Raphael Stevens

It’s been a tough year for municipal bonds with investors cashing out amid rising interest rates.
But higher yields compared to U.S. Treasurys and strong credit ratings may be sparking a shift, experts say.
“I think that public finance upgrades will outpace downgrades in 2022,” said Tom Kozlik, head of municipal research and analytics at HilltopSecurities. 

David Jakle | Image Source | Getty Images

It’s been a tough year for municipal bonds, with investors cashing out amid rising interest rates. However, higher yields and strong credit may be sparking a shift, experts say.
While investors piled a record-breaking $96.8 billion of net money into U.S. muni mutual and exchange-traded funds in 2021, weekly inflows have been negative for most of 2022, according to Refinitiv Lipper data.

Last week’s numbers were still negative, but outflows slowed significantly, signaling more interest, according to Tom Kozlik, head of municipal research and analytics at HilltopSecurities. 
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One of the reasons may be a higher so-called municipal-Treasury ratio, comparing muni bonds and nearly risk-free Treasury yields, explained Kozlik. The higher the percentage, the more attractive muni bonds become.
“I’m not necessarily saying we’re going to see a complete turnaround in the next week or two,” he said. “But we are going to see bits of strengthened demand through the summer.”
With many muni bonds maturing in June and July, he expects investors to roll their money back into these assets, contributing to positive inflows. 

I think that public finance upgrades will outpace downgrades in 2022.

Tom Kozlik
head of municipal research and analytics at HilltopSecurities

A popular asset for higher earners, muni bonds generally avoid federal taxes on interest and may skirt state and local levies, depending on where you live.
“I think that public finance upgrades will outpace downgrades in 2022,” said Kozlik, pointing to “very strong” credit ratings.

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Levi now sees annual revenue growing in a range of 6% to 8%, up from prior targets of 4% to 6%, through 2027.
For fiscal 2022, it still projects sales to increase between 11% and 13% from 2021 levels, with adjusted earnings per share falling within a range of $1.50 to $1.56.
In the next five years, Levi also said it aims to expand its direct-to-consumer business to 55% of total sales and triple e-commerce revenue.

A sign is posted in front of the Levi Strauss & Co. headquarters on April 09, 2021 in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Levi Strauss & Co. on Wednesday maintained its outlook for the full year and boosted its financial targets over the next five years as the denim retailer grows its e-commerce business.
The company views itself as much stronger than it was before the Covid pandemic and since its public market debut in March 2019.

“We are reaffirming full-year guidance, despite all the headwinds,” Chief Financial Officer Harmit Singh said in an interview, ahead of Levi’s annual investor day event. “The trends we’re seeing in the business give us confidence,” Singh said. “We are looking at the short term, while also not losing sight of the long term.”
In recent weeks, retailers from Walmart to Abercrombie & Fitch have alluded to the challenges that they are facing, from ongoing supply chain problems and mismatched inventories, to red-hot inflation and a potential pullback in consumer spending.
Retail executives have said that lower-income shoppers are already feeling the pinch of higher prices on goods and adjusting their budgets accordingly, while wealthier households are splurging on new outfits, makeup and luggage for summer travel. The split in behavior has resulted in a similar divide in the retail industry. So far this earnings season, luxury and high-end brands — from Canada Goose to Michael Kors parent Capri Holdings — have largely outperformed businesses that cater to price-conscious consumers.
Levi doesn’t expect the volatile economic backdrop will dent demand for its jeans.
It now sees annual revenue growing in a range of 6% to 8%, up from prior targets of 4% to 6%, through 2027. If achieved, that would bring Levi’s revenue close to $10 billion five years from now.

For fiscal 2022, it still projects sales to increase between 11% and 13% from 2021 levels, with adjusted earnings per share falling within a range of $1.50 to $1.56. Analysts had been looking for revenue to rise 11.8%, with Levi earning a per-share adjusted profit of $1.55, according to Refinitiv data.
By 2027, Levi said it aims to expand its direct-to-consumer business to 55% of total sales and triple e-commerce revenue.
Levi’s direct business accounted for about 36% of total sales in the retailer’s latest fiscal year that ended Nov. 28. Digital revenue, including from wholesale partners, made up 22% of total revenue of $5.8 billion that year, according to an annual filing.
“As we continue to scale [e-commerce], that business becomes a lot more profitable,” Chief Executive Officer Chip Bergh said in an interview. “Before the pandemic, our e-commerce business was a money-loser.”
In addition to growing online, Levi is also pushing shoppers to buy more than just the company’s iconic denim bottoms. It’s aiming to nearly double revenue from tops by 2027. Levi is also projecting its women’s business, which accounts for about one-third of sales currently, will double by then.
According to Singh, Levi’s women’s business has higher gross margins than the company’s overall average gross margins.
Levi anticipates its Dockers and Beyond Yoga banners to contribute combined revenue of nearly $1 billion by 2027. Levi acquired Beyond Yoga, famous for its women’s leggings and stretchy tops, for an undisclosed amount last year.
The company also announced Wednesday that its board approved the repurchase of up to $750 million in stock.
Shares of Levi are down about 28% this year.

