A Memory of Charlie

When Einstein was asked about his theory of relativity he quipped, “When you spent an hour with your girlfriend, it seemed like a minute just passed; but if you spend a minute in front of a hot oven, it feels like an hour.” Of course he spoke in jest but I can agree that 2009 raced past without me realising it had been a year. It was eventful, event-filled and eventually left me restless. Perhaps it should explain my almost year-long hiatus on my blog. If you had been hopeful to follow my blog when I first started it, sorry! It is an issue of personal discipline. How do you keep going when you’re down, tied-up, harried, hurried and hurt?

So here is this year’s review, a journey I started a decade and half ago in Motorola, Inc. Now that I no longer have a base from which to send out emails, I welcome you to my blog. It’s not “public consumption” as it’s really a sharing with friends, people I cherish and trust. However, I do recognise that in cyberspace, you don’t have real privacy and for that, I do pause. Unlike past summaries, I’ll review myself first. A year spent in the wilderness: a generous dose of reality and wake-up call. It was a whole year of change – doing things on my own, not knowing what tomorrow or next week brings, appreciating the many things and people I’ve taken for granted and realising that I’m held accountable for more than just one life.... these have been quite a threatening experience!

As the fireworks went off in Ritz Carlton and JW Marriott, I was in Jakarta. It was surreal watching the remnants of a restaurant on TV with the thought that I could have been having breakfast there that morning. God was and is still in charge. Suddenly the H1N1 virus that was affecting some three quarters of the world wasn’t that major an issue to me. It did give me some problems, though. It wasn’t a big deal when my son was down with chicken pox; I just resolved to take care of him myself and told my wife to back off. After all he’s on MC, I have flexible hours and I’ve had it when I was four..... except I didn’t reckon that I belong to a select group of people who will never gain immunity from the virus regardless how many times I’ve been infected.

Getting my son to the clinic was crazy that day because of H1N1 screening. We wanted him to have minimum outside contact and decided on the nearest clinic opposite his school (his paediatrician is 10 minutes from home). The line stretched for over one km! Then it was my turn to host the virus. If you never had it as a kid, pray that you’ll never get it as an adult. I fully appreciate Job and his boils – he was a courageous and faithful man. Bee Hwa got on the casualty list next after scalding her hand with boiling water and was out of action for a week. We then realised the cooking, cleaning and clearing have been taken for granted. These just have to sequentially spread over 3 weeks..... but it all turned out well. Simple, we just need to have faith and a few praying friends!

Then my ex-boss suffered a stroke while holidaying. He was bed-ridden and spent a month in a US hospital. Thank God he’s a lot better now but there’s still a long road ahead of him. Another friend had a heart attack just before our cell group were to meet. We met at the intensive care instead. When all signs were pointing towards a scheduled recovery, Charlie left us. A good friend, a loyal friend, an enthusiastic believer and a spirited cell group member, I remember him for his food, fixed timing and faith. He was a great pal to my son and was committed to all the things we did as a cell. He will be missed. When you have to squeeze for a seat at the funeral hall, you get an idea what sort of man he was. Charlie, this reflection is for you....

This year we also bade farewell to a few notables I grew up with. I was in my secondary school when we had our first TV. So I get to watch the Jackson Five, Kung Fu and Charlie’s Angels. Michael Jackson, David Carradine and Farah Fawcett were a part of my adolescent life. While those who know me know that I’m not really into entertainment, these old-time celebrities still left a vacuum in my life upon reflection. Michael taught us how to walk backwards (apparently you do that on the moon) with the music, Farah made Six Million Dollar Man Majors more interesting and David fed my appetite for some physical fighting post Bruce Lee. Patrick Swayze and Sir Bobby Robson left us too. Already I begin to dread if I’ll soon stop getting to enjoy great animation with the passing of Roy Disney, the last of the Disney clan to have significant contribution to the company.

