On my second day working at D-A-D; I got to use MYOB! This is basically an accounting software created for bookkeeping for small businesses. Ann showed me how to record invoices from suppliers into MYOB; I had a go at it and it is pretty easy, I got to know about open and close invoices etc. It is quite a useful software; it keeps everything simple and clear.
I also helped the factory floor for a bit; helping the girls to write up labels for the curtains from the client's order forms that came in through the fax. I guess is not just learning about the accounts and how to run an office, it is also about learning to interact with everyone and be able to do every kind of job in the factory.
On the third which was yesterday; Diane normally cames into the factory on this day, she is an accounting clerk who's responsible for taking care of the accounts part that Ann was not trained to do, like the reconciliations. I was helping the girls putting up hooks while Diane came in, there was nothing much for her to do yesterday because Ann took me through the invoices and client orders the day before.
So I was able to chat with her about a lot of things; we talked about her old jobs, my experiences with looking for internships and how she thought I should go about looking for jobs. I have to say; she has some good ideas. She told me instead of emailing CVs to different companies, I could show up at their door and ask if there is vancancies, it shows to them that I am eager and determined enough to get a job.
She also told me that I looking for a start-up business to do my internship with is probably not a good idea, since many owner of start-up businesses don't even know what they are doing, so there won't be much I can learn from them.
When I told her about the requirements for my co-op placements; she suggested to me that I should inquire if we are allowed to separate the 9 weeks into 2 parts, meaning working for two different employers, because some employers may only wants to take on shorter periods of internship while at the same time I can gain two types of experience.
Overall it was a plansant experience to talk to Diane; you never know what the other person can teach you during a conversation like this. I guess I also practiced communication skills and overcoming shyness with her.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Dial-a-drape Day 1
Today is my first day at Dial a drape as a accounts and general assistant; I have to say it was great.
It is the kind of business I wish to have; it is a simple manufacturing factory registered as a limited liability company.It is far more organised and professional in terms of record-keeping and the accounting side of things.
The first thing I got to do was tearing up the mails received today; by just doing that I was able to look at invoices from suppliers, statement of account from the bank, company card statement from the bank and PAYE returns. I'd never though I can learn so much just by tearing up mails.
Then I got introduced to everyone working at the factory floor.
Thats when the delivery guy came with the drapes and linings from the suppiler; Lisa showed me how to use the photocopy machine and told me to always photocopy the client order fax that came through. Oh and there was the appointment form before this; the form that needed to be filled out for individual clients.
After this I got introduced to all the folders that kept all the clients orders and the major suppliers and clients of the factory. I opened the delivered drapes and linings; we had to match the tag attached on the drapes with the fax order that came in, match the name of the drape and its color, stick the photocopied piece of order form into the drapes and send it to the factory floor so the girls knows which and whose order they are working with.
It is always good to experience all aspects of a business; so that I can get a clear idea of the different roles people play and learn to respect them, and the same time know that you are never too good to work at any position. So I did some work with the curtains; taking the staplers out, some measuring, putting hooks on, cut some threads and package the curtains.
After lunch break; when Ann came back from the bank, She showed me the MYOB software they use to keep records of suppliers and clients, invoices, sales and purchases, reconciliation etc. She told that every Thursday; a accounting clerk would come in and deal with the reconciliation and accounts, that she needs to match the information on the delivery form, the invoice and the monthly statement of account to make sure that no mistakes are made on half of the suppliers.
Ann then told me; sometimes drapes received from suppliers are faulty drapes, this is when the factory has to send out a credit note along with faulty drape back to the supplier. This amount should be shown on the monthly statement of account from the suppiler as credit, so I got introduced to debit and credit.
At the end of the 3 hours; a lot of information was presented to me, I absorbed as much as I can.
It is the kind of business I wish to have; it is a simple manufacturing factory registered as a limited liability company.It is far more organised and professional in terms of record-keeping and the accounting side of things.
The first thing I got to do was tearing up the mails received today; by just doing that I was able to look at invoices from suppliers, statement of account from the bank, company card statement from the bank and PAYE returns. I'd never though I can learn so much just by tearing up mails.
Then I got introduced to everyone working at the factory floor.
Thats when the delivery guy came with the drapes and linings from the suppiler; Lisa showed me how to use the photocopy machine and told me to always photocopy the client order fax that came through. Oh and there was the appointment form before this; the form that needed to be filled out for individual clients.
After this I got introduced to all the folders that kept all the clients orders and the major suppliers and clients of the factory. I opened the delivered drapes and linings; we had to match the tag attached on the drapes with the fax order that came in, match the name of the drape and its color, stick the photocopied piece of order form into the drapes and send it to the factory floor so the girls knows which and whose order they are working with.
