Sia Portfolio

Universal Studio in Singapore

2010-06-25T00:57:00.000-07:00

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

Lessons learnt from Iceland's volcano

2010-05-10T21:17:00.000-07:00

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

Quote
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.
unquote

Scenic View of Singapore Marina Bay

2010-05-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

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

A Colossal Failure of Common Sense

2010-01-24T04:04:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-31T02:59:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-18T00:59:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-02T04:03:00.000-08:00

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.

How to Smell a Rat : The Five Signs of Financial Fraud

2009-11-28T19:15:00.000-08:00

How to Smell a Rat: The Five Signs of Financial Fraud

By Ken Fisher

With the recent financial fraud led by Bernard Madoff, many investors are unsure who to trust with their hard earned money.

In "How to Smell a Rat : The Five Signs of Financial Fraud" the latest book from Ken Fisher, CEO of Fisher Investments, provides you with an insider's view on how to spot potential financial disasters before you commit your money to a scam and protects you against similar frauds in the future. Using real examples of recent and historic fraudsters, this book examines how they operated and how investors could have avoided them. Ken Fisher identifies important red flags and questions that can be used by investors when evaluating money managers:

Advisers with direct access to investors' funds;
Firms with numbers that seem too good to be true;
Managers with fees that are too low (Madoff didn't charge any fees, he just charged for trading);

You'll be better prepared to identify and avoid financial scams that could destroy the wealth you've worked so hard to build.

The main chapters of the book are

Chapter 1 : Good Fences Makes Good neighbours

Chapter 2: Too Good to be True Usually Is

Chapter 3: Don't be Blinded by Flashy Tactics
Chapter 4: Exclusivity, Marble and Other Things That don't Matter
Chapter 5: Due Diligence is Your Job, No One Else's
Chapter 6: A Financial Fraud - Free Future

Holiday

2009-11-21T22:12:00.000-08:00

Holiday during last four months

We have been occupied by other matters and events during last four months and we regret for no publishing any posts in this blog. There were a lot of changes during this period especially for investors. Most of the investors were happy about the bullish of the shares markets as well as commodities markets.

We wish to share our happiness of the marriage of our daughter. The following are some of the photos that have been taken during her wedding.

Ten Rules to remember for share investors

2009-06-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

Robert Bab Farrell, former Merrill Lynch chief market strategist, has fifty years of top Wall Street experience and insights, summaries the markets in ten commonsense simple rules for us to remember when investing.

1. Markets tend to return to the mean over time.
2. Excesses in one direction will lead to an opposite excess in the other direction.
3. There are no new eras - excesses are never permanent.
4. Exponential rapidly rising or falling markets usually go further than you think, but they do not correct by going sideways.
5. The public buys the most at the top and the least at the bottom.
6. Fear and greed are stronger than long-term resolve.
7. Markets are strongest when they are broad and weakest when they narrow to a handful of blue chips names.
8. Bear markets have three stages - sharp down; reflexive rebound; a drawn-out fundamental downtrend.
9. When all the experts and forecasts agree - something else is going to happen.
10. Bull markets are more fun than bear markets.

The End of Food by Paul Roberts

2009-04-15T04:18:00.000-07:00

In the book, Roberts says one of the main roots of the wider food crisis is the way a unified farming process was broken down into discrete components so that they could each be industrialised, from the development and production of seeds and the mechanisation of planting and harvesting through to factory-scale food processing.
These changes have lead to a system where each individual step in the process takes no account of the wider costs imposed on the rest of society.
In addition, there is an ongoing concern about climate change. Not only does this system generate enormous greenhouse gas emissions. It is also dependant on huge quantities of water, something that is to become less secure as existing water sources are used up.
Roberts says, for example 'bird flu' is one of a number of bullets that could strike the modern food system . He also lists oil price rise, extreme weather, plant diseases and the loss of water supplies as other potential disasters awaiting us in this global Russian Roulette.
The title of this book - The end of food - means the collapse of this industrialised food system. It is this pessimism that runs to the heart of the book.

Jeremy Siegel and his investment books

2009-03-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

Jeremy Siegel, a Professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has written a number of books on investment. The following two books are his research works on stocks.

Stocks for the Long Run (4Th edition): The definitive guide to financial market returns and long term investment strategies

This book is the best summary of the historical data on investing in US (with some comparison to other financial markets as well). The main topics are:
1. The Verdict of History;
2. Stocks Returns;
3. Economic Environment of Investing;
4. Stock Fluctuations in the Short Run;
5. Building Wealth Through Stocks.

Another book is

The Future for Investors: Why the tried and the true triumph over the bold and the new

This book cover five parts:
First two parts focus on analysis of historic data using very unique perspective, mostly with respect to changing membership of SP500 index over the years.
In the Third and Fourth parts, he discusses the different measures to consider while analysing a company's performance from the shareholders' points of view.
The Fifth part is the most useful for reader seeking investment advice. He provides a sample portfolio based on the principles he explains in the Third and Fourth parts of the book. In addition to percentage allocation for US and non-US(about 30-40%) markets, he provides allocation targets for some of the specific investment strategies he discusses in the book (centred around the dividend paid by the company).

