Financial Crisis Relevance of Tommy Wong’s bookThree years ago, the world plunged into the deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Will this kind of crisis happen again in the future? To be able to answer this question, you need to understand the mindset of the bankers. To this end, you are recommended to read the chapter “Conversation with Guru Dick” in Tommy Wong’s book “Wisdom on How to Live Life”. Click here to order the book Wireless@SG I have a lot of trouble in configuring my Android phone to use Wireless@SG. If you found it easy, please write to kinlian@gmail.com Survey - National Day Rally Speech The survey report has now been updated to show the views of 100 respondents. Go to www.tankinlian.com/information.aspx and search for "Rally" MS SQL 2008 I need the assistance of an expert to configure MS SQL 2008. Please send e-mail to kinlian@gmail.com. Singapore Index Fund The Singapore Index Fund is invested to track the ST Index. This can be bought in SGX like an ETF. I was told that it can also be bought like a unit trust. The annual management fee for this fund is 0.55% (i.e. slightly higher than  0.3% for StateStreet and 0.28% for DBS). However, being a unit trust, it allows smaller quantities to be bought, instead of 1,000 units in an ETF. If you have personal experience in investing in this fund, please share it. Case study - Family3 In this case study, I analyze the features of a new life insurance policy called the Family3. Go to www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx and search for "Family3" Insuring the unexpected Read my FAQ on "Insuring the Unexpected". It is available at www.tankinlian.com/ask.aspx (search for this title). Towering Malaysian of yesteryear It is interest to read about Malaysians and Singaporeans of the Merdeka generation. They have ideals of a democratic and socially just country that looks after the welfare of the people. Read this story to learn about what are these ideals.In the mid 1970s, I visited Skrine & Co in Kuala Lumpur on a legal matter. I met James Puthuchery. I knew at that time that he was exiled from Singapore, but did not know his background or his beliefs. It is nice to read about the ideals of this person, more than 35 years later. One angry citizen Hi Mr Tan,I deliberately left the house when PM Lee made his National Day Rally speech live because I don't want to end up smashing my TV set. His usual condescending smile/laughter alone to is enough to enrage me.Reading the transcript later, I'm glad I did what I did. As expected, PM Lee pretends to "understand" the plight of ordinary S'poreans. The fact that he said "if you can't board a train, the next train is just minutes away" betrays his pretentions. It is not just overcrowded trains/buses S'poreans have to endure. The entire infrastructure is bursting at the seam. A significant proportion of primary schools, junior college and university places have been taken up by foreigners/PRs/new citizens. S'poreans place a lot of importance on having a good education, yet the PAP govt doesn't think it necessary to ensure that S'poreans should get absolute priority in this area. MOE's position on P1 registration is baffling. On the one hand it claims all primary schools are equally equiped (thus implying they are of the same standards) and that there are sufficient places for all. Yet it refuses to make PRs queue behind S'poreans for P1 registration.It is now crowded everywhere. There is shortage of hospital beds, long waiting times at polyclinics, crowded hawker centres, long queues at govt agencies. The list goes on and on. Obviously, our mutli-millionaire ministers are not impacted by these at all. They and their families get priority for everything in this country. They can afford to eat at exclusive restaurants, get first-class medical treatment at private clinics/hospitals, their homes are guarded by burly Gurkha guards, they get special police protection, etc. Story of Bright Town You can get a soft copy of my book, Story of Bright Town. It will be published in Amazon.com. It tells the story about how a fictitious Bright Town introduced a portal to provide e-government services for its citizens. Feel free to download the soft copy and give your feed back to kinlian@gmail.com.www.tankinlian.com (Latest > Story of Bright Town)http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=165 Story of Bright Town You can get a soft copy of my book, Story of Bright Town. It will be published in Amazon.com. It tells the story about how a fictitious Bright Town introduced a portal to provide e-government services for its citizens. Feel free to download the soft copy and give your feed back to kinlian@gmail.com.www.tankinlian.com (Latest > Story of Bright Town)http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=165 Einstein Quiz - enhanced Einstein created a logic quiz