Break from the Grind June 30, 2016

A Little Friday File Fun

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In Berlin, Germany, a court had to restart the trial of two men suspected of robbing a grocery store— because a judge kept nodding off during the proceedings. According to the Associated Press, the presiding judge decided it was better to start things over than provide immediate grounds for an appeal. German trials are typically heard by a panel of five judges—three professionals and two lay judges. It was one of the lay judges who couldn’t stay awake. It was the first day of the trial, and it was able to start again from scratch after an alternate judge took his place.

In Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, a father of a Salt Lake City businessman placed a $900 Idaho newspaper ad seeking women interested in marrying his 48-year-old son. The father had planned to meet potential candidates at a Coeur d’Alene resort, but managers asked his father not to conduct interviews there after getting barraged with media requests, according to an Associated Press news report. The son previously said the ad in the Coeur d’Alene Press was “embarrassing” but said he’d let his 78-year-old father go forward. About 12 women from around the U.S. expressed interest in the ad and will be interviewed in the coming weeks. The son says his father wants a grandchild to carry on the family name.

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In North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, a teacher has been taken to court after she was accidentally paid €237,000 in unearned salary. The state charged her with fraud, but the teacher told the court that her husband took care of their joint bank account, and he just didn’t notice her salary had stayed the same after she began working part-time, according to The Local. The court ruled that it was ultimately the fault of the state that the error occurred and gave the teacher three weeks to determine whether she is in the position to repay the money. If she can pay the money back, the case will be dropped due to its “triviality” the judges ruled.

In Greenfield, Wisconsin, a couple called 911 report they were being held hostage—by their cat. The local CBS News station reports that the caller said, “This is gonna sound like a strange question but we have a cat and it’s going crazy and it attacked my husband and we’re kind of hostage in our house and we’re just wondering who we should call to do something, get rid of the cat or help us.” The cat was captured and turned over to the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission.

Somewhere in China, a man spent more on a “lucky” license plate than he did on his car. The number 8 is considered the luckiest number in China, so he paid for the plate K-88888. However, it wasn’t so lucky, as the man was pulled over eight times in one day because police thought the plate was a fake—because it was a very expensive plate on a very cheap car.

In New York City, Kellogg Co. is opening its first cereal café on July 4. Reuters reports that a bowl of cereal at the cafe will cost anywhere between $6.50 and $7.50, and can be eaten in or taken out. There are plans to launch a delivery service later in the year. Celebrity chefs Christina Tosi, owner of Momofuku Milk Bar, and Anthony Rudolf of Journee, will provide the Kellogg’s cafe with new gourmet recipes, and toppings such as lime zest, thyme and malted milk powder will be available. Each bowl will come with a 12-ounce container of milk on the side.

This performance at the 2015 World Yo-Yo Contest is very entertaining.

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Using the Arizona heat to cook steaks and bake cookies.

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A Greek news reporter couldn’t finish his segment because of an overly friendly horse.

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Data and Research June 30, 2016

Millennials Show Investing, Retirement Confidence

More Millennials than Baby Boomers are confident that they’ll reach their retirement savings goal, a survey finds.
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Forty-two percent of Millennial investors say they are very knowledgeable about investments, compared to 17% of Baby Boomers, according to a survey by Securian Financial Group.

Twelve percent of Millennials say they are not very knowledgeable about investments, compared to 25% of Baby Boomers.

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While $1 million was most frequently cited by both generations as the amount they would need to save to feel confident in retirement, more Millennials (52%) than Boomers (45%) are confident that they’ll reach their savings goal. More Boomers (11%) than Millennials (4%) are not confident that they will reach their goal.

“Confidence is a trait younger generations of Americans have never possessed in short supply,” says David Kuplic, Securian’s chief investment officer and executive vice president of Advantus Capital Management, a Securian asset management subsidiary. “Their natural self-assurance, along with the market growth most have experienced since coming of investment age after the financial crisis, could explain the gap between Millennials and Boomers, who have experienced many more highs and lows.”

However, because Boomers have more experience with market volatility, more Millennials than Baby Boomers expressed high levels of concern about market volatility (42% and 29%, respectively) and its impact on them reaching their retirement goals (49% and 39%, respectively). Millennial investors also are more concerned than Boomers about protecting themselves from a volatile market (54% and 43%) and understanding the reasons behind a volatile market (51% and 37%).

Millennials are far more likely than Boomers to take action (i.e., buy more shares, sell shares, shift shares) during periods of market volatility. Most Boomers—59%—say their typical reaction to a falling market is to leave their portfolio alone, compared to 37% of Millennials. Similarly, in a rising market, 61% of Boomers say they make no changes to their portfolio, compared to 40% of Millennials.

Thirty-nine percent of Millennials and a majority of Boomers (51%) say they are moderate investors, but surprisingly, more Millennials (15%) than Boomers (8%) say they are very conservative investors.

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of both Millennials and Boomers seek investment advice from financial advisers. The second-most cited source of investment advice for Millennials is family (54%) and for Boomers is news outlets (39%).

Millennials are much more likely than Boomers to seek advice from money management websites (49% and 29%, respectively), banks (41% and 15%), friends (39% and 18%), blogs (25% and 7%) and social media (13% and 3%).

To compare generational investment behaviors and reactions to the market volatility that began late last summer, Securian Financial Group conducted a survey of 1,997 investors, inclusive of 1,040 Millennials and 957 Baby Boomers. The survey report is here.

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