Here are three of the week's top pieces of financial advice, gathered from around the web:
The downsides of early retirement
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Eleven kids with an odd superpower
"The fate of the world's largest exchange-traded fund rests on the health of a group of 20-somethings," said Rachel Evans at Bloomberg. SPY, the first ETF in the U.S., was organized as a trust when it was established in 1993 — an unusual structure that allowed its creators to set up "units" that traded much like shares in a company. However, an arcane rule required the trust fund to have a specified termination date. The founders chose to peg it to the life spans of 11 "ordinary kids" born between May 1990 and January 1993. As a result, "SPY as we know it will cease to be on Jan. 22, 2118, or 20 years 'after the death of the last survivor of the 11 persons' — whichever occurs first." At least eight of the 11 kids had ties to the American Stock Exchange, which structured the ETF, but none were aware of their role in investing history.
On 'vacation,' still at work
"Too often, employees are made to feel like there's no good time for them to get away," said Alison Green at Slate. This is ridiculous. "When paid vacation time is part of your benefits, letting some of it go unused is like taking money out of your paycheck and handing it back to your employer." Still, some offices even expect people to "remain available" to work while they're away. "Many states don't require companies to pay out remaining vacation time when an employee leaves — making the time off that they earned truly use-it-or-lose-it." Employers need to treat vacation time like any other compensation they owe employees. And employees "need to be better about insisting on taking the time off" — and I mean truly off.
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Is hands-off investing the way to go?The Explainer In many cases, your money might be better off left alone
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Sloth fever shows no signs of slowing downThe explainer The vector-borne illness is expanding its range
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'With every technological advance, there are risks'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
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The pros and cons of noncompete agreementsThe Explainer The FTC wants to ban companies from binding their employees with noncompete agreements. Who would this benefit, and who would it hurt?
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What experts are saying about the economy's surprise contractionThe Explainer The sharpest opinions on the debate from around the web
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The death of cities was greatly exaggeratedThe Explainer Why the pandemic predictions about urban flight were wrong
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The housing crisis is hereThe Explainer As the pandemic takes its toll, renters face eviction even as buyers are bidding higher
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How to be an ally to marginalized coworkersThe Explainer Show up for your colleagues by showing that you see them and their struggles
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What the stock market knowsThe Explainer Publicly traded companies are going to wallop small businesses
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Can the government save small businesses?The Explainer Many are fighting for a fair share of the coronavirus rescue package
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How the oil crash could turn into a much bigger economic shockThe Explainer This could be a huge problem for the entire economy
