Author: Roger Staiger

20 April 2019

 

Question: What are eleven (11) signs you are going to be successful, even if it does not feel like it?

 

Germans take grudging punt on stocks in era of low rates – Pg. 4

–          The ECB announced last month it would keep interest rates at 0% at least until next year, sparking renewed anguish among German savers.  The ECB’s main borrowing rate has been stuck below 1% for close to seven years

–          …shares and equity investments make up just 11% of household assets in Germany, the third lowest percentage in a ranking of 34 countries.  In Sweden and Finland the category makes up close to 40% of household assets

 

Big Cannabis places $3.4bn bet on US legalization within a year – Pg. 8

–          Marijuana remains restricted under Schedule 1 of the US controlled Substances Act, making products derived from it federally illegal.  Federally regulated banks risk prosecution when working with cannabis-related businesses, even if these are operating legally at the state level

 

Answer: (1) You are always looking for a better way to do things; (2) You have a vision for the kind of life you want; (3) You are suing your ‘signature strengths’; (4) You are open to failure; (5) You are willing to take calculated risks; (6) You are nice to people – even if they are not your superiors; (7) You exhibit a ‘beginner’s mind’; (8) You make time every day to learn; (9) You are self-aware; (10) You show gratitude; (11) You are self-compassionate

18 April 2019

 

Question: According to MSN: Lifestyle, what are fourteen (14) things you are doing that make people instantly dislike you?

 

Turkish central bank’s short-term borrowing fuels fears for reserves – Pg. 1

–          Turkey’s central bank has bolstered its foreign currency reserves with billions of dollars of short-term borrowed money, raising fears among analysts and investors that the country is over-stating its ability to defend itself in a fresh lira crisis

–          Reported net foreign reserves held by the central bank stood at $28.1bn in early April – a sum investors already believed was inadequate because of Turkey’s heavy need for dollars for debt and foreign trade

 

US to allow lawsuits over properties nationalized by Cuba – Pg. 2

–          …US has opened the door for citizens to sue companies deemed to be trafficking in Cuban properties nationalized after the 1959 revolution

–          The decision activates the so-called Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, which has been waived by every US president over the past 23 years due to opposition from the international community and fears it would flood the US court system

 

Populism wave threatens to wash away elite colleges – Pg. 2

–          Ena was founded after the second world war in 1945 precisely to promote “social mixing” and give less privileged students the chance to win senior government posts based on their merits

–          But over the decades the successful applicants have increasingly been drawn from the upper classes – 70% at the latest count, compared with about 45% in the 1950s

 

Yale study keep s pig brains active 10 hours after decapitation – Pg. 2

–          Scientists have restored some brain functions in pigs four hours after the animals were decapitated, a breaththrough that could advance neuroscience but which raises ethical questions about the line between life and death

–          The findings also raise moral questions and challenge “longstanding assumptions about what makes an animal – or human – alive”

–          The researchers stressed that there were no indications of “perception, awareness, or consciousness” in the brains

 

China focuses on construction and private sector to counter slowest growth in 30 years – Pg. 4

–          China posted GDP growth of 6.4% for the first quarter yesterday, coming in above the market consensus of 6.3%

–          Housing prices in 70 big Chinese cities increased an average of 10.6% year on year in March, the quickest gain since April 2017

 

Majority of fund managers forecast end of rate rise cycle – Pg. 19

–          The proportion of investors who expect the Fed to have finished increasing interest rates has risen to 53%, from less than 40% in March…

–          A bout of weaker than expected data on the US economy, as well as from leading trading partners, such as the Eurozone, has sparked a dovish shift in policy from the Fed

–          The odds of no change in the Fed’s key rate through January 2020 are 53%…

 

Answer: (1) Sharing too many photos on Facebook (2) Disclosing something extremely personal early on in a relationship; (3) Asking someone questions without talking about yourself at all; (4) Posting a close-up profile photo; (5) Hiding your emotions; (6) Acting too nice; (7) Humblebragging; (8) getting too nervous; (9) Not smiling; (10) Including a smiling emoticon in an email; (11) Having a hard-to-pronounce name; (12) Name-dropping; (13) Offering a weak handshake; (14) Acting like you do not like someone

17 April 2019

 

Question: According to MSN: Money, what are five (5) money moves to make if you win the Powerball jackpot?

