TO BE RECATEGORIZED

We are used to being able to pay for things with legal tender. Other than in special circumstances, refusing to accept cash can have legal consequences.

Australia, like the rest of the developed world, is on the verge of the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history. It’s estimated more than $3 trillion will change hands over the next 10 to 20 years as the Baby Boomer generation pass on their wealth to others.

Asked to conduct an independent review of Australia’s retirement income system, the panel appointed by treasurer Josh Frydenberg reported on Friday that it was all tied up with the family home.

It has been called “the robbery of the century”. Martin Shields and Nicholas Diable, two British investment bankers, are on trial in Germany for helping structure a massive tax evasion scheme, known as cum-ex trading, that has siphoned up to €55 billion (about US$60 billion or A$90 billion) from European public funds.

In its latest quarterly statement on monetary policy, the Reserve Bank of Australia declared its preparedness to “ease monetary policy further if needed”.

Over the last year, 10-year German Bund yields have gradually declined. Investor sentiment deteriorated over the course of this period as the US-China trade dispute dragged on, taking global growth down with it.

What’s the purpose of a business? For a long time, the textbook answer to that question has been purely “to make as much money as possible for its shareholders”. But business leaders – who often themselves get huge payouts from this model – are beginning to challenge this orthodoxy.

The third quarter capped the best year-to-date return for the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index since the first nine months of 2002. Although bond prices may continue to advance, we anticipate lower returns may accompany a rise in volatility in coming quarters.

The unwillingness of the major (and other) banks to immediately cut their headline mortgage rates by as much as the Reserve Bank cuts its cash rate always attracts bad press, as well as condemnation from treasurers and prime ministers.

The US Federal Reserve’s latest 25 basis points rate reduction in mid-September is seen by many market observers as another signal that world markets are in, or are fast approaching, a late cycle.

The debate about whether compulsory employer superannuation contributions should be increased from the current level of 9.5 per cent is constantly simmering, waiting for the next opportunity to boil over.

Compared with the rest of the world, income inequality is not particularly high in Australia, nor is it getting much worse. The real problem is housing inequality.