Happy Thursday, MarketWatchers! Hope your weeks are going well. Here are the top stories of the day.
Personal Finance Millions of Americans have big financial fears that have nothing do with the stock market
Two-thirds of people in a new survey believe the economy will get scarier in the next 12 months.
How to spend a billion dollars: Try a $188M Bel-Air mansion or a $44M Gulfstream G500
Veteran rich people will tell you the two happiest days of their life were the day they bought their yacht — and the day they sold it.
Ex-student loan official: ‘We dropped a trillion dollars of debt into the market’ with little thought to oversight
Seth Frotman, the CFPB’s former student-loan ombudsman, made the case for changing the rhetoric around student debt.
People protest Trump’s proposed transgender legislation with donations
The administration is proposing to roll back legal recognition of the transgender community.
Is October really the best time of year to invest in the stock market?
After studying over 300 years of stock-market data, two finance professors say Halloween is a good day to invest.
After man is arrested for groping passenger, women speak about #MeToo at 35,000 feet
FBI says mixing alcohol and sleeping pills on flights increases risk of sexual assault.
Charles Schwab’s daughter: It’s ‘disturbing’ that the gender gap in finance starts so young
Young women spend less and work more, but have less saved, a new study suggests.
Child-care costs in America are getting close to $10,000 per year
A study released Monday calculates the annual average cost to send one kid to day care.
Why millennials are ditching religion for witchcraft and astrology
In tumultuous political times, the 18-30 demographic is reaching for the stars.
Gold medal-winning figure skater sues government over refusal to deem her ‘extraordinary’
Christina Carreira’s lawyers say more and more head scratching decisions on employment visas.
Elsewhere on MarketWatch Durable-goods orders up 0.8% in September on strong defense orders
Orders for durable goods rose 0.8% in September, on strong defense orders, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
Jobless claims rise slightly on effects of Hurricane Michael
Initial jobless claims rose 5,000 to 215,000 in the latest week, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Fed’s Clarida says more interest-rate hikes is the best way forward
Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida on Thursday says more interest-rate hikes are the best way forward for the central bank.
Mortgage rates edge higher as housing market cracks appear
Higher financing costs, combined with a scarcity of properties and other familiar headwinds, may be starting to diminish buyer demand in the housing market.
Donald Trump deserves some credit for economy’s strength
Although President Donald Trump is prone to hyperbole, he is not wrong to tout the strength of the economy on his watch, writes Michael Boskin.
Newt Gingrich: Media has earned ‘enemy of the people’ label
The media deserves the “enemy” label given to it by President Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich said Thursday, a day after explosive devices were sent to top Democrats and CNN.
‘The 1% never had it so good’: What key midterm candidates are saying about the economy now
With midterm elections only two weeks away, has the economy become a major talking point in the races that may determine Congress’s balance of power?
Draghi signals Brexit risks, Italy woes not knocking ECB off normalization path
The European Central Bank is but a spectator.
More than one-third of homeowners pay for renovations with credit cards
A new study shows that the share of American homeowners paying for home improvement projects and products with credit cards has risen each year since 2011, and now tops 36%.
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