with 5 houses. It was quite challenging to solve.I have now created a quiz that uses 7 houses. It has more combination and clues.Can you solve it?http://tankinlian.com/Admin/File.aspx?id=20 National Day Rally - some views NATIONAL DAY RALLY 1.Moving, inclusive speechSIX years ago, after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's maiden National Day Rally speech,I was moved to write a letter to the Forum page ('Govt critic won over by speech'; Aug 25, 2004).Now, six years later, after listening to his marathon speechdelivered with more panache, pride and a touch of humour,I am moved once again to offer my gut-feel response.Patrick Lowhttp://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_572855.html2.Good work on education frontI AM a third-generation Singaporean. On Sunday, our family of four sat down togetherand heard the entire speech by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.He spoke with passion about improving on Singapore's already 'very good' education systemand offering more choices.V. Baluhttp://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_572864.html3.Recognition for NSmenMS IVY TAN:I applaud the Government's move to give more concrete recognition to our national servicementhrough a $9,000 National Service Recognition Award.Fine tributeMR RONALD LEE:PM Lee agreed with those who lamented that the younger generation knew so littleabout former deputy prime minister Goh Keng Swee.It was a fitting gesture to name the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) premier training instituteand a new education complex after Dr Goh.YOG connectionMR K.H.K. RANGAN:I was heartened to note the steps taken by the Governmentto nurture students with different abilitiesby tapping their varied potential through different avenues and bringing out their best.Missing elementMADAM MONICA CHIA:I am encouraged by PM Lee's message that we are slowly gearing towards recognisingand developing the different talents that all of us have.http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_572863.htmlMy Take on the ND Rally .....  ( Lucky Tan )http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-take-on-nd-rally.htmlThe Speech That Need Not Be Deliveredhttp://singaporedesk.blogspot.com/2010/08/speech-that-need-not-be-delivered.htmlPM Lee’s National Day Rally Speech 2010 — James Bond is in town!http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=4260 Case study - Investment Link Policy Read the case study of an investment link policy proposed to a consumer in 2008. It contains some issues raised by consumer - for which I gave the answers.www.tankinlian.com (Latest tab)Direct link:http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=162 Wordle and PM' Rally Speech http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2348905/Untitled National Day Speech - 2010 Telling it as it is.Take this survey and give your views!Read the preliminary results of the survey, based on the 49 responses received during the first 12 hours. Invest in STI ETF Read this story about the actual experience of an investor who invested regularly in the STI ETF over the past 6 years.Go to www.tankinlian.com, and click on "Latest" tab.Direct link here:http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=161 Youth Olympic Games - a success Here are some positive comments:YOG'S TRUE GAINMore than just dollars and centshttp://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_572478.htmlYOG pulled me out of the armchairhttp://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_572436.htmlClosing ceremonyhttp://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_572477.htmlAmazing Grace - kudos to YOGhttp://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_572435.html Tun Tan Siew Sin Read this letter about the former Finance Minister of Malaysia. Death Penalty Read this article.My viewPerhaps, as a first step, we should leave it to the discretion of the judge whether the crime merits the death penalty. It should not be mandatory for the death penalty to be imposed. Danger of Online Gambling Read this article.My viewIf you gamble online, you do not know if the online website is running the game fairly. You could be cheated! FISCA Educational Talks [2] I gave my 3rd talk on Financial Planning - A Practical Guide on 28 August 2010. It was attended by 35 participants. About half of them were young people, who are interested to know about financial planning - before they buy the wrong financial products!This turned out to be my most successful talk. I received e-mails from 3 participants expressing their appreciation - more than for my previous talks.Dear Mr Tan Kin LianThank you for the excellent talk. Here is a photo to share:http://www.flickr.com/photos/ckwongb/4934618020/in/set-72157624824484588/Note: if you have difficulty to see this photo, try right-click and