Products September 4, 2008

S&P Announces Housing ETFs

Standard&Poor's has licensed MacroMarkets LLC to launch exchange-listed products based on the S&P /Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.
Reported by

A news release said the first of several exchange-listed products linked to U.S. housing is anticipated to begin trading on the NYSE/Arca later in 2008 and will reference the S&P/Case-Shiller Composite-10 Home Price Index.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Composite 10 Home Price Index is a weighted composite index of home prices in 10 major metropolitan areas (Metropolitan Statistical Areas, or MSAs). The 10 MSAs include Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York Commuter Index, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANADVISERdash daily newsletter.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, launched in 2006, track the price path of typical single-family homes using the repeat sales technique developed by Karl Case and Robert Shiller. Additionally, the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index represents home prices from all nine U.S. Census Divisions, drawing from more than 100 of the largest metropolitan areas and nearly 500 counties.

More information is available at www.homeprice.standardandpoors.com.

Data & Research September 4, 2008

Worker Finances Stretched Too Thin to Save

A third of workers are not participating in a retirement plan.
Reported by

The current economy has workers stretching their paychecks more than ever, according to a nationwide survey of over 7,192 workers by CareerBuilder.com.Nearly half of workers (47%) say they always or usually live paycheck to paycheck just to make ends meet, up from 43% last year, according to a press release. One in five (21%) workers with salaries of $100,000 or more also report they live paycheck to paycheck.

Stretching their income leaves little room to save. A quarter of workers say they do not put any money aside for savings each month, and of those who do save, 34% set aside less than $100 a month and 18% save $50 or less. In addition, a third of workers say they do not participate in a 401k, IRA, or other retirement plan.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANADVISERdash daily newsletter.

One in ten workers making more than $100,000 report putting no money into savings each month or participating in a 401k, IRA, or comparable retirement plan.

Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder.com, said in the press release, that nearly two-thirds of workers say they have a set budget each pay period, but only 19% admit to typically reviewing it. Four in 10 (42%) workers report they would need up to an additional $500 per paycheck to live comfortably, and 14% say they have to work more than one job to keep up with monthly expenses.

By gender, more female workers (54%) than male workers (41%) indicate they always or usually have to live paycheck to paycheck, while more men (77%) than women (72%) say they save some portion of their paycheck each month. Seventy percent of women claim to have a set budget, compared with 61% of men.

The survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com. It surveyed 2,770 hiring managers and human resource professionals and 7,192 full-time U.S. employees (not self-employed, non-government) ages 18 and older.

«