Non-Political Happy News.

Wisdom

Wisdom

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If you only read doom and gloom news about how the world its ending and everyone its a sexual predator you may have missed this.

2017 WAS FANTASTIC FOR US STOCKS!!!

Final results
S&P increase 19.4%
Naddaq increase 28.2%
DOW increase 25.1%

That means "safe boring stable low risk" index funds made people money!!!
Lots and lots and lots.

The cool part is that a lot of the index is held by "average" portfolios. So pensions, retirement, personal investment etc. Ie. The "average" American.

Also unemployment in USA the lowest level since 2001.
4.1% which worldwide today is honestly freaking awesome.

So there. Non political happy news.
 
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Other happy news (if this is supposed to be a thread for that):

1. Norway: 106 killed in road accidents, the lowest in 70 years. Compare that to 1976 when 560 people died. If we extrapolate that number, based on traffic density and number of people living here, around 2000 would die yearly today.

I suppose other countries also can show similar numbers.

2. The world: 2017 was one of the best years in commercial airline security: 6 passengers killed, but only in accidents involving small aircraft, none in "major" aircraft like Boeings, and Airbuses. There were deaths on charter and cargo flights, and on the 16th of january 35 people on the ground were killed when Turkish Airlines Flight 6491 (cargo flight) crashed in a residential area in Kyrgyzstan. But all in all a great year in the air.

BTW: Feel free to correct me if I've got the numbers wrong

pibbur who drives a car but doesn't like flying (not afraid, it's just really uncomfortable. Unlike trains.).
 
As I understand it, the world is a much better place today than it ever was - if we actually go this statistical route.

It's just that such news don't sell.

However, I'm a bit more impatient with human beings - and as long as there's a single person suffering needlessly and we can do something about it, I think we suck.
 
Ripper said:
An interesting examination of this idea, and some reasons to be skeptical.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/jul/28/is-the-world-really-better-than-ever-the-new-optimists
Click to expand...

News company says its ok to be permanently negative. Shocker....

Also with a quote like this you can be sure they really focussed on real issues for that article...

before even considering the string of deaths of beloved celebrities that seemed like a calculated attempt, on 2016’s part, to rub salt in the wound: in the space of a few months, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Prince, Muhammad Ali, Carrie Fisher and George Michael, to name only a handful, were all gone.)
Click to expand...

Yep, celebrity deaths.. surely the make or break of a world economy..
 
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pibbur who said:
Other happy news (if this is supposed to be a thread for that):

1. Norway: 106 killed in road accidents, the lowest in 70 years. Compare that to 1976 when 560 people died. If we extrapolate that number, based on traffic density and number of people living here, around 2000 would die yearly today.

I suppose other countries also can show similar numbers.

2. The world: 2017 was one of the best years in commercial airline security: 6 passengers killed, but only in accidents involving small aircraft, none in "major" aircraft like Boeings, and Airbuses. There were deaths on charter and cargo flights, and on the 16th of january 35 people on the ground were killed when Turkish Airlines Flight 6491 (cargo flight) crashed in a residential area in Kyrgyzstan. But all in all a great year in the air.

BTW: Feel free to correct me if I've got the numbers wrong

pibbur who drives a car but doesn't like flying (not afraid, it's just really uncomfortable. Unlike trains.).
Click to expand...

Oops...

Overbury plane crash: Two men die after light aircraft crash in a Worcestershire field - 11 minutes ago
Click to expand...

Pibbur who is now worried unseen forces are messing with his mind.
 
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NewDArt said:
I'm pretty sure US economy is relevant to the rest of the world.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure you are correct ;) Although, it might be politically correct :S

Because of its size and interconnectedness, developments in the US economy are bound to have important effects around the world. The US has the world’s single largest economy, accounting for almost a quarter of global GDP (at market exchange rates), one-fifth of global FDI, and more than a third of stock market capitalisation. It is the most important export destination for one-fifth of countries around the world. The US dollar is the most widely used currency in global trade and financial transactions, and changes in US monetary policy and investor sentiment play a major role in driving global financing conditions (World Bank 2016).

I'm positive this goes both ways though. You global folks are pretty stinking important to us too :p
 
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It's definitely time the US learned a few lessons from Europe. At least, the better parts of Europe :)

Before Vietnam, you set a pretty damned good example. But that time is long gone.
 
Why is this good news ? I mean sure on paper I made a lot of money but so what - it hasn't improved the economy. It doesn't help people out of work find jobs. It help resolve conflicts. So why is this fantastic news ?

As for impact on pension plans and similar. The value of all investments is how much you pay for them vs how much you get when you cash out. If you don't cash out today and the market crashes and burn then all these pensions plans will suffer greatly. I don't see anything with the current polices that suggest long term stability (though I think 2018 will be a good year due to tax changes but not so sure about 2020).

Wisdom said:
If you only read doom and gloom news about how the world its ending and everyone its a sexual predator you may have missed this.

2017 WAS FANTASTIC FOR US STOCKS!!!

Final results
S&P increase 19.4%
Naddaq increase 28.2%
DOW increase 25.1%

That means "safe boring stable low risk" index funds made people money!!!
Lots and lots and lots.

The cool part is that a lot of the index is held by "average" portfolios. So pensions, retirement, personal investment etc. Ie. The "average" American.

Also unemployment in USA the lowest level since 2001.
4.1% which worldwide today is honestly freaking awesome.

So there. Non political happy news.
Click to expand...
 
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I think a large factor is simply that they know they have a guy in charge who will instinctively serve the interests of the rich, and do everything he can to assist them in making a fast buck at everyone else's expense. They're quite excited.
 
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Bahaha!

Well you can continue to live in doom and gloom. Some of us are enjoying life without the abject fear and misery.

You can bet if the market stayed the same or dropped in 2017 would be on the front page of every major newspage with quotes on how relevant to the world ending.

If it bleeds it leads! :)
 
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Really fascinating at the posts demanding that good news isnt really good news. Please do the same on the next negative news swing.
 
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Wisdom said:
Read article. It was relevant.
Minority complex detected?
Click to expand...

Everything's relevant. It all depends what you want to rope into the discussion.

The US stock markets as a whole have been booming for years, despite the economy as a whole supposedly being in recession. Now the economies are supposedly coming out of recession you point to high stock values as an indicator of a good year economically. The two subjects have very little in common.

The stock indices simply value the top ranking publicly listed firms. Individual companies can collapse and vanish without denting the headline figure. Companies don't have to have any great presence in their county of listing in order to top their charts.

For example: "Boeing. The aerospace giant contributed a massive 37.5 percent to the Dow's gain." with a 89.4% increase in value, but does that mean the whole economy has risen by 37.5%? Meanwhile General Electric Co. was hidden in the happiness, down individually by a whopping 45%. So did the people working for and investing in GE have a "great year for the stock exchanges"?

If you want to be factual, it was a great year for Boeing but a terrible year for GE. People who work in the stockmarket don't care if anything's up or down individually, they just care about what price they buy at versus what price they sell at.

Pension companies? Sure, they've had a good year, but as someone else said, pensions are about the big picture, any one single pension fund will see, what, five or ten peaks and slumps in the course of its lifetime? Is each peak really something to celebrate, champagne style? I've never witnessed such celebrations, personally.

The extent to which the world economy relates to the DOW figures? I have no idea, I guess it depends which countries you like and which you don't. What you mean by economic improvement generally and which companies you like seeing do well.

But, of course, too much detail and we're going to enter politics...
 
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