Iconic brands left us too. I used to complain about the treachery of marketing when I heard the tagline “Sweden’s safest car”. Sweden exported only Saab to this part of world. Well, no more. I grew up knowing Max Factor, thanks to advertising (no, I *don’t* use the product) and it had certainly been around. My favourite business example when I teach was the demise of Encyclopaedia Britannica. A great brand with a great product that produced great benefits but was distributed in the wrong channel on the wrong medium. Encarta quickly replaced it and this year, Mr Softie decided the Wikis and search engines of the world have rendered it useless. Then, an Air France Airbus 330 disappeared into the Atlantic without its black box ever being recovered. Perhaps now we can only speculate at what actually happened. There have been too many deaths....

On a brighter note, the year started out with the historic inauguration of a black man to the most powerful position on earth. Mere months later, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo where he delivered a "just" war message. I thought Tolstoy made it clear war and peace don't go together? This controversy was preceded by something more controversial – his US$787 billion “stimulus package” to salvage the American economy. Across the Atlantic, The Bank of England reduced interest rate to 0.5%, a first in over three centuries. China was in a Catch-22 with her Renminbi while India launched the world’s largest election. There seemed to be a huge effort by the governments to fix things but is that enough for the capitalists? The stock market indices continue to rise despite the glaring absence of fundamentals.

Mr Softie, doing her part for the economy, introduced 2 new products. Bing is doing pretty decently against the juggernaut called Google and Windows 7 managed to salvage some mojo for Vista. Google herself brought out Chrome and Android. The airlines were not buying new planes nor were banks lending out that much more. Apple launched a new iPod Touch and the iPhone 3GS. This Christmas, after 15 years of denial, I’ve crossed over to the dark side ala Anakin Skywalker and joined the Apple Evangelist Army.

Across the causeway, there are creative ways to boost the flailing economy. Promoting “halal” bak kut teh must certainly rank top as a novel idea. Hiving off a couple of jet engines to Argentina is both novel and brazen. But the MCA calling an EGM and then ignoring every resolution passed at that EGM is novel, brazen and not incredibly very bright for a political party. When a Mongolian lady went missing last year, a key witness suddenly went missing. This year the blogger writing about it has now gone missing. More incredulous things have happened in “boleh land” over the years so I’m not that taken aback. Despite having lived here for so long, I still have feelings for my home country and I can’t really laugh.

In Singapore, there is a war against loan sharks, symptomatic of the economic troubles we inherited from last year. There is also preparation to deal with gambling addiction and one campaign (how typical) is looming up shortly. One wonders why go through this rigmarole while planning for more opportunities for people to go into debt – with 2 casinos opening soon, higher housing costs and increased maintenance of cars. It makes more sense to license money-lenders and increase tax on bright colour paints/markers just like they do on liquors and narcotics. It’s seriously "demand & supply" and there’s serious money to be made and perhaps ease off the pressure on ERP collection. Our little respite came from some comedy the Miss Singapore pageant afforded us. It lent credence to the rumour that these winners were decided even before the final evening, not that the result ever bothered me....

Some celebrities do deserve their fame. When a middle-aged spinster opened her mouth, Simon Cowell opened his in disbelief and bit his acerbic tongue. That classic look on TV for me is priceless, I had to download it from Youtube. Susan Boyle’s is a fairy tale. For Tiger Woods, his is now a horror story. He won 14 majors and reportedly matched each one with an affair. As he now qualifies as a Cheetah, he might have to give up his stripes. Hmmm, endorsing Pfizer’s Viagra might be an option? Michael Schumacher returns to the F1 after a false start when Felipe Massa was horrendously injured on track. Still on sports, Cristiano Ronaldo left MU, Kobe Bryant shot a 3-pointer with a hand in his face and zero seconds left to beat Miami Heats, Malaysia finally won the SEA games soccer gold after 2 decades and France handily qualified for the World Cup when the Irish forgot that basketball rules apply at times....

While everyone is in a holiday mood now, let me spoil it by reminding you that it’s actually a season trying to end the year, sandwiched between two public holidays. The latter holiday is symbolic but practical, considering the number of year-end party-goers who will not wake up for work the next day. This time around, there’s a weekend cushion! As a parent, it is pretty unique that school doesn’t start on Jan 2. The former holiday is symbolic too but for a far greater significance than advancing a number. A gift and a sacrifice twice over. Not because we paid for it or earned it or worked for it or deserved it but because we are loved. We made sacrifices for our son because we love him. He didn’t pay for them and wasn’t worthy of them through good behaviour, good grades or good obedience.