The New Paradigm for Financial Markets

2009-03-10T03:00:00.000-07:00

The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means

This is a book written by George Soros. It was published in May 2008 before the severe financial crisis in Sept 2009. So George Soros became a successful prophet of the markets.

In his book, he offers some solutions, which centre on new regulation for markets and how to avoid forced sales for US homeowners. The theory he developed is based on 'the relationship between thinking and reality' - "Reflexivity". He says, participants' thinking plays a dual function: they try to understand the situation, and to change it. The two functions can interfere with each other, when they do so the markets displays 'reflexivity'.

Soros believes that a super bubble has been formed as the result of a "long-term reflexive process". Its hallmarks include credit expansion and a prevailing misconception. There have been numerous financial crisis in this period, and these served as successful tests which reinforced the prevailing trend and the prevailing misconception. Thus the current crisis grows in severity because it marks the turning point when both the trend and the misconception have become unsustainable.

Kristabel in Singapore

2009-03-03T04:02:00.000-08:00

Futurecast by Robert J Shapiro

2009-02-25T00:32:00.000-08:00

This book is written by Robert J Shapiro. He looks into the future to tell us what our world will over the next dozen years.
Shapiro foresees monumental changes caused by three historic new forces - Globalization, the Aging of societies and the rise of America as a sole superpower with no near peer - will determine the paths of nations and the lives of countless millions.
Rob Shapiro thinks we can expect
- US military hegemony will be a thing of the past while the new superpower rivalry will be between China and the US.
- Mexico and Turkey will produce most of the world's cars.
- The US will be the premiere source of products and services, but the economy will be hostage to foreign lenders for capital to develop these products.
- China will be able to offer less-developed countries a new model of political and economic success based on investment -led growth.
- Japan and Europe will move to the periphery of world power.
-Labour forces will contract and economic growth will be stymied, the vast number of retirees will create a financial crisis for government.
- Two wild cards : Terrorism & Technological Advancement have the potential to unpredictably alter the projected future outcome. Technological advancement includes nanotechnology, biotechnology and information technologies.

The Snowball - Warren Buffet and the Business of Life

2009-01-23T00:47:00.000-08:00

Miss Alice Schroeder, a former managing director at Morgan Stanley- an insurance analyst - and hand picked by Buffet to be his biographer - strips away the mystery that has long cloaked the world's richest man to reveal a life of fortune erected around lucid and inspired business vision and unimaginable personal complexity.

The Snowball is the much anticipated book recounting with intimate detail the life experiences and life-wisdom of the man known as " The Oracle of Omaha": Warren Buffet.

Being human, Buffet's own life, like most lives, has been a mix of strengths and frailties. Yet notable though his wealth may be, Buffet's legacy will not be his ranking on the scorecard of wealth, it will be his principles and ideas that have enriched people's lives. This book tells you why Warren Buffet is the most fascinating American success story of our time.

Professor John Allen Paulos and his books

2009-01-03T04:24:00.000-08:00

John Allen Paulos is a professor of mathematics at Temple University in Philadelphia, who has gained fame as a writer and speaker. His book "Innumeracy" was an influential bestseller and "A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper" extended the critique.

The following are the abstracts of some of the books written by him.

Innumeracy - Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences : Innumeracy is an examination of some of the consequences in every day life of mathematical illiteracy. Topics addressed include stock scams, para psychological claims, medical testing & etc.

A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper : The book, structured like the morning paper, investigates the mathematical angles of stories in the news and offers novel perspectives, questions, and ideas to coffer-drinkers, policy-makers, gossip-mongers and others who can't get along without their daily paper.

Mathematics and Humor : In the book, he (i) explores the operations and structures common to humor and the formal sciences. (ii) shows how various notions from these sciences provide formal analogues for different sorts of jokes and joke schema and (iii) develops a mathematical model of jokes using ideas from "catastrophe theory".

A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market : The book primary purpose is to lay out, elucidate, and explore the basic conceptual mathematics of the market.

Economic Recovery & Share Markets

2008-12-17T02:38:00.000-08:00

There are a number of articles on websites and newspapers about the economic recovery and share markets.

Some economists focus on the following three numbers to determine the confidence of the world economy.

Rate of economic growth ( higher than 3%);
Unemployment rate ( lower than 4.5%) and
The rate of inflation. (less than 3%)

There are other positive factors that should be looking at are:

A slowing rate of decline in US housing prices
US consumers spending to slow but not collapse
A stabilisation in consumer confidence in key countries
An easing in bank lending standards
An improvement in money markets
A fall in private sectors borrowing rates
A stabilisation in global trade indicators &
A stabilisation/improvement in China's growth.

