Best Memories on FOOD we had...gonna miss all these...

My time with my current company will finally come to a close. The chapter will ends, as today will be my last day here in this company with my fellow colleagues. The thing I will be and shall be missing the most ? Of course will be the food we had together...let's run down the selected list:

*ps: the sequence doesn't represent the favourite food, just random arrangement :)

1. Sungai Ara spicy and sour fish meat beehoon.

2. Greenlane Ar Kuan roasted pork rice.

3. Batu Lanchang Pasembur.

4. Sri Weld Nasi Lemak.

5. Pengkalan Kota Mee Sotong.

6. Waterfall Road Fruit Ice

7. Macallum Street Fried Sago.

8. Free School Road Fried Yam

9. Genting Cafe Chee Cheung Fun.

10. Ar Leng Char Koay Teow.

11. Burmah Road Nasi Kandar - banjir banjir !!!


I'm sure if my lunch mates see this list, sure it will bring back the good eating memories...hopefully sometimes in the future we can go enjoy these food again...

Black Friday for Batu Feringghi traders...

Please take note, do not be surprise if you see a quiet Batu Feringghi night life come this Friday.....reason?

Police and enforcement agencies in Penang will be moving in to clear the Batu Ferringhi stretch of unlicensed traders and illegal beach activity operators on Friday.

The operation, would be led by the police and targeted to clear the stretch of DVD and counterfeit goods stalls, unlicensed entertainment and eatery joints as well as unauthorised water sport activities.

Among the agencies involved in the operation would be the Penang Municipal Council, Customs Department, Immigration Department, Anti Drug Agency and Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry.

Guess it's not the right time to do bargain hunting for holiday folks tomorrow :)

Ten Stock-Market Myths That Just Won't Die

A good article from WSJ about typical top share market myths that you can always hear from your brokers :

1 "This is a good time to invest in the stock market."
Really? Ask your broker when he warned clients that it was a bad time to invest. October 2007? February 2000? A broken watch tells the right time twice a day, but that's no reason to wear one. Or as someone once said, asking a broker if this is a good time to invest in the stock market is like asking a barber if you need a haircut. "Certainly, sir -- step this way!"

2 "Stocks on average make you about 10% a year."
Stop right there. This is based on some past history -- stretching back to the 1800s -- and it's full of holes.
About three of those percentage points were only from inflation. The other 7% may not be reliable either. The data from the 19th century are suspect; the global picture from the 20th century is complex. Experts suggest 5% may be more typical. And stocks only produce average returns if you buy them at average valuations. If you buy them when they're expensive, you do a lot worse.

3 "Our economists are forecasting..."
Hold it. Ask your broker if the firm's economist predicted the most recent recession -- and if so, when.
The record for economic forecasts is not impressive. Even into 2008 many economists were still denying that a recession was on the way. The usual shtick is to predict "a slowdown, but not a recession." That way they have an escape clause, no matter what happens. Warren Buffett once said forecasters made fortune tellers look good.

4 "Investing in the stock market lets you participate in the growth of the economy."
Tell that to the Japanese. Since 1989 their economy has grown by more than a quarter, but the stock market is down more than three quarters. Or tell that to anyone who invested in Wall Street a decade ago. And such instances aren't as rare as you've been told. In 1969, the U.S. gross domestic product was about $1 trillion, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at about 1000. Thirteen years later, the U.S. economy had grown to $3.3 trillion. The Dow? About 1000.

5 "If you want to earn higher returns, you have to take more risk."
This must come as a surprise to Mr. Buffett, who prefers investing in boring companies and boring industries. Over the last quarter century, the FactSet Research utilities index has even outperformed the exciting, "risky" Nasdaq Composite index. The only way to earn higher returns is to buy stocks cheap in relation to their future cash flows. As for "risk," your broker probably thinks that's "volatility," which typically just means price ups and downs. But you and your Aunt Sally know that risk is really the possibility of losing principal.

