From ahealhblog.com
It is generally thought that the current trend of childhood obesity will
end up in higher rates of diabetes and
cardiovascular disease over the following few decades.
June 30, 2014
June 29, 2014
Beware of Getting Your Health Advice From The News
From Cleveland Clinic Health Hub
Beware of Getting Your Health Advice From The News
Separate fact from fiction
By The Beating Edge Team | 6/25/14
As the old adage says: Take advice with a grain of salt.
In today’s continuous news cycle, consumers are constantly bombarded with health advice from a variety of sources. One day a news report sites a study telling us that coffee helps fight depression. The next day’s study finds that it causes certain cancers. But before we accept any health sound bite as fact and begin to make changes because of it, it’s critical to consider a few things. We need to separate fact from fiction. We should read more about the topic at hand. And most importantly, we need to talk with our physicians to find out if it applies to us or even merits consideration.
Questions to ask yourself
According to Steven Nissen, MD, Department Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine at Cleveland Clinic, here are some of the key questions to ask:
Did the media reference a study with the information?
How many people were part of the study? (What was the sample size?)
How tightly controlled was the study? (Was it a randomized control study or one that was observational?)
Is the information documented in a published article in a respected health journal?
And most importantly, does the information apply to us in our current health situation?
When in doubt, talk to your doctor
Dr. Nissen says before making any significant changes, we should always talk to our doctors. We need to find out if the study findings apply to us. We also need to see if they are reliable, and if any new treatments or change in treatment would impact our current medical regimen.
The media will always want to get our attention with health advice, and more often than not they will exaggerate claims. We must be smart consumers who take advice with a grain of salt as they say. Because there is always more to a story – and a health study – than meets the eye.
Beware of Getting Your Health Advice From The News
Separate fact from fiction
By The Beating Edge Team | 6/25/14
As the old adage says: Take advice with a grain of salt.
In today’s continuous news cycle, consumers are constantly bombarded with health advice from a variety of sources. One day a news report sites a study telling us that coffee helps fight depression. The next day’s study finds that it causes certain cancers. But before we accept any health sound bite as fact and begin to make changes because of it, it’s critical to consider a few things. We need to separate fact from fiction. We should read more about the topic at hand. And most importantly, we need to talk with our physicians to find out if it applies to us or even merits consideration.
Questions to ask yourself
According to Steven Nissen, MD, Department Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine at Cleveland Clinic, here are some of the key questions to ask:
Did the media reference a study with the information?
How many people were part of the study? (What was the sample size?)
How tightly controlled was the study? (Was it a randomized control study or one that was observational?)
Is the information documented in a published article in a respected health journal?
And most importantly, does the information apply to us in our current health situation?
When in doubt, talk to your doctor
Dr. Nissen says before making any significant changes, we should always talk to our doctors. We need to find out if the study findings apply to us. We also need to see if they are reliable, and if any new treatments or change in treatment would impact our current medical regimen.
The media will always want to get our attention with health advice, and more often than not they will exaggerate claims. We must be smart consumers who take advice with a grain of salt as they say. Because there is always more to a story – and a health study – than meets the eye.
June 28, 2014
4 Simple Ways You Can Prevent Hemorrhoids
From Cleveland Clinic Health Hub
4 Simple Ways You Can Prevent Hemorrhoids
Avoid the irritation with these tips
By Brooke Gurland, MD | 5/20/14
If you have hemorrhoids, you have plenty of treatment options at your disposal. However, if you have hemorrhoids, you’d probably advise others to avoid getting them in the first place.
Hemorrhoids — swollen, inflamed venous cushions in the anal canal — are often painful and itchy and can cause bleeding. But you can avoid these irritating symptoms with some simple lifestyle changes.
1. Go when you need to go
This sounds like common-sense advice, but too many people ignore it. If you delay using the bathroom, your stool may become hard and dry in your bowel, which makes it harder to pass. If you strain to pass stool, your risk for hemorrhoids rises.
Speaking of straining, don’t force a bowel movement when you don’t need to go, either. Straining increases the pressure on your venous cushions, which leads to hemorrhoids. In particular, straining can turn internal hemorrhoids into external ones.
2. Don’t turn the bathroom into a library
Think of your time in the bathroom as a necessity, not an extended escape. If your toilet has stacks of magazines or books on the water tank, consider moving them to another room.
Why? The more time you spend on the toilet, the more likely you will strain for bowel movements. Also, the seated position puts extra stress on your anal blood vessels. Both of these factors boost your risk of hemorrhoids.
3. Reassess your diet
To prevent hemorrhoids, you want stool that is soft and easy to pass. You can reach the right consistency by making smart diet choices and drinking plenty of water to avoid dehydration.
Read more from Cleveland Clinic Health Hub >>
4 Simple Ways You Can Prevent Hemorrhoids
Avoid the irritation with these tips
By Brooke Gurland, MD | 5/20/14
If you have hemorrhoids, you have plenty of treatment options at your disposal. However, if you have hemorrhoids, you’d probably advise others to avoid getting them in the first place.
Hemorrhoids — swollen, inflamed venous cushions in the anal canal — are often painful and itchy and can cause bleeding. But you can avoid these irritating symptoms with some simple lifestyle changes.
1. Go when you need to go
This sounds like common-sense advice, but too many people ignore it. If you delay using the bathroom, your stool may become hard and dry in your bowel, which makes it harder to pass. If you strain to pass stool, your risk for hemorrhoids rises.
Speaking of straining, don’t force a bowel movement when you don’t need to go, either. Straining increases the pressure on your venous cushions, which leads to hemorrhoids. In particular, straining can turn internal hemorrhoids into external ones.
2. Don’t turn the bathroom into a library
Think of your time in the bathroom as a necessity, not an extended escape. If your toilet has stacks of magazines or books on the water tank, consider moving them to another room.
Why? The more time you spend on the toilet, the more likely you will strain for bowel movements. Also, the seated position puts extra stress on your anal blood vessels. Both of these factors boost your risk of hemorrhoids.
3. Reassess your diet
To prevent hemorrhoids, you want stool that is soft and easy to pass. You can reach the right consistency by making smart diet choices and drinking plenty of water to avoid dehydration.
Read more from Cleveland Clinic Health Hub >>
June 27, 2014
Vitamin D Blog: Could Vitamin D Play a Role in BP?
From MedPagetoday
Vitamin D Blog: Could Vitamin D Play a Role in BP?
Published: Jun 26, 2014
By Parker Brown
Low levels of vitamin D may play a causal role in the development of hypertension, researchers found.
Each 10% increase in vitamin D concentration was associated with lower diastolic blood pressure (-.29 mm Hg, 95% CI minus 0.52-minus 0.07, P=0.01), lower systolic blood pressure (-.37mm Hg, 95% CI minus 0.73-minus 0.003, P=.052), and reduced odds of hypertension (OR .92, 95% CI 0.87-0.97 P=.002), according to Karani Vimaleswaran, PhD, of University College London, and colleagues.
In a Mendelian randomization study, the authors analyzed variants of genes that affect vitamin D synthesis and substrate availability in up to 146,581 participants from D-CarDia -- a large collaboration of studies -- and from other studies. Their analysis appeared online June 26 in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
Previous research has found a similar association between low levels of vitamin D and hypertension. But Vimaleswaran and colleagues were interested in circumventing both reverse causation and confounding variables.
The meta-analysis included 31 cohort studies of adults in Europe and North America (with almost 100,000 participants) and four adolescent cohorts (with about 8,500 participants), along with data from the International Consortium for Blood Pressure.
Michael Holick, MD, PhD, of Boston University, told MedPage Today that the study's results didn't come as a surprise. "There's a lot of evidence pointing in the direction that vitamin D plays a role in improving cardiovascular health, including risk of hypertension," he said.
Read more from MedPagetoday >>
Vitamin D Blog: Could Vitamin D Play a Role in BP?
Published: Jun 26, 2014
By Parker Brown
Low levels of vitamin D may play a causal role in the development of hypertension, researchers found.
Each 10% increase in vitamin D concentration was associated with lower diastolic blood pressure (-.29 mm Hg, 95% CI minus 0.52-minus 0.07, P=0.01), lower systolic blood pressure (-.37mm Hg, 95% CI minus 0.73-minus 0.003, P=.052), and reduced odds of hypertension (OR .92, 95% CI 0.87-0.97 P=.002), according to Karani Vimaleswaran, PhD, of University College London, and colleagues.
In a Mendelian randomization study, the authors analyzed variants of genes that affect vitamin D synthesis and substrate availability in up to 146,581 participants from D-CarDia -- a large collaboration of studies -- and from other studies. Their analysis appeared online June 26 in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
Previous research has found a similar association between low levels of vitamin D and hypertension. But Vimaleswaran and colleagues were interested in circumventing both reverse causation and confounding variables.
The meta-analysis included 31 cohort studies of adults in Europe and North America (with almost 100,000 participants) and four adolescent cohorts (with about 8,500 participants), along with data from the International Consortium for Blood Pressure.
Michael Holick, MD, PhD, of Boston University, told MedPage Today that the study's results didn't come as a surprise. "There's a lot of evidence pointing in the direction that vitamin D plays a role in improving cardiovascular health, including risk of hypertension," he said.
