El-Erian: “Income Inequality is Horrific”

There is nothing better than an hour spent talking to Mohamed El-Erian at the annual LinkedIn Finance Connect event. El-Erian has a unique ability to break down hardcore economic concepts into digestible, easy-to-understand analogies. For example, when I asked him about his prediction about worldwide growth this year, he said, “imagine if you were a elementary schoolteacher and I told you that overall, your classroom would be better this year than it was last year. Unfortunately, that slightly better classroom that still has troublemakers." Those rambunctious troublemakers include: Russia/Ukraine, Greece, Brazil, Venezuela, Nigeria – any one of them could disrupt global economy and threaten the progress of the “limping along” economies of Japan and Europe, as well as the improving U.S. economy. One bright spot for El-Erian is China, which is clearly downshifting from 10 percent growth over the past three decades, to a more sustainable 6-7 percent rate. Although many have predicted looming disaster for the world’s second largest economy, El-Erian believes that China will be able to make a soft landing.

He’s less sanguine about Greece, where the probability of three possible outcomes is:

• 45% Greece and Eurozone officials muddle along
• 50% Greece leaves Eurozone (“Grexit”) and a massive dislocation in financial markets ensues
• 5% Greece wades through and comes out better

As Greece teeters on the edge of disaster, other European countries (Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark) are seen as bastions of safety. In fact, some investors are actually paying countries to hold their money. Mohamed says that there are two types of investors, who buy bonds with negative interest rates: (1) Those who are willing to pay up to ensure that their money is safe and (2) those who are betting that negative returns get more negative. Although negative interest rates have persisted longer than El-Erian though they would, he does not believe that the situation will last.

The US economy should continue to expand this year at a 2.5 percent annualized rate and El-Erian is hopeful that monthly job creation will average over 200,000. The combination will prompt the Fed to increase interest rates at its September policy meeting, but El-Erian noted that this is likely to be “the loosest tightening in history,” so it will take a considerable period of time before conditions look normal again.

As far as the labor market is concerned, while job creation should pick up, stagnant wages are limiting growth. “Income inequality is horrific,” and while this is a decades long trend, in the six years since the official end of the recession, only a small percentage of Americans seem to be back or better off than they were before the recession. El-Erian said, “100 percent of the total income growth during this recovery has gone to the top 5 percent of earners.”

While some companies are actually doing more to help narrow the income gap, El-Erian would like to see an overhaul of the corporate and personal tax systems. On the individual side, lawmakers should consider raising the minimum wage and eliminating some of the benefits, which wealthy taxpayers enjoy, like not paying tax on carried interest and the mortgage interest deduction.

[The April jobs report did not show much progress on the wage front. While the job market recovered in April after getting roughed up in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said 223,000 new jobs were added last month and the unemployment rate ticked down to 5.4 percent, the lowest level since May 2008. This time around, the unemployment rate slid for the right reason: 166,000 additional workers entered the labor force and snagged jobs. Average earnings were up 2.2 percent from a year ago, up from 2.1 percent in March - a tiny improvement, but a far cry from 3 percent annualized rate seen during the last expansion.]

Last year, when I interviewed El-Erian, he said that the US economy was approaching a “T-Junction”, where it could veer in one of two directions: (1) growth accelerates, justifying current stock prices; or (2), growth remains sub-par, central bank policy loses effectiveness and stocks tank. This year, he said that the US is moving up the neck of this critical junction and continues to believe that the odds are 50-50 for either outcome. With even chances, the disconnect between markets and economic reality is the biggest risk facing investors and according to El-Erian, you may want to hold a little more cash in your portfolio, just in case the more negative scenario plays out.

MARKETS: In a volatile week, the bulls won out and pushed indexes within striking distance of all-time highs.

• DJIA: 18,191, up 0.9% on week, up 2% YTD
• S&P 500: 2116, up 0.4% on week, up 2.8% YTD
• NASDAQ: 5,003 down 0.04% on week, up 5.6% YTD
• Russell 2000: 1234, up 0.5% on week, up 2.5% YTD
• 10-Year Treasury yield: 2.15% (from 2.1% a week ago)
• June Crude: $59.39, up 0.4% on week
• June Gold: $1188.90, up 1.2% on week
• AAA Nat'l avg for gallon of regular Gas: $2.66 (from $2.61 week ago, $3.66 a year ago)

THE WEEK AHEAD: With earnings season mostly winding down, investors are turn their attention oversees, where once again, problems in Greece and Russia/Ukraine pose risks.

