VER's blog
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2022-11-02 at 11:49 Timo Löyttyniemi
Europe and the European civilisation have long traditions that have been refined over time. The European tradition and ideals include democracy, the rule of law, freedom of the individual and information, the market economy, and a limited role for...
2022-10-12 at 11:35 Timo Löyttyniemi
The electricity market made painful waves in August 2022. The price of electricity rose to record levels and the availability of electricity became uncertain. Many believe that we are heading for a cold winter, not just outdoors but also indoors....
2022-10-07 at 12:13 pension liabilities, pension system, funding ratio, interest rate, central bank
All looked well in the United Kingdom. The pension system had been underfunded for a long time and now, as interest rates spiked upwards in early 2022, the funding ratio of the system increased to exceed 125%, despite the fact that the market...
2022-08-30 at 11:40 Timo Löyttyniemi
A lot of things have changed as a result of Russia’s war of aggression. Energy is in short supply and its price has risen sky-high, all in addition to the destruction caused by the war. Moreover, increasing oil and gas prices have pushed inflation...
2022-07-01 at 11:59 Timo Löyttyniemi
People in the United States love big words. The financial crisis was known as the ‘Great Recession.’ In the same vein, the long and relatively positive period preceding the financial crisis is called the ‘Great Moderation’. And of course, there...
2022-06-03 at 14:56 Timo Löyttyniemi
Geopolitics has taken centre stage. Geopolitics refers to the exercise of political influence and economic power. As we have seen, it may, at times, mean the exercise of power through the threat of war or even outright war. The Russian war of...
2022-05-20 at 11:50 Timo Löyttyniemi
The world economy and financial markets are in a state of amazement. Just as we in the West are leaving Covid-19 constraints behind, we are exposed to pressures from three different economies and three strict policies. These pressures are felt in...
2022-03-31 at 12:16 Timo Löyttyniemi
Europe does not need war; we are simply too civilized to fight. It turns out that the situation in Europe was not as good as we wanted to believe. Now the war has been here. At the beginning of February, I myself did not expect a war to break out....
2022-01-26 at 12:55 Timo Löyttyniemi
The Covid crisis has persisted despite vaccines and people’s efforts. The new Omicron variant upset all plans for a gradual return to normality. A reversal was inevitable and return to normalcy was replaced by further distancing. A number of...
2021-12-17 at 11:01 Timo Löyttyniemi
A year is a short time. Exactly one year ago, when I was looking ahead to 2021, it did not occur to me that we could be facing the same challenges again in a year's time. Very little has changed over the past 12 months. Equity valuations remain...
2021-12-01 at 16:32 Timo Löyttyniemi
Investors play an important role in combatting climate change. However, this role is often not what it is widely believed to be. Fact is that investors do not normally produce or manufacture anything. Even so, investors wield influence in several...
2021-10-08 at 9:37 Timo Löyttyniemi
Money is not a concept that you need to give much thought to. It just is. But if you start thinking about it at any length, your faith in it may flounder. After all, money is based on confidence. However, money is currently undergoing a digital...
2021-09-08 at 16:05 Timo Löyttyniemi
Phenomena stemming from climate change are attracting widespread attention. Last summer events such as floods in Central Europe and forest and bush fires across the world made it clear that insurance policies fail to cover all loss and damage....
2021-06-11 at 10:18 Timo Löyttyniemi
Index investing is often misunderstood. People say it’s easy. You just pick an index fund to invest in. Right, but before reaching this point you need to make a number of choices. Fact is that index investing is a much broader concept than people...
2021-05-12 at 11:52 Timo Löyttyniemi
The size of the population and labour force are central to any assessment of economic development. Economic activity can be explained by population size. Incomes, consumption and savings can be explained by demographics. The strain on public...
2021-03-12 at 12:17 Timo Löyttyniemi
Now it is clear: Bill Gates is a wise man. Recently, he published a book entitled ”How to avoid a climate disaster: The solutions we have and the breakthroughs we need”. He doesn’t complain or brag. He doesn’t blame others or criticise. He...
2021-03-02 at 12:40 Timo Löyttyniemi
Inflation has not made a comeback, but it has resurfaced as a subject of debate. There are several reasons for this. One is nostalgia, because many fear an overall fall in prices. Another reason is the heavy debt burden of states and a lot of...
2021-02-04 at 13:56 Timo Löyttyniemi
It’s seldom that anything this interesting happens. Web postings by small investors triggered a price rally which got a major hedge fund into trouble and caused it to lose 50% of its assets. This event will have wide-ranging consequences. But it’s...
2021-01-28 at 16:24 Timo Löyttyniemi
The debt burden of nations has been growing in recent years. As a result of the coronavirus crisis, sovereign debt has reached a substantially higher level. Currently, the government debt of the euro area countries stands at 101.7 per cent of GDP....
2020-12-16 at 11:49 Timo Löyttyniemi
The investment market is always challenging. Up to the present day, a diversified portfolio has generated sufficient returns in the long term. But the road is bumpier when it comes to short-term investments. While the prospects for 2021 inspire...