I attended an event this week tailored to women’s health and wealth. Speaking from the Women’s Brain Health Initiative was Lynn Posluns, Founder and President, encouraging us to focus on the fact that Women suffer from depression, stroke and dementia twice as much as men and an astounding 70% of new Alzheimer’s patients will be women. Whoa, I didn’t know that – said almost everyone in the room.
After an educational background with some astonishing facts (click here to read further), Lynn discussed what women can do to protect their brain health now and lessons they can pass on to the next generation.
There are some fantastic tips for women of all ages, tips for caregivers and family members and everyday information available on their website but here are some of the tips I thought were most practical to help keep your brain health strong:
Healthy heart, healthy brain. 30 minutes of aerobic exercise most days is ideal, it’s about staying active. Moving not only stimulates better thinking and attention, it also helps regulate your sleep pattern, defuses stress and leads to more of your “feel good” brain chemicals including endorphin, serotonin and dopamine being released. It even assists in reducing brain shrinkage.
Challenge your brain. Your brain’s natural plasticity means you are a lifelong learner. While the level of plasticity dwindles a little with age, learning new skills builds greater “cognitive reserve,” helping your brain work better for longer. Choose something you don’t necessarily expect to be good at, that brings out your creative side with plenty of variety and a continuing stretch. This can be as challenging as learning a new language or as simple as brushing your teeth with the other hand.
Sleep tight. For better brain health and function, sleep is non-negotiable. Most people need around 7-8 hours. The best way to pay off a sleep debt is to go to bed 20 minutes earlier rather than sleeping in, turn off all the technology 60 minutes before bedtime and undertake a relaxing pre-bedtime routine.
Eat smart. While there are a number of ‘superfoods’ available, what counts is eating a wide variety of different foods to boost your memory, thinking and mood. Choose fresh and colourful on your plate at every meal, and remember to drink plenty of water to keep your brain cells hydrated. Red wine and dark chocolate are also very good for your brain…
Socialize. Those who live the longest commonly share a strong sense of family and community. That’s why being part of a social network that meets regularly is so good – and it has to be live & in 3D, having 1,678 friends on Facebook doesn’t count.
Make stress your friend. Not all stress is bad. A little bit of stress boosts performance. Too much stress leads to elevated levels of stress hormones that are neurotoxic, increasing your risk of mental distress and cognitive decline. Practicing some form of daily relaxation (yoga, meditation or walking) builds your stress resistance to cope better with life’s challenges.
Speaking to us about how women can have conversations with their children and their family about estate issues and what it means to be an executor was our very own Leanne Kaufman, Head of RBC Estate & Trust Services. When it comes to navigating succession planning, we know it’s an emotionally charged topic and families generally prefer to keep their financial dealings private but there’s no time like the present to adopt a ‘learn before you earn’ strategy so the next generation can be educated and prepared to stand on their own financial footing.
If you would like to review our latest Wealth Transfer Report: Lasting Legacy, just say the word but in the meantime, key findings from the report include:
Almost 60% of Canadian parents don’t feel confident that their children will preserve or grow their inheritance, yet nearly 70% listed their kids as top inheritors.
The earlier children are educated, the more confident they will be at making sound financial decisions. In fact, 66% of those who began structured financial education before the age of 18 now rate themselves as confident.
Canadian children remain in the financial dark with only 37% of their parents comfortable discussing all the details of their inheritance plans.
Over half (56%) of Canadian inheritors had no guidance before receiving their financial windfall.
Please share today’s WOTS with all of the amazing women in your life to spread the word – socializing together with dark chocolate & wine while learning a new language is also encouraged.
With so much going on and information coming at us from every angle, it's sometimes hard to keep your finger on the pulse of what's happening. In an effort to keep you in-the-know and provide you with some conversation nuggets for the weekend, I've compiled the following hit list to fill your conversation pipeline.
Now you are in-the-know with Word on the Street.
Enjoy the weekend,
D.
Dian Chaaban
Investment & Wealth Advisor
416.842.4234
Market Minute
In this week's Global Insight:
MKT Update: The TSX is outpacing the S&P 500 by 200 bps so far this month as Canadian Financials and Energy are outperforming US peers.