Mon 5/11:

Tues 5/2:

Greece is due to make a 750M euro payment to IMF/Euro Finance Ministers meet

9:00 NFIB Small Business Optimism

10:00 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey

11:00 Household Saving and Debt Report

Weds 5/13:

Macy’s

8:30 Retail Sales

Thurs 5/14:

Kohl’s, Nordstrom

8:30 Producer Prices

Fri 5/15:

8:30 Empire State Manufacturing

9:15 Industrial Production

10:00 Consumer Sentiment

#218 Retirement Investing, 529 vs Pre Paid College Plans

Happy Mother's Day! Your mom would probably want you to take control of your financial life, so listen up. We started the show with Katrina, who needs help with her financial priorities. Should she contribute to retirement, save more in her emergency reserve fund or pay down her mortgage? The answer is: YES!

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Jim has $200K to invest-what should he do? (We should all have such problems!) Also in the category of "I wish I were him/her": Both Allison and Roseanne have nearly $2 million saved for retirement and need guidance.

Brian asked about whether or not dividends are reinvested in the TSP plan, Erica is trying to decide between a standard 529 plan and a pre-paid tuition program (check out this description from FinAid); and Daniel is not sure whether or not he should participate in his company's SIMPLE-IRA plan.

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer in the World. Here's how to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Retirement Confidence: On the Mend

After dropping to record lows between 2009 and 2013, the percentage of workers confident about having enough money for a comfortable retirement, continues to increase, according to the 2015 Employee Benefit Research Institute Retirement Confidence Survey. 22 percent of Americans are now very confident (up from 13 percent in 2013 and 18 percent in 2014), while 36 percent are somewhat confident. That’s the good news. Unfortunately, 24 percent are not at all confident (statistically unchanged from 2013 and 2014). EBRI notes that confidence is strongly related to whether or not people have retirement plans. Among those with a plan, the percentage of very confident doubled from 14 percent in 2013 to 28 percent in 2015.

The fact that 67 percent of all workers (or their spouses) – and 78 percent of full time workers – have saved for retirement is misleading, because total savings remain low. A staggering 57 percent say total value of savings and investments is less than $25,000, including 28 percent who have less than $1,000. As you would expect, retirement savings increase with household income and education.

Lack of education has become a big problem for Americans. According to research from the Hamilton Project, the median, inflation-adjusted earnings of men without a high school degree fell by 20 percent between 1990 and 2013 and for women, earnings fell by 12 percent. In contrast, both men and women with a bachelor’s degree saw their earnings rise between 1990 and 2013, by 7 and 16 percent respectively.

With median income dropping, it’s no wonder that half of the respondents to the EBRI survey said that cost of living and day-to-day expenses were the two main reasons that they are not saving (or saving more) for retirement. Even so, it is still amazing to learn that even those who are under pressure say that they could save $25 a week more than they are currently saving.

Instead of saving more, respondents are relying on a later retirement date. In 1991, just 11 percent of workers expected to retire about age 65. This year, the number has more than tripled to 36 percent. Working longer always sounds like a great solution, but what happens if your boss hasn’t bought into your plan, or you have a job that is too physically demanding to continue late in life? In fact, while 67 percent of workers say they plan to work for pay after they retire, just 23 percent of retirees report they have actually worked during retirement.

It should also be noted that while 63 percent of today’s retirees say that Social Security is a major source of income in their retirement, about half that number (31 percent) of current workers expect Social Security to be a major source of income in retirement. That result probably speaks to a misunderstanding of the current state of the Social Security system.

According to The 2014 Annual Report of the SS Board of Trustees, the trust funds' assets are now $2.76 trillion and should keep growing through 2019. After 2033, the annual revenue from taxes will still be enough to cover 75 percent of future costs, so while many say flippantly, “Social Security won’t be there for me,” the numbers say otherwise.

Finally, the EBRI survey found that most people do not like to step on the scale to see just how much work they need to do. Just 48 percent have tried to calculate how much money they will need in retirement. For the other 52 percent, EBRI’s Choose to Save Ballpark E$timate is a great resource to crunch numbers. You can even play with some of the variables to see the impact of working longer, saving more and living longer. Retirement confidence may be influenced by a variety of external factors, but it is clear that those who take action will likely feel a lot better.