Regarding the share markets, analysts are having different views of the market related to the economic recovery. Some predicted that the markets would be moving up before the end of the recession but others oppose this view. However they have listed two important factors to watch for the possibility of the end of the bear market.

Capitulation is the first factor to look at. Capitulation is when investors give up on stocks. Stocks are a bad investment and there is mass selling over a short period of time. When real capitulation arrives, few will recognise it and ring the bell. It's when there are no sellers left in the market and only exhaustion. The only problem is that it is very hard to pick the bottom. One fact is that prices are at a very low P/E so perhaps for the very brave it's time to start accumulating. Just don't expect the bumpy road to be over.

Volatility is another indicator of the end of bear market. Extreme levels of volatility are usually associated with turning points in the markets and not in trend continuation.

So it may be wise to stay out of the market until the economy is starting to move up or perhaps at end of next year.

Marketing Genius by Peter Fisk

2008-12-05T20:45:00.000-08:00

This is another book written by Peter Fisk.

Marketing Genius is about achieving genius in your business and its markets , through your everyday decisions and actions.
It combines the deep intelligence and radical creativity required to make sense of, and stand out in today's markets.
Connections lie at the heart of marketing, bringing together customers and business, strategy and delivery, brands and relationships, loyalty and growth.
The real innovation challenge is in the market - to create new ways of working or living, satisfying needs and wants in better ways, changing behaviours and attitudes.
The author divides five parts of his studies as follows:

A. Ingenuity - The making of a marketing genius :- This is the starting point because it is about seeing things differently, from the outside rather than the inside, from the future rather than the present, then you can describe a bigger space in which you can compete, innovate and grow.

B. Thinking - The mind of a marketing genius :- We need to think, particularly if we are to do somethings different and better than before. Learn more deeply what really matters to customers. Go talk to them, and those of your competitors. It doesn't cost you a penny.
We need to build brand like nobody else. People trust and engage with fewer brands, the ones that means most to them. Start doing business on customer's terms - where, when and how they want. Put an end to mass campaigns and cost-plus pricing. Start engaging customers where and when it matters most to them.

C. Competing -The touch of a marketing genius :- Define a clear proposition for your business. This consists of who are you here for, what benefits do you offer.
To target the best opportunities before others, to beat competitors in smarter way.
We must learn to work with the incredible power of virtual and physical networks, finding ways to work alongside user-driven communities, content and control.

D. Leading - The impact of a marketing genius :- Brands, ideas and relationships are the most valuable business assets and are the keys to future profit and growth. Marketers are the guardians of these assets, bringing new power, influence and responsibility.
Marketing not only tell you how to delight your customers, but also tell you how to make money at the same time. Research shows that marketing is the most significant driver of value creation - of economic value, of share price - in the business.
Be a inspiring leader - with your staff and colleagues and the general public. Leaders inspire followers, partners and customers.

E. The Genie - Becoming a marketing genius :- The 'genie' is the practical lab where marketers can start to evaluate themselves, play to develop themselves, and how they will achieve 'genius' in a way that is appropriate for them.

Intuition - Its Powers and Perils

2008-11-28T00:48:00.000-08:00

This is a book written by Professor David G. Myers.

How reliable is our intuition? How much should we depend on gut-level instinct rather than rational analysis when we play the stock market, hire an employee and others?

The Professor shows us that while intuition can provide us with useful and often amusing insights, it can also dangerously mislead us.

This is a highly entertaining.exceedingly well-written book, which represents a powerful introduction into the scientific study of intuition, and to the scientist serves as inspiration to see connections between seemingly disparate phenomena that are kept neat by apart in the daily business of cognitive science.

The author reviews but rejects evidence for a psychic component of intuition; nevertheless he has many stories and accounts of research experiments that will be of interest to us. The section of his website devoted to this book contains chapter extracts as well as many links to other sites of interest for each chapter.

The website is as follows:- http://www.davidmyers.com/intuition

Business Genius by Peter Fisk

2008-11-19T18:31:00.000-08:00

Business Genius is a book that help you to drive business more profitable, sustainable growth in today's markets. It explores the challenges of strategy and innovation leadership and change as you grow your business and yourself in order to achieve high performance.

The author defines 'genius' as 'intelligence' + 'imagination' = 'extraordinary results'. The combination of intelligence and imagination, the connection of opposites, is the source of new insights, of unusual ideas, and of extraordinary results.

Genius is about fusion. In his book, the author has delivered four fusions as follows:

1st fusion: Right brain, Left brain-This requires you to take a more creative approach to your challenges and to focus your imagination on what matters most.

2nd fusion: Future back, Now forward - This means seeing opportunities and creating tomorrow while also delivering today.

3rd fusion: Outside in, Inside out - This requires you to do business based on the customers' needs, rather than on your own needs or on what you have always done.

4th fusion: Radical ideas, Practical action - This means making every action count, ensuring that radical ideas deliver more significant impact.