It is always good to experience all aspects of a business; so that I can get a clear idea of the different roles people play and learn to respect them, and the same time know that you are never too good to work at any position. So I did some work with the curtains; taking the staplers out, some measuring, putting hooks on, cut some threads and package the curtains.
After lunch break; when Ann came back from the bank, She showed me the MYOB software they use to keep records of suppliers and clients, invoices, sales and purchases, reconciliation etc. She told that every Thursday; a accounting clerk would come in and deal with the reconciliation and accounts, that she needs to match the information on the delivery form, the invoice and the monthly statement of account to make sure that no mistakes are made on half of the suppliers.
Ann then told me; sometimes drapes received from suppliers are faulty drapes, this is when the factory has to send out a credit note along with faulty drape back to the supplier. This amount should be shown on the monthly statement of account from the suppiler as credit, so I got introduced to debit and credit.
At the end of the 3 hours; a lot of information was presented to me, I absorbed as much as I can.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Rage on Main Street over AIG bonuses
By Hasen Bao
Written as at 17/04/2009 20:10
During March; I remember hearing the same piece of news on every news station I tuned into; the rage on Main Street over retention payments paid out to AIG employees was ubiquitous, it was all people cared and talked about.
Extravagant bonuses and luxuries seems like the tradition of Wall Street firms; no one seemed to cared about how much bonuses executives at these firms were getting and how many private jets they bought prior to the economic recession. In the heydays when Main Street was seeing healthy returns on their mutual funds; they’d probably thought executives and managers deserved their bonuses. The government probably never thought about securitizing or regulating a firm’s pay system until everything fell apart.
Technically; AIG did not use taxpayer’s money to pay bonuses, what the company did that raised anger was the fact the company paid out lavish bonuses to executives when they knew better than anyone else that their company is in trouble and later solicited for taxpayer money to help bail out the firm.
After the government spent 180 billion taxpayer funds to bail out AIG; Edward Liddy was appointed as the new CEO of AIG on behalf of the government overhaul the management of the firm. Some think that Liddy should have sabotaged the bonus payments; but Liddy defended himself by saying the bonuses were paid upon contractual agreements made before he became CEO.
It is difficult to understand how the bonuses were warranted to executives in the Financial Product department, which is the department that drowned AIG, but I believe these bonuses was paid out of greed and recklessness.
I understand also that it was not within Mr. Liddy’s power to stop the firm from carrying out contractual agreements made with its employees. But there is one thing Liddy said that I cannot agree with, Liddy clearly explained under his House testimony; the reason he did not stop those bonus payments was because he felt AIG is in burning need for skilled people, the bonuses was an incentive, a reason for them to stay.
Why on earth would he call those clowns ‘skilled’ people? I agree that financial derivatives are very sophisticated instruments; but just because they know how to trade derivatives do not make them skilled traders. Some contracts made by the FP unit are ridiculous; such as long duration contracts that will not mature until at least half a century later. When you get a chance to look at the type of contracts FP has made; you will know that the so-called ‘skilled’ derivative traders are simply playing speculation games.
I think what Mr. Liddy should have done was notice government officials about this matter before the bonuses was paid. Altering or re-negotiating the contracts could have helped stop the bonuses or at least ease the public’s reaction to this matter.
Now let me criticize on the way the government dealt with the issue; the bonus rage had dominated President Obama’s 9th week in office, he shared the public’s upheaval by promising to stop the bonuses and fix the problem.
The government is currently the largest shareholder of AIG; holding roughly 80% of the firm, this means the government should demand for certain degree of transparency of the activities and decisions made within the AIG, but somehow the government was unaware of what was going on behind AIG’s closed doors.
As a part of government intervention on the matter; President Obama and his economic team has asked Congress to pass legislations that would allow more regulatory powers over institutions who have received taxpayer money.
I was shocked when I learnt about the legislation passed by Congress that involved a 90% tax on $165 million paid out to FP employees as the way to address the bonus debacle. In my point of view; lawmakers has manipulated and abused the tax system, this is clearly not a pragmatic approach to resolve this matter.
What will the private sector think about this? Will they trust the government enough to depend on their help? Will they trust the government enough to stay in the U.S? These are some of the questions lawmakers prior to making that decision failed to consider. Who would want to establish their business in the U.S.; if they cannot trust the government enough to not suddenly impose a tax rate as high as 90% on salaries or bonuses they receive? This is probably why for the next few days; I often find news reports on financial institutions eager to return funds they have received from the TARP program.
Upon passing this legislation; lawmakers has derogated the integrity of the tax code, the tax code is a set of rules that guides civilians and businesses to rightfully contribute for the betterment of the country they live in, it cannot and should not be used to punish people.
