Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Vetting of mini-bonds in Hong Kong

Read this report about the proceedings in the Hong Kong Legislative Council, where the legislators questioned the Securities & Futures Commission that was responsible to regulate the financial market.

Swine Flu

Is the swine flu epidemic over? Read this article.

Some people said that this scare was exaggerated and the drug companies benefited from selling the drug to billions around the world. Now the health authorities are stuck with these drug.

Long working hours in Singapore

Summary of comments

Lilian said
I agree on the long working hours in Singapore. the peer pressure and competitiveness is really strong. My american friend is working here and he also feel pressurized to stay back sometimes, which he tell me that it is very uncommon in US.

php said...
I am not sure if any government is able to help at all. I think the most important person who can influence the working hours is the BOSS himself. I have been running an Asian HQ of a European MNC for the past 20 years and I told my staff that there is no need to stay later than the office hours unless it is extremely critical. The result is (almost) all the staff will leave the office just 5 minutes after working hour.

Tan Kin Lian said...
Hi php. You set a good example. Unfortunately, there are not many bosses like you. The majority are of the other kind.

I believe that there is a lot that the Government can do. They have the power to legislate and to regulate. As they have ignore this problem, the situation has gone really bad.

So, if the Government and the Parliament address this problem, a lot can be done. At the least, it will send a message to the majority of employers.

(Note: somebody object to my use of 99% of employers, so I change to majority).

Endorsement of indexed funds

Read this article.

Champions in Stock Pick

Congratulations to Albert, Michael and Ken Lua for being champions in stock picking in the simulation game (Pro-Investor).

You can download a comprehensive Guide to Pro-Investor here.
Click here to play the game.

Poor quality of life

Many Singaporeans spend too much time in the office. In some cases, their employer cut down on manpower, making it necessary for the employees to spend more hours to finish their work. In other cases, the employees stay back late due to peer or boss pressure, as leaving on time is considered as "not hard working".

I met an Indonesian who studied and continued to work in Singapore for the past eight years. His working hours is from 9 am to 9 pm, every day. He is caught in the Singapore system.

I hope that the Government leaders realise why Singaporeans are not producing babies. How can they, when many have to work long hours? They do not have time for their families. They may not have time to find their life partners.

The competitive environment in Singapore, the lack of job security and the high cost of living are the main factors contributing to our low birth-rate, which is now nearly the lowest in the world. Some apologists said that this is the trend in developed countries, but why should Singapore fare worse than other countries in this respect? There must be some factors in Singapore that make us worst!

Tan Kin Lian

Be patient and give way

Singapore drivers are generally impatient and do not give way. If the car in front signal to move lane, the car behind will usually sound the horn, rather than slow down. Why are drivers so impatient?

Easy search for a place in Singapore

I wanted to find a Muslim restaurant near Jalan Sultan. I found a famous restaurant at a specific address in North Bridge Road. I needed a map to locate this restaurant. I used the Real Estate Data Map portal in this webpage. It gave me the map immediately. I decided to bookmark this webpage for future use.