Financial Literacy

• CEE and JumpStart issue new standards to better reflect the digital world. (BusinessWire)

Advocacy

• Read about what is going on in New Mexico regarding mandating personal finance. (Santa Fe New Mexican)

Economics

• There has been a lot of coverage of the (negative) impacts on the economy of the fiscal response to the pandemic. A Wealth of Common Sense takes a “glass half-full” approach to the data instead. (lots of great graphs in this one)
• One of things discussed in the first article is how the “Great Resignation” can be perceived as a positive thing. For more on this Great Resignation read this article from the Atlantic.
• New regulations regarding Fed officials trading are coming soon. (NPR)

Cryptocurrencies

• Mining drops to zero of China after crack down. (Wired)
• We hear a lot about Bitcoin and some of the quirkier cryptocurrencies out there, but this is an important read on the stable coin “Tether,” far and away the coin with the highest trading volume. (Slate)
•  There are lots of good articles on the launching of now two bitcoin-futures ETF.

“Is the ProShares Bitcoin ETF too popular? (Fortune)

Pros help you decide whether or not this is something you might want to buy. (MarketPlace) (You can read or listen to this one.)

A second Bitcoin Futures ETF joins the fray, Valkyrie. (CoinDesk)

• “A ‘spot' bitcoin ETF 'ain’t so great’, says ProShares strategist ahead of provider's futures-linked fund.” MarketWatch

Investing

• SEC issues report on GameStop frenzy earlier this year (MarketPlace)
• The conclusion by the SEC? Brokers are making investing like a game in order to feed their growing appetite for revenue from “payment for order flow.” (CNBC)
• PayPal interested in buying Pinterest? This could set a new record for social media acquisitions. (Reuters)
• Did 142 million households really watch Squid Game? How many actually watched it? How might we know that? And why does it really matter? (The Guardian)

Budgeting

• To own a home, or to rent one—that is the question. More are rationally opting for the latter. (NYT-subscription may be required)

Financial Pitfalls

• Romance scams, especially aimed at older people, have increased during the pandemic. (WAPO-subscription may be required, but you can subscribe to the personal finance newsletter without a subscription.)

Just for Fun

• Take bets in your classroom regarding Facebook’s new name. (The Verge)

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.