Individuals and families are increasingly responsible for their own savings and investment decisions. We will enjoy longer lives and life expectancies are expected to increase. At the same time, the standard of living provided by a given amount of income is likely to fall over time due to inflation, as prices of goods and services more commonly increase rather than decrease. Hence, we need to supplement public and private retirement benefits with additional savings. Retirement readiness requires an intelligent management of money over our lifetimes - saving during our working years and then drawing down assets when we retire, as predicted by the life-cycle model.

Europe's gas and power concerns have been fading recently, driven by a fortuitous combination of a mild winter and lower demand for energy. This is good news. But the current gas prices are not low and Europe's gas supply remains fragile. Elevated energy prices are a significant contributor to inflation and a large drag on European growth for this year, at least. 

Europe's gas and power concerns have been fading recently, driven by a fortuitous combination of a mild winter and lower demand for energy. This is good news. But the current gas prices are not low and Europe's gas supply remains fragile. Elevated energy prices are a significant contributor to inflation and a large drag on European growth for this year, at least.