Economics

• Personal Consumption Expenditures Index jumped 3.6% in April (core up 3.1%) year-over-year. (CNBC)
  • For more on the PCE and why it is important (this is the metric the Fed relies on as an inflation measure), check out this MarketPlace article.
  • And for even more fine-tuning, check out this Cleveland Fed post on their measure: Median PCE.
• Initial jobless claims dropped for the fourth week in a row to 406,000. (Yahoo Finance)
• Of Dollars and Data takes a closer look at the financial status of millennials compared to other generations.

Investing

• GenZ investors are the new investors in start-ups, thanks to social media and relaxed regulations allowing crowd funding. (Wired)
• Michael Milken, the “Junk Bond King,” has been around forever. Now he is Mr. SPAC. (FORBES)
• Speaking of SPACs, that is how Acorns will go public (value $2.2B). (CNBC)
• What are house prices doing where you live? The St. Louis Fed looks at housing prices compared to the last bubble using the house price to rent ratio.

Cryptocurrency

• What did we learn from cryptocurrency crash last week? (A Wealth of Common Sense)
• UK Police thought they were raiding a cannabis farm. Instead they found a Bitcoin mine. (CNBC)

Financial Literacy

• Treasury Secretary Yellen ‘s comments in her address this past week to the federal government’s Financial Literacy and Education Commission got lots of press and social media hype MarketWatch: 

“But research does show that education — especially early education — about how to navigate personal finances can have a lasting, positive impact on people’s lives. It can be part of our strategy for building a more equitable economy,” she said.

Paying for College

• The NYT Money Advisor offers guidance on 529 Plans. Shop around.

Pandemic

• The financial impact on the 4.5 million women who are still out of the labor force as a result of the pandemic will large and long lasting. (Newsweek)
• Shopping has changed during the pandemic. What will it look like going forward? (Vox)

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.