Monday,
January 29, 2024
Market recap
Dow Jones
38,109.43
+60.30 (+0.16%)
S&P 500
4,890.97
-3.19 (-0.07%)
Nasdaq
15,455.36
-55.13 (-0.36%)
Top Story
The Bank of Mom and Dad remains open for business
Financial independence is hard to come by for some young adults, with some 60% of parents saying they provide some financial support for their adult kids.
US stocks were mixed Friday, snapping the S&P 500’s six-day winning streak
• The Fed’s preferred inflation index, core PCE, showed prices rose 2.9% year-over-year in December, less than expected and the first reading with a 2-handle in nearly three years.
• Americans’ personal incomes rose 0.3% in December, but personal spending rose more at a 0.7% month-over-month bump, outpacing estimates.
• Intel shares dropped 11.9% after forecasting earnings and revenue well below expectations.
• Shares of Colgate rose 2% after beating analyst estimates on the back of higher prices and strong sales in Latin America.
• Visa stock slid 1.7% despite calling out resilient consumer spending, while shares of competitor American Express added 7.1% on a better-than-expected forecast for 2024.
• Shares of Spirit Airlines tumbled once again, falling 13.4%after JetBlue cast doubt on its ability to meet certain conditions for the two companies’ embattled merger.
• Paramount announced plans to reduce its workforce and limit international content spending as it looks to cut costs, sending its shares 1.2% lower.
What to be on the lookout for today
• The Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index, which measures business activity across the region.
Shedding debt after medical school
The path to becoming a medical professional can be long and expensive.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, 70% of medical students that graduated in 2023 had student loan debt, with the median debt for medical school at $200,000.
Once you’ve made it, the profession can be quite lucrative, but it still means a lot of doctors carry big debt balances with them.
Paging doctor debt
There are resources that can help reduce the debt load after graduating from medical school.
• Loan forgiveness: Be sure to check if you qualify for loan forgiveness, for example, working in an area with a shortage of health professionals, for nonprofit organizations, or the government.
• Refinancing: Taking out a new loan through a private lender to pay off your existing federal loans could potentially make your monthly payments more affordable, if the new loan has a better interest rate, or extends the loan’s terms to create a lower minimum payment.
Today’s top stories
It’s Fed and jobs week! The Fed’s first interest rate decision of the year is slated for Wednesday, the jobs report comes out Friday, and — oh yeah — it’ll be a really busy earnings week. Here’s what’s ahead on Wall Street. Read more >> Older Americans own a potentially worrying amount of stocks This isn’t an “OK Boomer” joke. Americans aged 55 and older own 80% of U.S. equities, and that could be a risk in the event of a downturn. Read more >> Data security 101: tips to keep your data safe online Identity theft is on the rise but there are ways to protect yourself. Here are 11 cyber security tips to stay safe. Read more >>Other news that caught our eye
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Salesforce is laying off roughly 700 workers, adding to the recent uptick in tech layoffs.
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The Biden administration is delaying consideration for new liquified natural gas export terminals over emission concerns and potential cost increases to Americans.
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Tesla issued an over-the-air software update to nearly 200,000 Model S, X, and Y vehicles to fix a rear-view mirror malfunction that could obstruct driver visibility.
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GM’s self-driving subsidiary Cruise is the subject of two federal investigations for its response to an accident in which one of its robotaxis seriously injured a pedestrian.
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McDonald’s four-patty, 780-calorie Double Big Mac is back.
Financial planner tip of the day
"How do parents save for college? Early and consistently. Those are two crucial elements to creating and sustaining a plan to meet your child’s college education costs. By starting as soon as possible, you’ll have more time to potentially help your hard-earned savings grow."
Brian Walsh, CFP® at SoFi