The focus this week is on everything related to interest rates, like the housing market, where to invest during inflationary periods, and what Fed officials are thinking about all of it. But since it is April, Financial Literacy news gets top billing.

Financial Literacy

• Mission 2030 is gaining momentum. Read the latest on state legislative efforts (with lots of input from NGPF) in the Street Register 
• Adults are lacking when it comes to financial literacy. Yahoo Finance reports shocking results of a 2022 Personal Finance Index conducted by TIAA and GFLEC.
• NGPF’s Yanely Espinal is featured in this post for her laudable efforts in helping Gen Z become financially literate. (Acorns)

Investments

• Interest rates on the thirty-year mortgage hit another relative high of 5.11% this week. (AP)   And the price of a home sold in March hit a new record. (CNBC)
• Will rising mortgage rates cool the housing market? Wharton Real Estate Professor thinks not for very long. (Knowledge@Wharton)
• If you don’t already know about I-Bonds, you should given the current inflation picture. Here are two articles you can read to learn all about them. (Humble Dollar) (Wealth of Common Sense)
• The Pandemic boom goes bust for Netflix. Subscriber numbers drop and so does its stock price. (CNBC)

Economics

• Jerome Powell hints at a 50 basis point increase at the next FOMC and Treasuries jump in response. (CNBC)
• Hear what the Fed presidents are thinking as they made the rounds on television this week:
  • Cleveland Fed President on Face the Nation (YouTube)
  • Atlanta President Bostic on CNBC
  • St. Louis President Bullard on CNBC
• Can the Fed reduce inflation without any negative impact to jobs and growth? Two WSJ economic reports examine how difficult this will be. (WSJ – subscription required)
• Economics Chart of the Week-despite recent wage gains, the chart below demonstrates the gap between productivity and income growth. (Chartr)
• 

Student Loans

• Biden Administration Announces Sweeping Fixes To Income Based Repayment And Student Loan Loan Forgiveness Programs (Forbes) (NBC)

Social Media

• Will the new app BeReal appeal to Gen Z users happy to get out of the influencer pressure cooker of social media, or will it eventually fizzle out? (Protocol) You can also read articles on the app from publications at a few colleges and universities (Bowdoin) (Alabama) (Yale)
• Musk says he has financing lined up to buy Twitter. (CNBC)

Personal Finance

• Read about the relationship between debt and divorce. (PRNewsWire)

About the Author

Beth Tallman

Beth Tallman entered the working world armed with an MBA in finance and thoroughly enjoyed her first career working in manufacturing and telecommunications, including a stint overseas. She took advantage of an involuntary separation to try teaching high school math, something she had always dreamed of doing. When fate stepped in once again, Beth jumped on the opportunity to combine her passion for numbers, money, and education to develop curriculum and teach personal finance at Oberlin College. Beth now spends her time writing on personal finance and financial education, conducts student workshops, and develops finance curricula and educational content. She is also the Treasurer of Ohio Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.