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Months of stock market volatility may deliver smaller-than-expected 529 college savings plan balances. 
With school payments generally due in August, parents may consider short-term alternatives, such as paying in cash, borrowing from home equity or other investments.
However, 529 balances may not recover quickly, especially with interest rates on the rise, experts say.

Klaus Vedfelt | DigitalVision | Getty Images

Months of stock market volatility may deliver a costly surprise to parents sending children to school this fall: smaller-than-expected 529 college savings plan balances. 
The average 529 account size was $30,287 in 2021, according to the College Savings Plans Network, but families may now have lower balances, financial experts say.

And it may be a “rude awakening” for parents scrambling to make their first payments in August, said certified financial planner Lisa Kirchenbauer, founder and president of Omega Wealth Management in Arlington, Virginia. 
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Many 529 plans offer age-based portfolio allocations, shifting to more conservative assets as college approaches, such as stocks to bonds. But since bond values and market interest rates move in opposite directions, bond prices have fallen in 2022 amid rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
“You might only have a 4% or 5% spread between what your stocks and your bonds are doing, and they’re both double-digit losses,” said Byrke Sestok, a CFP and co-owner of Rightirement Wealth Partners in Harrison, New York. 
Smaller 529 accounts mean less money to cover college bills, and the solution may depend on several factors — how much you need, when bills are due and other funding sources.

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Some advisors suggest waiting to tap 529 accounts until the market rebounds. But there’s no guarantee waiting six to 10 months will pay off, Sestok warned, especially with more rate hikes on the horizon.

Alternative funding

While savings account yields are starting to creep higher, returns are still fairly low, making it an attractive option for covering short-term college expenses, Sestok said.
Of course, paying cash may be difficult with the average 2021-2022 tuition and fees for full-time undergraduate students ranging, according to the College Board, from $10,740 for in-state public schools to $38,070 for private schools.

With surging home prices, you may consider a home equity line of credit, or HELOC, allowing you to borrow money as needed, Sestok said.
HELOC rates may range from about 2% to more than 7%, depending on your credit, according to Bankrate.
Another option, portfolio loans or lines of credit, allow you to borrow against the assets in your investment account, with limits depending on how risky your assets are. “With securities-based lending, you’re likely to get a better rate,” Sestok said. 

Both options may provide temporary access to cash with the ability to pay off the loan with your 529 account later. However, you’ll need detailed record-keeping for the IRS since withdrawals for non-qualified expenses may incur taxes and a penalty.
And you’ll need to crunch the numbers by comparing the difference between interest rates to how much your 529 account is down, factoring in repayment timelines, Kirchenbauer said.
“Unfortunately, it’s not an easy no-brainer,” she added. 

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GM on Wednesday unveiled the Buick Wildcat, a new concept car designed to signal a revolutionary change for the brand.
The concept car reflects the future design and technological directions of the 119-year-old brand, including a significantly redesigned logo for the first time in more than 30 years.
Buick plans to offer only electric vehicles in North America by 2030.

Buick Wildcat concept

DETROIT — General Motors on Wednesday unveiled the Buick Wildcat, a new concept car designed to signal a revolutionary change for the brand, as it moves to offer only electric vehicles in North America by the end of this decade.
The car reflects the future design and technological directions of the 119-year-old brand, including a significantly redesigned logo for the first time in more than 30 years.

Buick marketing manager Rob Peterson said elements of the Wildcat will be included in Buick vehicles — both traditional internal combustion engine vehicles and EVs — starting next year.
“It is a very, very important concept for the Buick brand, because it is launching us in a new direction,” he told CNBC during an interview.

