Retain screw up executives

It really baffles me that Wall Streets and other bank CEOs and executives are paid millions of dollars despite the current economic and financial rundown situations. Apparently the reason given was that these financial institutions got to paid top dollars to retain the top talent from leaving the banks.

It is weird though because these are the same executives who spin up all sort of financial and investment packages and loan derivatives that resulted in the current financial meltdown! Why not just let these bank executives go and let’s wait and see if they are able to strike it big elsewhere. Why worry about these executives and CEOs whose only concern are their own pocket and not the welfare of the rest of the investors?

Another scam company – Oilpods & Powder River Petroleum

Another scam company has gone bust. I was lucky enough not to invest in this company despite repeated recommendations by fellow colleague who themselves invested much into it. Oilpods which serves as the Singapore marketing arm for the US based company Powder River is under lawsuits filed by Oilpods investors for defaulting on payments due.
Oilpods markets oil and gas related business based in the US which is run by Power River Petroleum International. Investors received monthly payouts based on the share of revenue generated from the gas and oil produced.

Powder River Petroleum is having cash flow difficulties despite the in pouring of money by Singapore investors via Oilpods. This scam company has already been placed under receivership for several charges file against such as operating a Ponzi scheme and cheating thousands of investors
Checkout the following:

http://www.powderriverpetroleum.com/investor-information.html
 http://www.powderriverpetroleum.com/legal/vacate-discharge.pdf

Apparently Mark Chang, the CEO of Oilpods has filed suit againts PWR for misleading Singapore investors on opportunities and profits associated with the business.

I guess Oilpods is equally as guilty as PWR for causing Singaporeans to lose their investments. Oilpods should have see it coming and sense irregularities on the part of PWP (Power River Petroleum) and warn its investors. Instead Oilpods continues to encourage its executives and sales representative to continue to recruit more new investors. Furthermore, rumours has that Mark Chan himself did not invest in Oilpods and as CEO he gets to get the cut of 20% profits from the total investments proceeds of Oilpods.

Here’s an interesting posting on the skills that software developers will need in the upcoming five years. One negative aspect pertaining to software skill set is that you are always playing catch up game because software technology evolve at a fast pace.  Whatever skillset you acquired today would be obsolete 3 years down the road. Sigh…

10 reasons why I need to look for alternative income

1.Companies are down sizing and cutting cost. Workforce reduction is the norm and you never know when it’s your turn to go. Instead of waiting for the inevitable, why not make plans to establish side incomes. Don’t sit and wait for things to go wrong before deciding to make a move. Take the initiative and be on the lookout for better opportunities while you are still gainfully employed.

2.I preferred flexible working hours whereby I can decide to work as and when I want, regardless of location, the freedom to work from anyplace and without having others to determine and decide what I should or should not do. It is my aspirations to run my own business.

3.There are plenty of Internet Marketing opportunities. Since I am trained in software and I have spent considerable time and efforts in Internet technology I felt that I should consider starting my own business. I am well versed with web programming, Internet Marketing and some IT stuffs, having taken various courses such as the Master in IT and etc, I felt it is time that I leverage the skill set and knowledge and experience to venture into Internet Marketing.

4.I am exploring ways to further improve my income power. Relying on just a single income paycheck is no longer advisable since I am a married man and the only sole breadwinner of the family.  Extra income in the form of profits from Internet Marketing would help with family expenses.

5.The need to save for retirement and achieving financial independent has become more important as I grow older by the years.  It is almost impossible to save for retirement comfortably based on my current savings and single source income.

6.I want to control my own destiny, if others can achieve financial freedom via Internet Marketing so can I. I am no less different from others so if they can achieve financial independence and success, so can I.

7.I can only give up my current job provided my side income business grow to be successful and I am able to earn income twice as that of my current job. I am in no hurry to quit but I have to work to ensure that should the time comes for me to go I have nothing to worry but everything to be thankful for, happy for the layoff package payout and also for the fact that I can continue to take care of my family.

8.Extra income would help in terms of financing sister-housing mortgage loan and possibly car loan should I intend to buy a car one of these days.

