Universal Studio in Singapore

These are some of the photos taken at Universal Studio during our recent visit.

Lessons learnt from Iceland's volcano

This is an article written by Matthew Lynn. We should be alarmed for events coming out of nowhere.

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Last year, the financial crisis have shaken the world economy. Banks collapsed, institutions as well as individuals bankrupted. Lately, volcano in Iceland is sprwing ash into the sky and caused the European continent paralysis.

Both happenings are strangely similar. They are "black swan"(in financial saying) events. Unexpected developments coming out of nowhere, for which no one has any kind of contingency plan. And they are a warning about the fragility of the modern economy.

Our economy is kept in motion by fleets of jetliners and a network of airports. The chaos of air transportation may teach us that our economy needs to be more grounded, both metaphorically and literally.

Globalisation has made the world seem a very small place. When the technology breaks down, it is a long way from A to B and you suddenly realise the distance between places still counts for a lot. We need to prepare for the unexpected. We thought hedge funds might blow up the banks, instead some dull-looking mortgages did. We thought terrorists might spread chaos through the airline system, it turned out that ash from volcano did that job.
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Scenic View of Singapore Marina Bay

View at Marina Bay has been changed by the opening of building of Sands' Marine Bay Casino.

A Colossal Failure of Common Sense

A Colossal Failure of Common Sense -
The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers
by Lawrence G. McDonald with Patrick Robinson

Reading Lawrence G. McDonald's "A Colossal Failure of Common Sense," one might be tempted to think that Lehman's bankruptcy, was in fact too mild a punishment for the firm's management. The book is a brief against Lehman's former chief executive, Richard Fuld, who appears by turns arrogant, stupid, greedy, reckless and clueless.
Mr McDonald was a trader at Lehman, and the book's subtitle promises the inside story. He was laid off several months before the firm's collapse in September. Therefore the sources for such details are often left unclear, though, and little wonder.
What cannot be disputed are the facts of the mortgage mania, which was propelled by "the ferocious undercurrent of rock-bottom interest rates," in Mr McDonald's word. Lehman was itself caught in the "ferocious undercurrent".
In his book, he mentioned three of the cleverest financial brains, Mike Gelband, the firm's fixed income chief, Alex Kirk, global head of trading research and sales and Larry McCarthy, head of the bond trading had all warned Mr Fuld about the unsustainable risks Lehman is taking. Therefore if Richard Fuld had listened to what their warning, the catastrophe might have been avoided.
But there is one point on which all accounts of Lehman agree: Mr Fuld was shocked that the government did not come to the firm's rescue. When asked at the hearing why Lehman wasn't saved when other banks were, he answered:" Until the day they put me in the ground, I will wonder." It's clear that he did not expect bankruptcy to happen.

10 Lessons to be Learnt

10 Lessons to be Learnt

The Daily Telegraph's EMMA SIMON had summarised 10 lessons to be learnt for the last 10 years to remind the investors that shocked the stock market.

They are:

1. A guarantee is only as good as the guarantor;
2. Don't buy something you don't understand;
3. Higher returns come with higher risks;
4. Don't pay more than you have to;
5. Long-term investments do not always mean long-term gains;
6. Ask how your adviser earns his money;
7. Read the small print;
8. Don't rely on easy credit;
9. Don't rely on others to provide a pension;
10. What goes up also comes down.

China Megatrends

China Megatrends
By John & Doris Naisbitt

John & Doris Naisbitt and his 28 staff members of the Naisbitt China Institute in Tianjin studied the patterns of the rising of China economy. The research reveals that China is not only undergoing fundamental changes but also creating a new social and economic system - VERTICAL DEMOCRACY - that is changing the roles of global trade and challenging Western democracy with its own model.

In their research, they have found out the EIGHT pillars of the new Chinese system. They are:

Emancipation of the Mind
Balancing Top-down and Bottom-up
Farming the Forest and Letting the Trees grow
Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones
Artistic and Intellectual Ferment
Joining the World
Freedom and Fairness
From Olympic Medals to Nobel Prizes

A thoughtful, ambitious overview sure to be of interest to all those curious about China economics.

Billion Dollar Green - Profit from the ECO Revolution

Billion Dollar Green
by Tobin Smith

Climate changes, that caused the rises of sea water level, have started to affect our usual way of living. Strategies to combat global warming are being worked out. These includes a carbon trading system to cut greenhouse gas emissions. So a green revolution of sorts has begun and with that comes business opportunities on developing viable sources of alternative energy.

Tobin Smith gives you the facts and forecasts on growth in the 'green investing front' and let you see for yourself just how large this opportunity is. He analyses different green energy sectors from solar to wind energy, from hydrogen fuel cells to green car to green buildings and etc. On top of the analysis, he also provides information on investing in green companies.

Tobin Smith tells you not only where the hot money will be made, but, what revolutionary trends lie just around the corner. He details ten or more companies who are real growth stocks with investment profit potential. This book is for anyone interested in investing in the companies that will make billions from the solutions to the billion-dollar problems in the green technology space.

Overall the book is an informative read for those who are looking to learn about green technology and are interested to invest in green technology companies.