Weekly News Quiz

You can sniff out a scam by keeping a watchful eye out for on-the-spot offers, fees for service and unsolicited offers. You should also investigate before hiring a contractor, make sure you’re working with genuine insurance agents, and be careful about whom you give personal information to.

The strike “means operations at the covered ports stop. Neither imports nor exports will move, vessels will start to back up outside the ports, containers will sit and industries from retail to manufacturing to agriculture will be impacted,” according to Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation. “For retailers, that means holiday shipments might not arrive on time. Manufacturers might not receive parts, materials and supplies needed for production, which will lead to assembly lines shutting down.”

One rule of thumb is to build an emergency fund that can cover three to six months’ worth of living expenses. However, “for retirees I’d say more like six to nine months,” one expert recommends. “This is because they have a higher chance of unexpected health care costs arising,” he says. “They also are no longer receiving an income from a job and have a large majority of their wealth tied to investments, so having a larger chunk of available cash allows those investments to ride out tough times and can help them avoid having to sell during an inopportune time in the market.”