Read more from MedPagetoday >>
June 25, 2014
Is This What America Has Come To?
From Profit Confidential
Is This What America Has Come To?
By Michael Lombardi, MBA | Wednesday, June 25th, 2014
I’m going to put aside my daily ranting about the stock market and the economy today to bring what I believe is an important story to the attention of my readers.
There is no doubt you’ve heard about how poorly the city of Detroit, Michigan is faring now that the automotive sector has all but closed up there.
Yesterday, news came that the city has started cutting off water to about 150,000 people. About half of the city’s 324,000 water customers are delinquent on paying their water bill, so the city is turning off their taps. (Source: Financial Post, June 24, 2014.)
In protest, residents are appealing to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, saying their human right to water has been denied. (Unfortunately, the right of access to water is not in our Constitution or our Charter of Rights.)
I think what’s happening in Detroit, while it’s not getting much publicity, is very important. It should be a warning to us all.
At the very core, it tells me that if a government is not taking in enough money to pay its bills, it will increase the financial burden on its citizens…and if you can’t pay, you’re cut off.
In the case of Detroit, last week, city council approved a nine-percent hike in what it charges for water. (And the government tells us inflation is below two percent!) This lesson teaches us that if you can’t pay the increased costs the government levies on you, it will cut you off.
Secondly, today’s citizens are responsible for the past actions (or should I say lack of actions) of politicians. You elect politicians to office to run a city, state, or government. They make mistakes, like increasing government debt or choosing to go to war with another country, and it’s the citizens who are ultimately left dealing with the consequences of those decisions.
And that brings me to the current financial situation in America.
Read more from Profit Confidential >>
Is This What America Has Come To?
By Michael Lombardi, MBA | Wednesday, June 25th, 2014
I’m going to put aside my daily ranting about the stock market and the economy today to bring what I believe is an important story to the attention of my readers.
There is no doubt you’ve heard about how poorly the city of Detroit, Michigan is faring now that the automotive sector has all but closed up there.
Yesterday, news came that the city has started cutting off water to about 150,000 people. About half of the city’s 324,000 water customers are delinquent on paying their water bill, so the city is turning off their taps. (Source: Financial Post, June 24, 2014.)
In protest, residents are appealing to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, saying their human right to water has been denied. (Unfortunately, the right of access to water is not in our Constitution or our Charter of Rights.)
I think what’s happening in Detroit, while it’s not getting much publicity, is very important. It should be a warning to us all.
At the very core, it tells me that if a government is not taking in enough money to pay its bills, it will increase the financial burden on its citizens…and if you can’t pay, you’re cut off.
In the case of Detroit, last week, city council approved a nine-percent hike in what it charges for water. (And the government tells us inflation is below two percent!) This lesson teaches us that if you can’t pay the increased costs the government levies on you, it will cut you off.
Secondly, today’s citizens are responsible for the past actions (or should I say lack of actions) of politicians. You elect politicians to office to run a city, state, or government. They make mistakes, like increasing government debt or choosing to go to war with another country, and it’s the citizens who are ultimately left dealing with the consequences of those decisions.
And that brings me to the current financial situation in America.
Read more from Profit Confidential >>
June 24, 2014
Is Sugar Turning the Economy Sour?
From Credit Suisse
Is Sugar Turning the Economy Sour?
Cushla Sherlock, Editor, Credit Suisse
Sugar may be sweet, but excess consumption leaves a bitter aftertaste. Millions of people worldwide are affected by type II diabetes or obesity, costing the global healthcare system billions of dollars every year. The Credit Suisse Research Institute's 2013 study "Sugar: Consumption at a crossroads" found that close to 90 percent of general practitioners surveyed in the US, Europe and Asia believe excess sugar consumption is linked to the sharp growth in these health problems.
Is Sugar Turning the Economy Sour?
Cushla Sherlock, Editor, Credit Suisse
Sugar may be sweet, but excess consumption leaves a bitter aftertaste. Millions of people worldwide are affected by type II diabetes or obesity, costing the global healthcare system billions of dollars every year. The Credit Suisse Research Institute's 2013 study "Sugar: Consumption at a crossroads" found that close to 90 percent of general practitioners surveyed in the US, Europe and Asia believe excess sugar consumption is linked to the sharp growth in these health problems.
Wal-Mart will open a new e-commerce fulfillment center in Indiana
E-tailing is heating up with retail giant Walmart now heavily investing in their fulfillment centers. It pays to watch what they are doing.
From Internet Retailer
Wal-Mart will open a new e-commerce fulfillment center in Indiana
BY ABBY CALLARD | June 19, 2014
By shipping from new distribution centers and its 4,200 U.S. stores, Wal-Mart says it has cut online delivery times by 15% and lowered delivery costs 22%. The world’s largest e-retailer also announced today plans for a new online fulfillment center in Indiana.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced plans to build a 1.2-million-square-foot fulfillment facility in Indiana that will be dedicated to e-commerce. The facility will open in 2015 and employ more than 300 workers, the company says.
The facility will also allow the retailer to ship orders from Walmart.com to more than 160 million consumers within a two-day window.
“By combining large-scale online fulfillment centers with Wal-Mart’s distribution centers, world-class transportation network and 4,200 stores, we have the ability to get incredibly close to our customers to deliver orders faster and at a lower cost,” says Brent Beabout, senior vice president of supply chain and logistics for Wal-Mart Global eCommerce.
Those 4,200 stores are within five miles of two-thirds of the U.S. population, the company says. And it’s been using them to fill online orders. A Wal-Mart spokesperson says more than 20% of online orders are now shipped from a store—the majority of those arriving within two days. The company has sped up delivery times by 15% and lowered delivery costs by 22% over the past two years, with store fulfillment and dedicated e-commerce fulfillment centers cited as part of the reason.
@WalmartLabs, Wal-Mart’s e-commerce innovation arm, has been working to optimize the fulfillment and delivery process, the spokesperson says, including developing algorithms to determine the best location for shipping each order. @WalmartLabs announced in May it would double its staff this year.
Read more from Internet Retailer >>
June 22, 2014
Natural hormone molds leaner bodies in mice
From Harvard Gazette
Natural hormone molds leaner bodies in mice
Scientists find new molecular link between exercise and health benefits
By Richard Saltus, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Communications | June 5, 2014
A natural hormone that is increased by physical exercise and by exposure to cold improves blood sugar control, suppresses inflammation, and burns fat to mold leaner bodies in mice, report scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.
The hormone, called meteorin-like protein, or Metrnl, can be made in the laboratory. Its health-promoting properties make it a promising candidate for treating obesity and other metabolic diseases, inflammation, and possibly other disorders, said principal investigator Bruce Spiegelman of Dana-Farber’s Cancer Biology department.
“This might have interesting therapeutic potential for several diseases,” said Spiegelman, the Stanley J. Korsmeyer Professor of Cell Biology and Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Because it targets the immune cells involved in tissue repair it will also be interesting to see if this protein affects muscle repair in certain neuromuscular diseases.”
Reporting in Cell, the researchers said that extra Metrnl injected into mice achieved some of the same effects as exercise. It decreased their body fat by 25 percent and caused them to lose weight even on a high-fat diet. It improved their blood sugar control, stimulated conversion of chemical energy to heat, and turned on anti-inflammatory genes.
The meteorin-like protein had previously been identified, but the new study is the first to reveal its role as a hormone — a biological messenger in blood — involved in metabolism and energy balance, according to the researchers. The study adds Metrnl to an emerging picture of why exercise has many healthful benefits, from weight loss to suppressing inflammation to combating metabolic diseases.
In addition, Metrnl has an important role in dialing up fat-burning to maintain core heat production in mice exposed to cold temperatures, the study revealed. The researchers said this indicates that Metrnl is part of the body’s mechanism for adapting to environmental changes.
Read more from Harvard Gazette >>
Natural hormone molds leaner bodies in mice
Scientists find new molecular link between exercise and health benefits
By Richard Saltus, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Communications | June 5, 2014
A natural hormone that is increased by physical exercise and by exposure to cold improves blood sugar control, suppresses inflammation, and burns fat to mold leaner bodies in mice, report scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.
The hormone, called meteorin-like protein, or Metrnl, can be made in the laboratory. Its health-promoting properties make it a promising candidate for treating obesity and other metabolic diseases, inflammation, and possibly other disorders, said principal investigator Bruce Spiegelman of Dana-Farber’s Cancer Biology department.
“This might have interesting therapeutic potential for several diseases,” said Spiegelman, the Stanley J. Korsmeyer Professor of Cell Biology and Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Because it targets the immune cells involved in tissue repair it will also be interesting to see if this protein affects muscle repair in certain neuromuscular diseases.”
Reporting in Cell, the researchers said that extra Metrnl injected into mice achieved some of the same effects as exercise. It decreased their body fat by 25 percent and caused them to lose weight even on a high-fat diet. It improved their blood sugar control, stimulated conversion of chemical energy to heat, and turned on anti-inflammatory genes.
