LOL How Markets Work
June 14th, 2010
Categories: Entertainment, Investing / Economy | Tags: Buy, Sell | No Comments
Europe’s Web of Debt
May 6th, 2010
Very interesting illustration from the New York Times [click to enlarge].
Categories: Interesting News, Investing / Economy | Tags: Debt, Euro, Europe, Greece, Ireland, Italy, PIIGS, Portugal, Spain | 1 Comment
Buy or Rent? 買房還是租房﹖
September 7th, 2009
With housing prices down significantly and interest rates low, it may be an affordable time to buy that first home.
如今很多地方的房價都有了大幅下跌﹐銀行的利率又很低﹐似乎正是購置人生第一套房產的好時機。
In some instances, the price of owning can be comparable to renting in the long run. But a lot of uncertainty still remains about the housing market and the economy — making the decision to buy more complicated.
有些情況下﹐買房跟長期租房的花費相差無幾。不過樓市和經濟依然有很多的不確定因素─所以要做出決定還是挺複雜的事情。
Here are some questions to consider when deciding if buying or renting is the right choice:
在決定買房還是租房最適合你之前﹐或許可以先考慮以下這些問題﹕
How long do you plan to stay in your home? “There are high transaction costs associated with buying and selling” a house, says Dean Baker, co-director at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, so home buyers should plan to stay put for at least four to five years.
你打算在新買的房子裡住多久﹖經濟與政策研究中心(Center for Economic and Policy Research)聯席主任迪安‧貝克(Dean Baker)說﹐“買賣房產交易費用很高﹐”因此如果打算購房的話﹐至少要打算住個四五年才划算。
The reasoning? The costs for buying and then selling a home — which can include a real-estate agent’s fee, a transfer fee, closing costs, and inspector and surveyor fees — could add up to about 10% of the sale price, or roughly 1½ years worth of rent. “If you average that over 10 years, it is not that big a deal,” says Mr. Baker. “But if you average it over, say two years, you’re paying an awful lot of money to own a house for a short period of time.”
原因何在呢﹖買了房子再賣掉所需的費用──包括房產中介費﹑過戶費﹑買賣手續費﹑驗房師和估價師的費用──雜七雜八加在一起大約是房價的10%﹐或者大致相當於一年半的房租。貝克說﹐“如果你把這個費用分攤到10年﹐那就不算什麼大數目﹐不過如果要分攤到比如兩年﹐那就意味著﹐你要為短時間擁有一個房子付出很大的價錢。”
Can you handle the monthly expense? While a monthly mortgage payment may be comparable in some cases to a monthly rent, there are other expenses to consider.
每月所需費用你可以承擔嗎﹖雖然有些情況下﹐月供跟你每月租房的費用差不多﹐不過買了房子之後﹐除了月供之外﹐還會產生其他一些費用。
What’s the price-to-rent ratio? To determine whether it makes more financial sense to buy or rent in your area, compare home sales prices with the cost of renting a similar place.
房屋租售比如何﹖要想判斷你所在地區是買房划算還是租房划算﹐可以將房價與同類房屋的租價做一個比對。
Divide the price of the home by the total cost of rent for one year. If the result is more than 20, “I’d be very concerned that the price [of the home] might fall more,” says Mr. Baker, and you should consider waiting to buy. If it’s 15 or below, he says, “you’re probably reasonably safe” with prices holding steady or growing.
貝克認為﹐如果將房價除以一年的租價得出的結果大於20﹐“我就會擔心房價極有可能還會再跌﹐”你就應該考慮再觀望些時候了。他說﹐如果結果小於等於15﹐“買入應該還是相當安全的﹐”因為房價會保持穩定﹐甚至還會上升。
“If your career stability is strong, you are comfortable doing what you’re doing…and you are committed in some form to your lifestyle,” Mr. Morris says, buying a home becomes a more attractive option.
莫里斯說﹐“如果你的工作非常穩定﹐你對現狀非常滿意…個人生活方面也相對穩定﹐”那麼買房就是更有吸引力的選擇。
Extracted from the Wall Street Journal 華爾街日報
Categories: Investing / Economy, 投資 / 經濟 | Tags: Buying, House, Owning, Renting | No Comments
Good Times are Back? 做金融又可以賺大錢了？
August 14th, 2009
華爾街名言：「行情總在絕望中誕生，在半信半疑中成長， 在憧憬中成熟，在希望中毀滅。」現在經濟處在“半信半疑中”，所以所謂擁有“smart money”的法人，已經開始重金聘請金融顧問了！
Excerpt from today’s Financial Times.
Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit is offering signing packages greater than those handed out in the bull market of 2006 and 2007, as it ramps up its recruitment programme…Industry recruiters and people within the company say Merrill Lynch…is offering signing bonuses of 140 percent of the previous 12 months’ “production” to lure top advisers, and another 200 percent over the next five years if the advisers hit aggressive earnings targets.
“That’s more than they’ve ever offered,” said one recruiter. “It’s huge.”
…A spokeswoman would not comment on details of the recruitment package but said the company had never been the highest payer in the market. Merrill has revitalised its trainee programme, she said.
Morgan Stanley…has increased its signing bonus to lure new brokers, said the recruiter. Its upfront offer is 160 percent of the previous year’s production, with a similar payment three to five years later if the recruit meets expectations…
美國銀行(Bank of America)旗下的美林(Merrill Lynch)正以高於2006、2007年牛市期間標準的簽約待遇招攬新人。該投行正加緊實施其招募方案…行業獵頭和公司內部人士表示，美林旗下全球財富管理部門給出豐厚的簽約獎金，尺度達到上年“產出”的140%，以吸引頂級金融顧問；如果在未來5年，金融顧問能達到激進的盈利目標，則他們還可獲得另外200%的獎金。
“這超過了美林以往任何時候的薪酬標準，”一位招聘人員說。“金額非常巨大。”
…美林不願就招聘方案的細節發表評論，但表示，它從來不是市場上待遇最高的一家。美林表示，公司還重新啟動了實習生計畫。
摩根士丹利也提高了簽約獎金標準，以求招攬新的經紀人。其簽約獎金為上年“產出”的160%，3至5年後還有類似比例的績效獎金…
Categories: Investing / Economy | Tags: Financial Crisis, Merrill Lynch, money, Morgan Stanley | No Comments
Goldman Sachs: Still the Gold Standard
April 22nd, 2009
Goldman Sachs has always set the benchmark, the standards and the agenda. This past week it did it again. Last Monday Goldman announced its first quarter results and, despite finding itself in the midst of the most severe banking crisis since the early Cretaceous, managed to report pre-tax profits of $2.6 billion. Pretty astonishing performance and financial stocks rallied on the news. Its stock price has recover more than 130% since its Nov ‘08 low.
The figures were announced a day earlier than expected and accompanied by a pledge to repay swiftly the $10 billion U.S. government loan the bank had to take as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The manner of the announcement completely overshadowed similarly positive figures from J.P. Morgan the day before.
Like most bankers, Goldman employees are unnaturally hard working, but the most conspicuous feature of the company is its obsession with excellence. It prides itself on hiring only the best and brightest; anyone applying to work there has to go through a recruitment process comprising ten to fifteen interviews. It is often joked that it is easier to get into a nun’s knickers than into Goldman Sachs. It takes only a single interviewer to say no and the applicant is rejected.
Given its commitment to hiring the cream of the world’s talent, it is perhaps unsurprising that Bill Gates once described Goldman Sachs as Microsoft’s biggest competitor. “It’s all about IQ,” said Gates. “You win with IQ.”
Surrounding all is the constant drone of intellectual application and hard work. Such is the level of commitment that it is damn near impossible to find anyone prepared to engage in small talk.
It is also noteworthy to point out that the company did not really need the money from the U.S. Treasury in the first place, but was required to take it under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. By making participation obligatory, the authorities hoped to avoid stigmatizing the more troubled banks. Goldman has also indicated that it would like to repay the money, with interest, as soon as the Treasury will allow it to, thus freeing the company from public scrutiny and control.
One thing does seem clear as the financial system begins to emerge from the rubble of the credit crunch: Goldman Sachs is as well placed to dominate the next 50 years of high finance as it was the last.
Source: Extracted from Times Online
Categories: Investing / Economy | Tags: Financial Crisis, Goldman, Goldman Sachs, GS, money | No Comments