Pay Raises Ahead?

Nearly six years after the official end of the recession, something exciting is about to happen: Americans are likely to FINALLY get a raise! Government data (the Employment Cost Index or “ECI”) showed that compensation in the first quarter increased by 2.6 percent from a year ago, up from the 2.2 percent gain in the previous quarter and the fastest pace since Q4 2008. The private sector did even better, seeing an annual growth rate of 2.8 percent, the best year over year pay gain since Q3 2008. A year ago, the rise in private sector wages and salaries was only 1.7 percent, so while growth rates are still modest by historical standards, this report demonstrates good progress and is a sign of potentially more robust increases later this year. Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors predicts, “Within a quarter or two at the most, we should be back above 3 percent,” which is just about average for an expansion.

How can we square this upbeat information with the monthly jobs report category of “average hourly earnings”, which showed annual growth of just 2.1 percent in Q1 (and for the entire recovery)? Greg Ip of the Wall Street Journal notes, “The divergence may be explained by the fact that the quarterly figures include commissions and other performance-based pay, which rose sharply in the first quarter, and may not be repeated.” That may be true, but it should also be noted that the Fed has traditionally put more weight on the employment cost index, since it tracks the same jobs over time and adjusts for the changing mix of jobs in the economy. If Janet thinks ECI is the better gauge to use, then we should too.

Other indicators have enhanced the case for future pay raises: weekly jobless claims are hovering at 15-year lows; ISM Service sector indicators are strengthening; and a variety of big companies, including McDonalds, Wal-Mart, Target, Cheesecake Factory and Aetna, have all announced an increase in pay to lower wage workers.

We’ll learn more about the state of the nation’s labor market this week, when the government releases the April employment update. Economists are hopeful that the weak March report, where just 126,000 positions were created, was a one-off event, rather than a more worrisome trend that is gripping the nation. The consensus estimate is that 220,000 new jobs were created and for the unemployment rate to edge down by a tenth of a percent to 5.4 percent.

Happy Anniversary, Greek Bailout! Time sure does fly, when you bail out an indebted nation. It has been FIVE YEARS since Europe and the International Monetary Fund first agreed to bail out Greece (May 2, 2010). Eurozone officials are busy trying to hammer out yet another debt restructuring with Greece, which once again faces a summer default without a deal.

MARKETS: That thud you heard this week was the sound of plummeting social media stocks. Twitter, LinkedIn and Yelp all tumbled by more than 20 percent on the week, after weaker than expected earnings reports and dim prospects for the rest of the year. Social media stocks have been on a massive run and even with these three misfires, the social media index (SOCL) is up over 10 percent this year, 3.5 percent better than the NASDAQ Composite.

• DJIA: 18,024, down 0.3% on week, up 1.1% YTD
• S&P 500: 2108, down 0.4% on week, up 2.4% YTD
• NASDAQ: 5,005 down 1.7% on week, up 5.7% YTD
• Russell 2000: 1267, down 3.1% on week, up 2% YTD
• 10-Year Treasury yield: 2.12% (from 1.92% a week ago)
• June Crude: $59.15, up 3.5% on week (up 25% in April, biggest monthly gain since 5/09)
• June Gold: $1174.50, down 0.03% on week
• AAA Nat'l avg for gallon of regular Gas: $2.60 (from $2.51 week ago, $3.69 a year ago)

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Mon 5/4:

Cablevision, Comcast

10:00 Factory Orders

Tues 5/5:

Zillow

8:30 International Trade

10:00 ISM Non-Manufacturing Index

Weds 5/6:

MetLife, Prudential, Whole Foods

8:15 ADP Private Sector Jobs

8:30 Productivity

Thurs 5/7: UK Election

Zynga

3:00 Consumer Credit

Fri 5/8:

AOL

8:30 April Employment Report

#217 Are Your Kids Bleeding You Dry?

Our guest - financial planner, author and speaker Jonathan Pond - worries that millions of Boomer generation parents have indulged their children, at their own expense. Jonathan, a pioneer in bringing low-cost, personalized money guidance to Americans, says that some greedy children have become "rapacious consumers of their parents’ money" OUCH!