Written as at 17/04/2009 20:10
During March; I remember hearing the same piece of news on every news station I tuned into; the rage on Main Street over retention payments paid out to AIG employees was ubiquitous, it was all people cared and talked about.
Extravagant bonuses and luxuries seems like the tradition of Wall Street firms; no one seemed to cared about how much bonuses executives at these firms were getting and how many private jets they bought prior to the economic recession. In the heydays when Main Street was seeing healthy returns on their mutual funds; they’d probably thought executives and managers deserved their bonuses. The government probably never thought about securitizing or regulating a firm’s pay system until everything fell apart.
Technically; AIG did not use taxpayer’s money to pay bonuses, what the company did that raised anger was the fact the company paid out lavish bonuses to executives when they knew better than anyone else that their company is in trouble and later solicited for taxpayer money to help bail out the firm.
After the government spent 180 billion taxpayer funds to bail out AIG; Edward Liddy was appointed as the new CEO of AIG on behalf of the government overhaul the management of the firm. Some think that Liddy should have sabotaged the bonus payments; but Liddy defended himself by saying the bonuses were paid upon contractual agreements made before he became CEO.
It is difficult to understand how the bonuses were warranted to executives in the Financial Product department, which is the department that drowned AIG, but I believe these bonuses was paid out of greed and recklessness.
I understand also that it was not within Mr. Liddy’s power to stop the firm from carrying out contractual agreements made with its employees. But there is one thing Liddy said that I cannot agree with, Liddy clearly explained under his House testimony; the reason he did not stop those bonus payments was because he felt AIG is in burning need for skilled people, the bonuses was an incentive, a reason for them to stay.
Why on earth would he call those clowns ‘skilled’ people? I agree that financial derivatives are very sophisticated instruments; but just because they know how to trade derivatives do not make them skilled traders. Some contracts made by the FP unit are ridiculous; such as long duration contracts that will not mature until at least half a century later. When you get a chance to look at the type of contracts FP has made; you will know that the so-called ‘skilled’ derivative traders are simply playing speculation games.
I think what Mr. Liddy should have done was notice government officials about this matter before the bonuses was paid. Altering or re-negotiating the contracts could have helped stop the bonuses or at least ease the public’s reaction to this matter.
Now let me criticize on the way the government dealt with the issue; the bonus rage had dominated President Obama’s 9th week in office, he shared the public’s upheaval by promising to stop the bonuses and fix the problem.
The government is currently the largest shareholder of AIG; holding roughly 80% of the firm, this means the government should demand for certain degree of transparency of the activities and decisions made within the AIG, but somehow the government was unaware of what was going on behind AIG’s closed doors.
As a part of government intervention on the matter; President Obama and his economic team has asked Congress to pass legislations that would allow more regulatory powers over institutions who have received taxpayer money.
I was shocked when I learnt about the legislation passed by Congress that involved a 90% tax on $165 million paid out to FP employees as the way to address the bonus debacle. In my point of view; lawmakers has manipulated and abused the tax system, this is clearly not a pragmatic approach to resolve this matter.
What will the private sector think about this? Will they trust the government enough to depend on their help? Will they trust the government enough to stay in the U.S? These are some of the questions lawmakers prior to making that decision failed to consider. Who would want to establish their business in the U.S.; if they cannot trust the government enough to not suddenly impose a tax rate as high as 90% on salaries or bonuses they receive? This is probably why for the next few days; I often find news reports on financial institutions eager to return funds they have received from the TARP program.
Upon passing this legislation; lawmakers has derogated the integrity of the tax code, the tax code is a set of rules that guides civilians and businesses to rightfully contribute for the betterment of the country they live in, it cannot and should not be used to punish people.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
General Motors
By Hasen Bao
I’ve just participated in ‘Should Obama let GM and Chrysler go bankrupt?’ quick vote poll on CNNMoney.com; not all that surprised at the result, 70% of whom have participated in the poll thinks the automakers have been given too many chances and failed. The minority who voted for ‘No they are too big too fail’ or ‘Give them one more shot and then think about it’ are probably people who work for the automakers or people who own their cars.
Before any American can form judgment on whether they think the Detroit automakers should file for bankruptcy they would first consider two of the most important factors out of a ‘dozen’. The first would be what damage would this do to the history of great American automobile industry; bankruptcy would mean the extinction of some of the iconic American car brands that represented the American dream and the American lifestyle over the past century. The second factor they would consider is the ripple effects the bankruptcy of GM will have upon their lives or the lives of people surrounding them.
