very interesting..
and the article on standing is the new sit, from New York Times:
not decided myself..
Monday, 17 May 2010
BBC NEWS | Health | Sitting straight 'bad for backs'
BBC NEWS | Health | Sitting straight 'bad for backs'
Sunday, 16 May 2010
Make Your Mark 2010 Winners | Enterprise UK
Make Your Mark 2010 Winners | Enterprise UK
Nice one.. particularly..
Outstanding individual
Scott Chapman, Allestree Woodlands School, Derby
Mother’s Day cards
Profit: £537.51
scale (of prints) and reach (via Sainsbury). well done!
How the wealthy can avoid the worst of UK tax rises
How the wealthy can avoid the worst of UK tax rises
some sage advise (still not 100% sure of course) for those that might be applicable..
Saturday, 15 May 2010
The Top Ten Most Resilient Luxury Brands
The Top Ten Most Resilient Luxury Brands
Its great for some.
but can one blame them? key is how to find & deliver best value..
Friday, 14 May 2010
The "fallacy of ratings (or not)" #might be time to change the gear box!#! , Cuomo Is Said to Question Banks’ Influence on Ratings - NYTimes.com
Cuomo Is Said to Question Banks’ Influence on Ratings - NYTimes.com
These two stories above highlight a few key fact of the financial world which we are now faced with: unlike the stock market back in 16th-18th century (still focused on the sustainability of the companies and their cash flows and viability of the company as going concerns, now due to intra day trading & hedge fund's our capital market is focusing on (for some) more profitable short term trading.
As power rests with companies that has money, focus naturally would put stress on their people to 'perform', typically by creating newer/more exotic securities, or an instrument {fundamental or derivative})... Nothing wrong with derivative instruments, mind you, as I would have loved to be the whiz kids/quants to create them and sell to other securities/wealth management houses.. as there is nothing wrong with selling to other sophisticated investors who should understand (or can afford to hire someone that understand).. the challenges comes when these same securities are then re-packaged and sold to another unsuspecting financial firms with support of a AAA rating.
I am watching with amazement when regulators worldwide keep talking about tighter monitoring/regulations/capital/cash ratios...as ..
Surely, it is time now not to look at how the gears not worked and how best to monitor and oil the gears..!? Could it now be the time when we look at potentially changing the automatic gear box to a manual gear box??
that is we should focus on longer term outlook of securities/market, of say, duration of the company's life time, or godforbid, indeed the 'career lifetime' of the CEO/chairman/even the securities trader!!? i.e. make the Officers to be accountable even AFTER their appointments ... that would surely change the dynamics if just a little bit?
These forms part of the reason why I created my company GamBond® (yes our first test market is the insulated remote gaming gambling market, but with probably more profitable/vs cash flow) in the first place back in 2004. We aim to cut through the rubbish and 'see through' potentially messaged figures and go back to the fundamentals of how best to rate a company's viability as a going concern, by focusing on the potential default risks of the targeted industries. We do this by identifying the Key success factors of each targeted industry sector (what drives it's growth, likely KPI that affect it's future growth or potential death traps or decline triggers..) and put a price on the potential default risk of companies, after specific rating, disclosures and monitoring (direct or via value chain).. and also we put our money where our mouth/rating is.. (by creating the insurance and re-insurance sector)
Surely, this would cut through all the 'talk' and sabeponas and witch hunting.. as sadly now in 2010, it is NOT the time of looking back, but forward, what are the lessons learnt and what we can do from within and outside of the industry to ensure that this will NOT happen again?
sadly, I have been barking up the wrong trees so far, and real supports for creation of the default risk insurance market are scarce (yes, we are re-defining multiple industries and in fact mindset but hey, lets not hope that only warren buffet might be able to understand! and yes, if he is the only guy that can help us to make it, please someone help us to make the introduction!)
I personally think/recognise that the future of the securities and financial market is definitely of back to basic: cash flow, outgoing, industry risks, plus some nifty monitoring (active disclosure or value chain/3rd party disclosure) so that one can really monitor the risk and have early warning systems..
Key is cut through the noise and support the Gems.. thats what I call 'Global Trust & Confidence'.. as sadly we do not trust anyone or organisations now, and not likely for the short to medium or long term future!
