Investing

Investors generally focus on asset allocation, which is the appropriate mix of stocks and bonds.
Many, especially wealthier people, should also pay attention to asset location, experts say.
This aims to boost after-tax investment returns by strategically holding stocks and bonds in certain account types, like taxable brokerage accounts and Roth or pre-tax retirement accounts.

Xavier Lorenzo | Moment | Getty Images

A lack of attention to taxes may be costing investors big bucks.
Many investors are probably familiar with the concept of asset allocation, which entails selecting the right mix of stocks and bonds (say, 60/40) to balance investment risk and return.

But where those assets are held — i.e., the types of accounts in which stocks and bonds are located — is perhaps just as important, especially for wealthier investors, according to financial advisors.
This “asset location” strategy aims to minimize taxes, thereby boosting investors’ after-tax returns.

“Wealthier people should be as focused on tax allocation as they are on asset allocation,” said Ted Jenkin, a certified financial planner based in Atlanta and a member of CNBC’s Advisor Council. “And they’re not.”
Asset location “really starts to make sense” once investors’ income is high enough to put them in the 24% federal marginal income tax bracket, said Jenkin, founder of oXYGen Financial.
In 2024, the 24% bracket starts at roughly $100,000 of taxable income for single people and about $201,000 for married couples filing a joint tax return.

Why asset location works

Asset location leverages two basic principles, according to Connor McGuire, a CFP at Vanguard Personal Advisor.
For one, not all investment accounts are taxed the same way.
There are three main account types:

Tax-deferred. These include traditional (i.e., pre-tax) individual retirement accounts and 401(k) plans. Investors defer tax on contributions but pay later upon withdrawal.
Tax-exempt. These include Roth IRAs and 401(k) plans. Investors pay tax up front, but not later upon withdrawal.
Taxable. These include traditional brokerage accounts. Investors pay tax when earning dividends or interest, or upon sale if there’s a profit.

Additionally, investment income is taxed differently depending on the asset type, McGuire said.
For example, interest income is taxed at an investor’s ordinary income tax rates. The highest earners might pay 37% or more on such interest.
But profits on investments like stocks held for more than one year are generally taxed at a lower federal rate. These long-term capital gains tax rates are 15% for many investors and 20% for the highest earners (plus any surcharges), McGuire said.

It can save you lots of money

D3sign | Moment | Getty Images

At a high level, asset location entails holding high-tax or tax-inefficient investments in tax-preferred retirement accounts like 401(k) plans and IRAs.
Conversely, investors would generally place investments with more-favorable tax rates and efficiencies in taxable accounts.
“It’s important because you want to reduce your tax drag,” said Robert Keebler, a certified public accountant based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and partner at Keebler & Associates.
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Employing such a strategy can boost after-tax returns by 0.05% to 0.3% a year, depending on the investor, according to a 2022 Vanguard analysis.
According to this math, an investor with a $1 million portfolio split equally between stocks and bonds and spread across all three account types (traditional, Roth and taxable) could save $74,000 after 30 years by using asset location, McGuire said.

How to do it

Investors should use asset location within the framework of their appropriate asset allocation, such as a 60/40 stock-bond mix, advisors explain.
Many bonds and bond funds are generally more appropriate for tax-deferred or tax-exempt accounts, they said.
“Earnings from bond investments are mostly interest and taxed at ordinary income tax rates, meaning a hit of up to 37% plus any surcharges for high-income investors,” McGuire said. “So you want those bonds to be sheltered.”

Certain stock investments, like stock funds that are “super-actively managed” and generate ample short-term capital gains, also generally belong in tax-preferred accounts, Keebler said.
(Short-term capital gains are taxes on investments held for one year or less. They’re taxed as ordinary income instead of the preferential long-term rates.)
High-growth investments likely belong in a Roth instead of pre-tax retirement account, since investors wouldn’t pay tax on earnings later, Keebler said. (This assumes investors follow the appropriate Roth withdrawal rules.)

Wealthier people should be as focused on tax allocation as they are on asset allocation. And they’re not.

