Economics

• The pandemic recession was highly unusual in that personal savings increased during it, and increased a lot! (Irrelevant Investor)

chart from the JP Morgan Guide Retirement.

• Weekly initial jobless claims of 712,000 were the lowest since November. (Yahoo)

Economics-Rescue Plan

• Michelle Singletary explains a) what you need to do to get your third stimulus check, and (WAPO1) b) the (tax) implication for parents of the Rescue Plan. (WAPO2)
• The Washington Post also provided an interactive child tax credit calculator. 
• Here are the same topics covered by CNBC if you prefer (payment and child tax credit).
• And NerdWallet has suggestions for how to handle this third check if you really need it, and if you don’t.

Investing

• GameStop stock went nuts again this week, rising 40% on Monday to $194.50, and continuing through Wednesday, when it hit as high as $348.50 before dropping 40% in 25 minutes. (Reuters, CNBC)
• After talk of correction, the Dow and S&P hit new records on Thursday. (Yahoo Finance)
• Coupang (think South Korean Amazon) held its IPO Thursday, the largest Asian company to do so since Alibaba in 2014. (BBC)
• What will happen to all of those companies that we mentioned over the past year in our “pandemic winners” category? (NYT)
• A record was set yesterday for the sale of an NFT (non-fungible token, aka digital asset, in this case, a jpg or a collage.) (CNBC)
• In case you are looking to refresh the investment wisdom you preach in class, this Humble Dollar post uses some familiar adages.

Taxes

• 2020 may prove to be a challenging year for some folks filing income tax returns.  Here is some important and helpful tax information. (NYT)

Retirement

• Medicare enrollment questions answered here. If you know anyone working past 65 with coverage from work, check this out. (Investment News)

Philanthropy

• Over $20 billion was donated to Covid-related causes this past year. For a breakdown, check out Candid.

Vaccine (not finance, but important info)

• “The best vaccine is the one you can get.” If you want to know more about the differences between them (what is known today), check out this article from Slate.

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.

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