Buick Wildcat concept

A new gas-powered SUV with the new characteristics and logo will be unveiled this fall for the U.S. market, Peterson said. It is expected to go on sale next year.
While Buick is GM’s smallest vehicle lineup in the U.S., the brand is extremely important to the automaker in China, where it has been a prominent luxury player for decades.
GM has said that by 2035 it plans to offer only electric vehicles. Its luxury Cadillac brand has also set a separate goal to be all-electric by 2030.

New EV in 2024

Buick said its first EV for the U.S. is expected in 2024 on GM’s Ultium battery platform. It will be followed by several new EVs, and by 2030 the brand will no longer offer vehicles with internal combustion engines in North America, Peterson said.

Buick Wildcat concept

Buick’s future EVs will launch under the name Electra, a former vehicle name used by the brand for decades until 1990. Buick has used the Wildcat name for nearly 70 years, including for other concept vehicles and production cars in the 1960s and 1970s.
The company is counting on its move to electric vehicles to help shake off its stodgy image as a maker of vehicles for senior citizens and to help attract new, younger buyers.
“The best way to change persona is through design language and through messaging, and I think that the sophistication of this new design language is going to be one of the fastest ways to get more people thinking about this,” Peterson said. “We won’t miss this opportunity.”

Buick Wildcat concept

Not only does the concept vehicle carry a new logo and design, but it’s also a smaller, sleeker Buick than what’s currently on the market. The brand has exclusively offered crossovers or SUVs since the 2021 model year.
Automakers routinely use concept vehicles to gauge customer interest or show the future direction of a vehicle or brand. The vehicles are not meant to be sold to consumers.
Peterson said Buick will continue to focus on producing new SUVs, though he didn’t completely nix the idea of launching a car for the brand at some point.
Buick chose to release a concept car, instead of an SUV, to assist with its dynamic looks and proportions, said Therese Pinazzo, Buick exterior and interior design manager.
“We’re all about sculptural beauty. This is the new face of Buick, and it really just allows us a perfect canvas,” she said. “This ends up being an expression philosophically and visually for where the brand is going in the future.”

‘Fresh aesthetic’

The exterior of the vehicle is far more aggressive than the brand’s current models, with a large, low grille with horizontal lines and new signature “winged” lights in the front and back. The roof of the vehicle around the doors also angles up for easier entry and egress.
Inside the four-passenger car is a floating center console that extends from the front of the vehicle to the rear seats.
It features white seats with red seatbelts surrounded by a “legato” green interior. The control panel is a 30.4-inch LCD screen and a steering wheel that’s half clear.

Buick Wildcat concept 

Buick’s new logo features the brand’s three shields, which date back to the 1950s, but in a more modern and clean way. The main logos on the concept vehicle feature illuminated “winged” hockey sticks, while the wheels had the background of the sticks filled in with Buick’s signature red, white and blue colors.
“A new logo symbolizing our new direction, the adoption of Electra as a naming series and a fresh aesthetic for our lineup, all serve as cornerstones to this important transformation,” Duncan Aldred, global head of Buick, said in a statement.

Buick’s new logo on the Wildcat concept car.

The Wildcat is the first concept vehicle for the brand in the U.S. since a well-received coupe called the Buick Avista in 2016. Buick’s operations in China last week teased an electric concept SUV for that market.

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Empowered Investor

Stacy Francis founded Savvy Ladies, a non-profit providing free financial advice for women, after seeing her grandmother suffer from spousal abuse.
The organization offers free virtual guidance nationwide, regardless of income, through a financial hotline that connects women with a pro bono advisor.
“Investing for women is not a nice to have, it’s a must,” said Francis. “The stakes for women are higher.” 

Stacy Francis
Source: Stacy Francis

Stacy Francis never planned to become a financial advisor, especially one for women going through divorce. But a candid talk with her grandmother shifted her career trajectory. 
Her grandmother, Myra, was a victim of spousal abuse and, before passing, she confessed to staying in her marriage because she felt “financially trapped.”

“That’s what drove me to go into this field,” said Francis, who founded Savvy Ladies, a non-profit providing free financial advice and education for women, along with her advisory firm Francis Financial in New York.
“It really is my love letter to my grandmother,” she said.

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Here are more stories touching on divorce, widowhood, earnings equality and other issues related to women’s investment habits and retirement needs.

Francis, a certified financial planner and a member of CNBC’s Advisor Council, started Savvy Ladies in 2003 through workshops in her New York apartment.
Today, the non-profit offers free virtual advice nationwide, regardless of income, through a financial hotline that connects women with a pro bono advisor.
While there are organizations devoted to women in poverty, Francis sees limited options for those with moderate incomes or assets, such as women starting their first job, getting divorced or seeking advice as a single mother. 

