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5g99 globe By Kimberly Palmer, NerdWallet The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments. The start of a new year can bring a surge of motivation around setting new goals, including financial resolutions. One way to help those goals become reality, financial experts say, is to make them as specific as possible. Then, track your progress, while allowing flexibility for unexpected challenges. “It’s easier to track progress when we know where we are going,” says Sylvie Scowcroft, a certified financial planner and founder of The Financial Grove in Cambridge, Massachusetts. That’s why she encourages her clients to set clearly defined goals, often related to paying off a specific debt, saving a certain amount per month or improving their credit score. Here are more tips from financial experts about crafting 2025 financial goals : Trying to accomplish too much can feel overwhelming. Instead, pick your priorities, says Cathleen Tobin, CFP and owner of Moonbridge Financial Design in Rhinebeck, New York. She suggests focusing on those big, often emotionally-driven goals to find motivation. “It’s more compelling than just a number,” she says. For example, do you want to make sure you’re on track for retirement or save money for a house? “Start there.” Scowcroft says she sees clients get tripped up by selecting overly broad goals, such as “get better with money.” Instead, she encourages people to select specific action items, such as “sign up for a budgeting tool and set aside time each month to learn where my money is going.” That level of specificity provides direction so you know what steps to take next, she adds. For example, if your top priority is to become debt-free, then your specific goal might be to pay off an extra $200 of your debt balance each month. Tobin says labeling savings accounts so they correspond with goals can also help. An emergency fund could be named something like “Peace of mind in 2025,” so you remember why you’re saving every time you make a transfer. “It’s more motivating than just ‘emergency fund,’” Tobin says. Measuring your progress as the year unfolds is also a critical component of successful goal setting, Tobin says. She compares it to weight loss. If you want to lose 20 pounds by June, then you need to lose about a pound a week for the first six months of the year. Similarly, she says it helps to break savings goals into microsteps that specify what you need to do each week. Schedule a weekly or monthly check-in with yourself to make sure you are meeting those smaller goals along the way. You might want to review your debt payoff progress or check your credit score , for example. “Being able to break it down into steps that can be done each week or twice a month really helps,” Tobin says. If your goal is to save more money , then setting up an automatic transfer each month can help turn that goal into reality, as long as you know you have the money in your checking account to spare. “It reduces the mental load,” says Mike Hunsberger, CFP and owner of Next Mission Financial Planning in St. Charles, Missouri, where he primarily supports veterans and current members of the military. He recommends starting small to ease into the change. “I wouldn’t jump to double what you’re currently saving,” he says. For example, when it comes to saving in a retirement account, if you’re starting with a 3% contribution, you might want to bump it up to 4%, then slowly increase it from there. “My number one piece of advice is to start small, but make sure you scale over time,” Hunsberger adds. “Because it’s gradual, you probably won’t notice it impacting your lifestyle.” “Stay flexible,” Scowcroft says. “Part of it is just being kind to yourself and not being too rigid.” When unexpected challenges come up, such as a big unplanned expense, you might have to pause making progress on your goal and reset. You might even need to change your goal. Scowcroft says that doesn’t mean you “failed,” just that life changed your plans. Dwelling on any negativity won’t help your forward progress. Sharing your goals with a friend can also make it easier to reach them, Scowcroft says. “It really helps to have an accountability buddy,” she says. She suggests putting a regular “money date” with your friend on the calendar so you can ask each other how you’re doing, brainstorm any challenges or even budget together side-by-side . “It’s a fun excuse to meet up with a friend.” More From NerdWallet Kimberly Palmer writes for NerdWallet. Email: kpalmer@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @kimberlypalmer. The article The Secret to Making Successful Financial New Year’s Resolutions originally appeared on NerdWallet .Indiana revenue below monthly target again in October

Ex-GOP House staffer: Hegseth was 'uniquely unqualified' for his last Trump term job

A data-focused approach to tackling phishing and business fraud promises significant reductions in the amount of phishing and phone-based fraud that companies — and their customers — face, but worries remain over whether fraudsters will adapt. On Nov. 19, the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) unveiled its Phishing Prevention Framework, a program consisting of best practices in data collection, defense, and customer communications that has already reduced the volume of phishing incidents — as measured by abuse complaints — in a pilot program with three banks. The framework cut the incidence of abuse complaints for those financial-services firms in half and promises significant benefits for any business targeted by cybercriminals, if they implement certain best practices — such as security education and intelligence collection — included