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Stewardship

The concept of stewardship is also involved in generosity. A steward is one who is entrusted with the assets of the master and is responsible to make wise investments with them. A wise steward understands that the assets under his control do not belong to him and should be returned to the master with increase.

Jesus gave a parable of stewards who doubled the resources entrusted to them. They were praised. A third steward returned only what he was given and was condemned.

What Can Possibly Go Wrong Now?

David Kuo | 22 March, 2014

Markets around the world seem to have hit a purple patch.

It looks as though nothing much can dampen investors' enthusiasm to keep stock markets at a high.

Even Donald Trump has hitched a ride on the stock-market bandwagon. He has tried to take credit for instilling investors' renewed confidence in the US market that has seen shares elevated to all-time highs.

Whilst it might seem that nothing can possibly go wrong now, a lot could derail the markets.

It won't take too much to knock shares off their pedestals.

Ambitious Trump

We seem to have forgotten, for instance, that many of Trump's ambitious schemes have yet to be approved by US lawmakers. There are no guarantees that his tax cuts or his spending programme will be approved.

Even his Executive Orders can be challenged in the courts. And can America really afford to increase defence spending and also foot the bill for $1 trillion of new infrastructure, whilst cutting corporate taxes and income tax at the same time?

We shouldn't forget the troubling investigations into possible interference by Russia in the US Presidential election, either. Who knows where all that might lead?

Trigger-happy

We should not overlook the fact that Brexit is far from a done deal.

The UK government is expected to trigger Article 50 on 29 March. The ominous date was also the famous day of the War of the Roses some 556 years ago. In the course of that conflict, double-crossing was rife.

But the invoking of Article 50 will only kick-start the two-year countdown to Britain's exit from the European Union.

Even that isn't guaranteed, though Prime Minister, Theresa May, has said that "no deal is better than a bad deal". Is cutting off your nose to spite your face really such a good idea?

Potholes galore

Staying in Europe - which is something that Britain probably won't be doing - fissures are appearing in a number of key European countries.

The European Union may have dodged a pothole, when the Dutch rejected the hard-right, populist candidate. But there are still elections in France and Germany that could upset the apple-cart.

What about the Fed? There was a time when the slightest hint of a rate hike would have sent shares tumbling. But it doesn't seem to have the same impact, anymore.

In fact, a failure to hike rates could set off all sorts of alarm bells about a possible slowdown in America's economic recovery. For now, Janet Yellen has hinted that interest rates would only rise gradually.

But "gradually" is a movable feast that could give the market chronic indigestion.

Oily bonds

 It also seems to have escaped the market's attention that the price of a barrel of oil has fallen below $50, again. The last time that happened, traders were predicting Armageddon. This time, however, they appear to be more measured.

What about bonds? We seem to have forgotten that investors piled into bonds as interest rates were falling. But with interest rates set to rise, a trickle of bond sellers could turn into a flood, which could disrupt the US$100 trillion bond market.

And then we have the man from North Korea. The highly erratic leader of the DPRK has threatened to lob missiles at his southern neighbour. It won't take much to disrupt harmony in Asia.

Rosy outlook

Global stocks have risen on the expectation that tomorrow is looking rosier. They are even spending tomorrow's profits and tax cuts today, in the process. That's fine as long as a company's earnings can continue to grow.

But as Warren Buffett pointed out: "The dumbest reason to buy a stock is because it is going up."

One of the most dangerous times for investors is when it looks like nothing could possibly go wrong. It is in times like these when we need to be doubly certain about the stocks that we own.

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