The American economy is booming and robust. Just look at the chart below, which shows that the overall unemployment rate — the share of people within the labor force who are without work but are looking for it — is lower than it’s been in more than 50 years: But wait! Americans just don’t want to work like they used to. As you can see in the following chart, the labor force participation rate — the share of all Americans...
A Dutch pension federation, which represents pension funds with a combined a €1.4 trillion ($1.5 trillion) in assets warned that the latest European proposal on central clearing of derivatives could lead to lower investment returns. Under the latest proposal to amend the European Market Infrastructure Regulation, the European Commission wants market participants to have an active account with a central counterparty, or CCP, inside of the European Union and wants to define a minimum share of transactions that would have...
"Old ladies need more money!" a group of grey-haired women chants in front of Sweden's parliament, as their recurring protest against the country's pension system enters its 10th year. During the warmer months, members of the red-hatted "Tantpatrullen" (The Old Lady Patrol) gather every Thursday on the cobble streets of Stockholm's Old Town, right across from Sweden's parliament. They have just begun their 2023 protest season. In a country that prides itself on being a champion of feminism and gender equality,...
Transport for London Pension Fund, London, should divest its holdings in fossil fuel companies and develop an annual report on performance against net-zero targets, according to calls by a London governmental body. The Greater London Authority committee, which oversees the London Pensions Fund Authority and TfL Pension Fund, launched an investigation as part of a review into its pension funds' investments and costs. The pension funds had about £22 billion ($27.1 billion) in combined assets as of March 31, 2022. In...
As Eastern Cape communities are hit by spiralling food inflation and unemployment rates of 42.4%, the province's elderly residents are using their state pensions to look after families in crisis and often have to rely on loans in the last weeks of the month. In Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, pensioners are selling scrap metal for food as whole families rely on their grants to survive and the cost of food often leaves their cupboards bare before the end of...
South Korea's central bank on Thursday agreed a deal with the National Pension Service that allows the latter to secure up to $35 billion in funds outside the standard foreign exchange market, a move offering support to the beleaguered Korean won. The move comes in the wake of the won weakening more than 8 per cent versus the dollar in just two months, hit by a ballooning trade deficit and a fresh wave of risk aversion in global markets. The won...
Protesters opposing President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular plan to raise the retirement age to 64 marched Thursday in cities and towns around France, in a final show of anger before a decision on whether the measure meets constitutional standards. Hours before the Paris march got underway, protesters piled bags of garbage in front of the Constitutional Council, which is expected to decide Friday whether to nix any or all parts of the legislation. The trash piles were cleaned up but signaled the...
The aggregate surplus of U.K. defined benefit funds covered by the PPF 7800 index declined 5.8% in March to £359.3 billion ($443.8 billion), as liabilities increased due to lower government bond yields. The surplus almost doubled for the year ended March 31, from £193 billion, according to a Tuesday update by the Pension Protection Fund, London. The PPF is the lifeboat fund for pension funds of insolvent U.K. companies. The aggregate funding ratio was 133.2% as of March 31, compared with...
China's latest attempt at launching a personal pension system will result in the leapfrogging development of securities firms both in terms of additional income and business models, said experts. In mid-April 2022, the State Council, China's Cabinet, rolled out a plan to introduce the personal pension system. Thereafter, the multilayered system has begun to develop in China, comprising basic pension insurance, annuities and personal pensions. The plan officially kicked off in late November, with people in 36 Chinese cities and regions...
Protesters disrupted a keynote speech by Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday as his domestic troubles cast a shadow over the first state visit to the Netherlands by a French president in 23 years. Demonstrators shouted "Where is French democracy?" and unfurled banners at the start of the address in The Hague by Macron, who has faced violent protests and strikes at home over pensions reforms. The French president is confronting the biggest challenge of his second term over his flagship pension overhaul,...
