September 2021

Tran Minh Bach decided to enter an international university in Ho Chi Minh City a year later than his friends to “not waste his parents’ money.”

“The tuition is around 320 million VND ($ 14,050) per year, 10 to 20 times higher than that of public universities, so I was hesitant, afraid of dropping out of my studies,” Bach said. , now in first year.

While reflecting, he asked his parents to let him start his university life a year later to have more time to improve his English and other skills, so that he could be confident in continuing his university program. .

“I also wanted to use the time to think about what I really like,” Bach said.

In Hanoi, Hoang Dung is another student who delayed his studies at the University of Foreign Trade in 2018.

“I ‘gave up’ because I wanted to take the time to find out what I’m good at, what I love to do, discover new jobs and new places,” Dung said, adding he was confused afterwards. have studied at university for two years. .

Bach and Dung are among the many Vietnamese to pursue a gap year, popular among some young Westerners. A sabbatical year typically occurs when students move from high school to college or while studying at university.

Recent research shows that 230,000 18-25 year olds take a gap year each year in the UK, and the trend is only growing as 72% of young people prefer to spend money on experiences rather than material things .

In the United States, 20% of freshmen at Harvard have chosen to postpone their admission to 2020 because students took a year off rather than starting their elite education online amid the Covid pandemic. 19. At MIT, 8% of freshmen differed, up from 1% normally, depending on the university.

Professor Truong Nguyen Thanh, former vice president of Hoa Sen University in Saigon, a lecturer at the University of Utah and some Vietnamese universities, said sabbaticals are not really popular in Vietnam but that they would increase in the times to come.

“The pandemic has made many families unable to send their children to university. Many young people will postpone entering university or book their studies and go to work for a while before returning to school,” he said. Thanh said.

One of the reasons the sabbatical year would gain popularity is the growing awareness of independence among young people. In August 2020, the British Council conducted research on 1,200 young Vietnamese between the ages of 16 and 30 and found that around 40% felt pressured by their families to study or work in particular fields in which they showed little of interest.

At first, Bach’s parents disagreed with their son’s choice, claiming that no one had taken sabbaticals.

Dung also knew that his parents would not support him, so when he announced that he would drop out of school, he asked them not to give him a monthly allowance.

With only 70,000 VND in his wallet, the man from Hai Phong Town had to ask his friends for food and learn that he must live well before pursuing his passions.

According to a 2015 survey by the Gap Year Association and Temple University in the United States, people spending a year away from universities said that the sabbaticals helped them expand their knowledge and acquire the skills needed to be successful in life. .

Postponing admission for a while can also lead to higher grades later, according to a study from the University of Middlebury, United States.

But sabbaticals are a “double-edged sword” as young people can use them as an excuse to quit school, wasting their time and losing motivation for their studies, Thanh warned.

“90 percent of students who took a year off before going to graduate school did not return. Those who took a year off before going to undergraduate courses are at higher risk as their life goal is not clear and they may lose their habit of studying, ”he said. noted.

Dung is now CEO of a company specializing in the recruitment and career guidance of students. Photo courtesy of Hoang Dung

During his gap year, Bach aimed to improve his English to achieve an IELTS score of 6.5. He worked part-time in a cafe and sold shoes and clothes, so he didn’t have to ask his parents for money.

“With a clear purpose, I never felt lost. I learned patience by going to work. And I’m proud to have been able to learn a lot from the talented people I know.”

However, he felt worried early in his student life at the international university.

“The gap year helped me better prepare for challenges and new relationships, I would have been overwhelmed and I would have had a hard time adjusting if I hadn’t taken the gap year”, said said the student from Binh Chanh district, HCMC.

Dung worked as a translator during his sabbatical year. Since 2019 he has worked in education, automotive and insurance sales.

With an initial income of VND 2 million per month, at the end of 2020, he caught the attention of Internet users by revealing his monthly income of $ 5,200.

Having done a lot of work, Dung found that practical experience helped him learn better. The more he worked, the more motivated he was to learn.

Last year, he returned to school to complete his classes before graduation. Currently, he spends up to four hours a day learning new knowledge and sometimes pays for classes given by famous businessmen in Vietnam.

At 23, Dung is CEO of a company specializing in the recruitment and career guidance of students.

“After all, the sabbaticals are not a waste, but a preparation for the acceleration of life,” Dung said, adding that the sabbaticals did not press the stop button when it came to. of university life.

Minnesota farmers show great interest in federal incentives to improve their conservation practices, but only a small minority have managed to win the grants.

This is not unique to Minnesota farmers, according to a new study from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. He revealed that between 2010 and 2020, successful demands from farmers across the country declined dramatically in two US Department of Agriculture programs that help farmers pay for equipment and adopt practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help them adapt to climate change.

“This is going in the wrong direction in terms of ensuring that farmers have access to programs that incentivize the fight against climate change,” said Michael Happ, who led the study.

The gap between claims and recipients is particularly marked in Minnesota. Last year, only 17% of Minnesota’s Environmental Quality Assistance Program (EQIP) applicants were awarded contracts, and only 14% were successful in applying to the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP ).

As the Biden administration and Congress prepare a federal spending package and Democrats call for significant new investments in combating and mitigating climate change, advocates for the two programs administered by the Natural Resource Conservation Service of the USDA claim that EQIP and CSP are proven and effective. to enlist the farmers directly in the battle.

“If we’re going to talk about how farmers can be part of the climate solution – well, they’re literally asking to do it, all we have to do is fund them,” said Jessica Kochick, policy organizer. federal governments to the Land Stewardship Project.

