Snow-capped London!

The press is certainly not kidding about the snow! I thought we have escaped the harsh, cold weather in New York. Looks like we can run but not hide!

Even the normally "warm" marina outside my living room is frozen. Bet I will see some ice-skaters in the morning. Clever me put on the car cover (in blue) just before the snow storm. Not sure if it will be a smart move by the time I see it again in the morning. Ok, time to hit the warm bed and pray that this cold breeze blows over soon!

Another year...

So there goes another year, another tick on the box. So the thirties don't exactly feel that bad. As usual I had a quiet one. No fancy dinner or party but simple fare at Satay House, just off Edgware Road. The continual rain doesn't help the mood.

So what has happened in the one year since it went from 0 to 1...

Married. Graduated. Moved.

Many more things could have happened. Regrettably turned down a senior position at Morgan Stanley only to see out another year at Barcap. Grass is always greener on the other side. After all, it has been more than four years. Perhaps it's time for a change. Away from London to a new land perhaps?

Cheers to being 21 again.

Peace and Quiet

The last of our summer guests have just left London. We had a number of visitors from Singapore since we moved to our new place. Jeremy and Rachel were our 8th and 9th at 315 in just less than five months.

Guests filled the house with buzz and noise, which is good at times given how Canary Wharf's quietness and our many friends who have since returned to Singapore for good. Of coz, with each guest, we must know to recognise different living habits (and thankfully most could leave with a smile. Must be the water).

So we are almost done for the year. Andy and Lian Hong will not be coming until the end of December. At least we will have some peace and quiet. Albeit for just a little while.

Soseki

A well-deserved meal after a hard week. We almost lost our way trying to find this small Japanese restaurant tucked at a corner around the Gerkhin.

A ice-cold Asahi to match the cold weather in the city. We went on the toptable offer - £25 per person for a three-course meal. Limited menu but the food was good!

Quail egg coated with fish roe, accompanied by seaweed.

Sushi maki (prepared before our very eyes). "Cooked" quail on the right. Very interesting how it was done as the meat looks raw but tasted well. The presentation was very different as I thought the black chunk in the middle was over-cooked meat!

My entree - Soya mustard lacquered Loch Duart salmon.

Xueyan's - Teryiaki free range chicken, samphire, hondashi risotto.

Dessert! - Chocolate Marquis, strawberry sorbert.

Strawberry snow egg.

A very satisfied Mrs Ong.

Live the London way... F&M

Be it taking the tube... river travel on the Thames... sourcing a good meal at Chinatown...

Day 6 - 8... in Paris... Part 2

Day 1 passed in a haze and we were determined to start the "actual sight-seeing". After breakfast at the local Mac, we sent F&M to the Louvre. Must see Mona Lisa - I must have repeated that line 50 times. However what I didn't realise F&M were not into art. Darn - wasted $? After the terrible Japanese dinner last night (actually Chinese food masquerading as Jap food), we were determined to get this right.

We walked down the Avenue Opera in search for some authentic Japanese yakitori and tempura and stumbled upon one. First impression was good but the second rekindled last night's fear - the lady serving us spoke in Mandarin. However the food turned out to be pretty fab and we actually forgotten to take some pictures!

Four satisfied stomachs and we subsequently headed to Eiffel Tower. A must-go and one that catches all imaginations. Just the sight of it inspires romance (fair to say, the French had great disdain for it in the early years). Me and wifey went up four years ago and the sight was very pretty. Sweeping view of Paris and street lamps lighting up glorious Paris at night.

We soon sent F&M up to enjoy the sights while we headed for a much-needed rest. €5 for a small bottle of water and a hot-dog! No wonder the French are not complaining about the Eiffel Tower. American tourists or OL (old ladies) in the words of Mrs Ong were lapping up the obviously-overpriced food. I headed for the residential areas in search for a better bargain (Singaporean mah). After 25 minutes, I finally found a local store. €1.44 for two 1-litre bottle of Evian - more like it!