For those that do not work for GM or any of its counterparties nor do they own a GM car will probably wish the government would spend their tax money somewhere worthwhile. Maybe get rid of some toxic assets from the bank’s balance sheet so that they can start lending to the company I’m working for, so that my boss don’t have to hinder my wages, so that management won’t look at accrue wages as a reason to lay me off, and blah blah blah.
There are a lot of people like me who do not think GM can be categorized under the ‘too big too fail’; GM employs roughly 250,000 people globally, which is not that much compared with some of those truly ‘too big too fail’ financial firms. But if you count in all the other parties that are likely to be affected by a GM bankruptcy; you would probably consider otherwise.
First of all there’s the employees; I really do feel for the those who will be out of job as a result of bankruptcy, they are truly the ones who suffers from a failed company. Of course; those who suffers along with them are their families, let’s just hope that there will be enough unemployment benefits and union compensations for these people to live on until they finds another safe sanctuary.
Then there’s those who drives the big GM vehicle; they are worried about who is going to look after their big boy’s toy when GM is gone. The Obama’s administration has recently confirmed they will stand behind and continue all warranties on GM vehicles purchased if bankruptcy precedes, but this still leaves a reasonable amount of concerns on many owners of GM vehicles.
It would be disrespectful to have forgotten about the complicated networks of suppliers and dealerships associated with GM. News sources have reported a $22 billion payable to GM suppliers. If GM stays, suppliers might eventually receive the full amount owed to them, but if GM files for bankruptcy, assets will be liquidated to repay only those suppliers who are ‘qualified’. If the situation is bad enough; GM’s bankruptcy will initiate a headwind domino effect on its suppliers, causing possible shut downs.
Many other businesses in Detroit are also subjected to financial affliction from the Big Three’s crisis. Revenues for restaurants and pubs has plummeted due to the large amount of lay-offs in Detroit, sales for retails and department stores entered a downward spiral as people cut back on spending, the aftermath of the crisis is visible in every corner of Detroit and it is depressing.
Bankruptcy can be viewed as an easy road to end all the GM trauma; this will release GM from all ties with the labor unions and its previous obligations to ex GM workers. Contracts with suppliers and dealers can be cut much easier when bankruptcy is involved.
There must be someone who will be benefiting from all the bankruptcy drama. Some say that GM’s bankruptcy might indicate a good buy for competitive auto shares. A clear sign of improvement on stock price on Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan was shown immediately after the announcement of GM’s possible bankruptcy. This is a rational market reaction to the possible bankruptcy announcement. Yes, the likes of Ford, Toyota and Honda are likely to fill in the demand gaps for GM if the company goes bankrupt. This matter will also change the perceptions people have on American and Japanese auto brands; people will perceive Japanese brands as safer and relative dependable compare to American auto brands, and for this sake demands for imported vehicles will boost when market begins to recover.
The most recent GM outcry
It does not matter how many chances the government give to GM; it is almost certain the ailing automaker will never be competitive enough to reemerge on the top again. Every chance of restructuring GM receives means yet another change of strategy; GM has drove itself to ruin, with the company the way it is, a feasible long-term strategy to revive the automaker is unlikely. However if indeed GM has come up with a viable corporate strategy; it is probably another obscure and unsustainable one only for putting on a good show for the government so that General Motors can become qualified for more aid again.
GM is required to lay preparation for bankruptcy filing before 1st of June; to stop this from happening, GM must successfully negotiate a $28 billion worth of debt for equity swap with its bondholders and the UAW. GM’s fate for survival depends on whether bondholders and unions are willing to extricate the company from going under by accepting GM’s equity offers.
Clearly the bondholders are struggling to swap their debts into equity; if bondholders hold onto their position, GM would soon be bankrupt and default on interest and principal payments, bondholders will receive nothing. Say if sufficient bondholders agree to convert bonds into common shares; the company might have a chance of surviving, ‘exhilarating’ news like this would push the share prices up.
I don’t think I would put my bids on a prolonged GM recovery though; if I was holding converted GM shares I would probably hold them for the short-term, waiting for it to appreciate till I can recoup some losses. The recent 16% plunge in GM stock on Monday doesn’t seem all that promising to bondholders, secured bondholders will gain the upper hand if the company files for bankruptcy, and GM’s assets will be liquidated to reimburse bondholders. Debt for equity swap will appeal more to unsecured bondholders; as there will be no assets secured behind the bonds they’ve purchased.
With the majority of Americans voting against more taxpayer aid to GM; I think it is and should be time that the American auto industry ditch the obsolete and inefficient GM and move on to something new and fresh. After all; those iconic and healthy GM brands will probably get bought out by some private investors who are skilled enough to operate these brands efficiently, and just let the worn out GM discard itself from the marketplace.
