Juggling Dynamite

The recent focus on cryptic texts and flash imagery does not negate the need for good writing skills. In a 2011 survey of corporate recruiters by the Graduate Management Admission Council–86 percent said strong communication skills were a priority—well ahead of the next skill.

Despite stubbornly high unemployment, many employers complain that they can’t find qualified candidates for the jobs they do have.

Often, it turns out, the mismatch results from applicants’ inadequate communication skills. In survey after survey, employers are complaining about a job candidates’ inability to speak and write clearly. See: Why Johnny can’t write, and why employers are mad

According to a report by UBS, 70 percent of investors with more than $1 million in invest-able assets do not consider themselves wealthy. Mike Ryan, UBS, and CNBC’s Robert Frank, discuss the definition of wealthy.

They also note that those who have more than a million in savings continue to exhibit a stubborn preference for cash…which is a big annoyance for the investment sales crowd (including the UBS commentator in this clip)…”must get people to part with their cash…must get them to buy financial products”…

Fortunately some people have learned from their lessons of loss over the past 15 years of this secular bear. Several times bitten has made wise people shy on capital market risk today. And for very good reasons. With most investment assets now back at extreme valuations, the liquidity preference for cash is likely to continue until prices correct enough that value and investment odds become once more worth risking for.

Yet being wealthy doesn’t just mean having millions in investments or assets. It means having plenty of cash on hand to handle any expense. Driven by the bad memories of the crisis, when many of the so-called wealthy were caught short of cash, investors currently have an average of 23 percent of their overall asset allocation in cash or equivalents. That’s the highest number since at least 2010. Here is a direct video link.