MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN DC IN 2015: Yellen has a daunting set of tasks before her. She must manage the continued shift away from extraordinary assistance to a more normal policy footing without stomping on the brakes too fast and sending the U.S. economy crashing back into recession. And she must do it while Europe, Japan and even emerging economies including China suffer and the world grows increasingly dependent on U.S. growth. The big challenge, of course, will be smooth communication to markets on when and how rates will start to rise now that U.S. joblessness is falling back to normal levels and wage growth is likely (but not certain) to follow. Read more
FOR MANY AMERICANS, RETIREMENT WON’T BE GOLDEN: As demographic, economic and political factors alter the retirement landscape, Americans have to radically change their post-career financial plans. They will have to work longer and change their lifestyles both before and during retirement. Read more
ARE RETAIL SITES REALLY READY FOR ONLINE SHOPPERS?: Best Buy’s website came back online Friday morning, after an extended outage during one of the busiest shopping days of the year. This comes after other shutdowns, all begging the question: Are these company sites prepared for the flood of shoppers this season, and what could be the impact of more glitches heading into peak shopping month? Read more
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