The meteorin-like protein had previously been identified, but the new study is the first to reveal its role as a hormone — a biological messenger in blood — involved in metabolism and energy balance, according to the researchers. The study adds Metrnl to an emerging picture of why exercise has many healthful benefits, from weight loss to suppressing inflammation to combating metabolic diseases.
In addition, Metrnl has an important role in dialing up fat-burning to maintain core heat production in mice exposed to cold temperatures, the study revealed. The researchers said this indicates that Metrnl is part of the body’s mechanism for adapting to environmental changes.
Read more from Harvard Gazette >>
June 21, 2014
Stocks are ‘dangerously overvalued,’ M&A deals suggest
If you are in equities, it pays to hear what Mark Hulbert, editor of the Hulbert Financial Digest, has to say about the financial markets. Below is his article in Market Watch.
From MarketWatch
Stocks are ‘dangerously overvalued,’ M&A deals suggest
Analysis: Every big wave of mergers has ended with a drop in equities
By Mark Hulbert, MarketWatch | June 20, 2014
Here’s one sign a significant stock market decline might occur sooner rather than later: the rapid acceleration of recent merger and acquisition activity.
This past week saw news of another big deal, led by medical-device maker Medtronic’s, MDT -1.25%, announcement of its $43 billion bid to acquire rival Covidien, COV -1.24%.
At the current pace, M&A deals could reach $3.51 trillion this year, the most since 2007, according to data provider Dealogic.
It wasn’t a fluke that a surge in M&A activity coincided with that year’s market top, according to Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, a professor at Harvard Business School and an expert in the field. “Each of the last five great merger waves on record” — going back more than 125 years — “ended with a precipitous decline in equity prices,” he says.
Some experts have found that merger activity surges when stocks are richly priced, at least in part because companies can use their inflated shares to pursue acquisitions.
“The marked increase in recent M&A activity is one more piece of evidence that the market is dangerously overvalued,” says Dennis Mueller, an emeritus economics professor at the University of Vienna in Austria who has studied M&A cycles in the U.S. as well as overseas.
Of course, shareholders of the company being acquired rarely complain, since the acquisition price usually represents a huge premium. Covidien’s stock this past week surged as much as 29%, compared with where it closed the prior week, for example.
Does the recent M&A boom mean you should immediately get out of stocks? Not necessarily, since the volume of M&A activity isn’t an exact market-timing tool.
Mueller says it’s possible that the market is at the beginning of a long M&A boom that could last a few more years.
Rhodes-Kropf agrees that the recent M&A surge doesn’t necessarily mean a bear market is imminent. “Everyone tends to call the bubble too soon,” he says, adding that his hunch is that this merger trend could very well last a while longer.
‘Risk arbitrage’
Read more from MarketWatch >>
From MarketWatch
Stocks are ‘dangerously overvalued,’ M&A deals suggest
Analysis: Every big wave of mergers has ended with a drop in equities
By Mark Hulbert, MarketWatch | June 20, 2014
Here’s one sign a significant stock market decline might occur sooner rather than later: the rapid acceleration of recent merger and acquisition activity.
This past week saw news of another big deal, led by medical-device maker Medtronic’s, MDT -1.25%, announcement of its $43 billion bid to acquire rival Covidien, COV -1.24%.
At the current pace, M&A deals could reach $3.51 trillion this year, the most since 2007, according to data provider Dealogic.
It wasn’t a fluke that a surge in M&A activity coincided with that year’s market top, according to Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, a professor at Harvard Business School and an expert in the field. “Each of the last five great merger waves on record” — going back more than 125 years — “ended with a precipitous decline in equity prices,” he says.
Some experts have found that merger activity surges when stocks are richly priced, at least in part because companies can use their inflated shares to pursue acquisitions.
“The marked increase in recent M&A activity is one more piece of evidence that the market is dangerously overvalued,” says Dennis Mueller, an emeritus economics professor at the University of Vienna in Austria who has studied M&A cycles in the U.S. as well as overseas.
Of course, shareholders of the company being acquired rarely complain, since the acquisition price usually represents a huge premium. Covidien’s stock this past week surged as much as 29%, compared with where it closed the prior week, for example.
Does the recent M&A boom mean you should immediately get out of stocks? Not necessarily, since the volume of M&A activity isn’t an exact market-timing tool.
Mueller says it’s possible that the market is at the beginning of a long M&A boom that could last a few more years.
Rhodes-Kropf agrees that the recent M&A surge doesn’t necessarily mean a bear market is imminent. “Everyone tends to call the bubble too soon,” he says, adding that his hunch is that this merger trend could very well last a while longer.
‘Risk arbitrage’
Read more from MarketWatch >>
June 20, 2014
Janet Yellen’s no more confident than the rest of us
From MarketWatch
Janet Yellen’s no more confident than the rest of us
Opinion: Central banker is no cheerleader on the economy
By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch | June 18, 2014
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. economy has now recovered all the jobs it lost from the Great Recession. Industrial production is now higher. But consumer confidence is, depending on your measure, somewhere between 10% to 25% below its 2007 peak.
It turns out, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen feels pretty much the same way as other Americans.
For example, this is what the world’s most powerful central banker had to say Wednesday when asked if, finally, she’s confident the economy is running above its long-run potential.
“When you say confident, I suppose the answer is no, because there is uncertainty,” she said. Yes, she continued, there’s accommodative policy from her Fed, there’s diminished fiscal drag, easing credit conditions, improving household debt finances, rising home prices, rising equity prices. But she returned to the word “uncertainty,” and it didn’t seem like just perfunctory caution.
Yellen also was asked about why the Fed doesn’t see the jobless rate falling at the same rapid rate (which the Fed has misjudged continuously over the last two years).
“We may see that as the economy picks up steam and we see further recovery in the labor market that those ... let’s call them discouraged workers will return either to unemployment or to employment, and as labor force participation begins to stabilize, the unemployment rate will come down less quickly,” Yellen said.
Cheerleader, she’s not.
Read more from MarketWatch >>
Janet Yellen’s no more confident than the rest of us
Opinion: Central banker is no cheerleader on the economy
By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch | June 18, 2014
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. economy has now recovered all the jobs it lost from the Great Recession. Industrial production is now higher. But consumer confidence is, depending on your measure, somewhere between 10% to 25% below its 2007 peak.
It turns out, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen feels pretty much the same way as other Americans.
For example, this is what the world’s most powerful central banker had to say Wednesday when asked if, finally, she’s confident the economy is running above its long-run potential.
“When you say confident, I suppose the answer is no, because there is uncertainty,” she said. Yes, she continued, there’s accommodative policy from her Fed, there’s diminished fiscal drag, easing credit conditions, improving household debt finances, rising home prices, rising equity prices. But she returned to the word “uncertainty,” and it didn’t seem like just perfunctory caution.
Yellen also was asked about why the Fed doesn’t see the jobless rate falling at the same rapid rate (which the Fed has misjudged continuously over the last two years).
“We may see that as the economy picks up steam and we see further recovery in the labor market that those ... let’s call them discouraged workers will return either to unemployment or to employment, and as labor force participation begins to stabilize, the unemployment rate will come down less quickly,” Yellen said.
Cheerleader, she’s not.
Read more from MarketWatch >>
June 19, 2014
Alibaba discloses an increasingly up-market e-commerce business
From Internet Retailer
Alibaba discloses an increasingly up-market e-commerce business
BY DON DAVIS Editor in Chief | June 16, 2014
Tmall, the marketplace that features such brands as Apple and Gucci, represents a growing share of the business of China’s dominant online retail company.
Investors wanted more information before they invest billions in China’s leading e-commerce company and today they got it.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. today filed 364 pages of additional information with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in advance of an initial public offering of stock on a U.S. exchange expected later this year. The document showed that Alibaba’s Tmall marketplace, which caters to such big brands as Apple and Gucci, represents a growing share of the company’s business. It also disclosed the names of the 27 individuals who will continue to run Alibaba and that the company plans to add four independent directors, including Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and the former chief executive officer of Hong Kong.
Here are some of the highlights of today’s filing:
- Tmall, a marketplace that allows brands to set up their own storefronts, is growing much faster than Alibaba’s main marketplace Taobao, where 8 million sellers compete in a wide-open online bazaar. Since the quarter ended June 30, 2012, the gross merchandise value of goods sold on Tmall has grown from 42 billion RMB ($6.75 billion) to 135 billion RMB ($21.7 billion) for the three-month period ended March 31, 2014, a quarter-over-quarter compound growth rate of 18.15%. For the same period Taobao’s sales grew from 167 billion RMB ($26.8 billion) to 295 billion RMB ($47.4 billion), a quarterly compound growth rate of 8.47%. Alibaba charges a commission of 0.3% to 5% of sales on Tmall depending on category, but does not charge commissions on Taobao, where it charges sellers to promote their products through advertising. “For the same amount of GMV transacted, the average amount of revenue we generate from Tmall merchants is higher than from Taobao Marketplace merchants,” Alibaba says in today’s filing.
