Latest news with #financialchallenges
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Gen X Prepared for Retirement? 4 Reasons Many Feel Unprepared
If you're a member of Gen X, you may wonder how your retirement readiness level compares with other workers your age. According to a study by Northwestern Mutual, slightly more than half (52%) of Gen Xers have three times their current annual income or less saved. Almost the same percentage (54%) believe they won't be financially prepared for retirement when the time comes. Read Next: Find Out: GOBankingRates talked to some financial experts to find out why many Gen Xers may not feel prepared for retirement. Unique Money Situations According to Annie Cole, Ed.D., money coach and founder of Money Essentials for Women, unlike baby boomers and other older generations, Gen X and younger generations are facing unique financial challenges that are trickling over into their retirement plans. 'First, Gen Xers are more often caring for longer-living parents and children at the same time, which means more of a financial burden than older generations,' Cole said. Chad Willardson, founder and president of Pacific Capital and city treasurer of Corona, California, said Gen Xers face unique headwinds. 'Those include healthcare costs rising faster than wages, longer life expectancies and management of aging parents,' Willardson noted. Be Aware: Economic Crash Effects Sometimes a significant world event can cause trouble for individuals and their money situations. 'Many Gen Xers finished college and started working around the 2008 economic crash, which impacted their early earning years and ability to land consistent employment,' Cole said. Increased Housing Costs The housing market troubles have impacted the retirement plans for plenty of workers of different ages as well. 'This generation has experienced dramatic rises in housing costs compared to salary increases, making homeownership out of reach for many,' Cole said. Work Burnout 'Combine these factors with high burnout rates at work, and you've got a generation of financially strained, highly-stressed individuals who may think that retirement is not even possible for them,' Cole said. 'Given this situation, it's not surprising that many people are turning to freelance work or micro-retirements to try to find an alternative to the traditional career-to-retirement path.' 'As a GenXer, I can empathize with how stressed my peers feel. Gen Xers, like Generation Jones, are more likely to experience the decline of traditional pensions and the rise of 401(k) plans, thereby assuming more responsibility for their retirement,' said Marguerita Cheng, CFP, CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth. More From GOBankingRates Mark Cuban Warns of 'Red Rural Recession' -- 4 States That Could Get Hit Hard Are You Rich or Middle Class? 8 Ways To Tell That Go Beyond Your Paycheck 4 Housing Markets That Have Plummeted in Value Over the Past 5 Years This article originally appeared on Is Gen X Prepared for Retirement? 4 Reasons Many Feel Unprepared 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
CNA
4 days ago
- Business
- CNA
CNA938 Rewind - Is the cinema scene dead in Singapore?
Cathay Cineplexes operator mm2 Asia could cease its cinema operations in Singapore, due to ongoing financial challenges. What could this mean for the cinema scene here? Lance Alexander speaks with Dr Jinna Tay, Senior Lecturer, Communications And New Media, NUS.
Independent Singapore
5 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Will Cathay Cineplexes soon bid its final farewell amid millions in debt?
Photo: Google Maps/Ivan Lim SINGAPORE: Cathay Cineplexes may soon bid its final farewell, with owner and operator mm2 Asia announcing it is evaluating 'all available options'—including winding up the cinema business—to address the millions of dollars in financial challenges it is facing. In a bourse filing on Thursday (July 17), mm2 Asia said, 'The Group has been committed towards the continued operation of its cinema business in Singapore. However, such commitment requires the support from its landlords, which has not been meaningful despite the difficult operating environment for cinemas and the wider retail industry over the past years caused by, amongst other things, the COVID-19 pandemic.' Channel News Asia (CNA) reported that in the last three years, Cathay Cineplexes has closed six outlets across Singapore, including its West Mall outlet in February. Only four are still operating today. Before announcing its West Mall outlet closure, mm2 Asia received letters of demand from landlords of its Century Square and Causeway Point outlets, seeking S$2.7 million in unpaid rent and other costs . That figure has since risen to over S$3 million. More demands have come in this month. The landlord of its former Jem outlet is seeking around S$3.4 million in rental arrears, while Linkwasha Holdings is demanding repayment of S$7.56 million from a S$30 million loan Linkwasha provided in 2017, which helped fund mm2 Asia's acquisition of Cathay Cineplexes from Cathay Organisation. The company said that while it has repaid its loan over the years, the outstanding amount is now due by July 28. In a separate bourse filing on Wednesday (July 16), the company also proposed to extend the maturity date of a