The bad economic news continued in December. The US was officially declared in recession by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Economic data released in Australia did little to boost confidence in the local economy.
Late in December, new figures released showed that US house prices fell 18.0% over 12 months to 31 October 2008, the fastest decline on record. With consumers feeling less wealthy, spending habits are being curbed with retail sales falling 7.4% over 12 months to November.
Is that light at the end of the tunnel or the headlights of an oncoming train?
2008 marked the worst calendar year performance for the Australian share market, surpassing the falls experienced in Great Depression. The Australian share market closed the year lower by some 40%. So the question is: where to from here?
Investors who buy stocks now are likely to be cheering in a few years, but they could rue the decision in the next few months.
Peter Schiff is the President and Chief Investment Strategist of Euro Pacific Capital. He correctly predicted the sub-prime and financial crisis in throughout 2006 and 2007. The video below shares his market outlook for 2009 and was recorded on 1 January 2009.
Click the link below to access the November 2008 edition of "BT Markets Update".
Click here to download this document.
Chis Caton is the Chief Economist for BT. Click the link below to access the December 2008 version of Caton's Corner titled "2009 will be better for investors - near a certainty".
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Many people think estate planning is only for the very wealthy or for those who have complicated business structures or tax issues. Estate planning is relevant for most people who have assets. An estate plan can also be useful throughout various stages of life.
What is estate planning?
Many people tend to ignore their super and put off thinking about thier retirement until it's just around the corner. Adding to your superannuation contributions can be an easy, tax effective way of topping up your super.
What is salary sacrifice?
Salary sacrifice is where you 'sacrifice' some of your gross salary and instead of receiving this part of your salary, your employer pays the same pre-tax amount into super for you.
Retirement can seem a long way off, however there are many reasons why planning now can put you in the driver's seat later.
Retirement may last longer than you think
Have you thought about how long your retirement could last?
The bottom line is that in order to make sure that your money doesn't run out before you do, you need to plan to be retired for at least 20 years.
This means you need to start thinking seriously about how you are going to provide for retirement and consider seeking financial advice now, rather than later.