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Economy grows 2.7% in Q1

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Economy grows 2.7% in Q1

Economy grows 2.7% in Q1 Hong Kong’s economy grew 2.7% in the first quarter of 2024 over the same period a year earlier, down from a 4.3% increase in the fourth quarter of 2023, the Census & Statistics Department announced today. According to advance estimates, gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 2.3% in real terms in the first quarter of this year on a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter basis. Private consumption expenditure rose 1% in the first quarter year-on-year, following an increase of 3.5% in the fourth quarter last year. Government consumption expenditure fell 3% year-on-year, as against a 5.2% decrease in the fourth quarter of 2023. Gross domestic fixed capital formation increased by 0.3% in the first quarter of this year over a year earlier, moderating from an increase of 17.5% in the preceding quarter. Over the same period, total goods exports recorded an increase of 6.7% over a year earlier, compared with a 2.8% increase in the fourth quarter of the preceding year. Goods imports grew 3.2%, compared with a 3.8% increase in the preceding quarter. Exports of services rose 8.1% in the first quarter over a year earlier, as against an increase of 21.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Imports of services increased by 17.6%, following an increase of 26.7% in the preceding quarter. The Government said Hong Kong’s economy recorded moderate growth in the first quarter and highlighted that exports of services continued to show notable growth thanks to a further increase in visitor arrivals. Looking ahead, it said services exports should be supported by a further revival of inbound tourism, along with a continued recovery in handling capacity and the Government’s efforts to promote a mega event economy. Geopolitical tensions and tight financial conditions will continue to affect exports of goods, but slight improvement may be seen here as external demand has held up relatively well so far, the Government added. Domestically, it said, rising household income and the Government’s initiatives to boost sentiment should help private consumption, but the changing consumption patterns of residents may pose challenges. Continued economic growth should lend support to fixed asset investment, it added. However, a longer period of tight financial conditions may have some dampening effects on economic confidence and activities. The revised GDP figures for the first quarter of 2024 and a revised forecast for the whole year will be released on May 17.

This content was originally published here.

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Feel Like Your Job is a Waste of Time? Here’s How Others Found Meaning

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Feel Like Your Job is a Waste of Time? Here’s How Others Found Meaning

Christopher Wong Michaelson is a philosopher with 25 years of experience advising business leaders pursuing meaning and providing work with a purpose. He is the Opus Distinguished Professor and Academic Director of the Melrose and The Toro Company Center for Principled Leadership at the University of St. Thomas. He is on the Business and Society faculty at NYU’s Stern School of Business. Jennifer Tosti-Kharas is the Camilla Latino Spinelli Endowed Term Chair and Professor of Management at Babson College.

Below, co-authors Christopher and Jennifer share five key insights from their new book, Is Your Work Worth It?: How to Think About Meaningful Work.

1. One Life to Live. One Life to Live. It turns out that after 43 years on network television, One Life to Live did have one more life to live, this time on a streaming service. But that second life was to be brief, indicating that, in fact, we do have but one life to live after all. So we might as well use our limited time wisely. For most of us, work will take a disproportionate share of our waking adult hours. It defines our identities, especially in a culture where the first question we often ask when meeting someone is, “What do you do?” Work shapes our legacies: the mark we leave behind by what we produced, who we influenced, and what it all meant. Yet, most of us don’t have enough time in the workday to pause working to ask the big questions about why we do the work we are doing unless we are faced with a tragedy that forces us to confront our own mortality.

Most of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks died at work, and though they ranged in age, they were, on average, in their late 30s. Their stories suggest that we may have but one life to live but also that we may have many working lives to discover work that is worth it. Godwin Ajala had been a lawyer in Nigeria before taking a position as a security guard at the World Trade Center while studying for the bar exam and earning money to bring his family to the United States. Brooke Jackman was a bond trader preparing to get a graduate degree in social work because she “decided there were more important things in life than making money.” Both 9/11 and COVID-19 claimed victims from all points on the socioeconomic spectrum. One difference is that around half of American COVID victims were past the typical retirement age in the United States, yet their deaths were nonetheless tragic. The stories that reflected back on their careers were rarely straightforward. They included immigrant meatpackers trying to build a better life and nurses who prioritized patients at their own peril. Every one of these stories is about a life that was all too short. They all remind us that if we are fortunate enough to be able to choose what we do for a living, we examine for whom and why our work matters.

