Moving from Singapore to London, drinking water, as far as I am concerned, has not changed. Well, maybe over here, I do sometimes take one extra step to filter the "hard water".
Bottled water goes for a premium back home, though I clearly remember "mineral water" going for 35cts at Guardian few years back.
The media here has been playing up on the "pureness" of bottled water. Rather the lack of it and the public misguided perception of its cleanliness.
Bottled water 'a waste of money'
Research commissioned by a Swiss-based conservation group indicates that bottled water is often no healthier or safer to drink than tap water.
The World Wide Fund for Nature argues strongly that bottled water is not only environmentally unfriendly but also a waste of money
Read the full BBC article here.
.. and this from National Geographic...
Bottled Water Isn't Healthier Than Tap, Report Reveals
A bottle of spring or mineral water has become the lifestyle accessory of the health-conscious. No longer a luxury item, the beverage has become a common sight worldwide.
But according to campaigners, the planet's health may be suffering as a result.
Read the full article here.
I would think this would be a non-issue back home since Singaporeans, being Singaporeans i.e. cheapo, either go for the basic (free) "plain water". Or fizzy drinks. Well, until this in The New Paper...
EAU couture
By Esther Au Yong
November 24, 2007
TAP water is cheap. At most restaurants, cafes and bars, it's free. But ordering tap water is just so... ordinary.
The thirst-quencher of choice among trendsetters these days is exotic, unique and branded bottled water.
Designer water is already a big trend in the US and Europe, and it's only just starting to take a foothold in Singapore.
Of course, long-time industry leaders like Evian and Perrier are still widely sold, but others, like artesian water, are starting to infiltrate the market. Read more here.
So who's right?
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
730 days and counting...
I said goodbye to family and friends. The flight was the longest I have ever taken. I remember huffing and puffing, excited by the "hot air" coming out of my mouth. The streets were very clean, totally different from my expectations - until I was told I was going down the Queen's stretch, just outside Buckingham Palace. The chauffeur dumped me outside Canary Central - with no keys and no one I could ask for help. The heater was on at full-blast but one-bedroom apartment felt so cold. I tried to calm myself down and to hold back the tears.
It has been two years. And it seems like yesterday.
It has been two years. And it seems like yesterday.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The world's weirdest cases
From the man who sued God to the man who sued TV for making his wife fat, people turn to lawyers for the strangest things...
1. In 2004, Timothy Dumouchel, from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin sued a television company for making his wife fat and transforming his children into “lazy channel surfers”. He said: “I believe the reason I smoke and drink every day and my wife is overweight is because we watched the TV everyday for the last four years”. The case kept at least two of America’s then 1,058,662 lawyers occupied for a while, but did not go to the Supreme Court.
2. In 2005, a Brazilian woman sued her partner for failing to give her orgasms. The 31-year old woman from Jundiai asserted in her case that her 38-year old partner routinely ended sexual intercourse after he reached an orgasm. After a promising start the action ended in something of an anticlimax for the claimant when her case was rejected.
3. In 2004, a German lawyer, Dr Juergen Graefe, acted for an elderly pensioner from St Augustin, near Bonn, who was sent a tax demand for €287 million, even though the woman’s income was only €17,000. Dr Graefe fixed the problem with one standard letter to the authorities, but as German law entitles him to calculate his fee based on the amount of the reduction he obtained, his fee came to €440,234 (£308,000). It will be met by the state. There is no evidence that he pushed his luck by writing a thank-you letter.
4. In 1972, at Wakefield Crown Court in Yorkshire, Reginald Sedgwick was prosecuted for stealing Cleckheaton railway station. The defendant, a demolition contractor, was alleged to have destroyed the disused stone building and cleared the site of 24 tons of track with dishonest intentions. He admitted the deed, explained that it was done for an untraced third party, and his lawyer demolished the prosecution’s case, securing an acquittal.