The Post-American World

2008-11-14T20:08:00.000-08:00

The Post-American World
by Fareed Zakaria

This is not a book about decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else.
He sees the "rise of the rest" - the growth of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia and many others - as the great story of our time, an one that will reshape the world.
Mr Zakaria argues that we are now in the midst of the third great tectonic power shift to occur over the last 500 years. The first was the rise of the West, the second was the rise of the United States and this the third is what he calls "the rise of the rest".
The role of the United States will be diminished, but not irrelevant. Economic, diplomatic and social power is rising in the rest of the world. Although the United States remains the supreme military power, the spread of capital,labour, innovation, ideas and information continues to bring down the level of influence the United States once had in world affairs.
For 60 years, the United States has pushed countries to open their markets, free up their politics and embrace trade and technology. Yet just as the world is opening up, the United States is closing down. Americans forgot to globalise themselves.
How should the United States understand and thrive in this rapidly changing international climate? Mr Zakaria answers these questions with his customary, lucidity, insight and imagination.

Kristabel's Movie World Trip

2008-11-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

Click on the above box one or two times to play the video.

Kristabel's 1st Birthday

2008-11-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

Click on the above box one or two times to play the video.

Bubbles

2008-10-28T04:43:00.000-07:00

Lately we have read reviews from two books writing about the bubbles.

First bubble - Greenspan's Bubbles - The Age of Ignorance at the Federal Reserve
by William Fleckenstein and Fred Sheehan

Financial Journalist William Fleckenstein studies the record of Alan Greenspan,Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006.
Between 1937 to 1987, there were no bubbles, but Greenspan helped to create two bubbles in ten years - in stocks and then in real estate - by holding interest rates too low, punishing savers. He helped to make the American people worse off by redistributing wealth to the rich, the bubbles' boosters and sponsors.

Second bubble - The Great Housing Bubble:- Why did house price fall?
by Lawrence Roberts

The book is a detailed analysis of the psychological & mechanical causes of the biggest rally, and subsequent fall of housing price ever recorded.
This book examines the causes of the breathtaking rise in prices and the catastrohic fall that ensued to answer the question on every home owners' mind.
House price to income ratios, price to rent ratios and other detailed in the book showed how far out of line prices had become by 2006. A full year before house prices started to crash, he was predicting it, and many of the crash's details.

Anatomy of an Illness

2008-10-25T05:23:00.000-07:00

The laughter is the most powerful medicine. Through trust,hope, humor and many months of treatment the patient with incurable disease was cured.

Anatomy of an illness is an emotional and poignant true story, which not only educates the readers, but also touches their heart.

The author, Norman Cousins, a magazine editor was diagnosed with the crippling and incurable spinal illness. He decided to take control of his own illness and treatment. He discovered that laughter gave him some relief from the pain. He soon checked out of hospital and into a hotel room where he could watch funny movies and comedy films whenever he wanted to. Away from the clinical environment his condition started to improve. He was lucky enough to win the support of his doctor, who helped him to start taking mega does of vitamin C against conventional wisdom.
The combination of laughter and vitamin C helped to fight off a disease which was considered irreversible.

In fact, the author was reluctant to write about it for many years because he was fearful of creating false hopes in others who were similarly afflicted.

Raw Foods- Enzyme Nutrition

2008-10-20T01:40:00.000-07:00

Enzyme Nutrition - by Dr Edward Howell

It is the first scientific attempt to prove the necessity of RAW FOODS in human nutrition.

In it, Dr Howell tells us what enzymes are, how they keep us alive, and the consequences of the present enzyme-deficient diet.

The way and the food we eat have placed severe strains on the body ability to absorb the nutrients in them. Dr Howell leads you through the implications of too few enzymes being absorbed as part of our food, the resultant effects on the immune and other systems in the body and the dietary adaptations to remedy this.

It seems that we inherit a certain enzymes potential at birth. This limited supply of activity factors or life force must last us a life time. The faster you use up your suppl of enzyme activity, the quicker you will run out. Experiment shown that, regardless of the species, the faster the metabolic rate, the shorter the life span.

There is a blog that offers us information on health foods - http://rawinspiration.blogspot.com
You may visit the website to read more about raw and health foods.

A Gift to Our Children - by Jim Rogers

2008-10-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

Jim Rogers, an investor and financial commentator. He is also a co-founder, along with George Soros of the "Quantum Fund".

He has written a book - A Gift to Our Children : A father's lesson for life & investing. It is interesting to learn from him about life and investing from the book. In a format of twelve letters, he listed out his experiences to teach the children. The following is a summary of the book.

Don't be affected by others
Focus on what you love
The common sense isn't that common
Keeping your eyes open to the whole world
To study philosophy and to learn cerebration
To study the history
It's a Chinese century, so to learn Chinese
Knowing yourself indeed
To recognise changes and to embrace them
Facing the future
To do something different from everybody does
The luck is just happening to whom keeping working very hard.

Super Baby Food

2008-10-07T05:11:00.000-07:00

This is a book written by Ruth Yaron.