in the framework. While FS-ISAC has released the framework for the financial-services sector — where phishing is a pernicious problem — the techniques are broadly applicable, says Linda Betz, executive vice president of global community engagement at the organization. "While the framework is tailored for financial institutions due to the sensitive nature of their operations, the strategies can benefit businesses across industries," she says. "For instance, cataloging communication channels and deploying anti-phishing technologies are broadly applicable and scalable solutions for any organization dealing with sensitive customer interactions or high volumes of transactional data." The financial services sector is not the only industry plagued by phishing. In 2023, US consumers and businesses reported nearly 300,000 phishing-related crimes to the FBI, according to its annual Internet Crime Report . Phishing and pretexting — which differs in that the attacker surreptitiously joins an email thread — account for 31% and 40%, respectively, of all social engineering attacks, according to Verizon's 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) . Security awareness exercises have found that it takes less than 60 seconds for the first victims of a phishing campaign to click a link and enter their information. As part of its Phishing Prevention Framework, the FS-ISAC recommends organizations create a data-focused process for handling abuse complaints and focus on maximizing the insights that can be learned from phishing campaigns. Companies should create a fraud and phishing intake pipeline that records critical information and an abuse box infrastructure that allows security and fraud teams to disseminate intelligence to other business groups, the report stated . The key issue is that fraud reporting often focuses on preventing the bad transaction and spends little time on understanding how the activity originated, FS-ISAC's Betz says. "Structuring the abuse box to glean that information from the customer helps the financial institution know where to focus to address the root cause and take actions to reduce the risk and prevent future attempts, then share the actionable intelligence across the organization and the sector," she says. Companies "should implement structured fraud reporting systems to capture actionable data, coordinate across relevant departments, and participate in industry-wide threat intelligence platforms to help the entire sector understand the current tactics being used by fraudsters." The framework also calls for the cataloging all the ways a business communicates with customers and partners, a potentially time-consuming process. While automation can help, collaborating internally across groups and with third parties is key, says Betz. "Leveraging a succinct data collection survey including the type, origin, and results of the fraudulent activity can help establish any trends in the phishing attempts and better identify any weak areas within networks," she says. While all the steps included in the framework are commonsense approaches to anti-phishing, implementing them all will take time, says Betz. For that reason, the FS-ISAC has listed the actions along with a step number to prioritize defensive efforts. Whether establishing the processes and technologies called for by the Phishing Prevention Framework will lead to fewer successful phishing campaigns or just force attackers to evolve remains to be seen, says Matthew Harris, senior product manager for fraud at OpSec Security, a brand protection and anti-fraud firm. "One thing I've learned about being about dealing with fraudsters is that they'll pivot instantly, and the problem is that they'll pivot far faster than any other company can pivot," he says. "If they realize that there's a way that they can get better ROI, they'll do it." Scammers are already moving toward phishing attacks that increasingly use voice calls. Phone-based phishing started as a minor issue in 2021 and now accounts for nearly a quarter (23%) of all phishing attacks, according to data collected by OpSec Security. Phone-based phishing includes SMS phishing — "smishing" — and phishing emails that include a fraudulent phone number. Because there are fewer integrity checks on phone calls, cyberattackers will likely increasingly use the telecommunications channel in their scams, says OpSec's Harris. "As email security ... has gotten more and more advanced, it becomes more and more difficult [for a scammer] to communicate a traditional email to a person," he says. "By pivoting away from email and towards a phone number, ... there's a good chance a person is going to pick up that phone [giving them] access to the victim directly." For that reason, the final step of the FS-ISAC's framework includes collaborating with telecommunications firms to reduce the attack surface area through phone systems. Many providers have technologies or services, such as 'Do Not Originate' on numbers that are inbound only, giving business customers additional controls, says FS-ISAC's Betz. "Partnerships with telecommunications providers are increasingly collaborative, as these companies recognize the mutual benefits of reducing spam and phishing attacks," she says. Veteran technology journalist of more than 20 years. Former research engineer. Written for more than two dozen publications, including CNET News.com, Dark Reading, MIT's Technology Review, Popular Science, and Wired News. Five awards for journalism, including Best Deadline Journalism (Online) in 2003 for coverage of the Blaster worm. Crunches numbers on various trends using Python and R. Recent reports include analyses of the shortage in cybersecurity workers and annual vulnerability trends.

