Germany’s Bundesbank chief Joachim Nagel urges Europe to boost economic independence, backing a digital euro and euro stablecoins amid "shaky" U.S. ties.The post Germany’s central bank backs stablecoins, CBDC amid US tension appeared first on CoinGeek.
Consumer staples have destroyed consumer discretionary in 2026.
Stacie Haller, a consultant for executives, recently had a meeting with a former business owner in his early 80s. He’d sold his business, started playing golf, and discovered something about himself: he found golf extremely boring. And now, even though he doesn’t need to be, he’s back on the job market. “’I’m so vital’,” he’d told Haller, “’I’m still in the game’.” Haller is a senior herself. She says could have stuck with retirement after getting furloughed from her recruiting job during the pandemic. Instead, she started independently consulting for senior executives and for Resume Builder. Now? She’s working part-time and earning as much as she did before. “I’m happier now in my career than I’ve ever been,” she says. According to recent survey of more than 3,500 U.S. seniors by Resume Builder, around one in eight have returned to work as of December 2025, or are planning to do so. Another 16% have never retired, and 4% were actively applying for jobs. Another survey, by financial advice company The Motley Fool from October 2025, found that 54% of 2,000 Americans who get Social Security benefits “have returned to work or considered going back” because Social Security benefits are so low. But, as in the case of Haller’s former business owner, that’s not the only factor driving what some call “unretirement.”“The number-one answer is usually related to money, but it’s not the clear winner,” says Robert Brokamp, senior retirement adviser at The Motley Fool. “There are many people who do go back to work because they got bored. They got lonely. They needed something to do.” “When you are older, you actually have an opportunity to try something new—or not have as much stress with your job,” says Haller.While these reasons keeping seniors working may have applied in the past, they’re arguably driving more of a trend now because of how work has changed since the pandemic: Flexible, hybrid, and remote work opportunities make it much easier for seniors, who may have health or mobility issues, to remain in the workforce. Rising costs of livingBrokamp says that there’s “no question” that people in their 60s through 80s are returning or continuing to work at increasing rates. With people living well into their 90s, they’ve got a lot more time to budget for, especially in today’s economy. In Resume Builder’s survey, 54% of respondents attributed continuing or returning to work after an initial retirement to the high cost of living. “I don’t know a person that doesn’t go to the supermarket and walk out and say, ‘Are you kidding me?’” Haller says.Such everyday costs also amplify concerns seniors have about Social Security and Medicare, which 26% and 19% in that survey, respectively, cited as their reasons for working. Though Social Security did undergo a recent 2.8% cost of living adjustment increase, 54% of recipients told The Motley Fool that wasn’t high enough. With inflation at 2.7%, that increase might seem like enough—but the problem, says Brokamp, is that inflation often plays out differently for working professionals than retirees. “The inflation rate for healthcare is over 3%,” he says—a major cost for seniors, who not only may visit doctors more regularly, but also tend to spend more on prescription medications than their younger counterparts. Other financial factors that drive seniors to return to work include not having saved enough for retirement, having to pay off debt (medical or otherwise), and needing to support their children, per Resume Builder. This picture, of course, looks different across different wealth brackets. Geoffrey Sanzenbacher, a research fellow at Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research, has found that people who’ve earned less income during their careers, and therefore don’t have as much “emergency savings,” can get “drawn back into the labor market” with a single “health shock” to them or a family member.Unlike other surveys, Sanzenbacher’s research points to a low unretirement rate of 1.9%, which he says comes from looking at narrower timelines (as in, seniors working at the time of the survey, not within that year). “Right now, you have a perfect storm of reasons why the unretirement rate might be low,” Sanzenbacher says. That includes a not-great job market (more people “unretire” in good job markets because they have more opportunities, he says) and a high stock market. So, retirees relying on 401Ks, for example, should be well in the black. This, to him, suggests that people unretiring now must be doing it because they really need the cash.Continued vitality, personal fulfillmentIf seniors are reentering the workforce by choice post-retirement, they’re likely doing it to have some fun—and are perhaps more likely to be doing more independent work, like starting their own businesses, which doesn’t rely on getting hired.Haller mentions seniors who’ve emerged from retirement to start their own Etsy shops, and Sanzenbacher brings up the idea of a retired worker who’s always wanted to be a tour guide finally fulfilling that dream. The desire to return to work to try something new, says Sanzenbacher, “is very common among higher income or more educated workers.” Typically, he adds, those post-career jobs relate to the former retiree’s original career. “They were a lawyer, and now they’re an arbitration judge who works one day a week on Zoom,” suggests Sanzenbacher, “or they were a teacher, and now they’re a tour guide.” Sometimes, these reentries are part of long-term plans. Other times, says Sanzenbacher, “it can be [from] the realization that retirement isn’t as fun as what people thought.”