Trump Touts His First 100 Days
"Bloomberg Markets" follows the market moves across every global asset class and discusses the biggest issues for Wall Street. Today's guests; Veda Partners CO-Founder Henrietta Treyz, Beach Point Capital Management Portfolio Manager Sinjin Bowron, Province of Québec Minister of Finance Eric Girard, and Goldman Sachs Software Sector Analyst Kash Rangan. (Source: Bloomberg)
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Yahoo
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America's biggest lender is closing its wallet — and investors and home buyers will feel it. Here's what to watch.
Over the past 40 years, Japan has helped bankroll Americans' lifestyle while its own economy sank into decades of stagnation. Now the tab's due, and it might cost the U.S. a fortune. The Japanese have been floating America's boat since the mid-1980s. Not out of kindness. Not out of stupidity. But because of a deal so sweet that nobody wanted to talk about it. 'He failed in his fiduciary duty': My brother liquidated our mother's 401(k) for her nursing home. He claimed the rest. I help my elderly mother every day and drive her to appointments. Can I recoup my costs from her estate? 'The situation is extreme': I'm 65 and leaving my estate to only one grandchild. Can the others contest my will? My new husband gave me a contract and told me to 'sign here' — but I refused. It was the best decision of my life. My daughter's boyfriend, a guest in my home, offered to powerwash part of my house — then demanded money Now the deal's going bad. Japan's drowning in debt, its politics are in chaos and it needs its money back. And when your biggest lender starts heading for the exits, it's time to pay attention. Japan holds $1.1 trillion in U.S. Treasury bonds. It's got more U.S. paper than any other country. But unlike China — the second-largest Treasury holders — Japan has never complained about it. Japan just kept buying, kept lending, kept quiet. But here's the thing about quiet money — when it stops being quiet, you've got problems. Look at Japan today: government debt at 235% of GDP — that's like owing your annual salary times 2.3 to Visa. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hanging on to power like a cat on a screen door, with 21% approval after a series of fundraising scandals and economic missteps. You know what happens when your biggest lender is both broke and paralyzed? America's reliable ATM is about to display 'INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.' Picture this: 1945. World War II is over. America's got the guns, Japan's got the ruins. The U.S. cut a deal — military protection for economic cooperation. But the real magic trick came later. For the next 40 years, Japan rebuilt itself, accumulating dollars and using them for its own development. Japan went from making tin toys to Toyotas JP:7203 TM, from cheap radios to world-class electronics. By 1985, they'd completed their first miracle. Then came the second act. The Plaza Accord of 1985 — five finance ministers in a New York hotel room deciding to dismantle Japan's export machine. Japan signed on too, thinking they could manage it. They couldn't. The yen USDJPY shot up 50% against the U.S. dollar DXY in two years. Japan faced a choice: Watch its economic miracle turn into a pumpkin, or get creative. They got creative. Instead of converting their mountain of trade-surplus dollars to yen (which would have pushed the yen even higher), the Japanese did something beautiful. They started buying U.S. Treasury bonds. Mountains of them. It was perfect. The U.S. got to keep borrowing. Japan got to keep exporting. Nobody had to mention that the whole thing was a shell game. As economists have long warned, this recycling machine couldn't last forever. But that's a problem for the next guy. For the next 40 years — from 1985 to now — this recycling machine has been running nonstop. Japan made our Walkmans (Google it, kids), Americans would buy them with dollars, and then — here's the beautiful part — Japan would loan those dollars back to the U.S. by purchasing Treasury bonds. It's like paying your bartender with an IOU, then having him loan you money to keep drinking. Genius! Three major shifts are killing this arrangement, and they're all happening at once. First, demographics. Japan's aging population needs those savings for retirement, not for subsidizing American consumption. Turns out, elderly Japanese people prefer eating actual food to dining on Treasury bonds. Read: Why America's aging population will be a problem for stocks — and your retirement Second, debt. At 235% of GDP, Japan's government debt makes America's national debt look positively prudent, like comparing a shopaholic to someone who merely forgot to cancel their gym membership. As Japan's bond rates rise, the math becomes more impossible than explaining cryptocurrency to your grandmother. Third, politics. Prime Minister Ishiba's government hangs by a thread, with 21% approval after a series of fundraising scandals and economic missteps. You can't run a corner store with 21% approval, let alone a country. Adding to the pressure, there's declining demand for Japanese government bonds domestically. This forces Japan to raise interest rates, which in turn makes holding U.S. Treasurys even less attractive. When your own bonds can't find buyers, it's hard to justify buying someone else's. Enter Masayoshi Son, the SoftBank JP:9984 SFTBY billionaire who's become President Donald Trump's favorite Japanese dealmaker. He pledged $100 billion in U.S. investments in December, but that was just the warm-up act. Son doesn't look like a financial revolutionary. He looks more like your accountant's fun uncle. But this billionaire who makes Elon Musk look risk-averse has reportedly floated an idea more radical than Trump's Gaza resort plan: transform Japan's passive Treasury holdings into active investments in American companies through a joint sovereign wealth fund. According to financial press reports, this would mean converting government bonds into equity stakes in U.S. technology, infrastructure and energy projects. Picture this: Instead of Japan parking $1 trillion in government bonds yielding less than a savings account at the Bank of Mattress, this money would flow into U.S. technology, infrastructure and energy projects. Both nations would share the profits. Americans might even be able to buy shares, receiving dividends from Japanese investment in the U.S. economy. Of course, converting $1 trillion in bonds to equity investments would be fraught with risks — currency fluctuations, market volatility and political backlash on both sides of the Pacific. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would face a delicate task in making this transition without triggering a bond-market crisis — kind of like defusing a bomb while riding a unicycle. If Japan simply dumped its Treasury holdings, interest rates would spike faster than blood pressure at a tax audit. Time to panic? Not yet. But keep your running shoes handy. The immediate risks are clear: But the opportunity is equally significant. A U.S.-Japan investment fund could: This isn't just about financial engineering — though let's be honest, financial engineering is sexier than it sounds, like accounting's dangerous cousin who rides a motorcycle. It's about whether America can maintain access to foreign capital while reducing its debt dependence, kind of like keeping your rich friends while learning to pay for your own drinks. For 40 years, the U.S. has run its economy on other nations' savings like a teenager with Dad's credit card. That model is more exhausted than a parent of triplets. Critics will call this government interference in free markets. But free markets in international finance have always been about as real as professional wrestling — entertaining, but heavily choreographed. Every major economy practices industrial policy; America just outsourced its policy to allies and called it 'free trade.' Now the U.S. is bringing it home like a college kid with dirty laundry. Read: Why Trump's tax and spending bill isn't getting the bond market's vote Japan's quiet subsidy of American prosperity is ending. The U.S. Federal Reserve can't print its way out of this one — they've tried that trick more times than a birthday party magician. Congress can't tax its way out either, though God knows they'll probably try. The only path forward is a new bargain that transforms debt into equity, dependence into partnership. For American investors and homeowners, the message is crystal clear: The era of cheap money is over. Lock in fixed-rate mortgages while you can. Prepare for higher interest rates. And watch for announcements of new investment vehicles that could reshape global finance. The greatest risk isn't change — it's pretending the old system can continue. Japan's bondholders are already voting with their wallets. The only question is whether Washington can engineer an economic soft landing for the U.S. or whether the country is headed for the kind of turbulence that has flight attendants reaching for their own oxygen masks. Here's what to watch as these transitions unfold: For 40 years, Americans' have been drinking champagne on Japan's tab. Now it's closing time and they want to be paid in something besides IOUs. Welcome to the morning after. . More: Jamie Dimon's bond-market warnings put investors on alert to diversify outside U.S. Also read: The 'mother of all credit squeezes' is coming — hang on to your wallet 'I'm not wildly wealthy, but I've done well': I'm 79 and have $3 million in assets. Should I set up 529 plans for my grandkids? How do I make sure my son-in-law doesn't get his hands on my daughter's inheritance? Circle's stock is having another big day. What the blockbuster IPO has meant for other cryptocurrency plays. The S&P 500 closes at 6,000 as bulls aim for return to record territory 'I was pushed out of her life when she was 18': My estranged daughter, 29, misuses drugs. Should I leave her my Roth IRA? 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Fox News
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why Some People Get Rich and Others Can't Seem To, According to Ramit Sethi
Ramit Sethi — entrepreneur, best-selling author of 'I Will Teach You to Be Rich,' host of the popular podcast by the same name, and star of Netflix's 'How to Get Rich' — has spent years studying what sets the wealthy apart from others. Read More: Find Out: In his study of success, Sethi's insights reveal why some people build lasting wealth while others struggle to get ahead. Here are the important reasons Sethi believes some people get rich and others don't. What he has learned is that some people get stuck instead of getting rich. They spin their wheels, stuck on the same problem for years. The people who get rich, on the other hand, look for solutions to the specific problem they are facing. This is not to say that those who stay stuck aren't trying. In fact, they are trying new things all the time — a new morning routine, new productivity apps, a get-rich-quick scheme, even new foods or a different diet. But these are not the things that will get you unstuck, according to Sethi. There's only one thing that will do that. Discover More: The secret, according to Sethi, is mental mastery. Or, as he calls his program, Mental Mastery. Sethi developed this program after he surveyed a large group of successful people to learn how they did it. He grilled them on how they navigated career moves, learned from bosses — good and bad — and ultimately built successful businesses. There are four components to mental mastery, and Sethi explains what they are and why you need them. Sethi found that successful people exhibit unshakeable confidence. They believe in themselves, and they truly believe they can do whatever they want. They believe they are entitled to their success. They demonstrate unwavering focus, another requirement for the mental mastery that leads to success. Sethi recommends that you maintain a laser focus on what you want and forget all distractions. Believe that nothing can stand in your way. Those who have mental mastery are unstoppable when it comes to motivation. His program teaches you how to attain the energy and excitement needed to do exactly what you want, at the time you want to do it. The final component to mental mastery is unbeatable optimism. Sethi's program teaches that any obstacle can become a benefit, and that unfortunate events are only temporary. People who struggle to realize their dreams are often focused on fixing the symptoms. They try to overcome their lack of energy by getting more sleep or changing their diet. They use productivity apps to try to get more done, so they don't feel as overwhelmed. They fight imposter syndrome by staying in roles they know they can handle. On the other hand, successful people understand that efficiency isn't the key — focusing on dominating in any situation is. They know that perfectionism can hold you back, and that self-discipline without burnout is possible. Confidence, focus, motivation, and optimism — these are the four key qualities that will determine whether or not you'll be one of those who get rich or one who doesn't. And, according to Ramit Sethi, these qualities can be mastered. More From GOBankingRates 3 Luxury SUVs That Will Have Massive Price Drops in Summer 2025 5 Types of Cars Retirees Should Stay Away From Buying 10 Genius Things Warren Buffett Says To Do With Your Money This article originally appeared on Why Some People Get Rich and Others Can't Seem To, According to Ramit Sethi Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
