You're Fired

The master bathroom boasts a bidet for ladies, deluxe vanity lighting, a circular shower and a gold-plated sink. The aircraft's seatbelt buckles are also gold plated.

Aren't you impressed by now at Trump's supposedly old 1968 Boeing 727 plane? It can easily pass of as being one of the luxurious planes we have today !

But, I am not going to sell the Trump's plane today. What I want to discuss is a more salient issue. I have read many management books and they have all unanimously agreed that the great CEOs are all thrifty and low-profiled in their own ways. Even though they earn a gargantuan amount of money, their spendings are well-focused and business-based. They rarely take planes and they stay in normal bungalows with no regal living rooms or an ethereal garden.

Am I trying to say that Donald Trump is not a great CEO? That is not my point because he has built up empires after empires of housing and hotels and we can all see the stupendous results he has delivered time after time.

However, what's the point of having gold-plated seat belts? Is it necessary to have gold sinks? Why do you even need those fanciful glasswares which are so fragile and vulnerable on the plane per se? Is it just to flaunt your properties and your social status? Well, if you are really good, you shouldn't be so insecure about yourself.

Alot of us think that we are impeccable and flawless but our ostentacious behavior and actions come across as childish acts in an attempt to steal attention. After all the rantings and castigation at the employees on cost-saving, these CEOs are actually living lavishly behind the scene while the employees suffer and scrutinize every single costings just to save the company. Is it really worth it?

All in all, I just want to say that it is really not necessary to go the high-style of living if you are not going to utilise every single bit of it effectively. It will simply be a waste of money that will otherwise be well spent.

Trump is upgrading to a larger plane, and "Mr. Trump simply doesn't need two [planes]," said George Sorial, managing director of international development and assistant general counsel at Trump Organization.

Well at least he's not having 2 planes, that's something good to hear after seeing all the pointless spendings he has made on this old plane.

Credits -cnn

Dubai Crisis

For some of you who are still unaware, the stock market, retail industry, bank industry, construction industry, job industry and the real estate industry, okay it is de facto affecting EVERYONE !!!


Just when we thought the world is coming out of the recession and when everyone can finally live happily ever after again. NOT.


Dubai has to drop this nuclear bomb on the world.

The news in summary:


Dubai is currently faced with a total debt amounting to a hedious $80 billion. Of which $60 billion is loaned out by the conglomerate Dubai World. Yes, this unscionable behaviour is preposterous, beyond belief I must agree.

It is currently requesting for a default payment which is to drag the payment by 6 months before they pay up.


The contract most directly affected is the redemption due in December of a 3.5-billion-dollar (2.9 billion euro) Islamic bond issued by Nakheel, the company behind Dubai's iconic Palm Jumeirah tree-shaped artificial island.


The more salient issue now is how is Dubai going to solve the problem of this gargantuan debt that is so crazy that it is actually shaking the world once more like how the Lehman Brothers did.


Be under no illusion that this will and can trigger off yet another financial crisis all over again if mishandled.


However, there is a solution. Dubai can turn to its neighbour, Abu Dhabi that is an oil-rich country with assets over 350 billion dollars. The question is, will Abu Dhabi lend Dubai some money to tide over this crisis.?

If yes, what are the conditions? Will it further exacerbate the crisis Dubai is currently facing? Most probably yes, I surmise.


Well, I will do more updates on the crisis of Dubai that has already shaken the world by the way these few weeks.


Do stay tuned and you had better throw away all your stocks and start shorting stocks or you might be in deep trouble yourself before you know it.

Credits -smileosmile, -saunalahti, -yahoo

Coffee ?

They say that the profits of the caffeine industry is up because people are leaning towards premium coffee now and they are not restricted by the exorbitant price of the coffee.


But, I beg to differ from the author's point of view. I do not feel that people are getting their latte anywhere.




Where they get it really matters because the price of the coffee is already off their threshold mark to be honest. Even if they can afford it, they will look for more prestigious coffee than McCafe seriously.



I think they really have to change their strategy when it comes to coffee because their current one is not sustainable at all.



Personally, I ask myself what do I look for when I want to purchase a cup of coffee.



1. Quality






2. Environment






3. Price



Quality of the coffee has been plummeting these days, it no longer taste as unique as before. Now, the taste is bland so to speak. And to be brutally honest, the environment of some coffeeclubs are so shabby and dowdy that it disgusts me to even step inside, least ordering a cup of coffee.



Lastly, price is a problem because I see that people are abetted to buy the largest cup of coffee because it is strategically priced in such a way that you only have to pay about 1.5 dollars more for the biggest cup as compared to the smallest cup.



I think there is a serious problem here because some of us just want a small cup of coffee for enjoyment and to fulfil our cravings but we are sort of compelled to purchase the largest cup.



Yes it is a great marketing strategy because people will buy the largest cup but then again, will they come back for the biggest cup again if they are turned off by the large cup and their inability to finish it results in wastage ==> waste of money .



Is that the idea that they want to send across to the consumers ?

Synergy

It was raining heavily. A man in a Mercedes drove past a bus stop and he saw 3 people sitting at the bus stop.

1. An old lady that was going to die if she was not treated.

2. A life-long good friend.

3. A dream mate that he always pine to be with for the whole of his life.

Question is . . . Who should he pick up?

Some of the random answers:

Of course the dream mate man, how often do you come across someone you truly love?

Nah, I believe we should take the old lady, she's dying already GODAMNIT!

I believe in friendship, I will take my life-long good friend.

But the miracle is here, we can have the best of triple world!

How?

