Aldgate Place by Barratt London

Aldgate Place by Barratt London

I was told that this development will be launched soon.  The pricing is high, but not as high as the London Dock by St George's, the luxury arm of Berkeley Homes.

Co-incidentally, I was in that area recently and I took a video of it.


Location-wise, this development is very good indeed.  Just check out the video and the maps and you will see why.  Pricing wise, it is not cheap, however, if you want to buy something this close to the City of London, you are going to have to pay a premium.

Here was an advert in the local Singapore papers.

Happy Investing!

George Yeo's Words of Wisdom - NUS LKY SPP 10th year anniversary lecture

I got this from Mothership.sg. Here is their article.

For those who did not attend the LKYSPP 10th year anniversary lecture, here are 10 remarks from Yeo that shows why his anticipated public appearance is worth waiting for

1. The impact of social media all over the world: 

“The most profound impact is in the way hierarchies are being corroded by information technology disintermediating what kept this hierarchy intact in the first place. Sometimes by ignorance, sometimes by hypocrisy. Sometimes by rituals. Sometimes by selective information and disinformation.”

In the past, a child could become an emperor because he’s all dressed up, protected by courts, by music, by distance, and people bowed. Today, the cameras are everywhere. The microphones are everywhere. And if you are not authentic, you will be laughed at. The emperor has no clothes. This has changed relationships in a profound way. Between parents and children. Between teachers and students. Between doctors and patients. Between priests and laity. Between government leaders and voters.”

2. A leader playing the role of a student:
“Indeed I have come to the conclusion that whatever organisation you head you are likely to understand a small fraction of it. You have to depend on others. And so I go around and I play the student, I ask questions, I ask for help. I ask how I can be helpful. People respond. You create an energy field where there are multiple nodes of activity and you yourself constitutes only one node, hopefully a node which will grow in importance.”

3. On Singaporeans connecting emotionally through Singlish:
 “We are very diverse in Singapore. You go into a hawker centre, and you just distill and listen to the cacophony. Then you said yes, this is Singapore… It is a Singapore which is constantly, incessantly, insistently, multi-lingual, not only between sentences, but within sentences, in the actual syntax itself. Mind you, it makes it more difficult for us to learn English or Chinese to a high level, but we understand each other. And sometimes to establish our emotional connections, all of us will switch occasionally to Singlish in order to make a point that we belong to a community.”

4. Advice on how the Singapore public service can adapt to changes
“You must insert yourself into the community, into the problem…in order to understand it holistically and to effect change from within. You cannot be a bureaucrat sitting on high, reading papers, doing statistical analysis, prescribing solutions. The Singapore civil service is probably the best administration in the world today and the reason why the LKY school has been able to grow so rapidly in the last ten years is because of the story of Singapore.

But given the nature of the world today, the challenge of technology and the digital revolution we must do it even more and insert ourselves into the daily lives of Singaporeans… It is very important that those who are in charge do not lead and live separate lives, and to the extent that we can be one community, we will be a strong society.”

5. The political balance of public expenditure and public savings
“For as long as Singaporeans think that the government is rich, they will say look, c’mon, pass some over. But in fact, we have nothing. We are only a small island. We have no natural endowments. And what we have – I don’t know how many hundred billion dollars we have, even if you double it, what is that, compared to what others have, in the ground, in land, underwater? And in a crisis, if we have nothing, how do you sustain a diaspora?

So yes, there must be a sense that the ordinary needs of a Singaporean has got to be looked after, and a proper balance between spending of the generation today and saving for the future generation. That balance is a political balance. The government now is re-tweaking the balance, re-calibrating it, fearing it will go too far, because that will consume itself, but knowing that if it does not proceed enough, then there is no deal in the first place.


6. On militant group ISIS
“Using Christian armaments to defeat Muslim malignancy will only make the malignancy worst in the long term. And therefore, conceptually…in terms of treating the problem in a deep way, this problem has got to be resolved in the ummah itself within the world of Islam itself.

It is really the battle of the soul of Islam…. All of us non-Muslims have a vested interest in the good health of the Islamic community, and we should be supportive of them in whatever way we can, knowing at the same time that what we do is at best a supportive effort.

7. Singaporeans’ special advantage
Our ability to operate in a diverse environment…That gives to Singapore a special quality. The ability to work in dense networks and be able to connect to different cultural domains, and to turn it into our own economic advantage. Ultimately, what drives Singapore, what gives Singapore our special advantage is the ability to arbitrage across cultures.