5. In 2005, the Massachusetts Appeals Court was asked to rule on when a sexual technique was dangerous. Early one morning, a man and woman in a long-term relationship were engaged in consensual intercourse. During the passionate event, and, without the man’s consent, the woman suddenly manoeuvred herself in a way that caused him to suffer a penile fracture. Emergency surgery was required. The court ruled that while “reckless” sexual conduct may be actionable, “merely negligent” conduct was not. It dismissed the man’s case.
6. In 2005, Marina Bai, a Russian astrologer, sued NASA for £165 million for “disrupting the balance of the universe”. She claimed that the space agency’s Deep Impact space probe, which was due to hit a comet later that year to harvest material from the explosion, was a “terrorist act”. A Moscow court accepted Russian jurisdiction to hear the claim but it was eventually rejected.
7. In 2007, a court in India was asked to decide whether a vibrating condom is a contraceptive or a sex toy. The condoms contain a battery-operated device, and, for the avoidance of doubt, are marketed as “Crezendo”. Opponents argue it’s a sex toy and thus unlawful in India, whereas the manufacturer says it’s a contraceptive and promotional of public health.
8. In 2006, a young man from Jiaxing, near Shanghai, found himself in legal trouble after failing to take advice before putting his soul up for sale on an online auction site. The posting was eventually removed by the auctioneer and the seller was told that the advert would be reinstated only if he could produce written permission to sell his soul from “a higher authority”.
9. In 2004, Frank D’Alessandro, a court official in New York, sued the city for serious injuries that he sustained when a toilet he was sitting on exploded leaving him in a pile of porcelain. He claimed $5 million compensation. Reflecting on the demanding physical therapy in which he must now engage every morning before work, D’Alessandro declared: “It’s a pain in the ass to do all this stuff.”
10. A Las Vegas law prohibiting strippers from fondling customers during lap dances was ruled by the Nevada Supreme Court in 2006 to be valid. The issue was whether the local law was unconstitutionally vague and therefore unenforceable. The law states that “no attendant or server shall fondle or caress any patron” with intent to arouse him. Lawyers discussed at length whether grinding (of dancers’ bottoms into men’s laps) amounted to a fondle or caress, and whether the brushing of breast into patrons’ faces was prohibited conduct. The local law was declared valid because the court thought enforcers would be able to know a fondle or caress if they saw one.
11. In 1964, the Exchequer Court of Canada was asked to decide whether the expenses of running a “call girl” business in Vancouver were deductible from gross income for the purposes of income tax. The madam and seven call girls were all convicted and imprisoned. And then taxed. Claims for tax deductions in respect of the ordinary parts of the business, such as phone bills, were allowed. Other types of expenses were disallowed because the business couldn’t prove them with receipts, including $2000 for liquor for local officials and $1000 paid to "certain men possessed of physical strength and some guile, which they exercised when set to extricate a girl from difficulties".
12. In a notorious case heard by Baron Huddleston in November 1884, Captain Thomas Dudley and Edwin Stephens were prosecuted for the murder of a cabin boy, Richard Parker. When the yacht they were sailing from Southampton to Sydney capsized, they found themselves on a dinghy 1,600 miles from shore. After 20 days adrift, they killed Parker, eating his liver and drinking his blood to survive. They were rescued four days later by a German vessel and were convicted of murder at Exeter Assizes, although their death sentences were later commuted to six months imprisonment without hard labour. Their defence of “necessity” was rejected.
13. Cathy McGowan, 26, was overjoyed when a DJ on Radio Buxton told her that she had correctly answered a quiz question and had won the competition prize: a Renault Clio. Ecstasy collapsed into despair, however, when she arrived at the radio station and was presented with a 4-inch model of the car. In 2001, she sued and a judge at Derby County Court ruled that the now defunct station in Derbyshire had entered into a legally binding contract with Miss McGowan and ordered its owners to pay £8,000 for the real vehicle.
14. In 2005, Pavel M., a Romanian prisoner serving 20 years for murder, sued God, founding his claim in contract. He argued that his baptism was an agreement between him and God under which, in exchange for value such as prayer, God would keep him out of trouble..