Whatever the year has been for you, the descriptions are in the past tense. The year ahead holds out new plans, new promises, and new power. The first 5 verses of the Book of Joshua open a new chapter for people in the wilderness. There is hope. The next 5 verses describe how the people should respond: be strong and courageous. Since the year is unknown, uncertain and uncontrollable, we need faith. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1). Amid the sanguinity, let us not forget to love. A society is measured not by how expensive are the cars or how big are the houses or how strong are the people or how smart are the kids, but by how the poor, sick, aged and handicapped are being loved.

Soon some of you will be chasing customers, some will be chasing the stock market, others will be chasing education and a handful will be chasing your spouse-to-be. I wish you something better than good luck: May your endeavours go according to God’s will, may His blessings go with you and may His hand be upon you.

This posting marks the end of my hibernation from the blog. You’re welcomed stop by but do not publicise. Have a blessed year ahead.

the quiXote

Obama's Historic Inauguration Address

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.


On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

CNN's List of 21 Dumbest Moments in Business 2008

1 Detroit pleads poverty - in style
Detroit execs were initially hoping for $25 billion - and a quick getaway. Like someone arriving at a food bank in a limousine, the chief executives of the three major U.S. automakers spark outrage when they fly their corporate jets to Washington D.C. to beg Congress for a multi-billion dollar bailout. Yes, we know that corporate jets are often a cost-effective way for the heads of far-flung corporations to get around. But someone should have known this wasn't going to look good (and, sure enough, Congress sent the auto chiefs away empty-handed). At the very least, couldn't they have shared a ride?

2 Lamest road trip ever
Let's see...corporate jets are a no-no...the subway doesn't go that far...A bike ride might just kill us...I know! Let's drive the 10 hours from Detroit to D.C. - in one of our cool hybrid cars! Given a second chance after the private-jet fiasco to plead their case before Congress, the Detroit 3 take to the road (separately, of course) in a company fuel-sipper. In the case of Chrysler's Robert Nardelli, the exercise in overkill is particularly awkward: The Chrysler Aspen Hybrid he drove will soon be discontinued.

3 Paulson's 3-page plea for $700B
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson learns how not to reach for $700 billion. In September, days after Lehman Brothers collapses and two other giants teeter on the abyss, Paulson submits his "break the glass" plan for saving the U.S. financial system. All of three pages, the proposal seeks carte-blanche access to $700 billion in government funding to buy up troubled mortgage assets at the root of the financial crisis - with scant details on how or where the money will be spent. Just as galling, Paulson includes a provision in the bill that will exempt his spending from court challenges. Congress axes the legal cloak, prompting Rep. Barney Frank to quip, "We have disexempted him." But the damage is done, and the proposal fails in the House Sept. 29 - triggering another massive market sell-off.

4 Bloating up the bailout
Maybe three pages wasn't such a bad idea after all...When Congress is done with it, Paulson's proposal for saving the U.S. financial system balloons to 451 pages and is loaded with pork barrel spending - including, unbelievably, a cut in taxes on toy arrows and an extended tax break on "wool products." Backers of the arrow tax exemption - section 503, for the record - say it reverses a wrongheaded 2004 law that sharply increased tax rates on cheap kids' arrows.

5 Mozilo's 'disgusting' reply-all
If you thought the former Countrywide CEO couldn't sink any lower, think again. Already under attack as the overpaid, over-tanned and over-zealous pioneer of subprime mortgages, Angelo Mozilo doesn't do himself any favors in May after reading a customer's e-mailed plea for help with his home loan. Intending to forward the missive to a colleague, Mozilo instead hits "reply all" and sends a response calling the beleaguered homeowner's request "unbelievable" and "disgusting." "Most of letters now have the same wording," grouses Mozilo. "Obviously they are being counseled by some other person or by the internet." Mozilo's heartfelt reply makes its way onto the Internet - and the onetime real estate king finds himself out of a job after Bank of America acquires Countrywide in July.

