On paper, the earlier an individual starts contributing to a pension, the better. It allows more time for compounding to have a positive impact and generally means there is a better chance of a higher value pension at retirement age. However, for someone in the earlier part of their career, there may be a more…
I’m on an Emirates A380 over the island of Goa, en route to Dubai from Melbourne. For the past ten days, I’ve been on a whirlwind visit to Hong Kong, where I spoke at the Economist Longevity conference, and to Australia, where I discussed, inter alia, lithium and more Juvenescence. In less than two weeks,…
I appreciate that for most of us financial planning is like watching paint dry. And after all there’s plenty of time to start thinking about all that stuff. But is there? Have you ever sat down and given any thought to what happens if you live too long or die too soon? There’s a fair…
Many British investors are buying property – sorry, real estate – in America. Houses and apartments in the Land of the Free are generally extremely appealing and offer the potential for decent rental incomes and capital gains. But America is not for the low-budget buy-to-let investor. Today I’ll share four US Property hot spots where…
If what you were ‘taught’ about the Great Depression is anything like my school time experience, it will go something like this: There was a Great Crash in 1929, which ushered in hard times, notably in the US. Someone called Franklin Delano Roosevelt then rode in to the rescue, and set up a bewildering array…
As Hallowe’en approaches, Americans are tricking and treating. But what is the US stock market doing? The smiling economists of 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue At its AGM in Washington last week the IMF reported that the global economy was humming along nicely with every region of the global economy set to record GDP rises for the…
So people are going to live longer. And old age will not necessarily mean infirmity. The demographics are already changing rapidly: by 2045 over 65s will make up one quarter of the population in the UK – that will be nearly 19 million citizens. This trend is even more pronounced in Japan and Germany. Companies…
The Brexit talks will run into the sand soon. That may be a problem for Britain. But, for Europe, Brexit is only one of many problems. Dangerous October Beware: all the major stock market crashes of the last century have occurred in October. The 1929 crash occurred on Tuesday, the 29th. The 1987 crash was…
What to write about this month? Victor Hill has already – and brilliantly – covered Catalonia, and I have banged on about Longevity long enough (pun intended). But the latest book (Juvenescence) is now out – at last – and the launch party for journos, collaborators as well as friends and family, at the Oxford…
What happens in Catalonia this Sunday could, even more than Brexit, cause massive headaches in Brussels… 2014 reimagined… Imagine, if you would, an alternative history of the events in the UK in 2014. The Scottish Parliament votes to hold a referendum on Scotland’s independence from the UK. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, condemns such…
