“Man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much…the wheel, New York, wars and so on…while all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time…
the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man… for precisely the same reason.”
~ Douglas Adams
Consider again that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar”, every “supreme leader”, every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
~ Carl Sagan (1934 – 1996), Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space (1994)
Anaemic sales show up in bottom line
Developers of upmarket homes feeling the pinch as curbs bite
By Gan Yu Jia
UNITS UNSOLD – THE MARQ: Fewer than half the units at The Marq on Paterson Hill, completed last year, have been sold. Developer SC Global has warned of a first-quarter loss of $10 million.
8 NAPIER: The project has 18 unsold units out of 46. HSR Property Group’s Mr Donald Han said there were only 17 or 18 high-end property transactions in January.
TWO recent corporate announcements by luxury developers SC Global Developments and Ho Bee Investment have highlighted how the high-end residential market has almost ground to a halt.
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Aberdeen outperformed all other China funds with a 1 year return of (-1.84%). The rest: JP Morgan (-15.76%), Fidelity (-15.84%), Templeton (-15.78%), HSBC (-17.97%), Manulife (-20.67%).
Pruksa Iamthongthong explains which positions paid off for the portfolio.
HK must kick its property addiction
Andy Xie warns that Hong Kong’s dependence on the housing sector to drive economic growth is feeding another asset bubble. When it bursts, he says, the government should resolve to kick the addiction
Apr 23, 2012
Hong Kong did not learn from the property crash and economic collapse of 1998. Instead, it has tried hard to reinflate the bubble. After squeezing supply for over a decade and with the help of the US Federal Reserve’s zero interest rate, the bubble is back. But it is a Pyrrhic victory.
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By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS
New York Times
April 18, 2012
The value of mental-training games may be speculative, as Dan Hurley writes in his article on the quest to make ourselves smarter, but there is another, easy-to-achieve, scientifically proven way to make yourself smarter. Go for a walk or a swim. For more than a decade, neuroscientists and physiologists have been gathering evidence of the beneficial relationship between exercise and brainpower. But the newest findings make it clear that this isn’t just a relationship; it is the relationship. Using sophisticated technologies to examine the workings of individual neurons — and the makeup of brain matter itself — scientists in just the past few months have discovered that exercise appears to build a brain that resists physical shrinkage and enhance cognitive flexibility. Exercise, the latest neuroscience suggests, does more to bolster thinking than thinking does.
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Given uncertainty and higher costs of living, experts advise saving 6 to 12 months of pay
01 Apr 2012
by AARON LOW
One of the most basic rules for personal financial planning is to establish a personal emergency fund for a rainy day. The conventional wisdom is that the emergency fund should comprise between three and six months’ worth of one’s salary. So for instance, if a person earns $4,000 a month, his emergency fund should be built to at least $12,000.
But increasingly, this conventional wisdom is being challenged on many fronts.
For one thing, financial advisers say that the uncertain economic outlook and higher costs of living mean that three months of savings may simply not be enough.
Mr Patrick Lim, director of financial advisory firm PromiseLand, advises his clients to save between six and 12 months of salary as an emergency fund.
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Investment and protection are two distinct strategies that address two very different needs. Both, however, are necessary in order to meet an individual’s financial goals
Manpreet Gill, Senior Investment Strategist, Standard Chartered Bank
04 Jan 2012
MOST of us tend to relate our financial goals with our investments. Within this framework, success in our investments correlates with meeting our investment goals, while protection is usually incorporated to the extent that it addresses the downside risks of the investment portfolio.
We think protection and its role in meeting one’s overall financial goals, however, have a much wider meaning. Downside risk extends beyond the risk of losses on one’s investment portfolio. For example, if an individual were unfortunate enough to be rendered disabled such that returning to a regular job was impossible, his or her income would be reduced or stop completely. But financial commitments and goals will not change. Without a similar level of income, it would be increasingly difficult or impossible to meet their financial goals.
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An example of why you should never sell a good asset.
Home of HK$33 wontons could fetch HK$180m
Ho Hung Kee’s landlord puts famed noodle shop up for sale amid Causeway Bay retail boom just a year after buying it from family for HK$100m
Sandy Li
SCMP Apr 11, 2012
A 1,000 square foot noodle shop that has survived in Hong Kong’s cutthroat restaurant market for 38 years and boasts a Michelin star is in the news – but not for its lunchboxes.
