Good and Bad

It hasn't been easy and definitely not smooth. When times are bad and God seems so far away, you start wondering if He actually listens. Until I am reminded -
"Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 1:10)

Treat them well

While audit firms face the challenge of being relevant in the marketplace and calls to raise their technical competence, it is no doubt a great place to work despite the long hours.

Is that due to the camaraderie developed from working long hours together or pure people management acumen by the partners and firm? KPMG London was voted the best employer last year in the UK. Perhaps if they know that they can't pay staff well, the least they can do is to treat them well.

Be warned about Viator.com

I was recommended to Viator by Andy a couple of years ago and had made several travel bookings through their website. On most occasions, I have relied on the reviews and ratings to formulate a decision. Recently we booked a Last Supper tour while in Milan through Viator. I left some honest but possibly damaging feedback on the tour and was expecting the review to be updated on the website.

Looks like the Viator is not keen on letting serious travellers know the truth. Any one doing his/her due diligence would have recognised the red flags when virtually every review was a "Absolutely loved it". Mine definitely wasn't. So if you are considering a particularly exotic tour package - you have been warned!

The mood has changed...

I am still in the state of self-denial and uncertainty ...

A Recruiter's Nightmare

From the recruiter:
'I am writing as a follow up action to your noted absence for the interview at xxx for the Project Manager role.

We are very disappointed that you did not attend the interview as arranged and the client also expressed his disappointment in your absence. It would have been courteous of you to let us know well in advance that you were not going to attend the interview, and also to respond to the voicemail messages and text messages we sent you before and after the arranged interview time.

We find it very disappointing when candidates do not attend pre-arranged interviews without good explanation as we consider it is a waste of our time and efforts, not to mention the damage it causes to the relationships with our clients. If there are circumstances that arose which prevented you from attending the interview then we appreciate that, however it is only courtesy that you inform us of such circumstances, either before or certainly after the scheduled interview.

Please do contact us to explain your absence, however if you do not, it gives us no other option than to freeze your details on the database and no longer represent you for future roles which is a shame as we considered you as an excellent candidate'.

Concise response from the candidate:
Click here for the reply.

Why can't the auditors get it?!?

Good article from The Economist on the issues relating to fair-value accounting of exotic derivatives such as the current problems with CDO. And precisely why auditors, who are called to be the safeguard of the capital markets, can't live up to expectations.

This frightens me.

This probably doesn't bother most non-FOOTBALL or non-Arsenal fans, but it scares me. Cesc wants to be the next captain? Gosh, if I can remember well, captaincy seems to be the step before departure.

Whatever happened to Thiery Henry, Patrick Vieira and Sol Campbell?

It's tough being rich...

Most people gripe about the rich getting richer and statistical data appears to provide strong evidence of an ever-widening rich-poor divide. Whether in a down or up economy, the rich, with easy access to financial advisers and most financial products, can make money. As for mere mortals, we can either hope for a strong savings rate or a bull stock market. Why?

Because exotic financial products are only available to the sophisticated investors or the private wealth. Expecting rates to go lower? Get an inverse floater. Not from your local retail banks though. Enhanced yield in time of low rates? Get a leveraged bond or super senior tranche. Expecting bad credit/equity news for a particular company. Shucks, as a retail investor, contra is not exactly a good/wise idea and there are high transaction costs associated with short selling. Not for the sophisticated who can buy protection via the credit default swaps market.

So this article caught my attention - "There Has Never Been a Tougher Time to Be Wealthy". Hmmm, must the regulators coming down hard on the wealthy. No way, it's actually about the increased cost of desired items - for the wealthy. What a letdown. If this is going to bother the rich (well, probably just a tickle), what's for the heartlanders?

The undesired ending...

The trip to Edinburgh was planned months ago. While the accommodation and sight-seeing tour can be planned, a flight delay is totally out of my control. We touched down at Gatwick around 1045pm, which left us 30 minutes to get to the train station which leaves for London Bridge at 11:15. Missing that would mean another hour's wait till 1215pm. We waited and waited and waited for the luggage . It eventually came off the belt but the "air-train" to the rail station was the bottleneck and having 20 girls on a hen's night fighting every space with us proved to be our downfall. We sped off when the doors opened. Shucks, 30 secs late and an very unforgiving end to a good trip.

What was meant to be a "relaxed" trip turned out to be rather intense as we waited aimlessly (and tired) for another hour. Upon arriving in London, we took a mini-cab home. This was Xueyan's first ride in a London cab and, my, wasn't it so forgettable.

The trip up north was our first to Scotland since we came over. Friends shared about the "nice weather, whiskey aplenty and sexy Scots". It did not disappoint, other that me hoping to go up there again as I thought we only had a glimpse of Scottish hospitality. We went in search of Nessie and the Holy Grail. While the Knights Templar was not to be found, we did find Nessie.

Touchy...

