4 March 2019
Question: According to MSN: Money, what are the ten (10) golden rules of retiring rich?
Portugal premier warns on protectionism – Pg. 2
– Portugal’s prime minister has warned European partners against misusing new security procedures for screening Chinese investments, saying it could lead to the continent becoming more protectionist
– The European Parliament last month approved new regulations for screening non-EU investment, amid concerns that China and others are seeking to buy up sensitive technology and infrastructure, or to use investments and contracts to conduct industrial and military espionage
– Chinese groups have pumped billions of euros into Portugal since the financial crisis. China Three Gorges owns 23% of Energias de Portugal, the country’s main power utility…
Is social status still important at a certain age? – Pg. 14
– …future life would contain two less things: the first was money…
– The second loss was harder to prepare for. My old job came with an unreasonably high level of status
– …the low status of teachers is one of the reasons they are in such dangerously short supply, ….
– Becoming a teacher in your 50s, especially when you’ve had a certain amount of success doing something else, seems to be quite different from becoming one in your 20s
– (Prof Note: The difference, I have found, between the West and the rest of the world is in the West, Status and Position are identify. The issue with both, when they are derived from an employer, is that neither are “owned”, i.e. they can be lost/taken at any moment.)
The allure of financial tricks is fading – Pg. 19
– …academic research shows that the share of revenues coming from financial relative to non-financial activities in US corporations began to climb in the 1970s and then increased sharply from the 1980s onwards. This mirrors the rise of finance in the economy itself
– ….the fact that the Fed was forced into a U-turn by choppy markets is another sign of too much financialization. Easy money has become a morphine drip that too many companies and investors can’t seem to do without, even though we are nearly 10 years into an economic recovery
– In fact, low interest rates have papered over myriad political and economic problems not just for 10 years but for several decades. Total financial assets are now more than triple the size of the real economy. The corporate bond market is now worth $13tn – twice as much as in 2008
– Debt is, of course, the lifeblood of finance. But it is also the biggest indicator of future crises
Answer: (1) Spend less than you earn; (2) Start saving early; (3) Make up for lost time; (4) Do not leave free money on the table; (5) Minimize your taxes; (6) Take a little risk; (7) Stay informed about your investments; (8) Break free from the herd; (9) Work longer; (10) Maximize your income potential