...
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
2012
Let's kick off with the last posting for 2011. Looking at the trading for the last two weeks, I am seeing a potentially massive run up in the second liners from Tuesday onwards till the last few days prior to Chinese New Year. Why do I say so? The build up activity has been too obvious. Its like investors were all saying to themselves, "OK, let the GLCs and local funds do their silly window dressing to perk up their returns for the year". Nobody is touching the GLCs or index linked stocks for now as the market is too staid and volume not active enough to bring forth any kind of run in the first liners.So, second liners it is. Some people frown when I pick trading stocks. Some people frown more when they consider those stocks as con jobs. Some people say, what the hell am I doing recommending...
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
The Debt Crisis In 2012
Japan has long been mired by an aging population, sluggish growth and deflation since an asset bubble popped in the early 1990s. The country already has the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the world--about 220% according to the OECD -- and a debt load projected at a record 1 quadrillion yen this fiscal year. Based on a plan approved by the Cabinet in Tokyo on 23 Dec, the country is now looking to sell 44.2 trillion yen ($566 billion) of new bonds to fund 90.3 trillion yen ($1.16 trillion) of spending in fiscal year 2012 starting 1 April. That will raise Japan budget’s dependence on debt to an unprecedented...
Have You Heard Of Macy Chen?
This was from Pop Pop Music blog, what a wonderful discovery. Sometimes we "look down" on our music heritage" so much so that when respected musicians from overseas start to appreciate the local music on its own merits, then we go "wow, maybe there is something here".We go through that phase, be in Chinese music, Malay music or various Tamil music ... we would be the last to acknowledge the beauty of Chinese opera, the keroncong or the wonderful instrument called sitar ... but we would gladly pay big bucks to watch fucking Italian opera that we do not understand.Anyway, read on:you should check this out!local distributor, new wave, only brought...
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Christmas Time
What do we celebrate ... most of us will see it as a great time to party, not that there's anything wrong with that. I would sincerely like to share with you three music videos that somehow brings forth the spirit of true Christmas to me.The first is the Matthew West song about the little boy Dax Locke, One Last Christmas, the kid's last Christmas because he was dying of leukaemia. Its not so much what he is, but what he caused the people around him to do. Its the spirit of loving, giving and being true to oneself. Its about bringing out the best in us. Dax's father started decorating his house with Christmas decorations in September as he wanted his son to at least experience Christmas time ... soon, everyone chipped in as well. Thankfully, the real life story has been made into...
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The ECB Lending - Folly or Fantabulous
When the tap finally opens, banks (whether they needed the money or not), stretched out their palms. Much like the experience during the subprime rot when the Fed lent out money at zero rates. As one can see, the yield on government bonds in Italy and Spain did not fall, but actually moved higher. So banks are hoarding again to prettify their balance sheet and maybe capital adequacy ratio, or just having a standby line while they can still access funds because if the Euro crisis gets any deeper, the whole money market could shrivel up. The good thing is that at least money is moving, the risk of a major bank run has been thwarted somewhat. So,...
Monday, December 19, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
The Song Remains The Same (NOT)
The internet has changed the playing field of many industries, in the way we produce, network and reach our audience. The internet is a great equaliser, it brings prices down, it makes almost everything cheaper. We get to cut out a lot of the middlemen in transactions. However, there is one industry that stands out for being most maligned by it, causing the entire business model to shift dramatically. Its like talking pictures being invented and accepted by the masses, have a heart and see how those whose livelihood was connected to silent pictures - what a mind blowing change for them. Then we have the invention and acceptance of television,...