2. Days of Our Lives. Days of Our Lives. This show has had its high points and low points. The highs include its reputation as television’s most daring drama in the 1970s when it addressed then-controversial issues like interracial marriage. The lows? They include bringing back characters from the dead—one of them four times—which tanked reviews but boosted ratings. This apparent paradox is not unlike that which afflicts many workers in modern times, when our happiness reaches its lowest point in the same years that earning power peaks. Kathleen Gluck hit the lowest point of her life after she’d achieved the goal she had dreamed of since growing up in the shadow of a father who was a successful partner in a New York law firm. She had decided after college that the law was not for her, but the partnership was, and she was admitted to the exclusive club in a Big Four accounting firm when she was just 37 years old and had young children at home.

“Our happiness reaches its lowest point in the same years that earning power peaks.” If the economic value of our work defines our social status and sense of self-worth in society at large, it’s even more about the money at a firm founded by accountants trained to believe that everything that counts can be counted. Kathleen remembers that “there were daily reminders of [her] lack of value” and feeling that “[her] worth as a human was tied to what [she] produce[d].” She sat down one Thanksgiving to write her suicide note before resolving she wasn’t willing to die for her job. She got professional help and, thankfully, support from her fellow partners, who encouraged her to take time off. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Kathleen returned to the partnership, got a Ph.D. on the side, and chose to pursue some new professional adventures. But her story is a reminder that not everyone will emerge from the mid-career lows unscathed. It reminds us to ask: How should we plan and prioritize our working time to support our well-being at every stage of our lives?

3. General Hospital. General Hospital. Unlike most soap operas, the setting of this one is a workplace; however, the plotlines tend to be more about the patients than the providers. In one story, the victim of a bus crash saves the life of a patient needing a kidney transplant. In another, a patient dies from complications from AIDS, earning the show accolades for public health education. Our preference for stories about life away from work is probably associated with the old cliché that “nobody on their deathbed ever wishes they had worked more.” But that is not necessarily true of people whose work is worth it. People who are fortunate to find their calling at work not only tend to report higher job satisfaction but life satisfaction as well. Apropos of the theme of General Hospital, the healthcare workers we talked to demonstrated characteristic romantic markers of work as a calling. The calling was feeling a sense of destiny about their work as a worthy end they would rather pursue than anything else. Without their work, their existence would be less meaningful. They included Muri Raifu, who, when he was on scholarship from Ghana, got used to working three jobs while studying as a college student. Working two jobs as an adult is second nature to him. His first profession was as a neurosurgeon, and he used his earnings from that career to help finance a medical technology company that digitizes records to give patients greater control over their healthcare on his native continent. Healthcare is one of the prototypical calling-driven professions. These stories help to explain why work as a calling may be disproportionately represented in the so-called helping professions. But they can also inspire us to make a change when we feel stuck in work that is not worthy of us.

4. The Young and the Restless. The Young and the Restless. Unfortunately, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life” is, at best, easier said than done and, at worst, simply false. The downside of work as a calling can lead to a life of overwork, underpay, and exploitation. The potential romance of loving your work probably leads a lot of young entrants to the workforce to feel excessive pressure to find their callings. It can also contribute to mid-career restlessness among those who are still searching. As a case in point, The Young and the Restless spawned the careers of Eva Longoria, David Hasselhoff, and Tom Selleck, probably leading legions of other actors to wish the same for themselves. But most of those on the show didn’t make it big. Chasing work as a calling all too often ends unhappily. Paul Gauguin was a French modernist painter who left the life of a stock trader to become a painter, abandoning his family in the process. One of his artworks would eventually set a record for the most expensive canvas ever sold at auction, but only after he died was his work recognized by the market. Jen and another one of her coauthors, Shasa Dobrow, a concert bassoonist, studied musicians who dreamed of making it big when they were young. Having a calling in music leads many musicians to systematically overrate their own talent relative to the evaluations of objective experts. They then ignore the well-meaning advice of their teachers, who advise them not to enter music professionally and set themselves up for years of restlessness and unfulfilled callings. “Chasing work as a calling all too often ends unhappily.” Of course, as we have already noted, working as a calling has both upsides and downsides, leading researchers to refer to it as a double-edged sword. Our conclusion is to resist the unrealistic pressure to “do what you love.” It’s okay not to love your work every day but instead to seek work that’s worth loving. Seek work that contributes to society, provides for your family, and makes possible life at work and beyond work.