6 An iPhone app for just $999.99
Nobody would pay nearly a thousand bucks for a screen-saver, right? The release of the new Apple iPhone in July introduces to the masses the world of mobile video games and other time-sucking applications designed by non-Apple software developers - most of them available for less than $10. But one application sneaks past Apple's gatekeepers and onto the company's new App Store: "I Am Rich," a $999.99 screen-saver whose sole feature is a glowing red jewel. Apple gets blasted for making the application available for sale and then quietly removing it, but the real losers? The eight suckers who bought it.

7 Paulson's 'bazooka' backfires
Actions speak louder than words, Mr. Paulson. As shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plunge in mid-July on worries about their viability, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson assures Congress that merely promising to give the beleaguered mortgage lenders access to Treasury funding would calm market fears - at no cost to Uncle Sam. "If you've got a squirt gun in your pocket, you may have to take it out," Paulson tells legislators. "If you've got a bazooka and people know you've got it, you may not have to take it out." Congress delivers the bazooka, but investors aren't buying it. Two months later, Treasury takes over both companies in a move that could cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

8 Fannie's delusions of grandeur
Fannie Mae CEO Dan Mudd proves once again that his crystal ball is malfunctioning. In May, Mudd predicts that the government-sponsored mortgage lender will "feast" on weakened competition in the mortgage market - even as its own prospects dim amid mounting credit losses and asset writedowns. By September, on the brink of collapse, Fannie gets a new owner - Uncle Sam - and Mudd loses a job.

9 Sex for oil
This fall, the division of the Department of Interior responsible for granting leases for energy exploration and production in federal waters is caught with its pants down. The agency's Inspector General finds that staffers were taking gifts, having sex and engaging in illegal drug use with employees of some of the oil companies they oversee. As the report detailing the ethical abuses puts it: "We...discovered a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity in the...program."

10 Global warming? What a 'crock'
The General Motors exec behind the Chevrolet Volt electric car hands environmentalists another twig to beat GM with when he reportedly calls global warming "a crock of sh-t." Bob Lutz, GM's vice chairman for product development, later addresses the uproar on his own blog: "General Motors is dedicated to the removal of cars and trucks from the environmental equation, period. And, believe it or don't: So am I!"

11 Housing rescue comes up short
Remember Hope for Homeowners? We didn't think so. In July, Congress passes the only housing rescue to date: a plan to guarantee up to $300 billion worth of mortgages and prevent more than 300,000 foreclosures. But to participate, banks must take steep losses -- and doing so is voluntary. The anti-climactic upshot: A piddling 321 applications have been filed since the program's Oct. 1 launch - and not one loan workout has been completed, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

12 Cox's short-selling ban
Careful what you wish for. Under attack for not doing more to stop the market plunge, SEC chief Christopher Cox finally institutes a temporary ban on shorting, or betting against, 799 financial stocks. "The emergency order temporarily banning short selling of financial stocks will restore equilibrium to markets," Cox promises. But shares in banks, brokerages and insurance companies continue to plunge, losing a quarter of their value during the three weeks the mid-September order was effective. Some investors say the short ban hastened the flight of capital from stock and bond markets, by showing the government could intervene in markets in unexpected and troublesome ways.

13 McCain's economic denial
At least he warned us: On the morning of Sept. 15, as Lehman Brothers declares bankruptcy, Republican presidential candidate John McCain declares "the fundamentals of this economy are strong." By day's end, the Dow falls more than 500 points, the date becomes known as Black Monday, and McCain starts backpedaling fast. Maybe we should have seen this coming: In late 2007, McCain admits "the issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should," adding, "I've got Greenspan's book."

14 Obama's tough talk on NAFTA
In a rare off-message moment for Barack Obama's presidential campaign, a top economic adviser privately assures Canadian officials in February that his candidate didn't really mean it when he threatened to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, which U.S. blue-collar workers complain has shifted jobs to Canada and Mexico. "Political maneuvering" was how Austan Goolsbee described Obama's protectionist rhetoric to Canadian authorities. Smart politics - until a Canadian government memo of Goolsbee's meeting leaks out and Goolsbee is banished to no-media-allowed shed for the remainder of the election.