“The evidence on whether retirement is good for us is very mixed, and it really depends on what you’re retiring from and what you’re retiring to,” says Brokamp. “Many people have boring, stressful, arduous jobs, and retirement is very good for them. On the other hand, many people had decent jobs that they actually somewhat enjoyed, and when they retire, they feel adrift.”This rings true for a lot of the seniors Haller speaks with about unretirement. After “enjoying work,” at 54%, Resume Builder survey respondents described non-financial factors like “combatting boredom” and “to socialize” as significant reasons to keep working or go back to work after retirement. Mark Brodsky, 72, director of Field Associate Learning at Lowe’s, has barely even conceived of retirement, though people often ask him when he’s going to do it. “Usually, without missing a beat, I say, ‘The day I have no further value to provide and or my value is not needed or wanted.’” This could mean never retiring. “Did Picasso stop painting?” he asks. “I spent 50 years developing my craft . . . Why should I put that on the shelf?”Flexible work, more optionsHaller, for one, says she can work as much as she does because working remotely, or in hybrid positions, has become such a norm. “Our bodies age,” says Haller. “Honestly, I’m not getting on a commuter train for two hours a day anymore.”The flexibility that often comes with remote or part-time work fits with what most seniors returning to work from retirement are looking for, anyway. “I don’t know any 70- or 75-year-old who really wants that high-pressured, C-suite job if they’re going back to work,” Haller says, and they should make this clear to employers if they’re looking for the kind of work that requires getting hired (instead of working independently like Haller). Haller suggests seniors tell hiring managers that they’re looking for more relaxed positions than in their previous careers. Otherwise, hiring might assume seniors are looking for the same, high salaries they retired with, and not want to spend that much money on an employee who’s likely not going to remain in the workforce for very long.“We have to overcome that objection,” Haller says, by making it explicit to employers that salaries commensurate with past full-time jobs aren’t what “unretirees” are requesting. Make that known in cover letters or networking conversations, Haller suggests, and emphasize the pros you’ll bring to the office even if you’re not necessarily in it for as long as younger workers. Seniors coming out of retirement have probably “seen every situation in the workforce already,” Haller says, and can keep a cool head encountering problems while valuably mentoring younger colleagues. Brodsky calls this “scar tissue”: “Life provides you bumps and bruises, and scar tissue is actually an attribute . . . If I were hiring a senior executive for important work, I’d want to bring on somebody who had scar tissue.”Regardless of the reasons for returning to work, the overall message is clear. “We don’t go off into pasture when we turn 65 anymore,” Haller says. “We have choices now.”
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____________Bottom lineKey takeaway: For the chairwoman of the Florida State Fair Authority, keeping the state fair alive year after year is not only about rides and fried foods, but the opportunity to showcase Florida's agriculture industry to the public. Core challenge: The agriculture industry faces myriad challenges, such as a sudden deep freeze that devastated crops days before the fair's opening day. What’s next: The Florida State Fair will soon start preparing for the 2027 event. ____________When Susanne Clemons was a girl, going to the Florida State Fair was less about produce and cattle and more about cigars and pirate invasions, she says. From 1915 to the mid-1970s, the state fair was held in downtown Tampa — an invention of railroad tycoon Henry B. Plant intended to draw visitors to his grand hotel. The main attraction was the band of marauding pirates who paraded through the streets each year after capturing the key to the city. It wasn’t until 1977 that the fair separated from the swashbuckling downtown and moved to its current home: 335 acres in then-rural east Tampa off Interstate 4, U.S. Highway 301 and Interstate 75. And it wasn’t until then that Clemons, a fifth-generation Floridian with deep roots in the state’s agricultural industry, began to see the fair as more than just a collection of novelty acts and fried foods. “A lot of the old-timers like me can get nostalgic about its days downtown, but you know the roots of the fair are Florida agriculture and it’s really become a way for us to showcase our way of life and how important these industries truly are,” Clemons says.Rooting for the agriculture industry is in Clemons’ DNA — and a key reason why she’s now in her fifth year as chairwoman of the Florida State Fair Authority, the 72-year-old says.The work Clemons and her State Fair team of 110 employees are doing is reaching peak season of urgency, coming as the event wrapped up another 12-day event Feb. 16. That's because agriculture is a $9 billion dollar industry in Florida — one of the largest in the state — that also faces a bushel of challenges. Those range from damage incurred during weather events like freezes and hurricanes to labor shortages to pests and diseases. From livestock competitions to educational programs like its student-centric Ag-Venture, the Florida State Fair is a vital showcase for local farmers to connect directly with consumers and promote agriculture as a key economic driver for the state while also fostering career development for young people interested in joining the industry. In her rootsA fifth-generation Floridan, Clemons was born into a family of citrus farmers in Sebring and grew up growing oranges around Highlands and Hardee counties. When she fell in love with a cowboy named Pete Clemons, Susanne’s passion for citrus grew to include cattle ranching and dairy. She raised cattle with her husband at their home in Okeechobee until his death in 2018. That year Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson first appointed Clemons to the Florida State Fair Authority Board. ____________By the numbers: Florida State FairState fair attendance: 397,992 in 2025. 