Moneywise24 Personal Finance

After a period of recovery, stock markets fell sharply this Monday, as fears on Europe’s debt crisis keeps dominating. Whereas the problems around Greece have been postponed, new fears arise that Italy, Europe’s second largest economy, might might fall into a debt crisis.

According to Reuters, the IShares MSCI Italy Index Fund, dropped by 4.9% to a value of 15.63 USD (read the full article here). Additionally, the FTSE Italia All-Share fell by 4.33%. One hour after opening, the Dow Jones fell by 1.45%. The fear, that the debt crisis may expand into the entire European region, is clearly dominating.

Especially finance-related stocks have much to endure today. Banks and insurance companies, which are largely sensitive to the global economy, fell sharply. Again, fear seems to dominate the market, at least on the short-term, while all eyes are looking toward the beginning of the Q2 results announcements. Alcoa is traditionally starting the season later today.

Personally, I am putting a hold on taking on any new positions. I will sell any investments at my stop-loss immediately, and generally simply lay back and watch the show. The Q2 results will surely be very interesting, but it will be more interesting whether companies will make statements to their expected Q3 and Q4 results.

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It’s 7:15 in the morning. After having hit the snooze button of my alarm clock three times, I force myself to get up finally. I am strolling to the kitchen like a zombie, turn on the coffee machine, crash on the sofa and turn on CNN or any other news channel, watching it with half open eyes.

It’s 7:30 in the morning. After having been informed about the latest rumble in this crazy world and some FOREX updates, I make myself a coffee, and crash on the couch for a second time. I suck in some updates on China, a demonstration in… I already forgot… and the movements of the Nikkei and other Asian markets. That graph sure looks red.

It’s 8 o’clock in the morning: shoot, I am late. I get ready and get to work.

It’s 19 o’clock in the evening. I had been following some of the news during the day, and decide to chill out on the couch with my lovely girlfriend. Just a bit of CNN today, then Friends, and let’s see what movie is on later on.

It’ 11 o’clock in the evening… 11 already? Need some sleep!

Fine, my typical working day does not look quite like this anymore. But it does for many people out there. Television is an integral part of many people’s lives. Clicker Blog has posted an interesting post and illustration of how much television we watch in a lifetime. The the original article here.

Excuse me? 5 hours per day for the typical American person? Fine, the number may be different depending on the country you live in. But still, make it 2 hours per day. Over a 78-year lifespan, that is still 56,940 hours, or 6.5 years! Read the rest of this entry →

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Most people have a tremendous fear to be broke, or to become broke at some point in their lives. But what does it actually mean, to be “broke”? And how can we prevent from getting to that point, where we have to call ourselves “broke”? When it comes to the understanding of many people, being broke means simply not having any money to spend.

This week, however, the Greek government agreed on radical savings measurements, which resulted in European Banks and the IMF to be willing to lend Greece an additional 3.2 billion Euros. Greece does not have any money to spend, else it wouldn’t need any additional loans, so in a sense Greece is as broke as one can get. Yet, the additional 3.2 billion Euros did something interesting: it saved Greece from bankruptcy.

Similarly, Donald Trump wrote in one of his books, that at some point in his life, he found himself being in dept so much, that he envied the homeless people on the street, who theoretically had more assets than himself, even if it were a few Dollars. Still, The Don is one of the richest men, and he didn’t end up on the streets.

So, there must be something else going on. Something beneath the surface, something secret.

Assets and liabilities Read the rest of this entry →

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