- The filing disclosed the identities of the 27 individuals that make up the Alibaba Partnership, the group of longtime associates of Alibaba founder Jack Ma who run Alibaba, most of them executives at Alibaba or related companies like payment service Alipay. It also disclosed that, following its IPO, Alibaba will appoint four independent directors: Yahoo Inc. founder Jerry Yang; Chee Hwa Tung, who was chief executive of Hong Kong from its transfer to China in July 1997 to March 2005; J. Michael Evans, who was vice chairman of investment firm Goldman Sachs until stepping down in December 2013; and Walter The Ming Kwauk, a former executive of accounting and consulting firm KPMG and of technology company Motorola Solutions Inc.
- The company documented several recent investments, including having spent $270 million in building a logistics service to unit carriers across China, a company called Zhejiang Cainiao Supply Chain Management Co. Ltd. that Alibaba refers to as China Smart Logistics. Alibaba, which owns 48% of the logistics company, says it expects to complete its promised $385 billion investment by May 2015. The company also reported on its previously disclosed investments in Weibo, a Chinese social network similar to Twitter, and plans to invest in a soccer team, Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club, or Evergrande FC.
Read more from Internet Retailer >>
June 18, 2014
Why 'I'll just work longer' is not a good retirement plan
From Yahoo Finance
Why 'I'll just work longer' is not a good retirement plan
By Mandi Woodruff
Despite his age, Charles Morris, 66, says he has no plans to retire anytime soon. The Beaverton, Ore., web developer is one of many older Americans today who are changing the retirement landscape as we know it.
Three out of four workers in the U.S. plan on working at least part time after they hit retirement age, according to a recent study by Merrill Lynch.
For pre-retirees (those over 55), the top reason cited for putting off retirement should come as no surprise: money. Not only are Americans living longer today, but fixed costs like health care and housing continue to outpace inflation. For cash-strapped workers, clocking in for a few more years may seem like the only reasonable solution to solving their financial anxieties.
“Frankly, my continuing to work is all about my wife, to ensure she will have the funds needed to sustain her if I pass away first,” Morris says. “We have been married 46 years and my wife has been primarily a stay-at-home mom” of six children. He currently contributes 40% of his salary to his 401(k). What’s left over after expenses goes into a cash reserve he and his wife use as an emergency fund.
Workers like Morris, who plan to work longer to bolster their nest egg, may be more common today. But so far they are still the exception, not the rule.
“One of the cornerstones of [retirement] planning is to always expect the worst,” says Wendy Weaver, a certified financial planner in Bethesda, Md. “Attitudes about working past retirement have changed a great deal, but the bottom line is you still don’t see many people working at age 75 and 80.”
In a 2014 Employee Benefit Research Institute report, researchers found half of retirees wound up leaving the workforce far sooner than they expected.
Only 9% of workers said they plan to retire before age 60 but nearly four times as many (35%) wound up actually retiring that early, according to the report. And just 18% of workers said they’ll retire before age 65, but again, far more people found themselves retiring in that age range than expected (32%).
And people over the age of 65 make up only 5.4% of the working population in the U.S.
Read more from Yahoo Finance >>
Why 'I'll just work longer' is not a good retirement plan
By Mandi Woodruff
Despite his age, Charles Morris, 66, says he has no plans to retire anytime soon. The Beaverton, Ore., web developer is one of many older Americans today who are changing the retirement landscape as we know it.
Three out of four workers in the U.S. plan on working at least part time after they hit retirement age, according to a recent study by Merrill Lynch.
For pre-retirees (those over 55), the top reason cited for putting off retirement should come as no surprise: money. Not only are Americans living longer today, but fixed costs like health care and housing continue to outpace inflation. For cash-strapped workers, clocking in for a few more years may seem like the only reasonable solution to solving their financial anxieties.
“Frankly, my continuing to work is all about my wife, to ensure she will have the funds needed to sustain her if I pass away first,” Morris says. “We have been married 46 years and my wife has been primarily a stay-at-home mom” of six children. He currently contributes 40% of his salary to his 401(k). What’s left over after expenses goes into a cash reserve he and his wife use as an emergency fund.
Workers like Morris, who plan to work longer to bolster their nest egg, may be more common today. But so far they are still the exception, not the rule.
“One of the cornerstones of [retirement] planning is to always expect the worst,” says Wendy Weaver, a certified financial planner in Bethesda, Md. “Attitudes about working past retirement have changed a great deal, but the bottom line is you still don’t see many people working at age 75 and 80.”
In a 2014 Employee Benefit Research Institute report, researchers found half of retirees wound up leaving the workforce far sooner than they expected.
Only 9% of workers said they plan to retire before age 60 but nearly four times as many (35%) wound up actually retiring that early, according to the report. And just 18% of workers said they’ll retire before age 65, but again, far more people found themselves retiring in that age range than expected (32%).
And people over the age of 65 make up only 5.4% of the working population in the U.S.
Read more from Yahoo Finance >>
June 17, 2014
5 Foods That Help You Sleep
From Cleveland Clinic
5 Foods That Help You Sleep
Eat right, sleep better
By Kristin Kirkpatrick, MS, RD, LD | 6/12/14
Let’s face it — we live in a non-stop society. In our rush, we too often put sleep on the back burner. As a busy mom myself, I can understand why people forgo sleep to get things done.
But it’s the wrong approach. Sleep has a huge effect on how you feel throughout the day, and nutrition plays a role in how well you sleep. Food relates directly to serotonin, a key hormone that — along with Vitamin B6, B12, and folic acid — helps promote healthy sleep. Try to consume foods that calm the body, increase serotonin levels and get you ready for restful sleep.
Here are a few foods to get you started on the path to slumber.
1. Complex carbohydrates
Embrace whole-grain breads, cereals, pasta, crackers and brown rice. Avoid simple carbohydrates, including breads, pasta and sweets such as cookies, cakes, pastries and other sugary foods. These tend to reduce serotonin levels and do not promote sleep.
2. Lean proteins
Lean proteins include low-fat cheese, chicken, turkey and fish. These foods are high in the amino acid tryptophan, which tends to increase serotonin levels. On the flipside, avoid high-fat cheeses, chicken wings or deep-fried fish. These take longer to digest and can keep you awake.
3. Heart-healthy fats
Unsaturated fats will not only boost your heart health but also improve your serotonin levels. Examples include peanut butter (read the label to make sure peanuts are the only ingredient) and nuts such as walnuts, almonds, cashews and pistachios. Avoid foods with saturated and trans fats, such as french fries, potato chips or other high-fat snack foods. These bring your serotonin levels down.
4. Beverages
Certain drinks can promote or prevent sleep. A good, soothing beverage to drink before bedtime would be warm milk (your mother was right) or herbal tea such as chamomile or peppermint. As for caffeinated drinks, I recommend that my clients who are having difficulty sleeping consume that last cup by 2 p.m. Caffeine can affect people differently, and even the smallest amount of stimulant can keep you awake.
5. Fresh herbs
Read more from Cleveland Clinic >>
5 Foods That Help You Sleep
Eat right, sleep better
By Kristin Kirkpatrick, MS, RD, LD | 6/12/14
Let’s face it — we live in a non-stop society. In our rush, we too often put sleep on the back burner. As a busy mom myself, I can understand why people forgo sleep to get things done.
But it’s the wrong approach. Sleep has a huge effect on how you feel throughout the day, and nutrition plays a role in how well you sleep. Food relates directly to serotonin, a key hormone that — along with Vitamin B6, B12, and folic acid — helps promote healthy sleep. Try to consume foods that calm the body, increase serotonin levels and get you ready for restful sleep.
Here are a few foods to get you started on the path to slumber.
1. Complex carbohydrates
Embrace whole-grain breads, cereals, pasta, crackers and brown rice. Avoid simple carbohydrates, including breads, pasta and sweets such as cookies, cakes, pastries and other sugary foods. These tend to reduce serotonin levels and do not promote sleep.
2. Lean proteins
Lean proteins include low-fat cheese, chicken, turkey and fish. These foods are high in the amino acid tryptophan, which tends to increase serotonin levels. On the flipside, avoid high-fat cheeses, chicken wings or deep-fried fish. These take longer to digest and can keep you awake.
3. Heart-healthy fats
Unsaturated fats will not only boost your heart health but also improve your serotonin levels. Examples include peanut butter (read the label to make sure peanuts are the only ingredient) and nuts such as walnuts, almonds, cashews and pistachios. Avoid foods with saturated and trans fats, such as french fries, potato chips or other high-fat snack foods. These bring your serotonin levels down.
4. Beverages
Certain drinks can promote or prevent sleep. A good, soothing beverage to drink before bedtime would be warm milk (your mother was right) or herbal tea such as chamomile or peppermint. As for caffeinated drinks, I recommend that my clients who are having difficulty sleeping consume that last cup by 2 p.m. Caffeine can affect people differently, and even the smallest amount of stimulant can keep you awake.
5. Fresh herbs
Read more from Cleveland Clinic >>
June 16, 2014
INDIA: Open for Business
If you missed investing in China before it became the 2nd largest economy in the world after the US, now is your second chance to make big size gains before India takes off. Take a look at India....
From Barrons
INDIA: Open for Business
India's likely new prime minister, Narendra Modi, is controversial but also the nation's best shot at an economic turnaround.
