Service In Memory of Mdm. Wu Bao Di

Mdm. Wu Bao Di (in pinyin) was called by Lord to rest in heaven last Saturday. I learned about it from the obituary message in See Hua Daily News on Sunday morning. Then in a short e-mail, Dr. Dennis Ngien informed me of the sad news of his mom's demise.

The family of the late Mdm. Wu Bao Di held a memorial service this morning (10th March) at Zion Methodist Church in loving memory of their beloved one.

It was a near-full Zion Methodist Church despite the drizzle.

In his sermon, Rev. Liik Tung Yeu likened life to a race. "You need to persist in Lord to win the race," Rev. Liik told the congregation.

Dr. Dennis Ngien represented his family to testify the greatness of the love of his mom. The sharing was touching and it almost wetted my eyes. Dr. Dennis Ngien's testimony left ample space for us to give deep thinking to.

The memorial service concluded with a benediction by Rev. Liik and thereafter a group photo shooting at the entrance of the church.

Photos: Ting Leng Kieh

Bond Disasters Brewing In U.S. And Europe

Ellen Chang of Moneynews reported what Martin Hennecke had to say about the bonds in the western economies.

Investors should take a closer look at how much recovery has occurred in the United States and other Western countries, said Martin Hennecke, associate director at investment and financial advice firm Tyche.The economies in those countries are not generating a real recovery, he said.“We are not seeing any growth in the United States, let alone any sustainable growth,” he told CNBC. "The U.S. economy has never really recovered. They have just been throwing money at the problems, been bailing out the banks,” Hennecke said.The bond market could be hit with the next crisis, especially long-term U.S. Treasuries and even European sovereign bonds and currencies, Hennecke said. "They are very much at risk now with this huge budget deficit," he said. The U.S., United Kingdom and other countries will encounter high rates of inflation, said Hennecke. “With the start of (the) sovereign bond crisis across the Western countries that we have seen in Greece and are starting to see in Spain … across the euro zone there's absolute disasters there,” he says.“We are going to see a sovereign bond crisis probably leading to very high or even hyper inflation in most Western countries and that could actually — ironically, theoretically — even drive up the markets because if you have high inflation, anything with any tangible assets behind it via commodities, companies … could even rise," Hennecke said.The U.S. central bank is holding back on issuing business and consumer loans, Bloomberg reported.“The Fed remains more concerned about the sustainability of the recovery and disinflation than accelerating inflation in the near-term. They are in no hurry to raise rates, nothing before the fourth quarter or later," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. "And their position is justified.”

The Star Is Coming In A Big Way

The Star is making inroad into Sarawak to make it nearer to be truly a national paper! My understanding is that the daily started test printing from 1st of March in Kuching. The Sarawak edition will be launched on 8th of March for the locals to "get more, get it early for much less", as the slogan suggests.

In 80s when The Star was still a little tabloid, it invited our Bapa Malaysia, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman, to write a twice-weekly clumn on hot, hot issues. Tunku (a popular way to call Bapa Malaysia in Chinese community) was pretty critical of Dr. M. The Star's invitation came at a right time when Tunku's views were subject to heavy censorship in local dailies. A column in The Star gave Tunku a place to air his views freely. Tunku's column was fast getting popular, drawing thousands and thousands of readers to the daily. The Star later overtook The New Straits Times to be the nation's top English daily.

All the best to The Star Sarawak Edition.

Photo: Steve Ling

Mark Faber's Talk On Stock Fall

Dan Weil of Moneynews reported two days an insightful talk by Mark Faber on stock fall. For your information, Mark Faber is an investment guru and his views carry weight.


U.S. stocks may drop 20 percent if they top their January highs, says investment guru Mark Faber.The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index reached a high of 1,150 Jan. 19. “I’m not sure we will make a new high,” Faber, editor of "The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report," told Bloomberg. “But if we do, I don’t think it will be that far – maybe 1,200 – and then I wouldn’t rule out a correction of at least 20 percent.” On the currency front, Faber says the euro is very oversold, trading at about $1.35. “The news has been horrible for the euro zone,” he said. “I think the euro can rebound to $1.40 before it goes lower.”Fundamentals are weak for both the dollar and the euro, Faber maintains. “What you have in Europe is indirect monetization of the debt.”As for the greenback, “When investors realize fiscal deficits aren’t going to come down, that one state after another is going bust and that monetization is inevitable, at that point the dollar will be weak,” Faber said.But it won’t slip against the euro, he says. “Both currencies are sick.” Gold and Asian currencies will benefit as a result, Faber says.Citigroup’s chief equities strategist Tobias Levkovich sees the stock market a bit differently than Faber.Levkovich told CNBC that the S&P could reach 1,250 in coming weeks, before ending the year at 1,175 as the Federal Reserve continues to withdraw its monetary stimulus.

We are going to see a lot of bumps ahead!

Towards A Better Sibu - From UCS To KLT

UCS (United College Sarawak) went into history two days ago. In its place now is KLT (Kolej Laila Taib). It was a take-over deal with Yayasan Sarawak ending up to be the owner now.

Much has been said about the exercise by the various sectors in Sibu. My only concern is: Is it going to benefit Sibu?

That calls for some deeper analysis. But right now, I have seen a ray of hope coming out from KLT.

Let us stay open-minded!

http://www.KLT.edu.my

Photo: Wong Meng Lei

Mitsu Shabu-Shabu Cafe

It was a good two-hour discussion meet at Mitsu Shabu-shabu Cafe for MAF of Sibu East District. We met up to review and deliberate on our works. The time we spent there was wonderful.

Before we called it a day, we had a round of porridge steamboat to refresh ourselves.

Yummy!

Heading For Collapse

Financial author Jim Davidson says the dollar, the economy, and the stock market are headed for collapse. In an interview with Newsmax.TV, Davidson, who is a member of the Newsmax board of directors, elucidated the ideas of a recent book, titled “Aftershock: Protect Yourself and Profit in the Next Global Financial Meltdown.”The book — written by David Wiedemer, Robert Wiedemer, and Cindy Spitzer — states that two big bubbles have yet to burst: the dollar and $12.3 trillion in government debt. “Look out below when they pop,” says Davidson, a columnist for Newsmax’s flagship financial newsletter, Financial Intelligence Report.The dollar index has slipped 17 percent since Obama took office. The White House and Federal Reserve seek a weaker dollar partly to boost exports.But they also want to see the currency drop so that it becomes cheaper to pay back our debt.“It’s a delicate balancing act where they’re trying to weaken the dollar just enough to make the burden lighter, but not so much as to make the dollar go ‘poof,’” Davidson said.But the strategy won’t work, he believes. “Any time the government prints money, it’s a threat to the people who produce wealth in the society,” Davidson points out. “The history of the world is that you don’t become rich by printing money. Otherwise Zimbabwe would be the richest country on earth.”Our debt burden will ultimately collapse due to hyperinflation, he says. The “Aftershock” authors say we’re headed for a crisis because we aren’t going to pay back the debt, Davidson explains.“We have made no effort to pay it back, and there’s no plan to pay it back,” he said. As for President Obama’s partial spending freeze, “It’s sort of like partial pregnancy,” Davidson says. “It’s not significant in the scheme of things. We’re avoiding the tough choices that are eventually going to be forced on us when we have no other options.”


The above report by Dan Weil of Moneynews is pretty shocking. Please read it open-mindedly for your own benefits.