338,499 in 2024. 405,888 in 2023. 428,200 in 2022. 292,369 in 2021. Rides: 90+Vendors: 200+Size: 336 acres Employees: 110Annual operating budget: $23 million Annual events: 250, drawing more than 2 million visitorsFlorida economic impact: $152 millionSource: Florida State Fair, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Commission ____________Her devotion to state agriculture also led her to become a longtime board member for such organizations as the Okeechobee Cattlemen’s Association, Okeechobee Rodeo Committee, Florida Cattlemen’s Foundation and the Okeechobee Area Agri-Council. Clemons was also state chairperson of the USDA State Farm Service Committee from 2010 until 2016, the first woman to hold the position. “But you know what,” Clemons says, “out of all the things I’ve done and all the boards I’ve chaired, I think I’ve enjoyed this more than anything else. You know, at the fairgrounds you’re about five minutes away from a complete and total disaster — a ride getting stuck up in the air or bad weather driving everybody away. It’s very challenging but it’s also a very dynamic workforce where everyone is totally committed to their job and it’s been a privilege to watch the fair continue to evolve and get better and better each year.”It isn’t always an easy job, says Simpson — especially during years like this one, where a sudden cold blast plunged temperatures into the 20s in large parts of the state and sent farmers racing to protect their crops in the days leading up to Feb. 5, the first day of the fair’s 12-day run. Temperatures dipped well below freezing throughout most of the state for three nights in a row. “You know, we really got devastated in Florida even though we don’t know the full extent of it yet,” Simpson told the Business Observer. “Early assessments would be anywhere from $500 million to $1.5 billion of damage, and we’ve got to remember that, at this time of year, we’re growing 70% to 80% of the vegetables that are sold on the eastern seaboard of the United States, so we’re the breadbasket of the country right now.” Simpson says his office has been in touch with the White House about supplying farmers with block grant money to help compensate for some of the damage. Still, with temperatures warming up just in time for the fair, Simpson says this year’s event is a key opportunity for farmers throughout the state to market their industry to the public in an interactive and impactful way. “Susanne’s done an amazing job with the team showcasing agriculture from across the state,” Simpson says. “You have many, many 4H and FFA kids here and we’re so proud of the progress we’ve made even over the last three years. We went from 30,000 FFA kids to more than 65,000 statewide, so we’re seeing a lot more activity and a lot more young people getting involved in agriculture each year.” A business worth saving The fair plays a huge role in educating and recruiting young people into agricultural jobs, Simpson says. The average age of a farmer in the U.S. is around 58 years old, and it will be up to younger generations to keep Florida’s agriculture alive. Susanne Clemons is chairwoman of the Florida State Fair Authority.Photo by Mark WempleWhile tourism still brings the most money into the state economy, agriculture is the second largest industry in Florida, Clemons says, and the Florida State Fair is a perfect amalgam of both. Tourism brought in roughly $133.6 billion to the state of Florida in 2024, while agriculture products brought in roughly $9 billion. When including the broader food, agriculture and natural resources industries, the total economic impact exceeds $100 billion to $137 billion annually, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture.“Every year, no matter the age, the biggest question I get at the fair is ‘Where are the animals?’” Clemons says. “You would be amazed at the number of people who have never held a chicken or never seen a pig close up. This is their first introduction to the many different types of agriculture we have in Florida and also an opportunity for them to really think about where their food comes from and how important it is to make sure those industries stay protected. Society now is so many generations removed from the farm that they don't even really understand the challenges of farming anymore.”The fair, too, is a business worth saving, she says. A quasi-governmental entity, the fair doesn’t have a recurring line item in the state budget, Clemons says — “we have to pay our own way.” So far, the organization has managed to do just that, with more than 250 non-fair events held at the Florida State Fairgrounds each year, including concerts at the MIDFLORIDA Amphitheater and the largest motorhome show in the U.S.The fair has had its off years, she says, particularly during the pandemic or years with bad weather. But attendance has increased in recent years, to an estimated 300,000 people who attended the fair in 2025. This year, with a patriotic theme in celebration of America’s 250th birthday, attendance is expected to exceed 400,000. “It’s constant maintenance, constant work," Clemons says, "and any time we make money we reinvest it back into our facility, but I have to say it’s never looked better than it does today."
PERRYVILLE — An energy crisis is squeezing Cecil County.
The White House has insisted that President Donald Trump was visiting Georgia to promote the economy. But in the opening minutes of his first stop at a local restaurant, the president raised the prospect of voter fraud without evidence and...
Columbia leaders want to attract companies to put corporate headquarters in the region, after Scout Motors passed in favor of Charlotte. What does the city need to do differently?
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