Piracy on the high seas is mainly an issue in the Southern Hemisphere. According to The Economist Nigeria has now overtaken Somalia as the major Piracy hotspot.
The chart below shows the major piracy hotpots around the globe and attacks from 1991-2015:
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Source: The Economist via Twitter
In most developed countries interest rates offered by banks on savings accounts these days are pretty much next to nothing. Germany is no exception. Not only is the interest rate zero some German banks have started charging depositors with high cash balances in their accounts. Most savers around the world including Germans would agree paying a bank to save money defines logic and does not make sense.
Germans are big savers and not big spenders like Americans for example. Germany’s export-based economy as opposed to a consumption-driven economy is proof of this. Traditionally Germans save most of their savings in banks, life insurance policies, etc and not invest in stocks. I have written a few articles before on Germans’ low participation in the stock market and savings which you can find here, here, here and here.
Unlike Americans and others Germans are not big believers in the convenience of credit cards. Most prefer cash to cards. Hence stock ownership and credit card penetration rates are low in Germany.
A recent journal article discussed that more and more Germans are stashing their cash at home in safes and negative interest rates has turned the world of savers upside down.
The Composition of Assets of German Households from the article:
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Here is an excerpt from the piece:
In a country where few people buy stocks, the possibility of having to pay fees on deposits has turned savers’ world—and their piggy banks—upside down.
“The moment the bank tells me I have to pay interest on my deposit I’ll take my €50,000 or whatever it is and put it under my pillow, or buy a safe and stick the money inside,” saidDagmar Metzger, a 53-year-old entrepreneur in Munich.
Ms. Metzger, a game hunter, said she would also consider squirreling cash away in her gun cabinet, which has solid locks.
Paying to save is “preposterous,” said Marlene Marek, 58, owner of a Frankfurt bistro. “I would rather withdraw my money and stash it at home, or keep it in a safe-deposit box at a bank.”
Many Germans have a similar idea, creating waiting lists for safe-deposit boxes in some big cities. So a growing number of Germans prefer self-sufficiency.
“When you put money in a safe-deposit box, everyone notices, and you’re paying fees,” said Mr. Wiese, the Hamburg retiree, who said his new safe is roughly twice the size of a hotel safe.
Source: German Savers Lose Faith in Banks, Stash Cash at Home, WSJ, Sept 2, 2016
Pulses offer many health benefits as they contain Vitamin-B and are rich in complex carbohydrates, proteins and micronutrients. Pulses can be used as part of healthy diet to fight malnutrition and obesity. Pulses include beans, chick peas, etc. and are consumed less in developed countries. Earlier this year I posted a note discussing some facts about pulses
The infographic below shows some of the health benefits of pulses:
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Source: FAO
Earlier: Infographic: 10 Fascinating Facts About Pulses (TFS)
GDP per capita is usually the popular measure to rank rich and poor countries. However using GDP as the main factor has many flaws. For instance, GDP disregards income levels in a country and a GDP is skewed in some cases where the government accounts for most the GDP. In countries where the state is the main player in the economy individual wealth or private wealth creation and ownership is more important than looking at government created GDP figures. Recently I came across an interesting report by South Africa-based research company New World Wealth ranking countries based on wealth and not GDP.
The Top 10 Countries Based On Per Capita Wealth are:
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“Sources & Methodology:
How do we calculate average wealth?
Source used include:
Source: New World Wealth
A few observations:
Brent crude for November 2016 delivery closed at $46.83 per barrel yesterday.Just a few years ago oil trade well above the $100 mark it seemed that it would stay in that level forever. In fact, pundits were predicting that the price would reach $200/bbl. Since that totally useless forecasts oil prices have plunged dramatically.
According to an article by Paul Hodges at FT beyondbrics, oil prices are headed towards the long-term median price of $23/bbl. The following chart shows the price of crude oil since 1861:
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Source: You’ve seen the Great Unwinding; get ready for the Great Reckoning, FT beyondbrics
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