The Beautiful Tomorrow Starts Today

work to live or live to work ...

As globalization shrink due to geopolitical shifts amidst US/Trump maneuver & his unending demands, uncertainties and strained ties threatened a total breakdown of commerce and a breakout of wars

Businesses are done between friends, not adversary

Substitutes abound when supply become scarce, but allies flee when they are threatened, ostracized, sidelined and bastardized 

Society and countries thrive on peaceful coexistence, coaxed on in cooperative spirits and support

When the Rule of Laws are respected, harmony & prosperity manifest - there is no monopoly of ideas

When the/a Beasty Leader dictates terms of engagement & demands obeisance, pliancy & unchallenged loyalty, the Rules of Jungle applies instead ~ eating out of/from his hands is slavery   

The weakest link is also the strongest link

Everyone has a weakness ~ motivation works best when the weakness is attended to, & provided for; the famished Man needs food, the dying Man wants 'health & safety' while the bankrupted Man wish he hadn't recklessly made the 'last' decision ... 

You can learn through experience(s), from books [least painful & more gainful], from Mentors & Seniors [where it's not taught in the schools/books], by observations [reduced sensitivities & embarrassments] and dive-deep into it [nothing like 'having it raw']

When you are unsure of the immediate future, fret not! Decide what you want to achieve in 5 years' time and work towards it ~ time pressure is ventilated & in oscillation. Anything that's beyond you must be allowed to evolve naturally

The winner is not necessarily the fittest, strongest, smartest nor a genius; he allows himself to manifest within the ecosystem & emerge a winner. Water do not fight the rocks that block its ways 

Cancer & stroke patients do not live long(er) by worrying about their conditions. Apart from treatment, their quality of lives improves with a change of attitude, lifestyles, acceptance and 'foregoing the materialistic overbears' ~ we eat to live ~ one meal a day is good enough

The sanctity of life is not excessiveness but a balance 

A meal a day is sustainability

Work to live & not live to work

Tomorrow is never promised

We need not resign to fate but to 'pilot our life to our preferred destination in solo' 

Stay cool, calm & calculated & healthy. 

The world is yours to conquer

 

 

 

  

2026 CNY ~ Is AI Promises Not Unlike The Tulip Mania

staying light, ignore the disruptions & hide away while getting prepared ...

WallStreet & gold and silver are near all-time high as Asian markets are near highs too despite contracting global economies, further hampered by tariffs, protectionism and threats of wars

US/P Trump is turning the world into a jungle where the fittest & submissive survive and prey on weaker nations; Canada, Greenland, Venezuela, Cuba, Panama, Columbia, including Japan & Taiwan   

Is US able to swallow all the weaker nations including EU? Not likely but enough to distort relationships

US will alienate her allies & push them into China and Russia spheres of influence! Is this all a charade? There are no surprises in politics ~ relationships are cultivated on mutual usefulness 没有永远的朋友也没有永远的敌人，只有利益

Stay calm & stoic while the big boys are playing with fire, power, money & influence - any wrong moves will affect the world at large

Whatever is beyond us, need not worry - you can voice out though

A shout in the wilderness gather mass 

Lie low, stay clear of troubled paths, be prepared 

When the ill-winds blow pass, resurface expeditiously & speedily ~ pounce when opportunities present

There are no winners in fighting against trends nor swimming against the tides. Anything that require 'taking chances' is a gamble. Lions fight alone whereas sheep flocks together

It is easier to climb the social ladder when the world levels down ~ we are not far from the next turning point, but few will make it

Luck is where preparation meets opportunity; nobody 躺平 makes it if they have given up 放弃

Blind obedience & followings are the surest way to failures 

When natural calamities strike, many will be left alone, or at least, loss many of their close ones. Learn to be alone; alone is not loneliness - stay away from crowds 

The richest 1 percent have more wealth than the bottom 95 percent of the world’s population put together - new Oxfam analysis 2024

After the storm comes the cleaning, reconstruction and calmness as life goes on ~ dead man tells no tales

Timing the markets [capital & commodity] is an Art that requires dogmatic discipline for which few have