Ted Jenkin
CFP and founder of oXYGen Financial

Individual stocks that investors buy and hold for long-term growth, and stock funds with less frequent internal trading (generally, index funds instead of actively managed ones), are generally better-suited for taxable accounts, advisors said.
Municipal bonds are also generally more appropriate in taxable accounts, advisors said. That’s because their interest is exempt from federal tax.

Additional things to consider

Investors must weigh the particularities of each account type. For example, it may be tougher to access funds from a retirement account before age 59½ relative to a taxable account.
The benefits of diversifying across different account types go beyond investing, too.
For example, withdrawals from pre-tax 401(k) plans and IRAs generally count as taxable income and could therefore trigger higher Medicare Part B and Part D premiums. Withdrawing instead from a Roth account could help prevent those higher premiums, since distributions in retirement generally don’t count as taxable income.
Additionally, it’s impossible to know what tax rates and account taxation will be like decades from now, Jenkin said.
Having money in various accounts will provide tax flexibility n the future, he added. More

A “September surge,” or the idea that more job postings become available after Labor Day, is tied to the end of the summer slowdown as recruiters and hiring managers come back from vacation, career experts say.
There is no data backing the theory, said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter. Yet the fall season is good time to search, job experts say.
Here’s what to know if you’re job hunting this fall.

Piranka | E+ | Getty Images

The season of fall foliage and pumpkin spice lattes is approaching. Meanwhile, the job market might also turning over a new leaf.
A “September surge,” or the idea that more job postings become available after Labor Day, is tied to an end of a summer slowdown as job recruiters and hiring managers return from vacation, career experts say.

“The team is never there together; there’s always someone missing,” said Cara Heilmann, president of the International Association of Career Coaches. 
“It just drags things out much more during the summer months,” added Heilmann, who’s also founder and CEO of Ready Set Go, a career coaching firm.
There is, however, no hard data for the theory, explains Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter.
On average, the number of job openings in the U.S. does tend to fall by an average of 1.4% between August and September, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the number of hires made in the month tends to fall by around 6.0%, on average.
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Yet the fall season may be a good time to search, job experts say.
“We do see a seasonal trend in job seeker behavior, however, with a modest decline in the number of job applications submitted in September,” Pollak said.
On average, more than 20 million applications are submitted through ZipRecruiter each month, with application volumes falling 8.3% between August and September in 2022, for example. Last year, application volumes fell 12.1% between August and September.
As a result, individuals who are actively job hunting may see their chances improve as they compete with fewer other candidates, Pollak explained.
In fact, job-seeking activity tends to peak in January, with 20% more job applications started on Glassdoor than in a typical month, according to Glassdoor data from 2017 to 2020.
Meanwhile, here are some key ways to help you land that job you are after, according to experts.

1. Focus on networking

It will be important for job seekers to “be more strategic” said Erin McGoff, a career educator with more than 5.3 million social media followers across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
Instead of solely applying to hundreds of jobs online, focus on making direct connections with people in those companies, McGoff said.
It’s important now more than ever before to network and to try to land a job “through word of mouth, through your alumni, through any other associations you’re a part of,” McGoff explained.
This direct contact is key because recruiters and hiring managers are often overwhelmed by the sheer number of applicants, McGoff explained.
What’s more, “job boards are becoming extremely cluttered and oversaturated,” she added.

2. Gather insight

Networking with employees at a firm you are applying to for a job can give you information about the company and the interview process, said Aaron Terrazas, chief economist at Glassdoor.
To stand out as a candidate for larger companies, Terrazas said to try to gather key information:

Be familiar with the company culture.
Speak the “company language.”
Research what interviewers are seeking.

3. Tailor your resume

Submitting a tailored applications is also important, McGoff said.
“The second that recruiters get that generic, untailored resume, it’s just going right into the ‘no’ pile,” McGoff explained.
To avoid spending hours on each job application, it’s also a good idea to assess how much you want the job you’re applying for by using a rating system to compare various jobs, Heilmann advised.
For example, if you see a job post, and you’re not that “jazzed about it,” be fair and rate it on a scale from one to 10, said Heilmann. If you see another opportunity that you’re very excited about and you rate it higher, then you need to spend more time customizing that application, she said.