By JONATHAN R. LAING
May 3, 2014
In 2008, Narendra Modi sent a text message to Indian mogul Ratan Tata asking him to abandon plans to build his new Nano mini-car at a site in West Bengal, where the project was stymied by red tape and farmer riots. Modi proposed that Tata move the plant construction to Gujarat, the Indian state where Modi was chief minister. Tata agreed, and the first part of his complex was up and operating in Gujarat in less than two years, an extraordinary feat in India.
This and many similar business-friendly initiatives helped Modi turn Gujarat into a fast-growing industrial powerhouse during his 13 years at the helm, following China's model of heavy infrastructure spending on roads, ports, and electric-power generation that, along with generous subsidies, has attracted many modern plants -- and attention. "So many things work properly in Gujarat that it hardly feels like India," noted a newsweekly a few years ago.
The hope is that Modi, 63, can put his pluck and powers of persuasion to work for all of India as its new prime minister. He and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, are the odds-on favorites to win the national election, which will wind up in the second week of May. Their victory would end 10 years of increasingly feckless rule by the Gandhi family-led Congress Party, which has failed to realize India's vast economic potential. Modi's main opponent for prime minister is Rahul Gandhi.
Back in 2006-08, India was mentioned in the same breath as China as one of the globe's most exciting emerging-market growth stories. The gross domestic products of both countries were growing at or near double-digit rates. It was the heyday of the BRIC conceit, that magical lineup of Brazil, Russia, India, and China -- nations destined for economic greatness by dint of their immense resources and increasing embrace of free-market principles.
Read more from Barrons >>
From Barrons
INDIA: Open for Business
India's likely new prime minister, Narendra Modi, is controversial but also the nation's best shot at an economic turnaround.
By JONATHAN R. LAING
May 3, 2014
In 2008, Narendra Modi sent a text message to Indian mogul Ratan Tata asking him to abandon plans to build his new Nano mini-car at a site in West Bengal, where the project was stymied by red tape and farmer riots. Modi proposed that Tata move the plant construction to Gujarat, the Indian state where Modi was chief minister. Tata agreed, and the first part of his complex was up and operating in Gujarat in less than two years, an extraordinary feat in India.
This and many similar business-friendly initiatives helped Modi turn Gujarat into a fast-growing industrial powerhouse during his 13 years at the helm, following China's model of heavy infrastructure spending on roads, ports, and electric-power generation that, along with generous subsidies, has attracted many modern plants -- and attention. "So many things work properly in Gujarat that it hardly feels like India," noted a newsweekly a few years ago.
The hope is that Modi, 63, can put his pluck and powers of persuasion to work for all of India as its new prime minister. He and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, are the odds-on favorites to win the national election, which will wind up in the second week of May. Their victory would end 10 years of increasingly feckless rule by the Gandhi family-led Congress Party, which has failed to realize India's vast economic potential. Modi's main opponent for prime minister is Rahul Gandhi.
Back in 2006-08, India was mentioned in the same breath as China as one of the globe's most exciting emerging-market growth stories. The gross domestic products of both countries were growing at or near double-digit rates. It was the heyday of the BRIC conceit, that magical lineup of Brazil, Russia, India, and China -- nations destined for economic greatness by dint of their immense resources and increasing embrace of free-market principles.
Read more from Barrons >>
June 15, 2014
Plan B: What’s Your Job Insurance?
From BeingJRRidinger.com
Plan B: What’s Your Job Insurance?
In times of economic uncertainty it’s crucial for you to have a Plan B. For thousands of entrepreneurs around the world, that Plan B consists of the UnFranchise Business. Unfortunately, many people still don’t have a contingency plan – let alone one that can harness their shopping power and help them establish time and financial freedom through residual income! That’s the power of the UnFranchise Business!
Everyone is familiar with the concept of life insurance – but wouldn’t it be nice if we had job insurance? Employment is never guaranteed, so it’s nice to have something to fall back on when career setbacks arise and finding employment seems hopeless. Maybe instead of searching for employment, you should be searching for ways to work for yourself as an entrepreneur!
Below you’ll find a great video created by UnFranchise Owner Yardley Wang to help illustrate your need for “Job Insurance” – or as we say a “Plan B.” Even if you have a great job now, that doesn’t mean it will always be there for you in the future. Now more than ever – it’s crucial for you to cultivate a Plan B, because in a moment’s notice your Plan B might just become Plan A! Lucky for you we offer an opportunity unlike any other – The UnFranchise Business!
Keep Growing!
-JR Ridinger
June 14, 2014
The Story of America’s Economic Illiteracy – Truth hidden in Plain Sight…Yet We Choose to be Blind?
From Charles Biderman
The Story of America’s Economic Illiteracy – Truth hidden in Plain Sight…Yet We Choose to be Blind?
By Chris Hamilton | June 10
“Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life*…” and never has this been more apropos than now. Americans may have occasionally tied one too many on and certainly have enjoyed more than their share of McFatty meals. Less visible but possibly of greater importance is the toxic combined lack of educational push and/or individual pull to understand the finances and economics in which we live, work, and perhaps hope to raise a family. American’s are simply economically irresponsible and clueless.
(*Dean Wormer in the film, Animal House)
But I (foolishly) believe each of us have a role to make this nation function and it’s not simple minded consumerism. The first step in a culture or society is the shared understanding of how and why we became who we are and then a basic understanding of how we maintain this. Without this commitment to knowledge we are ignorant and vulnerable. Many inaccurately assume the high priest economists, politicians, etc. of our modern day society are looking out for our best interests so no need to bother. This economic illiteracy leaves Americans gullible of the worst sort of lies and ultimately leaves the majority incapable of warding off abuses of the few for the few.
I don’t know if it’s been a breakdown of civics education, a lack of interest in increasingly complex finance and economics, or if these things were once upon a time ignored as the small affairs of a far off place only marginally impacting a primarily agrarian society…but I’m certain the vast, vast majority of American’s have only a notion of what is actually happening and lack an internal compass to alert them to the half-truths, cons, and fraud offered by so many of our governmental, industrial, and financial leaders. Knowledge detailing the size and relationships of the economy, taxes, growth, and debt can be memorized in short order…less time than watching a single NBA or NFL game. This alone won’t fix the problems we face but with knowledge comes the shared recognition of problems and then hopefully an honest dialogue leading to a compulsion to act.
Our time on this earth is measured by our actions and although I can’t promise this knowledge can fix what ails us, I can promise that making the effort and taking action to spread literacy and knowledge is our best hope.
THE ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE
The US has roughly $100 trillion in assets and an economy (all economic movement of goods and services in the US in a calendar year) of $16.8 trillion. Federal tax revenue of $2.8 trillion vs. Federal spending of $3.5 trillion – creating a 2013 budget deficit of $680 billion. This deficit spending was a 4.4% boost to the US economy in ’13 and is factored into the 1.5% “economic growth” of GDP…otherwise put, absent the deficit spending, the US economy contracted last year and has been contracting every year since ’08! It should be no surprise then that as budget deficits are shrinking, GDP shrinks in kind.
Read more from Charles Biderman >>
The Story of America’s Economic Illiteracy – Truth hidden in Plain Sight…Yet We Choose to be Blind?
By Chris Hamilton | June 10
“Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life*…” and never has this been more apropos than now. Americans may have occasionally tied one too many on and certainly have enjoyed more than their share of McFatty meals. Less visible but possibly of greater importance is the toxic combined lack of educational push and/or individual pull to understand the finances and economics in which we live, work, and perhaps hope to raise a family. American’s are simply economically irresponsible and clueless.
(*Dean Wormer in the film, Animal House)
But I (foolishly) believe each of us have a role to make this nation function and it’s not simple minded consumerism. The first step in a culture or society is the shared understanding of how and why we became who we are and then a basic understanding of how we maintain this. Without this commitment to knowledge we are ignorant and vulnerable. Many inaccurately assume the high priest economists, politicians, etc. of our modern day society are looking out for our best interests so no need to bother. This economic illiteracy leaves Americans gullible of the worst sort of lies and ultimately leaves the majority incapable of warding off abuses of the few for the few.
I don’t know if it’s been a breakdown of civics education, a lack of interest in increasingly complex finance and economics, or if these things were once upon a time ignored as the small affairs of a far off place only marginally impacting a primarily agrarian society…but I’m certain the vast, vast majority of American’s have only a notion of what is actually happening and lack an internal compass to alert them to the half-truths, cons, and fraud offered by so many of our governmental, industrial, and financial leaders. Knowledge detailing the size and relationships of the economy, taxes, growth, and debt can be memorized in short order…less time than watching a single NBA or NFL game. This alone won’t fix the problems we face but with knowledge comes the shared recognition of problems and then hopefully an honest dialogue leading to a compulsion to act.
Our time on this earth is measured by our actions and although I can’t promise this knowledge can fix what ails us, I can promise that making the effort and taking action to spread literacy and knowledge is our best hope.
THE ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE
The US has roughly $100 trillion in assets and an economy (all economic movement of goods and services in the US in a calendar year) of $16.8 trillion. Federal tax revenue of $2.8 trillion vs. Federal spending of $3.5 trillion – creating a 2013 budget deficit of $680 billion. This deficit spending was a 4.4% boost to the US economy in ’13 and is factored into the 1.5% “economic growth” of GDP…otherwise put, absent the deficit spending, the US economy contracted last year and has been contracting every year since ’08! It should be no surprise then that as budget deficits are shrinking, GDP shrinks in kind.
