Ignore What's In Your Message from WEX and You Won't be Vexed

Those with Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) may have received this vexing email about WEX, the entity that administers those accounts:

 

Not Exactly Roaring Back

Although the governor has been saying that California is "roaring back" - see the photo - our regular Thursday check-in on new weekly claims for unemployment insurance in the state doesn't suggest a roar. Things have been essentially flat during the past few weeks ending May 18, as the chart above indicates.

As always, the latest claims data are at: 

https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf.

Investments in Changing Times

The times, they are a'changing.

If oil and tobacco don't appeal to you as retirement fund investments, UC offers a new fossil fuel-free, tobacco-free investment vehicle in its various options:

Effective April 1, 2021, a new investment option will join the UC Retirement Savings Program fund menu: the UC Global Equity ex Fossil Fuel Fund.

If you’re looking to invest in a greener economy, explore the new UC Global Equity ex Fossil Fuel Fund. This fund is designed to invest in domestic and international companies that do not own fossil fuel reserves or sell tobacco products.

This fund may appeal to you if you do not wish to own companies with fossil fuel reserves—either because of your values or for other reasons—yet want to retain broad stock market exposures and their investment returns. Plus, the fund gives you the opportunity to invest in the same stock exposure that is used for the index holdings of the UC Pension and Endowment!

HOW WILL THE FUND INVEST?

The UC Global Equity ex Fossil Fuel Fund is an index fund, aiming to track the composition and performance of an equity market index—in this case the MSCI ACWI IMI ex Fossil Fuels ex Tobacco Index—by holding essentially all stock constituents at the same weight.

The index measures the performance of approximately 8,000 large, mid and small-cap stocks across the US, developed and emerging markets.

Companies are excluded if they own “proved and probable” reserves of oil, gas, or thermal coal, or are considered to be in the tobacco industry. The fund excludes more than 300 fossil fuel reserve-owning companies because, in the determination of the Chief Investment Officer, these companies pose material risks that outweigh their potential returns. The fund may exclude other companies for similar reasons.

WHAT ARE THE FUND'S MANAGEMENT FEES?

Index funds tend to have lower fees than funds that are “actively” managed—that is, funds that try to outperform market returns. On your behalf, UC has negotiated razor-thin management fees: The UC Global Equity ex Fossil Fuel Fund’s expense ratio will be 0.01%.

More information at https://myucretirement.com/Resource/2305.

The US Is Having a Sputnik Moment That Could Benefit UC

When the Soviet Union launched its Sputnik satellite in 1957 - the first such satellite - the US suddenly developed an interest in fostering science, technology, engineering, math, etc., now often referred to as STEM subjects.

According to the NY Times, there is now developing a similar movement - this time over concerns about competition with China.

Senate Weighs Investing $120 Billion in Science to Counter China

The legislation has drawn bipartisan support amid the coronavirus pandemic as Democrats and Republicans have become increasingly concerned about Beijing’s supply chain dominance.

...“If we’re going to win the next century, the United States needs to be the one discovering the next groundbreaking technologies,” [Senate Majority Leader] Schumer said. “We have the opportunity now to set our country on a path to out-innovate, outproduce and outcompete the world in emerging industries of the 21st century, with profound consequences for our economic and national security. If we don’t lead in science and innovation, we will fall way behind.” ...

The legislation would provide $120 billion to support and expand research into new technologies, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and robotics. It would include $10 billion for the creation of 10 technology hubs to connect manufacturing hubs and research universities across the United States in an effort to scatter investments, rather than building onto already established tech behemoths on the two coasts...

Full story at https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/18/us/politics/senate-china-science.html

More Delete and Don't Click

Yours truly keeps getting these solicitations (as above). If you get them, delete and don't click. They don't come from the university. At best they are scams. At worst, they will put malware on your computer. 

Three in a room

From the Bruin: UCLA is planning to offer triple capacity rooms in fall on-campus housing to accommodate a higher number of students, administrators announced Monday.

With the recent decline in COVID-19 cases and increased vaccination rates, Chancellor Gene Block and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Emily Carter said in an campuswide email Monday that under the updated housing capacity, UCLA will be able to offer more housing options to foster youth, veterans and second-year students, including second-year transfer students.

Previously, the priority groups for on-campus housing included incoming freshmen, sophomores, first-year transfer students and students with an institutional need, according to an April 2 announcement...

 UCLA also expects to offer about 80% of courses in-person in the fall, with the exception of large lecture classes, which will likely be held remotely, according to the email Monday. Previously, administrators estimated that 70% to 80% of classes would be held in person...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2021/05/17/ucla-plans-to-offer-triple-capacity-housing-some-in-person-courses-in-fall

Harvard Admissions - Again

From time to time, we provide updates on the Harvard admissions case that is wending its way to the U.S. Supreme Court as a potential test of "affirmative action." Much depends at this point on whether the Court wants to use the Harvard case to come up with a new take on affirmative action in admissions (or elsewhere). There are reasons to think the Court might not want to use this particular case for such a purpose, even if it wants to change direction. The Court can decide simply not to hear the appeal.

From Politico:

Harvard University on Monday urged the Supreme Court to reject Students for Fair Admissions’ petition for race-blind admissions, which is widely believed to become the high court’s next opening to ban affirmative action

“After years of discovery, SFFA produced no persuasive evidence to support its legal claims,” Harvard lawyers wrote in a 47-page brief. “SFFA is not entitled to battle out the facts a third time in this Court.”

The anti-affirmative action group, which represents more than 20,000 students nationwide, in February petitioned the Supreme Court to hear its challenge against the Ivy League school and overturn the ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger, the landmark affirmative action case that has shaped admissions policies for nearly two decades. In Grutter, the Supreme Court decided it was legal for colleges to consider race and use a holistic admissions policy, as long as their affirmative action programs were narrowly tailored. SFFA also asked the high court to decide whether Harvard is violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act “by penalizing Asian-American applicants, engaging in racial balancing, overemphasizing race, and rejecting workable race-neutral alternatives.”...

Full story at https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2021/05/harvard-urges-supreme-court-to-toss-affirmative-action-challenge-2055970 via today's UCOP Daily News Clips.