Many people are swept up in buying gifts for their loved ones this time of year, but you can't forget to wrap up your financial obligations! Chris Hogan, Financial Expert and Author of "Retire Inspired", joins Your Cheddar to discuss what you need to do before the ball drops to ring in the new year.
Hogan says it's important to take a look at any leftover money from your 2017 budget and look at retirement options. You may still have time to increase your 401(k) contribution and consider contributing your yearly bonus toward retirement.
Plus, how certain states will be impacted by the Senate passing its tax reform bill. Hogan advises people to make sure all their paperwork is in order so they hit any end-of-the-year deadlines.
Following Ford's earnings miss, the stock price dropped despite a bullish outlook from the auto giant. Karl Brauer, an executive analyst with ISeeCars.com, joined Cheddar to break down why investors may not be sold on the carmaker because of the ongoing factor of supply constraints. "The product is not an issue. There's really good product coming from them, including the electric vehicle side, and the demand is not an issue. There's plenty of demand, but nobody really has a solid grasp on when we're going to get past the supply chain issue," said Brauer.
Image-sharing app Pinterest reported big beats on its Q4 earnings for the top and bottom lines. The social platform surprised investors after seeing a decline in users while earnings and revenue were much higher than expected.
The Labor Department's January jobs report showed 467,000 jobs were added, compared to the 150,000 that were projected, a sign that employment is continuign to return to pre-pandemic levels. Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at investment bank Stifel, joined Cheddar to break down the report, noting the big gains but adding a note of caution. "Remember, even with this morning's stellar report, we're still millions below that level that we had reached prior to the onset of COVID-19," she said." Yes, we are recapturing jobs. We still have further ground that needs to be made before we can talk about reaching that previous peak." Piegza also discussed the role of the Federal Reserve going forward as the employment figures turn more positive.
