What
best describes the modern 21st century man?
A
far cry from the commitment-phobic bachelors you might think them to be, it
turns out – at least in Britain.
A
new 2017 UK study by researchers at University College London (UCL) has
challenged many preconceptions about the modern man. The survey, commissioned
by American grooming company Harry’s, sought to shed light on what the modern
man valued most.
The
study surveyed 2000 British men who had to rank what they valued the most (i.e.
work, romance, personal growth) on a scale of 0 to 5. The results? Surprising
to say the least.
#1
Married Men are the Happiest of Men
It
turns out that men who were married or in civil partnerships were the happiest,
scoring the highest among all the different relationship statuses (3.6), while
single men were the least happy, ranking the lowest in the study (3.2).
Interestingly, even among men who were attached, those married scored higher
than those in long-term relationships.
#2
Men Do Want Marriage
If
you thought men enter relationships not thinking about the potential for
marriage, you thought wrong. When entering a new relationship, men do think
about marriage and seek it.
#3
They Crave Romance – Even More Than Their Careers
The
survey highlighted that romance is the most essential part of their well-being
– more so than their career and personal growth, in fact. 90% of men
categorised romance as either “very important” or “important”, while only 78%
of them ranked work in the same measure. In fact, romance is also
significantly more important than
personal growth (54%).
#4
They’re Okay with Being Emotionally Vulnerable
Despite
the alarmingly high suicide rates among men, there is a slow but gradual rise
in their openness to discuss emotional and mental issues. According to the
survey, British men value mental health more than physical health, and are
willing to discuss the issues.
Dr.
John Barry of UCL’s Department of Psychology, who spearheaded the research says
the survey will “provide important insights into what men need to live their
lives in a positive way” and “how they should be represented”. This growing
attention onto male-specific issues is in light of astonishingly high suicide
rates among men and current discourse on defining masculinity in this day.
So
ladies, the next time you’re quick to dismiss your partner as a romance-averse,
emotionally stoic bloke, you might want to rethink that. Your spouse or
significant other might be a lot more of a sensitive and affection-hungry
individual than you think.
Source : Sarah
Khan
Forex Trading Scams to Watch
The
forex market involves very active trading of over $1 trillion each day, not
including futures and currency options, which put the trading at closer to $5
trillion daily. The market does not have
much in the way of regulation, although things have started to improve
recently.
The
opportunity still exists for many forex scams, which tempt new investors with a
promise of quick fortunes through "secret trading formulas" or
algorithm-based "proprietary" trading methodologies. Before choosing
a broker or platform, go through your own due diligence by visiting BASIC, or
the Background Affiliation Status Information Center, created by the
self-regulatory NFA (National Futures Association).
01
Signal Sellers
Stock
Market Illustration
One
of the challenges a rookie forex investor faces is determining which operators
to trust in the forex market and which to avoid. Signal sellers make a good
example.
Basically,
a signal seller is offering a system that purports to identify favorable times
for buying or selling a currency pair. The system may be manual, where the
trader enters the info and gets a result, or it may be automated.
Some
systems rely on technical analysis, others rely on breaking news and many
employ some combination of the two. But they all purport to provide information
that leads to favorable trading opportunities. Signal sellers usually charge a
daily, weekly or monthly fee for their services.
Some
analysts propose that many or even most signal sellers are scam artists. A
frequent criticism is that if it were really possible to use a system to beat
the market, why would the individual or firm that has this information make it
widely available? Wouldn't it make more sense to use this incredible signaling
system to make huge profits?
Other
analysts distinguish between known scammers and more reputable information
sources such as Metatrader, that offer a well-thought-out signaling service.
Behind
these opposing views lies a larger difference of opinion about whether anyone
can predict the next move in a trading market. This fundamental disagreement
won't be settled any time soon. Nobel Prize-winning Economist Eugene Fama
proposes in his well-regarded Efficient Market Hypothesis that finding these
kinds of momentary market advantages really isn't possible.
His
economist colleague, Robert Shiller, also a Nobel Prize winner, believes
differently, citing evidence that investor sentiment creates booms and busts
that can provide investment and trading opportunities.
The
best way to determine if a signal seller can benefit you is to open a paper
money or practice trading account with one of the better-known forex brokers.
Be patient, and eventually, you'll determine whether predictive signaling works
for you or doesn't.
02
Phony Forex Investment Management Funds
In
the world of investing, outrageous claims are the surest sign of potential
fraud
In
the past few years, forex management funds have proliferated. Most of these, if
not all, are scams. They offer an investor the "opportunity" to have
his forex trades managed by highly-skilled forex traders who can offer
outstanding market returns in return for a share of the profits.
The
problem is, this "management" offer requires the investor to give up
control over his money and to hand it to someone he knows little about other
than the hyped-up and often completely false record of success available on the
scammer's website and brochures.
The
investor often ends up getting nothing, while the scammer uses investors' funds
to buy yachts and private islands.
A
good rule of thumb in the forex market, as with other investments, is that if
it sounds almost too good to be true, such as annual returns of more than 100
percent, for example, it's almost certainly a scam.
03
Dishonest Brokers
Trader
watching stocks crash on screen
Although the forex market is not entirely
unregulated, it has no central regulating authority. The forex spot market is
completely unregulated and accounts for the majority of trades. Unsurprisingly,
some forex brokers do not deal fairly with their customers and, in some
instances, defraud them.
You
have two ways to avoid bad brokers. Before engaging a forex broker, look the
brokerage up on a website that identifies dishonest forex brokers. Better yet,
trade with a broker that also handles other stock market trades and is subject
to SEC and FINRA oversight. While the forex trade itself may be unregulated, no
broker subject to such oversight would risk its license for other securities by
defrauding its forex customers.
