Financial Literacy/Advocacy

• North Carolina passed legislation requiring students to take a financial literacy class for high school graduation. The required class is actually a full year course covering economics and personal finance, and the law requires teacher training. (MarketWatch)
• Mark Hulbert argues the underlying issue behind poor financial outcomes is more behavioral than ignorance. (MarketWatch) I tend to think this argues for inclusion of behavioral finance in financial literacy classes rather than giving up on the education component.

Economics/Investing

• Here is a comprehensive look at recent developments with the stock market (new record high for the DJIA), interest rates, and the Fed (Jerome Powell faced congress this week). (NYT)

For College Bound Students

• Texas becomes the second state to require all high school students to complete a FAFSA. (Inside Higher Education)
• Do the students in your school use Naviance? I had not been aware of this tool and its potential value in helping students target appropriate schools. (Inside Higher Education)
• If you need to point students who have not had the benefit of your class in the direction of help with managing their financial life in college, (Life Before Budget) offers some good guidelines.
• Can we teach our students to be more considerate in college when using their technology, and maybe help them be more successful students? Students may not realize how much their use of technology in the classroom distracts those around them. (Inside Higher Ed)

Credit Management

• We repeatedly hear about millennials financial troubles. Difficulty managing credit cards is just one of them. (CNBC)
• Here is more evidence that the best way to go for someone with credit issues is a non-profit credit counseling company. (WAPO)

Careers/US Manufacturing

• Knowledge@Wharton interviews BCG’s Justin Rose who explains how manufacturing in the US can regain its competitive advantage over time. (Automation and robotics.)
• On a related thread: Amazon and others have announced plans to retain their workforce by train them to handle the technological advances of their firms. (WSJ)
• Amazon specifically announced it will spend $700 million to educate one-third of its workforce over the next 5+ years. It aims to automate its lower end jobs and wants its current workforce to be prepared to move up the technical ladder. (The Verge)
• Do you realize that the majority of goods sold on Amazon do not originate from Amazon? Also from The Verge, an illustration of the lives of the Amazon “Nomads” and how they gather goods to sell.
• Amazon Prime Days are coming. Here is a look back on the top selling items over the years. (NYT)
• The iPhone…in the long run, will it prove to be a good thing for the environment, or a bad thing? (WIRED)

Graph of the week 

Ever wonder how the housing market looks today compared to the 2008 bust? Or how it looks compared to other countries?

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