15 Microsoft overbids for Yahoo
The headlines seem so quaint now: Microsoft makes a $44.6 billion play for Yahoo in yet another bid to catch up to Google. The $31-per-share offer represents a 61% premium over Yahoo's price at the time of the February overture. Microsoft's strategy makes some sense, but CEO Steve Ballmer fails to anticipate Yahoo chief Jerry Yang's intransigence, which ultimately scuttles any chance of a deal. Nor does Ballmer foresee the economic crisis that, by year end, is dragging down the tech sector. With Yahoo shares trading at $12 apiece, the company is now worth $17 billion. Ballmer, however, gets the last laugh: by year end, he's still calling the shots at Microsoft. At Yahoo, Yang isn't.

16 Yahoo turns down payday
If Microsoft's offer for Yahoo was wrong-headed, Yahoo's opposition to it was downright bone-headed. It took until July, when Microsoft finally throws up its hands and walks away, for Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang to fumble a deal that would have rewarded shareholders with a payday that was three times what Yahoo shares were fetching at year-end. Along the way, Yahoo flirts with Google - only to see any potential deal scuttled by antitrust regulators. As 2009 approaches, Yahoo's chances of turning itself around look slim.

17 SEC's Madoff miss
Leave it to the markets to do the SEC's job for it. It took plunging stocks to bring to light the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history - an estimated $50 billion fraud orchestrated by Bernard L. Madoff, one of Wall Street's best-known money managers. The scheme - in which money from new investors is disguised as market returns for early investors - allegedly goes on for decades before Madoff effectively turns himself in in early December. As news reports reveal that the Securities and Exchange Commission had probed Madoff and his New York City investment firm over the years, chief Christopher Cox cops to the embarrassing screw-up: "I am gravely concerned by the apparent multiple failures over at least a decade to thoroughly investigate these allegations."

18 Rage against oil speculators
With oil prices skyrocketing toward their $147-a-barrel high in July, people smell a rat. Oil traders, hedge funds, Wall Street types...they're all to blame for artificially inflating the price of crude and reaping huge profits at the expense of drivers everywhere. Or so the thinking (and Congressional hearings) goes until prices suddenly collapse throughout the fall, bringing oil down to about $37 a barrel. The culprit this time? Softening demand amid a reeling global economy. So much for thinking fundamentals don't matter.

19 Jobs' 'greatly exaggerated' death
Newspapers prepare obituaries of famous people before they die, but few publish them while the subjects are still alive. In August, Bloomberg News accidentally releases an obit for Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who - despite a well-publicized brush with pancreatic cancer - is still alive and kicking. As if that wasn't enough, in October a post on CNN's user-generated site, iReport, claims that Jobs has suffered a heart attack. The erroneous report sends Apple's stock down 10% in just 10 minutes. At his next media appearance, Jobs appears in front of a giant screen with the message, "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."

20 Phil Gramm's 'mental recession'
In early July, as the financial crisis spreads to Main Street, McCain campaign co-chair and former senator Phil Gramm appeals to voters and their economic anxieties by calling them a "nation of whiners" and dismisses a troubled economy as a "mental recession." McCain denounces his words and Gramm steps down, but the damage is done.

21 Bill Miller's bad bets
The Legg Mason manager famously beat the market 15 years in a row, but now the market is returning the favor - with a vengeance. Miller's Legg Mason Value Trust was down 59% this year through Dec. 2, posting a far worse showing than the S&P 500, which was down "only" 38%. Miller's problems stem mostly from big bets on beaten-down financial companies earlier this year, many of which then got even more beaten down. Among the biggest losers for Miller were Bear Stearns, AIG and Freddie Mac - in which Miller had amassed an 8% stake on the eve of its government takeover in September.

Hope - breakfast? Or supper?

Greetings,

It's the time of the year that I try to recall notable events of the past 12 months, goor or bad and how we've responded to them as a race and add my own take to these events.

We're nearing the end of another year, one precipitated by turmoil in so many areas of our lives that we begin to wonder what we did wrong. Two decades ago, we welcomed the end of the Cold War and hailed the fall of the Berlin wall as victory of democracy and capitalism over communism. “It made the most sense,” we all said. Capitalism is the reason we're stuck in mud today. No, make that quicksand.