 

Germany rules out further Brexit delay – Pg. 2

–          One important area of disagreement remain the Iranian nuclear deal and, in particular, Washington’s threat to impose sanctions on European companies that trade with the Islamic republic.  Germany, France and Britain recently launched Instex, a special purporse vehicle to help European businesses settle payments with their Iranian partners

 

China house price surge points to recovery – Pg. 4

–          House prices in 70 Chinese cities increased an average of 10.6% year on year in March, the quickest gain since April 2017 and the latest indication that the world’s second-largest economy is rebounding after a difficult start to the year

–          …outstanding total social financing, a broad credit measure, grew 10.7% in March compared with 10.1% in February

–          …the property sector accounted for 12% of total economic output in 2016.  Other studies have estimated the sector’s contribution could be as high as 25%, after taking into account ancillary industries, such as building materials

 

No need for the Fed to step on the gas – Pg. 9

–          The Fed has turned 180-degrees in the past few months, downshifting its dot plot to zero interest rate rises in 2019 from the two forecast just last December

–          …Fed officials may have more reason to worry: the US looks worse than the Eurozone when it comes to inflation

–          …the main difference is that the US weighs housing much more heavily in the basket of goods and services used to calculate inflation

–          Using the eurozone’s weights to calculate inflation, prices have been rising more slowly in the US than in the Eurozone since last November.  Weaker inflation pushes real rates higher, a de facto monetary tightening

–          Yet the Fed is pursuing patience while the ECB is easing

–          To provide that stimulus, the ECB recently announced a third targeted longer-term refinancing operation to boost lending by Eurozone banks

–          …inflation is not the only factor in the Fed’s monetary policy reaction function; its dual mandate includes maximum employment

–          Financial stability is also key for the Fed, and US banks look stronger than many of their Eurozone counterparts

–          Furthermore, the US has higher gdp and potential growth than the Eurozone.  The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook estimates US growth of 2.3% in 2019 and Eurozone growth of 1.3%.  Germany, the supposed growth engine of Europe, barely skated past recession and Italy fell into one in the fourth quarter of 2018

 

Answer: (1) Pay off debt (Prof Note: This is completely WRONG!  Or rather, only specific to the question.  One needs to pay off the correct debt.  For instance, if you have three years left of a 30-year mortgage, the payments are virtually all principal.  Therefore, the payoff is a reduction of liquidity with little other benefit, i.e. NOT good!  Talk to an expert); (2) Save, save, save; (3) Keep it quiet; (4) Establish a revocable living trust; (5) Hire trusted financial planners and advisers

16 April 2019

 

Question: According to MSN: Money, what are seven (7) reasons you should rent a home in retirement?

 

Decline in inflation outlook raises pressure on ECB to act – Pg. 2

–          A technical measure of Eurozone investors’ inflation expectations has fallen to its lowest level for three years, putting pressure on the ECB to convince doubters that it is willing to use fresh stimulus to boost the region’s economy

–          When the ECB halted the expansion of quantitative easing in December the rate was 1.6%, but it is now down to 1.36%, its lowest since 2016

–          …Mr Draghi’s term up at the end of October…

 

Chicago Fed chief favours US rates holding steady to 2020 – Pg. 19

–          The Fed caught investors off-guard at the start of this year when it first indicated that it would put previous plans to keep raising rates on ice

–          It firmed up that message last month, when it signaled that it would not raise rates for the rest of this year – the first such abstinence since 2014

–          …put push annual inflation rates up towards or even beyond that 2% target, it might be necessary to keep interest rates at current levels until the latter part of next year

–          The Fed’s reluctance to raise interest rates has been mirrored elsewhere, with the ECB also suggesting that rates should stay at historically low levels with additional cheap loans for Eurozone banks

 

Answer: (1) Gain access to your home equity; (2) Enjoy a dwelling that better suits your needs?; (3) Live closer to children and grandchildren; (4) Avoid home repairs and maintenance; (5) Explore the world; (6) Gain more freedom; (7) Get help with daily tasks