As we head towards the end of 2006, analysts are turning their attention to how markets will finish the year and what next year may hold in store.
The FTSE 100 is still maintaining a position (continue reading…)
In recent months, most of the speculation on the state of the global economy has focused on concerns over US inflation and declining sentiment in the US housing market which, it was thought, would affect most markets. Certainly, the sentiment led downturn, which began in May, can be attributed to such concerns, but markets have since rallied. A much appreciated fall in inflation, coupled with the biggest one-day drop in oil prices since August 2005, saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average close out last week at 12,342.6, a new record high. The S&P Composite Index has enjoyed a similar rally and yesterday closed at its highest level for six years.
Throughout this period, fund managers have been keen to (continue reading…)
A number of clients have asked whether investment should currently favour China or India. It’s my believe that over the medium to long term (there will be a number of corrections along the way) both areas will continue to out perform. Even though the future looks bright for both areas going forward I would always advise a broader geographical spread than just two countries, even more so when investing into emerging markets.
I’ve included a link to an article produced by Reuters below for those with an interest in reading more on this subject.
Consider the financial cost of losing Mum!
Most of us worry about insuring against the loss of our household income and buy a life insurance policy to protect the income earner. Yet the role of a non-earning parent and homemaker can be just as costly to replace and yet it often gets overlooked. Putting a financial value on what our wives achieves for our family is impossible but let’s see how much it would cost to replace some of her most important roles. To start with there’s the services a full-time nanny to care for young children and help with the cooking, cleaning and washing. When not at work time would be taken up with the responsibility of maintaining family life, so who would cover the jobs that the dad usually does at the weekends like, the gardening? The truth is if the worst ever happened, most of us would cope but things would have to change. Difficulties arise when the income earner’s life is insured but the non-earning parent’s is not. So just how much is a mum worth? People underestimate the cost of childcare. A full-time nursery place for one child could cost around £7,332 a year, a full-time nanny comes with a price tag in the region of £20k per annum, after school clubs £2,000 a year and holiday clubs can cost over £910.08 (figures provided by the National Childcare Campaign 15.09.05, and that was over a year ago). Add this to the cost of someone to do other domestic chores and it’s no surprise that the Legal and General ‘Value of a Mum’ survey in 2004 (two years ago) calculated that a mum is worth £21,184 a year! A slow cost solution that’s worth considering view http://www.bgfsassociates.com/termassurance.php
View http://www.bgfsassociates.com/lumpsuminvestment.php
For many, working overseas will be the best AND ONLY opportunity they will ever have to develop their personal wealth.