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Jonathan also notes that the financial services industry in general, and the insurance business in particular, thrives on obfuscation. He warns that "if it can’t be explained to you in one sentence, don’t buy it…if you can’t get out of the investment without penalty within a few days or a week, be leery of it…stick to simple, understandable products".

And here's a simple product: Jonathan's SmartPlanner financial literacy tool, which costs $40--the equivalent of 5 bourbons at the cheap bars, where Producer Mark drinks!

In honor of the 141st Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs (Go Upstart!), our first caller was John from Louisville, who's wife will be retiring shortly and has to make a pension election.

At age 63, Steve wants to know whether his retirement plan is on track and Chris asked about investing $25,000 on behalf of his famous daughter, who won the JIF Peanut Butter "Most Creative Sandwich Contest" in 2012. (Check out her recipe!)

Aaron asked about consolidating retirement accounts; Mark weighed in diversification; Mary asked about the safety of a couple of different financial institutions; Colette is just starting her retirement investing plan; Chris is considering entering the financial services industry; and Al and his wife are not sure whether or not they need a trust.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. (You can check out Mark's story on Manny Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach here.) If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

New Reverse Mortgages Rules

The Great Recession and stock market rout eviscerated retirement nest eggs, changing the course of retirement planning for millions of people. And while the value of real estate also plunged, many older Americans owned their homes outright, allowing them to utilize a reverse mortgage to help finance retirement. A reverse mortgage is a loan that allows homeowners 62 and older to convert a portion of the equity in their homes into cash, as long as the home remains their primary residence. Most reverse mortgages are offered through the Department of Housing and Urban Development and are guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) through a program called Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM).

A reverse mortgagor must keep paying real estate taxes, utilities and hazard and flood insurance premiums. The amount you can borrow depends on several factors, including the age of the youngest borrower, the current interest rate, the appraised value of your home and whether the rate is fixed or adjustable. The more valuable your home is, the older you are and the lower the interest rate, the more you can borrow. In essence, a reverse mortgage can help retirees convert an illiquid asset — a house — into a liquid one that can help supplement retirement income.

According to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, since 1990, just over 900,000 people have tapped their home equity through a reverse mortgage. Because of the sharp decrease in the housing market, the number of seniors applying for these loans dropped by more than half last year (51,642) from 2009 and those numbers could drop even more with the announcement of new reverse mortgage application rules.

As of April 27^th, the federal government has decided to make applying for a reverse mortgage more like the process for qualifying for a traditional mortgage. Prior to the change, reverse mortgages did not require lengthy underwriting process, but new borrowers will have to complete “financial assessment” tests.

Would-be borrowers must now prove that they paid their real estate taxes, homeowner association fees and other property-related charges on time for at least the past 24 months. Additionally, they will have to produce documentation, like tax returns, paystubs (if they are still working), bank statements and details of financial assets. Finally, reverse mortgagees will undergo a “residual income” analysis that examines their monthly expenses and cash flow.

If potential borrowers fall short, they may be required to fund a “life expectancy set-aside,” which would funnel a portion of the loan proceeds into a separate account and would ensure funding is available for future tax and insurance obligations. This is akin to escrow accounts on conventional mortgages, which are established to pay property taxes and homeowners insurance.

The set-aside amount is based on a number of variables, including: the total of current property taxes plus hazard and flood insurance premiums; the likely increase in tax and insurance costs; the expected average mortgage interest rate; and the life expectancy of the youngest borrower (the younger the borrowers, the higher the potential set-aside amount).

Critics say the new rules that will make it more difficult for consumers with low income or poor credit records to obtain reverse mortgages. But that’s just the point, according to regulators, who want to prevent defaults by extending reverse mortgages only to qualified borrowers. They note that borrowers with shaky financial situations may be better off selling their homes and using the equity to purchase another home or rent.

The new rules do not address the cost of reverse mortgages, but you should be aware fees can run 2 - 3 percent of the loan amount. It’s also important to remember that reverse mortgage payouts also can impact a borrower’s eligibility for means-tested benefits programs, like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and/or Medicaid.

Fans of reverse mortgages note that the new rules preserve the ultimate benefit of the transaction: Borrowers can still receive a monthly check for life or get a line of credit insured to grow for as long as they live in the home. If you are serious about a reverse mortgage, consult a registered investment adviser or an attorney, who can help determine if it is in your best interest.

