LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Gold futures trickled lower Thursday in electronic trading, failing to extend gains in the wake of the Federal Reserve's decision to stay the course on its monetary stimulus program.
AFP/Getty Images Gold for December delivery (GCZ3) lost another $12.50, or 0.9%, to $1,336.80 an ounce. December silver (SIZ3) , meanwhile, was hit even harder, giving up 59 cents, or 2.7%, to $22.39 an ounce.
A day earlier, gold prices rose after data showing a slowdown in U.S. private-sector job growth in October reinforced expectations that the Fed's taper playing won't be taking place anytime soon.
The Federal Reserve decided Wednesday to hold monetary policy steady, saying that conditions remained too weak to pull back from its bond-buying program.
"The question remains how much of this extended [quantitative easing] is gold pricing already?" said Standard Bank's Walter de Wet. "Given that the consensus view is for tapering to start later in 2014, we believe that gold is already reflecting this more accommodative policy stance to a large degree."
The next big event for gold traders to keep an eye on will be next month's Senate confirmation hearing for Janet Yellen as Fed chief. Jeffrey Wright, managing director at H.C. Wainwright, said this should be supportive for gold, considering her dovish stance on monetary policy.
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Elsewhere in metals trading, high-grade copper (HGZ3) shed 2 cents, or 0.6%, to $3.31 a pound, while January platinum (PLF4) lost $19.90, or 1.4%, to $1,460 an ounce and December palladium (PAZ3) fell $6.10, or 0.8%, to $743.40 an ounce.
Alamy Every October, hundreds of Halloween pop-up stores emerge in malls and empty storefronts across the country. Meanwhile, existing costume shops hire a ton of seasonal employees for the Halloween rush, and drugstores and other retailers dedicate an aisle or two to costumes and candy. At every one of these establishments, you'll find a variety of ready-made costumes in bags, not to mention fake weapons, mustaches, wigs and other accessories. But when it comes time to choose your costume, we'd urge you to skip the Halloween store and head for the thrift shop. "No costume-in-a-bag has ever won a costume contest," scoffs Melissa Massello, founder of DIY and frugal living site Shoestring Magazine. "If you go the DIY route, you're much more likely to get the cash prize or gift certificate." Even if you don't care about winning costume contests, there's another good argument for skipping the costume shop: It's a lot cheaper to put your costume from scratch than to buy it ready-made. Consider one staple costume: The old-timey gangster. This one usually consists of a large-fitting, pinstriped suit, some manner of fedora or other brimmed hat, and perhaps a fake tommy gun. Throw in a wide tie with a thick knot, and perhaps a cigar, and you're all set. I visited a large costume shop here in New York, and found a whole section dedicated to the gangster look. Its offerings were pricey: One costume cost $60, and another came in at $70. The bag contained only the suit -- no tie, tommy gun or hat was included. Then I headed over to the Salvation Army thrift store, which happened to be next door. There were plenty of ill-fitting suits on the rack, and I found a nice pinstriped one for just $24. But that's not all: Most of the store is 50 percent off on Wednesday, so the actual price was just $12. And unlike the polyester "suits" from the costume shop, these were real garments, meant to last, albeit used ones that probably needed a good dry-cleaning. If I'd decided I liked the look of the suit, I could've even had it tailored after Halloween and entered it into regular rotation in my wardrobe. The mass-produced "gangster" costume, by contrast, looked unlikely to hold up to multiple wearings. That's just one example. Another would be the classic Super Mario costume, which consists of a pair of blue overalls, a red shirt and a red hat. At a costume shop, you're looking at paying about $40 for this costume. (That's also what you pay for a "Pete the Plumber" costume, a shameless ripoff of Nintendo's beloved character.) But again, there's no need to buy a costume in a bag when it can be assembled from clothes found at any thrift store -- how much would it really cost to buy a pair of overalls and a red shirt at your local Goodwill? If you do decide to go the thrift store route, there are a few things to keep in mind going in. Things are about to get very busy. "October is like Black Friday for thrift stores," says Massello, who has a tradition of making her costumes from scratch. "At this point, a week away, they're starting to get picked over." Get there before the weekend rush if you can, but keep in mind that you might need to hit multiple stores in the area to put together your full costume. Plan ahead, but be willing to improvise. Massello recommends doing Google Image searches of your costume beforehand and putting together an itemized list of what you need at the store (and what you can provide from your own closet). But if you still haven't decided on a costume, or you're not sure that you'll find every element you need, your best bet might be to go in with a few costumes in mind and hope that inspiration strikes while you're browsing the buck-a-pound box. Remember to clean what you get. There's one advantage that a costume in a bag has over a thrift-store creation: It doesn't need to be cleaned first. Make sure you leave enough time to clean your purchase. "You need to assume that nothing has been washed at a thrift store," Massello says. "If you're buying the day before, don't buy something that has to be dry-cleaned." 
