Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid barely changed last week, while the average over the past month fell to a fresh five-year low. The decline in layoffs is helping strengthen the job market. Weekly unemployment benefit applications rose just 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 336,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Over the past four weeks, the average number of applications has dropped by 7,500 to 339,750. That’s the lowest since February 2008, just three months into the recession. Separately, sales of pre...
Spring is in the air — or, at the very least, it’s on the calendar this week. And if you’re like many people, you may be looking forward to doing some spring cleaning around your house and yard. But this year, why not go beyond your physical environment and do some “sprucing up” of your financial situation? Here are a few possibilities to consider: • Clean your portfolio of “clutter.” When you go through your house, you may find some clutter in closets, storage areas, on top of desks, under beds or just about any other place. Your investment...
WASHINGTON (AP) — A record number of U.S. counties — more than 1 in 3 — are now dying off, hit by an aging population and weakened local economies that are spurring young adults to seek jobs and build families elsewhere. New 2012 census estimates released Thursday highlight the population shifts as the U.S. encounters its most sluggish growth levels since the Great Depression. The findings also reflect the increasing economic importance of foreign-born residents as the U.S. ponders an overhaul of a major 1965 federal immigration law. Without ne...
WASHINGTON (AP) — A measure of U.S. wholesale prices rose in February by the most in five months, pushed higher by more expensive gas and pharmaceuticals. But outside those increases, inflation was mild. The producer price index grew a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in February from January, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s up from 0.2 percent in the previous month. Wholesale gas prices increased 7.2 percent. Even with the increase, wholesale prices have risen just 1.7 percent in the past 12 months. That’s below the Federal Reserve’s...
If you’re a “Gen-Xer,” born between 1965 and 1980, you’ve still got many years to go until you retire. At this stage of your life, what can you do to help build resources for the retirement lifestyle you’ve envisioned? Besides having time on your side, you’ve got another key advantage in saving for retirement — specifically, you probably haven’t reached your peak earning years. This helps you in at least two ways. First, of course, it means you should be able to increase your retirement savings in the future. And second, it might mean you...
RUEIL-MALMAISON, France (AP) — Burning the very fruit of their labor, workers from Goodyear clashed with police outside the tire-maker’s French headquarters Thursday in a last-ditch attempt to save their jobs. Goodyear has been trying to restructure or close its plant in northern France for five years in the face of a shrinking European car market. The workers say Goodyear wants to shift the work to China, where tires can be made more cheaply and which is closer to booming markets. Goodyear says the type of tires made at the French plant is...
LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has opted against injecting more money into the ailing British economy, which has one foot in recession but stubbornly-high inflation. The central bank said Thursday its main policymaking body, the Monetary Policy Committee, decided to maintain its asset purchase program at 375 billion pounds ($563 billion). A number of economists thought another 25 billion pounds infusion was possible. Last month, Governor Mervyn King and two others of the 9-member panel had pushed for such an increase. Minutes of the t...
You’ve no doubt heard about the risks associated with investing. This investment carries this type of risk, while that investment carries another one. And it is certainly true that all investments do involve some form of risk. But what about not investing? Isn’t there some risk associated with that, too? In fact, by staying on the investment sidelines, or at least by avoiding long-term, growth-oriented investments, you may incur several risks. Here are some to consider: • You might not keep up with inflation. If you put all your money under...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jacob Lew is scheduled to be sworn in Thursday as Treasury secretary and will have to hit the ground running. He is taking over the job just a day before huge automatic government spending cuts are set to take effect. He’s likely to be involved with any negotiations to reverse the cuts, and also in budget talks next month to continue funding the government. The Senate confirmed Lew late Wednesday, affirming President Barack Obama’s choice of a budget expert at a time when Congress and the White House are at odds over spend...
For the first time since 2008, contribution limits have risen for one of the most popular retirement savings vehicles available: the IRA. This means you’ve got a greater opportunity to put more money away for your “golden years.” Effective earlier this year, you can now put in up to $5,500 (up from $5,000 in 2012) to a traditional or Roth IRA when you make your 2013 contribution. And if you’re 50 or older, you can put in an additional $1,000 above the new contribution limit. Over time, the extra sums from the higher contribution limits can add...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Several Federal Reserve policymakers suggested last month that the Fed might have to scale back its efforts to keep borrowing costs low for the foreseeable future. Minutes of the Fed’s Jan. 29-30 policy meeting released Wednesday showed that some officials worried about the Fed’s plan to keep buying $85 billion in bonds each month until the job market has improved substantially. They expressed concern that the continued purchases could eventually escalate inflation, unsettle financial markets or cause the Fed to absorb losse...
Michael Treinen, a financial advisor with UBS Financial Services, Inc. in Boise, Idaho, has distiguished himself among his peers by attending the designation of Certified Financial Planner (CFP). Mike has met the advance requirements of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standaars, Inc. and committed himself to using the best tools with which to help guide clients through all types of market conditions. In order to achieve this designation, Mike undertook two years of diligent studying...
It’s probably not on your calendar, but World Yoga Day takes place on Feb. 24. As more people have discovered its healthful benefits, yoga has grown in popularity. But whether or not you practice yoga, you can apply its lessons to other areas of your life — such as investing. Specifically, consider the following yoga-related themes and how they might translate into investment habits that may be beneficial: Balance — If you observe advanced yoga practitioners, you will be amazed at the balance they exhibit during certain positions. But for s...