15. In May, 2004 in Connecticut, Heather Specyalski was charged with the homicide of Neil Esposito. He was thrown from a car that prosecutors said was being driven by Specyalski when it spun out of control and crashed. The defendant argued that she couldn’t have been driving because she was in the passenger seat performing oral sex on Esposito, whom she alleged was at the wheel. Esposito was found with his trousers down but prosecutors argue this could have been because he was “mooning” or urinating out of the car window while in the passenger seat. The jury acquitted Specyalski of manslaughter, sparing her a possible 25-year prison sentence.
16. Sentencing a young woman at the Magistrates’ Court in Port Adelaide, Australia, in 2003, a magistrate said:
“You’re a druggie and you’ll die in the gutter. That’s your choice... I don’t believe in that social worker crap. You abuse your mother and cause her pain. You can choose to be who you are. You can go to work. Seven million of us do it whilst fourteen million like you sit at home watching Days of Our Lives smoking your crack pipes and using needles and I’m sick of you sucking us dry”.
He then concluded:
“It’s your choice to be a junkie and die in the gutter. No one gives a shit, but you’re going to kill that woman who is your mother, damn you to death.”
He gave the woman a prison sentence, unaware that that was unlawful in the type of case in question. Her appeal was successful.
17. In 1874, Francis Evans Cornish, while acting as a magistrate in Winnipeg, Canada, had to try himself on a charge of being drunk in public. He convicted himself and fined himself five dollars with costs. But then he stated for the record: “Francis Evans Cornish, taking into consideration past good behaviour, your fine is remitted”.
18. In 1980, Lord Justice Ormrod, Lord Justice Dunn and Mr Justice Arnold ruled in the UK’s Court of Appeal that a wife from Basingstoke who rationed sex with her husband to once a week was behaving reasonably. Lord Hailsham later revealed that the ruling had provoked some newspapers to try to interview the wives of all the judges in the case.
19. A father from Zhengzhou, in China, was refused legal permission to name his son “@” after the keyboard character. Permission was declined on the legal basis that all names must be capable of being translated into Mandarin.
20. In September, 2004, Judge A K M Patabendige, in Walasmulla, Sri Lanka, jailed a man for a year for yawning in court. N V P Ajith, a defendant in a criminal case, stretched out and yawned in a way that so infuriated the judge, the punishment for contempt was immediate.
Source: TimesOnline
1. In 2004, Timothy Dumouchel, from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin sued a television company for making his wife fat and transforming his children into “lazy channel surfers”. He said: “I believe the reason I smoke and drink every day and my wife is overweight is because we watched the TV everyday for the last four years”. The case kept at least two of America’s then 1,058,662 lawyers occupied for a while, but did not go to the Supreme Court.
2. In 2005, a Brazilian woman sued her partner for failing to give her orgasms. The 31-year old woman from Jundiai asserted in her case that her 38-year old partner routinely ended sexual intercourse after he reached an orgasm. After a promising start the action ended in something of an anticlimax for the claimant when her case was rejected.
3. In 2004, a German lawyer, Dr Juergen Graefe, acted for an elderly pensioner from St Augustin, near Bonn, who was sent a tax demand for €287 million, even though the woman’s income was only €17,000. Dr Graefe fixed the problem with one standard letter to the authorities, but as German law entitles him to calculate his fee based on the amount of the reduction he obtained, his fee came to €440,234 (£308,000). It will be met by the state. There is no evidence that he pushed his luck by writing a thank-you letter.
4. In 1972, at Wakefield Crown Court in Yorkshire, Reginald Sedgwick was prosecuted for stealing Cleckheaton railway station. The defendant, a demolition contractor, was alleged to have destroyed the disused stone building and cleared the site of 24 tons of track with dishonest intentions. He admitted the deed, explained that it was done for an untraced third party, and his lawyer demolished the prosecution’s case, securing an acquittal.
5. In 2005, the Massachusetts Appeals Court was asked to rule on when a sexual technique was dangerous. Early one morning, a man and woman in a long-term relationship were engaged in consensual intercourse. During the passionate event, and, without the man’s consent, the woman suddenly manoeuvred herself in a way that caused him to suffer a penile fracture. Emergency surgery was required. The court ruled that while “reckless” sexual conduct may be actionable, “merely negligent” conduct was not. It dismissed the man’s case.
