16 July 2018
List-Serve Sage Advice/Comment: “This time I have to disagree with you and MSN on the “leave” advice. Most women after 40 and men after 50 have a difficult time finding another job that pays the same or more than their existing one. Period, end of story. I was let go from XYS together with the tens of thousands of superfluous “people (who) are our greatest asset.” In many subsequent interviews I was looked over by the hiring managers and either not offered a position or offered 50% of what I was making before. A few lucky people can find jobs later in career if they have friends who can help them out, but most suffer the effects of ageism”
I would add: If you cannot find another job before you leave your current one, reward your self-respect by becoming the best you can be in your current job, be helpful to those around you and ask yourself if you have learned everything you can at your current job. Also, remember that your job can change suddenly if your boss/coworkers leave, your duties are changed, etc.
Question: According to MSN:Money what are 9 money myths debunked?
Chinese banks seek more foreign partners – Pg. 4
– China’s development banks – the biggest lenders in the sector worldwide – are ramping up co-operation with overseas financial institutions after a series of problems afflicted their international investment projects
– The China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export-Import Bank of China (Ex-Im Bank) are seeking to spread the burden of funding international projects…
– CDB is considering combining its lending efforts with western financial institutions that require adherence to “international standards” – including open, competitive tenders for project contracts as well as public studies on environmental and social impacts
– By the end of 2014, the two Chinese policy banks, CDB and Ex-Im Bank, had outstanding loans to foreign borrowers of nearly $700bn, much the same as the total outstanding lending of the World Bank and the five leading regional development banks combined…
– China’s policy banks eschew “international standards” when lending to infrastructure projects overseas, preferring to select contractors from a charmed circle of state-owned Chinese construction and engineering companies
Argentines learn to live with inflation as peso’s slide sends prices higher – Pg. 4
– Prices could rise by as much as 30% this year -…
– With the exception of a currency board experiment in the 1990s that ended with a disastrous financial crash in 2001, Argentines have lived with punishingly high inflation for longer than most can remember
– Whether it is identifying the best moment to buy a product because it is relatively cheap, purchasing goods in as many instalments as possible since they get cheaper over time, or simply saving in dollars given inflation’s destructive impact on the peso, such practices are second nature to Argentines
– Note only is the economy being hit by the contractionary effects of the devaluation, but the farming powerhouse has also suffered the worst drought in decades this year
Oil forecast to hit peak demand by 2036 – Pg. 14
– …peak within 20 years, as a “tectonic” shift in the transport sector towards electric cars and autonomous vehicles gathers pace
– In the next 10 years the biggest impact on slowing global oil demand growth – which is expected to hit 100m barrels a day for the first time this year – would be fuel efficiency
– While the growing US supply, especially from shale, is expected to turn the US into the biggest oil producer by far by the middle of the next decade, output from other countries outside Opec is expected to slow around 2023, leading to more reliance on the cartel
Investors move in on Ireland’s property surge – Pg. 15
– …the residential market is struggling to keep pace with an economy forecast to grow 5.6% this year and 4% in 2019. Employment has passed pre-crash levels, driving office and residential markets as local companies recover and global companies take advantage of a low corporate tax rate
– Double-digit price and rent increases for housing….
– The hottest sector is private rented housing, with developers selling entire apartment blocks to institutional investors instead of individual buyers
– The IMF has said that house prices appear “modestly overvalued” by some measures. The OECD warned of “another property bubble” arising from a cycle of strong price rises, increasing construction activity and rising credit growth
– The number of new dwellings – 14,446 in 2017, and 3.526 in the first quarter of 2018 – is far below the 35,000 per year needed to sustain demand
US banks warn on commercial real estate – Pg. 15
– …putting the brakes on loans for office buildings, hotels and shopping malls
– …competition from insurers, government-sponsored enterprises such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and other non-banks
– The concerns about CRE underwriting standards are being voiced as investors in US banks become more jittery about the effects of rising interest rates
Answer: (1) Bankruptcy is a clean slate (Prof Note: Cannot discharge student debt, child support and/or alimony + tax liabilities); (2) All debt is bad (Prof Note: High interest debt on non-revenue producing items, e.g. credit cards, is “bad”. Mortgage debt, at low rates, on revenue producing properties is/are good.); (3) Credit cards can only cause financial trouble (Prof Note: Use them responsibly.); (4) You must carry a credit card balance to improve your credit score (Prof Note: It helps but not required); (5) Only high earners can achieve good credit (Prof Note: My credit score is about 720…due to the number of inquiries only); (6) You’re too young to save for retirement (Prof Note: You are never too young to save for retirement. However, is “saving” even the right strategy? I ponder! Build a business that provides income to death and beyond.); (7) Your life insurance policy should cover 10-times your income (Prof Note: It is not about capital, it is about risk-free or risk-low passive income); (8) Your partner managers the money so you don’t have to worry about your financial health (Prof Note: Both partners need to be aware of all the finances of the unit); (9) Millennials are bad with money (Prof Note: I do not believe this. I believe Millennials are burdened with excessive student debt)