Nearly two-thirds of Americans between the ages of 45 and 60 say they plan to postpone retirement according to a report to be released Friday by the Conference Board. The Wall Street Journal’s Lauren Weber writes, "The increase was driven by the financial losses, layoffs and income stagnation sustained during the last few years of recession and recovery. ... Many middle-aged Americans ... drew down their savings during those lean years and now find that leaving the workforce on their original timeline is no longer viable." - Read more at The Wall Street Journal
ECONOMY ADDS 157,000 JOBS The economy added 157,000 jobs last month, as the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9 percent, according to January’s jobs report released this morning. But the report also shows that hiring was much stronger in the fourth quarter of 2012 than previously thought, with 127,000 more jobs added in November and December. See January’s job report here
DON’T BE FOOLED BY GOOD NEWS “Policy makers should avoid the trap of reading too much into this stable environment,” Dean Curnutt, founder and chief executive officer of Macro Risk Advisors, writes in Bloomberg. “These days, many indicators suggest we are in an extremely low-risk market environment. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, or VIX, sometimes known as the fear index, has reached a five-year low… The meager level of the VIX and record-low yields on credit-market instruments are largely linked to the Federal Reserve’s accommodative monetary policy, which is artificially damping market risk. … Perhaps no price is more dishonest than that of U.S. treasuries, whose yields are being held down by the Fed’s quantitative-easing program.” - Read more at Bloomberg
MORE AMERICANS PUSH BACK RETIREMENT PLANS Nearly two-thirds of Americans between the ages of 45 and 60 say they plan to postpone retirement according to a report to be released Friday by the Conference Board. The Wall Street Journal’s Lauren Weber writes, "The increase was driven by the financial losses, layoffs and income stagnation sustained during the last few years of recession and recovery. ... Many middle-aged Americans ... drew down their savings during those lean years and now find that leaving the workforce on their original timeline is no longer viable." - Read more at The Wall Street Journal
2012 ELECTIONS’ PRICE TAG: $7 BILLION Candidates, political parties and outside organizations spent more than $7 billion during the 2012 election, the Federal Election Commission reports, $1 billion more than previously estimated. According to the FEC, candidate committees spent $3.2 billion, party committees spent $2 billion and outside groups spent another $2 billion - Read more at The Sunlight Foundation