Read more from Charles Biderman >>
10 reasons you will never retire
From Yahoo Finance
10 reasons you will never retire
Kiplinger
By Rachel L. Sheedy, Managing Editor, Kiplinger's Retirement Report
Retirement is the payoff at the end of a long career, the end game most workers are striving for. But these days, with corporate pensions disappearing (only 11% of Fortune 100 companies offered traditional defined-benefit plans in 2012, down from 89% in 1985) and life spans on the rise (65-year-olds in 2010 had remaining life spans of 19.1 years, nearly two years longer than folks who turned 65 in 1990), you're likely to be on your own when it comes to building a nest egg that may have to last 30 years or more.
Will you ever save enough to retire comfortably? Many Americans aren't so sure. In fact, 48% of workers don't expect to retire by age 65 -- up from only 33% in 2005, according to a recent CBS News poll. And 22% of Americans don't think they'll retire until they're over 70.
We talked with financial planners from the Financial Planning Association about the common problems that trip people up on the road to retirement. Here are 10 reasons you might never retire, as well as the steps you can take to avoid these roadblocks.
1. You're Not Saving in a Retirement Plan
When starting a new job, one of the first benefits to ask about is the company retirement plan, such as a 401(k), 403(b) for teachers and nurses, 457 plan for police officers and other local-government workers, or the Thrift Savings Plan for federal workers and military personnel. If your employer doesn't have one -- or you just want to set aside more money -- you can save in an IRA. If you're self-employed, you have retirement-plan options, too, such as the solo 401(k). Regardless of the route you take, saving in a retirement plan allows your money to grow free of tax and compound more quickly.
"One of the easiest ways to accumulate wealth is to always take advantage of tax-deductible and tax-deferred savings vehicles," says Steve Doucette, a certified financial planner in Sherborn, Mass. But although 64% of employees for private employers have access to retirement plans, only 49% actually participated in 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of those with no plan, 73% said their retirement savings totaled less than $1,000, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2014 Retirement Confidence Survey.
2. You Are Neglecting the Company Match
Many employers will match a certain amount of your savings in the company retirement plan. If you don't contribute -- or don't contribute enough -- to the plan to earn the match, that's additional compensation you're throwing out the window. "It is a huge mistake if you do not find a way to take advantage of an employer retirement-plan match," says Doucette.
The average company contribution to retirement plans in 2012 was 4.5% of pay, according to an annual survey by the Plan Sponsor Council of America. But about 34% of employers said that more than half of their plan participants are not contributing enough to take advantage of the full employer match, according to a 2013 report by WorldatWork and the American Benefits Institute.
A company match is one of the few free lunches around. Don't let it go to waste!
Read more from Yahoo Finance >>
10 reasons you will never retire
Kiplinger
By Rachel L. Sheedy, Managing Editor, Kiplinger's Retirement Report
Retirement is the payoff at the end of a long career, the end game most workers are striving for. But these days, with corporate pensions disappearing (only 11% of Fortune 100 companies offered traditional defined-benefit plans in 2012, down from 89% in 1985) and life spans on the rise (65-year-olds in 2010 had remaining life spans of 19.1 years, nearly two years longer than folks who turned 65 in 1990), you're likely to be on your own when it comes to building a nest egg that may have to last 30 years or more.
Will you ever save enough to retire comfortably? Many Americans aren't so sure. In fact, 48% of workers don't expect to retire by age 65 -- up from only 33% in 2005, according to a recent CBS News poll. And 22% of Americans don't think they'll retire until they're over 70.
We talked with financial planners from the Financial Planning Association about the common problems that trip people up on the road to retirement. Here are 10 reasons you might never retire, as well as the steps you can take to avoid these roadblocks.
1. You're Not Saving in a Retirement Plan
When starting a new job, one of the first benefits to ask about is the company retirement plan, such as a 401(k), 403(b) for teachers and nurses, 457 plan for police officers and other local-government workers, or the Thrift Savings Plan for federal workers and military personnel. If your employer doesn't have one -- or you just want to set aside more money -- you can save in an IRA. If you're self-employed, you have retirement-plan options, too, such as the solo 401(k). Regardless of the route you take, saving in a retirement plan allows your money to grow free of tax and compound more quickly.
"One of the easiest ways to accumulate wealth is to always take advantage of tax-deductible and tax-deferred savings vehicles," says Steve Doucette, a certified financial planner in Sherborn, Mass. But although 64% of employees for private employers have access to retirement plans, only 49% actually participated in 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of those with no plan, 73% said their retirement savings totaled less than $1,000, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2014 Retirement Confidence Survey.
2. You Are Neglecting the Company Match
Many employers will match a certain amount of your savings in the company retirement plan. If you don't contribute -- or don't contribute enough -- to the plan to earn the match, that's additional compensation you're throwing out the window. "It is a huge mistake if you do not find a way to take advantage of an employer retirement-plan match," says Doucette.
The average company contribution to retirement plans in 2012 was 4.5% of pay, according to an annual survey by the Plan Sponsor Council of America. But about 34% of employers said that more than half of their plan participants are not contributing enough to take advantage of the full employer match, according to a 2013 report by WorldatWork and the American Benefits Institute.
A company match is one of the few free lunches around. Don't let it go to waste!
Read more from Yahoo Finance >>
June 13, 2014
Ben Gurion University Warns: Increasing CO2 Levels Will Lead To Dietary Deficiencies
From No Camels
Ben Gurion University Warns: Increasing CO2 Levels Will Lead To Dietary Deficiencies
By Rachel Dinh June 07, 2014
While many of the world’s politicians debate whether or not the effects of climate change are real, scientists in Israel are making discoveries that clearly point to their worrisome omens for the not-so-distant future.
Crops that provide a large share of the global population with most of their dietary zinc and iron will have significantly reduced concentrations of those nutrients at the elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) anticipated by around 2050, according to researchers at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev. Given that an estimated two billion people suffer from zinc and iron deficiencies, resulting in a loss of 63 million life years annually from malnutrition, the reduction in these nutrients represents the most significant health threat ever to be associated with climate change.
Putting a FACE on nutrient deficiency
Previous studies of crops grown in greenhouses and chambers at elevated CO2 had found nutrient reductions, but those studies were criticized for using artificial growing conditions. Experiments using free air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) technology have subsequently become the standard since FACE allows plants to be grown in open fields at elevated levels of CO2. However, even prior studies using FACE had small sample sizes and have been inconclusive.
Dr. Itai Kloog of the Department of Geography and Environmental Development and his colleagues analyzed data involving 41 cultivars of grains and legumes from seven different FACE locations in Japan, Australia, and the United States. They tested the nutrient concentrations of the edible portions of wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, soybeans, and field peas.
The results showed a significant decrease in the concentrations of zinc, iron, and protein in wheat and rice. For example, zinc, iron, and protein concentrations in wheat grains grown at the FACE sites were reduced by as much as 9.3%, 5.1%, and 6.3% respectively, compared with wheat grown at normal CO2 levels. Nutritional zinc and iron levels were also significantly reduced in legumes. The team published their findings in last month’s issue of “Nature” magazine.
Read more from No Camels >>
Ben Gurion University Warns: Increasing CO2 Levels Will Lead To Dietary Deficiencies
By Rachel Dinh June 07, 2014
While many of the world’s politicians debate whether or not the effects of climate change are real, scientists in Israel are making discoveries that clearly point to their worrisome omens for the not-so-distant future.
Crops that provide a large share of the global population with most of their dietary zinc and iron will have significantly reduced concentrations of those nutrients at the elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) anticipated by around 2050, according to researchers at Ben-Gurion University in the Negev. Given that an estimated two billion people suffer from zinc and iron deficiencies, resulting in a loss of 63 million life years annually from malnutrition, the reduction in these nutrients represents the most significant health threat ever to be associated with climate change.
Putting a FACE on nutrient deficiency
Previous studies of crops grown in greenhouses and chambers at elevated CO2 had found nutrient reductions, but those studies were criticized for using artificial growing conditions. Experiments using free air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) technology have subsequently become the standard since FACE allows plants to be grown in open fields at elevated levels of CO2. However, even prior studies using FACE had small sample sizes and have been inconclusive.
Dr. Itai Kloog of the Department of Geography and Environmental Development and his colleagues analyzed data involving 41 cultivars of grains and legumes from seven different FACE locations in Japan, Australia, and the United States. They tested the nutrient concentrations of the edible portions of wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, soybeans, and field peas.
The results showed a significant decrease in the concentrations of zinc, iron, and protein in wheat and rice. For example, zinc, iron, and protein concentrations in wheat grains grown at the FACE sites were reduced by as much as 9.3%, 5.1%, and 6.3% respectively, compared with wheat grown at normal CO2 levels. Nutritional zinc and iron levels were also significantly reduced in legumes. The team published their findings in last month’s issue of “Nature” magazine.
Read more from No Camels >>
June 12, 2014
ZIRP Gains More Attention
We all feel the effects of ZIRP - Zero Interest Rate Policy. Who put their money in the bank savings accounts anymore?
