German AF GAF612 Global 5000 departed Koln/Bonn Airport earlier and north for fly by at Aalborg Airport, Denmark then sw to Glasgow Airport, Scotland for same and then se to Marseille, France for same and north returning to Koln

00-9001 USAFSOC C-32B departed McGuire AFB sw heading to JBA

Citigroup quarterly profit tumbles on low interest rates, loan demand

Citigroup Inc reported a 34% drop in quarterly profit on Tuesday, slammed by record low interest rates and a slowdown in loan demand due to the pandemic-induced recession. Net income applicable to common shareholders fell to $3.23 billion, or $1.40 per share, in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, from $4.91 billion, or $2.07 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts had expected a profit of 93 cents per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. It was not immediately clear if the estimates were comparable. Earlier on Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase & Co comfortably beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit, riding on a surge in trading revenue as global financial markets rebounded.

In September, Citigroup named Jane Fraser to succeed Michael Corbat as its next chief executive, making her the first woman to lead a major Wall Street bank.

https://www.reuters.com/article/citigroup-results/citigroup-quarterly-profit-tumbles-on-low-interest-rates-loan-demand-idUSL4N2H42FT

Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increases 1.3% in 2021, Contribution Base increased to $142,800

With the release of the CPI report this morning, we now know the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA), and the contribution base for 2021.

From Social Security: Social Security Announces 1.3 Percent Benefit Increase for 2021: Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for approximately 70 million Americans will increase 1.3 percent in 2021, the Social Security Administration announced today.

The 1.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 64 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2021. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2020. (Note: some people receive both Social Security and SSI benefits). The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some other adjustments that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $142,800 from $137,700.

Currently CPI-W is the index that is used to calculate the Cost-Of-Living Adjustments (COLA). Here is a discussion from Social Security on the current calculation (1.3% increase) and a list of previous Cost-of-Living Adjustments. The contribution and benefit base will be $137,700 in 2021.

The National Average Wage Index increased to $54,099.99 in 2019, up 3.75% from $52,145.80 in 2018 (used to calculate contribution base).

https://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2020/10/cost-of-living-adjustment-increases-13.html