6. In 2005, Marina Bai, a Russian astrologer, sued NASA for £165 million for “disrupting the balance of the universe”. She claimed that the space agency’s Deep Impact space probe, which was due to hit a comet later that year to harvest material from the explosion, was a “terrorist act”. A Moscow court accepted Russian jurisdiction to hear the claim but it was eventually rejected.
7. In 2007, a court in India was asked to decide whether a vibrating condom is a contraceptive or a sex toy. The condoms contain a battery-operated device, and, for the avoidance of doubt, are marketed as “Crezendo”. Opponents argue it’s a sex toy and thus unlawful in India, whereas the manufacturer says it’s a contraceptive and promotional of public health.
8. In 2006, a young man from Jiaxing, near Shanghai, found himself in legal trouble after failing to take advice before putting his soul up for sale on an online auction site. The posting was eventually removed by the auctioneer and the seller was told that the advert would be reinstated only if he could produce written permission to sell his soul from “a higher authority”.
9. In 2004, Frank D’Alessandro, a court official in New York, sued the city for serious injuries that he sustained when a toilet he was sitting on exploded leaving him in a pile of porcelain. He claimed $5 million compensation. Reflecting on the demanding physical therapy in which he must now engage every morning before work, D’Alessandro declared: “It’s a pain in the ass to do all this stuff.”
10. A Las Vegas law prohibiting strippers from fondling customers during lap dances was ruled by the Nevada Supreme Court in 2006 to be valid. The issue was whether the local law was unconstitutionally vague and therefore unenforceable. The law states that “no attendant or server shall fondle or caress any patron” with intent to arouse him. Lawyers discussed at length whether grinding (of dancers’ bottoms into men’s laps) amounted to a fondle or caress, and whether the brushing of breast into patrons’ faces was prohibited conduct. The local law was declared valid because the court thought enforcers would be able to know a fondle or caress if they saw one.
11. In 1964, the Exchequer Court of Canada was asked to decide whether the expenses of running a “call girl” business in Vancouver were deductible from gross income for the purposes of income tax. The madam and seven call girls were all convicted and imprisoned. And then taxed. Claims for tax deductions in respect of the ordinary parts of the business, such as phone bills, were allowed. Other types of expenses were disallowed because the business couldn’t prove them with receipts, including $2000 for liquor for local officials and $1000 paid to "certain men possessed of physical strength and some guile, which they exercised when set to extricate a girl from difficulties".
12. In a notorious case heard by Baron Huddleston in November 1884, Captain Thomas Dudley and Edwin Stephens were prosecuted for the murder of a cabin boy, Richard Parker. When the yacht they were sailing from Southampton to Sydney capsized, they found themselves on a dinghy 1,600 miles from shore. After 20 days adrift, they killed Parker, eating his liver and drinking his blood to survive. They were rescued four days later by a German vessel and were convicted of murder at Exeter Assizes, although their death sentences were later commuted to six months imprisonment without hard labour. Their defence of “necessity” was rejected.
13. Cathy McGowan, 26, was overjoyed when a DJ on Radio Buxton told her that she had correctly answered a quiz question and had won the competition prize: a Renault Clio. Ecstasy collapsed into despair, however, when she arrived at the radio station and was presented with a 4-inch model of the car. In 2001, she sued and a judge at Derby County Court ruled that the now defunct station in Derbyshire had entered into a legally binding contract with Miss McGowan and ordered its owners to pay £8,000 for the real vehicle.
14. In 2005, Pavel M., a Romanian prisoner serving 20 years for murder, sued God, founding his claim in contract. He argued that his baptism was an agreement between him and God under which, in exchange for value such as prayer, God would keep him out of trouble..
15. In May, 2004 in Connecticut, Heather Specyalski was charged with the homicide of Neil Esposito. He was thrown from a car that prosecutors said was being driven by Specyalski when it spun out of control and crashed. The defendant argued that she couldn’t have been driving because she was in the passenger seat performing oral sex on Esposito, whom she alleged was at the wheel. Esposito was found with his trousers down but prosecutors argue this could have been because he was “mooning” or urinating out of the car window while in the passenger seat. The jury acquitted Specyalski of manslaughter, sparing her a possible 25-year prison sentence.