From Seeking Alpha
ZIRP Gains More Attention
Gary Tanashian | Jun. 12, 2014
Summary
We have been talking about how there had been no bubble in US stocks and how the economy is doing just fine. We have also been talking about how the bubble is in policy and that the economy and stock bull market have been created - yes, like Frankenstein's monster once again - out of this policy bubble.
Enter economist Joseph LaVorgna of Deutsche Bank… Fed needs to start raising rates, top forecaster says.
Will wonders never cease? As you may know, I read the financial MSM to get a feel for what the casual market participant is reading, what the majority is being told is the truth. Usually it is some combo of self-promoters and agenda (sometimes political) driven bulls and bears.
"The economy is improving much faster than the Fed is willing to acknowledge, LaVorgna said in an interview. At the current rate of hiring, more jobs will be created this year than in any year since 1999."
Exactly, and still they inflate. He correctly puts the focus on the financial (and national) disgrace called ZIRP as opposed to the theater surrounding QE's long-term bond purchases.
"In six months, the unemployment rate will be below 6% and the core inflation rate will be at 2%," he said. "We are way ahead of schedule. We're going to get to 5.2% or 5.4% a year ahead of schedule."
"The Fed is behind the proverbial curve," he said. "The Fed should be raising rates."
It's all that this corner of the interwebs has been hammering on for over a year now. If the economy is at all real, get rid of QE and end ZIRP.
"I would have raised rates years ago," just enough to get the federal funds rate off zero after the emergency passed, he added. He argued that ultra-low rates may not be doing anything positive for the economy, anyway. "It's not about the cost of money; it's about the provision of credit," he said.
It is about that provision (or better yet, attempted force feeding) and to this credit, which goes right into the pockets of asset owners there is also a debit, right out of the pockets of the dying breed that used to be a majority, savers. You know who savers used to be, right? They would be the ones who used to deploy capital at appropriate times, investing in opportunities provided by the economy's natural up and down cycles.
Read more from Seeking Alpha >>
From Seeking Alpha
ZIRP Gains More Attention
Gary Tanashian | Jun. 12, 2014
Summary
- Mainstream economist highlights what we have been saying for well over a year.
- That is that ZIRP is destructive, not constructive.
- The "bubble" has been in policy.
We have been talking about how there had been no bubble in US stocks and how the economy is doing just fine. We have also been talking about how the bubble is in policy and that the economy and stock bull market have been created - yes, like Frankenstein's monster once again - out of this policy bubble.
Enter economist Joseph LaVorgna of Deutsche Bank… Fed needs to start raising rates, top forecaster says.
Will wonders never cease? As you may know, I read the financial MSM to get a feel for what the casual market participant is reading, what the majority is being told is the truth. Usually it is some combo of self-promoters and agenda (sometimes political) driven bulls and bears.
"The economy is improving much faster than the Fed is willing to acknowledge, LaVorgna said in an interview. At the current rate of hiring, more jobs will be created this year than in any year since 1999."
Exactly, and still they inflate. He correctly puts the focus on the financial (and national) disgrace called ZIRP as opposed to the theater surrounding QE's long-term bond purchases.
"In six months, the unemployment rate will be below 6% and the core inflation rate will be at 2%," he said. "We are way ahead of schedule. We're going to get to 5.2% or 5.4% a year ahead of schedule."
"The Fed is behind the proverbial curve," he said. "The Fed should be raising rates."
It's all that this corner of the interwebs has been hammering on for over a year now. If the economy is at all real, get rid of QE and end ZIRP.
"I would have raised rates years ago," just enough to get the federal funds rate off zero after the emergency passed, he added. He argued that ultra-low rates may not be doing anything positive for the economy, anyway. "It's not about the cost of money; it's about the provision of credit," he said.
It is about that provision (or better yet, attempted force feeding) and to this credit, which goes right into the pockets of asset owners there is also a debit, right out of the pockets of the dying breed that used to be a majority, savers. You know who savers used to be, right? They would be the ones who used to deploy capital at appropriate times, investing in opportunities provided by the economy's natural up and down cycles.
Read more from Seeking Alpha >>
Alibaba launches 11main.com in the U.S.
From Internet Retailer
Alibaba launches 11main.com in the U.S.
BY KATIE EVANS Managing Editor, International Research | June 11, 2014, 9:14 AM
Alibaba-owned marketplace 11Main.com launched today in the U.S. with thousands of boutiques designed to replicate shopping a local Main Street.
Consumers who fancy a shopping trip down their home town’s Main Street but don’t want to leave the comfort of their couch now have an alternative. 11Main.com, a new U.S.-based e-marketplace owned by Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd., launched today with between 1,000 and 2,000 virtual boutiques where shoppers can purchase such niche and hard-to-find items as sunglasses made from wood or a Swiss Army-like iPhone case that holds miniature pens and tools.
“We want it to be like shopping Main Street from the web,” says Mike Effle, 11 Main president and general manager. The site offers products from categories including: Fashion & Style, Home & Outdoor, Jewelry & Watches, Baby & Kids, Collecting & Art, and Crafts, Hobbies & Toys.
In an interview with Internet Retailer at the 2014 Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago yesterday, Effle said he’s excited to finally be able to discuss the site, which he and about 200 employees have been quietly working on since mid-2013 at Alibaba’s Silicon Valley office in San Mateo, CA, and at an office in Chico, CA.
While owned by Alibaba, the site is the brainchild of three e-commerce vendors: Auctiva and Vendio Services Inc., both of which Alibaba acquired in 2010, and SingleFeed, which Vendio bought in 2011. All three vendors offer merchants tools to help sell online either via standalone e-commerce sites or on such web marketplaces as those operated by Amazon.com Inc. and eBay Inc. The three vendors are still operating, says Effle, who comes from Vendio, working with 250,000 sellers who together sell about $6.5 billion each year, he says. About half of the stores launching today on 11 Main are current clients of the three vendors, Effle says. 11Main.com also employs a merchandising team to recruit and sign up shops, he says.
Read more from Internet Retailer >>
Alibaba launches 11main.com in the U.S.
BY KATIE EVANS Managing Editor, International Research | June 11, 2014, 9:14 AM
Alibaba-owned marketplace 11Main.com launched today in the U.S. with thousands of boutiques designed to replicate shopping a local Main Street.
Consumers who fancy a shopping trip down their home town’s Main Street but don’t want to leave the comfort of their couch now have an alternative. 11Main.com, a new U.S.-based e-marketplace owned by Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd., launched today with between 1,000 and 2,000 virtual boutiques where shoppers can purchase such niche and hard-to-find items as sunglasses made from wood or a Swiss Army-like iPhone case that holds miniature pens and tools.
“We want it to be like shopping Main Street from the web,” says Mike Effle, 11 Main president and general manager. The site offers products from categories including: Fashion & Style, Home & Outdoor, Jewelry & Watches, Baby & Kids, Collecting & Art, and Crafts, Hobbies & Toys.
In an interview with Internet Retailer at the 2014 Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago yesterday, Effle said he’s excited to finally be able to discuss the site, which he and about 200 employees have been quietly working on since mid-2013 at Alibaba’s Silicon Valley office in San Mateo, CA, and at an office in Chico, CA.
While owned by Alibaba, the site is the brainchild of three e-commerce vendors: Auctiva and Vendio Services Inc., both of which Alibaba acquired in 2010, and SingleFeed, which Vendio bought in 2011. All three vendors offer merchants tools to help sell online either via standalone e-commerce sites or on such web marketplaces as those operated by Amazon.com Inc. and eBay Inc. The three vendors are still operating, says Effle, who comes from Vendio, working with 250,000 sellers who together sell about $6.5 billion each year, he says. About half of the stores launching today on 11 Main are current clients of the three vendors, Effle says. 11Main.com also employs a merchandising team to recruit and sign up shops, he says.
Read more from Internet Retailer >>
June 11, 2014
CDC report says 29 million Americans have diabetes
From Reuters
CDC report says 29 million Americans have diabetes
BY DAVID BEASLEY
ATLANTA Tue Jun 10, 2014
(Reuters) - The number of American adults with diabetes has soared to 29 million with another 86 million at high risk of getting the chronic disease, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.
The CDC report, based on data from 2012, illustrated a continued worrisome rise in diabetes, which can cause serious health complications including heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, amputation of toes, feet or legs, and premature death.
If the current trends continue, federal health officials predicted that one in five Americans could have diabetes by 2025 - and one in three by 2050. The CDC said more than 12 percent of U.S adults had diabetes as of 2012.
"We simply can't sustain this trajectory," said Ann Albright, director of the CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation.
The report said that diabetes and its related complications accounted for $245 billion in total medical costs and lost work and wages in 2012.
The CDC said the 29 million with diabetes in 2012 marked an increase of 3 million since 2010.
Read more from Reuters >>
CDC report says 29 million Americans have diabetes
BY DAVID BEASLEY
ATLANTA Tue Jun 10, 2014
(Reuters) - The number of American adults with diabetes has soared to 29 million with another 86 million at high risk of getting the chronic disease, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.
