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The stars of "Chrisley Knows Best" were sentenced Monday to federal prison after being convicted in June of a string of financial crimes.

Todd and Julie Chrisley were convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, tax fraud, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. In addition, Julie was also convicted of wire fraud and obstruction of justice.

Judge Eleanor L. Ross of the U.S. District Court in Atlanta sentenced Todd to 12 years in prison, followed by three years of probation, CNN reported. Ross sentenced Julie to seven years in prison, followed by three years of probation. In addition, the couple must pay restitution for their crimes, though the exact amount is currently unknown, The New York Times reported.

Just like the Reichsbank in the 1920s, the European Central Bank (ECB) prints money without limit. In addition to well over five trillion euros in total assets, the Pandemic Emergency Program (PEPP) adds another 750 billion euros and trillions of dollars in loans. The flood of money is unstoppable.

Hyperinflation or currency cut? Anyone looking at the ECB's miraculous monetary expansion automatically feels transported back to Germany in the 1920s. Developments back then could repeat themselves.

Money flood like 1923

As a reminder, as 1922 progressed, more and more loans became non-performing and burst. Companies went bankrupt and more and more people lost their jobs. The supply of goods declined, people could afford less and less and became impoverished. With the "Ruhrkampf" (French and Belgians occupied the Ruhr to force delivery of outstanding reparations), industrial production came to a virtual standstill. To counteract this, the government of the Reich at the time printed more and more money in 1922 and 1923. Confidence in the mark eroded. Everyone tried to turn the worthless paper money into commodities as quickly as possible. Inflation went from a trot to a gallop – hyperinflation occurred, ultimately dispossessing millions of Germans because their savings were no longer worth anything. This eventually led to a currency reform.

MVGM These four letters form the name of Europe's top property management organization. But what does it stand for? As we grow internationally, many relationships and customers are curious. The answer to this question provides insight into MVGM's history and growth path. Join us on this journey.

Specialization in asset management originated in the 1950s in the Netherlands. Real estate agencies expanded into insurance and, later, property management. In 1953, the multinational Unilever decided to outsource the property management of its entire real estate portfolio. Until that time they managed the properties themselves and the insurer Meeùs took over the management. The first comprehensive property was managed by a third party.

Meeùs was founded in the twenties by Joseph Meeùs, a representative of the Dutch city of Breda. He found interest in insurers because he himself had car damage caused by an accident. In 1927, he opened his own insurance agency, starting with auto and fire insurance, and shortly after opening, he expanded his offerings to include mortgages and real estate. Asset management was added to the service portfolio in 1953. Joseph Meeùs passed away at the age of 52, when Meeùs was one of the largest insurance agencies in North Brabant, a Dutch province. Joseph Meeùs' sons took over the company and sold the Meeùs Group to AEGON in 2000.

The Regulation on the Determination of the Mortgage Lending Value (BelWertV) came into force on 1 January 2009. August 2016 into force and provides binding regulations for all mortgage banks in Germany. Other credit institutions are also guided by the requirements. Until now, banks have developed their own rules for determining the mortgage lending values, which in turn had to be approved by Bafin.

However, the real estate boom of the last few years has changed the market and therefore the Regulation on Mortgage Lending Values is to be amended. The German financial regulator Bafin proposes measures for the amendment, but the German Association of Pfandbrief Banks (vdp) does not agree with the proposed measures. According to the vdp, the measures are still insufficiently adapted to the current real estate market developments.

According to the managing director Jens Tolckmitt, Bafin fails to achieve its goal of adapting the Regulation on Mortgage Lending Values to the market reality. If the rules were to be adopted as Bafin proposes, the opportunity to carry out the much-needed renewal of real estate valuation would be missed.

Central banks around the world are putting the brakes on monetary policy because of rising inflation rates. The result is rising interest rates, which can weigh on the real estate market. Peter Bezak of Zurich Invest explores the question of why investors should now invest in foreign real estate, of all things, at a time when interest rates are expected to rise.

After the temporary slump caused by the Corona crisis, prices on the international real estate markets have recovered strongly in the past year. "Low interest rates have been crucial to the real estate boom of recent years and the associated price increases. Last year, investors benefited from further favorable conditions: In addition to the recovering economy and loose monetary policy conditions, expansionary fiscal policy has also had a positive impact,", says Peter Bezak, economist and investment expert at Zurich Invest.

This year, however, conditions will change. The U.S. Federal Reserve, unlike the eurozone's monetary watchdogs, is backing a tighter monetary policy. Therefore, according to the economist, after the prospect of a first interest rate hike in March, two or three more hikes are to be expected in the course of the year. Rising interest rates could reverse the trend and cause real estate prices to fall again, he further explains. However, as interest rate increases are expected to be moderate, the impact on real estate prices is also likely to remain within tolerable bounds. In addition, price reactions are usually not observed immediately, but only after a certain delay. "Regardless of these factors, real estate is a real alternative to domestic real estate for a variety of reasons", Bezak emphasizes.

Assets and especially real estate ownership reduce the risk of poverty in old age. However, in practice, the owner-occupied home often becomes a burden factor, as it accounts for the majority of the assets on the one hand, and does not increase the current income on the other hand. That is the conclusion of a recent study conducted by the Empirica analysis institute on behalf of the German Institute for Retirement Provision (DIA). Unlike typical poverty measurement studies, this evaluation also considered assets. Typically, according to Empirica study author Dr. Reiner Braun does not lead to distortions, since it is rightly assumed that poor people do not own assets. However, this does not apply to the issue of old-age poverty, he emphasizes. This age group has accumulated a disproportionately large amount of wealth over the course of their lives. According to Braun, this age group is therefore also considered to be in income poverty if they have assets but their current income, such as pension payments, is insufficient. In many cases, according to Braun, the assets are owner-occupied residential property.