9. I hate working for boss that calls me an idiot and calls me shit even though I have been working in the industry as long as him. To publicly claim that I lack software management skills is to insult me to the worst degree. I prefer to work for myself rather than to have to lead a bunch of engineers among whom one of them is a lunatic .

10.Don’t blame the government if you are out of job and unemployed. Blame yourself for not taking actions to plan your way out in the midst of economic and financial crunch. After all a JOB stands for Just Over Broke and why should you if you can do something about it?

Meet the dirty dozen that screws up US economy

Check out the following article on who’s on the top of the chart for screwing up the USA economy.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26868968/the_dirty_dozen/1

US super bail outs (Chapter 2)

So it looks like things are getting more interesting with AIG bailout. Just as it seems there is light at the end of the tunnel for AIG after it receiving fresh cash injections amounting to over $160 billion dollars from the US government, now it seems the AIG executives are rewarding themselves and enriching themselves with over hundred million dollar bonuses.

 

It was reported in the press that the head of the AIG mentioned that AIG is likely to go bust if the company don’t reward or rather try to retain important key staffs in the company by rewarding them with good bonuses. Apparently these so called important staffs in the company are the very people who generated toxic derivatives products that caused AIG to crumble. Speaking of misappropriating taxpayer money, what more could be more irritating and completely unethical by rewarding those who are responsible for the complete financial mess?

 

Anyway, I guess US government has nothing too much to worry about because all it has to do is to print out more money and don’t worry about the currency value being impacted. China will pick up the tab and continue to buy US treasuries, bonds and continue to fund those corrupted fund managers. The biggest loser after all, may not be the US but China that continues park its trillions of dollars in US shore. Happy spending for AIG top executives and cheers!.

US super bail out

The US financial situation is getting more interesting by the day. President Obama’s economic and financial bail out and so-called stimulus plan for its nation’s worst under-performing financial institutions and heavy industries such as AIG, GM and Freddy Mac to name a few will put the nation’s debt well above US$11 trillion debt and that is but only the beginning. It would take each US citizen in the country to contribute at least $36K to help clear the debt.

Meanwhile the US government is busy borrowing more money by selling more US treasuries and bonds and guess what? While after the US government inject the 1st wave $85 billion into AIG, it was reported in the press that AIG executives spend $440,000 on a weeklong corporate retreat at the upscale S. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach, CA.

Now AIG is crying like a baby again and asking the federal government for further money bail out. Interesting isn’t it?

Sunshine Empire Scam

With James Phang himself, his wife and the top management of Sunshine Empire implicated, arrested and officially charged in the Singapore court for running a Ponzi like scheme business, there is very little hope that Sunshine Empire investors would ever recover all their money.

See the recent press release Sunshine Empire Big Boss charge in court

James once boldly said to the press he is better then the legendary Warren Buffet. Only a man who borders insanity who dare make such remarks. He is still a remarkable man though simply by the fact that he is able to turn to what to be an initial S$156K or so start up company into an estimated 200 million dollar enterprise within a short time span of 2 years starting from 2006 till 2008.

Why is it that over 20 thousand Singapore investors easily fall prey to Sunshine Empire business scam? Invest in 12K and you get get back your full capital in 9 months follow by residue income of 1K every month for up to 8 years! No bank in the world could offer you such sweet deal isn’t it? It is no wonder such sweet deals attract huge customers.

Someone once wrote that a good businessman is one that is able to make use of other people’s money to generate profit and James sure do demonstrate he is a master of such feat. Too bad though he did not know when to put a stop to it and he accomplished such feat using unethical means.

James thought he is smart enough to learn from his past failed similar like business ventures by ensuring he does not officially holds any position within Sunshine Empire even though he is in fact the mastermind, the chief and the brain behind that organization business. When asked why he choose to distance himself from the Sunshine Empire in times of trouble, he was unabashed and unapologetic in saying to his close associates he is too important to the company and thus could not afford to be arrested. In other words, someone else would have to be scapegoat to his grand Ponzi scheme and so that he is off the hook.

