When Will They Ever Learn?

The banking industry is definitely in dire need of new and stringent regulations in order to prevent another recession from reoccurring. But are the new financial rules sufficient? Yes, Basel II has been upgraded to Basel III, but so what?

Rules certainly play a major role in the preservation of the banking industry’s integrity and goodwill. But, what actually plays an even more important role in ensuring that the set of new regulations will work are the “attitudes” of bankers.

If rotten apples are still prevalent in the industry, then I’ll ensure you, another recession is bound to happen. Greed-driven bankers, in one way or another, will find other ways to seek profit.

In the following news article, JP Morgan seeks to “shift” its proprietary trading desk out of its investment banking arm and into its asset management arm. I personally feel that “shifting” the prop trading desk is not going to make a drastic difference and is definitely not going to meet the requirements of the initial Volcker Rule “a ban on proprietary trading”.

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/jpmorgan-is-shifting-its-prop-trading-desk/?scp=1&sq=proprietary%20trading&st=cse

Here’s another interesting read on the Volcker Rule’s “approved final version” from the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/26/us/politics/26regulate.html

“…the bill does not include the tough restrictions on derivatives trading championed by Senator Blanche L. Lincoln, Democrat of Arkansas, which would have forced banks to jettison their most lucrative dealings in this area.”

“…banks will be required to segregate their dealings only in the riskiest categories of derivatives, including the highly structured products like credit-default swaps based on bundles of mortgage loans, and in certain types of derivatives that are based on commodities that banks are already prohibited from investing in, like precious metals, agricultural products and energy.”

It appears that derivatives are still tradable. Only a certain few are banned. I believe that bankers will be smart enough to design and churn out more incomprehensible derivatives to fool innocent and non-investment savvy investors that would lead to another crisis in no time.

Time will tell whether another set of new regulations will be needed.

A Fetish For Leather

I just purchased this, BCBG Max Azria's Tejus embossed leather satchel from http://www.outnet.com/ for GBP138.00! It's guaranteed to become a new-season wardrobe staple!

Medium-brown crocodile-stamped leather satchel. BCBG Max Azria satchel has two handles, two detachable press-stud fastening shoulder straps, leather and gold designer plaque at handle, gold zip fastening at top with logo pull, designer-stamped studs at sides, gold curved bars at front, designer label at back, inner zip pocket, pouch pocket and mobile phone pocket, inner leather designer tag and is fully lined in antique-rose fabric.

Aqua Roma, Aqua Tokyo & Aqua Spirit

Aqua, Hong Kong, Beijing and London's most exclusive dining and socialising venue never fails to replenish our palates with gastronomical fusion delights and quench our thirst with its innovative combination of tantalizing cocktails. All is this made possible thanks to Aqua Restaurant Group.

Upon my arrival in the vibrant cosmopolitan of Hong Kong, I was introduced to this sublime and chic venue, where I had the chance to appreciate haute Japanese (Aqua Tokyo) and Italian (Aqua Roma) cuisine, a good conversation, whilst admiring  the breathtaking view of the Hong Kong harbour and city; a truly magnificent dancing kaleidoscope of lights.

 

Aqua provides one of the best night views of Hong Kong.

Voted as one of Conde Nast Traveller's Top 100 New Restaurants, trendy and posey bar known as Aqua Spirit does not only provide the best ambiance for mingling with moneyed bankers, expats and newfangled media folk, but it is also the prime area to get your groove on and let your hair down, especially when the DJ spins hot couture house music on weekends.

The restaurant downstairs, however, is littered with couples - dim lights, picturesque skyline, soothing lounge music, good food, what more could you ask for? Aqua is the perfect destination for love birds as well as those who is in dire need of unwinding and taking the edge off a stressful day at work.

Here are some pictorial delights of the food after having spent 20 minutes perusing through the extensive food menu.

Aqua Tokyo Sushi Platter - 12 different pieces of innovative sushi ingredients. 

I personally wasn't very fond of the sushi platter as I felt that the ingredients used were not very fresh neither was it intriguing. It's just your average sushi platter, if you know what I mean.

 

I, on the other hand, fell head over heels in love with the Ravioli al fegato grasso con porcini e tartufo nero, which translates into veal and foie gras stuffed ravioli with porcini mushroom sauce and shaved black truffle, and their signature Tiramisu cake.

At a hefty price of HKD108 and the need to satisfy my penchant for Vodka based cocktails, the Porn Star Martini is definitely the highlight of the night. This is an orgasmic concoction of Absolut Vanilla, passion fruit liquer, Vanilla sugar and bubbles; a cocktail not to be missed along with other contemporary classics.

There's only one thing to worry about when hitting the ultra-stylish Aqua, do ensure your pockets are deep enough. :)

Aqua Roma, Aqua Tokyo & Aqua Spirit
29 & 30 Floors
One Peking Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
T:     +852 3427 2288
E: aqua@aqua.com.hk

Message from The Vice-Chancellor of HKU

Dear Colleagues, Students, Alumni and Friends,

You may not be at all surprised that the University has again been ranked among the best universities globally – this time, 23rd amongst the top 200 by the World University Rankings of Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) – because you know that HKU has been doing well in the past.

We should be cognisant, however, that rankings typically assess a number of different performance indicators at a university, each carrying a specific weight, and that there are different emphases in the choice of data and methodologies used in different analyses.