“There’s just a huge swath of women that desperately need this financial advice,” she said.

Judy Herbst, the organization’s executive director, said Savvy Ladies has connected more than 600 women with advisors in 2022, with 174 callers in April alone.
Nearly half report incomes of less than $74,000 annually, according to Herbst, with 60% saying they are the sole member of their household.
There’s a core group of callers in their 40s and older who recognize the importance of building wealth, Herbst said. “They’re going from debt management and divorce to finally asking ‘how do I invest?'” she said.
Savvy Ladies also partners with other non-profits to co-host events, such as financial education workshops, she said.

Investing matters more for women 

While Savvy Ladies’ hotline fields a range of money questions, investing queries are common, especially among women in their 40s and older, according to Herbst.
“Our portfolios have to work harder,” said Francis, explaining how women live longer and spend more on medical expenses, but typically start retirement with a smaller nest egg.
Indeed, the median income for women 65 and older was $47,244 in 2016, including earnings, retirement income, Social Security and property, according to a 2020 report from the National Institute on Retirement Security. However, the figure for men age 65 and older was $57,144.    

Investing for women is not a nice to have, it’s a must.

Stacy Francis
Founder of Savvy Ladies

Women’s assets need to last to age 95, which may require higher returns if they’re starting with less, she said. But volatility often triggers more anxiety for women with less experience.
Francis urges women to “lean into investing” to build confidence, whether it’s working with an advisor or organizations like Savvy Ladies, taking courses or reading books.  
“Investing for women is not a nice to have, it’s a must,” she said. “The stakes for women are higher.” 

The leap to entrepreneurship

Savvy Ladies has also guided aspiring women entrepreneurs who left corporate America to launch a business and current owners who were struggling to make ends meet, said Francis, who knows the challenges of starting a company from scratch.
Budding entrepreneurs need to financially prepare, starting with two separate emergency funds — personal savings and a cushion for the business, which tends to be overlooked, she said.
When leaving a steady paycheck, women need a way to replace their earnings, said Francis, such as saving six to 12 months of living expenses, creating a stream of investment income, portfolio withdrawals or taking Social Security payments sooner, she said. 

The biggest piece is making sure what you’re doing is sustainable, and that you’re not putting yourself financially behind.

Stacy Francis
Founder of Savvy Ladies

“The biggest piece is making sure what you’re doing is sustainable,” Francis said. “And that you’re not putting yourself financially behind.”
Francis suggests setting a timeline to earn a specific income, which worked for her business. For example, you may allow portfolio withdrawals for ‘x’ years before replenishing those funds, she said.
Other women may start a business on the side of their corporate job. “They’ll build that business up,” she said, explaining how it may bridge the earnings gap from employee to owner. More

Delta issued its forecast ahead of an investor presentation.
The airline expects revenue to return to 2019 levels this quarter, despite higher fuel costs.
Delta had trimmed its schedule in an effort to avoid further disruptions to its schedule.

Delta airplanes are seen at John F. Kennedy International Airport during the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Queens, New York City, U.S., December 26, 2021.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters

Delta Air Lines expects its revenue to return to 2019 levels this quarter thanks to a surge in travel demand and higher fares that helped it cover a jump in fuel costs, the carrier said in a filing Wednesday.
The Atlanta-based airline updated its forecast less than a week after announcing it would trim its schedule to try and stem flight disruptions that impacted tens of thousands of passengers last month. The airline had been more conservative about expanding its schedule compared with competitors.

Still, hundreds of flights operated by Delta and other airlines were canceled or delayed over the key Memorial Day weekend.
Delta had previously forecast sales to be as much as 7% below pre-pandemic levels. The company also raised its margin outlook for the second quarter despite higher costs for fuel and other expenses.
Its shares were up more than 1% in premarket trading.
Consumers have shown they are willing to shell out more for airline tickets after holding off on travel for two years during the pandemic. In some cases, demand returned more quickly than carriers expected. That prompted airlines including Southwest, JetBlue, Spirit and Alaska to trim their schedules to account for challenges from staffing shortages and bad weather.
American Airlines has been more aggressive than Delta and United in restoring capacity to pre-pandemic levels. It said it flew 2.3 million passengers May 27-30 with a schedule that had 28% more flights than its closest competitor.

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