I’ve just participated in ‘Should Obama let GM and Chrysler go bankrupt?’ quick vote poll on CNNMoney.com; not all that surprised at the result, 70% of whom have participated in the poll thinks the automakers have been given too many chances and failed. The minority who voted for ‘No they are too big too fail’ or ‘Give them one more shot and then think about it’ are probably people who work for the automakers or people who own their cars.
Before any American can form judgment on whether they think the Detroit automakers should file for bankruptcy they would first consider two of the most important factors out of a ‘dozen’. The first would be what damage would this do to the history of great American automobile industry; bankruptcy would mean the extinction of some of the iconic American car brands that represented the American dream and the American lifestyle over the past century. The second factor they would consider is the ripple effects the bankruptcy of GM will have upon their lives or the lives of people surrounding them.
For those that do not work for GM or any of its counterparties nor do they own a GM car will probably wish the government would spend their tax money somewhere worthwhile. Maybe get rid of some toxic assets from the bank’s balance sheet so that they can start lending to the company I’m working for, so that my boss don’t have to hinder my wages, so that management won’t look at accrue wages as a reason to lay me off, and blah blah blah.
There are a lot of people like me who do not think GM can be categorized under the ‘too big too fail’; GM employs roughly 250,000 people globally, which is not that much compared with some of those truly ‘too big too fail’ financial firms. But if you count in all the other parties that are likely to be affected by a GM bankruptcy; you would probably consider otherwise.
First of all there’s the employees; I really do feel for the those who will be out of job as a result of bankruptcy, they are truly the ones who suffers from a failed company. Of course; those who suffers along with them are their families, let’s just hope that there will be enough unemployment benefits and union compensations for these people to live on until they finds another safe sanctuary.
Then there’s those who drives the big GM vehicle; they are worried about who is going to look after their big boy’s toy when GM is gone. The Obama’s administration has recently confirmed they will stand behind and continue all warranties on GM vehicles purchased if bankruptcy precedes, but this still leaves a reasonable amount of concerns on many owners of GM vehicles.
It would be disrespectful to have forgotten about the complicated networks of suppliers and dealerships associated with GM. News sources have reported a $22 billion payable to GM suppliers. If GM stays, suppliers might eventually receive the full amount owed to them, but if GM files for bankruptcy, assets will be liquidated to repay only those suppliers who are ‘qualified’. If the situation is bad enough; GM’s bankruptcy will initiate a headwind domino effect on its suppliers, causing possible shut downs.
Many other businesses in Detroit are also subjected to financial affliction from the Big Three’s crisis. Revenues for restaurants and pubs has plummeted due to the large amount of lay-offs in Detroit, sales for retails and department stores entered a downward spiral as people cut back on spending, the aftermath of the crisis is visible in every corner of Detroit and it is depressing.
Bankruptcy can be viewed as an easy road to end all the GM trauma; this will release GM from all ties with the labor unions and its previous obligations to ex GM workers. Contracts with suppliers and dealers can be cut much easier when bankruptcy is involved.
There must be someone who will be benefiting from all the bankruptcy drama. Some say that GM’s bankruptcy might indicate a good buy for competitive auto shares. A clear sign of improvement on stock price on Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan was shown immediately after the announcement of GM’s possible bankruptcy. This is a rational market reaction to the possible bankruptcy announcement. Yes, the likes of Ford, Toyota and Honda are likely to fill in the demand gaps for GM if the company goes bankrupt. This matter will also change the perceptions people have on American and Japanese auto brands; people will perceive Japanese brands as safer and relative dependable compare to American auto brands, and for this sake demands for imported vehicles will boost when market begins to recover.
The most recent GM outcry
It does not matter how many chances the government give to GM; it is almost certain the ailing automaker will never be competitive enough to reemerge on the top again. Every chance of restructuring GM receives means yet another change of strategy; GM has drove itself to ruin, with the company the way it is, a feasible long-term strategy to revive the automaker is unlikely. However if indeed GM has come up with a viable corporate strategy; it is probably another obscure and unsustainable one only for putting on a good show for the government so that General Motors can become qualified for more aid again.
GM is required to lay preparation for bankruptcy filing before 1st of June; to stop this from happening, GM must successfully negotiate a $28 billion worth of debt for equity swap with its bondholders and the UAW. GM’s fate for survival depends on whether bondholders and unions are willing to extricate the company from going under by accepting GM’s equity offers.
Clearly the bondholders are struggling to swap their debts into equity; if bondholders hold onto their position, GM would soon be bankrupt and default on interest and principal payments, bondholders will receive nothing. Say if sufficient bondholders agree to convert bonds into common shares; the company might have a chance of surviving, ‘exhilarating’ news like this would push the share prices up.
