Worst Year For Warren Buffett As Recession Bites

A new month, but it did not bring new hopes. This week’s stock market opening wasn’t any different as it continues to test new low. Asian bourses were jolted by bleak data while Wall Street fell to fresh 12-year lows on heightened fears about the murky financial sector.

AIG announced $62 billion losses (a cool $460,000 per minute) and a third bailout package was injected which brought the insurance giant closer to becoming absolutely owned by the US government.

Read the full article here.

Is South Korea Desperate Already?

On Thursday, South Korea announced the arrest of a financial blogger accused of undermining the country’s financial markets with his doom-mongering. “Minerva,” as the blogger is known, gained instant fame for uncannily accurate forecasts on the fall of Lehman Brothers and the crash of the Korean won, which plunged 26 per cent against the dollar last year.

Instead of focusing on getting the economy on track, Korea has chosen to crack down on freedom of speech and civil rights. And we will have thought China will be the first to start rounding up bloggers, not just due to its deplorable human rights record, but because its economy is facing the sternest test in decades.

Read the full article here.

Coming To Grips With A Harsh Year In 2009

I wish all readers of Jeflin’s Investment Blog a Happy New Year in 2009.

The past year has been sobering for taxpayers, retail investors and fund managers, what with severe declines in housing, mortgages, banking, stock markets, commodities, retail, automotive, shipping industry, etc. The extreme volatility in 2008 may be over but more of the same challenges await us.

Personally, I have made a new year’s resolution to be a more careful reader of financial reports, and by that, I mean reading with an inquisitive mind. Of course, if a management wants to get creative with their financial statements and the auditors are in a collusive mood (remember, the person who pays the piper calls the tune), our money is fair game for the predators.

Read the full article here.

Tips To Be A More Likable Employee

During Singapore’s last recession in 2001-2002, the Government and union leaders push through several proposals to help companies and employees. One of the key proposals was the implementation of the “monthly variable component” (MVC) and the “annual variable component” (AVC).

This was basically a flexible salary arrangement that employers could build into their wage systems during good times, and which could be adjusted during unexpected business downturns.

The concept is good as companies will first cut workers’ salaries by up to 10 to 30 per cent to cut costs, instead of taking the more painful step of retrenching staff.

In this global recession of 2008, companies are aiming to cut cost to survive and while MVC/AVC are again emphasized as a measure of first resort, downsizing is still inevitable for many businesses.

Becoming a more likable employee may save you from the axe. Here are some tips which were recommended by Salary.com.

1. Know Your Role

A great place to start is a detailed list of job duties or, if it is available, an official job description, from your manager or human resources department.

2. Be “Engaged” in the Process

Be an active participant in establishing your goals from the start. Focus on key objectives and define a plan that makes sense for you and your employer.

3. Set Goals that are Reasonable and Relevant

When establishing goals, make sure they are meaningful.

4. View goals as a project plan

Make your goals your mission for the year. Keep goals current, track progress and contributions, and update goals as appropriate to reflect any changes in your role or responsibilities.

5. Document your accomplishments

Document your accomplishments along the way and let your boss know when you have reached established milestones. If you reach a stumbling block along the way, seek advice on how to best resolve the issue.

6. Show an interest in additional training

Your employer will see that you want to improve the quality of your work and are interested in professional growth.

7. Check-in

Have an open dialogue with your boss throughout the year so you have a better sense of where you stand and how your progress is being perceived.

8. Share positive feedback

Feedback from colleagues and/or customers is also valuable when you are preparing for a review.

9. Demonstrate a Positive Attitude

Try to be “likeable” in a business sense by being pleasant, respectful and courteous to colleagues.

10. Utilize Performance Review Feedback

When you get constructive feedback during a performance review, listen to it carefully and objectively.

Invest Only What You Can Afford To Lose

Every day we open up the newspapers, we are hit by depressing news – what with retrenchments (DBS axes 900, NOL ships out 1000, Citigroup eliminates 52000 worldwide, etc) and pay cuts (Temasek staff and Cabinet ministers). Taken together, the “contributions” from DBS and NOL are close to surpassing the retrenchment figures for third quarter.

Read the full article here.

Oprah’s Favorite Things Are Now Recession Friendly

For years, Oprah has been giving away thousands of dollars in merchandise to Oprah’s audience members. It is common to get tickets to Oprah, fridge, TV, kindle, sometimes a car – all her favorite things.

Well, what did Oprah’s fans get this year? “Recession gifts,” or ideas for homemade knick-knacks! Can you imagine it? You think you’ve hit the lottery, and instead you get a book-club book and a free Christmas music download.

Oprah’s Favorite Things in 2008 ended up as stuff which can be bought at the dollar store! The recession friendly theme couldn’t have come at a worse time as pay cuts and shrinking assets have caused hardships for many of her fans. They could surely do with a new fridge and TV in their household this year.

I doubt recession has hit so hard for Oprah that she can no longer afford luxury goods. After all, the gifts in 2002 and 2003 were stupendous given that they were recession years.

Maybe Oprah is just preparing the ground for sacrifices when Obama is sworn in as President. The rich are going to contribute the most in his future economic policies since taxpayers had already been burdened heavily to save the bigwigs.

Spend Our Way Out Of Recession

Recession, recession, everywhere we turn, we are reminded of this dreaded scenario. For those who are still shy to utter the word “recession,” let’s not kid ourselves anymore. The earlier we face up to the truth, the faster we are on the road to economic recovery.

The week actually didn’t start off with a pall. On Monday, the bulls came charging back in Asian and European stock markets. Read the full article here.

No Honeymoon For President-Elect Barack Obama

Change has indeed come to America and I am glad that Obama, a bright, eager, charismatic and progressive African-American has ascended to the White House on a record wave of voters’ turnout. After the dizzying celebrations of a defining moment where a gigantic racial barrier was overcome, it is time to get back to reality though.

Read the full article here.

A Ray Of Hope For Stock Investors

Red October, one of the worst month in Wall Street history, ended on a sweet note on Friday as stocks rallied to cap a week of impressive gains. For the week, the Dow Jones was up 10.1%, S&P 500 was up 9.5% and the Nasdaq had gained 9.8%.

There are storm clouds gathering but at the moment, investors are caught up in the euphoria and unmoved by grim economic indicators. Read the full article here.

Global Stock Markets Pricing In Recession

Stock markets are now entering a period of painful decline as countries around the world face up to the prospect of recession. While interbank lending has eased tentatively as central banks’ measures to inject cash loans to banks unblocked the credit crunch, investors have little time to absorb the good news.

Read the full article here.