Don't Hold Your Breath

In one of the more insane ruling by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the MAS recently banned 10 financial institutions in Singapore from selling structured notes for periods ranging from 6 months to 2 years.

The ruling is insane because the bans were supposed to be punishments for the structured notes fiasco last year. However it’s hard to imagine how this ban is punishment when there is almost no Singaporean who would want to buy structured notes at this point of time. What’s the use of banning financial institutions from selling something no one is buying? Only the MAS can answer that question.

However one good thing that has come out of the ban is that it kick start some investors to file a class action lawsuit. 204 investors has filed a lawsuit against DBS in a bid to recover losses of around S$17 million due to the collapse of Lehman Brothers. I wish the investors good luck because they are going to need it.

Frankly I just cannot see how any ruling in Singapore will favor the small investors over the big financial institutions in Singapore. Unlike Hong Kong where small investors got a favorable outcome, I just cannot see that happening in pro-business Singapore. One only has to look at the history of class action lawsuits in Singapore to see why. What’s more they are going after DBS, which is like Singapore’s national bank!

Again I wish the investors good luck, but I’m not holding my breath

Comics this week

Street Fighter II Turbo #7- The fight between SF Alpha and SF II comes to a head this issue. It’s disappointing. The fights involving Rolento, Birdie, Cody, Hugo all lasted about 1 page…each! I knew they were going to lose but 1 page each? The back-story about Guy is great, but it’s saying a lot about the issue when I like the back-story more than the main story.

Stormwatch #22- It had to happen. After being dropped into the middle of a vampire army, Winter is understandably less than happy with Jackson King. Add that to his decision with Fuji, the members of Stormwatch are wondering if the pressure of saving the world has got the better of him. It seems that we might have a case of “Mutiny of the Bounty” soon.

Not Helpful

$787 billion later, the U.S economy is still in the toilet, and U.S politicians are panicking.

That’s the only reason I can think of when I read that some U.S. leaders are proposing a second stimulus package to jolt the U.S economy out of a recession that just refuse to end. Despite all the talk of ‘green shoots’ and ‘the rot has stop’, the U.S economy has not recovered and it’s still causing job losses.

Count me in as one of those who are skeptical of more stimulus spending. I agree that the $787 billion stimulus package has not had the desired effect, but if $787 billion can’t do the job, pumping more money in the system will not help either. Let’s be serious; if a $787 billion stimulus package is not enough, what kind of number will be?

None! If a $787 billion stimulus package is not enough, then America need to change their strategy because a second stimulus package will be like pouring good money after bad in a losing business.

Personally I think the Americans should just wait and see if any of those ‘green shoots’ pan out. With all the problems the U.S economy is facing, it’s understandable that U.S politicians are panicking but a second stimulus package will not help.

Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson

After the disappointing Reaper’s Gale, the eighth book of the ‘Malazan Book of the Fallen’ is here. Toll the Hounds move the story back to the continent of Genabackis; to the city of Darujhistan, where the reminds of the Bridgeburners are having a less than happy retirement, and the new city Black Coral, where Anomander Rake has put together a daring plan to right an ancient wrong.

After the disappointing Reaper’s Gale, I’m glad to say Steven Erikson is back. Erikson has a love for making his stories epic in scope and the “Malazan Book of the Fallen” series has not always been better for it.

However Toll the Hounds is truly epic in scope and it works. Although the action takes place in the here and now, the reasons for the action of the characters are rooted in actions that took place eons ago. As usual, scenes jumped from one end of the continent to the other; from the here and now to ancient times; and then back again. A lot of characters also make their return in this book, some of whom are unexpected (isn’t Mappo dead?) and some are very welcome.

However for all the various plots and revelations in “Toll the Hounds”, the main story is on the Son of Darkness, Anomander Rake. Rake is the leader of a people without a god, without hope and without a future. In the end, the third son of Darkness sacrifices himself for his plan to bring back his mother for the good of his people and save the world along with it.

“Toll the Hounds” has a lot going for it. Rake’s plan worked well and the finish where everyone meets up in Darujhistan was filled with tension. Characters that populate the book are as interesting as always and certain characters got their deserved screen time. With more time, comes more character development (Hood comes to mind especially in this category) and the story is better for it.

