Sometime last week, the world saw Barack Obama admonishing top executives of certain US banks for paying out US$18.4 billion as bonuses. Mere mortals like you and me are finding this economic crisis a very difficult storm to weather. Many worry about retrenchment, pay cuts or even employment, yet some others will be receiving a healthy bonus.

The timing of such an announcement definitely worsens the entire situation. Think about it, various banks just received massive amounts of aid from the US government. Putting one and one together, it will not be too difficult for the general public to wonder if the governmental aid has been misappropriated. It seems almost irrational that these top executives even thought about rewarding themselves with bonuses at this juncture. However, let us look at it from another angle and it may seem more logical.

When leaders of these financial institutions were hired, they were viewed as demi-gods. Ex-Lehman CEO Richard Fuld and ex-AIG CEO Martin Sullivan, just to name a few, were highly regarded before their fall from grace. Their effectiveness was judged based on the billions of profits which their organizations raked in. Like a loose thread in a woolen jacket, the entire system of bad debts was unraveled with the emergence of the sub-prime mortgage issue. We came to realize that these top executives were just humans too. These are humans who are also tempted by the evils of selfishness and greed.

Think about it, if your boss were to offer you a bonus at this point in time, what is your reaction? Sure, it may feel kind of weird but who would reject a bonus? Just as none of us know what will happen tomorrow, the one good thing we can do for ourselves is to ensure our bank account is continues growing. Basically, these top executives are also doing what anyone of us would do, that is to take care of ourselves first.

On the other hand, I would question if they rightfully deserve this bonus. It has said that the current economic crisis has no single cause. It is more of a systemic failure which snowballed into an entire global meltdown. These financial leaders are some of the best and brightest brains, surely they would have been able to identify the possible of a high ratio of bad debts in the previous system they were running. Why did they not try to rectify the situation earlier?

Bonuses are usually paid out to those who have performed well during the course of the year. Based on the current financial turmoil, which is the collective effort of many top executives, this group of people definitely do not deserve any bonus.

A Chinese proverb says, “It is in times of crisis that we see a person’s true nature.” In reality, we have just seen this proverb being played out. I can only wish that this $18.4billion bonus did not come from the taxpayers’ money. Instead of being blinded by greed and selfishness, I urge these top executives to concentrate on steering the global economy out of the current crisis.

I read a pretty interesting commentary in today’s papers. The writer talked about how he swat a fly one day and linked the insect’s behaviour to that of human reaction during times of danger or uncertainty. In short, he was sitting in a room one day and a fly flew into the room. Annoyed by the irritant, he decided to reach for the flyswatter. As he moved away from his seat, the fly chose to remain at a ledge and not move. Only when the writer came back with the swatter, the insect decided to make a dash for safety..by then it was history.

Similar, the writer related this episode to how humans react in times of danger. Usually, when the first sign of danger occurs, we tend to linger around either to find out what is happening or are just plain oblivious to the situation. Only when the danger escalates do we actually make a run for our lives.

I would say for the selected few, they will emerge as heroes by staying around and helping out. However, for most, they end up as part of the victim count. What will you do? Would it not be better by making a dash in signs of danger to safeguard oneself? However, this contradicts with our learnings. During our formative years, parents and teachers often preach of resilience and calmness in the face of storm highly desireable traits.

So do you fight or flight? Think about it

Pilot Chelsey Sullenberger switched on his two-way radio and said two words: “Bird strike.”

Moments later, about 3.30pm New York time, US Airways flight 1549 bound for North Carolina dropped out of the sky and into the icy Hudson River.

When the Federal Aviation Authority confirmed that all 155 passengers and crew had survived — mostly without injury — New York Governor David Paterson declared: “We’ve had a miracle on the Hudson.”

Check out the full article here

As far as I can remember, this is a major milestone for aviation history! The ditching of flight 1549 is one of the rare successful emergency landing on a body of water with every single person onboard managing to escape alive.

One other successful ditching which I can remember was on 16th of January 2002 when a Boeing 737-300 belonging to an Indonesian Airline had both its engines flamed out. It ditched successfully but one stewardess drowned while escaping.

Water landing is an extreme difficult manouver to carry out and the success rate in a real emergency is really miniscue. Kudos to Captain Sullenberger for this awesome feat!

I go a slight shock when I received my handphone bill recently. My usage is usually does not exceed what is provided for in my subscription plan. Thus every month, I will just look at the final sum to be paid. This month, the figures looked alien to me and I did a quick check. Among them was this line which charged me a humble sum of $4.20 for a certain “Colour-Me-Tones” service.

This is very odd as I have not altered my subscription plan ever since I signed on with my Telco provider since 1999. A quick check with my wife shone some light to the whole issue. Recently, she would hear this nice Christmas song as my ring tone whenever she called me. It has been like this since sometime in December.

After reading some online forums, I solved the mystery. My dear service provider had kindly activated this additional service for me. I was given a free one month usage and thereafter, I would have to pay for this service. Apparently, a sms was sent to all users who received this “goodwill” activation telling them if they did not want to continue using this service, they had to call a hotline or send an sms to a special number to opt-out. Seems like a wonderful service from my provider..or is it so?

