"Donetsk is
a British city! God Save the Queen." In a parody worthy of The Onion, an online poll suggested citizens
of the Ukrainian city of Donetsk would like to secede and join Britain. The
city, which was founded by Welsh steel worker John Hughes in the 19th
century, has been the site of conflict between pro-government and pro-Russian
groups recently.
Ignoring the Donetsk
poll, which showed 61 percent of citizens favored accession to Britain, the European
Union, the United States, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation reached an
agreement on Thursday to “Refrain from any violence, intimidation, or
provocative actions… All illegal armed groups must be disarmed; all illegally
seized buildings must be returned to legitimate owners; all illegally occupied
streets, squares, and other public places in Ukrainian cities and towns must be
vacated.” Russia’s Micex index closed higher on the news; however, the gains
may be short-lived as pro-Russian separatists refused to comply and continued
to occupy government buildings in nine cities and towns in eastern Ukraine
(including Donetsk).
Just across the
Asian continent, China missed its government’s target for economic growth (7.5
percent) during the first quarter of 2014, although it exceeded the
expectations of economists who had estimated growth at 7.2 percent. The
country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7.4 percent.
In America and
across the globe, news of conflict in Ukraine and slowing growth in China were
trumped by positive economic data and the Federal Reserve’s reassurance it was
committed to keeping interest rates low for some time. The majority of indices
tracked and reported by Barron’s
International Recap showed gains for the week.
it may not come as a surprise to learn Men and women have
different priorities and worries. A recent survey by U.S. Trust found wealthy women – those with $3 million or more in
investable assets – have goals similar to those of wealthy men, but they
prioritize differently. The survey reported:
“Women create and control an increasing
share of wealth and have a powerful economic influence in the workforce and at
home – as business owners, executives, investors, philanthropists, consumers,
caregivers, and role models for the next generation. They have a distinct
perspective and set of behaviors, shaped by their experiences, upbringing,
outlook, and goals that uniquely affect their income, financial security,
wealth, and wealth planning needs.”
For
example, when it comes to investing, almost two-thirds of women surveyed think
it’s important to consider the social, political, and/or environmental effects
of the companies in which they invest (42 percent of men share this belief). In
fact, more than half are willing to accept a lower investment return if they
believe the company in which they’re investing has a positive social impact.
Close to three-fourths simply don’t want to invest in companies that have
negative social or environmental influences.
On
the family front, more than a third of women indicated they devote more time to
caring for aging parents and other relatives than do their spouses. In some
cases, women said care giving has affected their career advancement and/or income
levels; however, relatively few have taken time to calculate the monetary value
of the time they’ve spent providing care.
A
2013 Congressional Budget Office report estimated the economic value of
caregiving for older Americans was about $234 billion in 2011. It arrived at
its estimate by multiplying $21 per hour (the average wage of a home health
aide in 2011) by 11.2 billion hours of donated care. Despite the cost, or
perhaps because they don’t understand it, the vast majority of survey participants
had no formal plans in place to provide for family members who might need
support.
When
it comes to taxes, a lot of people – male and female – are perplexed. Three-fourths
of women are unclear about the effects of tax law changes on investments and
income (as compared to 62 percent of men). Regardless of confusion, high net
worth investors of both men and women felt pursuing
higher returns was more important than letting tax matters determine their investment
choices.
Weekly Focus – Think About It
“My mother said I
must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That
some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent
than college professors.”
--Maya Angelou, American
author and poet
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