgage activity composite index slid 2.3% following a 2.7% fall the week before. Refinancing fell 3.3% while purchase applications dropped 1.7%. Inflation's stubbornness in the first quarter of 2024 has led investors to conclude that the Federal Reserve's first rate cut might not be coming this year. This has buoyed interest rates such as the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. In the week ended April 26, the 30-year fixed rate rose 5 basis points to 7.29%, its highest since November.
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A lot of retirement guidance I have read lately continues to treat baby boomers the same as the rest of the investor public. Even after the first six months of 2022, when the traditional 60/40 stock/bond portfolio sank more than 20%.
I may not dispute the traditional approach for investors who are 25, 35 or 45 years old and accumulating savings for retirement or the kids' college education. As we know, markets historically rebound, and younger investors with time to recover from market corrections have the benefit of dollar cost averaging.
SEE MORE Find Out in 5 Minutes If You Have Enough to Retire
But boomers entering or already in retirement have different needs than all the "Gens" that have come after them: They may not be able to wait around for their depressed accounts to grow again. For boomers, income is the important consideration — income that stays steady and grows over the decades of retirement.
Where to find income
Economic downturns always provide winners along with the many losers, and annuity payment contracts (also called income annuities) — which with rising interest rates have increased the payouts on new contracts — are the current winners. As of August 15, 2022, new purchases of income annuities at certain ages are providing 20% to 50% (depending on the income start age) more than at the beginning of the year, and that could go up even further. They're almost the mirror image of mortgage interest rates, which are also going up.
How much do you think a 20% increase in annuity payments is worth? Just imagine that your starting Social Security benefit you could claim next year went up from $3,000 to $3,600 per month. Would that get your attention
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