Ubiquitous Casinos in Macau vs 2 S'pore Casinos

On a recent visit to Macau I cannot help noticing the ubiquitous casinos said to number about 30 odd - they are just like the shopping centres we have in Singapore. I asked our tour guide who are the patrons of the casinos - she said mainly Chinese from the Mainland. I asked her what about the local population. She said she, as a working mother including many of her contemporaries will not dare step inside as they are mindful of the danger of gambling. According to her the locals who visit the casinos are (surprise!surprise!) the retirees who have the money & time!!! In S'pore we have 2 casinos & you know what? I salute the Government for its ingenious idea of collecting the Levy which as at today stands at $70 million translated to $280 million yearly revenue for the Government not counting the taxes on the profits of the casinos. The casino patrons are 50:50 citizens(including permanent residents)& non-citizens. The 2 casinos employ more than 16,000 workers,70 per cent of whom are our local people. My only worry is for our retirees - they should not be lured by the casinos just because they have the time and money.

Senile Dementia vs Wine/Beer Drinking

I just had an interesting conversation with an old lady of 70+ years. She said she dreaded the old-age disease Senile Dementia. She believed that by drinking wine & beer nightly she would thwart the onslaught of the dreaded disease. She said she does this practically every night - drinking at a coffee-shop at Bukit Merah Road & then taking a taxi back to her home (condo-unit) near Kheam Hock Road at Bukit Timah. She calculated that her total expenditure per night will be about $50 which totaled up to about $1500 p.m. She considers this amount worth spending vis-a-vis the amount that would be incurred if she will be striken down with Senile Dementia. To her simple mind the cost of hospitalisation, medical costs, etc to treat dementia will rachet to thousands of dollars if not ten thousands. She said her eye-sight and hearing are failing. She also said her children encouraged her to visit the Casinos but she was put off by the Levy. I admire her for her simple philisophy and wish her all the best in her Golden Years!!!!

Tragedy in Thailand

It saddens me to see what had happened in Thailand recently. I feel that the protest leaders should be more responsible and accountable! After organizing and agitating the red-shirt protesters for change and democracy for the last 2 months, they acted irresponsibly and callously by saying they were surrendering when the Government decided to crack down on the protesters last Wednesday. By doing so they left the protesters leaderless which resulted in the mayhem of senseless rioting, looting and burning. According to reports more than 88 persons were killed and 40 odd buildings burned. The leaders could have managed the situation better by accepting some sort of compromise when the Government offered to negotiate - indeed such wanton loss of lives and properties could have been prevented! Yes, the leaders should be more responsible and held accountable for their actions - for protesting, demonstrating and challenging the Government of the day have attendant consequences which every leader should be conscious and mindful of. If they are "real" leaders and believe that their causes are just, they and their fellow protesters should have presented themselves as "passive resistance" freedom fighters as Ghandhi did in India!!! Yes,the protest leaders should be held answerable, responsible and accountable for the Tragedy!!!!

Re: $3 Taxi-Surcharge at Marina Bay Sands

There has been a lot of talk recently on the $3 Location Taxi-Surcharge at the Marina Bay Sands. My thought on the matter is as follows:-

Marina Bay Sands is located next to its neighbours like Esplanade & Marina Square Complex where the $3 CBD(Central Business District)Taxi-Surcharge is applicable. In fact it takes only 1 minute if you drive via Bayfront Bridge from Marina Square to MBS. Thus it takes common sense for a taxi-driver to queue & pick-up passengers from the Marina Square Area as he can collect the $3 Surcharge if there is no surcharge at MBS. It is a misnomer to label the Surcharge at MBS as Location Surcharge as you can clearly see it is situated almost within the CBD. Thus it should appropriately be termed CBD Surcharge.

Investment Quotes to Ponder & Chew Upon

In view of the financial /stock market turmoil follwing the Greece's Debt Crisis, it may be appropriate to ponder & chew on some of the investment advice available:-

1) The fundamental law of investing is the uncertainty of the future .....Peter Bernstein.

2) We know in retrospect that stock prices tend to overreact & valuations revert to the mean. But it's never possible to know in advance when the reversion will occur .....Burton Malkiel.

3) Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent ............John Maynard Keyne.

4) Remember the goal of investing is not to achieve the highest return. Instead, it is to have the highest likehood of achieving your objectives .....Anonymous.

5) If you are prepared to do something stupid repeatedly,there are many professionals happy to take your money ........Richard Thaler.

6) Let's say it clearly. No one knows where the market is going - experts or novices, soothsayers or astrologers. That's the simple truth. ..........Fortune.

7) There are only 3 types of market forecasters: those who don't know, those who don't know they don't know, & those who know they don't know, but get paid a lot of money to pretend that they do. .......... Larry E Swedroe.

8) I can calculate the motions of the heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people ....Sir Isaac Newton.

Yes, We Should Read More!

I remembered watching China's CCTV interview of China's PM Wen Jiabao in which he said "A Nation will not prosper if its citizens do not read". Yes, we should read more for our own sake. There is a whole new world that books provide for us to explore, learn, understand and stimulate us. Immediately after the Financial Crisis of 2008 there were tons of books published by journalists, writers, economists, etc. (mostly American/Western) delving into the How, Why, What Happened & Who-Dun-It? on the Crisis. Our Asian counterparts should emulate the West on this though hitching on the band-wagon of profits notwithstanding. So run down to our National Library with your Identity Card & start the reading habit. You can borrow a maximum of 6 books at a time. Happy Reading!