Singapore Slinged

Old said...

You slaved for 30 years in a government department with high integrity and avoid corruption at all cost. You hold the department at high moral standard and promote meritocracy as best as you can. You collect standard government salary your entire life.

Then, when you retired, your successor - a bumi - with much lower standard take over. A year later, he lives in a $10m house, which you know for a fact government salary alone cannot pay for it. Projects slipped, fall behind. Your previous colleagues complain.

For 30 years, you upheld integrity and meritocracy with low pay. The next moment, your bumi successor who didn't upheld integrity nor meritocracy, and enjoy the material things that money can buy. 30 Years! Doesn't that make your blood boil?

So, to the people who makes these sort of statement - "After all history has though us that even in the most corrupt environment there will be individuals who hold themselves at a higher standard than the rest despite being lowly paid.", I say BULLSHIT!

Yes, Singapore has it right. No corruption. Promote meritocracy. And link the leaders salaries to the top private sector salaries so that there is all incentive for meritocracy, and absolutely no room for corruption.

The top job in the country deserves the best person, and they deserve the best pay. No question that Singapore 40 years ago was worse than Malaysia when she was expelled from the Federation, but today, she has clearly become a First World country. That's the sort of difference one gets when one isn't corrupt and promotes meritocracy, no this NEP Bullshit.

Old Observer

2:04 PM

Salvatore_Dali said...

Old Observer,

Very well said, I do agree with the gist of yr opinions, and I do think meritocracy is the way to go. I think the top dogs did a good job, its only a matter of pay hikes twice over the last 2 years at a time when the bulk of Singapore is trying to catch up with inflation, and wondering how the "new economy" is already leaving many of them behind.

You may try to run the gov like IBM but you can't really as the notion of political office has the interest of its citizens at heart, and you don't want to run tyre tracks all over that. There has to be an element of "serving for the country" which cannot and should not be accounted just in monetary terms. They are not starving, their pay scale is already 5-8x higher than anywhere else in the world.

Just because you peg it does not mean you have to have it, there are times where these things are akin to political suicides anywhere else, where there is a 2 party system.

Just because there is none makes it even more honourable and necessary to do the right thing at the appropriate time.

2:15 PM

Show Me The Money (Again)

Even though most Asian economies are still robust, it would be political suicide anywhere else in Asia, except Singapore - can't remove them there. The government patted themselves on the ir backs and gave themselves another raise, the SECOND major fillip in 2 years.
Singaporean ministers and civil servants, already by far the highest-paid public servants in the world. The increase will push Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s salary to S$3.7 million, or US$2.53 million, more than six times that of US President George W. Bush.

This was after another huge bump that gave Lee a 25.5 percent increase, to S$3.1 million. At the very top of the salary pyramid is Singapore President S R Nathan, whose salary will rise to S$3.8 million (US$2.6 million). The Public Service Division’s revised salary package gives starting-grade ministers a salary of S$1.94 million (US$1.32 million).

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown receives the equivalent of US$170,556 and his cabinet ministers receive the equivalent of US$146,299. Newly elected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Australia receives US$284,333.

You convert that for cabinet ministers to RM4.42m. Now, even the very top players at top MNCs do not get that in Malaysia, or even most places in Asia. I think if you paid RM4.427m to Malaysian cabinet ministers - ... how to say this without incriminating myself ... Let's say that corruption is more prevalent in most Asian countries. I think RM4.42m would go a long way to "compensate" for unexpected windfalls.

So, is that the way Singapore tries to ensure that their ministers do not HAVE TO practice corruption? Because even at S$1 million, it should be more than enough to compensate for most top MNCs top dogs. Or is it to compensate for forgoing business opportunities or striking out for themselves? How are we to determine that that would automatically be profitable for the cabinet ministers?

Or has Singapore finally discovered the mathematical formula for eradicating corruption? So, are we to say that for countries that do not come close to that formula, that they are inept and probably corrupt ... even in developed nations such as UK, US and Australia?

