Wednesday,
October 2, 2024
Market recap
Dow Jones
42,156.97
-173.18 (-0.41%)
S&P 500
5,708.75
-53.73 (-0.93%)
Nasdaq
17,910.36
-278.81 (-1.53%)
Top Story
Home heating costs are set to rise again
Winter is coming… and you’ll feel it in your energy bill. Home heating costs are expected to go up during the coming colder months. Here’s why.
US stocks finished lower on Tuesday
• Major stock indexes pulled back from all-time highs amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which sent U.S. oil prices more than 5% higher intraday.
• U.S. job openings jumped from around 7.7 million in July to more than 8 million in August, soaring past estimates, and signaling resilience in the labor market.
What to be on the lookout for today
• More jobs data in the form of the ADP Employment Report.
• We’ll also get the weekly update to the 30-year fixed mortgage rate.
• In earnings, consumer goods giant Conagra Brands and jeans-maker Levi Strauss will report.
Ways to Identify Phishing Scams
The costs of cybercrime are estimated to surpass $10 trillion by 2025. That’s trillion with a ‘T’, meaning that it's ever more important that you do everything you can to protect yourself from scams.
Phishing is defined as sending messages pretending to be from a reputable source to get you to reveal personal information, such as passwords or credit card numbers. Here are a few things to look out for to help you identify phishing scams.
Look Out For Bad Grammar
Messages from scammers and cybercriminals are often riddled with poor grammar, misspellings, or might just feel "off".
This can be a red flag, especially if the message supposedly comes from a major corporation. You can also check the email address the message comes from to make sure it's from the registered domain of the company it says it's coming from.
Be Careful If It's "Urgent"
Scammers often prey on people's sense or urgency. Maybe it's a supposed friend or relative in a dangerous situation, or a special offer that will only be available for a limited time. Many phishing scams depend on this sense of urgency — if you get an email or text message that requires immediate action, make sure to confirm that it's real.
Cyber insurance is another way you can protect yourself against cybercrime.
Today’s top stories
Younger business owners struggle with financial literacyThe entrepreneurial spirit is thriving in younger generations — but the financial specifics can pose a challenge.
Read more >> What happened in the markets in September?Between the Federal Reserve’s highly anticipated interest rate cut, investors worried about the labor market, and watched Chinese stocks go through the roof.
Read more >>Other news that caught our eye
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Dockworkers at 36 East and Gulf Coast ports have gone on strike for the first time in decades. The strike could cause supply chain issues, product shortages, and price hikes.
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Pre-sales of Apple’s iPhone 16 are lackluster, per analyst estimates, a disconcerting sign for the tech giant’s AI features, which will roll out on the new devices.
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Wawa was voted the top convenience store in the U.S. The Philly chain topped the American Customer Satisfaction Index’s first-ever convenience store ranking.
Financial planner tip of the day
“Your debt-to-income ratio, or DTI, tells lenders how much of your monthly income is being used to pay your debts. In general, lenders prefer to see less than about 30% of an applicant’s income going toward debt payments each month. Paying off debts can improve your DTI to a more creditworthy percentage for lenders to consider when assessing your mortgage loan application.”
Brian Walsh, CFP® at SoFi