4. The ‘three-legged stool’

A successful strategy — at any time of year — will involve a combination of applying online, networking and tapping a career coach or recruiter, Heilmann explained.
“I call it a three-legged stool,” she said.
If a job seeker is only doing one, just applying online, for example, “their entire strategy is not balanced,” Heilmann cautioned.
It’s also key to move fast.
“You might not have much time,” Terrazas said. “Fall is bookended by big holidays. It’s a relatively narrow window for job seekers to get on board.” More

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 28, 2024. 
Brendan McDermid | Reuters

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Here’s what CNBC TV’s producers were watching as a decline in Nvidia shares weighed on the S&P 500 Wednesday and what’s on the radar for Thursday’s session.

Three big tech stocks to watch Thursday morning

Nvidia is down about 7% after hours after reporting its quarterly report. CNBC TV’s man at the NYSE Bob Pisani called it when he said early Wednesday morning that it was getting harder for Nvidia to impress Wall Street as the beats become more narrow. Profit and revenue more than doubled from the same quarter a year ago, topping Wall Street estimates. Still, the stock is selling off in extended trading. Nvidia is about 11% from the June high.
Salesforce is up 4% after hours. The company beat expectations in its fiscal second quarter, and it hiked guidance. The seemingly always optimistic CEO Marc Benioff told CNBC’s Jim Cramer exclusively tonight that “now we can really show how companies can use AI… it’s amazing what’s going on.” He cited several customers that are using Salesforce’s new Agentforce technology including OpenTable and Wyndham Hotels. The stock remains 19% from the March 1 high.
CrowdStrike is down more than 2% after reporting earnings this afternoon. Fiscal second-quarter results were better than expected, but the cybersecurity giant cut guidance. There is still a lot of angst still about the stock after July’s massive IT outage. CEO George Kurtz is on with “Mad Money” man Jim Cramer on Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern. The stock is 33% from the July high.

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Nvidia’s performance over the past three months

The Great American Bond Market and what’s next

Intel’s CEO Pat Gelsinger speaks at Deutsche Bank’s tech conference

CNBC TV’s Seema Mody is watching this one.
Intel shares are down 4.5% in three days.
In August, Intel is down 36%.
The stock is now 62% from the Dec. 27 high.

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Intel’s performance in 2024

Walgreens

CNBC stock man Tom Rotunno spent a lot of time on Walgreens on Wednesday. 
The stock hit a new 52-week low. It ended the day at $9.38, down 0.74% in the session.
The relative strength index shows the stock is “oversold” with an RSI of 29. A reading of 30 or lower indicates a stock may be oversold, but that doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to reverse the losses.
The stock hasn’t been this low since October 1996. That’s a long time ago. Back then, “Macarena” was the top song on the Billboard Hot 100.
The one-year mark since CEO Roz Brewer stepped down is coming up.
The stock is down about 64% in 2024.
According to FactSet, four out of 20 analysts think the stock is a buy or rate it overweight. Twelve deem it a hold, and four say it’s a sell or rate it underweight.
Competitor CVS is down 27% this year. Twelve analysts call it a buy or are overweight on the name, and 15 rate it a hold. There are no sell ratings on the stock. CVS is 31% from the 52-week high.

The Great American Consumer

There are lots of quarterly reports from retailers due Thursday.
American Eagle is down 9% in the past three months. The stock is 18% from the March high.
Best Buy is up 21% in three months. The stock is 6.3% from the June high.
Burlington Stores is up 36% over the past three months. Shares are 2.6% from the high hit Tuesday
Dollar General is down 13% in the last three months. The stock is 26% from the March high.
Gap is up 10% in three months. The stock is 27% from the June high.
Lululemon is down 12% in three months. It’s down 50% from the high hit in late December.
Ulta Beauty is down 3.75% in three months, 36% from the March high.

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Dollar General’s performance over the past three months

Gold vs. bitcoin

The “Fast Money” traders weighed in Wednesday night. Guy Adami led the pack, saying that “gold has separated itself from bitcoin.”
For some time, many have said the two assets shared similar attributes and advantages for investors and holders.
Gold is up 7% in a month.
Bitcoin is down 13% in a month. More

The Education Department said the launch of the 2025-26 FAFSA will be in phases “to uncover and fix issues’ with the aid application.
For many families, financial aid is key when it comes to covering college costs.

