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Depending on whether you are an optimist, pessimist or a fence sitter, news from the last couple days would be perceived in accordance.

Being the thinking intelligent adults that we all are, none of us are taking news at face level anymore. Sure, the US government is taking over the debts and waxing lyrical about how it will stabilise GLOBAL economy (who started the subprime in the first place? Smells like some line from Independence Day, the movie. We have Bush plastered all over the news saying it is a necessity to step in as further deliberations will bring more harm to the entire economy. Not necessarily a fan of Michael Moore but I join in the cheering the end of his reign). While big countries with bankrupting big investment banks are working on contingencies, small countries can only be reactive.

While Thailand and Malaysia are going through a temporary unrest, we focus very carefully on the Formula one race- the inaugural night race, the overpriced tickets, road closures, esplanade shows cancellations because of the races, esplanade library closing for a couple of days because of the race…it is all very disruptive to our merticulous system to make way for some speeding cars. Ok, some really cool speeding cars.

Dickens famous quote ‘this is the best of times, this is the worst of times’ rang true for this generation, this time for those economically active, you and me. While we enjoy unprecedented freedom and mobility, we took too much for granted- safety of food for one. I received an sms earlier today with a list of dairy products that is recalled by AVA. China which is turned into the world’s factory floor so quickly and greedily has come back to haunt us, selling lead painted toys to trusting toodlers, and now milk that can shut down our kidneys. Strange is the timing of this shattering news, post Olympics.

But being an optimist that we are, this can be great news for the lactose intolerant and the dieting to stay far far away from chocolate bars and ice cream. And we will now question what we put into our mouth. Organic food should grow in popularity, consumers should also turn to alternative source of calcium and protein- organic soy/oat/ almond/rice milk for example. (In Missouri there are organic farms where households pay monthly a fixed amount to collect the food they need from the farm weekly- vegetables, herbs, fruits, even flowers. An utopic concept here?)

Tommy rang me up while I was in some bookstore trying to appreciate Dali’s art on calendar 2009. No, I dont think you are insured by AIA. I think it is John Hancock and Prudential. I assured him. I am the one with all the AIA policies. Having sold insurance myself, it makes little sense to me to join the queue opposite one raffles quay for a refund. I need the coverage more than the meagre refund. What do we learn? Diversification of portfolio. Dont buy from just one insurance company. Know when your plan starts to accumulate cash value and when your plan starts breaking even. We are not going to stop buying insurance or invest or put money in banks. One tip, all banks in Singapore guarantees $20,000 for each account holder in the event of a run of the bank. Meaning if you have $40,000 in deposits (savings or time deposit, not insurance/bonds/investments), you are better off splitting them equally in two different banks. (get more details from your bank)

It is also saddening to read about a retiree who might have lost much of his life savings in the note that is linked to Merrill Lynch, bought from a local bank. Upon entering a banking hall, the prospective customer would be introduced to a diversified portfolio of financial products in comparism to traditional banking products like the time deposit. These products ranging from notes, bonds, unit trusts to structured products are carefully explained and sold with all the guile of a salesman. One must understand this is all a Relationship Manager does, day in and day out, in branch and out. They have targets to meet and commissions to earn. With this in mind, customers must also know what they are buying into - how it works and if the product coincide with their risk appetite and investment horizon. SGX conducts regular seminars on investments, great for the uninitiated. If you have to sign a lot of forms, make sure you know what you are signing.

In retrospect the signs have always been there. We just never have the will to question.

So, what’s next?