It seems like last week, many pundits were forecasting gloom and doom. (Elon Musk has a “super bad feeling” and is laying off staff. (Yahoo Finance)) This week, read what those arguing for calm are thinking, in addition to the latest on inflation, crypto, and investing.

Economics

• Are we in/headed for a recession? Barry Ritholtz doesn’t feel a recession is inevitable.  Claudia Sahm, senior fellow at the Jain Family, agrees that we are not in a recession. (StayAtHomeMacro) And Vox points out all of the positive things going on in the current economy.
• The global picture, however, is different. The World Bank is forecasting unavoidable recessions on the horizon for many countries more directly impacted by the war in Ukraine and grain/food and oil-related shortages and high prices. (Yahoo Finance)
• The May CPI came in hotter than expected by many: 1% for the month, and 8.6% year-on-year. (CNBC)
• Gas prices vary greatly across the country, but the average price in the country just topped $5 per gallon. (GasBuddy)
• “Shrinkflation” is happening on a much broader scale. (AP)

Crypto

• Read about the proposed bipartisan legislation that would regulate crypto and digital assets. (AP)
• A data scientist from Rice University takes a really close look at the crypto and finds that it is neither anonymous nor decentralized in reality. (NYT)
• There is a big difference between the wealthy and the rest of the world when it comes to their crypto investing behavior—the wealthy hold onto it, the rest don’t. (Quartz)

Investing

• SEC is trying to overhaul how retail trading is conducted, eliminating “pay for order flow” after the 2021 GameStop romp. (Reuters) (Bloomberg)
• Its been a rough several years for the traditional 60-40 portfolio. (Wealth of Common Sense)
• Morningstar published the results of a really interesting study comparing returns to portfolios of Vanguard active versus passive funds since 1992.

Paying for College

• Nine million borrowers are eligible for student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. (Forbes)

About the Author

Beth Tallman

Beth Tallman entered the working world armed with an MBA in finance and thoroughly enjoyed her first career working in manufacturing and telecommunications, including a stint overseas. She took advantage of an involuntary separation to try teaching high school math, something she had always dreamed of doing. When fate stepped in once again, Beth jumped on the opportunity to combine her passion for numbers, money, and education to develop curriculum and teach personal finance at Oberlin College. Beth now spends her time writing on personal finance and financial education, conducts student workshops, and develops finance curricula and educational content. She is also the Treasurer of Ohio Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.