Just a year after being sold for HK$100 million, the long, narrow shop space that houses Ho Hung Kee is up for sale again and could fetch nearly twice the price. The street-level shop at 2 Sharp Street East in Causeway Bay, the world’s second-most expensive street for retailers, is now valued at around HK$180 million – including its 600 sq ft cockloft.
The Ho family, who have operated Ho Hung Kee since 1946, bought the shop for HK$350,000 in 1974, but decided to cash in on rocketing retail property prices, and last year sold the shop to an investor for HK$100 million on a two-year lease-back.
Property consultants said the wonton noodle restaurant currently pays about HK$125,000 a month in rent, and the lease is due to expire in mid-2013. Not counting utilities, salaries and food costs, that means Ho Hung Kee needs to sell 126 of its HK$33 bowls of wonton noodles a day, seven days a week, to cover the monthly rent payment.
Isaac Wai, a senior marketing manager at Ricacorp Properties said a 400 sq ft shop selling T-shirts at 9 Sharp Street East, opposite Ho Hung Kee, is paying HK$170,000 a month, while another at 7 Sharp Street East is being offered for lease at HK$200,000 a month.
“The shop could definitely pay HK$250,000 in rent a month, and if it changes hands at a higher price, it’s logical for the new owner to raise the rent when its lease is due for renewal,” he said.
It is unclear how the property sale will affect the noodle shop, still run by the Ho family, according to a woman who identified herself as the owner.
“It’s too early to say,” she said. “We’ll continue with business as usual because our lease hasn’t expired yet.”
But she also said it would be tough to survive if the landlord raised the rent significantly.
“We only charge HK$33 for a bowl of wonton noodles. But thanks to our loyal customers, our business is still strong at the moment.”
The family plans to open a new shop in the soon-to-be opened Hysan Place in Causeway Bay, she said.
Yesterday, the property’s owner appointed Colliers International to offer the shop for sale.
Pierre Wong Tsz-wa, chief executive of commercial property agency Midland IC & I, said the owner wanted to cash in on the retail boom.
“Due to tight supply, retail shops in Causeway Bay have fetched jaw-dropping prices,” said Wong, who estimated that the shop, with its proximity to Times Square, could fetch as much as HK$180 million .
Helen Mak, director of retail services at Colliers International Hong Kong, said two recent transactions in nearby Lee Garden Road had generated more than HK$200,000 per square foot.
“Space is scarce, so retail properties in the district are being snapped up the minute they come on the market because investors see the potentially high returns,” she said.
The monthly rent for Ho Hung Kee in the current market could go as high as HK$350,000, she said.
As featured in the San Francisco Yoga Conference
Krishna Govind Govind Gopala
Gopala Devaki Nandana (Krishna! Krishna!)
Shyam Shyam Bolo Jai Radhe Shyam Bolo
Translation:
Krishna watches over the sentient beings
The sentient beings are guided by the child Krishna
He is the son of Devaki (Krishna! Krishna!)
The blue one, dark as the rainclouds, speak of him, O beloved!
Speak of him…
Business Times – 26 Mar 2012
Deals in Q1 down to 187 from 273 a year ago, while their value fell 36.5%
By LYNETTE KHOO
(SINGAPORE) A bleak picture on the local merger and acquisition (M&A) scene has emerged, showing M&A activity involving Singapore-domiciled companies sliding to the lowest level in value since the second quarter of 2009.
The total value of announced Singapore M&A deals in the first quarter registered year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter declines of 36.5 per cent and 24.6 per cent, respectively, to US$5.7 billion, latest data from Thomson Reuters shows.
The number of deals stood at 187 in the first quarter, down from 273 in the same period last year.
A similar trend unfolded in the South-east Asian region, with the total deal value slipping 19.2 per cent from a year ago and 11.9 per cent from the fourth quarter to US$20.3 billion.
Wong Ai Ai, principal at Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow, noted that deals are taking a longer time to negotiate and close due to gaps in pricing expectations and buyers’ concerns over risks. ‘Deals that were being looked at in the last half of 2011 have either not been completed or have fallen away for these reasons,’ she said.
Singapore companies have slowed down their buying spree abroad, with the overseas deal count falling from 104 in the first quarter last year to 68 this year, though the aggregate value of these deals were 12.3 per cent higher year-on-year at US$2.9 billion.
The total deal value was bolstered by United Fiber System’s proposed acquisition of Indonesia’s Golden Energy Mines through a reverse takeover valued at US$987.8 million.