The European Union urgently needs a Russia strategy. A strategy document that articulates a strong vision and comes with the proper policy tools and financial commitments would serve as a signal to the United States that Europe understands the threat posed by Putin’s Russia at a critical moment in the relationship between Washington, Brussels, and Moscow. The impending Trump presidency will shape EU foreign policy and redefine transatlantic ties. A second Trump administration will surely demand more from Europe, including on issues such as Europe’s defense spending and its support for Ukraine. Even as defense budgets across Europe rise and the EU takes a more forward-leaning role on support for Ukraine, the goalposts Washington sets will move. This challenge could create positive opportunities for the EU if it produces a European strategy on Russia. Currently, the bloc does not have a formal strategy toward Russia. This is inconsistent, as the EU has adopted official strategies for relations with a range of countries and regions including China , the Indo-Pacific , and Central Asia , with a strategy for the Middle East under development. But it’s more than inconsistent. Failure to draft a Russia strategy suggests a lack of seriousness and undermines the credibility of the bloc’s geopolitical ambitions. As the world watches the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfold, UkraineAlert delivers the best Atlantic Council expert insight and analysis on Ukraine twice a week directly to your inbox. The most serious obstacle to an EU Russia strategy has traditionally been the inability of member states to agree on interests and priorities. Countries closest to Russia and those with recent histories of oppression by Moscow have a more acute threat perception, whereas others in Europe often still see Russia as an essentially regional issue. However, Russia’s challenge to Europe is clearly no longer regional. It quite literally surrounds and permeates the EU. Russia has unleashed the largest land war on the continent since World War II. To undercut sanctions, it has built up a “shadow fleet” of oil tankers that threaten to create a major environmental disaster in European waters. From the Western Balkans to the Sahel, Russia competes for influence, generates disinformation, and seeks to destabilize governments. Elsewhere in Africa, Moscow deploys mercenaries to support friendly governments and to secure access to resources. Inside the EU, intelligence agencies say Putin is actively engaged in efforts to undermine the political stability of member states. Russia is accused of spreading disinformation, stirring up political conflict, and even resorting to acts of sabotage, such as the recent attempt to plant explosive devices on European airplanes flying to the United States. Faced with increasing Russian threats and growing US demands, the EU needs a unified approach toward Moscow. In response, the new European Commission should prioritize the development of an EU Russia strategy aimed at creating a more forward-thinking, ambitious, and cohesive European approach. This would have multiple benefits. First, it would provide a forum for EU members to jointly develop a vision for future policy toward Russia. Second, a strategy would allow the EU to draw a coherent picture of how Moscow’s various tactics are interlinked and threaten the entire bloc. Additionally, the EU would be better positioned for stronger enforcement. Articulating a longer-term Russia policy would lock in the hard-won gains of recent years, helping to ensure that countries like Germany do not return to problematic practices like relying on Russian energy. The EU now has the right personnel in place to lead this effort. The new High Representative for Foreign Policy Kaja Kallas, an ardent Russia hawk, could push for an ambitious and forward-leaning posture toward Russia. Other senior officials including defense commissioner Andreas Kubilius could lend credibility to the strategy, which would naturally be prepared in close coordination with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, herself a strong supporter of Ukraine. Any would-be Russia strategy must start with Ukraine. Support for Kyiv is the central element of Europe’s policy toward Russia, so a successful strategy must plot a path forward on key Ukraine-related issues including financial support, defense industrial cooperation, reconstruction, and eventual Ukrainian EU