Financial Literacy

• A Forbes article last week tries to explain the drop in financial literacy across the board as revealed in the FINRA 2018 National Study of Financial Capability.
  

Economics

• The St. Louis Fed provides a comprehensive explanation of the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate, and specifically explains the two percent inflation target. (Medium)

Cryptocurrency

• The proposed Facebook cryptocurrency Libra faces was the subject of congressional hearings this week. “Grilling” was most commonly used to describe the sessions. (WAPO) (CNN) (Reuters)
• (Need a Libra tutorial? Take a few minutes to read this.)

Investing

• The NYT issued its 2^nd Quarter report on Mutual Funds and ETFs and provided a summary of the findings. Is a continually rising stock market a sign of a strong economy? How do you reconcile some of the targeted ETF’s increasing value with the suffering of others?
•  

Paying for College

• College affordability is the theme of the articles this week. Michelle Singletary discusses the benefits of starting with community college. (WAPO)
• The Federalist suggests that the adults students rely on for advice should help them avoid colleges thaey can’t really afford, rather than encouraging them to “follow their dreams.”
• One of the largest textbook publishers is trying to move to 100% (How about for high school too? Lighten up those backpacks!) (Inside Higher Ed)
• I heard this story on NPR yesterday and kept nodding my head. FinLit Fanatic Jodie Holmquist posted this link for the FB group earlier. Listening to the stories of those drowning in student debt may be a very effective way of getting the point across…(due your due diligence on both the program and the loan before starting, and if you start, FINISH SCHOOL!)
• States are attempting to fill the gap in student loan oversight and protecting borrowers’ rights as the Federal Government/Federal Agencies pull back. (Inside Higher Education)
• Not to get political, but David Deming ran the numbers on free (public) college tuition for the NYT.   We all know there is no such thing as free tuition….some one has to pay. This article provides good background information, regardless of your political views.   What would it cost to eliminate tuition at all public institutions? How much is currently spent subsidizing tuition (that would no longer have to be spent?) How can you quantify the long-run economic benefit be?

Budgeting/Behavioral Finance

• Investopedia maps out the economics of the CostCo membership model for both the company and the consumer.

Technology/Privacy

• The popular FaceApp has created lots of buzz….both good and bad. Wired tries to put it all in perspective. And a NYT Opinion piece discusses whether the uproar was warranted.

Just for Fun

Here is the original tweet with answers.

About the Author