Early in the year, I watched “Juno” on the plane and later learned that it won several awards. It also won several followers and it suddenly became fashionable for teens to become pregnant, most notably Bristol Palin and Jaime Lynn Spears, whose sister was her role model. The sister lost custody of her 2 kids to her ex-husabnd this year because she was judged unable to take care of even herself.

Still on celebrities, I was teaching my son on electricity and we discussed the workings of a light bulb. As encouragement for his independence, I asked him to google Thomas Alva Edison and do some research. Big mistake -- a different Edison showed up, more popular than the inventor of the light bulb and a thousand other stuff. Why would people keep naked pictures of themselves and others as collection?

A number of celebrities left us this year. The earliest movie I can recall watching was Ben Hur starred by Charlton Heston. And many mourned the passing of Paul Newman. In Singapore, the original Mr Opposition, JBJ left behind an idelible legacy of his brand of politics, fighting until almost his last day.
Earlier on, we were captured by the tenacity of Randy Pausch, who literally delivered the “last lecture” as faculty of Carnegie Mellon. Following that great fight against his terminal illness was the profound message of living his childhood dreams -- you must want it badly enough. His lecture was all over YouTube and many social network sites. Go watch and be amazed and learn.

Some deaths are fated, some masterminded. Simultaneous attacks in Mumbai reminded us the threat of terror recognises no limit, individual, geography or timing. A reminder that Singaporeans will scarcely forget when thousands of hours were spent on trying to find and recapture a wayward detainee who purportedly went to take a leak. For someone who drives to Malaysia frequently, I've been fingerprinted more times than a petty thief. “Selamat Datang Ke Malaysia” now has a new meaning.

We cringed while waiting to see what sort of havoc Ike and Gustav will wreak, it was a fortunate outcome. But in Myanmar, Nargis destroyed everything. Then came heartbreak in Sichuan for a country readying herself for the Olympics. As in most disasters, heroes emerged from the China earthquake. It shows the resilience of the human spirit and the grace of God working together.

Beijing Olympics marked many firsts -- Michael Phelps broke Mark Spitz's record haul, the opening ceremony captured 5,000 years of history in one presentation, China showed the world how well they have been practising with gunpowder since they invented it. Today, we can hardly remember who took the 100m sprint silver or who was third in 10m diving or who fell badly from the “horse”. That's what the Olympics has been reduced to.

This year can also be known as the year of water-shed elections. Notably in Malaysia and Thailand, stranger things could not have happened. While Thailand just elected her fifth PM in 6 months, Malaysia is reeling from internet-driven awakening that removed the ruling coalition's 2/3 majority in the Mar 8 elections. The soap opera didn't end there as Anwar Ibrahim resurrected his political fortunes and one RPK was detained without trial, all around one murdered Mongolian lady. But those in Zimbabwe will think all these are child's play. Good ol' Robert.

But the biggest milestone of them all is the election of an African American to the highest office of USA, by default the most powerful position on earth. While Americans wait to shoo Obama into Amercian history, Bush ducked a farewell shoe into ignominity. Based on the former's acceptance speech, I'm keenly awaiting his inaugration speech early next year. Yes we can, boleh?

Like a dark storm cloud threatening to rain all of last year, financial turmoil poured and devastated everything and everywhere. Perhaps it's God's way of redistributing economic power and with it, real power. $1.2tr of US's bonds are owned by 2 Asian countries, the Arabs rejoiced when oil reached $147.27 a barrel, then on Sep 29, Dow tanked 8.8% - biggest ever single day drop. The Feds responded with a rate cut down to 0.25%.

Familiar names became fish bait -- Lehman Brothers are no more, Merill Lynch now belong to Bank of America. Bear Sterns were swallowed whole. Then the worms began crawling out of the woodworks. When Nick Leeson bled Barings of $1.4b, it was big news a decade ago. Societe Generale's $7b rogue trade made him look like pussy-cat. Then came grand-daddy Bernard Madoff's $50b fraud. I guess I've seen everything now.

