Diamond News Archives

That rising student debt is one of the creeping threats of our time is hard to refute.

Student debt has more than tripled since 2004, reaching $1.52 trillion in the first quarter of 2018, according to the Federal Reserve — second only to mortgage debt in the U.S. College costs have outpaced the Consumer Price Index more than four-fold since 1985, and tuition assistance today is often harder to come by, particularly at schools without large endowments.

“There has been a big shift in terms of who should bear the burden of the cost of education,” said Benjamin Keys^[1], a Wharton real estate professor with a specialty in household finance and debt. “We know the stories of our parents, that they could earn enough working as a lifeguard in the summer to pay for a semester of college. The growth of tuition costs relative to teen wages — indeed, all wages — has veered sharply upwards.”

“We’ve come to a place where most students have to borrow in order to pay the cost of completing a bachelor’s degree,” said University of Pennsylvania professor Laura W. Perna, executive director of Penn’s Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy^[2].

About 44 million graduates hold student debt, and today’s graduates leave school holding promissory notes worth an average of $37,000, raising concerns that the burden is creating a cascade of pressures compelling many to put off traditional life milestones. The storyline, as it has emerged, is that college debt delays buying a house, getting married, having children and saving for retirement, and there is some evidence that this is happening.

But the truth is more nuanced, and, statistically at least, the question of how burdensome student debt is and the extent...

Australia’s Lucapa Diamond (ASX:LOM) said Thursday it had received ZAR100 million (about $7 million) from South Africa’s IDC — of the largest development financiers in southern Africa —  to boost development at its 70%-owned Mothae mine in Lesotho.

The company, which commissioned a 1.1 million tonne a year treatment plant at the mine, said the loan will considerably strengthen Mothae’s cash position.

The news comes as the company is in the midst of getting the mine, in which the Lesotho government hold a 30% stake, ready for commercial production.

Lucapa expects to see its first for-sale diamonds from the mine in early November and plans to increase production to its intended levels during the fourth quarter.

Lucapa has already exported about 2,500 carats of rough diamonds to Antwerp from its recent bulk sampling. It plans to ship the remainder of the 4,100 carats to the Belgian city ahead of the first scheduled sale in the fourth quarter.

Mothae’s former owner, Lucara Diamond, achieved sale prices of up to $57,000 per carat during trial mining between 2008 and 2012, Lucapa said. During that process, Lucara recovered approximately 23,400 carats, including 96 individual stones over 10 carats and a 254-carat one.

The Mothae project is located within 5 km of Gem Diamonds' (LON:GEMD) Letšeng mine, which in February yielded a 910-carat rock, the fifth biggest gem-quality diamond ever found.

The post Lucapa secures $7 million-loan to boost Lesotho mine development appeared first on MINING.com....

Economic improvements aside, the best move for families is to step back from the political environment and strengthen their finances.

"Politics come and go, and economic cycles are going to be what they are, but try to remain focused on your personal financial goal," Hamrick said. Here are a few suggestions.

Build your emergency fund: Stash away at least six months' worth of expenses^[1] so that you can cover surprise costs or get yourself through a period of unemployment.

Put money away for retirement: The more you earn, the greater flexibility you have to save in your 401(k). However, even if you can't max out your annual contributions at $18,500^[2] (plus $6,000 if you're over 50), put away at least enough to get the employer match.

Be mindful of your time horizons: Money you won't need for another 20 or 30 years — like your 401(k) plan balance — could be subject to short-term market volatility. Ride it out, said Hamrick. Be cognizant that money you need in the short term might be better allocated more conservatively.

"No matter what the emotions and the volatility might be with respect to the political environment, we need to stay away from acting on emotions when we manage our finances," Hamrick said.

More from Personal Finance
Here's how much the Mega Millions winner will get to save and spend
Are your finances better, worse or the same under President Trump?
Happy 100 ^thbirthday! Here's why you could end up with surprise taxes^[3][4][5]

WATCH: Here's where Trump gets credit, and what could go wrong^[6]...

References

1. ^{^} at

(IDEX Online) – World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) President Ernie Blom called on exchange presidents and members to join hands to boost the global presence of the trade organization at the conclusion, on Thursday, of the 38th World Diamond Congress at the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB). The WFDB is clearly the most important representative body in the global diamond trade, but needs to think how it can bring added benefits to members, he said. <?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>

"Each president and member is an ambassador for the WFDB and the diamond trade and the good that diamonds do and needs to communicate this both in the countries in which they operate and when abroad. We have an enormous amount of knowledge, experience and intellect among our presidents and that should be used to find ways for us to further boost our global role," adding that Israel Diamond Exchange President Yoram Dvash had agreed to lead the project.

Blom also announced that during his fourth two-year term in office, he would be pushing a succession planning policy to ensure that younger members of the diamond trade are brought on board and become active in the running of the organization. "It is imperative that we all work to bring this about. There are many excellent younger members of the trade, both men and women, across the globe and we must help to groom them for positions of leadership."

Blom also told the meeting that an additional layer of administration was needed to deal with an increased workload.

On the challenges the diamond industry faces, Blom said bourses must be forceful in...