membership. Similarly, any strategy should also keep in mind areas like the Western Balkans, Moldova, and the South Caucasus, with a view to helping counter Russian influence. Economic statecraft should be a key focus. The EU has gradually adopted a more ambitious sanctions policy toward Moscow, but enforcement is lacking. For example, the EU will need to develop a realistic plan to deal with Russia’s shadow fleet and to ensure that Russian energy isn’t entering the EU via backdoor routes. In order to be effective, an EU Russia strategy must not fall victim to the tendency to water down or take an overly narrow view of the task at hand. Previous EU foreign policy documents, for example the Strategic Compass , offered a raft of initiatives and legislative projects but struggled to project a grander vision. Drafting a Russia strategy will be a politically difficult but worthwhile endeavor. It will be challenging to achieve an EU strategy that is sufficiently ambitious and necessarily forward-leaning while maintaining support from all member states, especially as certain countries have a record of obstructing EU support for Ukraine. Nevertheless, it would represent a crucial step toward addressing today’s changing realities. In addition to boosting the EU’s capacity as a geopolitical actor, a comprehensive and practical Russia strategy would signal to the United States that Europe is stepping up and would help strengthen transatlantic ties. The incoming US administration should support the EU in developing its Russia strategy. An EU that is ready to lead efforts to counter Russia, both inside Europe and throughout the wider region, is exactly what the transatlantic relationship needs. Ian Cameron is a young global professional with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center. James Batchik is an associate director with the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center. Further reading The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council, its staff, or its supporters.Dramatic change would be required to fix California’s homebuying affordability mess. My trusty spreadsheet compared home-price increases with income growth for 10 large California metropolitan areas using housing indexes by ICE, a mortgage-tech firm, and pay stats from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. First, consider the estimated median house payment for these California metros. In 2018, payments on the typical $509,400 home purchase ran $2,020 monthly with an average 4.3% mortgage rate, assuming a 20% downpayment. That was 22% of a typical house hunter’s $109,100 income, including two earners. Then, contemplate the payment on today’s $759,500 median-priced home. The payment doubled to $4,000 monthly with 6.9% rates. The mortgage now gobbles up 32% of the $148,500 income that risen 36% in six years. So, what would it take to return this payment burden to pre-coronavirus levels? Rates would have to fall to 3.5%. Incomes would need to surge 50%.Or prices would need to drop 33%. Or some combination of the three. This lack of affordability is why one-third fewer California homes will be sold this year than in 2018. How did we get here? Remember that the housing market was upended by several things during the pandemic: a demand for more living space, mortgage rates under 3% and stimulus checks boosting incomes. Now let’s look at how six years of home appreciation through October contrasts with rising per-capita incomes during the six years ending in 2023. In eight of these 10 California metros, home-price gains outpaced incomes. Here’s how they ranked by the gap ... Bakersfield: 63% gains in home values compared with 29% income growth. Inland Empire: 65% home gain vs. 37% income growth. San Diego: 66% home gain vs. 39% income growth. Fresno: 60% home gain vs. 33% income growth. Ventura County: 51% home gain vs. 36% income growth. LA-OC: 50% home gain vs. 39% income growth. Sacramento: 46% home gain vs. 35% income growth. Stockton: 50% home gain vs. 45% income growth. And in two California metros, incomes beat home prices ... San Jose: 34% home gains topped by 54% income growth. San Francisco: 26% home gains topped by 46% income growth. Sliver of hope For homebuyers, a little bit of good news: appreciation is cooling. Price gains in the 12 months ending in October were significantly smaller than the previous five-year appreciation pace in all but one of the 10 metros. San Diego saw the biggest chill, with prices