6 "The market's really cheap right now. The P/E is only about 13."
The widely quoted price/earnings (PE) ratio, which compares share prices to annual after-tax earnings, can be misleading. That's because earnings are so volatile -- they're elevated in a boom, and depressed in a bust.
Ask your broker about other valuation metrics, like the dividend yield, which looks at the dividends you get for each dollar of investment; or the cyclically adjusted PE ratio, which compares share prices to earnings over the past 10 years; or "Tobin's q," which compares share prices to the actual replacement cost of company assets. No metric is perfect, but these three have good track records. Right now all three say the stock market's pretty expensive, not cheap.

7 "You can't time the market."
This hoary old chestnut keeps the clients fully invested. Certainly it's a fool's errand to try to catch the market's twists and turns. But that doesn't mean you have to suspend judgment about overall valuations.
If you invest in shares when they're cheap compared to cash flows and assets -- typically this happens when everyone else is gloomy -- you will usually do very well.
If you invest when shares are very expensive -- such as when everyone else is absurdly bullish -- you will probably do badly.

8 "We recommend a diversified portfolio of mutual funds."
If your broker means you should diversify across things like cash, bonds, stocks, alternative strategies, commodities and precious metals, then that's good advice.
But too many brokers mean mutual funds with different names and "styles" like large-cap value, small-cap growth, midcap blend, international small-cap value, and so on. These are marketing gimmicks. There is, for example, no such thing as "midcap blend." These funds are typically 100% invested all the time, and all in stocks. In this global economy even "international" offers less diversification than it did, because everything's getting tied together.

9 "This is a stock picker's market."
What? Every market seems to be defined as a "stock picker's market," yet for most people the lion's share of investment returns -- for good or ill -- has typically come from the asset classes (see No. 8, above) they've chosen rather than the individual investments. And even if this does turn out to be a stock picker's market, what makes you think your broker is the stock picker in question?

10 "Stocks outperform over the long term."
Define the long term? If you can be down for 10 or more years, exactly how much help is that? As John Maynard Keynes, the economist, once said: "In the long run we are all dead."

How true are them? To me, they are indeed quite true...hehe :)

‘Faster’ Alonso wins controversial German GP

Fernando Alonso led home a Ferrari 1-2 in Sunday’s German Formula One Grand Prix at Hockenheim to register his first win since the opening race of the season in Bahrain.

The Spaniard’s 23rd victory of his career was assured when he passed teammate Felipe Massa on lap 49, just one round after the Brazilian was told in no uncertain terms on his team radio that Alonso was faster than him.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel started from pole position but had to be satisfied with third place after falling behind the two Ferraris in the opening corner.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton, by contrast, jumped two places in the opening lap to eventually finish fourth ahead of defending world champion and McLaren teammate Jenson Button.

Mark Webber claimed sixth place in the second Red Bull, followed by Robert Kubica of Renault.

Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher came home in eighth and ninth, respectively, while Renault’s Vitaly Petrov took 10th spot.

Hamilton now leads the drivers’ standings with 157 points from 11 of 19 races, followed by Button on 143. Vettel sits joint third with Webber on 136 while Alonso now has 123 points in fifth place.

The Formula One season continues next weekend with the Hungarian GP in Budapest.

Wow...Ferrari is back...can they continue their momentum next week??? Wait to see...

Dragon Boat 1st Club Crew Championship for Commonwealth Countries : 23rd to 24th July 2010

Date: 23rd to 25th July 2010

Venue: Teluk Bahang Dam, Penang

Admission and parking is FREE.

Organizer: Penang State Government

Official web site: http://www.penangdragonboat.gov.my/

Penang International Dragon Boat Festival committee successfully bid for this Dragon Boat 1st Club Crew Championship for Commonwealth Countries in August 2009.

The event is a warm up to the 7th IDBF Club Crew World Championship in Macau on 29 Jul-1 Aug 2010. We expect around 2,000 dragon boat participants to visit Penang to take part in this competition.