I don’t think I would put my bids on a prolonged GM recovery though; if I was holding converted GM shares I would probably hold them for the short-term, waiting for it to appreciate till I can recoup some losses. The recent 16% plunge in GM stock on Monday doesn’t seem all that promising to bondholders, secured bondholders will gain the upper hand if the company files for bankruptcy, and GM’s assets will be liquidated to reimburse bondholders. Debt for equity swap will appeal more to unsecured bondholders; as there will be no assets secured behind the bonds they’ve purchased.
With the majority of Americans voting against more taxpayer aid to GM; I think it is and should be time that the American auto industry ditch the obsolete and inefficient GM and move on to something new and fresh. After all; those iconic and healthy GM brands will probably get bought out by some private investors who are skilled enough to operate these brands efficiently, and just let the worn out GM discard itself from the marketplace.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Toastmaster Experience
Ever since I got turned down by AIESEC; I have been working on my ability to communicate with people. Initially; I searched on Google for presentation skill classes and clubs and found the toastmaster club, I checked the website out, it is one of those very straightforward club that didn't cost as much. Going through the list of locations of the clubs in Auckland; I found there is one in AUT suprisingly. This is when I realised sometime last year I received an email from my friend Cara about a club she has started in AUT and the name was toastmaster! What a coincident; even though I regreted that I didn't join last year, but I guess is never too late.
In class I tried my best to chat with people sitting on my table; but I have to say sometimes is impossible for me to start a conversation because people looked so numb from time to time (or maybe just accounting people?).
Anyway; since I first visited toastmaster I have been there twice on visits, I really enjoyed my two visits so I've decided to formally join the club next week. There are normally around 10 to 12 people for each meeting; it is probably because it is held within a university that have students with busy social life, but for me that many people to start practicing is good enough. I guess I can always switch to another toastmaster club if I wish to.
On my first visit; I didn't get to speak until at the end when I was told to introduce myself and why I want to join toastmaster. So I went up and talked about one minute; i guess it was ok, I was not all that nervous but maybe because it was not something as formal as a presentation. The funny thing was a little thing like standing in front of 10 people inroducing myself and did not feel as nervous as I thought I would feel gave me confidence, I remembered I could not stop smiling on my way home.
One my second visit; I knew this time I would get to talk about a table topic no matter what. A table topic is a random topic or question that the toastmaster asks you; and immediately you have to stand up and talk about whatever was hand it to you on the spot. Trust me; most of these questions are not just dumb but impossible to answer for some people. While I was really struggling to go; because I could have stayed in the libary to finish my assignment, I still went. And yes; I got a table topic, the topic was Why is the sky purple?
OK; now what would you say about this topic? maybe if you are creative and just happen to be a good speaker, I bet you can brag on for hours about why the sky is purple and not blue, but for me, is not all that easy. I remembered saying something about being colourblind and about sunrise and sunset, but I really could not think of anything else to say as I often have a habit of brain freeze when public speaking. So even though my answer was short; I managed to make up some shit about the topic given to me so I was reasonably happy.
So to improve this; I guess I have to pull off some random questions off the internet and try to talk about it on the spot.
In class I tried my best to chat with people sitting on my table; but I have to say sometimes is impossible for me to start a conversation because people looked so numb from time to time (or maybe just accounting people?).
Anyway; since I first visited toastmaster I have been there twice on visits, I really enjoyed my two visits so I've decided to formally join the club next week. There are normally around 10 to 12 people for each meeting; it is probably because it is held within a university that have students with busy social life, but for me that many people to start practicing is good enough. I guess I can always switch to another toastmaster club if I wish to.
On my first visit; I didn't get to speak until at the end when I was told to introduce myself and why I want to join toastmaster. So I went up and talked about one minute; i guess it was ok, I was not all that nervous but maybe because it was not something as formal as a presentation. The funny thing was a little thing like standing in front of 10 people inroducing myself and did not feel as nervous as I thought I would feel gave me confidence, I remembered I could not stop smiling on my way home.
One my second visit; I knew this time I would get to talk about a table topic no matter what. A table topic is a random topic or question that the toastmaster asks you; and immediately you have to stand up and talk about whatever was hand it to you on the spot. Trust me; most of these questions are not just dumb but impossible to answer for some people. While I was really struggling to go; because I could have stayed in the libary to finish my assignment, I still went. And yes; I got a table topic, the topic was Why is the sky purple?
OK; now what would you say about this topic? maybe if you are creative and just happen to be a good speaker, I bet you can brag on for hours about why the sky is purple and not blue, but for me, is not all that easy. I remembered saying something about being colourblind and about sunrise and sunset, but I really could not think of anything else to say as I often have a habit of brain freeze when public speaking. So even though my answer was short; I managed to make up some shit about the topic given to me so I was reasonably happy.