Don't read too much into prophecy; commonsense tell you that an overvalued market, bathe with promises smelt sweetly like "Tulips" [mania] 

好运连连 年年有余 Whichever direction the fish swims depend on you 📈📉

Life challenges and costs of living issues will 'force' many to seek easier ways to make money & scamming is the new 'industry'

"Love, jobs and get rich quick" scams are the lowest entry bar yet easiest to bait - be forewarned

When your chips are down, lie low, be patient & sit it out. You only need a meal a day to survive

Scammers prey on haste

 

The world will change for the better but the 'old need to burn out before the new can lay roots'

Good LUCK; GOD bless ~ see you when the tides turn

Pre-CNY 2026 - Market Gossips

cash, guts, preparedness & lots of common senses... 

Blog post ~ 29th Dec - The rich valuation in DJIA, S&P500 and NASDAQ became a 'new normal' as many screamed "this time it is different". Will "thou shalt rise" continue into 2026? Perhaps, you can see DJIA [52,000], S&P500 [7,300] and NASDAQ [27,000] ... but expect an impactful corrective low 1Qtr [Jan - Apr] 

Blog post ~ 2nd Feb - Gold was a "Buy" above $3000 with the target of $4800-5200 [top up at $5600] while Silver was a "Buy" above $58 with a target of $90 [top up at $121]....  while BTC looks good at <$70,000 after recent corrections; trade for a rebound. Oil is the outlier & poise to surprise

Market as at closed ~ 6th Feb - Wall Street rebounded with vengeance with DJIA up 1306/2.47% [50,115.67], S&P 500 up133.9/1.97% [6,932.30], NASDAQ up 490/2.18% [23,031.21], Gold up $99.10/2.03% [$4,988.60], Silver up 0.811/1.08% [$77.52], Bitcoin rebounded from the low of <$62,500 to closed at $68,615

In the last 1-2 years, if you had kept money[currency] in the banks, you'd probably enjoyed <2% return whereas the capital markets and metals would have given you bountiful multiples despite tariffs, economic blocs contractions, geopolitical shifts, military gamesmanship and the unusual shifting of economic partnerships where loyalty gave way to trade advantages ~ businesses are done between friends

USA/P Trump wanted Canada, Greenland, Cuba, Venezuela, Columbia, Panama & others via threats of military intervention, sanctions and regimes change if money 'cannot buy' obedience

The Rules of Laws has become the Laws of the Jungle; the politeness of diplomacy has turned brute

Going forward, both markets are expected to be fairly volatile. Is there money to be made in the Capital market and the Commodities market? Yes! Lots indeed. These markets are not linear; you can buy, sell, Stop[buy & sell], hold or exit, if unsure

Everyone wants to make money, but few want to do their homework

Trade the range, ride the trends, stop-loss, value buys; nobody goes broke by taking profits   

Be fearful when crowds build and be brave when storm hits ~ aboveall, be nimble

Bees flock to flowers as flies enjoy shits

The whales will make their bundles & swim away when the crowds/retail swop in

Enjoy the thrills of trading and investments but beware of the guillotines 

From the ashes come the phoenix but few are able to return, flourish and reign

The long lunar holidays may be an inferno

Lookout for more updates

Gold, Silver, BTC & The Capital Markets ~ Joys & Sorrows 2026

making money is not difficult but securing it is always a challenge ...

7-Years Cycle ~ an extension of the 4-Years Cycle

1973 - oil crisis with stagflation

1980 - FED increased interest rates, triggering recession

1987 - Black Monday ~ the largest one-day drop (22%) & wiped off $500bil in history

1994 - Bonds massacre ~ bonds collapse as rates rose

2001 - DotCom bubble ~ "this time is different" 

2008 - Financial Crisis ~ Lehman Brothers, Subprime, CDOs, housing collapsed

2015 - China stock market crash, crisis spread to other markets, including the Greek debt default

2022 - FED increased interest rates ~ cryptos TerraUSD & platform collapsed 

2029 - ?? 