5. Guiding Light. Guiding Light. All of these soap operas have stayed on the air for a long time, but Guiding Light was the most enduring. Guiding Light had a 72-year run that started on the radio in 1937 and continued on television until 2009. The title’s guiding light was originally imbued with religious imagery, referring to the lamp in the office of Reverend John Ruthledge, to whom people went for help with their problems. These origins are appropriate since the classical notion of work as a calling comes from God. More recently, a secularized notion of calling has emerged to refer to personally fulfilling and/or socially valuable work. What all these conceptions of calling have in common is that work can be one of our guiding lights toward leaving a meaningful mark on the world, a lasting legacy that endures after we are gone. Robert Guest could not care less about leaving a legacy. When we spoke with him, Robert was sitting in a car that he rents on Turo—think Airbnb for automobiles—a source of passive income that he lives on, combined with income from a part-time job as a street sweeper and disability payments from his time in the military. He looks back wistfully on his deployment in Afghanistan when he felt he was doing some good in the world, but for the most part, he thinks work is a waste of people’s time—a search for stability that too often results in boredom in a life meant for adventure. He was preparing to drive the converted school bus he currently lives in down the Pan-American Highway to Costa Rica, where he will park it on a beach. His dream is to be kidnapped by pirates, the ultimate sign that his life was well-lived, far from the workaday existence of his peers.

Should we care about leaving a legacy through our work? On the one hand, being overly concerned with your legacy seems egocentric but speaks to many human beings’ primal fear of oblivion. On the other hand, to be unconcerned with your legacy seems nihilistic about the possibility of enduring meaning. Worthy work has the potential to be one of the most important contributions we make to the world, so thinking about the legacy your work will leave can be the guiding light to help you imagine work that is worth doing in a life worth living.

This content was originally published here.

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Stash app – the tool to manage your finances, with all the tools to upgrade them

If there are two things I wish I knew in college, one is learning how to cook something other than ramen, and the second, but most important one, is to understand how to manage my money.

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Stash gives you the necessary tools to manage finances, budget, and financially plan what the next steps are going to be. It provides tools to grow wealth whilst making investing, accessible to learn.

Stash really knows how to:

Manage money effortlessly

The app was created to make personal finances a learnable experience, giving you all the features you need to buy stocks for the first time, get rewards when spending money, and start saving for your future.

Investing money can sound overwhelming, but do not stress cause Stash teaches you
Download it for free and try it right now

How to invest, by starting small

Stash enables you to learn how to invest your money, starting with as little as $5, so as not to lose significant amounts of money due to rookie mistakes. It can usually feel overwhelming with the many investment options out there, but Stash narrows down the field of investment choices based on your risk level, so you can invest in comfort while continuing to learn with time and experience.

The rules of investing can be hard to follow, fortunately, Stash analyzes your portfolio and makes investment recommendations for you, ensuring you have the proper guidance throughout the process. 

For example, if buying a whole stock sounds like too much for you, you can choose to buy a percentage of it and get a fractioned stock, which will still help you gain money. 

This is just one of Stash’s features, making the investing experience enjoyable and headache-free.

Your investing and budgeting buddy will teach and empower you to take control of your financial decisions and future, and never leave you clueless.

As soon as you download the app and select your monthly plan, you’ll see how many options are available in individual stocks, funds, ETF’s, and learn investing terms along the way.

Signing up is easy and every plan offered enables you to learn at your own pace. As soon as you catch on to the basic principles and enjoy investing, you’ll want to move to the following membership and choose Stash +. 

The premium plan will provide you with even more features to learn and invest in by giving you the chance to buy more significant stocks and eventually earn higher returns that can go directly into the savings account provided by Stash.

If learning how to invest at your own pace and being guided still leaves you uncertain, keep in mind that Stash gives you:

Easy banking and fast results

Within the banking1 section of Stash, you can set your own savings goals and automate savings to fund those goals. Users can track spending too, which helps you understand your expenses better and guide you when planning your monthly budget.

Forget how you think about online banking and its benefits: cashback is old school. Stash gives you the option to use their Stock-Back® Card2 for affiliated brands’ purchases, so instead of getting cash back, you will get stock rewards in exchange3. Does it get any better than that?! You are investing while you spend on your favorite brands.

Another major benefit of using Stash is the security behind the app; when you are handling money, you want a safe and secure product and this app gives you exactly that by using the latest security measures to protect your money, including 256-bit encryption, biometric authentication, and other cutting-edge technologies.

Why Stash

So to sum things up If you want to learn to cook ramen, ask me, I’m the expert, but If you are looking for an app that will make your financial life easier, Stash is hands down the best option for you.

