25 May 2019 FT — Articles to Read

25 May 2019

 

Question: According to MSN: Money, what thirteen (13) things should be considered if you are buying a house after 50?

 

Traders test Beijing resolve as renminbi threshold looms – Pg. 15

–          International currency traders are facing off against the country’s central bank over a decision that is as much psychological as it is strategic as China considers the weapons that are at its disposal in the growing trade war with the US

–          China’s central bank exercises firm control over the value of the renminbi.  The onshore renminbi exchange rate…is allowed to move only within a trading band of 2% either side of a daily midpoint fixed by the bank

–          …a depreciation of about 8% since June has mostly offset the impact of tariffs….prompting traders to speculate that the bank will allow a further slide

–          China pegged its renminbi at 8.28 to the dollar from the mid-1990s until July 2005, when it began a managed appreciation against the dollar

 

BoE blog post underscores corporate bond dangers – Pg. 15

–          The BoE has warned of the potential for “dysfunction, disorderly price moves and losses for investors” in the corporate bond market, as it flagged a sharp rise in the volume of securities clinging to investment-grade ratings

–          …the market value of the triple B market is now four times what it was in 2008 and eight times what it was in 2002

–          It is feared this dip in quality has left capital markets vulnerable.  If the credit cycle turns and the rate of downgrades rises, the volume of “fallen angels” – bonds that drop from investment-grade ratings to junk levels – would be much larger than in previous credit busts, …

–          When securities drop out of the investment-grade category, many investors are forced under the terms of their mandates to sell

 

Answer: (1) Your ‘Real Estate Footprint’; (2) Your living arrangement; (3) Indoor vs. Outdoor space; (4) Condos vs. Larger Homes; (5) Walkability; (6) One-Story Homes; (7) The Passive Income Effect; (8) How much mortgage you can afford; (9) Location, Location, Location; (10) Children Moving – or Staying – Home; (11) Best Places to Retire; (12) Health Care Access; (13) A good investment at any age