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Did you sleep?
click to enlarge A good night’s sleep gets harder as we age, but that doesn’t mean we’re doomed to being sleep-deprived zombies after 40. Typically starting in midlife, we wake up more often, have trouble falling back to sleep, and rise for the day too early. About 55% of Americans ages 40 to 49 and about 58% of those ages 50 to 64 have “low general sleep health,” which includes not sleeping the recommended seven to nine hours a night, not feeling well-rested and having trouble falling or staying asleep, according to 2023 survey data from the National Sleep Foundation, a nonprofit group. There are many reasons why many sleep troubles hit in middle age, including stress, medical conditions and normal biological changes. Here’s what happens to sleep as we age—and how we can improve our shut-eye. Your ‘sleep architecture’ changes Starting in our 20s, the amount of deep sleep we get during the night starts to decline, says Philip Gehrman, professor of psychology at the University of ...
700-Year-Old Glass Industry
Europe's Gas Crisis Could Shatter A 700-Year-Old Glass Industry In Venice | Still Standing
Rates Hurt
Rates Hurt Consumers in the market for loans to buy homes and cars are discovering that, because of the Federal Reserve’s rate increases, their money gets them a lot less than it would have a few years ago. Meanwhile, those with credit cards and other loans that carry rates pegged to broader benchmarks are finding they have gotten much more expensive . Fed officials signaled last week that they plan to keep interest rates high for quite a while. For families who don’t need to borrow , higher rates might not affect daily life too much. But for those who do, the Fed’s aggressive rate increases are really beginning to sting. “The bite is starting now,” said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab . Average monthly car payment, second quarter Source: Experian Used-car loan 2018 '19 '20 '21 '22 '23 0 200 400 600 $800 Borrowers shopping for mortgages or auto loans are experiencing sticker shock. New 30-year fixed-rate mor...
Cash secured Options
Cash-Secured Puts: A cash-secured put involves selling (or "writing") a put option and simultaneously setting aside enough cash to purchase the stock if it drops to the option's strike price and gets assigned to you. Essentially, you're agreeing to buy the stock at a certain price if it falls to that level. In return, you receive a premium for selling the put. Here's a simple example: You sell a put option on Stock XYZ with a strike price of $50, and you receive a premium of $3 for each option. If Stock XYZ never drops to $50 or below before the option's expiration, you keep the $3 premium. If Stock XYZ falls below $50 and you're assigned, you're obligated to buy 100 shares (for each option contract) at $50, even if the stock is trading at a lower market price. However, you've already received the $3 premium, which offsets some of the potential loss. Covered Calls: A covered call strategy involves owning (or buying) a stock and selling call optio...
TikTok UNHAPPY
SINGAPORE—As TikTok pushes to expand its e-commerce business globally, the viral short-video app is turning to a group of sellers for help: Chinese merchants. TikTok is hoping such vendors will expand its online retail offerings. However, the app’s background as a haven for catchy dances and lip syncs has confounded even experienced sellers, more accustomed to retailing on traditional shopping platforms such as Amazon.com. Lina Pan, a 46-year-old Chinese merchant based in Chaozhou, southern China, sold soap dispensers and shampoo bottles through a store she set up on TikTok. She paid $4,300 for access to a seven-hour prerecorded class, in which the instructor promised to unveil the secrets to “earning millions” on TikTok. The course led her to post videos dishing out household tips, such as using Coca-Cola to remove stains from toilet bowls and frying pans and nifty ways to slice up pineapples.The millions didn’t materialize. “Selling on TikTok is just not as easy as I thought it...