The Safer Option During Dangerous Times

As you can see in the news below, bad news have hit us and the market has fallen, AGAIN! These are the times when uncles in coffee shops and aunties in wet markets are discussing about the RIGHT TIME TO BUY.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

U.S. stocks lower as oil edges up again

By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch

Last update: 10:54 a.m. EDT July 28, 2008

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks on Monday were on the defensive as oil prices rose and with earnings reports, including a sharp profit drop at Tyson Foods Inc., eclipsing cheer over a pending rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

I believe that trying to time the market is just like inviting disaster. Frankly speaking, I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could show me a proven system that allows me to know the right time to buy when the market is at the lowest and sell when the market is at the highest.

The $10,000 Hammer

A giant ship engine failed. The ship’s owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure how to fix the engine.

Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom. Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do.

After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed.

A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for $10,000. “What?!” the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything!” So they wrote the old man a note saying, “Please send us an itemized bill.”

The old man sent a bill that read:
Tapping with a hammer…… ……… $ 2.00
Knowing where to tap……… ……..$ 9,998.00

Lesson to be learned :

“Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life makes all the difference”

The Shocking Truth About Wealth!

Let me start off by just asking you to do a simple exercise..

Imagine yourself being a multi-millionaire in future. Imagine that future look of yours as a super rich man.

Float down into that body.. See what you are seeing, hear what you are hearing, and feel the feeling of being a multi-millionaire..

Now what do you see? What kind of clothes are you wearing? What kind of car are you driving? What kind of house are you living in?

Okay! Do it now before you move onto the next paragraph!

Why are the Ang Mohs Leaving for Asia?

Not long ago I was in class sitting beside a Singaporean. Right in front of us was a foreigner. During the break, we had a simple chat and it turned that that the man sitting in front was an Australian. Curiously, I asked, “Why Singapore? Most of the people I know are dreaming to go over to Australia.”

“What? You mean working in Australia? Come on, you got to be joking! Even Jim Rogers packed his bags, left New York to take up permanent residence here!”

For your information, Jim Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros in the 1960s and later created the Rogers International Commodity Index. When interview, Jim revealed that living in Asia excites him. “Moving to Asia is like moving to New York in 2007 or like moving to London in 1907″, he said. In Singapore, which he says is pollution-free and he has many English-speaking friends.

You see, the world is changing.. Way TOO FAST! Never has the region changed so much in such short time!

In this post, I would like to share some staggering numbers on our region of Asia. This post is written for you to know what to expect next from Asia. And of course, are you ready for the change?

(The information in this post are extracted from Asia Future Shock by Michael Backman)

The Bricklayers

There was a classic story which is often told again and again about the job attitudes of 3 bricklayers.

When asked, “What are you doing?”

The first bricklayer replied, “Laying brick.”

The second bricklayer replied, “Making $8 an hour:

The third bricklayer said, “Me? I’m building the world’s greatest tower!”

Well.. The story doesn’t tell us what exactly happened to the 3 bricklayers after that but what do you think happened?

In my opinion, the first 2 bricklayers remained just that: bricklayers..

The third bricklayer would be moving way ahead of the others.

Why?

They commanded job respect! There was a strong belief to propel him forward to greater success!

You see..

There are basically 2 categories of people on how they think towards everything they do..

Life Insurance:Hate it.. or Love it

Before I joined the financial services industry, I was one of those guys who was very enthusiastic about investment. I enjoyed watching how my portfolio grew year after year. I simply loved reading investment professionals like Warren Buffett or George Soros. I loved learning about investment strategies like value investing, momentum investing, etc.

When I came to Singapore to join HSBC as a financial planner, the problem I had was that I was very skeptical towards life insurance. I never seemed to be able to understand why my dad was paying so much for my 4 insurance policies every year despite the fact that I was still a student during my college days without any money making ability. You name it, he bought it all.. AIA, Great Eastern, Prudential, MAA. When I asked my dad the reason he bought those insurance plans for me, he simply answered, “Son, I don’t understand either. Let me just show you how the agent sold it to me.”

Right now, as I’m unattached to any insurance company, I believe that my unbiased position right now allows me to make this statement.

Life insurance is one of the worst financial tool ever created!