S$54 million bond deal originally due December 29, 2025, to December 30, 2031. mm2 Asia said it is reviewing all options in light of its recent receipt of various statutory demands and outlined three possible paths forward: To continue negotiations with Cathay Cineplexes' landlords with the aim of restructuring existing obligations consensually To pursue a scheme of arrangement under a court-supervised process to restructure the cinemas' debts while keeping operations running Or to pursue the winding up of Cathay Cineplexes In February, Cathay Cineplexes launched its 'Save Our Screens' campaign in a bid to keep its cinemas running. However, the move drew flak from cinema-goers who faced issues using their vouchers. mm2 Asia said it would make further announcements should there be any material developments regarding legal demands or lease-related matters. 'Shareholders are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the securities of the company and to refrain from taking any action in relation to their shares which may be prejudicial to their interests,' it added. /TISG () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
CNA
5 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Cathay Cineplexes operator mulls closing down its cinemas to address 'financial challenges'
SINGAPORE: Cathay Cineplexes' operator is mulling several options – including winding up the cinema business – as it struggles with millions of dollars in debt. Mm2 Asia, which owns and operates Cathay Cineplexes, said in a bourse filing on Thursday (Jul 17) that it is evaluating all available options to address its "ongoing financial challenges". "The group has been committed towards the continued operation of its cinema business in Singapore," said mm2 Asia, which is listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). "However, such commitment requires the support from its landlords which has not been meaningful despite the difficult operating environment for cinemas and the wider retail industry over the past years caused by, amongst other things, the COVID-19 pandemic." Six Cathay Cineplexes cinemas have closed in around three years, leaving four outlets still in operation. In February, mm2 Asia revealed that it had received letters of demand from the landlords of its Century Square and Causeway Point cinemas for S$2.7 million (US$2.1 million) that it owed in rent and other costs. The amount owed is now more than S$3 million. This month, the landlord of Cathay Cineplexes' shuttered outlet at Jem shopping mall demanded payment of about S$3.45 million in rental arrears, while Linkwasha Holdings is seeking more than S$7 million in repayment. Mm2 Asia borrowed S$30 million from Linkwasha Holdings in 2017 to finance the acquisition of Cathay Cineplexes from Cathay Organisation. The majority of the loan has been repaid, but Linkwasha Holdings has asked for the outstanding amount to be paid by Jul 28. On Wednesday, mm2 Asia also announced that is has proposed to extend the repayment deadline for a S$54 million bond deal from December this year to Dec 30, 2031. CATHAY'S AVAILABLE OPTIONS With the difficult operating environment and the "recent receipt of various statutory demands", mm2 Asia said it is evaluating options, including three that it outlined. The first is to continue negotiations with landlords with the aim of restructuring existing obligations consensually. The second option is to seek a scheme of arrangement to restructure existing obligations under a court-supervised process while continuing operations, and the third is to pursue a winding up of Cathay Cineplexes. In an exclusive interview with CNA in February, mm2 Asia's founder and executive chairman Melvin Ang said he was optimistic about the cinema business. 'I am still very passionate, and I want to continue to maintain and grow this business,' he said at the time, adding that the company wanted to "push on".
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Surrey Heath council making large cuts to help balance books
A council in Surrey says it is having to make millions of pounds worth of cuts to deal with "significant" financial Heath Borough Council is cutting £3.14m from its budget and increasing what it charges for services in an effort to balance its are in place to review garden waste subscriptions, stop on-call weekend services for unauthorised encampments, cut town centre CCTV cameras, and put an end to council-staged community and civic is also set to change how Camberley Theatre is run, whilst vacant positions at Surrey Heath Museum will remain unfilled. The council is looking likely to do away with smaller community theatre projects, take only a "crowd-pleasing" approach to the pantomime and bring in a more mainstream programme, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Steevens, the council's chief executive, told the July meeting of the performance and finance scrutiny committee: "What we did was focus on the £3.14m which is essentially us trying to balance the cost of service against the income coming into the council."The focus is to see us toward local government reorganisation or through this medium term, but in truth we are doing very well."I think that this is an absolute success." In May the council offered two plots of land for sale in a bid to help ease its financial problems.