8. Hong Kong student protests
“Apart from the high politics, at the atomic level, we have good people who are responsible who care for one another, I think upon these bricks you can build the most wonderful structures. But if the bricks are weak or crumble, then however you try, however brilliant the architect, nothing much is going to come out of it. So when I look at Hong Kong, I said yes there are problems, and the future is uncertain, and many things are not within their control, but they have good people, strong people, and they will survive.”

 9. His philosophy in life:
“I try wherever I am to be of some use to people around me. And that will give me enormous satisfaction. We are only for a brief period what we are, from dust return to dust. During the period when we are whole, let the world remember us for our contributions, and not wish that we have not existed. So whether we do big things or small things, it doesn’t matter, make a difference, and make it a better world.”

10. A new narrative for Singapore:
“In medieval times, the future was first to be discerned in the free cities. So the future, with all its uncertainties, is perhaps easiest to be discerned in the free cities of today, and Singapore should aspire to be one such free city.”

11. Being optimistic about Singapore’s future:
“This half of the world will be the happier half of the world. And Singapore is right in the middle…We are in the centre of a region, where there is a lot of hope for half the humanity. And how do we prosper? By inserting ourselves into it, in this multi-faceted network. And we are small. We need only a few tiny crumbs to enjoy a good life in Singapore, to make this a wonderful place. So I am optimistic.”


A lot to learn from the words above. Thanks for reading.

Asian Markets Catch a Cold after Wall Street Sneezes

Stocks tumbling. Straits Times index gains for the entire year wiped out as heavy losses in US trigger sell-off.  This is quite worrying.  The stock markets are usually a leading indicator.

Is the global economy heading into recession soon?  Well, be prepared for anything.

Thanks for reading.

Maria Sharapova Gets Just 10% of her earnings from Tennis Prize Money

Following from Cheryl's article, I was on the lookout for more articles on being financially savvy. Just nice, this article appeared in the Business Times today.

Maria Sharapova?  I now know that she is the highest paid female athlete in the world, a distinction that Forbes has bestowed on her for 10 years straight.  Wow.

Indeed.  Based on her looks alone, she would likely have made a good living as a model.  Her looks plus being a top tennis champion would make her a killer combination, but only if she was wise enough to exploit it.  And she definitely is.

So let's see how she has capitalized on her tennis fame and good looks.  The answer is simple - endorsements.  She has endorsed a huge range of prestigious global brands, including Nike, Tag Hauer and Porsche.  Her profile fits these brands, as she is a tennis star and she can look pretty classy and even aloof.

She can be a tough ice queen.

Remember that many top athletes are full of themselves, including being arrogant, temperamental and sometimes outright idiotic. To me, such behaviours reflect a poor sense of self control.

Maria, however, has chosen to behave far more professionally when she is off the court. She looks friendly, she does many engagements, she mingles with the crowds - obviously this does great wonders for her image and makes her even more attractive to potential sponsors.

What is really interesting is trying to launch Sugarpova, which looks like high-end tennis-ball candy/chewing gum. Even the name of the product sounds rather 'corny', as it is a twist of Sharapova.

But why not?  She is clearly not afraid to try and I don't think she has much to lose even if this venture fails.  On the other hand, if it succeeds, it would certainly make her even richer.

Come, try some Sugarpova - the Taste of Victory

What Can We Learn?
I am not a tennis star.  Neither do I have good looks.  So what can I learn from Sharapova?

The answer to the question is to ask why Sharapova is able to do so much better, relative to the other good-looking and highly talented female athletes in the world.

My take is that she has a solid game plan.  She has fully capitalized on her tennis fame and her good looks, to land endorsements with prestigious brands.  And now she is branching out into product lines, and likely into other business ventures.  Bear in mind, as she does all the business, she needs to keep up her tennis training and continue to do very well in international tournaments.  Her value as an endorsement icon would quickly fade away if she starts to slip in the tennis rankings.

Her candy, Sugarpova, called Flirty Sour

What can we learn from this? We all need a plan and this plan needs to capitalize on your strengths. Success doesn't come easy, but we need to keep trying, and focus on our strengths.  What are your strengths and how have you capitalized on them?

Don't be afraid to try new things.  You never know till you try.

Here is the full article.

Thanks for reading.