Simply get out of the car, ask your life-long friend to drive the old lady to the hospital and enjoy the rest of your day with your dream mate.

A synergistic solution. This might just be a random example but this is the power of synergy, 1+1=1 Billion.

Google's gift: Free WiFi in 47 airports

Google has exploited the fact that people linger around the airport for quite a while before they board the plane and when they alight the plane, as they wait patiently for their families.

I'm pretty sure that this applies to most of us. We usually have to arrive at the airport 2 hours before our flight to settle the treacherous and mundane applications for our flight. After we are done with the application, we tend to be too free and most of us can't be bothered to shop at the customs because we have been there so many times already. For one matter, it does not change one bit even after so many years.

So what can we do? Whip out our iPhones/Smartphones/or whatever phones you have, and start surfing the Internet for some quirky, humorous videos. With Google's service now, many of us get to enjoy the free service without having to pay a single cent.

Of course, they are not so stupid as to pay without letting you know that it is them that you have to thank for the free service.


Upon signing in, users will be asked if they want to set Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) as their homepage or try the Google Chrome browser.

This form of advertising is considered to be straight to the point, down to the bones. Why is that so? Because it has identified the essence of advertising, that is to relate to the needs and behaviors of your consumers.


In this case, it has identified that people are too bored in the airport and they have the propensity to turn to the Internet as source to relieve their boredom. When you do them a favour, they will be more than happy to set you as their homepage and even attempt to use your services, whether new or not. Why do they do so?


1. Norm of reciprocity, as a payback favour, they don't mind using your services.

2. Because they have all the time in the world, there is no harm exploring since they have nothing to do now anyway.


With regards to the above 2 mentioned facts, Google has turned the table around and diverted all their attention to their services. Come to think of it, the traffic inflow and outflow just within a day is already an insurmountable sum. Furthermore, this offer is going to be here for the whole of the festive season, imagine the amount of recognition Google will get after this treat they provide?


An incandescent marketing strategy indeed.

Credits -money.cnn, -shore, -kalithea, -farm3

Tech gadget gifts for $299 or less

Consumers looking to buy electronics for holiday gifts won't have to break the bank this season.

Droid: $199, with 2-year contract

The Droid's "iDon't / Droid does" marketing campaign has raised quite a few eyebrows because of its seemingly preposterous suggestion that Verizon's new Motorola smartphone can hold its own against Apple's iconic iPhone.

HP Mini 110 series: $299

One powerful option in the sub-$300 range is the HP mini 110 series, which sports a 160 GB hard drive, 1 GB of memory, Intel Atom processor, built-in Web cam and microphone. Not bad for a 2.3 lb. computer.

iPod Nano 8GB: $149

The Nano got a $30 price cut from the previous version, and now features a video camera, a pedometer and an FM receiver with the ability to pause live radio.

PlayStation 3 120GB: $299

Sony's third generation PlayStation has had a lot of things going for it since its late-2006 release: in addition to its high-definition graphics, and fantastic game selection, it also sports a Blu-ray disc player.

Kindle: $259

But competition is heating up. Barnes & Noble designed its own e-reader that hit shelves in the past few months, and consumer electronics analysts say this holiday season will be a big test to see how consumers respond to the newly competitive e-reader market.

 

Flip Ultra: $149

The cool new Flip cameras sport just a few buttons, enabling users to simply point, shoot, and start recording hours of video. Want that video in high definition? $50 more will get you a Flip Ultra HD.

Credits -money.cnn

Concerns about Asset Bubbles

There has been a raising concern about the asset bubbles in Asia popping once the Fed raise their interest rates.


The common trend here is that the Asia markets and economies are recovering faster than the United State's and apparently people are borrowing money from the United States banks at a low interest rate to invest in Asia.

With regards to the rise in investments, we see a rise in the stock prices, commodities, and currencies. The Austrailian dollar is up 35% and still rising. We see other markets like South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong all flourishing under the investments made by the Americans.


The concern here is that when the Fed raises their interest rates, the number of investments in Asia will plummet all of a sudden, bringing the stock prices, commodities and currencies back to an all-time low. A sudden withdrawal might stabbed Asia hard in the back and we will be back to Square 1 all over again.


Stopping investments or limiting the number of investors is not a panacea to the perplexing problem. This will just deter potential investors and it will be disadvantageous to Asia in the long run, especially, when we are feeding off the energy of the world to grow rapidly right now.


A more relevant and congenial solution will be to ensure sustainability in these investments, which is to say, the investors will not leave even after the Fed raises their interest rates. Typically, when the Fed raises their interest rates, the investors will sell their businesses and take away with them whatever profits they made and stay low for a while until they find another opportunity.

Hence, the key here is to make sure that they stay and develop their business conscientiously even with the rising interest rates.


There are two ways of doing things,

FIRST:  Help them to cope with the rising interest rates which is forecasted to start by the end of mid 2010. This can be done by drafting out policies esoteric to the individual country's strength. For instance, Singapore can promise low trade tax, Hong Kong can adjust their real estate policies and infrastructure rent. By lowering the cost to do business here in Asia, they will still stay even if the interest rates rise because the total cost will still be manageable.

SECOND: The government must have some backup plans to cushion the backdrop if the companies are really going to leave when the interest rates are raised by the Feds. They have to make sure that the stock prices and currency rates will not fall tremendously. It is perfectly fine for it to fall by a small bit because it will pick itself up easily after a few months. However, if consumer confidence is heavily dented, it is very hard to regain their confidence in the market.


It is really a conundrum, nonetheless, the government really has to start planning now or else it will be too late when the bubble burst again.

Credits -marketwatch, -lh5, -mytravelmaps