Inflation is basically another word for price increases. Its opposite is deflation. Inflation matters because it influences the cost of goods and services and hence how much income we need to support our lifestyle. Measuring inflation In principle, you can measure inflation (or deflation) by tracking the price of an item over time. In practice, […]
Savings
Death is free but dying can be expensive
These days, funeral music can go way beyond traditional hymns like Abide with Me, but out of all the songs you might want to choose for your funeral, possibly the most appropriate would be the 2015 hit by LunchMoney Lewis – Bills, because, while death may be free, dying can be expensive. Here are some […]
Women are building wealth not saving it
According to the Global Wealth Report (GWR), women now hold about 40% of the world’s wealth. In other words, they are tantalisingly close to achieving wealth equality with men. While this is, of course, cause for celebration, there are two key points to remember. The first is that in the GWR included non-financial assets, so […]
What causes stock-market volatility?
If you look at a long-term graph of any stock market, especially ones in mature markets, then you’ll probably see a long-term upward trend. Look a little closer, however, and you’ll see that the nice upward line is actually a bit jagged, showing quite obvious dips here and there. Zoom in closer still and you’ll […]
Investing is like gardening, it takes time
Trading is all about timing the market. Basically, it’s the old adage of “buy low and sell high”, but applied to the stock market. There’s nothing inherently “right” or “wrong” about the strategy, but it does carry a couple of significant pitfalls as compared to investing. First of all, trading is, essentially, all about making […]
The importance of thinking global about asset allocation
Before the internet went mainstream, it could be extremely difficult for smaller-scale investors to access international markets at all, especially ones at the greatest distance from their country of domicile. There were numerous practical barriers in the way, such as the lack of availability of key data and the cumbersome (and expensive) nature of international […]