6 May 2019
Question: According to MSN: Money, what are eleven (11) reasons millennials think they have it tougher than their parents?
Global economy emerges from gloom into a bright spring – Pg. 3
– Over the past few days the three largest economic blocs in the world – the EU, US and China, comprising almost half of global output – have published first-quarter estimates and all three have been stronger than expected
– In Europe, the eurzone grew 0.4% in the first quarter, …significantly higher than expected. Italy has emerged from recession and Germany, which has not published its figures yet, is also likely to show improved performance
– The BoE las week upgraded its forecast for the UK’s performance this year from 1.2% growth to 1.5%,…
– In China, growth stabilized at an annual rate of 6.4% and more up-to-date figures suggested the government infrastructure stimulus was having its desired effect, with industrial production rising at an annual rate of 8.5% in March – much stronger than analysts had expected
Debt deluge, falling copper prices and Chinese inflation hog foreign investment limelight – Pg. 10
– Investors are bracing for a busy month in corporate bond markets with a rush of big debt sales to fund tie-ups
– The pick-up of new debt could dent the 5.6% returns for investment grade bonds seen since the start of the year, with yields on a widely tracked index run by Ice Data Services levelling in recent weeks at around 3.65%
Equality at work – Pg. 14
– Organizations work “very hard” to make pay opaque, ….
– Such secrecy puts workers at a huge disadvantage in negotiating salary, …
– In the US and UK, listed companies are required to publish the pay ratio between chief executives and workers’ averages. Gender pay gap reporting has been introduced in the UK and France. A new law in Germany allows women to ask for the median salary of a group of at least six men doing similar work, and vice versa
– Learning that a peer earns more than you may be demoralizing and trigger a hunt for a new job, but the converse is true of your manager. Discovering the boss has a higher salary can motivate an employee to strive harder
– While quitting to seek better pay may be rational, some argue that most workers are delusional about their ability and value
– If employers are considering transparency, they need to be clear about job roles and justifications for pay differences and rewards
Answer: (1) Millennials have higher college costs (Prof Note: Agree); (2) Millennials are graduating with more student loan debt (Prof Note: Agree); (3) the job market has been tough for both generations, but worse for millennials (Prof Note: 92’ was pretty bad when I graduated…); (4) Economic conditions favour boomers, but not by much (Prof Note: Agree); (5) Millennials earn less than boomers did at their age (Prof Note: Agree); (6) Millennials are less likely to own homes (Prof Note: sadly…agree); (7) Millennials are now more likely to live at home; (8) Healthcare costs are heftier now (Prof Note: Agree); (9) Most millennials and boomers do not have the benefit of pension plans; (10) neither millennials nor boomers are saving enough for retirement; (11) Millennials are not optimistic about retirement