Put it to the Test: After spending 2017 in a tight trading range, the 10-year Treasury has finally chosen its path forward: lower. The slide has breached key technical levels, putting a test of 2% in sight. But unlike 2016, we think it can hold. (pg 1)
May Opts for June: The UK prime minister unexpectedly called for a snap election. What are the implications for the Brexit process and UK markets? (pg 3)
Canada Section: Investor appetite remains strong for Canadian corporates despite low yields. In the preferred share market, we see reasons to reduce exposure. (pg 4)
Regional Developments: U.S. earnings produce a string of positive reports; Our thoughts on the French elections this Sunday; China’s economy finally sees back-to-back growth. (pgs 4-5)
Chart of the Week
Gold Price Movements Around Geopolitical Events | RBC CM has published a report that highlights movements in the price of gold following key geopolitical events. Historically, geopolitical events appeared to be a key driver of gold prices, with higher returns in the periods following these events (for example, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in late 1979 and through the Iranian revolution, helped move gold from $475/oz to $600/oz over an eight-month period). More recently, geopolitical shocks appear to have had much less of an impact on gold; In 2015 RBC CM did not see any short-term impact on gold prices around the Greek debt crisis referendum or Paris attacks. This may be attributed to the significant increase in liquidity and access to physical gold as coins, bars, and ETF products. While RBC CM saw gold rally amid heightened geopolitical tension related to Syria and North Korea last week, it believes that geopolitical events no longer serve as a key driver of the price of gold. Instead, gold prices appear to be overwhelmingly driven by the global macroeconomic backdrop and sentiment.
Term of the Week
The Dodd-Frank Act | Fully known as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, is a United States federal law that places regulation of the financial industry in the hands of the government. It is a massive piece of financial reform legislation passed by the Obama administration in 2010 as a response to the financial crisis of 2008. Named after sponsors U.S. Senator Christopher J. Dodd and U.S. Representative Barney Frank, the act's numerous provisions, spelled out over roughly 2,300 pages, are being implemented over a period of several years and are intended to decrease various risks in the U.S. financial system. The act established a number of new government agencies tasked with overseeing various components of the act and by extension various aspects of the banking system. President Donald Trump has pledged to repeal Dodd-Frank.
Market Movers
Inflation rate cools to 1.2% on cheaper groceries and gasoline
Canada's inflation rate slowed down to 1.2% in November largely because food prices keep getting cheaper. Statistics Canada reported Thursday that the consumer price index cooled a little from the previous month largely because food prices declined in November by 0.7% on a year-over-year basis, matching the previous month's decline. Economists had been expecting the November inflation rate to come in at around 1.4%.
Oil falls below $50 on supply fears; Euro also dips
Oil prices fell today as oversupply concerns resurfaced, while the euro and stocks dipped ahead of the first round in a too-close-to-call French presidential election.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, an anti-EU politician who wants to ditch the euro and narrowly trails front-runner Emmanuel Macron in French opinion polls, seized on the killing of a policeman by a suspected Islamist militant to push her policies on national security.
Trump vs. Canadian milk
American farmers have long protested Canada’s supply management regime, the system of price and production controls and import tariffs that shield Canadian dairy producers from lower-priced exporters. Supply management has been a sore spot in every trade negotiation Canada has done in recent history, but it persists. Yesterday, speaking to a crowd in dairy-rich Wisconsin, Donald Trump took aim at the policy, in his usual ominously vague way. In his remarks to Bloomberg News, Trudeau said Canada is not alone in protecting its agriculture industries and that the current trade relationship actually favours the U.S. to the tune of $400 million. Trump then fired back from the Oval Office, calling Canada's current trade practices a "disgrace" and claimed they're putting U.S. farmers out of business.
Canada’s economy now, in 10 charts
It’s a strange time for Canada’s economy, with some parts running hot (housing, employment growth) and others cratering (business investment, wage growth). Here is a list of 10 charts that paint a picture of where Canada’s economy is at right now, and, well, there’s good news and there’s bad news.
Ontario slaps 15% tax on foreign buyers, expands rent control in 16-point plan to cool housing
The Ontario government moved forward Thursday with initiatives to rein in the housing market in and around its largest city, announcing 16 new measures including a 15% tax on foreign buyers and expanded rent control rules. The rent control measures, which apply province-wide, were immediately met with threats from developers to cancel projects in the Greater Toronto Area, an outcome that could ultimately lead to an even tighter market for rental accommodation.
Read more here | Financial Post
Too little, too late on housing?
The Ontario provincial government introduced a package of measures aimed at cooling its overheated housing market, especially in the Greater Toronto Area, which is showing the greatest gains—and the biggest affordability pains. Observers in the finance sector have generally welcomed the measures, but the worry now is that the changes may be a day late and a dollar short. The other major problem is that the government, along with everyone else, is basically flying blind, since the data on real estate in Canada is notoriously incomplete and/or inaccurate.
Out of Fuel
Loblaw is getting out of the fuel business. The Canadian grocery and pharmacy giant announced Wednesday it's selling all 213 of its gas stations and associated convenience stores across the country to Brookfield Business Partners for $540 million. According to a company press release, the deal is subject to "customary closing conditions" but is expected to go through in the third quarter of this year.
