October 9th, 2008
Silver Lining in the current crisis POSTED AT 12:42 AM the winner is .... those who plans to travel to Aussie or Kiwi.... Right now: 1 SGD can buy you 1.02 Aussie Dollar, and 1.12 Kiwi Dollar Just 3 month ago, it takes 1.30 SGD to buy 1 Aussie Dollar, and 1.01 SGD to buy 1 Kiwi Dollar... Any taker to Kiwi? add scratch mark
|
Kiwi seems to be cheaper now...October 7th, 2008
Jakarta sinking POSTED AT 01:52 PM JAKARTA - IT'S one of the fastest-growing megacities in Asia. But some doomsters predict large parts of Indonesia's coastal capital could be under water by 2025. The reason? Unchecked groundwater mining. 'Goundwater extraction is unparalleled for a city of this size,' Mr Almud Weitz, regional team leader of the World Bank's water and sanitation programme, said in an interview for Reuters Environment Summit. 'It's like Swiss cheese. People are digging deeper and deeper and so the city is slowly, slowly sinking. That is why tidal floods are occurring in poor areas on the coast.' Jakarta is one of Asia's more densely populated cities, but experts say it has one of the least developed piped water networks, pushing many residents as well as mushrooming megamalls and skyscrapers to increasingly suck out groundwater. According to some estimates, Jakarta has a water deficit of about 36 million cubic metres a year and much of the groundwater is contaminated with faecal matter because of leaky septic tanks. As the city of around 10 million sinks and sea levels rise because of climate change, Jakarta has become more vulnerable to flooding and the threat of severe tidal surges remains grave. In recent years, Jakarta, a city criss-crossed by 13 rivers and many canals built by its former Dutch rulers, has been devastated by massive flooding triggered by tropical rains and the incursion of sea water. A study by a Dutch consultant for the World Bank showed that by 2025, the city could be between 40cm and 60cm lower than it is now, if nothing is done to check the crisis. 'An ever-growing population, densely populated residential areas, rapid infrastructural development, a diminishing number of green areas and catchments, plus six months of near-constant rain -- you have a recipe for flood disasters which literally paralyse the city,' the World Bank said in a statement when the study was released in April. The Bank is supporting a flood management initiative with the local government. Swathes of the teeming city were swamped and Jakarta's main airport was shut for hours earlier this year following heavy flooding caused by the combination of unusually high tides and the effects of subsidence from excessive extraction of groundwater. Queen of the East Today, the city is dotted with skyscrapers towering over run-down buildings and slums and is saddled with a host of problems, such as chaotic traffic, choking pollution and a massive influx of jobseekers each year. Mr Armi Susandi, a meteorologist at the Bandung Institute of Technology, who has researched the impact of climate change on Indonesia, estimates the submersion rate in the capital would be 0.87cm a year, which is higher than an estimated average sea level rise rate of 0.5cm a year until 2080. Experts say the depletion of ground water has also allowed sea water from the Java Sea to seep into coastal aquifers, making the already filthy water saline. Jakarta resident Maria Achmad said she and her family had been using ground water since 1995 because the piped water supply was erratic. She was aware Jakarta was slowly sinking because of extraction of groundwater, but said her family didn't have a choice. 'I am concerned and worried about it. The Jakarta government should take action to limit the use of groundwater, especially by big restaurants and hotels which are the majority of groundwater users,' she told Reuters. 'Second, we hope the government can fix the piped water system.' Clearing the canals 'We hope in two or three years we will manage to dredge all canals, revitalise the canals and, combined with the new canal, bring down flooding,' Jakarta's governor, Fauzi Bowo, told Reuters. 'In previous years, when supply was short, a lot people tended to pump as much as possible. But now we have limited the usage of deep ground water because this is the main reason for land subsidence.' The river-dredging project overall would help reduce the flooded areas in Jakarta by up to 70 per cent, but would still leave some parts of North Jakarta prone to flooding, Ms Risyana Sukarma, a senior infrastructure expert with World Bank Indonesia, said on a Bank website. 'It is hoped that the dredging measures could return Jakarta floods to the previous cycle of once every 25 years provided that regular dredging maintenance takes place, and actions are to be taken to better manage solidwaste collection,' Risyana said. -- REUTERS Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/SE%2BAsia/Story/STIStory_286820.html |