~ 2026; this is the time the 7-year cycle has peaked and turned down

Expect turbulent and disruptive changes in 2026 : 28th Jan, the Jakarta Composite Index fell as much as 9% during the day, 29-30th Jan, Gold and Silver dropped 20-30%. BTC dropped from high of $120,000 to <$80,000. Kospi 200 dropped 5% [2nd Feb], triggering a trading halt

Expect the unexpected : re-evaluation of WallStreet mystical "this time it is different" & it's richly priced AI-powered NASDAQ, that had hit new highs repeatedly, interest rates and currency fluctuations, readjustment of Asian stock markets and sudden geopolitical shifts that will likely hit financial markets ~ shifts between asset classes are normal

WallStreet will attempt to rebound after the sharp correction [1Q/2Q]; buy on sharp drop for traders

It is not all doom & gloom; in the long run, financial markets will reflect the 'real' & more acceptable values and adjust excessive exuberances 

Expect 1Qtr/2Qtr 2026 to be unusually reactive and for smart money seek safe heavens 

Gold was a "Buy" above $3000 with the target of $4800-5200 [top up at $5600] while Silver was a "Buy" above $58 with a target of $90 [top up at $121]. Any prices above the targets were aberrations & profit-take never make anyone goes broke 

The re-rated Gold entry is around $4300-4700 and Silver is $65-85, while BTC looks good at <$70,000 after recent corrections; trade for a rebound. Oil is the outlier & poise to surprise

Asian stock markets, in particular China and HK, will attract smart monies in sharp correction; look out for AI & tech Cos, eSolutions, datacenters, oil-energy plays, pharmas, food & beverages  

Inevitably, overpriced capital & commodities markets will adjust to reality & there are opportunities to make some bucks in volatile trading conditions 危机 Ready/surplus cash allow traders to cast their net wide    

This is not an investment advice but an educational guess after analyzing historical cycles. If in doubt, please consult your bankers, investment advisors and professionals 

2026 - The Year Of Singapore(ans) Renaissance

levelling down is the panacea to close income gap ~ Gini Coefficient ...

The world has enriched the rich further [The richest 1 percent have more wealth than the bottom 95 percent of the world’s population put together ~ Oxfam]

The powerful write the rules and set the pace. When Japan reclaimed & built artificial island, nobody objected; even US approved the action. [An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind]. China watched patiently and went on the build several artificial islands thereafter

If democracy is to be respected, can USA abduct P. Maduro of Venezuela to force a change or even encourage a regime change in Iran? Aggressive and repeated attempts to annex Greenland and Canada created lots of anxieties and suspicions. This invoked the awakening of EU that their ally is against their allies after he quipped "I don’t need to abide by international law and the only constraint keeping his power in check is his own morality!"

When Covid broke out in 2020, clinically 'untested & unproven' vaccines were used to 'vaccinate against Covid' spread. Rules like no jobs without vaccination, cannot gather unless you're vaccinated, cannot travel overseas & vaccination was almost an absolute compulsory. With more literatures for & against the Covid-jabs, it will take some years to prove whether the 'compulsory' vax decision was correct or detrimental  

Will The Rule of Laws be replaced by The Laws of The Jungle? Not really if the smaller nations remain united and act & speak with "One Voice" and the people are allowed to voice out and speak against recommended protocols, without fear and favors

The disparity between the rich and poor is getting wider and worse, globally and locally

Many fresh grads are unemployed and underemployed; internship offers were cheap labor#in#disguise  [when you don't have a choice, beggars can't be choosers]. There were several reports, not disputed nor POFMAed, that >70% of jobs created were taken up by foreigners/PRs in last several years. Where did this put Singaporeans, especially the PMETs? Trickle-down economics do not benefit the people. With ever increasing costs of living, vouchers-assist cannot erase the burdens of daily livelihoods  

Before you pop your champagne, last year's SG/GDP were supposed to be better >5% but 2026 GDP projected growth is a meagre 1%-3%

Our 1stGen leaders always mentioned that our only resources is our "People"; so why wouldn't we/SG develop our own/Singaporeans? The >65% win by the ruling party is a clear sign that Singaporeans placed their trusts on them. Caring and sharing with the people/commoners is the Natural Order. Trust is like a piece of mirror; if broken, nothing can restore it to its origin 

