4 October 2018
Question: According to MSN:Lifestyle, what are 12 little things you’re doing when traveling that could be putting you in danger?
US services and jobs growth points to strong final quarter – Pg. 2
– A record level of expansion in the services sector and a spurt in private sector job creation drove a sell-off in bonds and set the US economy on course for a strong final quarter of the year
– …services sector, which makes up about 80% of US GDP, ….
Greek banks riled by bad debt worries – Pg. 15
– Some of Greece’s biggest banks suffered steep share price falls yesterday as investors worried they may not have enough capital to meet fresh targets on reducing their large portfolios of bad debts
– Investors have also been spooked by plans the Greek banks have submitted in the past week to the ECB for reducing their non-performing exposures, which currently make up almost 40% of their loan books
– If the banks sell bad debts below their book value it could trigger losses that eat into their equity buffers and require fresh capital raisings
Eurozone investors reduce US debt holdings for first time since late 2013 – Pg. 21
– ….move which suggests the ECB’s winding down of its quantitative easing programme has begun to ripple through to other markets
– Investors in the Eurozone have been steady buyers of US debt securities since the ECB embarked on QE, which analysts said was in part due to capital being displaced from European markets as the central bank has hoovered up assets
– Net purchases of US equities also dipped slightly
– The ECB has bought 2.5tn (euro) of Eurozone debt securities under a QE programme that is set to stop at the end of this year.
– The US credit market has boomed in recent years with corporate debt levels reaching a record
– …the quality of the US investment grade debt market has deteriorated sharply, fueling fears that any weakening in the economic outlook could trigger a swath of downgrades, leaving investors holding junk-rated paper
Answer: (1) You post your vacation photos before getting home; (2) You don’t have someone pick up your mail; (3) You get very drunk; (4) You leave your drink unattended; (5) You don’t dress like the locals; (6) You carry your passport with you everywhere; (7) You’re not aware of your surroundings; (8) You ask directions from strangers; (9) You have oversized luggage or too many bags; (10) You don’t check the weather report; (11) You try to bribe officials (Prof Note: I have no idea what the 12th is…only 11 were listed)