A Blessed Christ-mass & My Alma Mater

Its that time of the year again, and my thoughts go back to my school days, where for most of us, were the best days of our lives. You made great friendships that lasts the longest, you did not need to think too much about the future. You learn to grow as a person, the place where you hone your character. Great teachers do influence us greatly, I still think fondly of my two favourite teachers, Mrs. Foong and Mr. Timothy Chee - late 70s period. I am still struck by the tenacity, vision, dedication, devotion and leadership of Brother U Paul and Brother Vincent.

Merry Christmas everyone ... drive safely.

Fad Foods

What are fad foods? Those are the things we go absolutely ga-ga over initially and somehow, we kinda get weaned off them. Certain popular food stuff, when they are first introduced to the market, will get near euphoric reaction, and people don't mind waiting for an hour or so just to be part of the mania.

Its very much like the stock market - I must have them at all cost, you actually wanted 2 but end up buying 10 (kiasu and kiasi). Remember the days of Roti Boy, how we gush over the bun... now when was the last time you bought Roti Boy (the original one la)? It does not mean Roti Boy (original) is no good, its just that we don't need to have it so often now. The over the top euphoric scenes for Roti Boy can be seen in Thailand and is still going strong - I somehow think Roti Boy would do even better in Thailand as the taste/flavour suits our Thai friends more. Hence I think Roti Boy will be more prospserous in Thailand.

Fads can be fanned by limited outlets, just like the J & Co in KL. Another faddish food is Ramly Burger, we know its very good, beats the shit out of McD or Burger King anytime, but we don't go ga-ga over them anymore in Malaysia. Unlike our Singaporean friends, who devour Ramly Burger like its the best thing on earth every time they cross the causeway. Why - because cannot get Ramly Burgers in Singapore (some health / food certification issue). Sigh!

Fads come and go, it does not mean the food is no good after a while, it just means it reverted back to normal food. I think when McDonalds was first introduced in any country, people would queue for hours just to get some. I think John King tarts would become a fad food somewhat as well, but even John King and Roti Boy is no match for J & Co - the unassuming donut franchise owned and operated by Indonesians.

Its obvious they copied Krispy Kreme but hey, they know Asian taste buds better, and Krispy Kreme had been playing hard to get over their Asian expansion (they wanted the biggest, best capitalised partner), thus allowing first mover advantage to J & Co. Oh, the donuts, they are very good, despite all the different creams and toppings, its the glazed which tastes the best. But there will come a time (probably 6 months down the road) when the queues will get a lot shorter at J & Co.

Currently it takes 1 hour to get your donuts (non peak) and 1.5 hours during weekends. It could be worse, you could be standing in line at J & Co. in Singapore, you are looking at 2 hours there - but they are more used to standing in line in Singapore anyway. The funny thing is that there are more than a hundred outlets of J & Co. in Jakarta, but there are no queues. But there are long queues at Bread Talk in Jakarta - FAD FOODS! Sigh... even as I know this and write this, I cannot help but to queue for my donuts at J & Co... its herd mentality ... so long queue, must be good one ...

Fad foods come and go. For a food/brand to truly make its mark, it must still have queues after a few years - then its really good. That's why I love my Ah Sang Bak-Kut-Teh at Sungai Way, PJ (531, Jalan SS9A/12, Seri Setia, near the Indian temple)... almost there every weekend.

Morgan Stanley Needs Better Fung Shui

We have Citigroup being carved up for Asian owners, then it was Bear Stearns, followed by UBS, and now Morgan Stanley. This wave would gain momentum and we should see even more financial giants having a rich Asian sovereign wealth fund or cash rich Asian company as a substantial shareholder - the new affirmative action policy?? Financial giants are sought after because of their global footprint and ease with leverage. Plus it brings the shareholders access to "certain unique technology, up to date financial innovations" thus bringing them access to global best practice in possibly the most influential sector in the business world.

Morgan Stanley shares closed up US$2.01 at US$50.08 on the New York Stock Exchange, even as Morgan Stanley executives offered a sobering outlook and warned that its credit and mortgage business would slow.The bank would suspend buybacks as it reviews its capital levels and investment plans. Mergers and leveraged buyout activity also is expected to slow. The slowdown in some businesses means Morgan Stanley, which announced 900 layoffs in recent weeks, may cut more jobs and shift resources to other, faster-growing areas.