I do not exactly remember getting the sms from the provider and some netizens had the same complain. In the first place, I question the logic of the “opt-out” system which my telco employed. Imagine this, as you shop around a supermarket, promoters eagerly place various products which you never knew existed into your shopping trolley. In doing so, they also tell you, “If you do not want to purchase this product, please return it to the shelf.” In essence, I am given something that I do not really need in the first place yet the incidence of responsibility to reject this unnecessary item.

Coming back to my telco issue, this is essentially some sort of underhanded marketing ploy. Should I not do the necessary action to opt-out of the “Colour-Me-Tones”, I will be paying the subscription yet underutilize this service. No doubt the deactivation process is just a phone call or one sms away however why should I even need to go through this hassle since I did not even sign up for it in the first place. Why activate this service for me even though I did not sign up for it?

In essence, I would assert that the telco is capitalizing on the fact that people will forget or overlook the process of opting out. Opting out service is not unique to Singapore. In fact, mobile phone subscribers also have various opt out functions overseas. These are mainly for not allowing their service providers to sell their data for marketing purposes. However, the opt out issue I experience was for a paying service where any oversight of not opting out meant a benefit to the telco.

It is a personal judgment if this entire opt out system is a form of opportunistic cheat. I believe there are better methods of marketing to promote awareness of certain products or services which consumers will possibly need. Force activating services and asking the consumer to subsequently opt out does not seem logical to be from the consumer fairness point of view.

Microsoft has decided to allow users to download and obtain trial keys from now till Jan 24 for the Windows 7 Beta Operating System.

If you have not tried it, no harm downloading and trying it. Preview of this software has garnered positive reviews.

Follow this link to download the Beta Windows 7

Get your trial key here

First, we have learned that even the most rigorous back testing of portfolios did not work during this period. The reason was simple — no back test allowed for as much stress as markets were under from late 2007 to fall 2008. There simply was no postwar historic precedent for markets to be as volatile on the downside as they were in 2007-08. Thus, back testing (very similar to stress testing) that called for maximum falls of, say, 33 percent simply did not work when markets fell as far and fast as they did in 2007-08.

To be sure, there have been other times when the markets fell as far — the early and mid-1970s are an example. But the daily volatility and unprecedented decline after the failure of the Treasury to rescue Lehman Brothers were simply not on most radar screens.

Check out the full article here

I found this article on Yahoo Finance to be a very good read. Hope this will give us a broader perspective on the current economic crunch.

Check out this article of how much 1 guy loves (literally) his car.

I do not know what to make of it but I feel very confused!

I came across two news articles related to money recently. One explored the link between material wealth and happiness. The other related a seemingly different mindset between Asians and Australians when it comes to the money issue. It seems that for most Asians, the topic of money dominates most conversations. As for the Australians, they were more preoccupied with other social and non-wealth related topics.

Putting one and one together, these articles intrigue me because I tend to agree we are too engrossed in accumulating wealth. Money can buy us the hot sports car, dream home or even that long overdued holiday. However, couples have broke up, marriages have failed and even families have been destroy directly or indirectly due to money. This really highlights the power the money can bring about at both ends of the spectrum.

I believe as we go in search of material wealth, we should also keep stock of our balance in life. I have to admit I belong to the group who sometimes get too blinded with money that working seven days a week becomes a natural routine. However, what about my spouse, parents and hobbies? These aspects of my life becomes neglected and when one looks back what is the point of having so much money when it cannot buy love and kinship?

I know of a self-made millionaire businessman. Even before selling his electronics business, he had already amassed a pile of wealth which many can only long for. However, all his children have either migrated or are overseas studying. When it comes to festive holidays, he will readily invite employees to his home. His frequent invitations came about because he was worried of boredom. This is becausehis sprawling mansion is occupied by only his wife, a couple of maids, himself and a huge dose of loneliness.

We work so hard so whether we want to scrimp and save or splurge and enjoy is our perogative. However, I believe money may be a common denominator but it is not the only thing that makes our life worthwhile. Material wealth can bring contentment but only a balanced spiritual and mental state can bring about a higher level of true happieness.

Italian motor racing figures have welcomed the latest batch of rumours claiming that Fernando Alonso could head to Ferrari in 2011.

Gabriele Tredozi, formerly technical chief at Minardi and Toro Rosso and now a commentator for Sky, believes the 27-year-old Spaniard is the right driver for the Maranello team.

Check out the full article here

I must be dreaming since the Italian press has always been stingy with their praise for non-Ferrari drivers. This comes as a great testimony for Fernando Alonso’s talent.

After all, this driver won 2 races last year in a car which many considered as a tractor against the top grade F1 cars from Ferrari and Mclaren.

With so rumours spreading like wild fire, I believe it is a matter of when, not if, Alonso will join Ferrari. I believe he will be interested to win more championships and in the process creating a legacy which he is worthy off.

Let us watch how this plot unfolds!

Around the corner at Madigan Lane, John Sweeney, a member of the town’s conservation-minded Heat Advisory Committee, took a characteristically green approach to powering his home during the storm. He reported his achievement in an e-mail, saying it was no big deal, but that his wife thought it an impressive tale worth sharing: Sweeney ran his refrigerator, freezer, TV, woodstove fan, and several lights through his Prius, for three days, on roughly five gallons of gas.

Check out the full article here

Hybrid car users should rejoice now that another use for their car it found. In any case, this is a pretty interesting thought to know that your car can be transformed into a survival tool