With the pendulum that is our economy, lets take a look at the banking industry this week. George Bush just announced a $250 billion plan for the government to buy shares in banks in hopes of turning around the financial market. The money will be used in recapitolizing nine of the nation's major banks. This has given encouragement to investors, which saw a historic 936 point jump on the Dow Jones industrial average.
This plan comes in just after the announcement of the sale of Wachovia and Washington Mutual. The selling of Wachovia to Wells Fargo probably will not hurt the Portland area as much as the selling of WaMu to JPMorgan Chase. Washington Mutual is a Seattle based company and probably had quite a few people still banking with them. Wells Fargo, another Northwest based bank out of San Francisco has stayed steady during rocky times and never got too wild. So for those of you trying to decide on what bank to invest your money in, you should definitely choose one that is very steady in today's economy.
The financial crisis has also effected those looking to retire earlier. Pensions in the last 15 months have lost an estimated $2 trillion. Those who nearing retirement are realizing that they must work longer just to afford retiring. A new AARP study shows that 1 in 5 workers over the age of 45 have stopped putting money into their 401(k), IRA, and other retirement savings accounts in the past year. Also it shows that 1 in 4 are working longer hours. Wiser Worker has weighed in on this and determined the value of $2 trillion. With the necessity of staying in the workforce longer, here is where you can do your part.
So what do you think Portland about what is going on in the banking industry? Or the prolonged retirement for those that have been ready to retire, but just can't? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
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