16. Sentencing a young woman at the Magistrates’ Court in Port Adelaide, Australia, in 2003, a magistrate said:
“You’re a druggie and you’ll die in the gutter. That’s your choice... I don’t believe in that social worker crap. You abuse your mother and cause her pain. You can choose to be who you are. You can go to work. Seven million of us do it whilst fourteen million like you sit at home watching Days of Our Lives smoking your crack pipes and using needles and I’m sick of you sucking us dry”.
He then concluded:
“It’s your choice to be a junkie and die in the gutter. No one gives a shit, but you’re going to kill that woman who is your mother, damn you to death.”
He gave the woman a prison sentence, unaware that that was unlawful in the type of case in question. Her appeal was successful.
17. In 1874, Francis Evans Cornish, while acting as a magistrate in Winnipeg, Canada, had to try himself on a charge of being drunk in public. He convicted himself and fined himself five dollars with costs. But then he stated for the record: “Francis Evans Cornish, taking into consideration past good behaviour, your fine is remitted”.
18. In 1980, Lord Justice Ormrod, Lord Justice Dunn and Mr Justice Arnold ruled in the UK’s Court of Appeal that a wife from Basingstoke who rationed sex with her husband to once a week was behaving reasonably. Lord Hailsham later revealed that the ruling had provoked some newspapers to try to interview the wives of all the judges in the case.
19. A father from Zhengzhou, in China, was refused legal permission to name his son “@” after the keyboard character. Permission was declined on the legal basis that all names must be capable of being translated into Mandarin.
20. In September, 2004, Judge A K M Patabendige, in Walasmulla, Sri Lanka, jailed a man for a year for yawning in court. N V P Ajith, a defendant in a criminal case, stretched out and yawned in a way that so infuriated the judge, the punishment for contempt was immediate.
Source: TimesOnline
Monday, November 12, 2007
Watch out for the exhaust pipe
Hampshire police thought it would be a good idea to advertise on the rear of a bus.
They obviously aren't very smart.
They obviously aren't very smart.
From Theatre of Dreams to a close Nightmare
I have only been to the Emirates Stadium and Highbury in my two years in London. So when the opportunity to visit Manure at Old Trafford came knocking, it was not difficult to make a decision. After all, watching the second-best football team in Manchester makes a Sunday well-spent.
It normally takes slightly over two hours to get to Manchester from London. Somehow going up north today is a scheduled four hours from Euston. No problem, catch the 8:34am train to arrive in Manchester at 12:41pm for a 3pm kick-off. Nice. BUT Murphy Law's kicks in on arrival at Euston. Track problems, train will be delayed and route detoured = another 1.5 hours. We ended up arriving in Manchester past two. Hungry and thirsty, we had to make do with a quick BK burger.
Metrolink took us to walking distance of OT. Very impressive stadium from the outside and quite similar to the Emirates. Housing 72,000 people, we had to make our way up eight levels to our seats. Great. Nice view but the slopping roof meant that you can't see the opposite crowd.
The match had a good atmosphere, me the only Blackburn supporter (only for the day!) amidst the Red Devils. 30 minutes gone, goal-less with Blackburn hitting the post meant I was the only happy one in the crowd. Then two moments of magic from Ronaldo and Tevez made this game a two-nil win for Manure. A victory made easier by the sending-off of David Dunn. Sunil (travelling partner for the day) was ecstatic at the win and disappointed by the lack of more goals. 5pm and the game was over. Nice game and a worthwhile visit to OT (did I mention that the £300+ ticket came free for me?)
The real nightmare was about to begin. With 1hr 45mins to get back to Manchester train station for the ride back to London, we reckon we had enough time to take pictures and stroll around the stadium since Metrolink took us only 20 minutes to get from the main train station to OT. As we walked to Metrolink, we were advised by policemen to try alternative transport as the trams are crowded. The buses were packed and drivers refused to pick up passengers at the OT bus stops. Two former NSFs should be well-trained to venture a road march in 1 hr.