September 25th, 2008
September POSTED AT 09:23 AM This month has been a roller coaster for financial headlines... Downswing and Upswing happened in hours... US Big Giant succumb to bankruptcy, and some needed bailed out from their Government (so much about capitalism and free market). It seems like any profit in US is 'capitalised' and any loss is 'socialised'. US is going nearer to their collapse.. I hope in some way they do so that they can stop their arrogance in foreign policy. Well, what's new is that Korea Bank (KDB) was in talk in rescuing Lehman before the bankruptcy, but chosen to walk away from the deal. Ironically, 1 decade ago, KDB was the one need rescuing. It was rescued in the end, but not without the preach of Capitalism, Free Market, bla bla bla that incur some wrath on Korean people. I guess this is a lifetime opportunity to slap big power back in their face haha... What happens now also has stopped US from barraging countries all over the world about their so-called democracy, free market, etc etc (Well, you can't preach other if your own house is not in order, right?) Incidentally, I've been studying the reason on British collapse in 1930s before US become super power. The country is plagued by big debt due to country going into wars. This situation is not that far off than what's happening in US now, except that the cause is more of the financial destruction. US Federal debt is getting blown out (Now counting to $10 trillion, $11 if the bailout plan is approved). Still remember that when I went to New York on 2006, the number is $8+ trillion displayed in Times Square billboard. So, when the world stop feeding US on their credits, I guess that's when US will stop become super power. But the question is, who's next in line for Super Power? European Union, looks like a good candidate... |
September 18th, 2008
Why AIG almost fail? POSTED AT 01:34 PM To some people who didn't really follow the news, one might ask why AIG can fails? In fact, some might ask why AIG? Not Prudential or Aviva? The following Time's article sum nicely on why AIG almost fail (source: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1841699,00.html "....The particular risks that brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy seem to lie not with its core insurance businesses but with its derivatives-trading subsidiary AIG Financial Products. AIG FP, as it's called, merits a mere paragraph in the nine-page description of the company's businesses in its most recent annual report. But it's a huge player in the new and mysterious business of credit-default swaps: derivative securities that allow banks, hedge funds and other financial players to insure against loans gone bad. AIG generally sells credit-default swaps, thereby promising to insure others against defaults. It's a great business when defaults are low; when they rise it can turn toxic. AIG FP lost more than $10 billion in 2007 and $14.7 billion in the first six months of this year. That, along with losses in other investment portfolios, has cut deeply into the parent company's capital reserves. The credit-default-swap contracts decree that if AIG's credit rating drops below a certain level, it has to fork over $13 billion in collateral to the buyers of the swaps. Monday night, because of the losses at AIG FP and in AIG's investment portfolios, Moody's and S&P cut the company's ratings. After that, the consensus was that the company could survive only another day or two..... " In particular, AIG sold protection on Credit derivatives up to $180 billion on subprime securities. $180 billion is a money that AIG doesn't have to pay their counterparties. Morale of the story "...Make sure you company grow to big to fail, make sure you involve almost everybody in the planet, Fed will come to rescue...". What's the use of risk management in AIG as Fed will rescue in the end hmm?. My take "AIG should just stick to their core business, which is insurance. CDS is not AIG's core competence, and they probably thought that they are earning free money by selling CDS protection to their counterparts" |
September 1st, 2008
