money

We are all familiar with the term dirty money, but normally we’d use it to talk about money laundering or being paid off by crooks to do something untoward. But the truth is that the money we handle on a daily basis is absolutely filthy too. In fact a new study from US loan firm LendEDU has revealed that all too often our lucre really is absolutely filthy. LendEDU used a scientific device which tests for bacteria on any given surface, and ran the rule over credit and debit cards, as well as various notes and coins. The device then generates a ‘germ score’. The higher the score, the dirtier the surface. According to the people behind the technology, a restaurant needs to have a germ score of 10 or less in order to be considered sanitary. Which rather puts into context how dirty our money really is, with one of the payment cards tested generating a score of an appalling 1,206. While one particular card LendEDU tested was about as clean as a used loo, even on average … [Read more...] about Dirty money

GBP: Resignation of PM Theresa May Bank of England deputy governor Ben Broadbent summed up the situation in a speech about the dampening effect of Brexit. Although he was speaking in the context of capital investment his argument applies equally to sterling: “A repeated series of cliff-edges, each of which is expected to be decisive but in reality just gives way to the next cliff, is more damaging for investment than if it had been clear at the outset that the process will take time.” EUR: Held back by Germany Politically, Austria became the latest country to face the challenge of reconciling centrist governments with far-right populists. Nationalist vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache was forced to resign after he was shown in a video offering political favours in return for election contributions. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was in turn forced to call a general election. USD: Dovish Fed, angry shoemakers Economic data from the States played only a small role. The … [Read more...] about Weekly Update 24th May 2019

Deborah Behrman (Letters, 24 May) does not recall the wives of male PMs being credited with advising their husbands. What about Clementine Churchill’s letter of 27 June 1940 warning her husband that “there is a danger of your being generally disliked by your colleagues and subordinates because of your rough sarcastic & overbearing manner … I cannot bear that those who serve the Country and yourself should not love as well as admire and respect you. Besides you won’t get the best results by irascibility & rudeness.”Oliver MilesOxford • Perhaps the BBC should introduce the “daughter question” when deciding on pay (BBC producer publicly rejects job paying less than rate for a man, 23 May). Would your daughter consider the salary fair? Clearly Karen Martin’s daughters are able to cut straight to the (fair) point.Rowena Beighton-DykesWeston, Cheshire • Mulhouse (Letters, 23 May) also has the French national automobile … [Read more...] about Fairly paid? Better to ask your daughter

The past six months have highlighted two common errors that investors frequently make. The first relates to a misunderstanding about the way investments compound over time and the second is the way that emotions can cloud our judgement. Both can be remedied relatively easily. The impact of compounding In relation to the first, the US stock market fell by 13.7% in the fourth quarter of 2018 but has since rallied by 13.9% this year so far (as of 12 April 2019). 13.9 is more than 13.7 so that means investors are up overall, right? Wrong. Investors are actually down by 1.7% over this period. This very common mistake arises because people often prefer to add numbers together in their heads but investments compound from one period to the next. A 13.9% return on $100 would indeed lead to a gain of $13.90, if the investment was made at the start of 2019. But, in this situation, a $100 investment made at start of October 2018 has fallen by 13.7% by the year end, to $86.30. As a result, you have … [Read more...] about Two common errors that investors make…and how to overcome them