The Fed’s Six Degrees of Separation

The week ahead is brought to you by the number SIX. The Northeast, home to 20 percent of the U.S. population, suffered its coldest winter on record this year, with an average temperature coming in at six degrees below normal. The unusually cold winter has been the main culprit in explaining why the economy expanded at an expected 1 percent or so in the first quarter (seasonally adjusted annual rate), with some forecasts as low as 0.1 percent! The first estimate of Q1 GDP will be released on Wednesday and there’s no doubt that cold weather negatively impacted both consumer spending and employment, which will drag down overall results. Hours after the government releases the GDP, the Fed will weigh in on the state of the economy and how it plans to manage monetary policy accordingly. Since Chairman Yellen’s testimony before Congress two months ago, there is mounting evidence that the pace of growth slowed dramatically, which may delay the Fed’s much-anticipated interest rate hike (the first increase in eight years). Because there is no press conference or forecast update for this FOMC meeting, any hints about the timing of the Fed’s liftoff will be left to the accompanying statement.

Most economists expect the Fed to acknowledge that economic growth weakened due to those six chilly degrees, a rising U.S. dollar and plunging oil prices. But the central bankers are also likely to underscore that if the data were to improve in the spring – especially readings on wage growth and core inflation – a September rate increase would still be on the table.

Bad weather may also have been to blame for the divergent data on the housing market: Existing Home sales showed life in March, while New Home Sales dropped off from the previous month’s strong showing (the best pace in seven years). Overall, sales have increased by 45 percent since plummeting to post bubble lows in mid-2010, but the housing market still remains well-below normal levels. With mortgage rates relatively low, credit conditions loosening and steady growth in jobs and incomes, the healing process is likely to continue, albeit slowly in many parts of the country.

One place that remains in a metaphorical deep freeze is Greece. According to Capital Economics, “There is now a real possibility that Greece could default on its debts in the next couple of months, plunging its future in the single currency into uncertainty. If a default prompted a big adverse reaction in financial markets then the Fed would presumably not want to risk adding to the volatility by hiking the fed funds rate.”

To close out this missive, it’s worth mentioning the NASDAQ Composite Index’s new milestone. After 15 long years, investors were finally treated to a new, nominal all-time high. On Thursday, the index finished at 5,056, eight points above its March 2000 peak of 5,048. Yes, it’s psychological and when adjusted for inflation, the level would have to be over 6,900 to be a record, but why not take the small victories when we can?

Here’s the REAL buzz-kill alert for investors: the Wall Street Journal’s Jason Zweig stumbled upon this fact: “since March 10, 2000, the S&P 500 has generated an average return of 4.78% annually; the Russell 3000, a broad measure of U.S. stocks, 5.12%. But the NASDAQ Composite, dominated by the tech stocks that were so overvalued in early 2000, has returned 0.99% annually. All these returns include dividends.” Those numbers also include the recent six year bull-run, which allowed the S&P 500 to climb by 250 (including dividends).

MARKETS:

• DJIA: 18,080, up 1.4% on week, up 1.4% YTD
• S&P 500: 2117, up 1.8% on week, up 2.9% YTD (Record close)
• NASDAQ: 5,092 up 3.3% on week, up 7.5% YTD (Record close)
• Russell 2000: 1267, up 1.3% on week, up 5.2% YTD
• 10-Year Treasury yield: 1.92% (from 1.85% a week ago)
• May Crude Oil: $57.15, up 2.5% on week
• June Gold: $1,175, down 2.4% on week
• AAA Nat'l avg for gallon of regular Gas: $2.52 (from $2.45 week ago, $3.69 a year ago)

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Mon 4/27:

Apple, Container Store

10:30 Dallas Fed

Tues 4/28:

Coach, GoPro, Kraft, Bristol Myers Squibb, Merck, Pfizer, US Steel

9:00 S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index

10:00 Consumer Confidence

Fed Policy Meeting Begins

Weds 4/29:

Baidu, Marriot, MasterCard, Starwood

8:30 Q1 GDP (1^st Estimate)

10:00 Pending Home Sales

2:00 Fed Policy Meeting Announcement

Thurs 4/30:

Avon, Conoco Phillips, Exxon Mobil

8:30 Personal Income and Spending

9:45 Chicago PMI

Fri 5/1:

Clorox, Chevron

Motor Vehicle Sales

9:45 PMI Manufacturing

10:00 ISM Manufacturing

10:00 Construction Spending

10:00 Consumer Sentiment

#216 Paying for College

May 1 is "college decision day," the deadline to formally accept an offer of college admission and send in your deposit. It's also the time when families must make choices about financial aid packages, which is why we spend time outlining some of the strategies necessary to maximize the process.