So to improve this; I guess I have to pull off some random questions off the internet and try to talk about it on the spot.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
AIESEC Results
This morning I received an email from the student association AIESEC that I was not chosen to become a part of the association for this semester. Even though they told me not to take it personally; that the reason I was not chosen was due to the lack of availability in positions, but deep inside I know why I was not chosen.
It is kind of funny; in a way; I dragged my friend Lena along with me to the AIESEC leadership tournament, but instead of me getting in, she got in without a doubt. I am truly happy for her and congratulated her sincerely. Before all of this; I was never interested in joining and attending programs like this, I hated making stupid poses in front of an entire room of people and I hated presentations and interactions with people who I don’t normally associate with.
Despite of that; I decided to try out for AIESEC because thankfully I was smart enough to realize my weaknesses in communication skills, people skills and public speaking skills etc. I have decided at the beginning of 2009 that I was going to break out of my comfort zone, overcome my fears and improve on these skills.
The email from AIESEC had struck me on the head; maybe I have read more books than those who got chosen and maybe I’m way better and smarter than those who got chosen but I failed to sale myself in front of the panels during my interview, I failed to communicate what I know to the panels. My incompetence in communicating effectively has let me down.
I felt beaten and depressed for a little while; but one thing I’m good at is to transform my failure into a source of drive, being able to communicate effectively had suddenly turned into a burning desire, I’m now eager to learn, determined with all my mind to learn, and will not stop nor quit until I have what I want; and that is to communicate effectively.
This self-realization process is an opportunity to become better; an opportunity that has slipped in through the back door, just as what I read last night from the book ‘Think Rich and Grow Rich’ opportunity has a sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. Having a purpose, a goal and working to achieve this goal in the right direction is the pathway to accomplishments. I will maintain significant faith and focus on this goal; and I’m sure to win in the end.
It is kind of funny; in a way; I dragged my friend Lena along with me to the AIESEC leadership tournament, but instead of me getting in, she got in without a doubt. I am truly happy for her and congratulated her sincerely. Before all of this; I was never interested in joining and attending programs like this, I hated making stupid poses in front of an entire room of people and I hated presentations and interactions with people who I don’t normally associate with.
Despite of that; I decided to try out for AIESEC because thankfully I was smart enough to realize my weaknesses in communication skills, people skills and public speaking skills etc. I have decided at the beginning of 2009 that I was going to break out of my comfort zone, overcome my fears and improve on these skills.
The email from AIESEC had struck me on the head; maybe I have read more books than those who got chosen and maybe I’m way better and smarter than those who got chosen but I failed to sale myself in front of the panels during my interview, I failed to communicate what I know to the panels. My incompetence in communicating effectively has let me down.
I felt beaten and depressed for a little while; but one thing I’m good at is to transform my failure into a source of drive, being able to communicate effectively had suddenly turned into a burning desire, I’m now eager to learn, determined with all my mind to learn, and will not stop nor quit until I have what I want; and that is to communicate effectively.
This self-realization process is an opportunity to become better; an opportunity that has slipped in through the back door, just as what I read last night from the book ‘Think Rich and Grow Rich’ opportunity has a sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. Having a purpose, a goal and working to achieve this goal in the right direction is the pathway to accomplishments. I will maintain significant faith and focus on this goal; and I’m sure to win in the end.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
U.S. Treasury Bonds
Hasen Bao 25/02/2009 19:15
There are recent concerns that with all the bailouts of the housing market, the banking and auto sector, the issuance of debt by the U.S. government will augment. The major concern is; will there be enough people to purchase debts issued by the Treasury; and what will happen to the market interest rates if demand for Treasury bonds fails to catch up to its supply.
Treasury Bonds when compared with large/small cap stocks and corporate bonds are considered a much safer investment; it often generate a steady flow of fixed income over the lifetime of the bond, but comes at a much lower return. At times of financial duress treasury bonds are relatively attractive due to the plunging stock market and volatile commodity prices, investors are purchasing T-bonds to abate chances of defaults, but the Treasury is issuing debts at such a rapid rate that the market begins to mull the effects if demands for these bonds fall.
If supply has outstripped demand on Treasury bonds the most significant effect is reflected in a rise on the yields of these bonds, while the bond price plunge, (interest rates and bond price are negatively correlated; finally something from the textbook can be applied). With the rise of the bond yield; so will the market interest rate charged on loans, mortgages, credit cards etc. If this were to happen to the economy; the already depressed consumer spending will impair because high interest rates is basically an impediment for growth in businesses and consumer spending.