Rowers from different crew clubs will come together to compete in this fast growing water sports in this region.Note: Dragon boat racing is one of our Penang State Signature Event. It is among the fastest growing water sports in this region. Dragon Boat Racing has become a very popular corporate and charitable sport, during which friendship, strength and endurance are developed among the participants.

Let's hope this event will be a success and not bringing up the tragic memory of the incident last year again :)

St Anne's Festival : 23rd Jul to 1st Aug 2010

Date: 23rd July ~ 1st August 2009

Venue: St Anne's Church, Bukit Mertajam, Penang

Organizer: St Anne's Church

St Anne’s Church in Bukit Mertajam Penang, will once again be packed with huge crowd attending the coming 9-day prayer ritual that expects to draw a congregation of its followers.

In conjunction with the annual St Anne's fest a Night of Candle Light procession will take place on 31st of July at the church grounds.

So come join in this coming St Anne's festival and witness the transformation of the church into a fairyland of lights.

Have you ever visited the place? If you haven't then you should be there....it's so scenic and peaceful....c'mon, join the crowd !

Malaysia Inflation accelerates fastest in 13 months !!!

Malaysia’s inflation rate climbed in June to the highest level in more than a year, an increase that may be augmented as the government cuts fuel and food subsidies.

Consumer prices climbed 1.7 percent from a year earlier after gaining 1.6 percent in May, the statistics department said in a statement today. That matched the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 13 economists.

Bank Negara Malaysia has raised interest rates three times since early March as a regional rebound from last year’s global recession prompted policy makers from India to South Korea to boost borrowing costs. Prices are expected to rise at a “gradual pace” in the coming months as the Malaysian economy improves and the government adjusts prices of subsidized goods, the central bank said this month.

“Strong growth and improvement in the labor market are the main reasons why inflation is set to rise going forward,” Irvin Seah, an economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd. in Singapore, said before the report. “Though the effects of the recent fuel and sugar subsidy cuts are unlikely to be as significant as the last round in June 2008, there will certainly be some impact on headline inflation numbers.”

The Southeast Asian nation trimmed subsidies for sugar, gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas on July 16 to narrow the budget deficit.

Still, Malaysian food and drinks companies gave assurances to the government they won’t pass on higher sugar and fuel costs to consumers, Minister for Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ismail Sabri Yaakob said this week, a move that may limit price pressures.

Food prices, which account for about 31 percent of Malaysia’s inflation index, rose 2.7 percent in June, today’s report showed. The cost of housing, utilities and fuels gained 0.8 percent. Transport increased 1.3 percent.

Bloomberg

Oh noooo....I already said time and again our economy is still not in the recovery mode yet !!!

Pedrosa wins 'crazy' German MotoGP

Dani Pedrosa won an eventful German MotoGP on Sunday, with reigning world champion Valentino Rossi taking fourth in his first race since breaking his leg six weeks ago.

Spaniard Pedrosa on a Honda came in clear of Yamaha's championship leader Jorge Lorenzo, with Australia's Casey Stoner pipping comeback king Rossi for third.

Pedrosa's win completed a clean sweep for Spain at the Sachsensring circuit near Dresden, as his fellow countrymen Marc Marquez and Toni Elias won the Moto2 and 125cc races respectively.

In the big one, only a late lunge on the final corner by Stoner denied the 98,000 spectators the remarkable sight of Rossi hobbling onto the podium on crutches.

The rider known as 'The Doctor' has missed four races since his crash in Mugello 42 days ago, but even with one and a half legs in full working order, his brilliance was there for all to see as he battled with Stoner for third.

The race was marred by a three-bike pile-up on lap ten that resulted in a 30-minute delay and French rider Randy de Puniet suffering a double left leg fracture.

Pedrosa, registering his second win of the season, reflected on the interruption, saying: "When they stopped I wasn't sure about the restart. When you stop and restart it's never the same thing, but for me it was good."

