Financial Literacy Month

• Lots of attention is being paid to Financial Literacy this month. This one from CNBC quotes Yanely Espinal. And this one from MarketWatch features Tim Ranzetta. (subscription may be required)

Economics

• April is usually a good month for stocks, but the month started with some speculation ahead of the release of the FOMC minutes. (CNBC)
• The minutes of the latest FOMC meeting were released this week. For reaction/analysis, check out this CNBC post. If you want to read the minutes themselves, you can find them on the Fed website.
• The “R” word (recession) is now popping up in articles on economic forecasting. Here is a good introductory article on the subject. (CNN) And here is a much more detailed one if you are interested. (NYT)
• New jobless claims were only 166,000 this past week, the lowest seen in half a century! (Yahoo Finance)
• Food prices hit a record high in March. (Reuters)

Investing

• Will inflation hurt stock market returns? Nick Maggiulli or Ritholtz Wealth Management thinks not, as he explains in this CNBC op-ed piece.
• We have mentioned the recent nickel short squeeze in an earlier post. For more on the history and operations of the London Metal Exchange and the short squeeze, try this CNN article.
• Howard Shultz returns to the helm of Starbucks and halts the stock buy-back program, generating much conversation about what he will do with the money instead. (CNN)
• We are seeing interest rates increasing. 30-year mortgage rates briefly topped 5% earlier this week. (CNBC) The Visual Capitalist also released this post explaining the impact rising interest rates will have on the economy and your investments.

Behavioral Finance

• Investing and healthcare decisions aren’t all that different, as explained by Barry Ritholtz in this thought-provoking post.

Teens

• The CDC reported new data on teen mental health as a result of the pandemic and lockdowns. As a teacher, this information may not be surprising to you. (NYT-subscription may be required)

Just for Fun

• A new Piper Sandler survey of Gen Z attitudes and preferences was released this week. You might find some fun “facts” in the results, or conduct your own survey of your students and see how closely they match this one! (BusinessWire)
• The NYT published a graphic (and iteractive) representations of Bezos’s wealth in its recent Money Issue. (subscription may be required)

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.