Market Today

Today's market outlook comes early (cos I'll going out for my Friday nite party!)
Anyway, here's the juice for your post-dinner digestion (or indigestion):

In London, the FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed 8 points lower, at 6,440, yesterday. Now at 6,490, it has regained some 50 points.On the Continent, the Paris CAC-40 is currently at 5,906, up 77 points from yesterday. Frankfurt's DAX-30 was lifted to 7,338, intraday. Not bad for a day's job.
Across the Atlantic, stocks closed mixed as the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors made gains whilst oil majors and metals miners fell. The Dow Jones industrial index recovered from a morning slump to achieve a new record closing high of 12,808, a 4-point gain. The Nasdaq lost 5 points, ending the day at 2,505. And the S&P 500 lost one point to close at 1,470.
In Asia, buyers cautiously returned to the Nikkei following yesterday's losses, helping the Tokyo index to a close of 17,452, an 80-point gain. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng added 234 points to close at 20,534. STI picked up another 69 points to close at 3,360, just 40 points down from yesterday. KLSE, the only laggard of the day, seems to be the only counter that might end the day in the negative saw itself jump right back on track to 1,315, up just 9 points from yesterday's close. So no red today in Asia.
Crude oil was 52 cents higher at $62.35 this morning, and Brent spot had edged up to $65.79 in London.
Spot gold lurched between an 11-month high of $691.50 and a low of $678.70 yesterday, and was trading at $684.70 this morning. Silver had climbed to $13.73.

So what's going on?

A shiver went through global stock markets briefly yesterday as China’s economic growth once again stormed in ahead of expectations, at 11.1% in the first quarter, leading premier Wen Jiabao to announce plans for a further crackdown on lending.
The Shanghai Shenzhen index fell 4.5%. Mr Wen felt that loan growth is too fast. Fact is: Inflation is now at 3.3%, the fastest rate in two years, and money is still being piled into building industrial infrastructure that no one really needs. Meanwhile, millions of Chinese are opening trading accounts & diving into the stock market, as a rampant case of genuine casino capitalism overtakes the populace.
You don’t have to belong to the Austrian School of Economics to know that this mad levels of investment, especially when orchestrated by commissars for political purposes, invariably end badly.
Part of the problem is that the Chinese currency, the yuan, remains artificially cheap. All the money flowing into the country is fuelling the boom. Some felt that the regime should “bite the bullet now” on yuan revaluation. Of course this would lead to carnage in the countryside as farmers would go bankrupt in the face of cheap grain imports.
This is probably the reason that the chinese government is trying to find other ways to slow the damaging growth in its investment bubble, such as tightening lending requirements. But if you keep trying to put off the tough choices until tomorrow, the problem you‘re attempting to escape just gets larger and larger, Mr Wen.
Of course, you have a choice, Mr Wen. Other countries don’t even have the option of setting their own rates.

So, how is your stomach now?

Until Monday, have a great weekend.
And remember: Don't do what I Won't Do.

Maths is Everything

A husband wrote the following letter for his wife and left it on the dining room table:

To My Dear Wife,
You will surely understand that I have certain needs that you, being 54 years old, can no longer satisfy. I am very happy with you and I value you as a good wife. Therefore, after reading this letter, I hope that you will not wrongly interpret the fact that I will be spending the evening with my 18 year old secretary at the Comfort Inn Hotel.
Please don't be upset - I shall be home before midnight.

When the man came home late that night, he found the following letter on the dining room table:

My Dear Husband,
I received your letter and thank you for your honesty about my being 54 years old. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that you are also 54 years old. As you know, I am a math teacher at our local college. I would like to inform you that while you read this, I will be at the Hotel Fiesta with Michael, one of my students, who is also the assistant tennis coach. He is young, virile, and like your secretary, is 18 years old. As a successful businessman who has an excellent knowledge of math, you will understand that we are in the same situation, although with one small difference: 18 goes into 54 a lot more times than 54 goes into 18!!!
Therefore, I will not be home until sometime tomorrow.

A Blonde is a blonde is a blonde...

A gorgeous young redhead goes into the doctor's office and said that her body hurt's wherever she touches it.
"Impossible!" says the doctor. "Show me what you mean?"
The redhead took her finger, pushed on her left breast and screamed, then she pushed her elbow and screamed even more! She pushed her knee and screamed again; likewise she pushed her ankle and screamed.
Everywhere she touched made her scream!
The doctor said, "You're not really a redhead, are you?
"Well, 'err, no" she said, "I'm actually a blonde."
"I thought as much!" The doctor said ...
"That's a broken finger!!!"

Learn the 5 Langauge of Apology Part V

Learn the fifth language: Requesting forgiveness.
This says, “Will you please forgive me?”
When you speak this language, you show the offended person that you want to see the relationship fully restored. Let the person know that you realize you’ve done something wrong, and that you’re willing to put the future of the relationship in his or her hands, since the relationship depends on that person’s choice to either forgive or not forgive.
But never demand forgiveness; understand that it’s a gift that must be given freely.
Don’t expect the person you’ve offended to forgive you immediately, because forgiveness can be costly and take some time.
Ask God to help you be patient as you wait.

Adapted from:
The Five Languages of Apology: How to Experience Healing in All Your Relationships
by Gary Chapman and Jennifer Thomas, 2006

Rules for Success from a Cab Driver

(Below was an account about a motivating taxi driver in Houston, Texas - by Zig Ziglar)

One morning in Houston, Texas, I caught a taxi (to go to a breakfast meeting) and during a short ride I heard one of the finest sales talks on America and free enterprise that I ever heard.
The cab driver had been a professional health care provider in his native Nigeria, but he preferred living in a free society, with the opportunity to do what he pleased, and so he was very excited about being a cab driver in Houston.
During our conversation my immigrant friend quickly turned to motivator and his enthusiasm led him to give me some rules for success! I offer them here so that you might benefit from them, too.

1. Pay your bills.
2. Obey the laws.
3. Keep your eyes on God. God is in charge.
4. Run from lazy, crooked people.
5. Make your workplace your home.
6. Love and honor your boss.
7. Keep your promises.
8. Mind your own business.

I was motivated by the cab driver who was excited about his dream and having the opportunity to live it. He had set his goal long ago. He was living his dream. He wasn't waiting until he could get into something better; he was performing with the opportunity he had. He was happy with what he had and was enthusiastically giving life his best shot. That, my friend, is marvelous preparation for a better tomorrow!

The Truth about Truth

"Sincerity is not a test of truth.
We must not make this mistake: He must be right; he's so sincere.
Because, it is possible to be sincerely wrong.
We can only judge truth by truth and sincerity by sincerity."

"There is nothing wrong with affirmations,
provided what you are affirming is the truth.
If you are broke, for example, the best thing to affirm is, 'I'm broke!'"

"Very few of us are authorities on the truth.
About the closest that any of us can get is what we hope is the truth or what we think is the truth.
That's why the best approach to truth is probably to say, 'It seems to me...'"
- Jim Rohn

No Fish Prawn also Can

For all my lonely female friends out there:

"Boh Hur Hay Mah Hoe"!

I am not sure whether is this a Japanese or Korean product.

But I know it's out there.

Advantage: He can't talk back to you.

Disadvantage: He can't talk back to you.