The "fallacy of ratings (or not)" #might be time to change the gear box!#! , Cuomo Is Said to Question Banks’ Influence on Ratings - NYTimes.com
Cuomo Is Said to Question Banks’ Influence on Ratings - NYTimes.com
These two stories above highlight a few key fact of the financial world which we are now faced with: unlike the stock market back in 16th-18th century (still focused on the sustainability of the companies and their cash flows and viability of the company as going concerns, now due to intra day trading & hedge fund's our capital market is focusing on (for some) more profitable short term trading.
As power rests with companies that has money, focus naturally would put stress on their people to 'perform', typically by creating newer/more exotic securities, or an instrument {fundamental or derivative})... Nothing wrong with derivative instruments, mind you, as I would have loved to be the whiz kids/quants to create them and sell to other securities/wealth management houses.. as there is nothing wrong with selling to other sophisticated investors who should understand (or can afford to hire someone that understand).. the challenges comes when these same securities are then re-packaged and sold to another unsuspecting financial firms with support of a AAA rating.
I am watching with amazement when regulators worldwide keep talking about tighter monitoring/regulations/capital/cash ratios...as ..
Surely, it is time now not to look at how the gears not worked and how best to monitor and oil the gears..!? Could it now be the time when we look at potentially changing the automatic gear box to a manual gear box??
that is we should focus on longer term outlook of securities/market, of say, duration of the company's life time, or godforbid, indeed the 'career lifetime' of the CEO/chairman/even the securities trader!!? i.e. make the Officers to be accountable even AFTER their appointments ... that would surely change the dynamics if just a little bit?
These forms part of the reason why I created my company GamBond® (yes our first test market is the insulated remote gaming gambling market, but with probably more profitable/vs cash flow) in the first place back in 2004. We aim to cut through the rubbish and 'see through' potentially messaged figures and go back to the fundamentals of how best to rate a company's viability as a going concern, by focusing on the potential default risks of the targeted industries. We do this by identifying the Key success factors of each targeted industry sector (what drives it's growth, likely KPI that affect it's future growth or potential death traps or decline triggers..) and put a price on the potential default risk of companies, after specific rating, disclosures and monitoring (direct or via value chain).. and also we put our money where our mouth/rating is.. (by creating the insurance and re-insurance sector)
Surely, this would cut through all the 'talk' and sabeponas and witch hunting.. as sadly now in 2010, it is NOT the time of looking back, but forward, what are the lessons learnt and what we can do from within and outside of the industry to ensure that this will NOT happen again?
sadly, I have been barking up the wrong trees so far, and real supports for creation of the default risk insurance market are scarce (yes, we are re-defining multiple industries and in fact mindset but hey, lets not hope that only warren buffet might be able to understand! and yes, if he is the only guy that can help us to make it, please someone help us to make the introduction!)
I personally think/recognise that the future of the securities and financial market is definitely of back to basic: cash flow, outgoing, industry risks, plus some nifty monitoring (active disclosure or value chain/3rd party disclosure) so that one can really monitor the risk and have early warning systems..
Key is cut through the noise and support the Gems.. thats what I call 'Global Trust & Confidence'.. as sadly we do not trust anyone or organisations now, and not likely for the short to medium or long term future!
Thursday, 13 May 2010
How to survive in China as a foreigner - Shanghaiist
How to survive in China as a foreigner - Shanghaiist:
Great read.. short and suggest you click through above. particularly:
"Don’t freak out when someone invades your personal space. Try not to eat Western food, it’s expensive and often times unsatisfying. Visit the Great Wall, the Terra Cotta Warriors, the Summer Palace, but don’t linger. Get off the beaten path. Get lost. Take your time. Man zou. Walk slowly. Learn how to use chopsticks. Buy or rent a bike. Weaving in and out of traffic, dodging taxis and donkey pulled carts, and ringing your bell at pedestrians in your way will make you feel like you’re one of them. Don’t go in the water. Get used to sleeping on a rock hard bed."
Monday, 10 May 2010
my blog comments re peHUB � What’s So Great About Being Public, Anyway?
peHUB � What’s So Great About Being Public, Anyway?
There are may good/great reasons for being listed.. but yes, I agree, for some private equity/fund management firms, it might not make sense for them to be listed at all..
It might make sense for them as part of the 'access to acquisition capital' at time of listing (for acquisition or gaining independence)..
It just does not make sense especially for PE/buyout funds where their investment horizon is 3-10years when the 'market' of 'wall street' in many ways is more bothered with the intra-day/hour/minute trading..
and people wonder why Warren buffet is doing well.. cos he is playing the game but really don't care as much about the short term game..
@GarethWong
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