Singaporean Entrepreneurs

The Year of Black Water Dragon is upon us. I really have no idea what that means, but at the same time it sounds so much cooler than just being appended a number such as 2012.

For the Mayans, this would be the last year on earth. For the Chinese, this is supposed to be a very auspicious year and here’s what’s abuzz in the Feng Shui Universe:

(1) It will be a very different year for everyone depending on their birth sign. Some will do very well, like the rats and monkeys who jive with the dragon but others may not like 2012.

(2) There will be a lot of political turmoil throughout the world because there are ascendant stars that will not align well with others. However, these bad vibes can be neutralized by using certain feng shui methods. (If only it were so easy to neutralize bad governments!)

(3) Major natural calamities will occur in 2012 because of the birth of new seedlings that need to break ground (earthquake). More explanation: In Chinese Metaphysics the term Dragon symbolizes the massive mountain range, the powerful energy of the land and is strong earth element. So an active dragon indicates strong movement of the earth. Also Dragon and Dog are symbols of Gates to Heaven and Hell. Of the 12 animal signs the Dragon and Dog are considered as strange places or twilight zones where ‘Noblemen’ will not present themselves. ‘Noblemen’ are helpful deities that can rescue people from bad luck. However in Dragon and Dog years there is no such rescue angels coming forward to save people from tragedy and as such, the disasters usually will have higher death tolls or casualties.

I think that’s enough stuff to ruminate on or have a hearty chuckle about.

For those born in the year of the dragon, here are some supposed personality traits that should shine through. Those who are born in the dragon year are innovative, self-assured, brave, enterprising, conceited, passionate, and quick-tempered. WOW! The Dragons are often referred to as the free spirits of Chinese Zodiac. Their creative sparks get destroyed when they are restricted. Hence dragon people always look to be free and uninhibited. A beautiful creature, Dragon happens to be flamboyant and colorful. Dragon personality traits range from being energetic, irrepressible and gifted. They are fearless and confident and ready to take up any challenge. In most cases they happen to be successful.

Helping others is something that they find pleasure in. One can always count on the dragons for help. They make friends very easily because of their generous personalities. Yet they can be solitary reapers at heart. Those who are born in the Year of the Dragon have a love for outdoor activities and nature. They are extroverts who have a deep love for nature.

Having an explorative spirit, the dragon people are very imaginative. They are suitable for any occupation owing to their adaptable nature. They like spending money for charity. When it comes to finances, they are ready to take up risks and big chances. They are very straightforward in their approach when it comes to matters related to financial dealings and can therefore be trusted.

George Whitman, an American who set up a bookstore/boarding-for-the-poor-artists-but-trying was an incredible man who became a landmark all on his own in Paris, France. The New York Times paid tribute to this entrepreneur when he passed away at 98 on Wednesday (14 Dec 2011).

His bookstore later became a favorite haunt even for the established poets and authors, especially for readings and book signings. Some that you may know include: Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, Samuel Beckett and James Baldwin. Beat writers William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso also became George Whitman’s friends.

Very telling is his philosophy to be like famed poet Walt Whitman- not in what he wrote, but what he liked. “Perhaps no man liked so many things and disliked so few as Walt Whitman,” George wrote, “and I at least aspire to the same modest attainment.”

Indeed, how many of us have lost that sense of curiosity about the world even as we are inundated with information. We dismiss so many things readily in search for the new and the latest. Our curiosity is only in so far as the first search page that Google gives us. Can we, do we, persist when the technology is absent?

Another thing he tried to live by is one of the sayings on his bookstore’s walls. He quotes Yeats, “Be not inhospitable to strangers, lest they be angels in disguise.” Amen to that.

I was thoroughly suprised and taken aback when I read in Jack: Straight from the Gut that when General Electric (GE) bought over Kidder, Peabody & Co. back in 1986 they had the same problem that we still see over and over again today- traders getting away with hundreds of millions to even billions of bogus transactions. This was, of course, on top of the serial insider trading by the top brass, particularly Martin Siegel who eventually left to join another firm that came to define the greed and excess of the 80′s Drexel Burnham Lambert (Michael Milken).

So after 129 years, the Kidder Peabody name disappears due to mortgage backed bonds. Just like Bear Stearns disappears after 85 years due to mortgage-backed securities. And then Lehman Brothers disappears after 158 years on wall street, again due to mortgage-backed securities that were failing, worsened by creation of “repurchase agreements” within the company to make it appear that these toxic assets were not on the books. (Many ordinary Singaporeans invested on these which were sold as low-risk vehicles.) And now the most recent scandal of course is with UBS’ Kweku Abodoli who lost US$2.3 Billion in supposed unauthorised trading. (This time it was the Singapore government who lost a lot since it is the single biggest shareholder of the firm … which means many ordinary Singaporeans are also left holding the bag.)

And again we see … “there is nothing new under the sun.”

LOOKING AT REAL COMPANIES & REAL WEALTH
But forgetting about the hedge funds and securities firms and looking at a real company that makes real products: GE stock today, trading at $15.00 range … it seems very undervalued. Jack Welch gave a very good sell in his book on how strong GE is and despite Harvard professor’s Michael Porter preaching that a company should only have complementary businesses to do well, here’s GE with its fingers in every honey pot in the world. Should we be bold and back companies like GE in our troubled and interesting times?