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Investment Risk Tolerance Affected by Age, Economic Climate, MU Study Shows

By Guest PostJanuary 5, 2012Economyasset preservation, client education, counter productive strategy, economic climate, economic outlook, federal reserve board, financial planners, financial risk, investment goals, investors, market fluctuations, pragmatic relationship, risk tolerance, risks, rui yao, steady source of income, stock market, time period, turbulent economy, u.s economy, united states, university of missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. – As the U.S. economy continues to lag, many investors remain wary about taking risks with the stock market. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have concluded that this attitude toward investment risk-taking is influenced by the age of the investor and the economic climate of the time period. Rui Yao, an assistant professor of personal financial planning in the College of Human Environmental Sciences at MU, found that willingness to take financial risks, or “risk tolerance,” decreases as investors age.

“Age has a pragmatic relationship with financial risk,” Yao said. “Each additional year of life represents a shortened time horizon for recouping market losses. In addition, individuals approaching or in retirement may shift focus from asset accumulation to asset preservation. These individuals may become relatively more concerned about potential loss of money when they are closer to retirement or no longer have a steady source of income.” (more…)

United States Ranks 20th in Holiday Spending

By Guest PostDecember 25, 2011Economy20th largest, americans, amount of holiday gift giving, december, gross domestic product, joel waldfogel, national science foundation, satisfaction, scroogenomics, somebody, spending, u.s economy, university of minnesota

*Americans typically spend $70 billion more in December than in November and January*

Americans typically spend $70 billion more in December than in the average of November and January (the months around December). In a recent National Science Foundation-sponsored interview, Joel Waldfogel, the Carlson School’s Frederick R. Kappel Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota uses that increase to measure the amount of holiday gift-giving. This level of spending is lower than in other countries. “We’re about the 20th largest in terms of countries in the world,” said Waldfogel, referencing how much U.S. December spending increases. (more…)

Running Britain’s Largest Companies is Almost Unrecognisable From The 1980s, 24 Year-Long Study Reveals

By Guest PostDecember 12, 2011Economybritish business, code of governance, corporate directing, corporate governance, corporate scandal, dysfunctional relationship, women on boards

Corporate directing in the UK has radically changed over the last 24 years yet some board conduct, such as the persistent under-representation of women on boards, has only changed marginally, a unique series of ESRC-funded studies reveals.

The research by Annie Pye, Professor of Leadership Studies at the University of Exeter Business School, is based on a series of interviews, which first took place in 1988, with directors who lead some of the UK’s largest listed companies, including Lloyds Banking Group, Marks & Spencer, and Prudential. Described by Sir Adrian Cadbury as “ground-breaking”, the research spans a period of significant change for British business, predating the first code of governance practice for UK companies, through to the present global economic crisis. (more…)

Chinese Health Coverage Improves With Government Efforts

By Guest PostDecember 11, 2011Economy, Generalbrown university, China, chinese government, chinese provinces, government interventions, health care, health care coverage, health care in china, health insurance, hongwei xu, policy interventions, population, rates, reimbursement rates, rural areas, rural chinese, susan e short, university of michigan, villages

*A new study of health insurance in nine Chinese provinces shows that individual coverage surged within a two-year time frame, from 2004-2006, coinciding with new government interventions designed to improve access to health care. The changes were most dramatic in rural areas.*

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Health care coverage increased dramatically in parts of China between 1997 and 2006, a period when government interventions were implemented to improve access to health care, with particularly striking upswings in rural areas, according to new research by Brown University sociologist Susan E. Short and Hongwei Xu of the University of Michigan. The findings appear in the December issue of Health Affairs.

Led by Xu, a former Brown graduate student, the study analyzed data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, which follows households in nine provinces that are home to more than 40 percent of China’s population. Xu and Short specifically focused on patterns of coverage among rural and urban residents. (more…)

New Projection Shows Global Food Demand Doubling by 2050

By Guest PostNovember 24, 2011Economy, Generalagricultural land, agricultural practices, agronomic practices, belinda befort, carbon dioxide, christian balzer, david tilman, earth, ecosystems, Environment, environmental effects, extinction of species, global agriculture, global food demand, greenhouse gas emissions, human prosperity, jason hill, nitrogen, nitrogen fertilizers, poorer countries, saran twombly, technology transfer, united states, university of minnesota, yield

*Increasing yield in poorer countries could decrease adverse environmental effects*

Global food demand could double by 2050, according to a new projection reported this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The analysis also shows that the world faces major environmental challenges unless agricultural practices change.

Scientists David Tilman and Jason Hill of the University of Minnesota (UMN) and colleagues found that producing the amount of food needed could significantly increase levels of carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the environment, and may cause the extinction of numerous species. (more…)

New Turkey Feed Helps Bird Producers Gobble Up Profits

By Guest PostNovember 13, 2011Economybird producers, cost reduction, feed costs, feed prices, feeding turkeys, pellet feed

New formula reduces feed costs by 10 percent

COLUMBIA, Mo. – As feed prices have risen in recent years, feeding turkeys has become more costly than many producers can bear. Satisfying turkeys’ hunger accounts for 70 percent of the cost of producing turkey meat. Now, a researcher at the University of Missouri has produced a cheaper turkey feed, which could fill turkeys’ tummies and producers’ pockets. (more…)

Workers more Satisfied, Productive with Flexible Hours

By Guest PostNovember 13, 2011Economycompany policies, cooperative supervisor, flexible hours, worker satisfaction, workplace disruption

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Employers can expect higher worker satisfaction and production if the company offers flexible hours that allow employees to handle crises and short-term family commitments, a new University of Michigan study indicates. (more…)

Greek ‘Anti-Economist’ Offers Solution to Economic Crisis

By Guest PostNovember 9, 2011Economy, Politicsanti economist, current economic crisis, exit card, hart house, overcoming the eurocrisis, the global minotaur, toxic economic theories, yanis varoufakis

*Standing room only crowd at Hart House*

Yanis Varoufakis, a self-described anti-economist, told a standing-room only crowd at Hart House that the current economic crisis could be solved in two weeks; provided the political will to do so also existed. (more…)

Category Archives: Economy