Risk of old-age poverty lower for real estate owners

According to the study, the risk of poverty for all individuals in Germany falls by one percentage point to 15.6 percent when existing assets are converted into current income over the rest of their lives. The risk of poverty drops to 14.8 percent if real estate assets are also converted accordingly, reports the DIA. In terms of old-age poverty, the risk decreases more significantly when assets are taken into account: It is reduced by four percentage points to 14.9 percent if financial assets are included in the calculation. The risk of poverty in old age is reduced by a further percentage point if real estate assets are also taken into account. According to this calculation, this means that fewer people are affected by poverty in old age, according to the DIA.

War in Ukraine brings misery and geopolitical uncertainty to Europe. Economically, however, the impact of sanctions on the eurozone is small, as exports to Russia are not very significant. The biggest economic risk for Europe, in Swiss Life Asset Managers' view, would be a halt to Russian gas supplies.

No sooner has the economic uncertainty of the pandemic given way than the next wave of uncertainty rolls into Europe with the war in Ukraine. The sanctions against Russian banks, which also affects their access to the SWIFT payment communication network, will make exports to Russia more difficult. The latter, however, have become much less important for the eurozone, and in 2020 made 0.5% of GDP, a halving since the peak in 2012, Swiss Life Asset Managers notes.

Russia, for its part, has foreign exchange reserves of about 640 billion. USD accumulated, which may partially cushion the impact of potential financial sanctions (cf. Figure). However, the West's recent sanctions against Russia's central bank could cut off access to much of these reserves. In a risk scenario, this harsh measure could, according to the experts at Swiss Life AM, make Vladimir Putin all the more willing to impose countermeasures and stop gas deliveries to the West. But it could also be that in this weakened position, it will have to rely all the more on its main source of income – energy exports.

Real estate markets are running hot. When the bubble bursts? Nordea Asset Management draws parallels to the subprime crisis.

History tends to repeat itself, which is due to a variety of mechanisms. Thus, central banks can tighten monetary policy too much, households can become too indebted, and capital can be allocated to the wrong sectors. At the same time, however, this opens up the possibility for investors to better manage their risks. Nordea Asset Management has summarized the lessons that can be learned from the subprime crisis in a market commentary.

After the U.S. recession in 2001, tax cuts and loose monetary policy supported growth and demand for Chinese goods, which was reinforced by an artificially weak renminbi. China and the BRIC countries (Brazil/Russia/India/China) rose by exporting deflation, while U.S. banks financed the purchase of increasingly expensive houses even for buyers with poor credit ratings. Banks simply bundled and resold these risky subprime mortgages on the market. Eventually, the real estate market collapsed and an enormous global credit crisis ensued. The question is whether the very expensive real estate market in China is now facing a similar turning point.

Single mothers have to struggle with a difficult balancing act: since they have to take care of a child on their own, they have high financial needs. However, the time window is limited due to child-rearing obligations. Single parents have at best a part-time job. The income is not sufficient in many cases. Weak incomes, moreover, make it difficult to obtain a loan. We tell you how your chances of getting this are best.

"Can you even get a loan as a single mom?"

In fact, the greatest chances of getting a housewife loan on the Internet are if you are a single parent (we will discuss this further later in the article). In the branch or direct bank you trust, on the other hand, you will have great difficulty in obtaining an appropriate loan. What can be decisive reasons for this, we would like to present to you.

Reasons why single parents find it more difficult to obtain a loan from Haubank

Branch banks usually do not give loans to single parents due to creditworthiness problems. Credit repayment ability is insufficient in their eyes.

On Tuesday evening, 17. March, the Cabinet presented a comprehensive support package to help Dutch businesses and self-employed people get over the Corona crisis. "Special times call for special measures," Hoekstra said. The support package serves to maintain the liquidity of companies on the one hand, and to avoid mass layoffs on the other. On this page we will keep you informed about the regulations and the consequences for you as an entrepreneur.

Attention: This page was last updated on: 18. March at 6.00 p.m. Of course, the facts and specific situation play a big role in formulating the right answer to the question. Want to be sure what rules apply or what you can do in a specific situation at your organization? In this case, please contact us using the contact details at the bottom of this page. We are happy to help you!

In a nutshell: The measures in place

• The Cabinet introduces a new, much more comprehensive working time reduction scheme to replace the old one: The Emergency Employment Bridging Fund (NOW). The condition is that companies do not lay off their employees during this period and continue to pay their wages. The scheme also applies to flexible workers and people on zero-hours contracts.
• The approximately 1.2 million self-employed in our country will also receive help. This scheme, which is valid for three months, supplements the income of self-employed persons up to the social minimum income (social assistance level). They do not have to repay this amount.
• All entrepreneurs can apply for a special deferral of tax payments. Collection by the tax office will then cease immediately, and the application will be assessed with retroactive effect.
• For the next three months alone, the government is making ten to twenty billion euros available for these measures.

Measure 1: The working time reduction (wtv) scheme will be replaced by the temporary measure of the emergency bridging fund.

As an entrepreneur, do you expect a loss of sales (at least 20%)?? Then you can apply to the UWV for a wage subsidy for a period of three months (maximum 90% of the wage bill, depending on the loss of sales). The UWV will grant an advance of 80% of the aid requested. Retroactively, it then determines what the actual loss in sales has been. The scheme applies to lost sales from 1. March 2020. For large applications, this requires a declaration from an auditor.