Forbes Video: Do You Take Enough Risks? Probably Not

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Should you play in the traffic? Probably not. That’s not risky, it’s stupid. Likewise, going mountaineering without being physically fit, or without the right equipment/training is idiotic.

But not all risks are created equal. Some are worth taking. In fact, if you aren’t taking some risks then you aren’t likely to realize your true potential. While that may be obvious to many people on an intellectual level, fewer and fewer people seem willing to take risks.

Jon Levy, author of ‘The 2 AM Principal‘ explains his thoughts on what constitutes good risks to take and what are bad risks. He discusses the matter in this video.

Forbes: Paper, The Technology That Refuses To Die

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Technology has become synonymous with the latest devices from Apple Inc. and the radical changes brought about by social media companies such as Facebook. But it doesn't have to be restricted to the inventions of the digital age.

That's something author Mark Kurlansky takes on in his recently published book Paper: Paging Through History. In short, it's a book about an invention that is ancient and one that refuses to die. Just because it dates back far into human history doesn't make it irrelevant. Read more here.

U.S. News: What Rising Government Bond Rates Mean for Your Money

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The cost of borrowing money is going up and sooner or later, it's likely to filter through to more expensive home loans.

Here's what you need to know to navigate the changes coming soon – and perhaps even profit. Read more here.

TheStreet: Don't Relax Yet-- Brexit Hasn't Finished Beating Up the British Pound

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Once it was the bedrock of the world's financial system. Now, it's the weakling. 

The big question is what's next for the British pound sterling, which has lost 17% of its value since the country voted to leave the European Union in June. It's now worth about $1.22. Read more here.

Photo by Edson Rosas on Unsplash

TheStreet: How a 'Bad Moon Rising' Could Break Gold's Breathtaking Fall

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Ouch! Gold prices hit the skids recently.

The question is simple: Is this a normal pullback, or is something bigger afoot?

The answer depends on how much global turmoil you see on the horizon, given Britain's decision to leave the European Union, slowing growth in China and Donald Trump's noncommittal stance on accepting the results of the U.S. presidential election. Read more here.

TheStreet: Did Government Dithering Cause Secular Stagnation?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The secular stagnation meme just got torpedoed.

Exceptionally high uncertainty over government policies around the globe is responsible for the period of sluggish growth we've seen since the financial crisis, according to new research which appears to refute the ideas of a former Treasury chief.

"The elevated levels of global policy uncertainty in the past five years compared even to the crisis years of 2008-09 is remarkable," states the October-dated paper titled "An Index of Global Economic Policy Uncertainty" by Steven Davis, professor of international business and economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Read more here.

U.S. News: Investors Have to Be Careful With Real Estate

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The housing market isn't getting red hot any time soon. So instead of just throwing money at anything related to real estate, investors wanting exposure to the housing sector will need to be careful how they put their cash to work.

The matter stems from a change in attitude from the largest generation of U.S. residents – those 75 million people born between 1981 and 1997, a.k.a. the millennials, according to the Pew Research Center.

Housing and economic growth were once synonymous. From the end of World War II up until the financial crisis of 2008-09 there wasn't a single recovery that didn't involve housing playing a major role. Then things changed, and how. Read more here.