As we commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, it might be interesting to remember that the stock market closed for four days following the attacks. To learn more about how the stock market/economy reacted to that event, and what lasting impact the event has had over these 20 years, check out this Investopedia article.

It might be interesting to have students research and reflect on the impact of the Covid pandemic, both in early days and since then, and see if there are any similarities.

Economics

• Janet Yellen warns of a US Default if Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling soon. (NYT)
• Jobless claims last week hit an 18-month low. Slower growth/recovery is more likely due to a shortage of labor than a shortage of demand for labor. How are the markets reacting to jobs news? (Reuters)
• This shortage of skilled workers puts the Infrastructure plan currently under debate in jeopardy. (NYT)

Investing/Behavioral Finance

• This MarketWatch article describes two types of memory bias that may explain greater losses among traders. (read or listen to this one)
• This slightly longer read from A Wealth of Common Sense entitled, “How The Big Short Turned Into The Big Long” also discusses bias and reviews what is going on now across asset and investor types.

Cryptocurrency

• Bitcoin is now officially legal tender in El Salvador. (NPR) Ukraine may be next. (CNBC)
• The SEC is going after CoinBase over it’s interest-earning product CoinBase LEND. (CNBC) You can read about the issue from CoinBase’s point of view: Coinbase Blog, and an overview of the very gray regulatory environment from (Recode)

Taxes/Retirement

• As news spread that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund which funds Social Security will run out of money sooner than expected following the pandemic recession, there is renewed talk about raising the taxable base amount subject to the Social Security payroll tax. (Don't Mess With Taxes)

Financial Literacy-ICYMI

• Did the pandemic help make the case for personal finance class in high school? Tim Ranzetta is quoted in this NerdWallet article.

Higher Education

• This NYT article is full of great statistics on college enrollment by gender over time, and looks at the more complex picture of gender, degree, and employment options in answer to a WSJ (subscription) article earlier in the week focusing on the number of men dropping out of school during the pandemic.  

Just For Fun

• NFL Football kicked off its season last night, and Super Bowl ads are almost sold out already, even at higher rates! (Variety.com)

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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