9 May 2019
Question: According to MSN: Money, what are your do-or-die retirement plans if you have nothing saved?
US growth Impressive first-quarter performance unlikely to last – Pg. 2
– While European economies slowed in 2018, the US annual growth rate continued to improve on the back of the tax cuts Mr Trump enacted in late 2017
– Rising inventories accounted for 20% of US growth in the first quarter and imports fell because traders had bought foreign goods to get ahead of the initial tariff increases Mr Trump had announced
– …industrial production peaked in December and fell in the first quarter of this year, after a strong 2017 and 2018
American’s young have little interest in the world – Pg. 9
– …finds that 59% of baby-boomers – those born between 1946 and 1964 – and their elders believe the US should take a “leading role in the world”
– Just 45% of Millennials and their juniors do
– …the Americans how are most keen on global burden-bearing will, to put it tactfully, stop voting over the coming decades. Governments must increasingly answer to an electorate that prioritises the domestic
Where home is still matters for a business – Pg. 9
– Industrial companies of the 19th and 20th century tended to be firmly rooted in one place because of physical need. Workers had to be drawn to their factories, often on the banks of rivers, with access to transport and power supplies….
– …thirst for natural resources has been succeeded by one for human resources
– Big cities with research universities gather graduates and skilled workers and companies cluster around – the Silicon Valley model has been replicated in cities such as Paris and New York
– …globalization has loosened the bonds of corporate origin; for London this is exacerbated by the prospect of Brexit, leading companies such as Sony to shift their European headquarters
Answer: (1) Take a side job; (2) Increase your retirement plan contributions; (3) Cut expenses; (4) Invest; (5) Sell Possessions; (6) Access the value of your home (Prof Note: This is VERY dangerous and should be highly considered!); (7) Eliminate credit card debt