The walk seemed like an eternity. We met some kids who told us that the train station is a 10 minutes walk. We walked for 15 minutes, met another group of students who told us the train station is on our right and can be reached in 10 minutes. We met two Viet gals after walking for 15 minutes and were given differing directions. And was told it can be reached in 10 minutes. Fifteen minutes later, a Spanish group told us we were walking in the right direction but needed another 10 minutes. We met two other groups who told us, with five minutes to go, we are another 10 minutes away. We jumped into a cab straightaway (and the driver told us we are only five minutes away but who cares!). Luckily, we made it to the train platform with 30 seconds to spare.
Lesson of the day: If you are told 10 minutes twice, you know the town is using a different kind of clock!
It normally takes slightly over two hours to get to Manchester from London. Somehow going up north today is a scheduled four hours from Euston. No problem, catch the 8:34am train to arrive in Manchester at 12:41pm for a 3pm kick-off. Nice. BUT Murphy Law's kicks in on arrival at Euston. Track problems, train will be delayed and route detoured = another 1.5 hours. We ended up arriving in Manchester past two. Hungry and thirsty, we had to make do with a quick BK burger.
Metrolink took us to walking distance of OT. Very impressive stadium from the outside and quite similar to the Emirates. Housing 72,000 people, we had to make our way up eight levels to our seats. Great. Nice view but the slopping roof meant that you can't see the opposite crowd.
The match had a good atmosphere, me the only Blackburn supporter (only for the day!) amidst the Red Devils. 30 minutes gone, goal-less with Blackburn hitting the post meant I was the only happy one in the crowd. Then two moments of magic from Ronaldo and Tevez made this game a two-nil win for Manure. A victory made easier by the sending-off of David Dunn. Sunil (travelling partner for the day) was ecstatic at the win and disappointed by the lack of more goals. 5pm and the game was over. Nice game and a worthwhile visit to OT (did I mention that the £300+ ticket came free for me?)
The real nightmare was about to begin. With 1hr 45mins to get back to Manchester train station for the ride back to London, we reckon we had enough time to take pictures and stroll around the stadium since Metrolink took us only 20 minutes to get from the main train station to OT. As we walked to Metrolink, we were advised by policemen to try alternative transport as the trams are crowded. The buses were packed and drivers refused to pick up passengers at the OT bus stops. Two former NSFs should be well-trained to venture a road march in 1 hr.
The walk seemed like an eternity. We met some kids who told us that the train station is a 10 minutes walk. We walked for 15 minutes, met another group of students who told us the train station is on our right and can be reached in 10 minutes. We met two Viet gals after walking for 15 minutes and were given differing directions. And was told it can be reached in 10 minutes. Fifteen minutes later, a Spanish group told us we were walking in the right direction but needed another 10 minutes. We met two other groups who told us, with five minutes to go, we are another 10 minutes away. We jumped into a cab straightaway (and the driver told us we are only five minutes away but who cares!). Luckily, we made it to the train platform with 30 seconds to spare.
Lesson of the day: If you are told 10 minutes twice, you know the town is using a different kind of clock!
Friday, November 09, 2007
What is going on?
I was preparing to go for lunch when my boss shouted across to me - What happen to Barclays? How come the shares are suspended? I am supposed to be the know-it-all as far as news are concerned since I spend a good part of my morning dissecting financial newspapers to prepare a noon update commentary for the bank.
I, of course, have no idea since I was just about to hit the "Send" button on the email for the commentary distribution. Hold on a minute, I went straight to Bloomberg and saw a Barclays-related headline - "Barclays's del Missier Takes Over Credit Trading". Has someone been sacked? After all, Stan O'Neal of Merrill Lynch and Citi's Prince left in the last two weeks amid heavy losses suffered at the two banks due to subprime problems. Instinctively I shouted "Change of Leadership!" (not wrong - right?). Then I soon realised this change of responsibility has already been announced in September, so Bloomberg was just picking up old news. I felt really silly. So much for being in the know.