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Here are some resources that might be helpful in the college funding and planning process:

• Education Department College Navigator
• CFPB Financial Aid Comparison
• FinAid Guide to Financial Aid
• Edvisors Planning and Paying for College
• 529 Plan Info

Great calls from Holly (college funding), Marchello (saving and investing), Ryan (early retirement plan) and Brian (disability insurance). We also field Chris' e-mail about the "good" annuity company (TIAA-CREF) and a property tax issue from E.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Stocks Swoon on Chinese Short Selling Rule

While you were enjoying spring and the NHL playoffs (go ISLES!), Chinese regulators decided that the stock market there is getting a bit too frothy. In fact, the main Chinese stock market index has doubled over the past year, which prompted regulators to make it a bit easier to bet against companies by selling short. Short sellers believe that a company’s stock is overvalued. To profit from that decline, the investor has to borrow a stock that she does not own from a brokerage firm. As an example, if XYZ Corp is currently trading at $100 and you think it’s going down in value, you can borrow the stock at $100 per share from your brokerage firm. With that borrowed stock now in your account, you can sell it for $100, with the expectation that when the stock drops, you can repurchase at a lower level. Let’s assume that you are right and the stock falls to $80, you can pocket the $20 when you return the shares to the brokerage firm.

Now back to that Chinese rule change, which on Friday, sparked fears that investors would immediately enter sell orders in China; and that the selling there would spill over to Europe and the U.S. It should be noted that short selling has been around for a long time here in the U.S. and its presence has not prevented markets from rising. But in a week that lacked any market moving economic reports and it being too early in earnings season to declare victory or defeat, the bears took charge, at least temporarily.

This week, Greece will be front and center, as European officials try to bang out a deal for debt repayments, which are due in May. It will also be a busy week for earnings, with Amazon, Facebook, General Motors, Proctor & Gamble, Boeing and Morgan Stanley reporting. Of the 59 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, nearly 75 percent have beat profit expectations, but revenues have fallen short, with more than half of companies missing estimates.

MARKETS:

• DJIA: 17,826, down 1.3% on week, up 0.02% YTD
• S&P 500: 2081, down 1% on week, up 1.1% YTD
• NASDAQ: 4,931 up 1.3% on week, up 4.1% YTD
• Russell 2000: 1231, down 1.7% on week, up 3.9% YTD
• 10-Year Treasury yield: 1.85% (from 1.95% a week ago)
• May Crude Oil: $55.74, up 7.9% on week
• June Gold: $1,203.10, down 0.1% on week
• AAA Nat'l avg for gallon of regular Gas: $2.45 (from $2.39 week ago, $3.67 a year ago)

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Mon 4/20:

IBM, Morgan Stanley, Haliburton, Hasbro

Tues 4/21:

Verizon, Yahoo, Yum Brands, Chipotle, Kimberly Clark

Weds 4/22:

Boeing, Coca Cola, McDonald’s, AT&T, Facebook, eBay

9:00 FHFA Home Prices

10:00 Existing Homes

Thurs 4/23:

3M, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, GM, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, Pandora

10:00 New Home Sales

Fri 4/24:

Biogen, American Airlines

8:30 Durable Goods

#215 Retirement Planning Week

We celebrated the conclusion of National Retirement Planning Week with guest Anthony LoCascio, a fiduciary advisor with more than three decades of experience in retirement and tax planning. Anthony breaks down retirement for Boomers, Gen-Xers and Millennials.

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Speaking of the Millennials (those who are currently 18-34), did you know that they are the biggest generation in US history—even bigger than the Baby Boomers. According to Goldman Sachs, there are 92 million Millennials, compared to 77 million Boomers. And as it turns out, the generation has a firm grip on certain aspects of their financial lives. Check out this segment from CBS Evening News for more on the slackers-turned-savers.

We fielded great questions from Millennials Sam, Tim and Anon!

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio