The Purse

Women have added only 7% more to their saving pots. And listen to our podcast with Kristine Beese, CEO/Founder of Untangle Money

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Women have added only 7% more to their saving pots. And listen to our podcast with Kristine Beese, CEO/Founder of Untangle Money

Jana Hlistova

Nov 05, 2023

Welcome to our #211 weekly newsletter.

“For women taking control of their financial future”

-Jana Hlistova

From The Purse

In this week’s newsletter, we highlight new research which indicates that male workers saved an average 30% more than in 2022, whereas women only increased their savings by 7% over the same period.

For this reason, the cost-of-living crisis is having a more profound affect on women’s mental health.

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Don’t forget to the listen to The Purse Podcast interview with CEO/Founder, Kristine Beese. We talk about why she founded Untangle Money, why every woman should have a financial plan and how the financial services industry is ripe for change.

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And you can review the news in brief so you stay on top of global financial, economic and investing trends.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.

Until next week,

Jana

Women have added only 7% more to their saving pots

New research by The Exeter highlights the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on women.

According to new research by UK health and protection insurer The Exeter, there is a rapidly growing divide between the saving power of men and women, as reported by IFA Magazine.

Whilst over a third of UK workers (12 million people) – are saving less than £100 per month in 2023, male workers saved an average 30% more than in 2022, whereas women only increased their savings by 7% over the same period.

Moreover, women are more likely to experience adverse mental health effects because of the ongoing squeeze on incomes.

More than eight out of ten women (81%) are worried about the spiralling cost-of-living, compared to a smaller proportion of men (69%).

And unlike men, women are less likely to access insurance products that could protect their incomes in the event they are unable to work due to an accident or long-term illness.

According to Emma Thomson, Head of Protection Development at Sesame Bankhall Group and Chair of the Women in Protection Network:

“While it is important to recognise that many people are struggling, it is equally important to acknowledge that women and their finances are more impacted by the current cost-of-living crisis. In a time where money is tight, this gender savings gap is depleting the reserves of the UK’s female workforce and hampering their efforts to plan for their future or safeguard their finances against illness.
It is so important that protection advisers and providers work together to ensure women can access quality protection during one of the most challenging personal finance periods in modern history. Women should not feel alone during this crisis, and we must ensure they benefit from the financial reassurance and wider support that we can provide as an industry.”

On average, women in the UK have savings of £11,698, while men have almost twice the amount, £23,951.

However, it is important to note that although more men have savings when compared to women, the women that do tend to have more significant amounts saved than men.

Financial news

Global stocks are on course for their biggest weekly gain in a year as investors are betting that there won’t be any more interest rate rises in major economies, while bonds rallied.
Global bonds have gained $793bn in value as we are seeing cooling across US employment, global inflation, global manufacturing sentiment, and global monetary policy.
Japan Yen weakened to 160 per Euro for the first time since August 2008 as the Bank of Japan is sticking to its negative key interest rates.
The US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at a 22-year high on Wednesday, with inflation continuing to fade from its highest level in a generation,
Gold back ~$2k/oz. as US 10 year real rates plunge to 2.16% following weak US jobs data.
US yield curve bull steepens following disappointing US jobs data w/US 2s/10s yield spread ticked up 2bps to -31.6bps.
Eurozone inflation sinks to 2 year low as Eurozone economy shrinks: CPI slowed to 2.9% in October, down from 4.3% and better than expected 3.1%. But Core CPI – that excluding food & energy is retreating less rapidly. It moderated to 4.2% in October from 4.5% the previous month.
X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, is worth less than half of what Elon Musk paid for it a year ago. X is worth $19bn a year after the $44bn purchase.
Bank of England's Pill: Inflation won't necessarily fall fast as demand slows. He spoke a day after the central bank held its benchmark interest rate at 5.25% (the highest since the 2008 financial crisis) for a second meeting in a row.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sits on record cash pile. The conglomerate’s quarterly net loss widened to $12.8bn, stung by the stock market downturn mainly an 11.7% drop in the Apple share price.

Crypto: bitcoin, ethereum, DeFi & NFTs

Another “Uptober” for Bitcoin: the largest cryptocurrency gained 28% in October, most since Jan2023.
Bitcoin (BTC) tried and failed at holding above $35,000 this week, with one analyst arguing traders likely took their BTC profits and rotated into altcoins, pushing those prices higher.
Large-cap tokens of layer 1 networks (L1) such as Avalanche (AVAX), Cardano (ADA) and Polkadot (DOT) jumped 10%-15% over the same time frame and Solana (SOL) hit a 14-month high Wednesday and Friday afternoon remained higher by 25% over the previous seven days.
The CoinDesk DeFi Index (DCF) jumped almost 10% in a week, driven by double-digit rallies by tokens of decentralized exchange UniSwap (UNI), SushiSwap (SUSHI), as well as lending platform Aave's native token (AAVE).
Magic Eden, Yuga Labs launching Ethereum NFT marketplace to enforce royalties.
Nike-RTFKT's crypto universe nears $1.4 billion in NFT trading as sneakerheads swoon.
Sam Bankman-Fried found guilty of defrauding FTX customers out of billions. The prosecutor said that ‘while the cryptocurrency industry might be new … this kind of corruption is as old as time’.