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Philadelphia is facing a massive transit deficit caused in large part, like Chicago's, by the expiration of federal pandemic aid.
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Wednesday's selling carried into Thursday as investors continued to take a risk-off approach to markets following the Federal Reserve's latest policy announcement.
The central bank issued its third jumbo-sized rate increase yesterday and set expectations that it will continue to hike rates over its next few meetings. However, the Fed is not alone in its aggressive stance. Several global central banks have increased their benchmark rates this week in an ongoing effort to tame inflation, including the Bank of England and Switzerland's National Bank, which earlier today issued 50 basis point and 75 basis point rate hikes, respectively. (A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percentage point.)
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"Global equities are struggling as the world anticipates surging rates will trigger a much sooner and possibly severe global recession," says Edward Moya, senior market strategist at currency data provider OANDA. "Most of these rate hikes around the world are not done yet which means the race to restrictive territory won't be over until closer to the end of the year."
The reaction here at home was a selloff in bond prices, which sent yields on government notes spiking. The 10-year Treasury yield surged 19.2 basis points to 3.704% - its highest level since early 2011 - while the 2-year Treasury yield spiked 12.1 basis points to 4.116%, its loftiest perch since late 2007.
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As for stocks, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite
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I don't ignore my retirement accounts, but I consider myself mostly a set-it-and-forget-it investor. I prefer to pick an investment strategy, arrange automatic contributions and then sit back without tinkering much with my portfolio. For that reason, I used a target-date fund in my 401(k) when I had one (I'm self-employed now). My husband invests in a fund with a 2050 target date through his employer plan.
A target-date fund aims to create an appropriate investment mix for the investor's age and approximate retirement date. A fund designed for someone with many years until retirement includes a high proportion of stocks for growth. Over time, the fund regularly rebalances, allocating a greater percentage of assets to less-risky, income-producing investments, such as bonds, as retirement nears.
We're far from alone in our preference for target-date funds. Among 401(k) participants in their twenties, 54% of their assets were in target-date funds at the end of 2019, and investors in their thirties had 45% of assets in target-date funds, according to a study from the Investment Company Institute and Employee Benefit Research Institute. Many large employer plans automatically enroll employees and use target-date funds as the default investment choice.
SEE MORE PODCAST: The Pros and Cons of Target Date Funds with Tony Drake
Evaluating Your Plan.
Target-date funds are attractive for their simplicity. But if you're dissatisfied with your plan's target-date offerings or have the appetite to construct a customized portfolio, you can typically select among a menu of several other investment options. If you have decades to go until retirement, you may want to dedicate 80% to 90% of your portfolio to stocks. I
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Is it true that many young professionals don't know how to save money?
I recently had dinner with an old college friend. I was expecting to catch up on friends, family and our careers, but it was clear he wanted some basic financial information.
Knowing I advise young professionals on their finances, he zeroed in on the following questions: "How much should I save, and how do I know if my savings plan is on track?"
SEE MORE Millennials Want a Different Kind of Retirement
Many highly talented and bright young individuals - often earning six figures, receiving an annual bonus and holding stock options - often struggle with how to spend and save their money. My advice is to develop a process that focuses on three fundamental ideas that anyone can use.
Control Savings and Spending by Paying Yourself First
Putting together a budget and tracking spending are useful tools - but they can be tedious and hard to sustain. Instead of starting with expenses, I begin by allocating the desired amounts of money to various savings and investment accounts.
I set up automated contributions to my 401(k) retirement account, Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and after-tax brokerage accounts. Once that money is set aside, I have total peace of mind knowing I can afford to spend what's left and still be on track to hit my financial goals.
If, like me, you make the majority of day-to-day purchases on your credit card, another easy way to spot-check spending is making sure you can pay your credit card bill in full each month without tapping your savings.
Don't get me wrong - developing a detailed budget is a valuable exercise when done periodically. And it's parti
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren's campaign says she is forgoing traditional private fundraising dinners and receptions during her presidential primary campaign, instead offering "equal access" to all backers.
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