At the same time, Singapore companies were also less targeted by overseas acquirers, with 30 announced inbound M&A deals in the first quarter compared to 50 deals in the same quarter last year.
This resulted in a 91.6 per cent plunge in the aggregate value of inbound M&A deals to US$224.3 million – the lowest quarterly level since the first quarter of 2004. Chinese acquirers still accounted for the bulk of Singapore’s inbound M&A deals with a 35.1 per cent share.
According to data from Thomson Reuters, Malaysian companies are most targeted in the region by acquirers, followed by Indonesia, Vietnam and then Singapore.
‘There’s been a lot of recent excitement over deals announced across the Causeway, and over the potential assets for sale in Indonesia, so relative to all that activity, Singapore may not look so exciting or well-priced,’ Ms Wong said.
‘But a lot of deal structuring is being done through Singapore, even though the companies involved may not be Singapore companies.’.
Private equity (PE) firms closed smaller M&A deals in the first quarter, with PE-backed deals involving Singapore companies falling by 95.4 per cent year-on-year to US$10.2 million although the deal count remained at five.
In the South-east Asian region, PE-backed M&As marked a 87.8 per cent fall to US$70.2 million while the number of deals declined from 19 in the first quarter last year to 13 this quarter.
Than Su Ee, head of Mezzanine Capital Unit (Private Equity & Special Opportunities) at OCBC Bank, noted that the let-up in M&A activity among PE funds in the last six to nine months is a reflection of the uncertainties surrounding global economic conditions.
‘This is changing as investors are increasingly of the opinion that the eurozone crisis and US economic troubles may have turned the corner,’ he said.
With improvements in economic climate and market liquidity, PE investors are expected to take advantage of better market conditions to undertake M&A financing or exit from their investments, he added. ‘Unless there are any major global economic or political surprises, we should see a return of private equity funds activities in M&A over the next 24 months.’
Slower M&A activities in the first quarter has translated to lower fees for advisors. Estimates from Thomson Reuters/Freeman Consulting Co show M&A advisory fees from completed transactions involving Singapore companies fell 39 per cent from a year ago to US$50 million this quarter.
Leading the pack is Morgan Stanley, which chalked up fees of US$4 million and accounted for 8 per cent of total fees. Daiwa Securities enjoyed the highest jump in estimated fees, enjoying an increase of more than 19-fold from a year ago to US$1.7 million in the first quarter.
Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.
And even those who realized the truth
Did not fall from the heavens, nor emerge
Like crops of corn from earth’s dark depths, but once
Were ruled by kleshas and were ordinary men.
~ Nagarjuna’s Letter to a Friend
“We must distinguish between pride and self-confidence. Self-confidence is necessary. It is what enables us, in certain situations, not to lose courage and to think with some justification, ‘I am capable of succeeding.’ Self-confidence is quite different from excessive self-assurance based on a false appreciation of our capacities or circumstances.
If you feel able to accomplish a task that other people cannot manage, then you cannot be called proud as long as your assessment is well founded. It is as if someone tall came across a group of short people who wanted to get something too high for them to reach, and said to them, ‘Don’t exert yourselves, I can do it.’ This would simply mean that he was more qualified than the others to carry out a particular task, but not that he is superior to them or that he wants to crush them.”
– from 365 Dalai Lama: Daily Advice from the Heart by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
The all-base consciousness* works like a savings bank. Continuously money is paid into the bank and continuously it is taken out again. In the same way karmic imprints are absorbed by the all-base, are stored there, and can therefore be brought forth again.
Learning, for example, occurs through the mind consciousness. The mind consciousness itself vanishes. Nevertheless, on the next day we have a memory of what we learned. At this time of remembrance, the mind consciousness of what we learned is no longer actually present, since it has ceased to exist. Yet, still we did not forget what we learned previously. What we learned was seized by the all-base in the form of karmic imprints, and stored. Due to the ‘all-base of complete ripening’ these imprints can be re-awakened, so that the mind consciousness perceives them afresh. This is why we learn things. It is similar with strong mental afflictions.
…The example of the savings bank is particularly effective, especially in the context of karmic actions. Whoever puts money into the bank can get it out again later, often including interest!
* The all-base consciousness is the general basis for the whole mind, all aspects of the mind.