Current Events & Politics
Let's Make a Deal
The White House announced Wednesday that President Trump will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington next month. On the docket for the two leaders will be Middle East peace. "They will reconfirm the commitment of the United States and Palestinian leadership to pursuing and concluding a conflict-ending settlement between the Palestinians and Israel," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said during his daily news briefing. Trump has previously said his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, would take a leading role in helping negotiate peace between the two sides but there's no word yet on whether he'll be involved in the upcoming talks.
British Prime Minister Theresa May will seek election on June 8
British Prime Minister Theresa May has called an election for June 8. May, who took office last July after predecessor David Cameron stepped down, will try to secure her own mandate as she negotiates Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. Explaining the decision, Mrs May said: "The country is coming together but Westminster is not." Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party wanted the election, calling it a chance to get a government that puts "the majority first".
Everyone’s mad for stacks
When Tech companies talk about their “stacks” they don’t mean their piles of money; they mean their technology stack—the set of tools upon which their business relies. But the word is starting to seep out into the wider business world, so see if you can use it in a sentence today. For many companies, the organizing logic of the software stack becomes inseparable from the logic of the business itself. The system that powers Snapchat, for instance, sits on top of App Engine, a service owned by Google; to the extent that Snapchat even exists as a service, it is as a stack of different elements.
Bill O'Reilly out at Fox News
Bill O'Reilly has lost his job at Fox News Channel following reports that five women had been paid millions of dollars to keep quiet about harassment allegations. 21st Century Fox issued a statement Wednesday that "after a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the company and Bill O'Reilly have agreed that Bill O'Reilly will not be returning to the Fox News Channel."
Elon Musk on mission to link human brains with computers in four years
Tesla Inc founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk said his latest company Neuralink Corp is working to link the human brain with a machine interface by creating micron-sized devices. Neuralink is aiming to bring to the market a product that helps with certain severe brain injuries due to stroke, cancer lesion etc, in about four years, Musk said in an interview with website Wait But Why. "If I were to communicate a concept to you, you would essentially engage in consensual telepathy," Musk said in the interview.
WestJet changes altitude
Canada’s second-largest airline yesterday announced it will launch a new, cheaper line of flights (an ultra low cost carrier, or “ULCC” in industry lingo) to fend off lower-priced competitors crowding its turf. The new business unit will employ 10 Boeing 737s, but the company is remaining silent on their routes and schedules for now. It marks, in a way, a return to the company’s upstart origins.
Police had Champs-Élysées gunman in their grasp
The Champs-Élysées gunman who shot and killed a police officer just days before France's presidential election was detained in February for threatening police but then freed, two officials told The Associated Press on today. He was also convicted in 2003 of attempted homicide in the shootings of two police officers. The French government pulled out all the stops to protect Sunday's vote as the attack deepened France's political divide. "Nothing must hamper this democratic moment, essential for our country," Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said after a high-level meeting today that reviewed the government's already heightened security plans for the two-round vote that begins Sunday.
Parkinson's Disease: A Primer
April is Parkinson's Awareness Month. Here, what you need to know about the disease – what it is and how it can be managed
Just for Fun
The Royal Secrets of Longevity
As Queen Elizabeth celebrates her 91st birthday today, we look at some of the factors that are quite possibly the reasons she continues to enjoy good health and longevity.
Forever Young
For a record fifth time, Julia Roberts has been named People's Most Beautiful Woman. Roberts first earned the honour in 1991 at the age of 23, just a year after her acting debut in Pretty Woman. Though she holds the record for People's Most Beautiful, beating out chum George Clooney's measly two nods as Sexiest Man Alive, Roberts tells the mag the best is yet to come, "I think I'm currently peaking."
Actually, managers serve employees
Steam Whistle Brewing was started by “three fired guys” who had been laid off by another brewery. Determined to start a company that would do things differently, that trio has built one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies by changing the dynamic between front-line workers and managers. Far from being a command-and-control structure, they think of management as being a service role, designed to help front-line employees do their best work. It’s a useful inversion of the situation at many companies:
$30k Salad
A California startup called Chowbotics thinks they've found the solution to our fast food problem - and her name's Sally the Salad Robot. The salad-making robot makes nutritious eating a breeze: simply press a few buttons and refrigerated ingredients like kale, tomatoes, crispy wontons, and dressing will drop into a bowl. CEO and founder, Deepak Sekar, envisions Sallys finding their way into cafeterias, airports, and schools, though it may be a while before we get to take one for a spin—the machine costs a hefty $30K.
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