It is a good reference for baby foods preparation, food nutrition and food safety. It is a complete resource available for feeding your baby the healthy, natural and economic way. The book tell you about when, how and what to feed your baby with over hundreds of recipes.

You may visit the website to get more detail about the book and the author.

http://www.superbabyfood.com/

Your net worth

2008-09-26T04:11:00.000-07:00

Two Australian (Mr Thomas Stanley and Mr William Dauko) have worked out a formula to calculate your ideal net worth that can be used as a benchmark for comparison.

Benchmark net worth = (Age X Annual Pretax Income) /10

You have to work out your net worth by using common sense formula

Net worth = Assets (only include those have disposable value) less liabilities (for all debts).

After which, you compare your net worth to Benchmark net worth.

If the difference is positive, your net worth is higher than Benchmark net worth, you are in good position of your wealth. If it is negative, you have to review your financial position and try to reduce your liabilities as much as possible or to improve your income.

Saving for raining days

2008-09-17T00:49:00.000-07:00

It is wise to restructure our money and investment during this financial crisis period.

We have gathered some idea from different advices and outline as follows:

First we should set up a monthly as well as yearly budget and map out our planned expenses on a month by month basis. We can then confidently start to plan putting fund away into saving.

Income and expense budget become important during this crisis time. You should monitor every month on your income as well as expense so that you are sure of your bottom line that no deficit would appear in your budget. Beside, you are able to cut expense on those unnecessary items through the budget.

For younger people, you should take a long term view and be active in deciding how your saving is invested. You may put 60% of your saving in term deposits and another 40% into shares or property. When the economy is good, you may change your plan to invest more in shares or property and lesser in cash.

For investing in shares, you have to be patience in waiting for the good time to buying the shares (you may not be smart enough to buy it at the bottom but at least not far away from the bottom) and leave it for long term appreciation. You may apply "Dollars Cost Averaging" method (you may refer to our previous post on this method) to buy share in order to average the cost of shares purchased. Dividend yield is also one of the consideration.

For property investment, the capital commitment is great. So you may have to draw out another plan to project your income in order to have enough fund to service the mortgage loan. The plan should be conservative to project your income either from your salary, the rental income or other sources of income.

Food for children

2008-09-16T03:38:00.000-07:00

Certain foods can help children build better brains, focus and learn better in school.

Protein is needed to jump start the brain's neurotransmitters, which drives creative thinking, memory, focus and concentration. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that transfer messages around nerve cells in the brain.

Other food which helps healthy brain development includes those that contain B vitamins (found in whole grains, cereals, eggs and dairy products), C vitamins ( in fruit and vegetables) and iron (in red meat, green leafy vegetables and peas). and don't cut all fats from your child's diet either, as fats and cholesterol are needed for proper brain development and function.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A child who skips it may perform poorly in tasks that require concentration. Breakfast is critical to revving up young brains for learning, concentration and creative thinking in school. The trick to fuelling the brain is to include some protein foods such as beans, eggs, fish and meat.

World Financial Crisis

2008-09-16T02:57:00.000-07:00

The impact of sub-prime crisis is really very terrible. The domino theory is applying to the United State's financial institution that one after another one is collapsing. The world may lead to recession if the problem is not solved.

The crisis of the financial risk in United State may happen in next couple of months. There must be something to ignite the crisis and possibly this may be the weakening of US dollars. At the moment, US dollars is firming up and foreign investors are happy about their holding of US government bonds (either short term or long term). But if the scenario changes and US dollars starting to weaken. Foreign investors may rush to liquidate the bonds to mitigate their losses. Assuming these investors only selling 10% of their holding, the financial markets in United State may be in danger. In 1980, this situation was happened and the United State government raised the interest rate to 20% to attract foreigner to keep their holding in bonds. The implication of the high interest rate had caused the inflation rate went up to 15% that damaged the United State economy for many year.

Debt deflation and de-leveraging in the US could further weaken the global financial system. Falling house prices, falling financial institutions and weaker growth could then ensue. Unemployment rate and protectionist pressures could rise and this could cause a backlash to deregulation, liberalisation policies and globalisation.

You may be interested to read an article from professor Robert J. Shiller - Moral Dilemmas for Fannie and Freddie. The website is www.theindependent-bd.com/details.php?nid=97862

Market Analysis - 5 Sept 2008

2008-09-07T03:36:00.000-07:00

We refer to our previous post dated 20 Aug 2008. The indexes of the Asia & Pacific Region are not doing well.

Singapore from 2751.75 (20 Aug) to 2574.21 (5 Sep ) down 6.45%
Malaysia from 1073.21 (20 Aug) to 1070.54 (5 Sep) down 0.25%
Hong Kong from 20931.26 (20 Aug) to 19933.28 (5 Sep) down 4.77%
Australia from 4997.50 (20 Aug ) to 4949.50 ( 5 Sep) down 0.96%

Singapore market seems to be hit badly.

The banking shares are performing differently in respect of different markets during the same period.

