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UK households wealthier than Germany
Pimperne1
Posts: 2,177 Forumite
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8947473/UK-households-wealthier-than-Germanys-says-UBS.html
In a note entitled Eine kleine bank balance UBS says: "Most UK household debt is mortgage related, and a typical household buys a home to secure a safe future for itself in retirement. Put differently, a homeowning household has protected itself from any mismatch between rental payments and pension income during retirement.
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"This can only happen if the household takes on a debt during its working life, so debt levels are high. That characterises UK households as prudent, not reckless. The alternative is a household that may have to depend on the state for housing during retirement."
Spot on.
Good to see some sensible reporting reappearing in the media.“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived, and dishonest – but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.
Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
-- President John F. Kennedy”0 -
And this is interesting as well.....
"net wealth in the UK is almost €375,000 (£321,000) per household, ahead of the just over €250,000 figure for Germany."
So much for those "prudent" Germans.....“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived, and dishonest – but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.
Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
-- President John F. Kennedy”0 -
HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »So much for those "prudent" Germans.....
Only 20 years post unification. Easy to forget how poor the old East Germany was. In relation to the post war West.0 -
Oh the irony, Italians are richer than Germans as well
'Just think for a moment what a prospect that is. A single market without barriers visible or invisible giving you direct and unhindered access to the purchasing power of over 300 million of the worlds wealthiest and most prosperous people' Margaret Thatcher0 -
Thrugelmir wrote: »Only 20 years post unification. Easy to forget how poor the old East Germany was. In relation to the post war West.
Well they've had a tremendous boost for the last decade thanks to Euro monetary policy being skewed towards their needs and penalising the periphery. Although that's ending.
They have bigger problems now anyway. With an aging and declining population that wealth will disappear rapidly.
Germany has peaked in terms of influence and prosperity. It's all downhill for them from here.“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived, and dishonest – but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.
Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
-- President John F. Kennedy”0 -
HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »Well they've had a tremendous boost for the last decade thanks to Euro monetary policy being skewed towards their needs and penalising the periphery.
Takes years and years to accumulate wealth.0 -
I strongly suspect that German household wealth is rather more evenly distributed than it is in the UK and hence a study of median household wealth would tell a different story.
Additionally, the fact that so much of UK household wealth is tied up in the family home means that more in the UK are likely to be considered asset rich but cash poor, and so having a lower quality of life than the average German."When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson0 -
In 2008 home ownership in the UK was 70% whilst in Germany it was 30%:
http://news.sky.com/home/business/article/15177569
The Germans prefer to "save up for a rainy day" - well if you haven't bought a property by the time you retire I would say that "rainy day" has arrived.0 -
MacMickster wrote: »I strongly suspect that German household wealth is rather more evenly distributed than it is in the UK and hence a study of median household wealth would tell a different story.
Additionally, the fact that so much of UK household wealth is tied up in the family home means that more in the UK are likely to be considered asset rich but cash poor, and so having a lower quality of life than the average German.
I strongly suspect you are right.;0 -
Oh the irony, Italians are richer than Germans as well
Give it a month or two...:eek:Please stay safe in the sun and learn the A-E of melanoma: A = asymmetry, B = irregular borders, C= different colours, D= diameter, larger than 6mm, E = evolving, is your mole changing? Most moles are not cancerous, any doubts, please check next time you visit your GP.
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