When the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) crossed a new high of 40,000 in May, it achieved a milestone that appeared implausible given recent popular sentiment. Just two years earlier, central banks were still on the path of aggressively hiking rates to curb inflation. Gloomy equity market forecasts abounded.
This question emerged from a recent study analyzing the text of 200 million newspapers spanning almost two centuries. It concluded that both economic and non-economic sentiment have substantially declined over the past 50 years, despite far fewer economic setbacks.
It has been 45 years since BusinessWeek declared the “Death of Equities,” warning that rampant inflation was “destroying the stock market” and “to regard the death of equities as a near-permanent condition.”1 These dramatic prognostications haven’t subsided over time, likely because negative news is more appealing. When one news website decided to report exclusively good news for a day, it lost two-thirds of its readership.2 Our brains are hardwired to react more strongly to negative information.
The skies were filled with superheroes today as men and women suited up and rappelled 23 storeys down a Kelowna high rise all to raise money for Easter Seals BC/Yukon. The sold-out event saw 50 participants step outside their comfort zone and rappel, raising over $64,000 and counting. This year’s total campaign goal is $300,000.
Chances are “you might live longer than you think.” This was the longevity message of a Wall Street Journal article earlier this year.1 Indeed, we are living longer and healthier lives — half of those born today are expected to live to the centenarian age of 100.2 And, though the average Canadian’s life expectancy is around 82, if you reach the age of 75, you’re likely to live until age 87. Our life expectancy increases as we get older.3
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