Economics

• Retail sales jumped beyond expectations in January. (CNN)
• New weekly unemployment claims back up this week, and prior week was revised up as well. (Yahoo Finance)
• Sales of existing homes rose in January, surprising forecasters. Inventories are low, prices are high. (Reuters)
• Walmart will be raising wages for 425,000 workers to average above $15 an hour. (CNBC)
• There is much debate over an increased minimum wage, particularly in struggling areas of the country. (NYT)
• Covid has driven more women than men out of the workforce. How might the proposed relief help?(Reuters)

Investing

• Want to recap what happened at the Congressional hearing on GameStop yesterday? Here are a few to choose from: AP News, NYT DealBook and NPR.
• Lots of the discussion yesterday in Congress was on Payment for Order Flow. Want to understand it better? Try this article from ForeFront.
• Hatred of short sellers is nothing new. NPR reflects on the history of short sellers.
• How do people make decisions with limited information? Of Dollars and Data discusses the base rate.
• The Visual Capitalist published this infographic this week about where people go for investment guidance.

Taxes

• Michele Singletary of the Washington Post issued a warning last week about issues likely to arise as IRS stuggles, and this week issued a warning about taking one of those tax refund loans. (WAPO1) (WAPO2) 

(Health)Insurance

ACA enrollment is open again to help those losing health coverage and give those without another opportunity to sign up. NPR discusses and helps you determine if someone is eligible to sign up or change your plan.

Retirement

• CNBC demonstrates how one might save $2 million on an “average” salary.

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.