2024-01-12: Markets (and Real Estate)

You buy a new car and when you go to pick it up you find that it does not have windshield wipers (‘They’ll arrive in a week; just don’t drive in the rain’), the seats don’t stand straight (“Good for your abdominals; don’t take long trips’) and after a few kilometers it loses a hubcap or even a wheel (‘Hey stuff happens; I didn’t assemble the car; stop driving for a while’). Funny? No. Farfetched? Maybe.

We recently purchased a new apartment in Ticino, Switzerland. What we have gone through the last few months is revealing, especially since some of our friends tell us our experience is the norm. We responded to and acted on all requirements (financial and otherwise) outlined to us by the developer and architect of the project in a timely and accurate fashion. Yet the property was delivered three months late, without internal doors installed, with a defective external sliding window (invalidating a contractual requirement of our household insurance), with the electrical system for lighting practically non-existent, with the microwave and regular ovens not latched to the cabinetry (one almost fell on my foot in opening it), with the water shut on the dishwasher, with no wi-fi or ‘entertainment’ (read, TV and loudspeaker) installed, with a faulty heating system, with no security system and a major clog in the shower drain which flooded our bathroom (‘At least it’s not a leak,’ said the project manager with a dismissive giggle when I informed her of the problem). Furthermore, the official delivery date (from which our financial obligations began) was Friday, December 22, when all workers and professionals involved went on Christmas vacation till January 8th, leaving us to deal with all the details and scheduling for the additional work. I think I found an industry where the standards are even lower than the ones for the investment management field; if you plan to move here and want names and further details please call or write.

On the markets front, one analyst noted that implied probabilities for a rate cut in March in the US is about 80%. I think that is a little optimistic, especially given the recent inflation figures (slightly higher than expected) and the continued solidity of the employment picture.

Have a good week.

[Source: Dilbert]