For Singapore:-
DBS from 17.96 to 17.58 down 2.11%
UOB from 19.20 to 18.50 down 3.64%
OCBC from 8.18 to 7.88 down 3.67%

The banking shares go along with the index.

For Malaysia:-
Malayan Banking from 7.25 to 7.75 up 6.8%
Public Bank from 9.95 to 10.20 up 2.51%

The banking share is doing better than the index.

For Hong Kong:-
HSBC from 120.90 to 117.30 down 2.98%
Hang Seng Bank from 149.70 to 149.90 up 2.51%

Hang Seng Bank is performing better than the index.

For Australia:-
NAB from 24.10 to 23.60 down 2.07%
CBA from 41.1 to 41.59 up 1.19%
WBC from 22.37 to 23.35 up 4.38%
ANZ from 16.03 to 16.26 up 1.43%

Except NAB, the rest of the banking shares are performing better than the index especially WBC.

50 Prosperity Classics by Tom Butler-Bowdon

2008-09-06T03:44:00.000-07:00

This book is a series of 50 classics written by Tom Bulter-Bowdon.

Bulter-Bowdon selected fifty important books from success literature. He gave a concise summaries of each book's main points, how they came into being and what each offers the reader on their path toward a life of abundance. He also provided biographical information on each author of the books he selected.

Butler-Bowdon brings together fundamental works on entrepreneurship, personal finance, investing, economics and philanthropy, providing guidance and support in the quest to develop a millionaire mindset, become a wealth creator, make wise investment decision, managing financial assets and give a little back.

Bulter-Bowdon believes there are four primary ways in which we relate to wealth. He's divided the fifty prosperity classics into these categories -

Attract prosperity; Create prosperity; Manage prosperity and Share prosperity.

Attract prosperity: Mastering the inner game of wealth and abundance with books such as
The Secret - by Rhonda Byrne (2006)
Prosperity - by Charles Fillmore (1936)
The Master key to Riches - by Napoleon Hill (1965)

Create prosperity: Learn from the secrets & strategies of wealth creators such as
The Art of Money-Getting - by P.T. Barnum (1880)
How to Get Rich - by Felix Dennis (2006)
Be My Guest - by Conrad Hilton (1957)

Manage Prosperity: Discover the nuts and bolts of personal finance and investing such as
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing - by John C Bogle (2007)
The Intelligent Investor - by Benjamin Graham (1949)
Cash flow Quadrant - by Robert Kiyosaki (1998)

Share Prosperity:Understand the flow of wealth and how to give something back with inspiration from
The Gospel of Wealth - by Andrew Carnegie (1899)
The Foundation: How Private Wealth is Changing the World - by Joel Fleishman (2007)
Banker To the Poor - by Muhammad Yunus (1998)

Phytochemical

2008-09-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

Phytochemicals are plant derived chemical compounds under scientific research for their potential health promoting properties, but with unproved benefits. Phytonutrients refer to plant derived essential nutrients scientifically confirmed as important to human health.

There is evidence from laboratory studies that phytochemcials in fruit and vegetables may reduce the risk of cancer, possibly due to dietary fibers, polyphenol antioxidants and anti-inflammatory effects.

An important cancer drug, Taxol, is a phytochemical initially extracted and purified from the Pacific yew tree.

Phytochemicals in freshly plant foods may be destroyed or removed by modern processing techniques, possibly including cooking. For this reason, industrially processed foods likely contain fewer phytochemicals and may thus be less beneficial than unprocessed foods. Interestingly, a converse example exists in which lycopene, a phytochemical present in tomatoes, is concentrated in processed foods and make the processed version of the tomatoes better sources of lycopene than fresh tomatoes.

The following are foods high in phytonutrients:-

Soy, Tomato, Broccoli, Garlic, Flax seeds and oil seeds, Citrus fruits, Blueberries, Sweet potatoes, Chilli peppers & Legumes (beans, peas and lentils)

Buying Shares- undervalued companies

2008-09-05T02:06:00.000-07:00

As written on previous post, we are now talking about how to find undervalued companies.

Anyone who can consistently get this right will end up astonishingly wealthy. Just ask Warren Buffett, the world's richest investor who is worth around US$ 52 billion.

His criteria is, seeking out and buying into companies with genuine business operations, sound fundamentals and good balance sheets - including low debt and high returns on equity - that are, for no particularly good reasons, out of favour with the market and resultantly priced below their intrinsic value.

Based on the above, Some analysts have worked out some of the methods for our reference.

One analyst says price-earnings ratio is not a good ratio to value a company. The main problem with PE ratios is that they only tell you about price. They don't tell you anything about value, because value is independent of price. Price is what you pay, value is what you get. Valuing businesses and assets has nothing to do with observing where the price is, or where it has been, or where it is going.

They determine a company's value using a number of inputs including return on equity, debt level and dividend payout ratio. In addition, They needs to determine whether a target company has the ability to convert $1 of retained earnings into at least $1 of additional market value and whether it has competent management with integrity that acts more like an owner than a caretaker.