The Land Stewardship Project and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, both Minnesota-based nonprofits that promote the sustainability of agriculture, are advocating at the federal level for increased spending on both programs as governments Democrats are developing their reconciliation plan.

Kochick said many members of the progressive agriculture movement prefer established agendas that promote beneficial land management, as opposed to carbon market proposals in which companies seeking to offset their own carbon emissions would pay farmers for it. that they adopt more environmentally friendly practices.

But some Democrats in Washington have pushed carbon markets despite these concerns; On Thursday, the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing on the subject.

Ben Lilliston, director of rural strategies and climate change at the Institute, tweeted during the hearing that he agreed more with Republicans on the panel – “that a larger investment in conservation programs is much better for farmers, that these markets pay farmers little and shut down small farmers, ”he wrote.

Advocates speculated that one of the reasons the rejections from both programs were so high in Minnesota is that the state has been a leader in sustainable agriculture and that many farmers who received the incentives during some time were deemed ineligible.

Of the 1,541 Minnesota farmers who applied for the CSP last year, 223 were awarded contracts. Out of 3,512 who applied for EQIP, 611 were awarded contracts. With 50 states and two eligible territories, that left Minnesota 47th for CSP contracts and 50th for EQIP contracts.

Some other agricultural states had similarly low rates, but this was not universal. Of 3,635 Wisconsin farmers who applied last year, 1,436 got contracts, for example.

The National Resource Conservation Service press office did not respond to a request for comment on the report.

Congress cut funding for programs in the 2018 Farm Bill at the behest of the Trump administration, and Kochick has said that since then incentives have been more likely to be given to new applicants.

Hannah Bernhardt raises grass-fed beef, lambs and pork on pastures near Pine City. At 39, she has worked in agriculture full time for five years after returning from the east coast to Minnesota. Last year, she received approximately $ 30,000 in EQIP funds which enabled her to install the permanent fences and water pipes necessary for a rotating grazing system that promotes soil health and reduces the release of soil. carbon.

“This has allowed us to expand and develop our business,” said Bernhardt, and to grow his herd from 10 to 40 cattle. She said she felt doubly lucky when she learned how few Minnesota farmers qualified last year.

“They figured out how to help farmers,” Bernhardt said. “But if everyone can’t access it, he’s not doing what he could.”

NEW YORK, Sept. 23 (Reuters) – Investors are wondering how an easing of easy Federal Reserve monetary policies could affect asset prices, after the central bank signaled that a slowdown in its bond was closer than ever and suggested it might raise rates at a faster rate than expected.

In what some have described as a hawkish tilt, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday cleared the way to start cutting its monthly bond purchases as early as November, and nine of the 18 U.S. central bank policymakers forecast borrowing costs are expected to increase in 2022. read more

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the US central bank could complete its downsizing process around the middle of next year, as long as the recovery remains on track. Read more

The focus on rate hikes comes as investors assess how markets will react to the unwinding of the central bank’s $ 120 billion-per-month bond purchase program, which has helped the S&P 500 to double by compared to its March 2020 lows.

While many expected the central bank to start relaxing before the end of the year, some investors have said the projected rate hikes could raise concerns about whether the Fed risks tightening its policy. monetary policy at a time when the economy could be significantly weaker than it is today. , which risks undermining the case for equities and other relatively risky assets.

“With this hawkish move, the Fed risks tightening its policy in a context of slow growth,” said Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management.

Stocks held onto their gains after the Fed’s statement, with the S&P 500 closing almost 1% higher.

In Treasury markets, the spread between five-year bonds and 30-year bonds fell below 100 basis points after the Fed declared policy to the lowest level since July 2020. A narrower spread could indicate factors such as economic uncertainty, the easing of inflationary fears and the anticipation of tighter monetary policy.

“The rate market interpreted the Fed’s communications as hawkish,” analysts at BoFA Global Research said in a note. “The more hawkish Fed is a key ingredient in our view of higher rates by the end of the year.”

The fed funds market fully accommodated a rate hike by January 2023 after the declaration, pushing forward planned rate hikes by one month.

TD Securities analysts expect the central bank to cut its asset purchases by $ 15 billion per month from November, which will help increase yields and strengthen the dollar, they said in a report.

The trajectory of the US currency is important to investors because it impacts everything from commodity prices to corporate earnings. Higher yields make dollar-denominated assets more attractive to income-seeking investors. The greenback was up 0.23% against a basket of its peers on Wednesday night.

“Once the dust settles, it appears there are enough hawkish signals to keep the dollar skewed higher, as the market considers a rate hike sooner than expected,” said Joe Manimbo, market analyst senior at Western Union Business Solutions.

Others were optimistic about the Fed’s outlook, saying the more hawkish view reflected the strength of the economy in the face of a COVID-19 resurgence.

Markets are likely to remain more focused on the inference that further rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 suggest a strengthening economy than on the Fed’s cutback plan, said Mark Freeman, chief investment officer at Socorro Asset Management. .

“Powell has made it clear on several occasions (…) that the criteria for reduction are very different from the criteria for increasing rates, which are much higher” and will have more impact on the market, he said. .

Rick Rieder, director of global fixed income investments at BlackRock, said in a note that strong demand for Treasuries would likely minimize the impact of the Fed unwinding.

“With the demand for income and financial assets that we are seeing (…), the modest decrease likely to be observed on the part of the Fed has no consequences for the markets,” he said. declared.

Reporting by David Randall; Additional reporting by Sinead Carew and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili and Leslie Adler

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