Hi, 46 years old from Sweden

[Isoman]

Thanks grasshopper,

Many swedes left for the US due to starvation and to seek a future over there, most sweden i think went to the north of US to states like Minnesota, Illinois and michigan if my memory serves me correct.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Isoman This is some of my taste of humor:Monty Python fish dance and Alan i see you are born in UK, have you lost your english humor.

I have lost neither my English humor or my accent and I have met plenty of Americans with a similar sense of humor, but have nearly got into trouble a few times with some that don't. for example, I was walking out to the car park one evening after work and happened to bump into the company president who asked me how my citizenship application was progressing. I told him that it was going very well and the only thing left was the lobotomy. He didn't laugh

[Purron]

I can attest that Alan has not lost his sense of humor and is a good sport when teased. About pants. Or lack thereof

[keegs]

[MichaelB]

Isoman – excellent Python reference.

Purron – what’s this about you and Alan’s pants? Pics and details are called for.

Any doubts about Alan’s sense of humor will be quickly dispelled after a short visit to the funny jokes thread.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB Purron – what’s this about you and Alan’s pants? Pics and details are called for.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Isoman ...most sweden i think went to the north of US to states like Minnesota, Illinois and michigan if my memory serves me correct.

Yes, that's true and they still eat Lutfisk as we speak.

Welcome aboard!

Now, if you do not mind a curious question. You said that the tax rate is high, and that your salary is nothing to brag about, yet you do have a decent portfolio. Is this "stock market" money tax-free, and if it is not what is the tax rate on the capital gain? Do you consider yourself a good investor in order to build up that money?


PS. One of our nephews married a Swede. One of her uncle and his family also emigrated to the US, not because of starvation but to join the capitalist system. I guess it's "different strokes for different folks", as they say.

[Purron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB Purron – what’s this about you and Alan’s pants? Pics and details are called for.

Well OK MichaelB. I've teased Alan about this a lot and he's been a jolly good sport.

Please forgive me for posting this again Alan. I'm only doing so now at MichaelB's insistence to dispel any rumors flying around about me and your pants. Last time, I promise.


Look at posts 6 and 10 MichaelB. http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...tml#post963367

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purron Well OK MichaelB. I've teased Alan about this a lot and he's been a jolly good sport. Please forgive me for posting this again Alan. I'm only doing so now at MichaelB's insistence to dispel any rumors flying around about me and your pants. Last time, I promise.

If you keep this up people will think I'm a big pantsy.

[obgyn65]

Welcome Isoman

[Isoman]

NW-bound thanks for the welcome. Regarding your question.

Quote:

Now, if you do not mind a curious question. You said that the tax rate is high, and that your salary is nothing to brag about, yet you do have a decent portfolio. Is this "stock market" money tax-free, and if it is not what is the tax rate on the capital gain? Do you consider yourself a good investor in order to build up that money

In Sweden there 2 ways to handle stocks, one is in a normal portfolio where you pay 30 % tax (25 % on not listed stocks) when stocks are sold, and you can also deduct losses by the same %.

The other way is a special portfolio called “ kapitalförsäkring”, dont know English word. Its has no tax when you sell stocks, only a yearly fee which is 0,86 % for 2010. And its only payed at 31/12 every year, if you want to avoid that fee just move out in december and go back in january. Its calculated each year by (gouverment borrowing rate)3,18*0,27=0,86 % for Sweden. But if you loose money in this you cant deduct the losses made, so its only good in a bull market or if your stocks go up. So infact we have very low taxes on stocks, that’s why I think I will earn more money on stocks than on my salary.

I don’t think I am a good Investor, but I read a lot of macro economics from all over the world. And of course I read all about Obama, zero interest guy Greenspan, Helicopter Ben, FED and Geitner, US banks, AIG, Unemployment, Housing bubble etc.

One other thing is that I was lucky to sell of before the big crash and saved most of my money. And due to that I had money to invest again in stocks.

And if you look the Swedish stockmarket most of my stocks are up 100 % or more in less than 2 year.
Maybe its luck or me believing in metals, oil and industry going forward. I still belive in metal, industry and oil. But maybe I have to change from Sweden to Russia or Indian stockmarkets. I will never touch bonds with these low rent we have atm.

