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Get Ready for Diminished Social Security COLA for 2024?

EDITOR'S NOTES

If you’re a retiree, brace yourself: the upcoming Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) might leave you feeling a little colder. As American seniors grapple with relentless inflation, the Social Security Administration gears up to announce a 2024 COLA that’s expected to be notably leaner than last year’s generous uptick. The Senior Citizens League, analyzing the August inflation data, puts the figure at a potential 3.2% – a sharp decline from 2023’s record 8.7% surge, yet still marginally above the two-decade average of 2.6%. But even these percentage games offer scant consolation to retirees, who find the real-dollar impact of such COLA adjustments inadequate amidst rising living costs. Add to the mix the paradoxical challenges of increased benefits – higher taxation and reduced eligibility for essential support programs. The call? A more senior-centric inflation measure. As COLA 2024 looms, the notion of having invested in the right safe haven securities returns with stinging relevance.

U.S. defense stocks spiked Monday after the attack on Israel by Hamas left over 1,000 dead and even more wounded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video on Saturday that Israel is "at war" and called for a massive military response. Additionally, on Sunday, Netanyahu told President Biden "We have to go in," according to Axios.

Shares of Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX and General Dynamics all rose as investors speculate how the U.S. made aid its ally which could include ordering more weapons.

The Israeli leader has previously said that the war against Hamas will be "long and difficult."

Hamas terrorists struck Israel over the weekend in the deadliest attacks the country has experienced in decades. Israel’s government has launched airstrikes on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and is mobilizing military reservists in preparation for a response, while Hezbollah – an Iran-backed terror proxy based in Lebanon – has expressed support for Hamas and remains a threat on Israel’s northern border.

Shares of General Dynamics, which makes submarines and combat vehicles, rose the most since March 2020 when it gained over 9%, according to Dow Jones Market Data Group.

Lockheed Martin makes F-35 fighter jets as well as Sikorsky and Black Hawk helicopters.

The fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act is asking for a 3.3% rise in U.S. defense spending to $886.3 billion, while analysts at Bank of America predict the U.S. Department of Defense’s discretionary spending will shoot past the $1 trillion level by fiscal 2026.

Originally published by Joe Toppe at FOX Business