Lorenzo was satisfied with his runner-up spot.

"This race was a bit crazy with the crash and the restart," he said.

"Pedrosa got more pace than me, it was impossible to follow him. He's done a splendid race, so I'm happy with second place, it's very positive for the championship."

Stoner reported that he had struggled with the set-up on his Ducati.

"In qualifying on Saturday we had a problem with the front end of the bike, with either too much or too little weight," he said.

"I did the best I could this afternoon. I thought Valentino was going to get me but I dragged everything I could out of my bike to get past him."

A spectacular crash in the tenth lap involving de Puniet, Alvaro Bautista and Aleix Esparagaro, forced a temporary halt to this eighth leg of the 2010 season.

Honda rider de Puniet fell first, with Bautista's Suzuki clipping his wheels and Esparagaro (Ducati) hot on their heels unable to take avoiding action. De Puniet's bike burst into flames.

It was the second tumble of the weekend for de Puniet, who also fell in qualifying on Saturday.

After marshalls had cleared the track of debris the race restarted half an hour later, with the riders in the positions they were in when the red flag went up.

Good ride and good fight for Rossi. Even if he's not fighting for the championship at this moment, you have to praise his fighting spirits and will :)

'Governor Of Penang' And 'Peranakan Penang' Exhibition Until July 31

The 'Governor of Penang' and 'Peranakan Penang' exhibition will be held beginning today until July 31 in conjunction with the 72nd birthday anniversary of the Penang Yang Dipertua Negeri, Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas last Friday.

The exhibition at the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) Town Hall aims to recollect history and recall the contribution made by the past administration for the state of Penang.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the exhibition, which was also to mark the second anniversary of George Town as a Unesco Heritage Site, also recalled the history of Penang's administration since the time of Captain Francis Light until the present Yang Dipertua Negeri.

In addition, 100 photographs on the 'Peranakan Penang' are on display showing their lifestyle, food, attire, buildings and sports.

The exhibition is open from 10am until 5pm and entrance is free of charge.

Bernama

Wow...so meaningful and educational. Please support !!!

New prices for fuel, sugar, cooking gas from 16th July 2010

The government has announced new prices for fuel, cooking gas and sugar, effective midnight.

The new price for RON 95 petrol will be RM1.85 per litre from RM1.80 per litre previously.

For RON 97, the new price starts at RM2.10 per litre, and will be reviewed monthly.

Diesel will be priced RM1.75 per litre from midnight.

For LPG (cooking gas), the new prices are RM18.50 for 10kg, RM22.20 for 12kg and RM25.90 for 14kg.

Sugar prices, meanwhile, have been increased to RM1.90 per kg from RM1.65 per kg.

In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office said the changes will help Malaysia achieve a position of fiscal responsibility and help reduce the national deficit.

"To meet these objectives, we have chosen to make adjustments to our subsidies. Even after these changes, the Government will still spend an estimated RM7.82 billion on fuel and sugar subsidies in 2010. The prices of fuel and sugar in Malaysia will still be among the lowest in the region," it added.

The subsidy rationalisation will, according to estimates, allow Malaysia to reduce Government expenditure by more than RM750 million in 2010.

"I think the amount itself is relatively small in the sense that the people?s purchasing people may not be that eroded, and may not be that inflationary, and I think this is a good way to consolidate the huge negative in the fiscal position," OSK-DMG economist Enrico Tanuwidjaja told reuters.

DBS Bank's Irvin Seah, meanwhile said the hike is a signal that the government will go ahead with its rationalisation plan, especially with fuel subsidies.

"There will be some mild impact to headline inflation and we can expect to see overall Malaysian prices going up.

"The petrol price hike is an added bonus to lowering the fiscal deficit. We have, anyway expected the fiscal deficit to fall this year on strong GDP growth," he added.

Oh no.....BLR up, now essential price up....why is the government thinking that our economy is going up when I do really see it that way ??!?!!!??