In the thick of all these, scientists tried to replicate the birth of the universe by building the LHC (large hadron collider). It took 20 years and $10b and gave fears that we might create a black hole on earth with catastrophic consequences. Thanks to faulty magnets, the machine was shut down until next year. God was not about to reveal certain parts of history, not yet.

Personally, the year was a big milestone for me too.... I parted from the only company I worked for and the ensuing freedom was initially unsettling. But it worked out fine, only to show that when you know that Someone is in charge, let Him be in charge; things will work out. So in spite of what is happening, I want to bring a message of hope. Francis Bacon said that hope is a good breakfast but a bad supper.

Well, it's an attitude thing and it's your lifestyle too. Where do you place your faith? Yourself? The World? We've let ourselves down many times, so has the world. Won't you try something different this time? Over 2,000 years ago, Hope was sent to us and we ignored, rejected and persecuted Him. The gracious Hope still waits for us today. “.... but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15b

As I walk off in a new direction, I look not at paths before me that I should take but rather I would choose to create a trail that others could follow. Is it my time already? Have a hopeful Christmas and a blessed New Year.

the quiXote

Don't Sell This Stock. Ever.

Don't Sell This Stock. Ever.
By Nick Kapur November 16, 2008 The Motley Fool

Legendary investor Philip Fisher bought a little radio company called Motorola in 1955 and pioneered a revolution. The guy did his homework, exercised a good deal of discipline, and found himself with a stock that multiplied many, many times -- all while sitting on his butt. Sounds pretty nice, eh?

In today's volatile and troubled market, taking your hands off the wheel is probably the last thing you want to do. And just like you, I fight that same fear. But we're looking at a historically discounted market. And that's precisely why right now is the best time to find a great company, invest in it, and then sit on your butt -- instead of fretting, trading, and losing sleep.

Good story, but how? I've written before about the decision to chuck your stocks into the wastebasket. But that advice may not be entirely helpful -- what you really need is to avoid the kinds of stocks that put you in that situation in the first place. After all, if you're in a situation where you have to sell a stock because it has problems, it's too late. To get around that problem, you need to get to know a man buried in an obscure cemetery in the Kreuzberg section of Berlin, Germany.

Man muss invertiren, immer invertiren
In case your German is a bit rusty, the expression translates to "One must invert, always invert." It's credited to the mathematician Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, who taught us to make a habit of reversing difficult equations to arrive at the solutions behind them. Let's take Jacobi's idea and apply it to our current situation.

Instead of thinking about when to sell, perhaps the more intelligent question to ask is the inverted one: When should we never sell? The answer leads us to the "sit on your butt" philosophy that has worked so well for many of history's finest investors. If we can identify a few businesses that investors should have never sold, we can work backward to extract a few salient characteristics and then use them in our search for the next never-sell investment.

History's lessons
Case No. 1: Berkshire Hathaway
Overall return, 1964-2007: 400,863%
Lesson: Top-flight management

Of all of the advantages that Berkshire Hathaway has going for it, the most important begins with two men: Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. Without them, Berkshire would probably be a now-defunct textile mill. Instead, the pair have made prescient investments into long-lasting businesses like Proctor and Gamble -- that have paid off handsomely. Managers needn't be Buffett-like, either, to be great. I think Jim Senegal of Costco is a great example of a unique leader that has built a fantastic business over the years. Investors should absolutely demand fantastic management.

Case No. 2: Altria
Return, 1970-present (including dividends): 103,800%
Lesson: Undeniable consumer-facing trends

Regardless of how you feel about Big Tobacco, you have to admit that Altria is so successful because it runs a business built on a fundamentally consumer-driven -- and highly addictive -- product. Plenty of other great companies display similar characteristics -- for example, Dell was well prepared 15 years ago to serve a generation demanding personal computing solutions; meanwhile, today, Research In Motion is creating means by which these same people can be completely mobile. As investors, we definitely want a business that appeals to consumers' most basic interests and can benefit from that tailwind.

Case No. 3: IBM
Return, 1962-present (including dividends): 2,832%
Lesson: Agility

Not all companies need to innovate to be great, but the vast majority need to be able to read the market, react, and be ahead of long-term trends. Having been many different things over the course of its life, IBM definitely has an ability to adapt going for it; I'd venture to say that Apple displays a similar ability. Let's invest with companies that can zig and zag, when others have cement feet.