Some argues that high interest rates driven by a fall in bond price due to less demand is the result of investors shifting their money back into the stock market because the economy have began to recover. On the other hand; demands for bonds may slow down simply because there are just not enough people who want to purchase treasury bonds. There might still be hundreds of millions of people out there who do not own any Treasury bonds; but the supply of these bonds cannot incur in such a way that the government takes assumptions that everybody in America will at least purchase some of the bonds and a majority will own a bulk.
It is right for both bondholders and non-bondholders to be concerned about how the government’s financial stability plan will play out for their need for public debt and the ladder effects. To determine factors affecting the direction of the demand and supply of Treasury bonds; we should first and foremost be prognosticate of the direction of the board economy.
The first few questions I consider are ‘Is the current stimulus package enough?’ ‘Has all those who are incompetent in this recession received government bail out?’ ‘Will they need more bail out money?’ ‘How much more do I think the government is going to borrow before the economy reach trough?’ If the soothsayer inside of you has told you that the economy will enter the process of recovery next month than you will be able to derive the effects of the recovery on things like bond yields, bond price, demand and supply of the bonds, market yields etc.
I’m incompetent of knowing whether the U.S. Treasury has ever defaulted on any of bond’s coupon payments; but as the issuer of such massive amount of debts, combined with the pressures of reduced tax revenue and so many other areas that needs adequate government spending, this time, just maybe, to put it lightly a chance for interest payment delay or maybe, default.
Eventually the economy will recover from this devastating recession; and when it does I predict investors will rush into the stock markets like they always do. They will ask their mutual fund managers to readjust their portfolio to allocate a larger percentage in stocks and less in fixed-income bonds and the like. What I’m trying to point out is that the value of the bonds may deteriorate in both ways. But something might change in this process and I could be wrong.
There are recent concerns that with all the bailouts of the housing market, the banking and auto sector, the issuance of debt by the U.S. government will augment. The major concern is; will there be enough people to purchase debts issued by the Treasury; and what will happen to the market interest rates if demand for Treasury bonds fails to catch up to its supply.
Treasury Bonds when compared with large/small cap stocks and corporate bonds are considered a much safer investment; it often generate a steady flow of fixed income over the lifetime of the bond, but comes at a much lower return. At times of financial duress treasury bonds are relatively attractive due to the plunging stock market and volatile commodity prices, investors are purchasing T-bonds to abate chances of defaults, but the Treasury is issuing debts at such a rapid rate that the market begins to mull the effects if demands for these bonds fall.
If supply has outstripped demand on Treasury bonds the most significant effect is reflected in a rise on the yields of these bonds, while the bond price plunge, (interest rates and bond price are negatively correlated; finally something from the textbook can be applied). With the rise of the bond yield; so will the market interest rate charged on loans, mortgages, credit cards etc. If this were to happen to the economy; the already depressed consumer spending will impair because high interest rates is basically an impediment for growth in businesses and consumer spending.
Some argues that high interest rates driven by a fall in bond price due to less demand is the result of investors shifting their money back into the stock market because the economy have began to recover. On the other hand; demands for bonds may slow down simply because there are just not enough people who want to purchase treasury bonds. There might still be hundreds of millions of people out there who do not own any Treasury bonds; but the supply of these bonds cannot incur in such a way that the government takes assumptions that everybody in America will at least purchase some of the bonds and a majority will own a bulk.
It is right for both bondholders and non-bondholders to be concerned about how the government’s financial stability plan will play out for their need for public debt and the ladder effects. To determine factors affecting the direction of the demand and supply of Treasury bonds; we should first and foremost be prognosticate of the direction of the board economy.
The first few questions I consider are ‘Is the current stimulus package enough?’ ‘Has all those who are incompetent in this recession received government bail out?’ ‘Will they need more bail out money?’ ‘How much more do I think the government is going to borrow before the economy reach trough?’ If the soothsayer inside of you has told you that the economy will enter the process of recovery next month than you will be able to derive the effects of the recovery on things like bond yields, bond price, demand and supply of the bonds, market yields etc.
I’m incompetent of knowing whether the U.S. Treasury has ever defaulted on any of bond’s coupon payments; but as the issuer of such massive amount of debts, combined with the pressures of reduced tax revenue and so many other areas that needs adequate government spending, this time, just maybe, to put it lightly a chance for interest payment delay or maybe, default.
Eventually the economy will recover from this devastating recession; and when it does I predict investors will rush into the stock markets like they always do. They will ask their mutual fund managers to readjust their portfolio to allocate a larger percentage in stocks and less in fixed-income bonds and the like. What I’m trying to point out is that the value of the bonds may deteriorate in both ways. But something might change in this process and I could be wrong.
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