70 percent of Americans can't answer these 3 basic money questions

When economists Annamaria Lusardi and Olivia Mitchell conducted a three-question survey to see how much people really know about compound interest, inflation and stock risk, the results weren't great: Only 30 percent of respondents answered all three questions correctly. "Financial literacy should not be taken for granted," Lusardi tells Stephen Dubner on a recent Freakonomics podcast. Suppose you have $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was two percent per year.

Japan is in striking distance of North Korea — but here's why the yen is rallying anyway

Despite Japan being a likely target of freshly erupting North Korean ire, traders still see the yen as a safe-haven play, and they're pushing the currency higher. The yen has surged, with the dollar fetching around 109 yen, having shed more than four big figures in the last month. If Washington wished to avoid military action , it should stop "recklessly" provoking Pyongyang, a separate statement from another military spokesperson said, according to the stat-run outlet.

Why Nordstrom is beating all of its department store competitors

Calls for the death of brick-and-mortar retail have increased as many major department stores continue to report gloomy sales performance. “Nordstrom appears to be years ahead of its peers in digital initiatives and development of its off-price concept,” according to Susquehanna’s Bill Dreher. The company’s 1.7% same-store sales growth in the second quarter bucked the trend of negative sales from peers like Macy’s (M), Kohl’s (KSS) and JC Penney (JCP).

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  Sales declines at US department stores belie claims of economic recovery

  wsws.org
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  It's Bizarre How Dying Sears Shares Are Climbing as Rivals Get Hammered

  The Street