Singapore, being a tiny island, is a good testbed for policies, products, ideas and initiatives, including portable nuclear gadgets. For good reasons, our universities are moving up the global ranking which clearly demonstrated the availability of a pool of local talents 

What good can come up if the fresh graduates do not have jobs of their preferred choices, not to mention the underemployment of those 40yo or more who were laid off due to 'reorganization and relocation' of foreign staffs. This isn't an abstract observation  

Is there a disconnect or a deliberate policy to boost growth by every means? Or are they betting on the dead horse strategy by relying on the import of foreigners [population buttressing & cheap labors]? Both are detrimental to true blue Singaporeans

2026 is a year of 'cut & burn', not unlike the burning of forests to clear land for new plantations. But, if it gotten out of hands, it could turn into wildfire destroying everything in sight

Every 'fool' has to pay a price, when you scheme against others, especially your own, with ill intents & blatant disregards to normalcy, the retribution & consequences will be immense 

Going forward, Asia will be the new economic renaissance and SEAsia will be the backbone of China & India (dual growth engines) with every ASEAN complimenting each other's strengths 

It pays to develop Singaporeans; the smart, untap talents ~ it pays for our leaders to remember that they were once upon a time the hidden talents who were given opportunities to learn, groom & grow ~ nobody is an overnight star 

Like many natural phenomena, change from the inside promotes growth whereas change from the outside produce disharmony & anarchy

I am an incurable optimist versus many skeptics; the 108 Elected Reps should and will prioritize Singaporeans first - you have my back

2026 Is Proving To Be Rewarding Yet Challenging

changes are swift, impactful & expeditious ...

Stay calm, discount & ignore the noises & disruptions, adapt and take your time to respond & never rush

By delaying responds a little, you allow your mind to aggregate, calculate and tamper on the acute immature yet careless reactions 

Speak truths with specks of humors as more people cannot, and refuse to, accept the painful facts 不说谎话，不用说实话；现实本来就是残忍的。只说好听的话 

Do not get into other people's quarrels nor arbitrate for angry persons as neither are rewarding; fuming people can't hear nor accept solutions

You cannot change another person's life & character. Why would you want to shoulder his Karma? When you relieve him of his bondage, you are going to shoulder his Karma 种因得果

Are we witnessing swifter changes or are we swallowed in an avalanche of unimpeded information? It's information & misinformation overflow

Rule-based decisions are fast replaced by gutfeel, gang-fraught & gun-toting spitfire responses, not forgetting the wraths of Nature ~ moments that no Man can control nor overcome

Avoidance is the answer   

Stay indoors until the ill-winds pass ~ Whatever don't kill you makes you better

Retreat into the cocoon, live like a pupa, metamorphos into a butterfly when the time is ripe ~ there is a right time for everything 

We cannot run away from reality; time is the essence & change is the only constant

As at current, Wall Street has 'long been overvalued' and there are denials on the accepted basis of valuations, extrapolation of hopes over academic and generally accepted doctrines & conventions are pushing the frontiers. Murmurs "this time is different" echo in the air

Throw in the geopolitical gerrymandering & scheming & there are enough to unsettle and upset accepted norms, throwing everything into disarray not unlike a tsunami resetting the entire ecosystem   

The annual cyclical lows [3-monthly] are January, April, July & October while the 4-years cycle should peak in 2026 & turns down ~ 2026 will prove to be a volatile year

Smart money will likely leave the West to more sanely valued stocks/Capital markets in Asia. The threats of instability, wars and upheavals are equally present globally; the moot is the speed of recovery in the aftershocks, not being caught in the whipsawing swings and the guts to take position 危机 during the 'chaos' 

The world has slowed, the global economy has been crippled by embargo, tariffs & geopolitical shifts, consumers' confidence is lacking and purchasing power have diminished, but history has moved on ...

Be nimble, be smart ~ when you are unsure, stay out

When the world levels down, your chance of becoming better improves