Sub-Prime

After reading so many articles on the internet from top notch financial analysts and advisors on why funds and shares are devastated by the sub-prime crisis, I come to one conclusion:

Many of those top-notch financial analysts and advisors all ought to be shot. And shot again.

Let me just say once and for all many of these buggers are all lying. The value of companies has been dropping noticeably even before the sub-prime crisis blew up in everyone's face. Oh yeah, if you invest in property companies, let it be known that property sales elsewhere (not in S'pore obviously) had been dropping steadily. It has nothing to do with sub-prime but good, old fashioned demand and supply aka Economics 101. The sub-prime has become a ready made, convenient excuse for fund managers to hide their incompetence. They of all people, are thanking their lucky stars now that sub-prime crisis happened because they got to keep their jobs.

Those people who sank their life savings in funds and shares should take heart and learn a lesson. And the lesson is patience and learn how to discern lies. Especially people in suits and pretend that they know what they are talking about.

I look at all those old people at our local, big four banks like OCBC and I wonder what sort of financial advice are they receiving from our local bankers. Judging from experience, they will be getting the same-old, same-old "diversify and be safe" advice which quite honestly, sucks ass. Singaporeans are trusting, that's the country's boon but also bane. I can honestly say, the same bankers in our big four banks, would easily be sued in the US for being ignorant and negligent in the discharge of their financial duties. They honestly spout bland "companies' lines" and know next to nothing about the products that they are selling and only specialise in asking you to fill in the investors' profile survey. A monkey can do that.

I have come to the sad realisation that most of our local bankers and financial advisors are garbage. Being trapped in a hotel in New Delhi and Tokyo for the better part of two weeks, I was forced to watch CNBC daily and see American bankers in action.

Have you watched CNBC? They have bankers and traders bloody arguing with each other and almost throwing things at one another on why some stocks go up or down. You can tell most know what the F they are talking about. Of course, their opinions differ drastically but this is only to be expected.

We are taught at school to adopt different debating positions so that we can see things from all angles. I wonder why our local bankers keep telling me the same thing over and over ad nauseum till i feel like vomitting. Surely, different financial situations require financial strategy. The sub-prime crisis is also an opportunity to buy nice, blue-chip funds now because their prices are low. Our Temasek Holdings (wonder whether their advisers are local or foreign) did the smart thing to buy into UBS and Merril Lynch now when prices are low. Instead of telling old people to put their $ into some bullshit funds that are supposed to be safe (and yet lose even more money than riskier funds!!!), they might as well advise them to use the opportunity to buy blue-chip funds now so that our old folks will get a higher return in the long run.

Japan

It is 4.56 am in Tokyo and it has been an fantastic, amazing evening.

I wonder why all the Japanese girls I like are all called Yuko or Yuki.

Heavenly beef

I really should be sleeping as I have a whole chain of meetings tomorrow. But the dinner I just had warrants a entry.

The dinner cost US$200 plus a person. Thank god, my other boss is paying.

The Teppanyaki restaurant in the outstanding New Otani Hotel is situated next to a Koi pond. Oh yeah, that sort of restaurant. You have to walk across stepping stones and Japanese bridges over several koi ponds as well as a waterfall to even get to the restaurant. All within the hotel.

I know that sounds ass-kicking enough.

They served us all funny sauces with some thin sliced sashmi, followed by grilled lobsters, some vegetables (I think is leek) and brinjal and then the BEEF. I never thought beef could taste like that. The cow was from Iwate. I actually looked up Iwate beef and it is supposed to be even better than the famous Wagyu beef.

The beef is neither chewy or too soft. The meat is favourful with its own juices alone. You can just put it in your mouth and just taste it without even chewing. All it needs is a tub of butter poured over it. OMG.

Off to Tokyo

Got an unpleasant shelling from the boss a few minutes ago for something that is unrelated to my area. Hot damn. The prospect of going to Tokyo and sitting in the same plane for 6 hours with the boss is beginning to look hellish. I think I prefer to stand on one foot and balance a bucket of water on my head for six hours rather than sit next to him in a small economy cabin.

This trip is going to be bad. I can feel it in my bones. I know next to nothing about the purpose of the trip and was only "arrowed" because the person in charge was leaving soon so they want to give me exposure. Sometimes I wonder whether their kind of "exposure' means staying up late, run from hotel to hotel without even noticing the scenery and standing around to take the blame when something entirely unconnected to me crops up in the wrong way. I am hardly surprised though, since afterall, I have been around for some years and know exactly how this place works.

And I did not get any suitable clothing for Tokyo which is experiencing -3 degrees at night. DAMN. I want to go shopping on the last day. Guess I just have to buy my stuff at the Narita duty free shops.

And the friend who disappointed me by wanting to sell me some MLM things a while back just called me and asked how is my dad. He then quickly switched the conversation to me buying his MLM stuff which are all detergents and household products like toothbrushes. But this time, he confessed to me that he was desperate and needed to meet this month's quota. Seeing that he is at least honest, I decided to buy S$100 worth of household products just this once.

DOUBLE SIGH. I wish I am in Laos.

Coffee Nights

Coffee has been the sole source of sustenance for the past two weeks and also for the next two weeks as I jet off to India and Japan. I actually went to see my doctor to ask whether is there any drug to keep me awake all night so that I can finish off work but unfortunately I was told that caffeine is still the only thing that can get the job done. There is actually such things as caffeine pills but the nearest country where it is available is Australia. Which actually gives me an idea to bring in the medicine. Most Singaporeans really need it.

The work is hardly worth the pay I am getting. So perhaps a viable business idea is what I need to get out of this line.