These are stories Report on Business is following Monday, Nov. 3, 2014.
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Retirement needs
The Who famously sang that they hoped to die before they got old.
Some of them didn't. And you probably won't.
And thus, advisers say, consider age 90 as a new benchmark.
"Okay, you've no doubt heard plenty about how we're all living longer than past generations," BlackRock said on its website today.
"But chances are you might not fully grasp how long, long can be."
A study by the Society of Actuaries in the United States, for example, showed four out of 10 people were off by at least five years while guessing how long they'd live.
Another study by the same group, cited by BlackRock, showed more than 50 per cent of those not yet retired said that at least one family member had made it to at least 90, but less than one-quarter of those surveyed thought they'd go that long.
"It's a potentially serious disconnect that can undermine even the most careful retirement planning," the U.S.-based asset manager said.
"After all, asking yourself 'how long will my money last in retirement' is in large part depending on how long you need that money to last," the group added.
"With the prospect of a very long life increasing, you may want to consider using age 90 as a base planning target."
- Rob Carrick on money: A formula for retirement success
- Ian McGugan: A retirement spending rule that's simple (and seriously flawed)
Speculators eye euro
The euro is in the crosshairs of speculators amid the grim economic outlook for the countries that share the currency.
The latest report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, released late Friday, shows the net short position in the euro swelling by about $1-billion (U.S.) to $26.4-billion, the widest in two years.
"The position is large and vulnerable to short covering; however, as the position is still building each week, the risks lie to further near-term EUR downside," said chief currency strategist Camilla Sutton of Bank of Nova Scotia, referring to the euro zone's currency by its symbol.
Today, the euro is at its lowest level in two years.
Growth has stalled in many euro zone countries, inflation is low at 0.4 per cent, and unemployment is at a crippling level of 11.5 per cent.
Indeed, the focus will turn to the region again this week as European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi and his colleagues hold their policy-setting meeting.
"The ECB has tried pretty much everything else to stimulate the euro zone economy and stop the region falling into the grips of deflation but as of yet, we're not seeing the benefits," said research analyst Joshua Mahony of Alpari in London.
"I'm not convinced that we'll ever see quantitative easing from the ECB and I very much doubt it will come at this meeting," he added.
"That said, Draghi does love to shake things up from time to time and is not afraid to go large … Whether the ECB announces any change to monetary policy or not, you can usually bank on market volatility around these announcements and, in particular, the press conference shortly after."
The U.S. dollar has been rallying again, while the Canadian currency holds its own below the 89-cent mark.
The short position in the loonie, as Canada's dollar coin is known, is just shy of $2-billion, with speculators cutting both long and short positions, according to Ms. Sutton.
- Fears of new euro crisis mount 'by the day' as Greece woes flare again
- Eric Reguly in ROB Insight (for subscribers): Italy the standout loser in latest global prosperity report
- Factory growth ebbs in Europe and Asia, making the case for more stimulus
- Eric Reguly: Britain can thank austerity-lite for its current economic growth
Poloz defends rates
Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz today defended the prolonged use of low post-financial-crisis interest rates, reminding an audience that the alternative would have been much worse, The Globe and Mail's David Parkinson reports.
"Some critics would still say that we are running the risk of creating the next financial crisis through our actions," Mr. Poloz said in the prepared text of a speech to the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships annual conference in downtown Toronto.
"To argue that we should instead set interest rates in a way that reduces financial stability risks, then, is clearly a call for higher interest rates."
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ROB Insight (for subscribers)
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Michael Babad