The QS rankings, previously published as the QS Times Higher Education World University Rankings, have used the same methodology now for the past five years or so. It is therefore possible to compare HKU year on year. One conclusion we can draw from this longitudinal analysis is the consistency that HKU shows in its high scores on those criteria chosen by QS as important for the best universities worldwide.

While we know that the success of a university cannot be solely judged by league tables and rankings, certain performance indicators used in the QS rankings also happen to have been areas in which HKU has traditionally been strong, such as academic peer review and internationalisation. We particularly value the respect of academic peers from around the world, because they are in the best position to understand the complexity of universities and their activities and goals.

As the QS rankings measure research quality, graduate employability, teaching commitment and internationalisation, it is really the hard work and dedication of the entire HKU community, including all staff, students, alumni and friends, that have helped bring HKU to what it is today. Our strong standing and reputation are without a doubt the result of your commitment and contributions in the past many years. My sincere thanks to you all!

Last but not the least, it is of course gratifying for us to see other Hong Kong universities in top rankings as well. This is encouraging news for Hong Kong and, particularly, our Higher Education sector.

Lap-Chee Tsui
Vice-Chancellor

Further details about the QS rankings can be found at http://www.topuniversities.com/.

Information on how HKU is ranked in various exercises can be found at http://www.hku.hk/cpao/Urankings/.　

Price Discrimination

It was the first time I experienced a "live" demonstration of price discrimination; a literal face-to-face encounter between the salesperson and I. Price discrimination exists when the sale of identical goods or services are transacted at different prices from the same provider. Price discrimination is practiced in many industries on a daily basis, ranging from airlines companies, mobile phone network companies to even restaurants. However, with the prominence of perfect information or perfect substitutes, the pure existence of price discrimination falters. It can on be a feature in monopolistic and oligopolistic (a few competitors) markets, where market power can be exercise.

This unethical practice took place when I was hunting around for the perfect yoga package at a particular yoga centre here in Hong Kong yesterday. Yes, the market was oligopolistic, where there are currently two major players in the yoga industry. Nonetheless, the centre I approached had a competitive edge; not only did they offer yoga classes but pilates, spinning and dance classes as well. I was, indeed, thoroughly impressed.

But, what majorly put me off was the salesperson and the fact that the yoga centre did not have a proper price chart for various packages. Towards the end, she was pushy, a complete boot licker, annoying (because Carl and I had to rush off for dinner and she did not let us leave by stalling us with more codswollop = sales pitches) and had the audacity to change the price and the duration of the Unlimited Package THREE times:

a) HKD1,288 for 12 months (I was not interested as it was too costly)
b) HKD899 for 18 months 12 months (Duration of 18 months was too long, she changed it to 12)
c) HKD699 for 18 months (Price was reasonable but duration was too long)

At that point in time, I was extremely disgruntled, frustrated and desperately wanting to leave. Her manager even had to "dramatically" interject to offer the last price. "Why dramatic?", you might ask. Well, it is because it was all an act and I felt like my precious pennies were being cheated by crooks like them! Plus, they wanted me to sign up with their package there and then! Who would have known that the price and duration of packages were negotiable? Probably most, if not, all of their customers have been blindly cheated. Is this practice even legal?

Hence, from what I can decipher, there are a few determining price factors which the salesperson will take into consideration:

1) Appearance
2) Background
3) Contact with competitors i.e. what I love/hate about their competitors

This is one yoga centre, which I have lost all faith and trust in even though they offer awesome facilities and an amazing array classes. Perhaps they might call me in a few days to built rapport and to reinstill that sense of trust? Perhaps they might call me to offer an even more attractive package? Who knows? There is a lot of calculated malice and shoddy workmanship in the history of marketing. I am most definitely keeping my options open.

Moving Forward

 Friday, 13th August 2010, marks the end of a one year long nightmare and a truly unforgettable one. Coincidentally it had to fall on such a jinxed date/day too. Anyway, tomorrow marks the start of a new life filled with new challenges and friends in the new vibrant cosmopolitan of Hong Kong.

Here's a Carpe Diem quote: And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. ~ Abraham Lincoln. 

It's definitely time for me to seize the day, or year in my case. Wish me luck! :)

Tofu Box

It's unbelievable how our fellow Hong Kong-ers can survive living in such a small, compact space. And how might one define "small space" you might ask? Well, by putting it simply, a 2-bedroom apartment compressed into a 400+ square feet space. Yes, one might agree that even the little fishes that live within the vicinity of an aquarium might possibly lead a better life.

Not only do flats in Hong Kong come in small sizes, they also come in big extortionate prices. A 400+ square feet, 2-bedroom apartment that is located in the neck of the woods of Hong Kong Island, might cost up to HKD2.8 million and above. Hence, it is evident that space is a scarce resource and if you have managed to secure/inherit yourself a decent living space in Hong Kong, please treat it like gold. Hong Kong, where East truly meets West, is an island of only 76 sq.km. with much of that being mountainous rock. Land for development is therefore at an absolute premium and must be used to its fullest advantage.

I do admit that we, Malaysians, do take space for granted.

However, I happen to stumble onto an interesting short and sweet excerpt from Design Tavern and a video from Youtube. The following links will give you some insight to how the architect, Gary Chang, craftily used his designing skills to fully utilise and maximize the space in his Hong Kong 32 square meter apartment.  Implementing the idea of sliding walls, Chang is able to convert his little apartment into a transforming domicile capable of changing into 24 different rooms. What a genius. I would definitely hire him to design my Hong Kong home in the future. :)

Small Living: Sliding Apartment