‘The potential for chaos’

“While we wish we could have an earlier FAFSA open date, we support end-to-end testing to ensure the product released on December 1 works for students, families, and schools,” said Beth Maglione, interim president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

Although “testing and improving usability can help,” higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz said he is skeptical that the department will be able to address all of the challenges within this time frame.
“Two months is not a lot of time to implement changes,” Kantrowitz said. 
“A key concern is that they seem to be acting as though there will not be any problems and that this beta testing is mainly an opportunity to build confidence in a perfect system,” he added.
“Even without last year’s FAFSA fiasco, Murphy’s Law suggests that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. Failing to properly plan for the beta testing will guarantee the potential for chaos,” Kantrowitz said.

Financial aid is key amid rising costs

For many families, financial aid is crucial when it comes to covering the cost of college, which is now nearing $100,000 a year.
The FAFSA serves as the gateway to all federal aid money, including federal student loans, work-study and especially grants — which have become the most crucial kind of assistance because they typically do not need to be repaid.
In part because of issues with the new form, students are now relying on loans more, according to Sallie Mae’s recent How America Pays for College report. The share of parents taking out federal parent PLUS loans to help cover the costs of their children’s college education has also grown, other studies show.

To that end, it’s more important that the FAFSA is fully functional for next year, even if it means another delayed start, most experts say.
Submitting a FAFSA is one of the best predictors of whether a high school senior will go on to college, according to the National College Attainment Network. Seniors who complete the FAFSA are 84% more likely to enroll in college directly after high school, according to an NCAN study of 2013 data. 
“The department’s testing plan is a critical step,” said Elizabeth Morgan, a spokesperson for the National College Attainment Network.
“This coming year, we must regain and surpass prior rates of FAFSA completion so more students take advantage of Pell Grants and continue their education beyond high school,” Morgan added.

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Currently, about 16% of 18- to 24-year-olds are neither in school nor working, according to a recent report by the St. Louis Fed.
These “NEETS” are largely discouraged by their economic standing and factors beyond their control.
Others, referred to as “new unemployables,” are struggling to get hired despite being well positioned to find work.

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When cracks start to show in the labor market, young adults are often the first to feel it.
To that point, about 16% of 18- to 24-year-olds are not employed and not enrolled in high school or college, according to a recent report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which refers to many in this group as “disconnected youth.”

Also often called “NEETs,” which stands for “not in employment, education, or training,” young, would-be job seekers are opting out of the labor force largely because they are discouraged by their economic standing. Weak job networks, college degree requirements, a lack of transportation or limited access to child care may also play a role, the St. Louis Fed found.

Among 16- to 24-year-olds, the unemployment rate rose to 9.1% in July, which is “typical,” according to Alí Bustamante, a labor economist and director of the Worker Power and Economic Security program at the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank based in New York City.
Although the youth unemployment rate fell below 7% in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, such lows were “emblematic of how hot the labor market was at that point,” Bustamante said.
“Nine percent is basically what we should be expecting during relatively good economic times for younger workers,” he added.

‘NEETS’ are being ‘left out and left behind’

Still, some young adults in the U.S. are neither working nor learning new skills.

In 2023, about 11.2% of young adults ages 15 to 24 in the U.S. were considered as NEETs, according to the International Labour Organization.
In other words, roughly 1 in 10 young people are “being left out and left behind in many ways,” Bustamante said.
Even though “that’s typically the norm,” he said, “we should be expecting these rates to be lower.”
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Young men, especially, are increasingly disengaged, according to Julia Pollak, a labor economist at ZipRecruiter.
“The NEET trend is mostly a male phenomenon,” she said.
Pollak explained that’s in part due to declining opportunities in traditionally male occupations, such as construction and manufacturing, while “women’s enrollment in schooling, education outcomes, and employment outcomes have mostly trended upwards.”
Almost 70% of disconnected young adults have no more than a high school diploma, the St. Louis Fed also found.