F&M obviously liked the Tower more than Louvre, evidenced by the 90 minutes they spent up in the air. M even got some souvenirs! The sunset glow cast on the Tower makes it prettier and it was certainly difficult to peel myself away. Have to return again some day.

In all our previous trips to Paris, we made sure that each trip brings us to a differnt part of Paris. This was no exception - except this new part wasn't exactly glittering and sexy - Chinatown at Port de Choisy. Eng Khim has arranged for us to feast on some proper nice Chinese cuisine tonight.

Eng Khim, a very good friend of mine, was posted to Paris as part of his military tour. Having just become a father, it was certainly very heart-wrenching to leave all alone for a foreign land. I know that feeling. What's worse he arrived in a non-English land. As he shared with us the initial problems and feelings over superb dishes of duck and char siew, I can't help but admire this man. He has always been known as the Ironman among the brothers but even a tough nut can crack under such circumstances.

Day 6 - 8... in Paris.. Part 1

Just five hours of sleep before I struggled out of bed at a quarter to four. The taxi will come in 30 minutes to pick us up to St Pancreas. If only Eurostar remained at Waterloo. What used to be a 10-minutes tube ride is now a 30-minutes cab journey.



We arrived and cleared customs smoothly and swiftly. Here we continued our yearly pilgrimage to the City of Lights, a trip first started in December 2005. I have hardly settled into a steady sleep before the announcement came that we have arrived in Paris. Not bad, at least twenty minutes faster than usual.

The annual trip made it easier for us to find our way around. Louvre is definitely easier to find. In the last few trips, we have stayed with friends at their place just outside Paris, at a hotel near Arc de Triomphe (until bad service last year turned us away) and also at the smallest hotel room ever at Saint Augustin. After a quick change at Gare de I'est we reached Hôtel Louvre Bons Enfants. Nice - just five minutes' walk to the Louvre.



We walked to the Louvre and from there, headed towards Champs Elysees, taking in view of the Jardin des Tuileries and the Concorde. Like most Singaporeans, we find ourselves at Louis Vuitton. And €2k out of the pocket. Thankfully, none of the "luxuries" were for Mrs Ong.



Hunger stomachs took over the agenda for the day. What better food than French deliciacies - Escargot!

Day 4 and 5... Shopping and Shipping

It's remarkable how time flies as F&M close out Day 5 of their Euro adventure. It's back to moving around London after the past few days outside London.

Harrods heralds the trio, cash flooded the tills as F&M stocked up on gifts and souvenirs for family and friends back home. I wasn't around the witness the carnage but enjoy the pictures!

Day 3... in the Eye

I woke up, half-thinking I am on holiday after seeing Mrs Ong sound asleep. The alarm rang. Me once again waking up two minutes before the buzzer. Is this what they term the biological clock? Nonetheless, I have to work. Someone has to bring food to the table right?



Wifey brought the folks to Buckingham Palace. After all, we failed to meet the Queen at Windsor. They say if you are determined, you will be rewarded. But they didn't tell us the Queen was way up north in Scotland. F&M took a walk across St James's Park, right in the heart of London towards Whitehall. Nice open place amid the cluster. And continuing the clock theme, F&M decided to check time using a grandfather's clock.



The last sightseeing brought the three to the London Eye. Our last trip there didn't make much of an impression but F&M still wanted a trip up in the clouds. Apparently, F was very impressed with the 3D show prior to the actual capsule adventure. Food for thought Mr Singapore Flyer?



The food theme tonight was Spanish fare - seafood paella, roasted potato in tomato and cheese, garlic mushrooms and prawns. I have soon forgotten my lunch-time turkey fillet meal. If you can see what we ate, you probably hope I had not eaten the turkey.

Day 2... in Windsor

Following yesterday's triumphant return, where else can we venture? To the castle of course!



Windsor - home to the Queen - was our destination on Day 2. Me and Xueyan were there five months ago but did not have the chance to visit the dollhouse and State rooms due to the Good Friday's crowd. The weather was gloomy, windy and cold (welcome to the UK). A guided tour enabled us to better appreciate the ground and history (tales of seduction and adultery etc). Two hours came by and vanished before we headed to a nearby cafe to recharge batteries.



We hastened to Bicester Shopping Village, hoping to hit the tills before shops close at 6pm. In a hurry to get there, I found myself at times hitting 180km/h and had to ease my breath to calm down to a safer 100km/h. After all, I have retired from F-1, so time to relax.

F&M were not in a hurry to shop and despite the massive discounts available - VAT refund and 30-40% discount off, we did not manage much success. Only a simple sweater for the coming (dreaded) winter and some moisturiser. A £600+ Tag Kirium caught my attention. Nice but ultimately unwise in such economic circumstances. Have been spending quite a bit recently on car servicing and changing the tyres, so waist strength-training is to be deferred.

F&M were not too keen on shopping and we were quite tired and simply hoping to return to London to catch a quick bite before putting the feet up for another day out. But F&M definitely miss home and they want to send their greetings back to you folks!

Day 1... in London

And so Father and Mother Wee are finally in town. After an exhausting flight from Singapore and a two-hour wait at the customs, the blur duo met very tired-looking F&M. And the journey doesn't end here - it's another 1.5 hours to home in Canary Wharf.

The 长老s woke up extremely early this morning. We wonder if it's jetlag or homesick. But an long ride out awaits us. Started the morning at Borough Market - a place where we will bring all visitors to makan and sight-see and celeb-watch (remember Steven Lim from Growing Up?). Bought latte from him. And he still looks the same.



A Turkey sandwich was followed by a bratwurst bun and chorizo wrap. F&M went for something exotic in the drinks - carrot, apple, GINGER and WHEATGRASS!

The weather was fantastic - mid-20s with proper, proper sunshine. We headed to the Esher in Surrey, a two-hour ride from central London - no thanks to the jam. Must be the folks heading down to Brighton/Portsmouth for a day at the beach.



We have heard a lot about fruits-picking in the UK. Surely the coming autumn would signal the end of the picking season - we however refused to be daunted by the tough task ahead. Garsons at Esher is a beautiful place. I can imagine retiring in such surroundings. A wide park with ducks-filled ponds, country houses, lots of green. What bliss.



It's like bringing toys to a child. Armed with bags and boxes, we stomped on fields like mighty conquerers heading for a victorious kill. Strawberries, plums, raspberries and apples - all sweet and succulent. Like kiasu Singaporeans, each target bush/tree was subjected to a trial. Unfinished bites gave hint to a possible sour apple, probable honey lay near buzzing bees.







We brought the plunder back back to London after two hours in the field. Rested our legs at Four Seasons Duck before returning for a well-deserved rest. It's to Windsor tomorrow and a shopping extravagaza at Bicester!







P/S: Looks like it's ONLY the air around the Wees which is cold. I was sweating!

You name it, We will try to find it...

It is amazing to see how expensive bags are going in Singapore, especially that of branded bags from LV, Gucci to the likes of Longchamp.

So instead of purchasing your wallets and missing out the weakness in the euro and sterling, my good wife has thought of a special service.

Let us know the bag/wallet/item you want and the price range you are looking it. We search for it (be in it London or Paris) and will let you know if that model is available and price feasible. And we work out a deal!

Give us a shout and see if you can save those hard-earned pennies!

Self Praise...

is no praise. And you wonder why American executives are so highly-paid!

Home away from Home

3 1/2 years sounds like a long time away from home. That's enough to finish two rounds of NS or a undergraduate degree course. But unlike the many Singapore scholars who are sent overseas to study, I do not know when I am going back home. And uncertain of the "career path" that lies ahead should I head for the sunny shores. There seems to be many minor reasons why we are staying put in London, though I can't put a finger to a specific reason.

Someone did come up with a list though.


Four reasons Singaporeans stay put abroad (AsiaOne)

I REFER to last Saturday's article, 'Asia's brain gain'.

I thank The Straits Times for giving readers such an informative and positive article on Asian students heading back to their homeland on work and business.

One key thing I realised is that their respective governments are very supportive of them returning to their homeland, with some even providing funds to help them start viable businesses. This could be the main lure for Asian students to return home after graduation. Read more here...

Four simple reasons which seem to hit the point. Why from a work perspective, ignoring family and friends, it is simply better to work in Europe or U.S. Singapore Day, which was held two Sundays ago at Hampton Court, tugged at the heart strings; as we feasted on the char kuey teow, listened to the lame (but funny) jokes by Jack Neo and gang, spoke in Singlish, the work factor does take a back seat. However that is not reality, the truth is everyone spends a good 8-10 hours of our life each day at work. And it is important that the environment we work in, the stuff we do serve to make us happier (or make it less of a pain). And time away from work should be used in the most fruitful way. And not going into the office (again) over the weekends.

In Singapore, I can still imagine remember the late working hours and dumping myself onto the sofa after a long day (repeatedly). Going into the office over the weekends to finish work. Getting peeved over silly deadlines or ridiculous requests.

Now, I spent my weekends sailing, Xueyan has her sushi or interior design classes. Singaporeans (in Singapore) look to travelling holidays as a distraction from work and certainly with envy, yet I hear friends popping over to Europe continent for a weekend getaway or driving out to the vineyards or fruit farms most weekends.

Why then should we give up all these to be miserable in Singapore (though in time, I think we will definitely do so!)?

Here to Stay????

Our visas just got extended for another three years!

Perhaps it's farewell after the Olympics!

Full of nothing

Water use up in dry spell

Wed, Feb 25, 2009
AsiaOne

The recent weeks of hot and dry weather have seen Singaporeans using more water - 16 Olympic-sized swimming pools more, to be exact.

With temperatures hitting 34 deg C last week, the daily potable water consumption rose to a high of 1.4 million cubic metre a day, which is 3 per cent more than the average daily consumption.

Mr Chong Hou Chun, Director of PUB's Water Supply Network urged Singaporeans to save water.

'Turning off the tap while soaping or brushing your teeth can help save more than 10 litres of water each time,' he said.

'If everyone cuts their water use by just 10 litres a day, the amount of water saved is enough to fill more than 6000 Olympic-sized swimming pools in a year,'

In its statement, PUB suggested more information on water conservation:

Simple measures on how the public can conserve water at home can be found at http://tenlitres.sec.org.sg/index.asp. More measures on how the non-domestic sector can be involved in water conservation can be found at www.tenpercent.sec.org.sg.

Members of the public may also call PUB's 24-hour call centre to request for a water saving kit.

I really don't understand the point of "reporting this news" or its newsworthiness. Isn't it plain obvious that one tends to drink or shower more in warmer weather? It seems like AsiaOne or Singapore press has nothing more to write about other than seduction in Joo Chiat or re-publishing credit crisis stuff.

Still open...

Time's up.

I meant a break. Now that the intense period is over, it's time to write. I have not blogged a huge bit of the wedding prepration prior to the actual day, but looking back, there is plenty to give thanks for. Not taking a honeymoon holiday, we returned to London two days after our wedding only to run into cold and wet weather, a messy apartment and piles of un-ironed clothes. Reality of a married life?

The trip to Singapore was amazing. Though it wasn't much of a break (given I spend a week out of the three in office and the rest on wedding preparation), I had an excellent time just catching up with people while distributing the invites. It's funny how I actually dreaded this experience at the same time - because I have been to a few dinners, knowing how boring it can to be seated with strangers and listening to the same message, I did not wish it upon others for my own special day. I was advised to post the invite, which thankfully I did not for most people (save a couple who were on reservist training). I actually opt to meet them and have a catch-up. In fact, I never once felt bad for myself should a friend was not able to make it for WHATEVER reason; after all this is an invitation, not a summon (yes Singaporeans do think of it that way). So I was very glad to see mates turning up and just those mates because they were the ones whom I really hope to have witnessed my special day.

We were truly blessed by the presence of our ex-KPMG friends (not just ex-colleagues), friends from churches and colleges. I had a rocking time with Dev the emcee in particular good form while my cousin helped greatly with my last minute request for a Mandarin translator (in fact almost everything was last minute!). I can only hope that my friends were blessed too!

Chicken or Egg?

It is often said the equity or stock market leads the real recovery or recession in the economy. Equities, which have plummeted for a good part of 2008, seem to be on a rebound after the recent rally on Wall Street and in Asia. The latest stimulus package by China also came in at an opportune time, giving a second wind to bargain-hunting investors. In fact, it was even suggested over the weekend that the S&P may be heading for a six-day rally. That might be some truth in that earlier statement that the efficient market has priced in the recovery and, behold, we shall see the glorious days unveiled before our very own eyes soon.

I was also tempted to dip into equities now amid all the heightened hopes. But if I were to ignore the noise, step back and analyse, we are probably only half-way through the trough. There isn't any economic data or business statistics released so far that suggest that we are in recovery mode.

The latest:

• General Motors has been downgraded to a price-target of ZERO. For an industry that drives (pun unintended) U.S. eleventh most populous city (Detroit) and with survival dependent on a bail-out, it doesn't exactly speak of optimism in the economy.
• Fannie Mae and AIG - two financial giants rescued by the U.S. government recently has reported record losses again. For the latter, the terms of the initial rescue has to be amended so that the company has more resuscitation time. It is important to realise the grave consequences of a bankruptcy by the insurer. The Fed has allowed 19 regional banks to fail, permitted Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers to fail (though the former was technically bought over by JPMorgan) but held on to AIG. It implies that any fall-out would bring about a financial tsunami. If the beleaguered insurer goes, I think I WILL go too.
• Economic data has now consistently surprised on the downside. Market-makers have been pricing in the downturn, bad results but it turned out that the actual results - unemployment, house prices, more layoffs, actual bankruptcy - have been truly, scary outstanding. Closer to home (Singapore), even the esteemed DBS is retrenching while the authorities are probably having cold sweat after the latest from the developer of their pet project.

Even though my JC testimony speaks of a "non-conformist", I do agree with the much-touted view that we have not seen the worst. Bargains are there for the picking and it is ABSOLUTE NONSENSE to discuss previous highs when picking current stocks. Nikkei hits its all-time high about twenty years ago. Even in recent boom and bull periods, it has barely traded above half of that peak. And you would have been a fool if you agreed that Bear Stearns was going for a steal at $10 in March-08 when, a little under a year ago, it was going for $133.

You might not be able to take the mauling.

Insurance - paying the Sky.

Suppose you own a BMW that costs $100k with five years left to drive. As per the rules, you have to buy insurance on the car, which ideally should cost a small percentage of the purchase cost. Then NTUC Insurance quoted $40k per year or $200k over five years. You look around and this seems to be the most "reasonable" price around. Over-the-top? Crazy?

Well, this is exactly the situation in the credit derivatives market for an emerging market name like Argentina or Pakistan. At 4000 basis points, one would have to shell out $400k of insurance (or more appropriately, premium) to cover $1M government debt issued by Argentina or Pakistan. Of course it is different from buying insurance for a beemer, because the market believes that the government is MORE LIKELY to default on payment than you wrapping the beemer around a tree.

Basic differences between an insurance contract and a CDS (credit default swap) contract:
- You don't need to own the underlying to buy a CDS i.e. I can buy protection (pay premium on a CDS contract) on a debt before owning the debt whereas you can't take out insurance on Mr Patel who owns the corner mama-store.
- You don't need to prove that you suffered a loss to "claim" the payout on a defaulted CDS ie if you buy a CDS on a Argentine bond and the government subsequently defaults, you will get a payout from the protection seller whether or not you bought the Argentina government bond. However if you "buang" a car and it miraculously escaped with no scratches or bumps, you won't get a single cent from the insurer.

Having said that, it's amazing how the market is pricing the default swaps now. Two years ago, a CDS on AA-rated Barclays PLC costs 10bp. Today it would cost 125bp for the same protection on AA-rated Barclays PLC. Simplistically it implied that the probability of default has increased 12.5 times. HSBC is a hefty 103bp while Singapore's very own DBS bank is at 180bp.

The all-powerful United States of America comes in at 30+bp. So what do you think of our beloved triple-A rated sunny island?

So the Dow closed down another 200 points lower as I write. The HSI has also been in a free fall, shedding close to 13% as Asia tracked the dismal overnight close on Wall Street last Friday.

My view on this? It is only going to get worse. Any multi-billion-dollar relief package is only short-lived although it appears that the broad market is bottoming out.

The entire global financial crisis must be taken in consideration and in perspective with past and recent down-turns. No one should be surprised by what is happening now (and will happen) given our Economics 101 understanding of the cyclical economy. What goes up must come down. What's surprisingly is the extent of the damage of this fall-out. Three veritable institutions folded in one year, sky-high credit spreads (which I will talk about later) and a seemingly bottomless equity market. I am so blessed to witness all these (future bragging rights. "I was there in London when Lehman Brothers employees were carrying...").

The decoupling theory has failed and will be some time even anyone uses that. Then again, institutional memory is so short that all the CDOs and minibonds and boom-theories will come into play in a few years. Amid this crisis, UK has been hit hard. Real hard. The sterling has fallen faster than gravity in the last ten months. About 20% since the start of the year and in my bounded knowledge, a level unseen against the Singapore dollar for years. I remember changing a small fortune at Change Alley back in February at the rate of £1 for $2.78; I cursed under my breath and told myself I had to change at this pathetic rate just to manage my SGD-denominated transactions. I should have thrown in everything plus the kitchen sink for that rate, given sterling closed at 2.33 last night! Hindsight review makes geniuses out of us.

If I am an Aussie working in the UK, I would be happy, but not when I am a Singaporean with Majullah Singapura running in my blood. I was on instant messaging with another Singaporean friend (Joyce) last Friday.

Me: What to do now? Sterling is sh!t now.
Joyce: Oh, I hope you are not long on sterling.
Me: I am very, VERY long.
Joyce: gosh, I feel your pain. I can really feel it.
Me: Da Jie, what to do?
Joyce: Bite the bullet and change all now. The end has not arrived.

Change?!?!? I am seeing a paper loss of close to six figures. And FX-changing that will crystallise the loss! Another female colleague asked if I have been using some special face-whitening cream after I exited the IM conversation.

It is not a GBP story, but a USD story - from what I read in FX research. The sterling is pounded for the reason that Britain is perceived weaker than a truly battered America. The power of the Treasury and the intricate ties of the American dollar to the world economy ensures that the dollar will not fail. Will not collapse. In times of crisis and heightened risk-aversion, the dollar and yen will appreciate because they are seen as the safest assets (the US government beh toh?).

Gold, which is largely seen as an alternative safe haven to equities, has not been having a good time. In fact, other than government bonds, almost everything from commodities to equities to credit, is going south. Gold lost $100 in a week and was close to testing the sub-$700 after hitting $706.10 this morning.


Flight to safety has seen people dumping stocks, despite the ban on short-selling. Virtually all markets are down as investors flee equities. Even the legendary Warren Buffet, who was calling for red-hot American patriotism, has failed to ignite the market. What's worse - people has been making money running reversal trades and called the bluff on Buffet.

Normalising four stock indices - S&P500, FTSE-100, Nikkei-225 and STI(?!?!?) - it appears that the fall-out has not been as bad in the west as in the east. And for people who are looking for a kill on the stock markets anytime soon, it is wise to read this.