Crypto Currency

• Bitcoin value is going wild….again. Michelle Singletary explains why the average person should resist the temptation to get into the game. (WAPO)
• One week post-announcement, Libra coverage continues. The Economist takes two looks at it: the first article discusses the mechanics of a global digital currency, and the second discusses how it might impact the banking system.
• US Regulators are looking to dig into this proposal. (CNN)
• Coin Desk astutely discusses how momentous this could actually be, and focuses on identity and trust issues.

Investing

• Some interesting truths about stock market myths. (USA Today)
• Here is a slightly longer read (and a 40 minute podcast), on the history (and future) of impact investing from Knowledge@Wharton. This is a topic my college students were very interested in.
• The year’s first half comes to an end. Here is what it looked like for stocks and treasuries as compared to previous years.

Student Loans

• A slight drop in interest rates on Federal loans announced for 2019-2020 loans. (Forbes)
• Last week we posted that the US Treasury proposed making a personal finance class mandatory in college. This MarketWatch piece was appeared this week, with a negative title, implying this won’t fix the student loan crisis. If you can get past the negativity, there are some good points in here, like how the reality of the gig economy makes much of traditional personal finance theory less relevant. Look also at what Indiana University is doing to help its students.
• (Here is Annamaria Lusardi's discussion of this Treasury proposal on for CNBC.)
• Cullen Roache, The Pragmatic Capitalist, gives his opinion on the policy proposal to forgive student debt. You may have your own opinion, but he frames the issue well, and offers an interesting solution. He suggests we adopt the Australian method of handling student debt to solve the problem.

Financial Literacy/Advocacy

• North Carolina and Rhode Island have legislation moving through the legislative approval process. (MarketWatch)

Inspiration for the week:

• An inspirational story about a 13-year old that makes you realize one person can make a difference, even a kid, and one that has some physical limitations. (WAPO)

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