2016 could be a great year for wages
Wages are expected to rise at the fastest rate in 3 years (Korn Ferry)
Global people and organizational advisory firm Korn Ferry says wages are expected to increase by 2.5% globally in 2016, making for the fastest rate of increase in three years. Asia is expected to see the biggest wage growth, up 6.4%. However, that number is down from last year's 6.8% growth. Real wage growth of 2.7% is expected in the US while 2.3% real growth is expected in Europe. Deflation in Greece has the country projected to see real wage growth of 3.4%.
Tesla delivered more than 50,000 vehicles in 2015 (Business Insider)
Tesla delivered 50,580 vehicles in 2015. While impressive, the number was on the low end of the 50,000-to-55,000 range the company had forecast in the middle of 2015, and it was well short of the 55,000 it was projecting at the beginning of the year. According to a statement released by Tesla, "Model X deliveries are in line with the very early stages of our Model X production ramp as we prioritize quality above all else."
ETFs continue to gain popularity (Bloomberg)
Exchange-traded funds attracted $347 billion in 2015, making for a second straight year of record inflows. Asset manager BlackRock reeled in $129 billion worth of new funds, the tops in the industry. BlackRock says about $10 billion, or 8%, of the new funds it attracted came from money moving out of the swaps and futures business.
Fed's Williams expects between 3 and 5 rate hikes in 2016 (Reuters)
San Francisco Fed President John Williams believes the Fed will raise interest rates as much as five times in 2016. Williams told CNBC, "In terms of those developments ricocheting into the U.S. economy, I think we have really really strong fundamentals, in terms of consumer spending, in terms of our economic trajectory, so right now at least this isn't a big concern for me." In addition, Williams suggested weakness in the Chinese economy and the rocky start for China's stock market in 2016 are "not major concerns in terms of systemic risk right now." The Fed projects it will end 2016 with a fed funds rate between 1.25% and 1.50%.
Some ways to fix FINRA's expungement process (Financial Planning)
A December report released by FINRA's arbitration task force highlighted 51 ways the agency could change its arbitration and expungement processes. Some of the recommendations made by the task force include: stop making clients regulators, charging brokers for their expungement proceedings and allowing clients to testify at expungement hearings. According to Financial Planning, FINRA will hold a meeting laster this month to discuss the panel's recommendations.