The ideal pension would be a defined benefit scheme whereby workers would be required to contribute a minimum portion of their earnings into a pension scheme. The assets of this pension scheme would be held in custody on behalf of the worker.

  Singapore needs new ideas. Growing the economy through growing the population is the easy way out while ignoring he glaring space constraints. In addition, GDP growth alone does not distinguish between the share that goes to households and the share that goes to firms. Moreover, per capita income and consumption are neglected. These are

US 2012 Q4 growth was -0.1% which surprised most analysts who expected at least slow to moderate growth. While disappointing, this is no cause for alarm. Inventory draw downs shaved 1.3% off GDP growth. Worries about the fiscal cliff in the 4th quarter of 2012 tempered business expectations and investment. Defense spending and government cutbacks

Asset markets are coiled as tight as a spring, mostly wound up by the spread of quantitative easing of central banks the world over from the US fed to the ECB to the BoJ. Competitive easing is equivalent, or at least has as a collateral strategy, to competitive devaluation. In depressionary economies QE doesn’t create

‘We think of it, we build it, we buy it.’ This all works nicely until the economy reaches its speed limits and potential. Then the economy overheats and prices rise more quickly. The limits of an economy can be extended by trade and specialization where productive capacity is exported to areas or countries with cheap