Keyboard worrier

Monday, January 14, 2008

USA / UK Sovereign Wealth Funds?

Shares are supposed to be the best long-term investment, better than bonds or cash. The usual concern is the time horizon of the investor. Who lives longer than a state like America or Britain?

Foreign governments with trade surpluses (based on artificially low currency exchange rates and stupid overspending by the West) are building up trillions in reserves and eyeing our companies and real estate. If our own leaders aren't willing to rebalance the world economy, the least they can do is get a piece of the action.

Why not?

5 comments:

hatfield girl said...

We bought into Northern Rock.

Anonymous said...

"Who lives longer than a state like America or Britain?" The University of Oxford has outlasted the French-ruled Kingdom of England, the English-ruled kingdom, the Welsh-ruled, the Scots-ruled. It's outlasted Cromwell's Commonwealth and the Republic, the Dutch-ruled Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It'll probably outlast the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Harvard has outlasted... and will probably outlast the United States. By then France will presumably be part of the Caliphate.

Sackerson said...

Hi HG: NR is not an investment - as you have shown, it's a corrupt party political decision. A proper sovereign wealth fund should be even more independent than the BoE.

DM: ... and I'm im favour of Oxford increasing its endowments to preserve what's left of its academic independence.

Nick Drew said...

they are trying !

(well they hit on me all the time)

Anonymous said...

I just wonder whether you could get odds against Harvard outlasting the USA. The last time I saw a blog mention the inevitability of the USA perishing, the commenters were apoplectic.