This is part two of a series about the safe withdrawal rate (SWR) for a portfolio in drawdown, and how to improve it. Unfortunately I set the cause back a bit in the first part, when I showed that the UK safe withdrawal rate is quite dismal – just 3.1% for 30-year spans, versus the … Read more
The US has long expressed interest in acquiring Greenland. Most recently, President Trump indicated a desire to ‘get’ the island by whatever means necessary. While the motivations remain somewhat unclear, there is – despite political rhetoric – no doubt as to Danish sovereignty over the island. Refusals to rule out the use of force could … Read more
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán launched another attack on the rules-based world order. He invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under an arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, for a state visit to Budapest. On this occasion, Orbán announced Hungary’s withdrawal from … Read more
Search “What is the UK safe withdrawal rate?” and the results are disappointing. Google’s AI response offers 4%, which as we’ll see is just plain wrong. Meanwhile it’s hard to get a straight answer from the humans amid all the financial content marketing. Indeed there’s plenty of sketchy chat about the 4% rule. It’s a … Read more
“Just stupid” On January 23, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sent a memo to staff announcing the cost-cutting measures. Reuters obtained a copy of the memo. “This announcement has made our financial situation more acute,” Tedros wrote, referring to the US withdrawal plans. WHO’s budget mainly comes from dues and voluntary contributions from member states. … Read more