June 2020

Norway’s Ageing Population Problem

Right now, the biggest problem faced by Norway is the necessary transition away from the oil and gas industry. The country's economy has been fuelled by the deposits under the Norwegian continental shelf for decades. With reservoirs running dry, the economy needs to diversify. But with investment in modern technologies such as electric battery and charging infrastructure, offshore wind, and autonomous shipping, Norway's government does at least have a plan. The same can't be said, yet, for the problem...

Lawmakers Offer Help to Japanese Banks Battling Fintech Firms

Japanese ruling-party lawmakers are looking to make it easier for banks to expand into different industries, a step that could help traditional lenders push back against tech rivals. The Liberal Democratic Party’s financial policy research panel wants to amend the banking law next year to relax limits on lenders’ lines of business as well as their investments in non-financial firms. The proposal, released last week, didn’t specify which areas banks might be allowed to enter. Japan’s government has been...

US. How The 2020 Elections Will Affect Your Retirement Plan—Regardless Of The Outcome

November may seem far off, but the 2020 election is right around the corner. With the current state of the country, we can expect a lot of changes to take place soon after the election, no matter what the outcome is. These changes will have huge impacts on Americans financially, so you’ll want to start preparing as soon as possible. It’s going to be taxing. We are on the heels of one of the largest stimulus packages in human...

UK. Coronavirus: Why the pension triple lock is back in the spotlight

At present, the state pension increases each year in line with the rising cost of living seen in the CPI measure of inflation, increasing average wages, or 2.5%, whichever of those three is highest. This is known as the triple lock, and it is a Conservative manifesto pledge for the five years of this Parliament. However, the technical aspects of state-paid wages during the coronavirus outbreak could lead to a big rise in the state pension if the government...

People in Germany are continuing to retire later and later

The average age at which people in Germany enter retirement has risen again over the past year, from 64,1 years in 2018 to 64,3 years in 2019. The age for women was particularly affected, mainly due to the Mother’s Pension II. Pension age for women rises sharply According to the German Pension Insurance Federation (Deutsche Rentenversicherung), the average age at which people start to draw their pensions has risen over the course of the last year. In 2018, the...

Boris Johnson Has ‘No Plans’ to Scrap Key U.K. Pension Pledge

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has “no plans” to abolish a politically sensitive election pledge he made to the U.K.’s pensioners, despite fears among government officials that the policy could be at risk in the pandemic fallout. Officials are aware that the pensions “triple lock,” promised by the last three Conservative prime ministers as a guarantee that retirement incomes will keep rising, may have to be reviewed, a person familiar with the matter said. Johnson’s spokesman played down the...

Japan Mulls Resubmitting Legislation to Raise Retirement Age of Civil Servants

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government will consider resubmitting legislation to raise the retirement age for civil servants, its top spokesman said on Wednesday, after public backlash prompted the withdrawal of draft legislation. During the parliamentary session that ended on Wednesday, the government abandoned its push to enact legislation that would raise prosecutors' retirement age to 65 from 63, and let the cabinet defer retirement of senior prosecutors for a further three years. Critics and others argued it would...

Covid-19 pandemic: Africa is outperfoming the rest of the world

Obscured by the myriad stories of coronavirus global devastation are three headlines from the continent with no shortage of epidemics, man-made and natural disasters. That would be Africa. Of its 54 countries, six are among the top 10 fastest-growing economies in the world this year. The continent is the favorite bazaar for appreciating equity after Eastern Europe and has one of the stock market's best-performing industries: communications. Africa finds itself with fewer Covid-19 cases than other heavily...

US. Trump SEC Chairman Urges 401ks To Gamble Away Coronavirus Losses

By Edward Siedle Trump SEC Chairman Jay Clayton urges 401k plan sponsors and investors to gamble on private equity funds as a means of recovering coronavirus losses. Since when is it the job of the Chairman of the world’s premier securities regulator to encourage reckless risk-taking by American workers already reeling from pandemic losses? Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor opened the door for plan sponsors to add private equity funds to their 401(k) plans. The Trump administration claims...

Nationwide anger as Iraq announces pension cuts

Iraq is facing its worst economic crisis since 2003, worsened by the global drop in oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic. Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s government has proposed austerity measures, including capping the amount and number of state salaries and pensions people can receive. Many people rely on pensions and reparations from the government. Al Jazeera's Simona Foltyn reports from Baghdad, Iraq. Read more @Aljazeera