Peak Oil has finally made it to US mainstream news. The New York Times has published an article titled “The Future of Oil” which although does not use the term “peak oil”, nevertheless calls out that oil supply is clearly overstretched. The columnist Krugman lent his weight with a broader swipe at […]
This month, I made some adjustments to my portfolio. I basically dumped my portfolio of Microsoft (MSFT) shares, and parked the money in a global index tracker. After six years of non-performance (zero returns over this period of time), it’s time to move on.
Personally, I’m in favour of index funds (or passively managed […]
Many in Singapore trust their money with DBS, the dominant bank in this market. Little do we know that the it provides the lowest interest rates and as incumbents, have very little incentive to innovate. Here’s just one example.
For several months, while waiting for our visas before moving to California, I had liquidated […]
Ever wondered how much of the papers were filled with advertisements? I do. In recent years, I’ve felt that much of the local Singapore newspaper (the Straits Times) has been filled too much commercial advertising, and too little content. My rough guesstimate was that about 60% of the paper was dedicated to […]
Here’s a site that has some interesting posts regarding the Singapore financial scene. WallStraits.com hosts an interesting forum that appears to have a decent community with intelligent comments. Various members have posted views on unit trusts, ETFs, REITs and some of them are actually decent.
I’m sure a number of them have vested professional […]
Philanthropist isn’t a term reserved for tycoons with more money than they (or their extended families) can ever use in their lifetime. In the spirit of Christmas, we are reminded to remember those who are in need.
Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and […]
I sent in the Toyota for its first service: at 1000 km, it’s a minor checkup, where Borneo Motors (the authorised Toyota dealer in Singapore) cleans up the car, changes the oil and returns it to the owner almost-spanking new. The service centre (of which there are currently five in Singapore) was very comfortable […]
The Suntec City forms a significant portion of Singapore’s Marina downtown. Its five office towers and connecting shopping mall were built on reclaimed land off Beach Road - it is now a prime destination, attracting shoppers and diners in the weekends and power suites during the weekday.
Singapore has launched several real-estate investment trusts (REITs) […]
I received Microsoft’s Annual Report in the mail yesterday. At first glance, the plain cover felt like it was a report from Berkshire Hathaway, made famous by Warren Buffet’s simple, no-nonsense approach to dealing with shareholders. But no, this was from Microsoft, one of the most profitable companies of our time.
I quickly rummaged […]