) ahead of its fourth quarter earnings.
Alamy By now, most people recognize that the world of personal financial has undergone some drastic changes. Money expert and author Matt Rettick says Americans need to recognize that things will never go back to the way they were before the financial crisis. "The old fear used to be that you'd die right after you retired and you wouldn't have a chance to enjoy it," Rettick says. "The new fear is that you'll outlive your money." The days of relying on a combination of a pension from your lifelong employer and a reasonable Social Security check to support you in your old age are over. In fact, Rettick says, we're fast approaching a time when the average person could spend more years in retirement than working. His new book -- "All the Rules Have Changed: What You Must Do to Succeed in the New Financial Reality" -- delves into the new financial order. We recently talked to Rettick about the new financial strategies and how people need to adjust their plans in light of them. 5 Pillars of Financial Security and How to Replace Them 1. Pension plans are disappearing. "At their peak in 1983, there were 175,000 pension plans," says Rettick. "Today there are less than 25,000 pension plans and many of those are frozen so that new employees cannot join them. People are living 30 years on their pensions instead of two or three years, and stock market returns haven't been high enough, so many of these plans are insolvent." The solution: Rettick says you should create your own pension plan by setting up annuities for your retirement. 2. Social Security is unstable. "Since 2010 we've been paying out more money in Social Security benefits than we're taking in through payroll taxes," says Rettick. "Social Security will only become solvent if we decrease benefits or increase taxes. More than likely, they'll increase the age limits in the future." The solution: If you're under 40, you should act as if Social Security won't be there at all when you retire; if it is, then you'll have some bonus income in retirement. If you're older than 40, Rettick recommends working with a Social Security expert to help you decide when it's the right time to trigger your benefits. "If you take them at 62, you'll get 25 percent less than if you wait until you're 66, and if you wait until you're 70 you'll get 25 percent more than you will if you start at 66." 3. The stock market is volatile and unpredictable. "Twenty or 30 years ago, it was a big deal if the stock market moved 20 or 30 points in a day, but now we can see it move 400 points in a day," Rettick says. "The old rule used to be buy and hold because if you hang in there the market will come back. But depending on your age and whether you're in retirement, the impact of that strategy could be devastating." The solution: Be well diversified, says Rettick, and follow the "investment rule of 100." The rule of 100 says that you take the age to which you could potentially live (100) and subtract the age you are now. The percentage of your assets matching the age you are now should be invested in safe, no-risk, guaranteed accounts; the remainder should be invested in stocks. So, for example, if you're 60, then 60 percent of your investments should be no-risk and up to 40 percent should be in stocks. "Reducing losses is extremely important once you're over age 50," says Rettick. 4. Home equity is unreliable. "The three legs of your financial plan used to be a retirement plan such as a pension or a 401(k), Social Security, and personal savings," says Rettick. "For most people, their home represented a huge percent of their assets. We all saw what happened to those assets during the housing crisis, and even though housing values are going up again, 10 percent of homeowners are still underwater on their mortgages." The solution: Rettick recommends paying off your mortgage as soon as possible so that you own a safe and secure asset and are not in danger of losing your home. He also suggests that you don't rely on your home for cash flow the way some people did before the housing bubble burst. "Depend more on your savings and investments than on your home," he says. 5. People are living longer. "The majority of people feel they aren't ready for retirement and expect to be worse off in retirement," says Rettick. "The reality is that you need to be prepared to live for 20 or 30 years in retirement." The solution: Rettick recommends getting appropriate investment advice to avoid the erosion of your savings due to inflation, to avoid losses, and to prepare for long-term care costs. Common sense still applies "People can handle the new reality if they save more and spend less," Rettick says. "Everyone needs to eliminate debt as soon as possible and put the burden of the future in their own hands, ideally saving 10 to 15 percent of their income for retirement."
Bloomberg 
Head Start at risk in shutdown NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The government shutdown could cost Melanie Rhodes her job. 