Aurelia Butler

NEW YORK (Reuters) – For generations, society has grappled with the question of whether money brings happiness. Now a new book has some answers – with the data to back it up.The easy answer, according to Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz, authors of “The Good Life”: No, money will not buy you happiness. That’s according to the findings of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the world’s longest study on happiness.    The more complex answer is money is obviously a big part of our everyday lives, and up to a certain income level ($75,000 in well-known study) will indeed affect our satisfaction, in terms of meeting basic needs and providing for our familiesBeyond that, though, there is no correlation. For most financial experts, the point is to not treat money as the ultimate goal, but as a means to an end, to shape a meaningful existence.Since 1938, the Harvard Study of Adult Development has tracked people – now up to three generations – to find out what really makes for a satisfying life and what does not. “Money can’t buy us happiness, but it’s a tool that can give us security and safety and a sense of control over lives,” says Schulz, who is also a psychology professor at Pennsylvania’s Bryn Mawr College. “At the end of the day, life is really about our connections with others. It’s our relationships that keep us happy.”Here is what the world’s longest study on happiness can teach us about our lives, our careers and, yes, our money:CAREER SUCCESS DOES NOT EQUAL HAPPINESSOur tendency as a society is to imagine that being a big achiever will solve all our problems. Not so. In the Harvard study, the sample of participants with “more prestigious jobs and more money were no happier in their lives,” Schulz says.The notion that you will be satisfied if you chase a money-oriented achievement – like a big promotion or a dollar figure in your 401(k) – pushes happiness into the future and always out of reach. Says Schulz: “The problem with that approach is that life passes you by.”TREASURE WORK FRIENDSHIPSYes, a main purpose of going into the office is for the paycheck. But do not discount all the little daily interactions with the people around you in the office, because it turns out they are very important indeed.“A large part of our waking lives is spent at work, and if you believe that relationships make for a good life, then you need to think about your connections at work,” Schulz says. “Those relationships are important to your well-being, because you spend such a large amount of time with them.”PREPARE FOR POST-RETIREMENT LIFE NOW Retirement represents a significant risk to many people’s happiness and sense of self-worth: Since so many people are so identified with their careers and job titles, retirement can take all that away and make them feel totally lost.That is why mid-career professionals should think about that gear-shifting now. Build a life framework with purpose and meaning and networks outside of the office. That could mean taking up new activities, or repairing old friendships, or volunteering for favorite causes.“People who have done best in retirement are those who lean into it, and think about their social connections, and rebuild their networks outside of work,” Schulz adds.VALUE EXPERIENCES OVER THINGSAccumulating more stuff is not going to nudge the happiness meter, according to the study’s findings. Instead, think in terms of experiences.“Rather than buying a bigger house or a nicer car, if you use your money to share experiences with others, that money will get you a better return on happiness,” Schulz says. That might be a vacation, or treating your family to a nice dinner. “Those are the kinds of activities that allow us to connect,” he adds.DO A MINI-HARVARD STUDY – ON YOURSELFHow the Harvard Study operates is by checking in with respondents – 724 original participants, some of whom are still around, and 1,300 descendants – for occasional reflection and self-evaluation. Are they happy? Are they where they want to be? Are there areas where they are falling short?There is no reason why the rest of us cannot do the same, with periodic check-ins. That way, if your career and friendships and finances are not working together to give you a life of purpose and meaning, you can adjust course.“It’s absolutely critical,” Schulz says. “There are gains to be made by doing some self-examination, and figuring out whether you are doing what’s really important to you.” More

Dealing with antisocial behaviour must be made a priority in attempts to boost growth in “left-behind” areas, according to a new report, as the UK government plans a crackdown on street-level drug use.Findings by the right-leaning think-tank Onward, published on Monday, identified neighbourhood crime as a key concern in five communities in England and Wales. The report called on local leaders to focus on policing disorderly behaviour black spots and providing preventive youth services.It comes as ministers prepare to launch a national antisocial behaviour strategy in the coming weeks, potentially including a ban on recreational use of nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas”.It is unclear whether the proposed anti-crime measures will include extra funding. Critics argue that cuts to councils and policing under austerity have left local areas with few levers with which to tackle the problem.Onward visited five places — Oldham in Greater Manchester, South Tyneside in the North East, Walsall in the West Midlands, Clacton on the south-east coast and Barry in south Wales — to look at what could be done to raise prospects.It pointed to concerns in Oldham, Walsall and Clacton over dangers on public transport, street drinking and violence, with residents feeling “powerless”.“In almost every area we spent time in, this put tackling crime and reducing antisocial behaviour as the public’s top priority for ‘levelling up’,” it said, adding that this often “came as a shock” to local councillors, who “didn’t see it as the key factor holding them back”.A ban on recreational use of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, is possible © Gareth Fuller/PA“Levelling up” refers to the Conservative government’s pledge to raise economic growth and prosperity in left-behind areas. “For members of the public, feeling safe on the streets was an essential foundation to other routes to regeneration: commuting to better paying jobs, spending money in shops or restaurants in the town centre, or becoming a member of a new community group,” the report found. Public order offences have more than doubled since 2015 across England and Wales, the report highlighted, but in the worst-affected areas they had more than quadrupled. Onward called for a focus on “hotspot” policing that targets patrols in “town centres, tram stops or parks”, as well as more joint agency working and an increase in youth activities.A Home Office insider said a new national strategy with a focus on public drug use and “disrupting and tackling antisocial behaviour” was “likely” in the coming weeks.Jessica Studdert, deputy chief executive of New Local, a network of more than 70 councils, said crime and antisocial behaviour affected “people’s quality of life and neighbourhood safety” but could “easily go under the radar for national policymakers”.However, she said it was “impossible to ignore” the effect of cuts since 2010 to council budgets; in England these have reduced by around 20 per cent in 12 years. “As a result, local leaders have limited room for manoeuvre and are forced to focus on immediate pressures at the expense of the community-embedded prevention this report highlights is so integral to social fabric, like activities for young people,” she added.Oldham council’s Labour leader Amanda Chadderton said it was “easy” for think-tanks to “make a judgment about what is best for our town”, adding that creating real, long-term change was harder. “If the government was serious about levelling-up, they would be putting power and resources in the hands of local leaders to do just that,” she said.The Labour party has linked falling public confidence in community policing to a halving of police community support officers since 2010. More

