As we await an anticipated government shutdown, at least the writers’ strike seems to be over! And don’t miss the 25 fun facts about Google, which turned 25 this week, among the rest of the list. This week’s reading list includes several investing articles and a variety of other articles for your weekend reading.

Headlines

• Google turned 25 this week! Here are some fun facts about Google you may not have known. (CBC.kids)
• The Writers’ strike is over. Read about their new contract. (NPR)
• Do you know any government workers who may be impacted by a shutdown? Michelle Singletary of the Washington Post has some advice in this Q&A.
• The PCE index, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, rose less than expected in August, and consumer spending slowed down. (CNBC)

Investing

• There were several charts from Visual Capitalist on investing this week.
  • How is the $103 Trillion Global Equity Market split across the world?
  • What is actually driving the US stock market returns?
  • Which types of stocks are Retail Investors buying?

• Ben Carlson runs down his beliefs about investing. (A Wealth of Common Sense)
• Delve into why it is so hard to invest for the long term with this article from Behavioral Investing.
• The post-pandemic housing market is worth and estimated 49% more than the pre-pandemic market. (Zillow)
• Which cities saw the largest and smallest increases in home prices this past year? (MarketWatch)

Economics

• Barry Ritholz puts the current Economic situation into perspective and explains how there were really no good choices for policy during the Pandemic. (The Big Picture)
• The Federal Trade Commission and seventeen states have brought an antitrust case against Amazon, but the bar for their case is pretty high. (CNN)(Reuters)

Paying for College

• The College Cost Transparency Initiative started the conversation, and now hundreds of colleges have agreed to make their financial aid more transparent. (WAPO)

Scams

• It appears that GenZ is more likely to fall for online scams than Boomers. How much can be explained by the fact that they spend SO much more time online. (Vox)

Taxes

• Do you mention property taxes in either your tax or budgeting unit? It certainly impacts how much of a house you can afford. And New Jersey has the highest property tax rate in the country. Don't Mess With Taxes

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.