The afternoon was very eventful as credit spreads swung and FTSE/Wall Street plunged. Many websites such as Bloomberg, CNBC started posting rumours reports. For once, I believed the nightmare might be real. Writedown of 2 billion pounds ? 5 billion? 10 billion?
The sword of Damocles was finally lifted when Barclays PLC chief executive came out to reassure the market - all things' good.
Lesson learnt - it's so easy to jump to conclusion without exercising discernment, very much like me shouting across the room. It would be so easy for someone to pick up that and pass it on. A rumour without ANY ground. Amid the recent disclosure ad fears about subprime losses, it is even easier to jump on the bandwagon. Then again, we all know who look silliest at the end.
I, of course, have no idea since I was just about to hit the "Send" button on the email for the commentary distribution. Hold on a minute, I went straight to Bloomberg and saw a Barclays-related headline - "Barclays's del Missier Takes Over Credit Trading". Has someone been sacked? After all, Stan O'Neal of Merrill Lynch and Citi's Prince left in the last two weeks amid heavy losses suffered at the two banks due to subprime problems. Instinctively I shouted "Change of Leadership!" (not wrong - right?). Then I soon realised this change of responsibility has already been announced in September, so Bloomberg was just picking up old news. I felt really silly. So much for being in the know.
The afternoon was very eventful as credit spreads swung and FTSE/Wall Street plunged. Many websites such as Bloomberg, CNBC started posting rumours reports. For once, I believed the nightmare might be real. Writedown of 2 billion pounds ? 5 billion? 10 billion?
The sword of Damocles was finally lifted when Barclays PLC chief executive came out to reassure the market - all things' good.
Lesson learnt - it's so easy to jump to conclusion without exercising discernment, very much like me shouting across the room. It would be so easy for someone to pick up that and pass it on. A rumour without ANY ground. Amid the recent disclosure ad fears about subprime losses, it is even easier to jump on the bandwagon. Then again, we all know who look silliest at the end.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
The web provides a valuable alternative
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Photos up!
The Icelandic photos are finally up (300+!). It took such a long time as I have to retrieve the photos from several sources. Looking back, it has been some time since we last went on holiday and WILL be some time before we go for our next holiday (back to Singapore for CNY perhaps?).
P/S: You are listening to Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis, winner of last season's X factor, UK version of America Idol. Leona is supposedly the best thing outta UK in a long time. In Simon Cowell's words - "absolutely the best contestant" he has ever come across on the show.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Normal Order Resumed
A month seems like a long time, especially when you are disconnected with the virtual world. After an abrupt termination by Bulldog, I managed to get a new subscription with O2. No longer subject to intermittent reception, sudden block-out and legal letters from debt collectors.
So what have I/Wee been keeping ourselves busy in the past month?
So what have I/Wee been keeping ourselves busy in the past month?
- I have started school, again. Yes, this time I am committed to finishing this course. After all, I did not have a good start the last time, being placed into the class in the middle of their curriculum. So far econometric methods have been fine. Well, until my boss asked me to apply the studies to work! Gosh, will I be found out soon?
- TV is down. Good thing the broadband connection came just when the TV is sent for repair. Barely 2 months into regular service, the 32" LCD went into silent protest, with sound dropping off randomly and more frequently in the last week. Hopefully having a proper internet connection will keep us happy.
- Most US investment banks have announced Q3 results. Except for Goldman Sachs, the likes of Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns have been reporting bigger losses due to the sub-prime crisis. The former's chairman and CEO has to retire as part of this debacle. For $161m - ouch. Citigroup's Chuck Prince might be next.
- Two weeks and it will be two years in London for me. Time passes really fast. I have also committed to staying in London for some time before returning to Singapore for good. Now in the process of transferring to a UK contract. Writing about the stuff in the Credit world has been very interesting with all the recent credit events (Q3 losses, sub-prime fallout, rates cut impact). Never know when I will find out about my job loss in the papers. Hopefully "Barclays slashes 20% of work force" was just a headline I saw in the dreams. No, nightmare.
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