9 October 2018
Question: According to MSN:Money, what are 9 things you’ll regret keeping in a safe deposit box?
US due share Nobel Prize for economics – Pg. 2
– US economists William Nordhause and Paul Romer have jointly won this year’s Nobel Prize in Economics Sciences for their work on climate change and innovation
– Mr Nordhaus, a professor at Yale, won recognition for his pioneering work integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis
– …first to create a quantitative model describing the global interplay between the economy and climate
– Paul Romer, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business – and former chief economist at the World Bank – has been recognized for work that laid the foundations of endogenous growth theory, which argues knowledge and innovation can spur growth
– One of his first big contributions was to show that “ideas” were the missing ingredients of economic growth, contributing as much as the traditional inputs of labour, skills and physical capital – and that this could help explain the big variation in growth and living standards between otherwise similar countries
Wooing a sceptic (America and the IMF) – Pg. 7
– In recent months, the US has supported the biggest IMF loan in history, a $50bn aid package for Argentina to try to stabilize the debt-stricken Latin American nation. After the initial effort bailed to reassure markets, the total was bumped up to $57bn – with US approval
– Other countries – including EU members – are waiting for the US to make a first move in order to stake out their own positions
– The IMF is a profitmaking institution that does not dispense outright aid but attaches fiscal, monetary and other conditions to its lending – sometimes, as in the case of Greece, controversially – to recuperate its money
– It has about $1tn in resources to tackle any new financial distress around the world. But about $450bn comes from its permanent “quota” – based resources, which are drawn from countries based on the size of their economy and reflected in weighted representation on the IMF board. The most influential countries, including the US, China and Germany, have single seats, but others have to share with economically and geographically similar nations
– The rest comes from special borrowing arrangements with individual countries, and pools of countries, which are due to expire between 2019 and 2022
– High levels of indebtedness in many advanced economies may mean there is less space for fiscal stimulus. New regulatory space for fiscal stimulus. New regulatory regimes around bank rescues are untested and could lack political support, creating chaos in the markets
– Signs of trouble in emerging markets and even in advanced economies such as Italy – where the new government is bent on defying EU rules on fiscal discipline, triggering a sell-off in the country’s debt – have not yet been enough to create a sense of urgency around the issue
Answer: (1) Cash (Prof Note: Banks typically keep a small amount of cash on hand. Soooo…if you believe you may need $10,000 or more in a hurry…best to keep in safety deposit box); (2) Passport (Prof Note: Great place to keep but remember to plan. Can only access when bank is open.); (3) Original copy of your will (Prof Note: Completely disagree! Though a good place for the original is with your attorney); (4) Letters of Instruction (Prof Note: Again, keep copy with your attorney); (5) Durable Power of Attorney (POA) (Prof Note: Again, keep copy with your attorney); (6) Advance Directives for health care (Prof Note: Again, keep copy with your attorney); (7) Uninsured Jewelry and Collectibles (Prof Note: Just remember if they are to go to different individuals as per Letters of Instruction, remember there will probably just be one person accessing the safety deposit box after death. How do you know this person will do the correct thing? How do you prove they were even there?); (8) Spare Keys; (9) Illegal or dangerous items (Prof Note: You walk across a bank lobby to place a firearm in your safety deposit box. You trip and the firearm’s presence is known. Welcome to jail!)