The CDC report, based on data from 2012, illustrated a continued worrisome rise in diabetes, which can cause serious health complications including heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, amputation of toes, feet or legs, and premature death.
If the current trends continue, federal health officials predicted that one in five Americans could have diabetes by 2025 - and one in three by 2050. The CDC said more than 12 percent of U.S adults had diabetes as of 2012.
"We simply can't sustain this trajectory," said Ann Albright, director of the CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation.
The report said that diabetes and its related complications accounted for $245 billion in total medical costs and lost work and wages in 2012.
The CDC said the 29 million with diabetes in 2012 marked an increase of 3 million since 2010.
Read more from Reuters >>
June 10, 2014
About That Letter My Dad Got in the Mail
From Profit Confidential
About That Letter My Dad Got in the Mail
~ By Michael Lombardi, MBA
My father is 87 years old. He's in great shape, drives on his own, plays cards with the guys each afternoon, and has basically been enjoying retirement since he sold his business when he was 65.
Like all retirees, he and my Mom have been living off their savings for years.
And like millions of Americans, the low interest rates we have been enduring since the Federal Reserve decided back in 2008 that it was best to bring rates down to historically low levels (and keep them there for six years) haven't been kind to them.
But last week, the letter we got in the mail, well, it was the last straw.
My folks have some of their money in the wealth management division of one of the largest banks in North America. On Friday, we received a letter from them that said the bank would start charging a fee of $500.00 a year if the balance in my parents' accounts fell below $125,000.
Yes, you got that right. If my parents keep less than $125,000 in their accounts at this (essentially) brokerage arm of the bank, they will be charged $500.00 a year for the bank to keep their money.
Nice. (If you are a small business owner, imagine treating your customers like that!)
The letter ended by saying that if we are not happy with the bank, we can transfer the money to another financial institution by a certain deadline date and the transfer fee will be waived. Nice, again.
Dear reader, I have been writing to you for months that my view is essentially that money is not worth anything anymore. (See "Is Money Really Worth Anything Anymore?")
Last week, the European Central Bank said it would be charging negative interest rates if banks parked money with them overnight. That means banks in the eurozone now have to pay their central bank for the safekeeping of money each night.
But the stock market, it keeps moving higher and higher almost every day (or should I be saying riskier and riskier every day). High-end real estate, it keeps moving higher too. Collectible art and wine, they are going through the roof.
Have you been to Miami recently? The condo boom there is like the one from 2005 and 2006 on steroids!
Going back to money and considering inflation, we are being punished for keeping money in the bank because, if I were to guess, the Fed would like to see us invest more and borrow more instead of keeping money in the bank.
And going back to my Dad, he was born in the Depression era. At that time, if you had money—any money—you were doing better than 99% of the population. Now I need to explain to him that he is being punished for having money and not non-financial assets?
Does any of this make sense? Of course not. The game will only go on for so long. If the Fed has really printed so many new dollar bills that we need to pay to have a bank hold them, I can’t see how this picture will end well.
Yes, I keep buying gold every time it dips, because if money isn’t worth anything anymore, surely gold must be worth something sometime soon. I may be wrong on this today, but I believe I will be right on it in the months ahead as the current situation of being punished to have money in the bank unravels.
June 9, 2014
The middle class is even worse off than the numbers show
From Yahoo Finance
The middle class is even worse off than the numbers show
By Rick Newman
Mon, Jun 9, 2014
The "average" American worker earns about $44,000 per year and saves around 4% of his income. And the "average" household has a net worth of approximately $710,000, including the value of homes, investments, bank accounts and so on. But many Americans, needless to say, fall well below those benchmarks, which fail to capture widespread financial distress.
The gargantuan fortunes of the rich have become a cause célèbre scrutinized by, among others, French economist Thomas Piketty in his surprise bestseller, Capital in the 21st Century. Now, the growing gap between the rich and the rest may be distorting numbers long used to gauge the health of the middle class.
The rich have always skewed wealth and income data to some extent, since they pull up averages and make ordinary people seem a bit better off than they really are. But the outsized gains of the super-rich during the past 25 years have become so disproportionate that some measures of prosperity may be losing their relevance. “When wealth and income are as concentrated as they are, examining the ‘average’ consumer or ‘average’ investor makes little sense,” economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch wrote in a recent report.
Americans falling behind
This may help explain why the economy seems to be gaining strength — on paper — yet millions of ordinary people feel like they’re falling behind. Americans’ total net worth, for instance, recently hit a new high of $81.8 trillion, thanks to a five-year stock market rally and the gradual restoration of home equity lost during a six-year housing bust. Yet consumer spending remains tepid, home buyers seem to be hibernating and an alarming portion of adults aren’t even looking for work. Polls show widespread pessimism that’s out of sync with an economy supposedly heading into its fifth year of expansion.
Read more from Yahoo Finance >>
The middle class is even worse off than the numbers show
By Rick Newman
Mon, Jun 9, 2014
The "average" American worker earns about $44,000 per year and saves around 4% of his income. And the "average" household has a net worth of approximately $710,000, including the value of homes, investments, bank accounts and so on. But many Americans, needless to say, fall well below those benchmarks, which fail to capture widespread financial distress.
The gargantuan fortunes of the rich have become a cause célèbre scrutinized by, among others, French economist Thomas Piketty in his surprise bestseller, Capital in the 21st Century. Now, the growing gap between the rich and the rest may be distorting numbers long used to gauge the health of the middle class.
The rich have always skewed wealth and income data to some extent, since they pull up averages and make ordinary people seem a bit better off than they really are. But the outsized gains of the super-rich during the past 25 years have become so disproportionate that some measures of prosperity may be losing their relevance. “When wealth and income are as concentrated as they are, examining the ‘average’ consumer or ‘average’ investor makes little sense,” economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch wrote in a recent report.
Americans falling behind
This may help explain why the economy seems to be gaining strength — on paper — yet millions of ordinary people feel like they’re falling behind. Americans’ total net worth, for instance, recently hit a new high of $81.8 trillion, thanks to a five-year stock market rally and the gradual restoration of home equity lost during a six-year housing bust. Yet consumer spending remains tepid, home buyers seem to be hibernating and an alarming portion of adults aren’t even looking for work. Polls show widespread pessimism that’s out of sync with an economy supposedly heading into its fifth year of expansion.
Read more from Yahoo Finance >>
Negative Interest Rates Are Here!
From Daily Wealth
Negative Interest Rates Are Here!
By Dr. Steve Sjuggerud
Friday, June 6, 2014
"Negative Interest Rates Are Coming." That was the headline to my April 1 DailyWealth.
No, it wasn't an April Fools' Day joke... I was serious. I was right...
Just yesterday, Mario Draghi – the head of the European Central Bank – cut short-term interest rates to below zero in Europe.
I said this was likely to happen. And I told you what you should do about it. Here's what I wrote:
That was exactly the right advice...
As I write, European stocks are breaking out to new 5-year highs (based on shares of the SPDR Euro Stoxx Fund (FEZ), the main European stock fund). And U.S. stocks are hitting all-time highs.
That advice still stands today...
We saw what happened in the U.S. when Ben Bernanke pulled out all the stops to stimulate the U.S. economy... He created what I call the Bernanke Asset Bubble. U.S. stock prices soared.
Now, Mario Draghi is following Bernanke's playbook... He's pulling out all the stops, and he has cut interest rates to below zero. Call it the Draghi Asset Bubble if you'd like... it is definitely the sequel to the Bernanke Asset Bubble.
So what should you do? Follow the blueprint that Draghi is following...
Read more from Daily Wealth
Negative Interest Rates Are Here!
By Dr. Steve Sjuggerud
Friday, June 6, 2014
"Negative Interest Rates Are Coming." That was the headline to my April 1 DailyWealth.
No, it wasn't an April Fools' Day joke... I was serious. I was right...
Just yesterday, Mario Draghi – the head of the European Central Bank – cut short-term interest rates to below zero in Europe.
I said this was likely to happen. And I told you what you should do about it. Here's what I wrote:
- Much of Europe could see negative interest rates – soon.
- What will happen then? You already know... Savers will get clobbered. People will borrow money. And asset prices will go up.
- So what should you do?
- Own assets. Own stocks and real estate, both in Europe and in the U.S.
- Know that you will sell those assets someday. You know that the rise in asset prices will be built on ultra-low (and potentially negative) interest rates around the globe. And you know that those ultra-low interest rates will have to end someday. You don't want to go down with the ship.
That was exactly the right advice...
As I write, European stocks are breaking out to new 5-year highs (based on shares of the SPDR Euro Stoxx Fund (FEZ), the main European stock fund). And U.S. stocks are hitting all-time highs.
That advice still stands today...
We saw what happened in the U.S. when Ben Bernanke pulled out all the stops to stimulate the U.S. economy... He created what I call the Bernanke Asset Bubble. U.S. stock prices soared.
Now, Mario Draghi is following Bernanke's playbook... He's pulling out all the stops, and he has cut interest rates to below zero. Call it the Draghi Asset Bubble if you'd like... it is definitely the sequel to the Bernanke Asset Bubble.
So what should you do? Follow the blueprint that Draghi is following...
Read more from Daily Wealth
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)