France is a global trendsetter for other economies.

This goes from the rollout of the metric system to more tangible short term indicators. If you want to predict the future, look to France.

This is not to say that the country is any further ahead than any other developed nation. In fact, in many ways, it is quite the opposite, but the industries they choose to engage in making them a great indicator for global economic performance.

In 2017, at Christie’s Auction House in New York, a mysterious #Art buyer bid a record-breaking $450 million dollars for the #SalvatorMundi; a painting by the legendary Leonardo da Vinci.

News of the staggering purchase price sent shockwaves throughout the entire art market (which, interestingly, has been a reliable indicator of impending market bubbles for decades).

What drives the high-end #ArtMarket? How can art be used to move money in creative ways and get around taxes? And perhaps above all, why would anyone park so much money in a picture when there are other asset classes that actually generate cash, like real estate rentals or dividend-paying stocks? … all this and more in today’s episode!

This is Liechtenstein just the cutest little European nation, the nation is tiny but weirdly enough it is actually only the fourth smallest country in Europe, behind Vatican City, Monaco, and San Marino.

What it lacks in square footage though it more than makes up for in economic might. You see this country is home to the second richest people in the world with a GDP per capita of $165,000 which is second only to Monaco, and the country is, at least officially home to some truly wealthy old moneyed elite.

Brazil is currently the 9th largest economy in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund.

This means that if the nation does make the jump from developing to developed, it could rival economic superpowers like Germany, Japan, or the United Kingdom.

And as crazy as it may sound, it may become an economy that rivals the USA or China.

So hedge fund is a term that has really lost a lot of meaning in recent years. These days it basically just means a managed financial institution that facilitates complex investment strategies that cater exclusively to high net worth individuals. But that wasn’t always the case. You see hedge funds actually have a really specific role in the world of high finance and in this video we are going to find out what makes them work.

Most people would agree that recessions are terrible things, they cause widespread fear amongst people that will be anxious about their savings, their livelihood, or even their next meal.

On a nationwide level, economic downturns are events akin to natural disasters, they do massive damage and for the most part are widely accepted by society as an “inevitability”, rather than a “rarity” …

But do we really need recessions?

China's Belt and Road initiative is set to be the most influential economic development project in recent history. It’ll be an investment measured in trillions, connecting dozens of nations with roads, rail lines, shipping routes, and most important of all: trade deals.

But for all of the impressive figures, there’s an equally concerning list of problems centered around the nation that looks to be the ringmaster of this whole project.

Inarguably, it's pretty bad right now.

Businesses are closing, unemployment is rising, and people are scared for their health.

Fortunately, governments are coming to the rescue with a swath of economic bailouts, stimulus checks, and hardship support.

And since we're living through an event that will shape economic policy for generations to come, it's an ideal time to explore what economic responses we want to replicate in the future, as well as which government policies have completely fumbled the economic response of 2020.

By doing this, we should be able to analyze the efficiency of government spending for the purposes of creating a strong economy.

Say you find yourself sitting on top of a vast fortune of funds that were acquired legitimately (or otherwise), and let's just say this vast fortune propels you to billionaire status. Congratulations! You've made it! ... well, sort of. All that’s left to do now is make sure your fortune is secure for generations to come (and not lost as quickly as it was made).

But before you can enjoy the high life, you are going to need to first check-off a few things. Luckily you are in the right place. So, take out your notepad and pen, this is the first video in a two-part series on how to become the master of your finances.

A home is in most developed nations in the world the centrepiece of the family finances, it is simultaneously the largest investment and largest expense of almost any individual lucky enough to break it to this increasingly unattainable market with a massive mortgage.

But is this all for the best? Have houses been conflated with poker chips, as people no longer look at them as shelter for a growing family but rather as an asset to make wild speculative moves on in the hope of equally wild returns.

The property market was at the centre of the last financial downturn in 2008, and as it seems we are on the precipice of another major recession it is probably a prudent time to re-evaluate what is going on with the world of real estate.

To do this we are really going to have to look at things on a few level’s from the macroeconomic factors like over-development and over-leveraging to issues on an economy-wide level which is ultimately going to boil down to answering a few key questions: What does a strong property market mean for the wider economy? Are their better investments out there? And are we over-leveraged right now?