The topic of scholarships is always an interesting one and potentially a divisive one among friends and in Singapore. Given the government's "encouraging" stand on this, I am surprised to read this in The New Paper:

Rethink scholarships, give only to needy to help them climb up

THE rich give their children a leg up the beanstalk to wealth by making sure their children are well-educated - the best pre-school, private tuition, enrichment classes, overseas exposure.

Is there a way to give more people the chance to move up the education beanstalk in pursuit of their share of 'golden eggs'?... Last year , it was revealed that students from better-off families made up about half of government scholarship holders last year. ... Financial expert Leong Sze Hian has an idea: Reshuffle the chips for each generation by giving scholarships only to the poor...


I wonder how far this can go (means-testing again?). While it's probably true that some scholars that I know come from very comfortable and well-to-do families, most of my closer "scholar friends" are pretty much your typical HDB heartlanders (VS - neighbourhood school mah). They will most probably not be given this push in life if they hadn't had a paid scholarship. Moreover the state of economy and culture in Singapore is hardly comparable to the States to make meaningful analysis.

So if there are rich folks/scholars out there reading this, would you ever take a "scholarship with honours - meaning no money, in name only"?

Good times in Singapore?

Someone sent me an email the other day, with news relating to the massive increase in graduates' pay back home in Singapore. From $2k starting pay last year, fresh graduate auditors are now paid between S$2,400 - $2,600. As for the banks, they are paying up to $3.7k for a fresh graduate. Times have indeed changed - and for the better. I could recall working for 3 years in Singapore and not even close to earning the starting pay of a newbie banker (This even after 20-35% increment p.a). This I applaud the government for driving a growing (but sustainable?) economy in the midst of a seemingly volatile market.

London is the probably the next BIG thing after Wall Street, well poised to take over the latter as the top banking market in the next years. Seeing Singapore as an example, I thought the graduates here might be positioned for more good times. At least until...

Graduate jobs rise, but pay down (BBC)
The jobs market for graduates continues to remain buoyant - but there are signs in some areas that starting salaries are declining, research has suggested.
A major twice-yearly employment survey shows a 13% increase in graduate jobs - the fourth consecutive annual increase.

But the survey from the Association of Graduate Recruiters shows that starting salaries for university-leavers in London and East Anglia are falling.

Full article here.

Done with Paris

Got this really interesting clip off Youtube. Watch it!

Raised rates and stakes

Interest rates went up again in the UK this week, from 5.5% to 5.75% - which is extremely rewarding for the savers and hard on the mortgage home buyers and small businesses. The benchmark rate has been growing steadily over the last year as the government seeks to rein in inflation. Wars have started on the high street as many banks have started enticing campaigns to lure customers - check out the benefits of opening a bank account here - firstdirect, Abbey, Halifax. Over our time here, we have opened a few bank accounts and got rewarded with an Ipod and some cash. And credit cards have no yearly subscription charge here. This, I think, should be followed in Singapore.

The daily commentary which I sent out has been quite a hit, as far as my boss is concerned. What was initially meant for my department and colleagues in Credit Product Control has taken a wider audience than intended. In fact the Front Office e.g. traders and sales people have requested to be put on this email. While it certainly increased the commentary's profile, I felt that a albatross has been placed over my neck.

There are many researchers and analysts in the firm and the last thing I need/want is for this email to be considered an equivalent. No doubt research is an interesting career path but to "screw up a move" via this daily task may well close all doors.

Thinking like a 18 year-old

Barely a month after I started running with my department's running club and just three run sessions so far, I have signed up for the London Duathlon in September.

This is what happens when a 28 year-old starts thinking like he's 18 at the water cooler. I was asked if I am interested in doing a run with the rest of my colleagues. I thought - easy - and agreed readily without more questions. I later found out that the run is due in two months and I am tasked to run the 10km part of the race.

No wonder I had to join them for the session today. 67 more days and counting down.

Trouble brewing at KPMG

As part of my own mini-series of coverage on my former employer, here's another update for my former colleagues.

Very well, thank you...

Flooding hit UK, hardest in the northern region in the week just passed. "Worse than a third world country" was the line I kept hearing on TV. Andy Ang came over to London this weekend with Lian Hong for a short break. We drove up to Strafford-upon-Avon, birth-place of William Shakespeare (din know he wrote so many books and plays) and then to Bicester for a few hours of shopping.

The car-bomb found on Friday definitely got the attention of most people and was the first thing after Hello when I called Singapore. Not sure if we are "Londonised" but it did not ruffle many feathers in office, including mine. After all, such news reports are quite common. It was when we returned to London after the sight-seeing and shopping that we experienced, at first-hand, the aftermath effects. We were stopped before we could enter the Canary Wharf area and kept seeing police cars hot on sirens zooming past on the roads. Cars were stopped for random checks and we had to allow our rented car for inspection. Guess what? It makes me feel really safe to have all these checks and seeing the police officers with the sub-machines on the road/airports.

P/S: Patrick and myself were on our way to return the car (at London City Airport) when we were stopped at a road block. The police officer asked me - "What business do you have at the airport?". Patrick whispered to me - "None of your business". God knows which section of the local newspapers we will feature if the grim man-in-blue ever hear that.