Finance and Economy
With less than 2-week to go before people abandon capital Kuala Lumpur and rush back for the Chinese Lunar New Year (CNY) festival, mega sales are everywhere in town. Pre-CNY has always been an interesting point to gauge the domestic economy, especially the Malaysian ethnic-Chinese. After all, the government always accuses the Chinese of dominating […]
... written on Jan 26 2016He’s worth a staggering US$24.5 billion (£17.23 billion; RM106.37 billion) based on Forbes’ estimation. He survived the Nazi-occupation of Hungary and fled the regime as a refugee for 15-years hence he has a soft spot for refugees currently flocking to the European Union. He worked as a railway porter and waiter in London before becoming […]
... written on Jan 22 2016Najib Razak self-proclaimed that the RM42 billion scandal involving his pet project 1MDB was over before the unleashing of New Year 2016 fireworks. So did 1MDB President Arul “Anaconda” Kanda. Was it really over? Going by today’s exchange rate, 1MDB’s US$11 billion in debt have ballooned to a whopping RM48 billion. Najib’s second scandal, […]
... written on Jan 21 2016China announced on Tuesday that its 2015’s economy grew 6.9%, matching economists and analysts’ expectation. The problem is nobody believes the Beijing-endorsed figures. That wasn’t the real economy – argue investor, economist, analyst and specialist. China has simply cooked a number that people wanted to see and hear. Instead, they believe China’s National Bureau of […]
... written on Jan 20 2016Remember the unbelievable predictions that crude oil would go to US$10 / barrel (cheaper than water) and gasoline would go for US$1 / gallon? Well, forget them because it’s already happening even though officially the crude WTI and Brent are trading above US$20 / barrel. However, the fact that both crude oil prices have gone […]
... written on Jan 19 2016On October 17, 2015, a robbery in an elevator in Prima Setapak Condominium raised eyebrows after 24-year-old Ms. Lim Lian Lee was robbed. But what made the robbery brutal was how she was elbowed, slammed, kicked as if it was a wrestling match. Clearly Lim was no match for the robbers – 2 men – […]
... written on Jan 14 2016Are you in the oil and gas (O&G) industry? If you’re, then you should know that your job is on the line. Once a prestigious job where the pay, bonus and perks were the envy of your schoolmates, jobs with giant O&G company aren’t that secure anymore. British BP announced plans on Tuesday to slash […]
... written on Jan 13 2016David Bowie, the legendary British rocker, died Sunday after an 18-month battle with cancer. Aged 69, he died 2-day after his birthday, when his album “Blackstar” was released. Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, tweeted to confirm the news. His new album includes the song “Lazarus,” which begins with the words – “Look up here, I’m in heaven.” If […]
... written on Jan 12 2016Gas at US$2 was what people were screaming and hoping for last year. Today, the average price of gasoline in the United States is below US$2 a gallon, or US$1.967 / gallon to be precise. While some Americans, depending on their geographical location, are rejoicing over the lower gasoline price, some are betting and praying […]
... written on Jan 11 2016First, the good news – China didn’t use the word “devaluation” like it did back in August 2015. The bad news – China secretly devalues its Yuan / Renminbi and as a result everything you could think of – stock markets, currency exchange and even oil prices – is going haywire. China’s central bank […]
... written on Jan 07 2016