The newly set up China's sovereign wealth fund, CIC, has snapped up a $US5 billion stake in Morgan Stanley, one of America's biggest investment banks. China Investment Corporation (CIC) would gain around a 9.9% shareholding in the storied US bank and securities firm which announced a net loss of US$3.59 billion for its fourth quarter.

CIC grabbed a US$3 billion stake in the Blackstone Group, a large private equity firm, earlier this year and China's CITIC Securities Co Ltd bought a 6% shareholding in Bear Stears for US$1 billion in October.

Morgan Stanley's quarterly loss amounted to US$3.61 per share compared with the same period a year earlier. The bank also reported negative quarterly revenues of US$450 million compared with US$7.85 billion. Last month, Morgan Stanley said traders betting the bank's own capital had incurred US$3.7 billion in losses on U.S. subprime mortgages. On Wednesday, the bank disclosed another US$5.7 billion in write-downs, reflecting further declines in the mortgage trades and losses on other debt. To restore its capital, Morgan agreed to sell equity units that pay a 9 percent coupon. China will be a passive investor.

Bonuses On The Street

Despite the subprime mess and exit door shown to many CEOs, Goldman Sachs still did very well. Bear Stearns top management decided not to take any bonus this year, and will try instead to pay some decent bonus to keep performing staff from leaving - at least they are doing something right. Below are the projected year end bonuses payable within the first week of January 2008 as reported in WSJ. How was your bonus? (amounts in USD)

Lehman Brothers

• 2007: $334,245

• 2006: $332,246

Goldman Sachs

• 2007: $662,000

• 2006: $621,793

WHERE THE MONEY IS

• Projected 2007 bonuses for top-tier global investment banks, on average:

HOT

• Managing director, distressed investing -- Base: $200,000; bonus, $1.7 million to $2.2 million (up 10-15%)

• Vice president, interest-rates trading -- Base: $100,000; bonus, $500,000 to $600,000 (up to 5-10%)

• Managing director, crude-oil trader -- Base: $200,000; bonus, $5 million to $7 million (up 15-20%)

• Managing director, equity capital markets, Brazil -- Base: $200,000; bonus, $1.2 million to $1.7 million (up 20-25%)

NOT

• Managing director, mortgage-backed securities sales -- Base: $200,000; bonus, $1 million (down 33% to 67%)

• Vice president, collateralized-debt-obligation sales -- Base: $200,000; bonus, $300,000 (down 50%)

• Director, asset-backed securities trading -- Base: $150,000; bonus, $400,000 to $500,000 (down 30%)

Source: Options Group

Best Egg Tart Ever?

Try and start another fire by discussing the best egg tart ever? I'm from Ipoh (if you do not know that by now) and the dim sum places make pretty good tarts, be it Ming Kok or Fohsun. I even think the Tong Kee ones are pretty good, right up there with the best. When I was in Singapore, the ones at Tong Heng was an adequate substitute (better than nothing). Had the ones with the flaky pastry or fluff pastry and the other one with the butter flavoured shortcrust pastry. I prefer the flaky ones as it is "soong chooi" (loose bitey) and when you reach the wobbling creamy egg tart center, it gives a very good contrast.

I have also patronised Patten's favourite Tai Cheong Bakery's egg tarts in Central, HK, before and after they moved locations - they are pretty damn good too. A few steps away in Wellington Street is another place for very delicious egg tart as well, the Lok Heung Yuen - they come in tiny bite size. For this exercise, let's not talk about Portuguese tart - its a separate matter.

Hence, I always thought that such delicate stuff like egg tarts can only come from a dedicated kitchen, and never from a franchise. How wrong was I! For those who have visited The Pavillion KL, you may have walked past the silly sounding pastry place called John King, supposedly from HK and established since 1965. Am quite familiar with HK but I have never come across John King. But with such a weird sounding English name as a brand, it does resembles a HK invention (ala Kim Gary). They sell possibly the best ever egg tarts I have ever eaten. Some may say that their crust is a bit rich, hey, egg tarts should be an indulgence , not a health/diet food! Enjoy la.

Surprisingly, the butter shortbread pastry is even better than the flaky ones, and I thought I would never like the shortbread pastry types. Forget about the durian egg tart, its a lie and con job. Go for the original or the even-better seoung-pei lai egg tart (whitish egg tart, double-skin-milk egg tart).

Its a lot saying they possibly make the best egg tarts, especially having tried so many good ones in so many places. Is it better than sex???... well, you will be making the same noises and exclamations though - "OMG"! Go John King or whatever your name is, its the best thing that I can afford after shopping at The Pavillion!!!

The Aftermath

I write on Hinduraf also don't get so many comments. But I flame Fung Shui and its like pulling pubic hairs from certain readers. Below are the passionate responses. Please note that I use profanity NOT in the form of a personal attack but rather for emphasis and clarity, and cause that's the way you speak when speaking passionately, or being pissed off. No apologies cause its my blog and should not adhere to any writing standards imposed by others. Anyway, great to hear from the readers below, no hard feelings - hey, we may disagree on one thing, that's very small in the whole scheme of things. Cheers...

xatomic said...

Haha I couldnt agree with you more. Education and the wealth of knowledge on the Internet has made me increasingly sceptical and beginning to question customs. We Chinese are one hell of the most superstitious lot

The most BS thing is probably burning things for the dead. There are probably 100 reasons why I think it doesnt make any sense at all..For a start, god don't the rules of economics work down there? (if it even exists) Infinite money supply and still expect hell money to have value? hah

and our famed Feng Shui businesswoman in Msia still manage to expand and maintain the business. IPO soon? :)

11:38 PM

zentrader said...

Not sure BS or not but they said Uncle Lim got 8 Feng Shui Master to sort thing out for him :)

LKY I think also have one Feng Shui Monk ... :)

They said our PM also got one based in Penang ... :)

9:29 AM

Salvatore_Dali said...

zen,

like i said, they did it for pragmatic reasons, wealth protection and maybe design issues...

do u think LKY would be NOT SUCCESSFUL without the FS monk? u can put LKY in Langkawi or HK or NZ n he would have made a dramatic change.. FS is for asthetics

same for PM, where were the FS when they were building their career,... to me FS masters are pricey like latour 62 and just as unecessary ... you won't be having one when you are building your career... you got rich... then you indulge in superflous stuff like fine wine and bad FS masters

10:11 AM

Salvatore_Dali said...

as for genting, pls la... gamblers will say they LOST becos uncle lim placed the door entrance in a certain degree, and the building looks like a claw trapping them... u know what you fucking gamblers are entering the casinos (with or without yr red underwear) yrself, you ARE BOUND TO LOSE cause mathematically u will... its a casino, early casinos in vegas without FS design ALSO same result... just the fact that they r trendy and I am sure the 2 IRs will use FS consultants does not legitimise them... its a CASINO, its yr own fault u lose money..

10:24 AM

geoff said...

Well, Dali, for once i'll disagree with you on this one. I think FS was invented not 100 years ago but way way back. It is the chinese way of harmonising human with nature. to me, it is a lot more to do with science than superstitious. There is no way to verify by using the western scientific way. it is a chinese way of life. just like chi in kung fu or qigong. U cannot scientifically prove it but it exists. I think the common misconception with modern fs is that ppl thinks that it is a one stop solution to all their problems. Also there are too many unqualified masters out there (see the similarity with investment advises?).

11:17 AM

zentrader said...

The 'Chi' was tested scientifically by western researcher I think the conclusion was that the Kung Fu monk really can control the flow of chi.

In the same Discovery Series it said that the way they controlled the chi and then the release of the energy, it was calculated to be the power of a shotgun so don't play play with those shaolin monk :)

11:25 AM

Long said...

While I agree most of the facts you posted, but for this one, I think to some extend, you might not get it correctly.

You seemed to put too much blame of chinese culture 'believe' into FS. Which means, you didn't really know the true knowledge or arts of FS.

Mind you, animal years and fan-tai-shui believe are nothing to do with FS. You are right in saying there are really a lot of bull-shitter around who make living in FS by misleading its value to accustome market demand.

And because of this many ppl have got wrong impression of FS, where unfortunately, including you.

If you want to know the root of FS, go for 'yi jing'. The fundamentals, not the god, semi-god or whatever incorrect believe that polluted by business world today.

11:29 AM

Salvatore_Dali said...

zentrader,

i believe in the chi, i belive in hei kung ... don't get me wrong... i also believe in ghosts, spirits and voodoo ... just becos something has been around for 3,500 years does not mean its valid.... certain witchcraft and God's Sticks have been around also for even longer ... no empirical evidence la...

I put up so many points, you all just never attack them but stick onto yr views like a religious zeaLOT... c'mon , do better.

11:42 AM

Salvatore_Dali said...

long,

accussing someone of not knowing the true art form of FS, is in itself BS ... its like accussingsomeone who did not embrace Christianity as not knowing the full true way of Christianity... everyone bloody school of thot will say theirs is the way... by saying its fundamentals of FS does not make them more correct..., like I said, some of the stuff are just common sense

LOOK at the bloody property mkts in HK and Singapore, face here face there, but when property mktsa are bad , you face backside also no use... aha, the FS master will say cannot evade tei wan (land luck) even though you did all the FS precautions ... how to fight against the NEVER CAN BE WRONG FUCKERS

11:46 AM

Salvatore_Dali said...

geoff n zen,

like i said, i believe in the chi n hei kung.... harnessing it should not cost 10,000 ringgit per reading session...
do you think i am helping ppl to harness better wealth understanding and wealth accumulation ... well, i didn't charge any fuckers 10,000 ringgit per session... the whole shebang just smacks of overkill and over zealous money making, turning the entire thing into a long drawn out scam... yes there is chi, here go harness it, thanks goodbye... dont make it out to be something that needs 25 years of studying and white bear gurus here and there, making the art so secretive... that only the chosen ones can know the secrets, please...

11:51 AM

Roden said...

FS at least has more than 500 years, in the ancient time, the selection of building town or capital all base on FS, that fit to harmonize the mankind and environment, they become chief planner for the townhall. That definitely has unqualified FS master in the market, those really good one keep very low profile. We have to learn the fundenmental FS before we heard their interpretation, just ignore those guru comment or prediction on next year, that are general statement, sure correct, just like Dali said your mother probably is woman, hahaha...if someone really not believe FS, let try to whack your ancestor tomb then simply build again, or challenge FS, choose the lousy date and time to bury your ancestor, then see what would happen. good FS master keep need not publishing book, articles or sell those funny "toy", got to understand that is just business and supply to general need. One of the FS master told me, they would not "disclose" their skill or secret on book, those already disclose are really insignificant. FS can help people and lead someone into disaster, this is the knowledge pass down from ancient, some said it doesn't make sense, but I said probably we just not enough knowledge to understand it and no time to understand it. Just beware, a lot of unorthedox FS master taking advantage on people when they believe them.

2:05 PM

Salvatore_Dali said...

roden,

fair comment...

zentrader n geoff,

i think we all made some points for both sides ... can go on arguing till cown really knock on our doors, so just let it slide... to each his own, since we have all said what we wanted. Tks for a nice debate..lol

2:30 PM

sickput said...

Thank you for the write up on feng shui. i will have to look for a new profession now as previously, I used to "chase" bad luck from pretty lady investors who lost money in the market.
best way to get ladies plus cash for doing something you really like.
Due to mu skill, needless to say, there were very few repeat customers.
After your comment, I doubt there will be many who will fall for my scam.

6:15 PM

oceanblue said...

I think you should read up more on FS before you comment. And I also think that you are against those so-called "modern FS master" than FS itself.
As for burning "paper maney" for the dead, do you really think it is for the dead? It is more for those who alive, who give (burn) the money, to feel better psychologically!

12:23 PM

Salvatore_Dali said...

oceanblue,

am i an expert , no... have i read up on FS, yes... but probably not. ARE YOU TELLING ME I NEED TO GET A DEGREE IN FS before I can comment? Then nobody in the world can say anything to anyone. If your wife scold you for being lazy.. you can always say to your wife you need to read up more on me and why I am lazy before calling me lazy. Your defence comes up again and again by those who defend FS, because every one thinks they aree THE ONLY ONES practising the ONE TRUE WAY... how many ONE TRUE WAYS are there?

Its an inexact science that is near impossible to prove wrong, hence it will flourish and the ones with the best argument or most persuasive arguments will get more followers.

Think first, why study FS? For greedy reasons? Look at the FS masters ... they are also greedy bastards. I am not against people being greedy, but if its a NOBLE ART form and helps people to harness chi, why the excessive monetary compensations? Compare HEI KUNG with FS, there are many true masters of HEI KUNG and it works empirically speaking - but you dont see the master charging 5,000 for a training session... the ends justify the means?

The shameless amount of money bandied around taints the whole bloody thing.

12:47 PM

Buffettology

Warren Buffett was at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in San Francisco last Tuesday. Here are some excerpts. My comments in blue.

Q: Your views on the US Dollar?

A: The most important question to ask in economics is "X happens, and then what?". We are living prosperously, but every day we are sending 2 billion dollars overseas because we consume more than we purchase. It is similar to if we owned, say, a large farm in Texas. We are extremely wealthy, but every year we mortgage a little bit of that farm in order to enjoy more of the present. And it is gradual, but then at some point you have to spend an hour or maybe two hours a week of your work to go towards servicing this debt. The problem is at some point either foreign investors will stop financing our consumption, or our future generations will be burdened with debt and have to work some X hours towards servicing the debt of the earlier generation. But the present over-consumption is unsustainable.

The persistently weak USD over the last 9 months is a reflection of central banks and governments moving away from holding pure US Treasuries (funding US deficit directly). Buffett had been bearish on USD for more than 5 years, only the USD really started to move the way Buffett (and most of the global view) predicted this year. Some governments holding large trade surpluses have set up Sovereign Funds to invest in large caps, a masked way of getting better returns from the surpluses or petrodollars. That trend will accelerate next year, hence we can probably see at least another weak year for USD. The rebalancing act has already started to work its way into lower deficits for the US, but we are not there yet, but its certainly working. The rebalancing has just started, we are probably one-third in the cycle to rebalance the USD.

Q: Your views on new products such as derivatives, SIVs, etc. ?

A: There's utility in securitizations. But the problem is these have become complex and the originators and investors have been stretched so far in part in the whole process.

Q: On Taxes.

A: In the U.S., 2 trillion out of 2.5 trillion in taxes come from income and payroll taxes. Of those, 60% is income taxes, and 40% is payroll taxes. I [Buffett] did a survey at Berkshire HQ and the average worker paid 33.2%. I paid 17.7%.

The worth of the Forbes 400 was 220 Billion in 1987, and for 2007 it is 1.5 trillion. A seven-fold increase. During the same period, wages went up only 80%.

Basically Buffett is saying the rich pay a lot less taxes, and he has been keeping quiet for a long time. Now that he has made his money and kept most of it from the government (or that he has pledged a substantial sum to the Gates Foundation), Buffett appears to be magnanimous in saying the government should close the loopholes which allow the rich to pay less taxes. I wonder why he did not say this 10 years ago?!!

Q: Sense for the future of our country, Warren?

A: In the 20th century, real standard of living increased seven-fold. That was unprecedented, and included the Great Depression and other scares. The American system has unleashed the greatest potential of its citizens. Back in 1790, China had 290 million people, and America had 4 million. But today look where we are at. We will be better off in the future, the real question is how it will be shared.


Basically we are at the starting edge of a new paradigm. Economic leadership will be going through the most turbulent of changes in terms of economic ownership, economic power will shift gradually, but overall economic leadership should still reside in the US, provided they play their cards right. Still, they will lose a huge portion of economic ownership, and some of the economic power.

Dan Fogelberg

My karaoke sessions will never be the same. The quite brilliant Dan Fogelberg who has written & sung classics such as Longer, Same Auld Lang Syne, Run For The Roses, Leader of The Band, etc. has passed away yesterday after losing the battle with prostate cancer. Loved his songs, loved his intimate country singing tone. His personal and heartfelt lyrics - a beautiful soul. He was only 56, too soon, too young. Plus, he was a damn good looking guy too. One person said: If ever there was an appropriate time for a grown man to cry, this is it.

Live unplugged, Leader Of The Band:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy3GHCy49Dw

Live, Same Auld Lang Syne, about old loves and memories:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhjYbfK9vrk&feature=related


p/s OMG, one of my friends just commented to me that I sounded "gayish" just by the things I wrote above ... rereading it, oh no... it does sound gayish ... sigh... so what... so be it

Fung My Shui ...

After reading the headline, either you are laughing already, or you didn't get the joke. The headline is mimicking the often used phrase Kxxx My Axx.

I know I will offend and ridicule a lot of readers, especially for an Asia based blog. I did my fair share of introspection into FS in the past, and found that most of the bs is bs, and some of the sounder ideas were basically common sense. Digging deeper, FS only took on a new life over the last 100 years or so, sort of something that was invented due to necessity, a lot like accounting. The only record of FS and its application a few hundred years ago was due to being used to position burial sites. Somehow, that grew in the number of bull shitters into various tangents, with the appearance of different schools of thought. FS in particular is easy to flourish in the Chinese culture because there is no need for verification. Almost everything is based on presumptions, inventions and airy fairy stuff. If there was no compass, I think all FS masters would not exist. You can then extend the compass into a more complex lo pan, how... just name the quadrants and spaces with innovative ideas.

What's the deal with various animal years? How did fan tai shui came about? Did anybody care to check? 99% of ideas are from hearsay, from white bearded gurus, mostly self proclaiming proselytizers, mainly self-promoters. Many would be effective politicians as the better ones are usually charismatic, good oraters and persuasive snake charmers - not exactly a benchmark for solid stuff. Successful FS masters would also probably succeed in the political field or as a management consultant - all able to turn bs into a fine art.

FS easily flourished in a Chinese culture because the culture accepts almost everything that comes along the way, especially things handed down from generations past, with no questioning of the validity side of things. You can have many gods, demi-gods, semi-gods, super duper dead heroes being elevated to sainthood, purveyors of various areas of business sectors, and even every section of the house - who is to know that they dissect the otherworld and spiritual world into such compact and organised structure. C'mon, they do a much better job than Lord of The Rings or Harry Potter, but they are mainly fiction.

FS also succeeds in Chinese culture because there is really a very vague understanding of after life - anything goes. There is no main god and religion is wishy-washy. Taosim is neither here nor there. The culture can accept bits of Taoism, multi level gods and bits of Buddhism without ever anyone questioning why. All cultures will try to explain their fate and destiny. When there is no strong religion as a backdrop, cultural ways dominate. Nobody likes to take PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for their actions - they all want to evade bad luck and put failures or bad experiences down to other reasons other than themselves. FS serves that purpose very nicely. You did not lose that job because there was no water feature in your East area of your office - you probably fucked up, but that is much harder to swallow. When you want to ascribe things to blame on or rely on the supernatural to move ahead in life, you are unlikely to experience personal growth and probably lack application in life - don't be a lazy whiny bastard.

FS masters also know how to protect theselves to explain the unanswerables. They often cite the "grand rule": yat mange, yee wharn, sarm fung shui ... or loosely translated: number one is llife destiny you are born with, number two is the luck you are born with, then number three fung shui ... Which means if your life does not improve even after doing this and that according to fung shui, well tough-titties. What a wonderful thing to be involved in, no one can say you got it wrong. People who seek out FS tend to be at wit's end in coming terms with their problems: be it financial problems, bad bosses, career stagnating, argumentative household, philandering husbands, back-stabbing friends, etc. Well, we need to deal with the problems straight up: lose your a-hole friends, geld your husband (he's a prick), move to a new job, examine your effective contribution in your work, communicate with your family members better (be a friend not only a parent), etc. These common problems are a result of more deep-seated issues which some of us are unwilling to face up to or try to solve.

People will cite the Lamborghini with the good luck number plate, and cite the huge sums rich people dole out for FS readings. Errr ..., they had to build their wealth first ... I don't think there was a tycoon who got rich by positioning a fucking water feature in their garden, and said the rest was history!!! Rich people will use FS more as it is better to be safe than sorry, a wealth protection insurance - hey, go buy a huge annuity, its much better.

What about those lucky bastards born with a golden spoon and never having to raise a finger in their life, and they are useless dim witted fools at the same time? Why are you not Li Ka Shing's son or daughter? There are many unanswerables in the world, but FS is definitely not the answer. Live your life as well as you can, take responsibility for your own actions, spend time to discover your spiritual side, explore religions, take ultimate care of your soul as best you can. I was moved to write on this because I read a FS guru's prediction for 2008: "... advisable to invest in a good burglar system, be careful when you carry cash ..." C'mon!!! I can also add: "don't fuck your best friend's wife" ... what's the difference??!! More from the guru: "... avoid herd mentality and stick to fundamentals ..." and may I add, your mother is probably a woman.

China Rail-CW

It takes 6 months for us to come out with 4 or 5 China Mobile or Petrochina covered warrants. Guess how many covered warrants were issued in one day for one H-share company in HK?

46 ... forty-six warrants of China Railway Group started trading today, breaking the record of China Merchants Bank which had 38 warrants issued in one day last year. China Railway's share price yesterday surged to a record high HK$9.11 and hit a low of HK$8.45, with intraday volatility getting as high as 78 percent. The stock closed at HK$8.68, down 4 HK cents or 0.46 percent. Since its listing last Friday, China Railway has traded lowest at HK$6.70 from an IPO price of HK$5.78. Thanks to the 46 covered warrants, hedging activity and rebalancing will cause China Railway to trade actively and should account for at least half the trading volume.

The warrants' exercise prices range from HK$5.68 to HK$10.80 and are all call options, most of which are either at the price or near the price. Expiry dates range from six to 20 months. However, it almost look more like a stock call option with exercise price at HK$6, others at HK$7 and HK$8. Ho added that as the market is not bullish these days, it is difficult to estimate the response towards the warrants.

China Railway did not get perked up in a share price jump despite the numerous covered warrants being issued because the current environment was not as bullish - and many issuers probably hedged via some other instruments to control the gamma risk. Unlike China Merchants Bank and China Communications Construction which were listed in a bullish environment last year, their options and shares were well received. As a result, issuers have to buy more shares from the market for hedging, that caused both shares to jump appreciably.

China Railway is also allowed to be short-sold starting today. Short-selling does not mean the share price will be volatile as it may not be easy to borrow shares for short-selling. Having that many same call warrants with minor changes in the exercise price and time to expiry will mean that pricing will be aggressive, and the issuers themselves will be trading each other's issues even more aggressively. In fact, I would not be surprised if issuers account for more than 60%-70% of actual total volume for the entirety trading volume for these covered warrants.

Long way for local brokers before they catch up/on HK.

The Federal Reserve Wants You To Know:

It is obvious that the Fed has pissed everyone one off with its 25 basis points cut, when almost 99% were wanting 50bp at least. Well, its a lot like kindergarten, howling kids asking for more candies and crayons, well you don't just give them all they want.

The Fed is basically telling all that Federal Reserve won't be bullied, coerced, pressured into doing things that Wall Street or global investors want, no matter how compelling the reasons are.

The Federal Reserve also want us all to know that stock markets is definitely not a top priority, neither is the likelihood of a recession as that is too vague a notion to manage. The Fed wants you to know that they really ONLY look at sustainable employment growth and price stability (keeping inflationary pressures in check) , and after those priorities would they consider long term growth rates for the economy.

The Federal Reserve also wants you to know that their lack of mention of the persistently weak USD should send loud signals to global investors. Weaker USD is a desired thing, but not a free fall. The Fed is not going to bailout every single mistakes from the excesses of Wall Street.

This Fed has a bit more balls and Bernanke is trying to make a stand and create a reputation for his tenure - and succeeding. So, don't go looking to the Fed for Christmas presents. Even though Bernanke has a nice white beard, he's not Santa Claus.