Live Within Your Means - Article by ST Journalist Cheryl Ong and My Reflections

This opinion piece by ST journalist Cheryl Ong is an honest reflection of the difficulty of spending within one's means.  I have cut and paste it in full below, with my comments thereafter .

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As a writer on personal finance matters, I should be a shining example to all of the benefits of saving regularly.

The truth is, like many young people, I have found it a really hard thing to do.

You'd think it would be relatively easy to stick to the principle of spending less than what you earn.

But for many young adults eager to join the workforce on the right foot, squirrelling away a small sum of money every month for the proverbial rainy day might not be a top priority.

I know this to be true from my own experience and from observing my peers.

After graduating from university a couple of years ago, it felt as though many of us spent a significant sum preparing ourselves for the working world even before the first pay cheque landed in our bank accounts.

After scoring an interview for your dream job, you definitely do not want to turn up in a dress obviously bought at a flea market for $20.

So there goes $100 for a crisp new work shirt and skirt. And then you shell out another $50 for a pair of new closed-toe heels (I have been told by etiquette experts that open-toe shoes are a faux pas for formal meetings).

And what happens when you do finally land the job? You will need a new bag to replace that old haversack that was lugged to the lecture theatres, of course. Maybe even a classier watch to replace the Baby-G you had been wearing for the past five years.

The cash registers at the boutiques in Orchard Road ring loud and long every time a fresh batch of graduates enters the workforce.

The fact is that making an impression costs money. For some, it is about new beginnings and making small sacrifices for big payoffs later.

Appearances should not be a preoccupation but the business world can be a superficial one where many decide if they like you within minutes of a first meeting.

It is also important to represent your title, company and colleagues well.

From my experience, it is easy to get over the initial horror of a depleted bank account when money rolls in on payday.

It feels liberating to finally earn your own keep and, for once, you are accountable only to yourself for what you spend your money on. But, for me, that was also the start of the slippery slope.

Coming from the banking sector, most of my colleagues seemed to be living it up with their fat pay cheques. I suppose the irregular hours we worked meant we had only one another for company most of the time. At dinner, there would almost always be a few bottles of fine wine.

There was also no such thing as a budget for the gift exchange segment at Christmas parties. Once, I saw a Cartier key ring exchanged.

It was all rather overwhelming. But of course, I did not let anyone know that because I felt lucky to be welcomed by the group even as a fresh graduate.

The strange thing was, though I knew I was being paid a little more than my classmates from university, my bank balance did not seem to have grown by much even after a year.

It struck me that I had become the very personification of the adage: "We buy things we don't need, with money we don't have, to impress people we don't like."

This also reminds me of a few friends who have become flight attendants. Other than being reimbursed for the risks and time they take to traverse continents, one of the perks of the jobs is, of course, the chance to travel almost anywhere.

But some will also tell you that the favourite part of their job is the chance to buy luxury goods in Europe, where tax refunds mean that a Chanel bag could be almost 20 per cent cheaper.

They are paid comfortably, but it seems most of their net worth is concentrated in hauls of luxury goods each time they return from Paris or Italy.

It is a lifestyle they fear they cannot keep up if they switch jobs. So they remain in it even if the glamour of jetsetting around the world eventually loses its lustre.

I have come to realise that it does not matter if you earn $3,000 or $30,000 unless you understand the principle of living within your means. Though I earn a little less as a journalist now, the irony is that I have managed to grow my savings pool. It helps that the culture here is less flashy.

So imagine my relief, two years ago, when my colleagues told me that presents for our annual Christmas gift exchange should not cost more than $10.

"Sure," I thought to myself. "That's more money to my savings account."

ocheryl@sph.com.sg This article was first published on Oct 12, 2014 - See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/business/more-business-stories/story/live-within-your-means-whatever-you-earn-20141012#xtor=CS1-10

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Comments
A very timely article to remind all of us, not just our young, to spend within our means.   In fact, the challenge highlighted by Cheryl goes beyond the young.  It applies to everybody.

I think the root of the problem lies with people chasing material goods and wealth for the sake of chasing these things.  There is also the pressure of keeping up with the Jones.

Investing in London as part of Financial Discipline
One important reason why we invest in London properties is to keep our focus on investing our earnings and to make our money work for us.  We needed some discipline to do this.  I have always felt that if you have too much spare cash sitting idly in the bank, the temptation to spend it is too great.

London Bridge, please don't fall down.

Generate Passive Income 
Of course, there is no point growing your wealth endlessly and have no time to enjoy it.  So, to make it sustainable, spending your passive income and not touching the capital sum would be one conservative way to enjoy some of your earnings.