It is difficult for us to follow their way of determination of the value of a company. So, some analysts recommends reading widely, noting the opinion of share analysts and favouring high-yielding, large-cap stocks (blue chips) with proven businesses and good management, while also taking note of their debt levels.

One analyst says one way to find value is to look for sound companies that have taken market punishment due to a short-term glitch, but whose long-term prospects remain favourable.

In conclusion, we should take note on three things, that is return on equity, debt level and dividend payout ratio and invest in blue chips.

Buying Shares

2008-09-05T01:41:00.000-07:00

Lately we have read few articles on buying shares. We would like to share their views with you.

First, it is talking about timing your entry. Analysts point out that unless luck is on your side you're likely to be out of the markets when you should be in them. It is better to be in the markets all the time, and ride out the inevitable ups and downs.

The advice is that over the long term, share markets rise in value. So, invest in them and stay invested, and only sell when you need the money for urgent and worthwhile purpose.

They recommend the "dollar cost averaging' method of investing. You simply decide to invest a set amount on a set schedule into a set investment, and stick to it. So market timing becomes irrelevant. One important issue is how to construct 'a set investment'. You have to do research on what shares to invest. Blue chips is one of the consideration but you have to monitor the earning and management of the company you invested. (Next blog is discussing about undervalued shares)

A mathematical aspect of dollar cost averaging is that when markets are down, your set, regular investment will buy you more shares and markets are up, it will buy you less. Long term, this has the effect of averaging out the price you pay, you won't pay too much either. Through dollar cost averaging you will build up an investment portfolio without having to worry once about when to invest, how much to invest.

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

2008-08-24T23:21:00.000-07:00

This is a book written by a French journalist - Jean-Dominique Bauby - about his own life true story.

It describes what his life is like after suffering a massive stroke at the age of 43 that left him with a condition called Lock-in Syndrome (mentally aware, physically paralyzed with the exception of some movement in his head and left eye).

It also details what his life was before the stroke. The book also records everyday events after the suffering.

The entire book was written by Bauby blinking his left eyelid to record the word he wish to write. The book took about 200,000 blinks to write and an average word took about 2 minutes.

The French edition of the book was published in Mar 1997. It sold 150,000 copies in the first week. The sad story is the author, Bauby died of pneumonia ten days after the book was published.

The film of the same was produced in 2007. You may be able to view the film in DVD.

Share Market Analysis

2008-08-20T04:02:00.000-07:00

We have done a simple analysis on Asia Pacific region share market's index movement from the peak.

Singapore 3906.16 (10 Oct 07) - 2751.75 (20 Aug 08) down by 29.55%
Malaysia 1524.69 (14 Jan 08) - 1073.21 (20 Aug 08) down by 29.61%
Hong Kong 31958.41 (30 Oct 07) - 20931.26 (20 Aug 08) down by 34.50%
Australia 6873.20 (01 Nov 07) - 4997.50 (20 Aug 08) down by 27.29%

Based on the price on the date of peak, we selected major banking shares to do a comparison of their relationship to the respective indexes.

Singapore
DBS 22.30(10 Oct 07) - 17.96(20 Aug 08) down by 19.46%
UOB 22.90(10 Oct 07) - 19.20(20 Aug 08) down by 16.16%
OCBC 9.40(10 Oct 07) - 8.18(20 Aug 08) down by 12.98%

The banking's shares are performing better than the index.

Malaysia
MayBank 13.00(14 Jan 08) - 7.25(20 Aug 08) down by 44.23%
Public Bank 11.30 (14 Jan 08) - 9.95(20 Aug 08) down by 11.95%

The price difference of Maybank is affected by the recent rejection of takeover Indonesia bank by the government authority.

Hong Kong
HSBC 152.10(30 Oct 07) - 120.90(20 Aug 08) down by 20.51%
Hang Seng Bk 158.70(30 Oct 07) - 149.70(20 Aug 08) down by 5.67%

Similar as Singapore, They are doing well.

Australia
NAB 43.81(01 Nov 07) - 24.10(20 Aug 08) down by 44.99%
CBA 62.10(01 Nov 07) - 41.10(20 Aug 08) down by 33.82%
ANZ 30.54(01Nov 07) - 16.03(20 Aug 08) down by 47.51%
WBC 31.32(01 Nov 07) - 22.37(20 Aug 08) down by 28.58%

The index is performing better than banking shares which is difference from other Asia's indexes.

Our grand-daughter's swimming lesson

2008-08-17T06:18:00.000-07:00

We have taken some photo on swimming lesson of our grand-daughter and her other activities.

The Giving Tree

2008-08-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

The story of this book is simple. It is about a relationship between a boy and a tree. The tree always provides the boy with what he wants. The tree loves the boy very much and gives him anything he asks for. Many years later, the boy, an old man, returns and the tree says,"I have nothing left to give you". The old man replies that all he needs is a quiet place to sit and rest. The tree happily obliges.

