It’s the final trading day of 2024, so join Seana Smith and Madison Mills for a look back at several of this year’s trends while speaking with Wall Street experts and looking ahead to what 2025 may bring.

BofA Securities head of US rates strategy Mark Caban, and Allspring Global Investments head of plus fixed income Janet Rilling discuss their bond market (^TYX, ^TNX, ^FVX) forecasts while the Federal Reserve is only expected to cut interest rates by as much as two times next year..

Raymond James Managing Director Savi Syth comes on the program to talk about the firm’s latest upgrade it gave to American Airlines (AAL) while expecting strong travel demand to carry into 2025.

To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here.

Other top trending stocks on the Yahoo Finance platform include Palantir Technologies (PLTR), Tesla (TSLA), Super Micro Computer (SMCI), Fannie Mae (FNMA), Freddie Mac (FMCC), and Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO).

This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

Have you set your financial goals for 2025 yet? The end of the year is the perfect time to reflect on what has happened to date, it’s a time to review your progress against past goals and set financial intentions for the upcoming year. Setting financial goals is the foundation for success and growth.

Why Financial Goals Matter

The value of setting financial goals can often be underestimated, but financial goals are important. Here are a few reasons why financial goals matter:

• Clarity and direction: Financial goals offer you a clear roadmap for where you want to go financially. Finances are an important pillar to your overall health and having a healthy financial plan will reduce financial stress and keep you happy. Financial goals provide focus and help prioritize spending, saving, and investing your money.
• Motivation and accountability: Financial goals create a sense of purpose for your money and keep you motivated to stick to your plans. It gives your money a job. You can easily track your progress against your goals and that can keep you accountable as you check in on your progress and ensure you meet your targets.
• Financial security and freedom: Financial goals ensure you are saving for emergencies, retirement, and investing your money. Without a plan your money won’t do anything, but when you plan for where your money needs to go, it allows you to build wealth intentionally rather than hoping that it will all work out.

What Happens If You Don’t Set Financial Goals?

Not having financial goals may feel harmless but there are consequences to not giving your money direction and purpose. Here are some ways your finances suffer from not setting financial goals:

1. Lack of focus leads to wasted money

Without goals, money often gets spent impulsively rather than strategically planning and saving for purchases.

2. Missed opportunities for growth

No financial goals mean no plan for investing in your future. You may fail to take advantage of wealth building opportunities.

3. Financial stress and insecurity

Living paycheck to paycheck and constantly worrying about money is stressful, and unexpected expenses can derail your finances.

4. Slower progress to retirement or big dreams

Without a goal you risk delaying retirement or never achieving major financial milestones that can bring joy to your life.

How to Set Financial Goals for 2025

Now that you see how setting financial goals can help you, here are some tips on how to set your financial goals for 2025:

1. Reflect

Asses where your finances are now, and what has worked and not worked for you in the past. Identify areas for improvement and opportunities for growth.

2. Set SMART goals

SMART goals are more specific and measurable. For example, rather than stating you’ll build an emergency fund you can set a goal of saving $10,000 for an emergency fund by December 2025.

3. Break goals into milestones

Divide larger goals such as retirement into smaller, manageable steps and be sure to track your progress monthly or quarterly. And don’t forget to celebrate your small wins to keep you motivated on your progress.

4. Prioritize wealth building strategies

Debt eats away at wealth so prioritize being debt free and building passive income streams to help you build wealth.

The bottom line is that you win when you set financial goals and stay accountable to them through the year. Goals give you the clarity, focus, and motivation needed to turn your financial dreams into reality. Without a plan, it’s easy to drift and let opportunities slip away. But with clear goals and consistent tracking, you create the foundation for long-term financial security, growth, and freedom. As 2025 approaches, take the time to define your goals, map out your strategy, and commit to the process. Your future self will thank you.

TOKYO (AP) — Asian markets shares were mixed on Tuesday, with trading closed in Tokyo and Seoul for New Year holidays.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney skidded 0.6% to 8,182.80 in early trading. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.5% to 20,140.91, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.2% to 3,399.74 after Chinese manufacturing data seemed to show that Beijing’s stimulus measures have not done enough to boost the nation’s sluggish economy.

On Monday, U.S. stocks closed broadly lower, with the S&P 500 falling 1.1% to 5,906.94, its third straight decline. Roughly 90% of stocks within the index lost ground. On the second-to-last day of 2024, the benchmark index was still on track for its second straight yearly gain of more than 20%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1% to 42,573.73, and the Nasdaq composite ended 1.2% lower, at 19,486.78.

Big Tech companies were the heaviest weights on the market, worsening the slump. Apple and Microsoft fell 1.3%. Their pricey valuations tend to have an outsized impact on the broader market.

Elsewhere among tech stocks, Meta Platforms dropped 1.4%, Netflix slipped 0.8% and Amazon fell 1.1%.

The S&P 500’s technology and communication services sectors have been the market’s high flyers, notching gains of 37.1% and 39.9%, respectively, so far this year.

Boeing fell 2.3% after one of its jets skidded off a runway in South Korea, killing 179 of the 181 people aboard. South Korea is inspecting all 737-800 aircraft operated by airlines in the country.

The disaster was yet another blow for Boeing following a machinists strike, further safety problems with its troubled top-selling aircraft and a plunging stock price. Its shares have declined more than 30% this year.

Airlines that fly Boeing jets wavered in the wake of the crash. United Airlines fell 1.4% and Delta Air Lines dropped 0.9%.

Markets are nearing the close of a stellar year driven by a growing economy, solid consumer spending and a strong jobs market. Wall Street expects companies within the S&P 500 to report broad earnings growth of more than 9% for the year, according to FactSet. The final figures will be tallied following fourth-quarter reports that start in a few weeks.

Investors were encouraged by inflation cooling throughout the year to close to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. That raised hopes that the central bank would deliver a steady stream of interest rate cuts, which would ease borrowing costs and fuel more economic growth.

The Fed cut interest rates three times in 2024, but has signaled a more cautious approach heading into 2025 as inflation shows signs of reheating. The latest report on consumer prices showed that inflation edged slightly higher, to 2.7%, in November.

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