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama says raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour and tying future increases to inflation will boost the incomes of millions living in poverty and spur job growth by pouring more money into the economy. But business groups are not so sure. They complain that increasing the federal rate from $7.25 an hour would discourage employers from hiring new workers, hurting the very people Obama aims to help. Obama pointed out in his State of the Union address Tuesday that 19 states and the District of Columbia a...
SIDNEY – Cabela’s Incorporated (NYSE:CAB), the World’s Foremost Outfitter of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, announced today plans to open a 42,000-square-foot Cabela’s Outpost store in Waco, Texas. Construction is scheduled to begin this spring and doors are expected to open this fall. It will be the company’s fourth store in Texas, joining the Fort Worth, Buda and Allen locations. “Texas is full of outdoorsmen and women who live the Cabela’s lifestyle – people who share our enthusiasm for outdoor adventure – so this is a marvelous fit,” sa...
Love is in the air this week, as Valentine’s Day rolls around again. During the course of your life, you’ve probably sent your share of flowers and candy. But if your valentine is also your spouse – and, in particular, your long-time spouse – you may want to go beyond roses and chocolates this year to give a gift that can help lead to financial security. You can choose to make financial gifts in a number of ways, of course, and some of them could provide an immediate financial impact. But you may want to look even further down the road and cons...
In Europe, the financial crisis drags on. China’s economic growth has slowed from “wow” to “ho-hum.” Here at home, we’ve seen heated political debates over taxes, spending and deficit reduction. Taken together, these factors have created a “fog of uncertainty” that has left many investors in the dark about their next moves. But is this “fog” really impenetrable — or can you, as an individual investor, see through it to a place of clarity? To do so, you first need to realize that while the events mentioned above are certainly not insignificant,...
Groundhog Day is almost here. For most of its history – which, according to some reports, dates back to the first celebration in 1886 or 1887 in Punxsutawney, Pa. – Groundhog Day held little significance for most Americans. But that changed in 1993 with the release of the movie Groundhog Day, in which a semi-embittered meteorologist, played by Bill Murray, is forced to re-live the same day over and over again. He repeatedly makes poor choices, until he finally learns from his mistakes and is granted the ability to move on with his life. Sin...
NEW YORK (AP) — Manufacturers have been using technology to cut blue-collar jobs for years. Now, they’re targeting their white-collar workers, too. Factory Automation Systems makes machines that help companies cut, bundle and load products faster and cheaper than humans can. But it didn’t realize how much technology could help its own business until the Great Recession hit. To save money, the Atlanta company cut nine workers doing administrative tasks, like booking flights, answering phones, managing employee benefits and ordering parts and s...
It’s not so easy being a college kid these days. The job market for recent graduates has been shaky while, at the same time, students are leaving school with more debt than ever before. If you have children who will someday be attending college, should you be worried? You might indeed have cause for concern. Americans now owe more on student loans than on credit cards, according to the Federal Bank of New York, the U.S. Department of Education and other sources. For the college class of 2011, the most recent year for which figures are a...
Omaha — Sam & Louie’s has been named one of Entrepreneur’s Top 500 Franchises in the United States, a comprehensive ranking system based on companies’ financial and statistical data from July 2010 through July 2012. “We are honored and excited to be one of the best in the United States which includes all types of franchises, not just restaurants. We’re actively growing and are interested in expanding into more states and regions,” said Michael Nolan, Director of Franchising. To be eligible for the Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500® ranking, a franch...
Investors sometimes may get frustrated with their investments because those investments don’t seem to produce quick results. Perhaps that’s understandable in our fast-paced society, in which we’ve grown accustomed to instant gratification. But investing is, by nature, a long-term activity. If you look at it in terms of an athletic event, it’s not a sprint, in which you must pull out all the stops to quickly get where you’re going. Instead, it’s more like the 26.2-mile race known as a marathon. And as an investor, you can learn a few things...
As an investor, how can you avoid making mistakes? It’s not always easy, because investing can be full of potential pitfalls. But if you know what the most common mistakes are at different stages of an investor’s life, you may have a better chance of avoiding these costly errors. Let’s take a look at some investment mistakes you’ll want to avoid when you’re young, when you’re in mid-career, when you’re nearing retirement and when you’ve just retired. When you’re young ... Mistake: Investin...
NEW YORK (AP) – A last-minute surge in spending may have saved Christmas for stores. Major retailers such as Costco and Nordstrom on Thursday reported better-than-expected revenue in December. That comes as a relief for stores that can make up to 40 percent of their annual revenue during the winter holiday shopping period that runs from November through the end of December. Consumers had a lot to worry about this holiday, including cleanup after Superstorm Sandy and the possibility of the U.S. economy falling off the “fiscal cliff,” trigg...
Once again, it’s time to make some New Year’s resolutions. This year, in addition to promising yourself that you’ll hit the gym more often, learn a new language or take up a musical instrument – all worthy goals, of course – why not set some financial resolutions? Consider these suggestions: Boost your retirement account contributions. If your income will rise this year, consider putting more money into your employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b). You typically contribute pre-tax dollars to your plan, so, the m...