And to be frankly I haven’t look at the US stockmarket since i saw to many problem in the US, listen to Marc Faber and Jim Rogers. Once the dollar goes down enough I will be buying US stocks.

[Isoman]

Quote:

I have lost neither my English humor or my accent and I have met plenty of Americans with a similar sense of humor, but have nearly got into trouble a few times with some that don't. for example, I was walking out to the car park one evening after work and happened to bump into the company president who asked me how my citizenship application was progressing. I told him that it was going very well and the only thing left was the lobotomy. He didn't laugh

Alan that was funny

[FIREd]

Hello Isoman!

Sweden is on the short list of countries I dream of visiting one day. Welcome!

[NW-Bound]

Isoman, thanks for the explanation on the tax on investment gains. It is a very good deal, compared to the US tax. So, it is good that the Swedish system gives people a break on the savings side, to even out the fact that it takes a big bite out of your ordinary income.

About selling before the crash and then getting back in, can you tell us how you saw the warning signal to do that? Europeans, in fact most nationalities, know a lot more about the US than Americans know about the world. But then, the US is large, and I myself do not know a whole lot about what is going in other states.

And by the way, do you know that some people frown upon your selling everything, and then getting back in? Search for "dirty market timing" if you are curious.

[FreqFlyer]

Welcome Isoman!

Monty Python humor and economic talk. I feel right at home.

[Isoman]

Obgyn65: Thanks

FD: sweden is a nice county try to visit it in the summer.

NW-bound: Mostly due to subprime loan, housing explosion in prices, and Alan Greenspan keeping 0 % rates t long. Also a trade deficit isnt good in the long run. but its on the internet if you want to look listen to sme Dr Doom can be good sometimes. Also Zerohedge and marketwatch are 2 english sites a often read. And I didnt sold on the top i lost some

[NW-Bound]

Well, we here saw the same signals you cited, but we just shrugged it off. I myself didn't think it would get so bad. Do you hate us Americans because of the subprime loans? How is Iceland doing nowadays? I forgot all about it to follow up.

[Isoman]

NW-bound: I like Americans . Subprime loans wasnt Americans fault it was some greedy banksters, AIG, House salespersons and a regulation by your goverment that everyone was entitled to a big house. And also i feel sorry for the Americans since you where hit among the hardest.

In Iceland there was some really greedy banksters who worked together with a weak goverment that made their day.

Greece; Portugal, Ireland, Spain; UK have been spending to much to long time so now they have problems.

Still i hope it will all work out well. I think that what Ben Bernake did with Q2 this time was right, you need to kick start your country, we in all of the rest of the world need a stronger US otherwide we are all doomed.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purron I can attest that Alan has not lost his sense of humor and is a good sport when teased. About pants. Or lack thereof

Agree. Alan is hysterical.

Isoman, my city, Seattle, had and continues to have a very heavy settlement from Sweden and Norway. King Olaf came here to the Ballard neighborhood in 1975 to dedicate a statue to Leif Erickson, at the locks. The Scandinavian sites of Ballard » My Ballard

Many of our fisherman historically and even now are Norwegians, many Swedes came from Minnasota when logging began to slow there, and were a big part of logging our giant first growth forests all along the west side of the Cascade Mountains. They also were early farmers.

Seattle has had a big influx of people from all over the world over the past 30 years or so as our software and high technology industries have come to the forefront, but many areas of the city still have a strong Scandinavian flavor and there are still Leif Erickson Halls, Swedish Centers, Scandinavian dances 4-5 nights a week, etc. My dance partner is a Swede, married to an American man. In Scandinavian neighborhoods all the groceries always have Swedish and Norwegian staples like rye knackebrod, lefse, homemade pickled herring, and lutfisk at the holidays.

You would feel at home here, and many in these neighborhoods will speak Swedish or Norwegian, or sometimes Danish or Icelandic.

Ha

[Isoman]

Thanks haha for the history lesson !

Quote:

Isoman, my city, Seattle, had and continues to have a very heavy settlement from Sweden and Norway. King Olaf came here to the Ballard neighborhood in 1975 to dedicate a statue to Leif Erickson

I think I need to start doing a list what places to visit once in retirement.
You just made me wanna put seattle on that list. Now i have 2 places to visit in US . Disneyland and seattle .

Think i have to take a long trip to US it´s a BIG country...maybe 3 to 6 month can do it.