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The role of family and community as foundations of a healthy society have been allowed to weaken. This has brought about Australia's spiritual decline and a thirst for dopamine that explains our high debt levels.
Fascinating initial studies suggest that while we age continuously in years, our bodies age, not at a uniform rate, but in spurts at around ages 44 and 60.
Recently, I spent time in hospital for pneumonia. Health issues can clarify what really matters, and one thing became clear to me: 99% of what we think is important is either irrelevant or doesn’t need our immediate attention.
We are often quoted life expectancy at birth but what matters most is how long we should live as we grow older. It is surprising how short this can be for people born last century, so make the most of it.
Money can bolster our joy in real ways. However, if we relentlessly chase wealth at the expense of other facets of well-being, history and science both teach us that it will lead to a hollowing out of life.
Life has radically shifted with my brain cancer, and I don’t know if it will ever be the same again. After decades of writing and a dozen years with Firstlinks, I still want to contribute, but exactly how and when I do that is unclear.
Did you know the happiest group of retirees is women who get divorced between 60-65 years of age? Or that the best investment a man might make is in a classic car? Find out more about the science behind a happy retirement.
The biggest structural stories in healthcare will involve cell and gene therapies, and genomics. Companies that supply those developing vaccines and other therapies are where the best investment opportunities lie.
Even when the virus is finally contained, the business landscape will look very different. A critical issue is the ability of consumers to find product substitutes. Many people like what they find.
Food and beverage producers are under pressure to reduce the harmful impact of their products, and investors can encourage the trend by investing in companies or funds that recognise society's needs.
Increasing longevity poses many challenges, including staying financially secure over a long retirement period. Retirees and governments must stay on top of healthcare costs.
Aged care measures announced in the Budget go only part of the way to improving the system. With a waiting list for Home Care packages exceeding 100,000, we need more effective change.
Australia could unlock smarter investment and greater equity by reforming housing tax concessions. Rethinking exemptions on the family home could benefit most Australians, especially renters and owners of modest homes.
The creator of the 4% rule for retirement withdrawals, Bill Bengen, has written a new book outlining fresh strategies to outlive your money, including holding fewer stocks in early retirement before increasing allocations.
This AI cycle feels less like a revolution and more like a rerun. Just like fibre in 2000, shale in 2014, and cannabis in 2019, the technology or product is real but the capital cycle will be brutal. Investors beware.
An explosion in low-skilled migration to Australia has depressed wages, killed productivity, and cut rental vacancy rates to near decades-lows. It’s time both sides of politics addressed the issue.
Are franking credits factored into share prices? The data suggests they're probably not, and there are certain types of stocks that offer higher franking credits as well as the prospect for higher returns.
LICs are continuing to struggle with large discounts and frustrated investors are wondering whether it’s worth holding onto them. This explains why the next 6-12 months will be make or break for many LICs.