rising 3.2% in the past year – down from annual average gains of 9.9% between 2018 and 2023. That is a 6.7-percentage-point cooldown. San Jose was the lone spot without a dip in appreciation. Its 5.1% year’s gain was a smidgen above the 5% yearly increases of 2018-23. Here’s how the nine other metros fared by ICE math, ranked by appreciation chill ... Inland Empire: 3.5% year’s gain vs. averaging 9.8% annual increases in 2018-23 – 6.3 points cooler. Sacramento: 1.7% year’s gain vs. 7.5% annually in 2018-23 – 5.8 points cooler. Bakersfield: 4.1% year’s gain vs. up 9.4% annually in 2018-23 – 5.3 points cooler. Stockton: 2.9% year’s gain vs. up 7.9% annually in 2018-23 – 5 points cooler. Ventura County: 3.3% year’s gain vs. up 7.9% yearly in 2018-23 – 4.7 points cooler. Fresno: 4.2% year’s gain vs. up 8.9% annually in 2018-23 – 4.7 points cooler. Los Angeles-Orange County: 3.9% year’s gain vs. up 7.7% annually in 2018-23 – 3.7 points cooler. San Francisco: 1.3% year’s gain vs. up 4.4% annually in 2018-23 – 3.1 points cooler. But smaller home price gains are by no means a cure, because “affordability” really means lowering prices. Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

Ben Davies is the latest to fall into that category, with the Welsh international initially primed to return for Sunday’s visit of Wolves but no longer available. Davies suffered a setback in training this week, which means Spurs could be without a fit centre-back after Radu Dragusin was forced off in the latter stages of Thursday’s 1-0 loss at Nottingham Forest with an ankle issue. Ange with a team news update ahead of Wolves on Sunday 🗣️ — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) Postecoglou is already without first-choice central defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven after both failed to make it through their comeback fixture against Chelsea on December 7. “Yeah, that’s been our major problem this year. Guys who are coming back from injury rather than us losing players as such,” Postecoglou said. “We’re looking at those things and why they’re happening. It’s certainly happened too often this year where guys have come back and they’re the ones who are missing. “I think just about all of them, apart from Vic (Guglielmo Vicario), are recurrences of an injury. “Even with Romero, it was a different injury but it’s still a guy coming back, so it’s something we’re looking at.” There could be good news on the horizon with attackers Mikey Moore and Richarlison expected to return to training next week. Richarlison suffered his own setback in November when his short-lived return after a calf issue was cut short when he injured the same area against Aston Villa. Moore, meanwhile, has been sidelined by a virus for the best part of two months but the 17-year-old could provide a much-needed spark in the new year when Newcastle visit on January 4. Postecoglou said: “Him and Richy are in the final phases. Next week they can start training. We’ve got a bit of a gap before the Newcastle game. “The plan is Mikey and Richy come back into first-team training next week.” Anticipated returns for Moore and Richarlison will fail to help Postecoglou against Wolves, with makeshift centre-back Archie Gray potentially set to partner up with fellow midfielder Yves Bissouma if Dragusin cannot recover. Pressed on the issue of fixture scheduling, with Spurs definitely missing eight players for Sunday’s fixture, Postecoglou said: “It is challenging. “All clubs are going to have to get their heads around it and authorities are going to have to get their heads around it. “One of two things need to happen: either you somehow change the fixture schedule, which doesn’t seem feasible, or you allow clubs bigger squads. Then you have other issues with that, as well. “The attrition rate you’re seeing and it’s not just us. We’re going through a particularly badly moment. Newcastle went through it last year and it affected them pretty badly. They were obviously in the Champions League as well and probably didn’t have the squad to cope with it. “It hits certain clubs at different times and is probably becoming more prevalent, and for all of us it’s a challenge as to how we navigate this process to keep our players healthy. “It’s not just a physical thing, it’s a mental thing. For us it’s been constant since August and we’re not even halfway through the year. And they’re not going to get a break now, so these things we’re constantly assessing.”