Here are some of the pros and cons that I experienced, laid out for your convenience:

Pros:

  • Automatic savings and investing tools
  • Earn stock back through Stock-Back® Card purchases
  • Low minimum investment requirement
  • Educational content included with the app
  • Substantial investing and business educational content
  • Automatic rebalancing on managed portfolios
  • Round-ups on assets and adding micro-investments

Cons:

  • Automated IRA management in development.
  • Wealth management services are currently unavailable.

Investment advisory services offered by Stash Investments LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser. Investing involves risk and investments may lose value. Holdings and performance are hypothetical.

Nothing in this material should be construed as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation to buy or sell any security. All investments are subject to risk and may lose value.

1 Bank Account Services provided by Green Dot Bank, Member FDIC.

2 All rewards earned through use of the Stash Visa Debit card (Stock-Back® Card) will be fulfilled by Stash Investments LLC. Rewards will go to your Stash personal investment account, which is not FDIC insured. You will bear the standard fees and expenses reflected in the pricing of the investments that you earn, plus fees for various ancillary services charged by Stash. Stash Stock-Back® Rewards is not sponsored or endorsed by Green Dot Bank, Green Dot Corporation, Visa U.S.A., or any of their respective affiliates.

3 What doesn’t count: Cash withdrawals, money orders, prepaid cards, and P2P payment. If stock of the merchant is not available for a qualifying purchase, the security will be in shares of a predetermined ETF or from a list of predetermined publicly-traded companies available on the Stash Platform. See full terms and conditions.

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Identity Theft – 10 easy and simple ways to Prevent it

There is documented proof that even big companies have experienced major cybersecurity breaches. If large organizations are not immune to being hacked, what will stop a hacker to target individuals like you?

Preventing identity theft is possible with these practical and simple things that you can do

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1.Prior to making a financial transaction, ensure that a website is safe. Check if these two things are present:

  • The letter “S” in HTTPS

HTTPS is found at the beginning or a URL or web address. “S” stands for “Secure.”
Note: The “S” may not appear until you move to the “order” page on the website.

  • A closed yellow padlock icon

This is found either at the bottom of your browser’s window or right next to the URL box.

2. As much as possible use credit cards and not debit cards for online transactions.

credit-card -  offer better fraud protection compared to debit cards.

Use credit cards and not debit cards for online transactions.

Credit cards offer better fraud protection compared to debit cards.  Credit cards are also not directly linked to your bank account.  If you’d rather use debit cards, just make sure that they are being used as such.  Whether you use a debit or credit card, make certain that you frequently review your statements and check for unauthorized purchases.

3. Avoid clicking the “unsubscribe” link on spam e-mails.

Clicking the unsubscribe link lets spammers know that you have an active email address, which gives them a signal to send you more.  If you have more spam mail, you may face more potential security issues.

4. Do not store your credit card information with a retailer.

It is not safe to leave your credit card information with your favorite retailer for future purchases. Although it may be convenient if retailers have your financial information saved online, the more vulnerable you are.

5. Keep your passwords hack-proof.

To ensure that your passwords are hack-proof, use full sentences, which includes spaces and punctuation, whenever possible.  Also, it is best not to use the same passwords more than once. The best things to do is to get a password management program that automatically creates and manages very strong passwords for all your accounts.

6. Fortify the answers to security questions.

It is a good idea to strengthen the answers to security questions.  For instance, instead of giving them your mother’s maiden name, you can choose a nonsensical answer.

7. Make sure that your computer software is updated.

This is especially crucial for anti-virus programs and your web browser of choice (Chrome, Internet Explorer or Firefox). Most of cybersecurity attacks take advantage of security vulnerabilities in your software that was never fixed or updated. All legitimate updates should be applied immediately. In fact, it is recommended that you switch on your device’s automatic updates.

8. Be wary of email links and attachments.

"Phishing" - Be wary of email links and attachments

“Phishing” – Be wary of email links and attachments

There are fake emails that are specially created to trick you into opening links and attachments. This is called phishing. Opening these links and attachments will allow cyberthieves to steal your personal information. Watch out for clues such as poor syntax and spelling, account closure threats, suspicious representation of well-known companies, and false receipts and shipping confirmations.

9. Do not neglect your snail mail.

It is possible for identity theft to still begin on paper, and in fact, it is still one of the top favorites of identity thieves. The best thing to do to avoid it is to collect your mail as soon as possible after delivery and to send anything with sensitive information from a post office or mailbox.

10. Take immediate action if you fall victim to identity theft.

The sooner that you take action by immediately calling the local authorities, the less damage you’ll need to fix. 

If you follow these easy steps, you can deter cyberthieves and keep your personal information intact.

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