It’s also interesting to see how a minor god is born in the Malazan world. In a world filled with gods, ancient gods, minor gods, demi-gods, and mortals powerful enough to be demi-gods themselves; I found this to be very interesting. The hints for the next book are very encouraging in this as well. It will deal with the death of Fener, the Boar of Summer. With his death, all the minor gods of war are clamoring to take over the portfolio of God of War and it will be interesting to see how a minor god turns into a god.

However as good as the book this, there are some things that didn’t ring right. At times, Rake’s plan seems a little incredulous. I don’t care how much confidence Rake has in his people, but he actually expect an old mage (even a very powerful one) to hold off the Crippled God? He actually expects a warrior (even if it is his most powerful warrior) to hold off Kallor, the High King?

Despite these missteps, “Toll the Hounds” is an excellent book which shows that there is still life in the “Malazan Book of the Fallen” series. Pick this one up.

Afghan War getting Hotter

In May, Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal became the new US and NATO man in charge of the war in Afghanistan. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates placed Lt. Gen McChrystal in charge as a way to bring in "fresh thinking" in the war against the Taliban.

The “fresh thinking” involves going south into the Taliban heartlands with thousands of troops to secure the area for the upcoming Afghan elections. However as US troops go south, they might find the Taliban waiting. 7 American troops were killed on Monday, that’s on top of a British Lt. Col who was killed a few weeks ago. The Taliban also claim that they have captured an American soldier last week.

With the Americans coming into southern Afghanistan, the Taliban also seems to be going north with 4 of the Americans dead coming in northern Afghanistan. With the Americans going south, and the Taliban going north; the seven-year-old war in Afghanistan is getting hotter.

Mark of a Champion

Roger Federer successfully won his record 15th Grand Slam yesterday when he defeated Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon finals yesterday. The final score yesterday was 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14; yes that’s right 16-14 in the fifth!

I’ll be honest; I’m not Federer’s greatest fan. People say that he is humble, but I just don’t see it. Federer seems to be that kind of guy who is great, knows he’s great, and don’t mind telling you he’s great. He’s not brash, he’s always polite, but polite arrogance is still arrogance.

However I have nothing but praise for his play on the tennis court. His movement is superb, he can create some amazing angles on his groundstrokes, he combine power with a great touch at the net, and most importantly he (like most champions) finds a way to win.

Finding a way to win is the mark of a champion and there were 2 great examples of it in his win against Roddick. The first example was when a set down, 6-2 down in the second-set tie-break, Federer looked dead and buried. However Federer stormed back to win the tie-break 8-6 and win the second set. Another example was when he broke Roddick’s serve in the fifth set to win the match. Roddick was serving out of this world yesterday. Not only was Fderer unable to break the Roddick serve, he never looked like he was going to break the serve. However in the 77th and last game of the match, he broke the Roddick serve for the first and only time in the match to close out an epic match.

Roddick was upset and mentally drained at the end of the match and who can blame him. Against anyone else and he would have won the match twice over, but he was facing Federer and with the mark of a champion; Federer found a way to win. Roger Federer; Wimbledon champion and record-holder!

Comics this week

War of Kings #5- The feared set-up issue is here. There is some small subplots being advanced like Ronan and Crystal strong objections to the T-Bomb, and Gladiator’s rage at the death of Lilandra, but for all the talk in the issue about the feared T-Bomb and how Black Bolt will sacrifice himself to bring the Shi'ar/Kree war to a close, this issue is mainly to set-up the big fight between Black Bolt and Vulcan next issue. Slightly disappointing but not wholly unexpected.

Irredeemable #4- You know in a disaster movie, only famous places get destroyed. It’s always the usual suspects, New York, Moscow, Paris, the Great Wall of China, the pyramids of Egypt; now add Singapore to the list. Yes, Singapore has made it! We are now so famous that we are destroyed in an American comic. Singapore is mentioned by name and you even see the Merlion, but by the end of Plutonian’s rampage the whole island is at the bottom of the sea. For any self-respecting comic book fan in Singapore, that alone should be enough to get this issue. Buy it to see Singapore get DESTROYED!

Secret Six #11 – Even for super-villains, there are some things they dislike. Seem that working for slavers is one of them. While arguing among themselves about working for insane slavers, we get to see more character development like how Catman may be an anti-hero but he is also first and foremost a professional. Something that did not ring true to me is why a super-villain like Jeanette would risk her life to save Artemis. She did it because…she don’t like the fact the Amazon is being tortured? Okay…doesn’t sound right does it?