NoneUK ready for ‘all eventualities’ if Trump launches trade war, says Reynolds

Inflation is predicted to average 2.5% this year and 2.6% next year, according to forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility. The British Medical Association said the Government showed a “poor grasp” of unresolved issues from two years of industrial action, and the Royal College of Nursing called the pay recommendation “deeply offensive”. The National Education Union’s chief said teachers were “putting the Government on notice” that the proposed increase “won’t do”. The pay recommendations came after Chancellor Rachel Reeves called for every Government department to cut costs by 5%, as she started work on a sweeping multi-year spending review to be published in 2025. Independent pay review bodies will consider the proposals for pay rises for teachers, NHS workers and senior civil servants. The Department of Health said it viewed 2.8% as a “reasonable amount” to set aside, in its recommendations to the NHS Pay Review Body and the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration Board remit groups. A 2.8% pay rise for teachers in 2025/26 would “maintain the competitiveness of teachers’ pay despite the challenging financial backdrop the Government is facing”, the Department for Education said. The Cabinet Office also suggested pay increases for senior civil servants should be kept to no more than 2.8%. Paul Johnson, director of the influential economics think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said it was “not a bad ballpark figure” and feels “just about affordable” given the Government’s public spending plans. The downside, he said, is that public sector workers have lost out since 2010 and unions will be upset that this is not making up the gap, he told Sky News’ Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge. “But given the constraints facing the Chancellor I think it’s pretty hard to argue for more for public sector pay when public sector services ... are under real strain,” he said. Unions expressed their disappointment in the recommendations, with some hinting they could be willing to launch industrial action. The Royal College of Nursing general secretary and chief executive called for “open direct talks now” to avoid “further escalation to disputes and ballots”. Professor Nicola Ranger said: “The Government has today told nursing staff they are worth as little as £2 extra a day, less than the price of a coffee. “Nursing is in crisis – there are fewer joining and too many experienced professionals leaving. This is deeply offensive to nursing staff, detrimental to their patients and contradictory to hopes of rebuilding the NHS. “The public understands the value of nursing and they know that meaningful reform of the NHS requires addressing the crisis in nursing. “We pulled out of the Pay Review Body process, alongside other unions, because it is not the route to address the current crisis. “That has been demonstrated today. “Fair pay must be matched by structural reform. Let’s open direct talks now and avoid further escalation to disputes and ballots – I have said that directly to government today.” Professor Philip Banfield, chairman of the British Medical Association’s council, urged the sector’s pay review body to “show it is now truly independent”. “For this Government to give evidence to the doctors’ and dentists’ pay review body (DDRB) believing a 2.8% pay rise is enough, indicates a poor grasp of the unresolved issues from two years of industrial action,” he said. He said the proposal is far below the current rate of inflation and that the Government was “under no illusion” when doctors accepted pay offers in the summer that there was a “very real risk of further industrial action” if “pay erosion” was not addressed in future pay rounds. “This sub-inflationary suggestion from the current Government serves as a test to the DDRB. “The BMA expects it to take this opportunity to show it is now truly independent, to take an objective view of the evidence it receives from all parties, not just the Government, and to make an offer that reflects the value of doctors’ skills and expertise in a global market, and that moves them visibly further along the path to full pay restoration.” The NEU’s general secretary, Daniel Kebede, said teachers’ pay had been cut by more than one-fifth in real terms since 2010. “Along with sky-high workload, the pay cuts have resulted in a devastating recruitment and retention crisis. Teacher shortages across the school system hit pupils and parents too. “A 2.8% increase is likely to be below inflation and behind wage increases in the wider economy. This will only deepen the crisis in education.” In a hint that there could be a return to industrial action he added: “NEU members fought to win the pay increases of 2023 and 2024. “We are putting the Government on notice. Our members care deeply about education and feel the depth of the crisis. This won’t do.” The offer for teachers is the “exact opposite of fixing the foundations” and will result in bigger class sizes and more cuts to the curriculum, Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The inadequacy of the proposed pay award is compounded by the Government’s intention that schools should foot the bill out of their existing allocations. “Given that per-pupil funding will increase on average by less than 1% next year, and the Government’s proposal is for an unfunded 2.8% pay award, it is obvious that this is in fact an announcement of further school cuts.” Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: This recommendation falls far short of what is needed to restore the competitiveness of the teaching profession, to enable it to retain experienced professionals and attract new talent. Unison head of health Helga Pile said: “The Government has inherited a financial mess from its predecessors, but this is not what NHS workers wanted to hear. “Staff are crucial in turning around the fortunes of the NHS. Improving performance is a key Government pledge, but the pay rise proposed is barely above the cost of living.”StocktiX Ltd Participates in the 2024 U.S. Investment COO Summit to Explore Cutting-Edge Technologies and Future Financial Trends