‘New unemployables’

Meanwhile, other young adults who are actively looking for a job are well qualified but often struggling to find positions, comprising a contingent of “new unemployables,” according to a recent report by Korn Ferry. 
According to Korn Ferry’s report, a “perfect storm” has also created a glut of new unemployables, or highly trained workers who struggle to find job opportunities.
“Employers are holding on to the talent they have and increasingly focusing on talent mobility,” said David Ellis, senior vice president for global talent acquisition transformation at Korn Ferry.
This “talent hoarding” has led to fewer available job openings even for well-qualified candidates, he said.
At the same time, firms are scaling back on new hires, limiting the opportunities at the entry level, as well.
While the teen employment rate is the highest it has been in more than a decade, early 20-somethings are struggling to find jobs, Pollak explained.
“It’s the 20- to 24-year-olds that saw a massive drop-off in the labor force participation during the pandemic, and who have lagged behind ever since,” Pollak said.
Overall, hiring projections for the class of 2024 fell 5.8% from last year, according to a report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, or NACE.
As more candidates compete for fewer positions, stretches of unemployment are also lengthening. Now, the number of people unemployed for longer than six months is up 21%, Korn Ferry found.

‘Unemployable’ to employable

Despite those trends in the job market, “all is not lost,” Ellis said.
“Don’t wait to reach out,” he advised. Get back in touch with former employers or colleagues through LinkedIn or email and set up informational interviews. After that initial approach, ask for any job leads or contacts.
In the meantime, make yourself more visible by writing about noteworthy topics in the industry and updating your resume to include keywords and so-called title tags, which highlight important elements at the top.
Finally, don’t limit yourself to roles that include a promotion or a raise, Ellis also advised. Rather, aim for a “career lattice,” which could entail taking lower position to gain skills that will pay dividends later.

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With college affordability a top concern for families, saving for higher education is more of a priority.
Financial experts often recommend a 529 college savings plan.
Anyone can contribute — you don’t have to be the account holder or the designated beneficiary to help grow a college savings account.

Jamie Grill | Getty Images

It may not be the season’s new hot toy, but gifting a child money toward college could have a more lasting impact.
Daniel Trujillo, 39, a certified public accountant in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said he was blown away when his friend suggested putting money into a college savings account in lieu of a gift for his son Teo’s birthday.

“When my son turned 2, one of my friends made a contribution to the 529 instead of a present,” Trujillo said. “I thought that was pretty darn cool.”

‘It’s going to take a village’

As overall participation rates in 529 college savings plans have been rising, so too are gifts from friends and family.
Altogether, total investments in 529 plans jumped to $450.5 billion as of June, up nearly 10% from $412.5 billion the year before, according to data from the College Savings Plans Network, a network of state-administered college savings programs.
Of the $6.94 billion in contributions in the most recent quarter, roughly 5.4%, or $372.6 million, came from plan gifting platforms.
“We are seeing an increase in gifts of all sizes with an average of $100 from friends and extended family for a child they love,” said Wayne Weber, CEO of Gift of College, a gifting platform for higher education and workplace benefits.

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“People are more willing to reach out to family and friends so the child is not burdened with student loans,” said Chris McGee, chair of the College Savings Foundation, a nonprofit that provides public policy support for 529 plans.
In 2023, 45% of parents said they would ask a family or friend to make a contribution. In 2024, that percentage jumped to 65%, according to the College Savings Foundation’s State of Higher Ed Savings survey.
“It’s the realization that it’s going to take a village to afford higher education,” McGee said.

Financial experts and plan investors agree that 529 plans are a smart choice for many.
As of 2024, 74% of parents surveyed have started making regular contributions to a 529, according to Fidelity’s College Savings Indicator — a spike from 58% in 2007, when the study was first conducted. Fidelity polled nearly 2,000 families with children high school age and younger between April and May. 
And yet, only 30% are on track to hit their college savings goals, Fidelity also found.
Gifting can help narrow the gap, according to Jordan Lee, the CEO of Saving for College and Backer, a San Francisco-based company focused on making 529 plans more accessible.
Even small contributions will compound over the years, he added, and can serve as “a great way to stay involved and help a kid with their future in a meaningful way.”
The average size of a monthly gift is roughly $65, while one-time gifts average $370, according to data provided by Backer.
“That can be super significant depending on how actively you promote the opportunity to friends and relatives,” Lee said.