Well I must admit I felt I am the few lucky ones though because I invested S$12K sometime way back when things were still rosy with the company, during the Sunshine Empire good times so to speak and was able to recover my investment capital (not 100% though) before the company comes under the spotlight and scrutiny of the MAS and CAD and all its payment accounts were halted subsequently. James further advice Singapore investors to have their investment balance account (e Wallet) transfer to the Hong Kong branch instead.

Due to this recent incident involving Sunshine Empire, it is not surprising that in future many people would shun MLM business all together. It is such a pity though because there is nothing wrong with MLM (Multi level marketing) rather it is the way that some people abuse and manipulated the system to suit their unethical business profit means. It is important to note that Sunshine Empire is never an MLM company to begin with, I suppose many people would associate Sunshine Empire with MLM business and that’s bad.

When I was first approached by a friend to invest some money with Sunshine Empire, it was never revealed to me as to the core business structure of the organization. All that I was told were that there were some ongoing wireless service under trial in Taiwan and that Sunshine Empire stood to gain much from the success of the roll out of this wireless system. Apparently the wireless project is sponsored by Sunshine Empire. How naive was I then to even think about investing in such a company even though I had he faintest idea how the business is actually run. I never understood all those stupid point system and various platinum and gold points awarded to members.

There is the Sunshine Empire condo investment in Malacca which was supposedly endorsed by top government officials of Malacca, not sure though how James Phang was able to route VIP influential political government figures to endorse and publicize the whole affair but from the look of it it sure look pretty impressive.

There were many failed projects, in particular those in Indonesia and many of the investor were unable to recoup or recover their money. James try to portray himself as an innocent party and who was also the victim of government irregularity resulting in projects being aborted.

This is not the first time the Sunshine Empire chief was involved in suspected business scams. James is involved and responsible for many failed projects, many of which did not took off due to various reasons, many of which related to poor planning. His thirst for quick profits and with disregards for the well fare of his investors would no doubt raise eyebrows and sooner or later the law will catch up with him as it is the case right now.

Interestingly, James is also involved with ‘Niu LifeStyle’. See Another scam company. There are rumors that the FengShui Master Peng Zhong Hua is in fact a brother of James Phang.

He once told his business associates how one of his brother mess up his business and as a result he got to clean up the mess. This is one person who go about putting the blame on others for his failed business.

How interesting isn’t it? Bottom line, stay away from James Phang. His reputation sucks and he’s one hell of guy who can hurt your pocket if you are stupid enough to get con by him.

Multiple stream income

The signs are clearly written on the wall. Don’t put all your financial eggs into single source of income. 2009 is going to be tough year and many financial and economic analysts believe the worst is yet to come. Despite all the warning signs, many are still hoping for the best and have no contingency plan ahead for the worst case scenario.

It was reported that eighty five thousands and probably more are expected to lose their jobs. Check the following news press release on retrenchment.
If you expect the government to step in and help you when you are retrench then you better think twice! Sure do, government may be able to find you another job but you may have to be mentally prepared to take perhaps 50% pay cut or more. You don’t have much bargaining power when potential employers know you are out of job.

Good for you if your spouse is also working or that you have stockpile for yourself & your loved ones the necessary financial egg nest, otherwise if you are the sole breadwinner in the family then it is imperative that you start to sit straight up and think about multiple sources of streams of income. Of course, there are those who lack ideas and do not know what else to do apart from their full time job. There are also probably those who lack the necessary experience, skills or training to explore other source of incomes. If you don’t help yourself no one will thus sacrifice is a must in some situations.

Lack of knowledge can be overcome through self learning or training, ignorant, procrastination and having the habit of blaming others for our problems will lead you to nowhere. If you are thinking of getting rich quickly through unethical means or many of those get rich quick schemes then my best advice to you is to do nothing at all. Depending on circumstances and your attitude, sometime the best thing to do is not doing anything at all.

No doubt in many circumstances said is much easier than done and many people may not be able to find the time to explore other source of alternative incomes but even then it is no excuse not to start exploring and planning alternative income. Now is not the time to neither indulge in self pity nor procrastinate, the key thing is that one must do is taking massive action to achieved massive results.

