Australian Dollar Hits Multi-Month High 澳元升高

SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — The Australian dollar climbed against the greenback on Thursday, after signs of a pick up in global manufacturing and the release of surprisingly strong monthly trade data.

The Australian dollar /quotes/zigman/4867876/sampled AUDUSD +0.27% reached a high of $1.0757 in Asian trading hours, a level not seen since early September.

The currency, which tends to be sensitive to economic growth expectations, started Thursday’s Asian session on a strong note after the release of robust manufacturing surveys from the U.K., Europe and the U.S., as well as Chinese data that, though lackluster, surprised to the upside.

But this currency's strength may not be very long-lasting. You need to watch out for China's economy!

黄金至少攀上2100美元

根据全球顶尖黄金专家的意见，金价至少可上涨到2100美元。顶价暂时还看不到。

祝大家好运！

USA & Europe Will Slip Into Recession

The risk is high!

Jeff Applegate, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley, is no raging bull either. “Europe and the United States will slip into recession this year,” he predicts to The Times. That’s not exactly a recipe for a run-up in stocks.

Indeed Morgan Stanley has recommended that clients trim back their stock allocations. “We think there’s risk of more downside,” Applegate says.

New Year Visit By Ming Hoo, Sing King, Timothy & Benjamin

Ming Hoo, Sing King (Yian's sister), Timothy and Benjamin came over to our place for New Year visit.

They drove all the way back from Kuching to celebrate Year of The Dragon in Sibu.

We spent a good time chatting over some goodies!

During my MYF time in Sibu Central District, we served Lord together. The memories are still very much cherished.

Ming Hoo is a well known qualified architect with base in Kuching. He is very actively involved in serving Lord there.

Sing King is accountant by profession. They are specimen of a lovely couple in Christ.

USA Extended Zero Interest Rate Policy To 2014

Money is now practicably free ( I mean in USA here).

For example, you could loan money to the government for five years and get a miserly yield of 0.73% in return. That's less than inflation, which means that you are actually losing money.

TIPS — those financial instruments that protect you from inflation — are actually returning a negative yield.

This is killing the greenback!

New Year Visits By Allen's Buddies

Allen's buddies came for Chinese New Year visits. I took the oppportunities to snap some for them.

The younger group had a good time together.

Gold As Investment

Gold also got a boost from reports the world's biggest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, was bullish on bullion as a hedge against inflation as governments print more money to reduce debt.

Gold has never lost its luster, believe me!

New Year Visit By Relatives

We received numerous New Year visits by our relatives. In the above picture is Yian's brother and his family. They came with Ming Hoo (Yian's brother-in-law) and family on Chu Yi.

We had a good time chatting over some New Year goodies!

Photo source: King

Lunar New Year Couplet

I pasted the couplet vertically on the two sides of my door entrance.

Literally it means "Pray for peace, harmony and good weather!"

Sky Filled With Fireworks And Smoke

The Chinese in Sibu ushered in Year of Dragon with fireworks and firecrackers in a traditional way.

The whole of Sibu was filled with thunderous firecrackers sound and the smoke literally covered up the sky above Sibu.

Gold In The Year Of Dragon

Gold is now down to $1,651 an ounce because the dollar bounced.

This is a solid opportunity to buy and hold gold until real interest rates are positive.

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Have a wonderful Lunar New Year break.

Lunar New Year Couplets To Usher In Year of Dragon

Wong Memg Lei of The Methodist Church invited Ting Hua Hu, a well-known calligrapher in Sibu, to stroke with his brush beautiful couplets with biblical touch for Year of Dragon.

The couplets are meant for pasting vertically on the two sides of the main door. It is a Chinese tradition which we still value.

The tea gang members individually contributed a token to The Methodist Message for the couplets to be taken home.

Let's make it a yearly event!

Picture (1) shows the tea gang members holding up the couplets. In the centre is Ting Hua Hu.

Picture (2) shows Ting Hua Hu putting down strokes on my piece of couplet. Looking on are Meng Lei, Shirley and me.