– from Everyday Consciousness and Primordial Awareness, by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
Giftedness, Core Values & Purpose:
“Life is a place of service. Joy can be real only if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.” – Leo Tolstoy
“Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.” – Malcolm Forbes
“Life is good when you live from your roots. Your values are a critical source of energy, enthusiasm, and direction. Work is meaningful and fun when it’s an expression of your true core.” – Shoshana Zuboff
“Try to forget yourself in the service of others. For when we think too much of ourselves and our own interests, we easily become despondent. But when we work for others, our efforts return to bless us.” – Sidney Powell
“When a man realizes his littleness, his greatness can appear.” – H. G. Wells
“A meaningful life will not be found in the next job or the next car. The way you get meaning in your life is to devote your self to helping others and creating something that gives you purpose.” – Morrie Schwartz, in “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom
“The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.” – Steve Jobs
“When you ask people what it is like being part of a great team, what is most striking is the meaningfulness of the experience. People talk about being part of something larger than themselves, of being connected, of being generative. It becomes quite clear that, for many, their experiences as part of truly great teams stand out as singular periods of life lived to the fullest.” – Peter Senge
“How does one become a butterfly? You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.” – Trina Pallus
“However mean your life is, meet it and live it: do not shun it and call it hard names. Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Things do not change; we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.” – Henry David Thoreau
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” – Goethe
Servant & Transformational Leadership:
“It is amazing how much people can get done if they do not worry about who gets the credit.” – Sandra Swinney
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win great triumphs, even though checked by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” – Peter Drucker
“In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” – Max DePree
“We are not looking for blind obedience. We are looking for people who, on their own initiative, want to be doing what they are doing because they consider it a worthy objective. I have always believed that the best leader is the best server. And if you’re a servant, by definition, you’re not controlling.” – Herb Kelleher
“It could be argued that all leadership is appreciative leadership. It’s the capacity to see the best in the world around us, in our colleagues, and in the groups we are trying to lead. It’s the capacity to see the most creative and improbable opportunities in the marketplace. It’s the capacity to see with an appreciative eye the true and the good, the better, and the possible.” – David L. Cooperrider
“Leadership is not so much about technique and methods as it is about opening the heart. Leadership is about inspiration – of oneself and of others. Great leadership is about human experiences, not processes. Leadership is not a formula or a program, it is a human activity that comes from the heart and considers the hearts of others. It is an attitude, not a routine.” – Lance Secretan
“If you’re the leader, you’ve got to give up your omniscient and omnipotent fantasies – that you know and must do everything. Learn how to abandon your ego to the talents of others.” – Warren Bennis
Emotional Intelligence & Employee Engagement
(Balancing Head & Heart):
“He who has learning without imagination has feet but no wings.” – Stanley Goldstein
“When people are made to feel secure and important and appreciated, it will no longer be necessary for them to whittle down others in order to seem bigger in comparison.” – Virginia Arcastle
“The development of people is an equal partner with the actual results of your organization’s purpose” – Ken Blanchard
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“The axe forgets, the tree remembers.” – Anonymous
“My day is better when I give people a bit of my heart rather than a piece of my mind.” – Pam Conley
“A special workplace has many ingredients. The feeling that you are part of a team, a sense of community, the knowledge that what you do has real purpose – all these things help to make work fun. But by far the most important factor is whether people are able to use their individual talents and skills to do something useful, significant, and worthwhile.” – Dennis Bakke
“The greater part of happiness or misery depends on our dispositions, and not on our circumstances.” – Martha Washington
“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Viktor Frankl
External circumstances are not what draw us into suffering. Suffering is caused and permitted by an untamed mind. The appearance of self-defeating emotions in our minds leads us to faulty actions. The naturally pure mind is covered over by these emotions and troubling conceptions. The force of their deceit pushes us into faulty actions, which leads inevitably to suffering.
We need, with great awareness and care, to extinguish these problematic attitudes, the way gathering clouds dissolve back into the sphere of the sky. When our self-defeating attitudes, emotions, and conceptions cease, so will the harmful actions arising from them.
As the great Tibetan yogi Milarepa says, “When arising, arising within space itself; when dissolving, dissolving back into space.” We need to become familiar with the state of our own minds to understand how to dissolve ill-founded ideas and impulses back into the deeper sphere of reality. The sky was there before the clouds gathered, and it will be after they have gone. It is also present when the clouds seem to cover every inch of the sky we can see.(p.22)
–from How to Expand Love: Widening the Circle of Loving Relationships by H.H. the Dalai Lama, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins