Bought a 100 year old book from EBay

Every now and then, I buy a few things off Ebay. It is an easy way to shop. I sit at home, browse through the various items and just buy anything that I fancy.

Lately, I decided to buy an antique book using some of the earnings I got from my online ads. I stumbled upon this old book with a title that I fancied. Coolest thing is that it is one year shy from being hundred years old! Just holding this book in my hands feels like I am holding a piece of history. The book is most probably out of print too.

This is what I have been busying myself with the past few weeks. And I am enjoying this new hobby of mine. So I do apologize if I have not been posting often enough. But life is really a lot more interesting when you have a hobby you enjoy doing. It breaks the monotony of work.

Guess what? I am going onto right now to see if there are other things worth buying!

Hello, Bye Bye

When I started working, I realised that how most friendships in the workplace don't really last very long.

While you are working together, you eat together, suffer together, get angry with one another. You enter the office and sit around people who might or might not talk to you for days or even weeks. Some of them you might have lunch with. Others, they are just acquaintances.

Then people come and go. Some quit. Some retire. And eventually, it comes to your turn and you leave too.

And you realise that the people whom you spent huge amounts of time with previously just suddenly disappear from your life. You see them around on facebook but that is it. You hardly meet up with them anymore.

It is truly amazing how we can spend so much time with colleagues but once somebody moves on, it is usually the "end" of the relationship as we know it. Amazing ...

Writer's Block

I finally had it. Writer's block. I cannot find the words to describe how I am feeling. I don't really know what to write about too. It is the worst thing to happen to a blogger. After the new year, I just felt kind of lazy and stopped blogging for a while. Days turned into weeks and I soon realised that I was hardly logging on with the frequency and fervor that I used to have.

I also do not seem to have any topic in mind to write about. There are lots of topics out there to talk about but does it really matter if I write about it or not? After all, there are people out there who can probably do a much better job than me dissecting the latest piece of market news, hot stocks to buy, and so on....

It does not mean that I will stop blogging. It only means that I am taking a break and hopefully I will come back with soon.

I enjoyed the conversations and comments on this blog but sometimes, it just feels like I am talking to the air and I really feel that I could better spend my time with family or even just do some of the things that I enjoy doing. Why blog? After a while, this blog will die eventually. But there are more important things in life than blogging. And I can put my time to better use in other avenues.

I have also been feeling a little down and lost lately and that has some what affected my mood to write. Oh well, I will be back. Maybe after Chinese New Year.

Wishing all readers a Happy Chinese New Year!!

How Much Did You Earn When You Were 35

At a point in my life where I am wondering how far ahead or behind I am compared to my entire cohort. Of course, I am not yet 35 but I will be there in no time and it makes me wonder sometimes whether my salary is at the range that it should be in terms of the skills and qualifications I have and how much more it can go up to by age 35. Because I am seriously guessing that at age 35, I will most probably not be jumping around in jobs anymore.

So how much should a graduate expect to be earning at age 35? How much did you earn when you were age 35?

Price of Coffee Goes Up

Hi Readers,

Hope you have not been missing me much. Ever since the new year started, I have been busying myself with the more important things in life like spending time with family, reading, work, and of course various leisure activities.

For one, I have managed to watch the Godfather again. Something that I had wanted to do for the longest time but just could not find the spare time to do so.

I have also been reading like crazy. All the books in my house are being read through almost simultaneously.

The year has started off well.

Except for the news of coffee prices going up again, all has been well over at my side. Coffee is a drink that I am sure most people cannot live without. For me, a 10cents increase in a cup of coffee easily translates to a sizeable amount of money.

On the blogging front, I really do hope to blog more.

Concerns Over Dubai World Result in Increase of Debt Insurance Costs

Dubai World, Emirate's flag bearer in global investments, is undergoing a $22 billion debt restructuring. This has provoked a lot of speculations and an air of uncertainty has started to settle over the financial market. As a consequence, bond yields as well the debt insurance cost of Dubai World has started to shoot up. This looks particularly striking when you think of the recent billion dollar bailout of Dubai by Abu Dhabi.

The finance world was virtually speechless when this investing giant declared in November that it is going for a debt payment standstill. Dubai World can proceed with debt payments owing to the extremely expensive bailout by Abu Dhabi. However, no official agreement regarding payment standstill has been reached.

There has been a surprisingly sharp increase of five year credit default swaps (CDS) for Dubai recently. They are right now quoted at 510 bps. Do you understand the implications? It would cost more than .5 million to insure $10 million of the emirate's debt for five years.

The sources at ING investment management say that the announcement from Dubai World was absolutely unexpected and they did not have a clue about it. Sources confirm that ING did not receive any proposal from Dubai World. The whole issue is quite obscure right now.

The CDs are about to reach a level which was witnessed in the eve of the bailout. This has triggered the shooting up of debt insurance costs for Abu Dhabi and Bahrain as well. However, the rise in debt insurance has been relatively small for them. Financial experts opine that Standard and poor’s decision to revoke its rating for Dubai Holding Commercial Group has made quite an impact in this part of the world. Clearly, the apprehensions about Dubai World are affecting other companies like Dubai Holding.

It is significant that the rise in debt insurance costs came at a time when Greece is knee deep in debt and other countries in the euro zone are facing debt crisis as well (In fact debt management is quite an issue in euro zone right now). There is no question of an emergency situation right now but people are naturally skeptical since there is a possibility of debt rescheduling.

The $10 million, thanks to Abu Dhabi, will help Dubai World to refinance for 2010 as well as 2011. Moreover, its sister concern Nakheel has a domestic bond which is supposed to mature soon. Experts predict a $ 1,0 billion in net international bond insurance in this part of the world in the current year.

Author Bio:
This is a guest post by Kevin Craig who is a financial writer for various finance related Communities. He has been providing advice on debt relief since 2007.He has helped many indebted people to get out of debt by giving them proper financial advice for debt management. With his advice many are now living a debt free life. You can get in touch with him at kevin.craig672@gmail.com.

2011 Good Year for Investing?

With the new year celebrations just over, it seems that the stock markets have had a breath of new life. Overall stock portfolio is up and I do hope that this bull run continues. Even with global uncertainties in America and Europe, it seems that people are still pretty optimistic about the future.

What else can we expect from 2011? Here are how things are playing out in my head.

Scenario 1 - Europe and America sink due to debt concerns. Asia's domestic demand not sufficient and developed enough to propel the rest of the world economy. Economy starts to slump by mid or end 2011 due to some silly event.

Scenario 2- whole world recovers and we see another bull run for 2 to 3 years and people who were thinking that Scenario 1 will take place end up cursing their luck for the missed opportunities of the best bull run in Asia.

So which scenario do you think will take place? Let's do a poll!