Insurance Premium.. Savings or Expense? POSTED AT 09:54 AM In case you don't know what's the hot topic about Insurance Industry in Singapore, I can summarize it in the point forms: To find out more on the topics, you can visit http://tankinlian.blogspot.com as the explanation there is all you need to know before you purchase that $100-monthly or $200-monthly insurance. As I read a lot about discussion, I am appalled that many people in the forum discussion (including Tan Kin Lian) treats that the monthly contribution ($100 or $200) paid to Insurance Company (name it: AIA, Prudential, Aviva, NTUC Income, Great Eastern, etc) as a ASSET. Why does it shock me? First of foremost, I defines ASSETS as something that you can easily retrieve back in a SHORT amount of time without substantial losses. Example that fall within that definition are: Bank Savings, Fixed Deposit. I regards Shares as the Investment Asset (different category from Savings). How about the monthly contribution to Insurance? It is an EXPENSE!! Why? Firstly, to categorize something as savings or asset, you should be able to QUERY their value easily, anytime, anywhere. That include Savings Account. Investment are on different asset class. Examples are Stocks, Unit Trust, Housing, etc. How about insurance? What does it mean if I paid to Aviva $2,700 per annum for my Insurance policies? As what accountant do, I will categorize that as EXPENSES, not ASSETS. Why? I cannot easily know what is the CASH VALUE of my INSURANCE anytime, anywhere (if-any). If the Insurance decides to give me the bonus, I'll treat is as Capital Gain (or Bonus), or whatever you call it. But first thing first, whatever money that I have paid them is already expensed! Secondly, Insurance industry is not as transparent as what they tell you. Let's face it, how many of us know that for our monthly contribution, says $250 per month, What is the amount paid as Insurance Cost, and what is the amount regarded as savings? No Insurance Industry in Singapore (for now) will tell you "Oh, $10-for-insurance-$240-for-savings but, for the first 2 years, your $240 is used as insurance commission". Haha, if they tell us that, nobody will buy any insurance at all. Frankly, I'm in the view to pay $10 for insurance, and use whaterver $240 to invest. Sorry, I don't trust Insurance companies to invest my money due to TRANSPARENCY issue. If you read TanKinLian blog or Straits Times few months ago, there is this issue that NTUC Income Management is proposing bonus reduction and 'promise' (in quote) that they will give higher surrender value at maturity (That is like 20 years later, but it immediately affect policyholders that has their policy matured this year). How can I trust Insurance company to invest my money if they can anyhow do that? By the way "insurance industry is not any smarter than us when investing our money". Let's face it, AIA has posted big loss in their investment, the same for Great Eastern which has much smaller profit this year due to WRITEDOWN. How is that different if I invest the money myself? None. What's worse, Insurance can get the good return of OUR money, say 7% for 2007, and only give us 2% (google it: NTUC Income declare bonus of 2-3% for 2007). Any new-bie buying shares on 2007 will get more than that. And NTUC Income only give 2%? That's like insulting their customer's intelligence and slap them in the face at the same time. Thank God I never buy any ILP at all. An example of Good TRANSPARENCY: In the case of our Housing Loan (if you bother to check), we do know that from our monthly mortgage (says $1000), how much is EXACTLY used to pay interest and how much is used to prepay our loan. That's what I meant by transaparency. Do not ever think that the Insurance company is helping us save the money. That's just the SALES PITCH so that you sign that $100-MONTHLY-CONTRIBUTION-TO-ENRICH-INSURANCE-COMPANIES-(AND-THEIR-AGENTS) So the last thing we want to do is to treat INSURANCE-$100-MONTHLY as savings, cause you never know where that money is going to end, and you have to do what US-Financial-Industry is doing at the end... WRITEDOWN your ASSET. At the end of the day, is that how you want to SAVE your money after slogging years of hard work? |
Portfolio Investment August 2008 POSTED AT 01:14 AM It's a negative performance for the month
|
August 28th, 2008
Comex Mission Accomplished POSTED AT 11:38 PM
Managed to buy VIEWSONIC VA2226w 22" LCD from Comex at 3pm at 299... cheaper than earlier estimation of 369. Finally I got an extended monitor hehehhee... Managed to get Maxtor 2.5" Portable Harddrive 320G for my boss for 129. |
Gong Li now a Singapore citizen? POSTED AT 05:33 PM Source: http://www.asiaone.com/Just%2BWoman/News/Celebrities/Story/A1Story20080826-84297.html
The white chair had a small label with the words 'Gong Li'. But no one arrived to sit on it. At the Supreme Court Auditorium last night, 150 new Singapore citizens gathered to receive their citizenship certificates from Speaker of Parliament Abdullah Tarmugi at the National Citizenship Ceremony.
Indian-born scientist Colin Gerard D'Silva, 42, was in the chair next to the one for 'Gong Li'. He wondered: Could it really be the acclaimed Chinese actress, star of movies like Red Sorghum, Curse Of The Golden Flower and Memoirs Of A Geisha? 'I thought it might be her, or someone with the same name,' said Mr D'Silva, who works in Proctor & Gamble as its associate director of external relations. Well, the answer is most probably 'yes'. Sources had tipped off The Sunday Times that Gong Li, 42, one of China's most famous actresses, had applied for Singapore citizenship and was supposed to collect her pink IC at the event last night. She married Singaporean tobacco businessman Ooi Hoe Seong in 1996. He is said to be based in Hong Kong. When contacted, the authories were tight-lipped about the identity of 'Gong Li' although an official expressed surprise that we had heard about it. An Immigration and Checkpoints Authority spokesman said she was unable to comment on individual cases due to confidentiality issues. A spokesman for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS), which organised the event, would only say that 'a person by the name of Gong Li was supposed to be at the event'. Still, some officials at the event were clearly expecting the superstar to show up. Two were overheard discussing the actress. They even pointed out the actress' seat - No. 133 - to The Sunday Times. But she didn't turn up in the end.
When The Sunday Times contacted Gong Li's friends in Singapore, some were shocked to hear that the actress has become a Singaporean. Photographer Wee Khim, 44, who last worked with Gong Li in June for a L'Oreal commercial in Thailand, said it was 'quite a big move' to switch citizenships. But celebrity hairstylist David Gan was not surprised at all. He said it was 'old news'. 'I knew about it a few months ago. She told me she applied for a Singapore passport. I told her it's good and I even congratulated her,' he said in Mandarin yesterday. Gan, who is in his 40s, revealed that Gong Li had stayed in Singapore for a week in May to apply for the citizenship. He did not ask her why she decided to become a Singaporean. Noting that he also became a Singapore citizen, the Malaysian-born hairstylist said: 'Singapore is a good place. She travels a lot and it's convenient to hold a Singapore passport. A lot of stars like to stay here too. There's no paparazzi. When I walk down Orchard Road with Gong Li, nothing happens.' Both Singapore and China do not recognise dual nationality. To become a Singaporean, an applicant is required to renounce his foreign citizenship at his embassy in Singapore. The final step would be to attend a citizenship ceremony to collect his Singapore identity card. All new citizens are required to do so and if they can't attend one ceremony, they will be rescheduled for another. The ceremony is held at the constituency level or at the national level. In the latter, selected groups are chosen to get their papers in a more formal setting. Gong Li, who was born in east China's Shandong province, is most famous for her acclaimed Zhang Yimou movies like Red Sorghum and Judou. She broke into the Hollywood scene in 2005, playing a Japanese geisha in Memoirs Of A Geisha. It was the first of three big English-language productions she has shot since. Her wedding to Mr Ooi was held at the top-floor restaurant of the Bank of China building in Hong Kong and guests included Lin Ching-hsia, Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui. Mr Ooi has a daughter, now 30, from a previous marriage, but he keeps a low profile. In earlier reports, the actress had told the media that she did not intend to make Singapore her home. 'No, I doubt it. Hong Kong and Beijing will still be my bases because of my work,' she said in 1996. She is said to fly to Singapore two to three times a year and enjoys the shopping and food - like bak kut teh (pork ribs soup) and prawn noodles - here. It is not known how her new identity will affect her work. Besides her filming commitments, she is also reported to be an elected member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's lower house. Last year, she attended a session of the CPPCC in which she made a proposal on environmental issues. Some were more than happy to have the Chinese actress become a Singaporean. Said China-born Jasmine Li, 33, an assistant secretary who became a Singapore citizen last year: 'Now Singapore will have an extra star.' |
||||
