S&P 500, Dow Jones Global ex-US, Gold, Bloomberg Commodity Index returns exclude reinvested dividends (gold does not pay a dividend) and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; and the 10-year Treasury Note is simply the yield at the close of the day on each of the historical time periods.
Sources: Yahoo! Finance; MarketWatch; djindexes.com; U.S. Treasury; London Bullion Market Association.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. N/A means not applicable.
ITâS A JAM-PACKED HOLIDAY WEEK! More than a dozen holidays are celebrated this week, including:
· Bat Appreciation Week,
· International Trombone Week,
· National Library Week,
· Take Your Poet to School Week, and
· America Saves Week.
This year, America Saves Week encourages people to build a secure financial future by saving for what matters most. That could mean setting aside money in an emergency fund, a college savings fund, a retirement account, or another opportunity. For some people, saving includes investing, buying stocks, bonds, and other assets with the goal of growing wealth, generating a stream of income, or doing both.
Why is saving important?
The Library of Economics and Liberty cited the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics to provide some insight to economistsâ big-picture view of saving. ââŠconsider an economy in which there is a single commodity, say, corn. The amount of corn on hand at any point in time can either be consumed (literally gobbled up) or saved. Any corn that is saved is immediately planted (invested), yielding more corn in the future. Hence, saving adds to the stock of corn in the ground, or in economic jargon, the stock of capital. The greater the stock of capital, the greater the amount of future corn, which can, in turn, either be consumed or saved...â
At a more granular level, saving confers a tax benefit to Americans who qualify, reported Kate Dore of CNBC, but few eligible taxpayers claim it.
âThe retirement savings contribution credit, or âsaverâs credit,â can help low- to moderate-income filers offset part of the funds added to an individual retirement account, 401(k) plan or other workplace planâŠFor 2023, your adjusted gross income canât exceed $21,750 for single filers or $43,500 for married couples for the 50% credit. The percentages drop to 20% and 10%, respectively, as earnings increase, with a complete phase-out above $36,500 for individuals or $73,000 for joint filers.â
If any members of your household qualify, you may want to let them know about the tax credit.
Weekly Focus â Think About It
"The White House has directed NASA to establish a time standard for the moonâŠThe unified time standard will be known as âCoordinated Lunar Time (LTC)â...A standardized time reference is needed because the moon has a weaker gravitational pull than Earth due to its smaller mass, meaning that time moves slightly faster on the moon than on Earth â on average, 58.7 microseconds per day...â
âAdela Suliman, The Washington Post
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