This story has generated controversy and opposing opinion for its interpreted messages. On whether the tree is selfless or merely self-sacrificing and whether the boy is selfish or reasonable in his demands of the tree.

There is even some have chosen to interpret the story in terms of the relationship between the human race and the planet. We have taken a lot of resources from the earth and not given anything in return.

We have two questions for the reader to consider:

What is your view or your interpretation of the story?
Would you consider to recommend this book to your children to read?

A Book for Mother

2008-08-06T01:37:00.000-07:00

READING MAGIC: Why Reading ALOUD to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever

Bestselling author and literacy expert Mem Fox reveals the incredible emotional and intellectual impact reading aloud to children has on their ability to learn to read.

She says, young children should be given every opportunity to hear stories read aloud, so that they can follow along with their eyes and see the words appear on each page without having to slow down and struggle to figure out each and every syllable on their own.

The author cites the three secrets of reading as the magic of print, the magic of language and the magic of general knowledge.

The author tells us that reading aloud at least three stories to your children every day, from infancy on, without fail, will give them an abiding love for books that will help them to tackle reading on their own.

The above are abstract of the book from various reviewers. We recommend the book to parents who are interested to help their children in learning to read.

You may wish to visit her website regarding the books she has written.

http://www.memfox.net/mem-reads-aloud/

Technical Analysis-Coppock Indicator

2008-08-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

Coppock Indicator is seldom used in daily technical analysis. It was designed to help long term investors in deciding when to step into the share market.

You may log into www.incrediblecharts.com/technical/coppock_indicator.php
to understand the wisdom of this indicator.

It has a solid reputation and has withstood the challenge of back testing data up to 100 years into history.

A buy signal is generated when the indicator falls below zero and subsequently starts trending upwards again.

Lately the indicator has turned negative last month for the first time since 2002, not only for the indices in US but also in Japan, UK and Australia. But we should not be excited because it may take 5 months to 12 months to reflect in the market after the indicator fall below zero.

Personally, we should monitor the global economic growth, fundamental analysis together with this indicator and wait until all the worst of the worst news have been priced into equity markets. Then the markets will start trending upward again.

The Singapore Flyer

2008-07-29T22:19:00.000-07:00

The Singapore Flyer is a new waterfront attraction in Marine Bay, Singapore. It is 165 metres high (about a 42 storey building).

You may visit their website www.singaporeflyer.com.sg to have more information about the flyer.

We have taken photos on this flyer and displayed by slide show as follow:

Share Photos & Videos

2008-07-26T22:41:00.000-07:00

Technology is advancing very fast. Internet and blog become user friendly.

Lately we have discovered a website http://share.ovi.com/ allows you to share photos videos and others with public and friends.

We take this opportunity to display the photos we have taken in Tasmania using their tools - Flash Ticker - to show you how it works.The beauty of this feature is that you click on one of the photos, it will zoom out to bigger screen size on 'share.ovi.com' website.

Dual Currency Investment

2008-07-24T22:27:00.000-07:00

This is a high risk investment that involved exchange rate fluctuation.

It is a short term deposit that involved two currencies. One is base currency and another one is alternate currency. You place the fund on base currency at agreed interest rate for a period of two weeks or one month and expect the base currency shall not be converted at agreed strike price to alternate currency on maturity. High interest rate is the main reason to attract people to invest in this deposit but your money may get converted to alternate currency.

For example, you may put in S$50,000 as base currency (Singapore dollar) and agreed a strike price of S$/A$ 1.30 (converted to Australia dollar at exchange rate of 1.30) and interest rate of 4% for one month period (this means the base currency(S$)shall be converted to alternate currency(A$) with interest earned if the strike price of 1.30 is hit).

In Singapore, most of the banks offer this investment. you may consult your banker to understand the operation of such an investment if you are interested in this type of deposit.

Food

2008-07-23T02:18:00.000-07:00

We have located three eating places in Australia. The price is reasonable and fit into Singaporean's taste. It is similar to those small eating house in Singapore. These three eating places are not for people hunting for good foods at good restaurant.

Saigon Kitchen - at Elizabeth Street in Hobart. It is owned by a Singapore family. We spent about A$50/A$60 for 4 dishes (4 persons). You may search through Google for 'Saigon Kitchen in Hobart' to get the details of the kitchen.

AngKor Cafe Restaurant - at Murray Street between Pier Street and Barracks Street in Perth. We spent about A$30 for 3 dishes( 2 persons). It is very easy to find the place.

Ironside Family Chinese Restaurant - at Hawken Drive, St Lucia, Brisbane. 3 dishes cost you about $50 in average( 3 persons). You may have to get students from University of Queensland for location assistance.

Cove

2008-07-12T00:15:00.001-07:00

Sanctuary Cove - Gold Coast Queensland

This is a holiday resort. The place is not far away from Gold Coast. The restaurant's seafood is good. If you are interested, you may visit the website - sanctuarycove- to locate the place.