Instead of sitting on the coach and waste time watching TV or doing other unproductive activities after hard day’s work such as whining and complaining about your stupid boss, go to the library or talk to your loved ones and family members to get ideas in exploring alternative source of incomes. Consider your family financial situations, commitments and other factors and try to list down the list of possible side income ideas that you could pursue outside your normal working hours.

Set out clear goals with regards to achieving multiple streams of income and don’t put off or wait on what you can do today. Don’t give yourself excuses that you need to do this or that first before considering taking actions towards achieving your goals.

Whether it is a business or a part time job that you are considering getting into apart from your main job, never allow circumstances to cause you to sidetrack from achieving the goals that you have set up.
 
If you work 5 days a week, consider sacrificing Saturdays to work towards achieving your goals that you have set, and if possible consider allocating 1 or 2 hours each weekdays after your regular work hours to building up your part time job or business. It is important to keep the momentum moving and not to lose pace and interest when working towards your goals. Rome is not built in a day so to speak and it may be many months or even years before you see your efforts bear fruits.

Put it in another difference perspective, always ask yourself the question of what would you do if you lose your job today? Will you have sufficient savings to tide you over the next few months or even years? Will you be able to treat the layoff as well deserved long break that you should’ve taken long time ago and perhaps go on long vacation and relax yourself? Or do you see yourself in desperate situation and suffering from sleepless nights wondering how to feed your family and loved ones?

As for me I am tired of working for others, I am tired of being told what to do, I am sick and tired of having to deal with ridiculous workload and demands and last but not least I long to work from anywhere I like, the freedom to work as and when I like…

The choice is yours, the battle is yours.

USA blame others for her economic and financial woes

Just barely a week since Obama take the oval office, the US President is showing sign of just how good or rather how screw up he could be in managing the USA economy. Instead of cleaning his own country economy and financial backyard, this US black president is pointing the gun at China and blames her for US economic and financial woes.

President Obama believes that China’s intentional efforts to manipulate and keeping the Yuan currency value below the market rate is causing hurt to US economy. To make matter worst, the new US Secretarial of State Hilary Clinton wants US to be more firm and tougher in engaging China with regards to human rights and political and economic issues.

President Obama and his new administration will stop at nothing to use his own tax payer money to fund big US corrupted and badly mismanaged corporations staying afloat so that the top executives can continue to splurge on tax payer money. While billions of dollars were being approved to help some of the major corporations, it is a fact that quite a high number of top executives from these cash strapped giant corporations continue to receive millions of dollars as bonuses and spending like nobody business.

It was reported that Merrill ex boss ‘John A Thain’ receives almost three to four billion dollars of annual bonus despite the company appalling performance and imminent bankruptcy. The top executives of AIG were reported to be splurging on company sponsored expensive holiday cum business trips up to the day before the company announce it’s at the brink of collapse.

Americans in general like to live on credits. A large number of the population like to max out their credit cards and splurge on big items such as expensive cars, big houses and nice vacations. American spending habits are deeply ingrained by belief that the government will pay for the population retirement pension funds. The United States is the world’s biggest debtor and not surprisingly China is the largest investors of US bonds and holder of US currency and in that sense China’s growth is beneficial to the US.

China remains the largest country which extends loans to US. Interesting, not many people are aware that every single US citizen owns a poor farmer in China several hundreds of dollars, if not thousands of dollars. In other words, in analogy, every US citizen is indebted to a poor common China folks who earns a meagre sum. China’s tax payer money is being shoved to buy US dollars and the US bonds so as to keep the US currency afloat.

US have nothing to gain but everything to lose if it were to go on direct confrontation with China. If President Obama is smart enough, he would focus on cleaning up his own country mess and do self improvement before pointing the finger at others.

There is a joke regarding HP, the world’s number one US printer manufacturer as to why the company does exceptionally well despite the ongoing economic woes? Simply because the US is too busy printing money and HP is the number one printer of choice thus there no decline nor shortage in demands for the HP printers!:)