When it comes to our retirement nest egg, we can’t help but wonder where we stand compared to our cohorts.While Vanguard’s newly released “How America Saves” yearly report reveals that Americans’ 401(k) savings rates are at record highs — making up an average $148,153 balance and a median $38,176 balance, in 2024 — this is how Vanguard participants’ balances shake out by age group.Average and median 401(k) balance by ageBelow are the average and median account balances broken up by age groups, according to the Vanguard report. You’ll see that the averages are much higher than the median figures since…
Author: usaeverydaylife
Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on June 25, 2025.NYSE Have we gone back in time? It certainly seems on the markets front. Just look at the S&P 500 and you will think that it’s back in February — before U.S. President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs, before the White House’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” and before the war between Israel and Iran. On February 19, the broad-based index closed at an all-time high of 6,144.15. Yesterday, it ended the trading session at 6,092.16. That’s a difference of less than 1%. A light breeze (or rogue social media…
Niphon | Istock | Getty ImagesOpenAI is putting a spotlight on an under-the-radar artificial intelligence startup that it believes is on the “front line” of China’s race to lead the world in AI — and its not DeepSeek. In a blog post on Wednesday, the company wrote that Beijing-backed Zhipu AI has made “notable progress” in the AI race, as global competition ramps up.Zhipu AI, founded in 2019, has been referred by domestic media as one of China’s “AI tigers” — a class of large language model unicorns seen as key to Beijing’s efforts to rival the U.S. and reduce its…
A close-up view of the illuminated red H&M logo in front of a display of women’s summer dresses and casual apparel at a retail store.Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesSwedish clothing giant H&M on Thursday reported weaker-than-expected sales in the fiscal second quarter but pointed to an uptick in demand to kick-start the summer season.Revenues at the world’s second-largest clothing retailer dipped year-on-year to 56.71 billion Swedish krona ($5.99 billion) in the three-month period to May. 31, slightly below the 57.01 billion Swedish krona forecast by LSEG analysts.Operating profit totaled 5.9 billion Swedish krona over the quarter, in…
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 25, 2025. Jeenah Moon | ReutersStock futures ticked higher early Thursday as the S&P 500 remains within striking distance of its all-time high.S&P 500 futures rose 0.12%, and the Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.17%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 38 points, or 0.09%.The moves come after the S&P 500 finished Wednesday’s session flat, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 106.59 points, or about 0.3%. The three indexes are still on…
CHICAGO — BlackRock’s Rick Rieder is confident a stock market nearing all-time highs can go even higher in the second half of 2025, as inflation comes down because of artificial intelligence. “I think it’s the greatest technology revolution ever. So, what does it mean? My personal view, inflation is coming way down,” Rieder said Wednesday during a keynote speech at the Morningstar Investment Conference. The investment chief of global fixed income said he expects the productivity gains to be made from artificial intelligence will offset any hit to inflation from tariffs, which he said will be a one-time adjustment for…
A worker puts konbu sea weed on rice on the riceball production line at the processing factory of Fuji Foods Co., in Funabashi, Chiba, Japan, on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. Riceballs are one of the 7-Eleven Japan’s most important products, with more than 2 billion sold each year. Photographer: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAfter months of increasing rice prices, Japanese consumers may be finally getting some relief.Data from Japan’s agriculture ministry revealed that the average price of a five-kg bag of rice had fallen to 3,920 yen ($27.03) for the week ending June 15, which…
A semiconductor wafer is on display at Touch Taiwan, an annual display exhibition in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 16, 2025.Ann Wang | ReutersChip stocks in Asia rose Thursday, after artificial intelligence darling Nvidia’s shares hit a record close to reclaim the title of the world’s most valuable company.Shares of South Korea’s SK Hynix, which supplies memory chips to Nvidia, gained 3.53%. TSMC, which manufactures Nvidia’s high-performance graphics processing units that help power large language models, saw a smaller rise of 0.47%.Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry — also known as Foxconn — was 0.77% higher. It has a strategic partnership with Nvidia to build “AI…
ASEAN member nations’ flags outside the Pullman Hotel, the venue for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ retreat meeting in Luang Prabang, Laos, in January 2024.Tang Chhin Sothytang Chhin Sothy | Afp | Getty ImagesThe U.S. and China are usually top of mind when it comes to artificial intelligence and generative AI. But Southeast Asia’s small businesses have huge potential that shouldn’t be ignored, experts say.In fact, it’s a matter of survival, according to Jochen Wirtz, a professor of marketing at the National University of Singapore Business School, who said those that fall behind will be “moved into a franchise business or…
Swedish meatballs at an IKEA in Causeway Bay is listed as out of stock after after Czech authorities detected horse meat in the company’s meatballs which are supposed to make up of pork and beef only. South China Morning Post | Getty ImagesIkea shoppers will see price cuts of up to 50% at many of the company’s restaurants globally, as the Swedish retail giant aims to attract cost-conscious consumers.The steep price cuts will be a temporary measure to help consumers “stretch their budgets” at a time of heightened economic uncertainty and high cost-of-living pressure, the company said, without specifying when…