Case No. 4: Microsoft
Return since going public in 1986: 26,463%
Lesson: Scalability

We want businesses that can take on new customers without needing to seriously build out their existing operations. Microsoft is a perfect example. Reinvestment is costly -- so, identify businesses that don't require much of it to ramp up the top line.

If you combine these four qualities and find even a few stocks that fit the mold, you're probably onto something seriously good. I'd argue it's most likely a company to buy early, buy often, and never sell.

So what now?
We can do two things with this information:
1 Use it as a further tool to understand what stocks we need to sell now. (Talk about inverting!)
2 Use these principles to buy stocks that we'll never, ever need to sell. That's where sitting on our butts comes in.

It's not mere coincidence that most of the world's best investments fall within one of these four categories (many of them share more than one). Nor is it a coincidence that great investors constantly search for these combinations -- as you should, too, especially in these turbulent markets.

Motorola to freeze pension plans, cut exec pay

Motorola to freeze pension plans, cut executive pay, stop 401(k) matching plans
Wednesday December 17, 2008, 11:33 am EST

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (AP) -- Motorola Inc., which has been struggling to revive its business in recent years, is freezing its pension plans and reducing executive pay in another set of cost-cutting measures. The company, which blamed the recession for the moves disclosed Wednesday, will permanently freeze its U.S. pension plans, temporarily suspend matching 401(k) contributions and reduce the base salary of its two co-chief executives. Motorola had already announced an $800 million cost-saving plan in October, but spokeswoman Jennifer Erickson would not elaborate on how much additional money the company expects to save with the latest steps.

Motorola plans to freeze the salaries of an unspecified number of other employees in many of its markets in 2009. Erickson said the company will raise salaries in countries where it is "legally required or a competitive necessity; however, in most cases, these increases will be below 2008 levels." She did not specify the countries or how many employees would be affected by the pay freeze.
Motorola earlier this fall said it will cut 3,000 jobs by April, with about 2,000 coming from its struggling cell phone unit, as part of the $800 million cost-reduction plan.

Now Motorola says Co-CEOs Greg Brown and Sanjay Jha will take a 25 percent cut in their base salary of $1.2 million in 2009. Brown will also forgo any 2008 cash bonus earned under the company's incentive plan. For Jha, whose employment contract provides for a guaranteed cash bonus for 2008, the bonus will be voluntarily reduced and the rest taken as restricted stock units. Motorola said it is taking these measures to address the global economic turmoil. But the company has been under pressure to follow the runaway success of its Razr cell phone, which came out in 2005.

Earlier this year, the company announced plans to separate its struggling handset business from other operations, forming two separate, publicly traded companies. But in October Motorola said it will postpone the spinoff, citing the economic downturn and the financial market turmoil. Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Matthew Sheerin said the new cost-cutting announcements signal that things are getting worse for Motorola, and he called the lack of updated guidance "curious."

But he praised the company's efforts to reduce expenses and stay profitable despite the troubles in its mobile device unit, saying it's done an "admirable job." Motorola shares fell 10 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $4.31 in morning trading. The stock has lost nearly three-quarters of its value since the beginning of the year.

Interesting mathematics

Let's say the cost of producing electricity, A, is dependent upon only oil price and other non-fuel factors. And let's call them X and Y respectively. The Energy Market Authority announced that fuel price has come down by 40% and so next quarter, Singaporeans will pay 25% less for electricity. If my primary math serves me well (it better, my son is in primary school!):

X reduces by 40% while Y stays the same, so X + Y = A comes down by 25%

Then 40% of X = 25% of A or simply put, A = 1.6 X

We can now substitute some numbers (for the mathematically-challenged!)

If X = 100, then A = 160 and so Y is 60

Do you believe that operational cost (non-fuel factors) can command 60/160 or 37.5% of the electrical tarrif that you pay? If that were so, power producers will be happy for higher fuel prices as that will mask their operational costs. Now try using X = 60 since it has dropped 40%. Y stays at 60 and A now becomes 120 (25% drop). Now operational cost of 60/120 is a good 50%!

I wonder what was the % when oil price was at $25?