How to ask for college savings gifts

Lee suggests checking whether your plan has a gifting platform, with a link or code that can be sent to friends and family. Otherwise, you can set up a personalized gift page through an app like Backer and share the link with your loved ones ahead of holidays, birthday parties, graduation ceremonies or even on a baby shower.
“It’s kind of a no-pressure way to invite people to contribute,” Lee said.
If family members are reluctant to forgo the fun of a wrapped present, Lee suggests splitting the difference.
“There’s some hesitation sometimes but it’s not either/or — give a physical book or toy and set up a contribution,” Lee said.
According to Fidelity’s most recent data, 79% of parents say they would welcome contributions to their child’s college savings account in lieu of traditional gifts — and 66% would prefer it.

The benefits of a 529 plan

There are many advantages to a 529 plan. In more than half of all U.S. states, you can get a tax deduction or credit for contributions, even if your aren’t the account holder or the designated beneficiary.
A few states also offer additional benefits, such as scholarships or matching grants, to their residents if they invest in their home state’s 529 plan.
Earnings then grow on a tax-advantaged basis, and when a child withdraws the money, it is tax-free if the funds are used for qualified education expenses.
The restrictions around 529 plans have also loosened to include continuing education classes, apprenticeship programs and even student loan payments.
Thanks to Secure 2.0, as of 2024, families can roll over unused 529 plan funds to the account beneficiary’s Roth individual retirement account without triggering income taxes or penalties. Among other qualifications, the 529 plan must have been open for at least 15 years.
“The legislative updates that have come through have certainly broken down barriers to entry to 529 plans,” said Tony Durkan, a vice president and head of 529 relationship management at Fidelity Investments.
The maximum contribution limits for 529 gifts
This year, gift givers can put up to $18,000, or up to $36,000 if you’re married and file taxes jointly, per child into a 529 without those contributions counting toward your lifetime gift tax exemption. That’s up from $17,000 and $34,000 for married couples filing jointly in 2023. 
High-net-worth families that want to help fund a family member’s higher education could also consider “superfunding” 529 accounts, which allows front-loading five years’ worth of tax-free gifts into a 529 plan.
In this case, you could contribute up to $90,000 this year, or $180,000 for a married couple. But then you wouldn’t be able to give more money to that same recipient within a five-year period without it counting against your lifetime gift tax exemption.
A larger lump-sum contribution upfront may potentially generate more earnings compared with the same-size contribution spread out over a few years because it has a longer time horizon, according to Fidelity.

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) during morning trading in New York on August 23, 2024. 
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Here’s what CNBC TV’s producers were watching as stocks rose modestly Tuesday and what’s on their radar for Wednesday’s session.

Nvidia

CNBC TV’s Seema Mody will report on Nvidia’s numbers after the bell.
On “Market Navigator” Tuesday, a part of “Power Lunch,” OptionsPlay’s Tony Zhang warned he was buying protection: a put spread to capitalize if the stock falls after the report.
Nvidia is up about 179% in the last year, and it has surged 159% in 2024.
The stock is 8.8% from the June 20 high.
Of the analysts tracking the stock, FactSet shows that 92% rate it a buy or overweight, while 8% deem it a hold. The average price target is $142.63, and the stock closed at $128.30 today.
Nvidia is up 20.5% in the past three months.

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Nvidia’s performance over the past three months

CrowdStrike

CNBC TV’s Steve Kovach will have the quarterly numbers after the bell.
There’s a lot of drama for CrowdStrike after a major IT outage July 19.
The stock is down 21.5% since then.
It had taken a leg lower before that. It’s down 32% from the July 9 high.
In the last year, however, CrowdStrike is up 80%.
The stock is down 23% in the past three months.

Salesforce

CNBC TV’s Julia Boorstin will report as the company releases quarterly earnings after the bell.
The stock is 17% from the March high.
Salesforce is down 3% in the past three months.

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Salesforce in 2024

The Great American Consumer

There were two good notes from NYSE producer and earnings guru Robert Hum here at CNBC on Tuesday.
He was watching Nordstrom and PVH. Both saw strong regular-price sales/full-priced sales.
Both did better than expected.
Nordstrom is up 6% after the bell. The stock is down 7% in August.
PVH is down 7% after the bell. The stock is up 4.4% in a month.