(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever.Asian stocks on Tuesday come off the back of their worst day since June hoping for recovery, but vulnerable to an expected interest rate hike in Australia, potentially critical comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and deepening U.S.-Sino tensions.Another close in the red for Wall Street on Monday won’t boost the likelihood of a rebound much either, as U.S. markets lurch to price in a ‘higher for longer’ Fed this year. The pick of the Asian economic data and events calendar will be the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate decision and subsequent guidance from policymakers. The RBA is expected to deliver a fourth consecutive quarter-point interest rate hike to 3.35%, after inflation unexpectedly rose last year to a 33-year high of 7.8%.However, figures on Monday showed retail sales are falling for the first time in a year, a sign that higher rates are maybe starting to bite.In Japan, meanwhile, speculation on the next Bank of Japan governor is intensifying. According to the Nikkei newspaper, Japan’s government has sounded out BOJ Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya to succeed Haruhiko Kuroda. Many analysts see him as a pragmatic policymaker who will prefer tip-toeing toward any exit from the BOJ’s ultra-loose monetary policy rather than make sudden changes to a stimulus program he helped create. And the yen is on the slide. It fell 1% on Monday and is down 3% since Friday, its biggest two-day fall in three years. Yen vs dollar 2-day change: https://tmsnrt.rs/3jEdowD Generally speaking, Asian markets are feeling the heat from the sudden U.S. interest rate outlook shift following January’s freakishly strong U.S. jobs report released on Friday.The Fed’s implied ‘terminal’ rate in June is now well above 5.00%, the implied year-end rate is higher than current the fed funds range, markets are now pricing in only 20 basis points of easing this year and the two-year yield has spiked around 40 basis points. This may be the tightening of financial conditions Fed Chair Powell and his colleagues are seeking. Or they may be irrational and unjustified market swings in response to one data point that will prompt a response from Powell when he speaks at the Economic Club of Washington on Tuesday.The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index slumped 2.4% on Monday, its worst day since June last year, Chinese stocks had their worst day this year (blame Beijing-Washington tensions too) and Hong Kong tech stocks fell 3.6%.Here are three key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Tuesday:- Fed Chair Powell speaks (Economic Club of Washington)- Australia interest rate decision – China FX reserves (January) (By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Josie Kao) More

(Reuters) – Lending officers at major banks told the Federal Reserve that in the final three months of last year they tightened standards and saw reduced demand across a wide array of business and consumer credit fronts. The Fed reported Monday in its January Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey that the threshold to get credit rose for commercial and industrial firms, as well as commercial real estate borrowers. At the same time, these prospective borrowers reduced their demand for loans. On the consumer front, survey respondents said that real estate and related lending standards got tighter amid declining demand for the same period. The same dynamic played out for auto, credit card and other types of consumer lending. The survey also found that the trends that played out across bank lending in roughly the final quarter of 2022 will dominate 2023. “Banks, on balance, reported expecting lending standards to tighten, demand to weaken, and loan quality to deteriorate across all loan types.” The prospect of weaker loan demand is driven by changes in monetary policy and the need to navigate an uncertain economy.The most common reasons for the expected state of lending this year “included an expected increase in interest rates, expected lower spending or investment needs, an expected deterioration in terms other than interest rates, an expected easing in supply chain disruptions, and an expected decrease in precautionary demand for cash and liquidity,” the report said. The latest data points to a softening economy. “There were unfavorable changes across many details” of the survey, said Daniel Silver, an analyst at J.P. Morgan, who added the data “looks consistent with an economy that is weakening.” The Fed’s report took stock of lending during a period where the Fed was pressing forward with aggressive rate rises aimed at lowering high levels of inflation. Those rate increases took the central bank’s rate target from near zero levels as of last March to between 4.5% and 4.75% after the rate hike at last week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The pace of Fed rate rises has been very aggressive and officials have said that as part of their bid to cool overheating levels of demand, tighter financial conditions are a key part of the process. “It is important that overall financial conditions continue to reflect the policy restraint that we’re putting in place in order to bring inflation down to 2%,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said after the Fed’s 25 basis point rate hike last Wednesday. “Financial conditions have tightened very significantly over the past year,” Powell said. That said, as the Fed has approached the likely endgame for its rate hike cycle, financial conditions have grown a touch easier. Some believe this could make the Fed more aggressive with rate hikes in the longer run, as it needs financial conditions to stay tight as part of its bid to lower price pressures. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) said Monday closely watched Financial Conditions Index eased by 2.0 basis points to 99.57 in the last week due to rising stock prices that offset a higher dollar.Research released Monday by the San Francisco Fed warned that financial conditions, as measured by lower stock prices and higher bond yields, may need to tighten even further to achieve the Fed’s aims. More