Start your Retirement Planning Now 
In fact, I have often scared myself by thinking of just how much I need in terms of financial wealth to retire comfortably.  That scares me enough to check my spending.  But this approach will also frame my thinking for retirement - once I can achieve that $X per month target in passive income, I will consider myself financially free, which means I can walk away from my day job anytime.

Dr Shaq - NBA star
To end off, perhaps the story of NBA legend Shaq O'Neill is worth re-telling.  He spent this first million he earned as an NBA superstar within 30 minutes, and he got a shelling from his banker.

At least he learnt, many athletes didn't.

Today he has built up a huge business empire with his earnings, as well as getting a Doctorate degree in Business.

http://financialjuneteenth.com/shaq-spent-his-first-million-in-30-minutes-when-he-joined-the-nba/

Thanks for reading.

We Live in an Unsafe and Uncertain World. Stop Dreaming.

There have been reports about Singaporeans, especially younger ones, being pre-occupied with their lives and losing touch with what is happening in the world around us. Based on my own observations, it is true that few young people in Singapore actually read world news these days.

I hope we do not take our good lives for granted. The world has big problems and there are many lessons for us. The worry is that we start to be complacent, and think that such problems will never hit us.

Just reading through the world news on the Straits Times today gives me a sobering reminder of how unsafe and uncertain the world we live in is.

Global Extremism

The ISIS continues to gain ground, despite intensive air attacks. Another Iraqi base has fallen and Baghdad look to be under threat. Let us also to forget that the ISIS has now publicly said that they will enslave women and children of a certain race and religion - the women are sold off like property to ISIS fighters, to be used as concubines. Can this happen one day in, closer to home?

Global Health Crisis - the Ebola virus look to be getting out of control. The World Health Organization now predicts that Ebola cases could hit 10,000 a week, with a death rate of 70%. Think about it. 7 in 10 chance of dying if a person contracts Ebola. See the WHO fact sheet for more info on Ebola - http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

The scary thing is that the incubation period is anywhere from 2 to 21 days. Already 2 people in Texas have confirmed infections.

Civil Disorder - Who could have predicted that suddenly, there is so much civil disorder in Hong Kong. And now, the Police look to be stepping up the pressure. Despite what all the sympathisers of the Hong Kong protestors may say, no country will be willing to challenge China over the issue of Hong Kong.

Women as Slaves - And lest we forget, more than 100 Nigerian girls were abducted by extremist groups 6 months ago. At that time, there was widespread international condemnation.

To what end?  All talk, very little action.

Today, the girls have yet to be found,yet this issue is rapidly fading away from our memories. What if these girls were Singaporean girls?

Lessons for me.

1. Don't kid ourselves. This world isn't a safe place, in all senses of the word safe.

2. If something bad happens to us and our people, don't assume other people will come help us, no matter what they say.  There is a lot of talk and hot air, but very little action.

3. If we don't look after ourselves, nobody will look after us. If we don't have the ability to fight and hold our ground, expect what we have to be take away from us.

4. Stop dreaming. Go do your part, to make our little country more safe and secure.

Thanks for reading.

House prices in London surging at almost 20% a year

House prices in London are surging at a rate of almost 20% a year, which is five times the increase seen in in north-east England, according to the latest official figures.

The Office for National Statistics data also revealed that the annual rate of house price growth in England hit 12.2% in August – the highest figure for a decade.

For the UK as a whole, the annual rate in August was 11.7%, which was unchanged on the previous month but prompted the National Housing Federation to declare that with prices rising at this “staggering” pace, homeownership was becoming a distant dream for more and more people.

The NHF has issued a new report claiming that only Londoners earning more than £100,000 – three times the average salary in the area – could now afford a typical mortgage in the capital.

Click here for the full article.

Here is the statistics page published by the UK Office for National Statistics.

Views
Reading articles like these do make me feel that the prices in London have gone out of whack, way beyond what the average Londoner can afford.

Why is there so much demand for housing in London?  Well, London is the number 1 global city according to many independent rankings.  London is where many people want to work and live.

On the supply side, London just can't build homes fast enough, largely due to planning constraints.

Because the jobs are in London, the people working there have no choice but to rent in London. This bodes well for investors like me, however, I'd sure not be very happy if I were a Londoner.  Yet, there is nothing much the Londoners can do about it.

Thanks for reading.