Foot Locker

The retailer reports Wednesday morning. 
Foot Locker is 8% from the February high.
The stock is up nearly 49% in the past three months.
Nike is down 7% in that time period. It is 31% from the December high.

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Foot Locker’s performance over the past three months

China

Shake Shack CEO’s Rob Lynch

Wednesday marks 100 days since Rob Lynch took over as CEO.
Shake Shack is up 10% in three months, and it’s 3.5% off from the May 6 high. More

The National Public Data breach has capped off a series of large leaks of consumer data this year.
The first and best defense for consumers is to freeze their credit, experts say.
Here’s what you need to know about that process.

PN_Photo | Getty Images

So far, 2024 has been a huge year for data breaches.
There had already been more than 1 billion personal records compromised before the National Public Data breach that has been making headlines, according to Michael Bruemmer, head of global data breach resolution at consumer credit reporting company Experian.

National Public Data, a background check company, was alleged to have made 2.9 billion records vulnerable in a recent lawsuit. The company has said the actual number of records exposed is much lower, around 1.3 million.
The breach, however, may be bigger than the company is reporting, according to Bruemmer, based on the data Experian has mined from the breach.
National Public Data did not respond to requests for comment from CNBC.
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“It’s a big deal,” Bruemmer said, and it follows other recent sizeable breaches from Change Healthcare, AT&T and Ticketmaster.

Stolen data typically ends up on the dark web, where hackers will dump the information and often attempt to resell it.
The dark web is a part of the internet made up of hidden sites you can’t find through conventional search engines. Unlike credit files, which can be disputed and updated, information on the dark web can’t be brought back or deleted.
“Once it’s out there, it stays,” Bruemmer said.

Freezing your credit can take just minutes

To protect your data, experts say freezing your credit should be a priority.
“Freezing your credit is the single most important thing you can do when you get a data breach notice,” James E. Lee, chief operating officer at the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit working to minimize the risk of identity theft, recently told CNBC.com.
The good news is the process can be done in just minutes, Bruemmer explained.
A credit freeze will limit access to your credit report and prevent the opening of new accounts in your name, either by you or other parties.
Notably, freezing your credit is free.

What’s more, a credit freeze will last until you remove it, which can be done either temporarily or permanently.
If you want to apply for new credit — for a credit card or auto loan, for example — you will have to unfreeze your report.
“I’d recommend a freeze if you suspect that you might have been impacted by a breach, or you just want to have good identity hygiene,” Bruemmer said.
To effectively freeze your credit, you will need to complete the process at all three major credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. This will require setting up free online accounts with each agency. You can request a freeze by phone or mail, but online is usually the fastest option, experts say.
It’s also a good idea to look at your free credit report to monitor the latest activity to ensure there are no errors, experts suggest.

When to freeze children’s records

Because of the size of the National Public Data breach, children’s information may also have been stolen, according to Bruemmer.
For that reason, parents should be on the lookout for signs that data about their children may have been compromised, such as unsolicited credit card offers, tax bills from the IRS or notices from bill collectors.
Whether it makes sense to freeze a child’s credit depends on whether a file on them exists, Bruemmer said.
“Most children will not have a credit file, and we don’t recommend placing a freeze on a child’s file that the bureau would have to create,” Bruemmer said.
Parents can try to pull a free credit report on their children annually at AnnualCreditReport.com. If a credit file exists, parents and children would want to freeze it, Bruemmer said.

Other tips to keep your personal data secure

Freezing your credit is a just a first step among the precautions you should take to protect your personal data.
Changing passwords to make sure you have unique codes for each website can help. An online password manager can help generate long and complex passwords and also store them in one place, Bruemmer said.
Two factor authentication or encryption — which requires more than one way of verifying your identity when logging into accounts — can also help prevent bad actors from gaining access to important information.
It also helps to remove personal information on social media that can be used by identity thieves, Bruemmer said.
Consumers may also consider setting up alerts on their accounts to keep them up to date on the latest activity.
Additional services may be purchased to alert individuals when their information has been posted on the dark web or monitor whether a credit file has been established for a minor, Bruemmer said. More