open a new tab.I was able to update the talk with my FAQ on "exchange traded funds" and also to give an exercise on how to do the calculations. This made the talk more interesting. I encourage members who have attended the talk before to attend again, and get the new information. You can also attend the talk on "Invest for the Long Term".www.fisca.sg Survey: Mio TV I invite subscribers of Mio TV to take part in this survey. Young and in debt Young and in debtMy viewYoung people should avoid getting into debt, including car loan. The worst is debt on credit card. They have to pay a high interest rate. This is covered in my talk on Financial Planning, arranged under FISCA, www.fisca.sg. Gambling on credit [3] Hi Mr Tan, With regards giving credit, what are your views for the following: i) Margin trading (shares and forex) where you are actually using leverage which is the same as speculating with money that is on credit ii) Speculating in property (Down payment of 20%, but you are betting on the increase of the other 80% of the property price, which is the credit given to you by the bank) for those yet to TOP new property. iii) Credit cards - Borrowing twice your salary or getting a loan using cashline / unsecured credit. We can do that and gamble the amount away as well. Banks give credit for people in need of funds or to speculate in stock market. The only reason banks do their credit assessment and proper due dilligence is that they are worried the customers cannot pay and they will incur credit lossses after the customers lose money in stock market. Finally, it appears that the $26 million person probably can afford to pay, otherwise the casino will not give credit anyway. REPLY1) Speculating on margin is not the same as gambling on credit. The speculator has to put up the margin and if the price moves to the extent of the margin, the position is closed by the stockbroker - due to lack of margin.ii) A person should buy a property for own occupation and to within 5 years of the income, so that the repayment of the mortgage loan is not a burden. It is bad to borrow 80% to speculate in a property, hoping for the price to move up and to sell it at a profit. This is dangerous speculation and should be avoided.iii) Borrowing on credit card should also be avoided, as the interest burden is too high, i.e. 2% a month or 24% per annum.If the gambler has to bring cash to gamble, he would not have brough t $26 million to gamble. The danger is to gamble on credit, as it could be unlimited. This can happen to any family. Imagine a member of your family come home and said that he or she owed a large sum of money to the casino - representing all the savings of your family! Survey: Gambling on credit Here is the letter printed in the Straits Times.The results of the survey can be found here.www.tankinlian.com/information.aspx (search for "Gambling on credit") Govern a society Read this letter.My viewIt is the duty of the Government to govern. They cannot let the problem of society be "left to the market" or to "personal responsibility". This is why laws are passed to prevent vandalism and crime. If marketing flyers are a nuisance, it should be stopped. If gambling on credit is a serious problem, it should also be stopped. It is easy for people to fall into a trap and lose a fortune that will bankrupt their family - all within a day or just a few hours.For those people who say that people should be personally responsible and that the Government has no role here, just wait for the day when a member of your family comes home, and cries that he or she owes $100,000 or more to the casino. You will then know the real danger of gambling on credit and how easy it is for anyone to fall into the trap.Gambling on credit Invest in Exchange Traded Fund Many consumers have asked me to provide information on the ETFs that are available for a long term investor.I have written a FAQ to explain the exchange traded funds available in SGX that are invested in Singapore equities. Go to www.tankinlian.com (search for "Exchange Traded Fund" or view "Latest"). Legacy system of banks Read this letter. Short term investment Hi Mr Tan, What is the best (low risk) investment instrument to use if I have 100k and I need the money in 6 months time? I do not want to leave it in my savings account as the interest rate is very low. I was introduce into dual currency investment by my bank. What's your take on it?REPLYFor short term invstment, you have to accept the low interest rate offered by the banks. You can place it on fixed deposit to earn more than saving account.  In my case, my short term cash is kept in an auto-save account which earns a low interest rate.You should avoid all types of dual currency investments. Read the FAQ in my website, www.tankinlian.com. Look for "Ask Mr. Tan" and search for "Dual Currency".http://tankinlian.com/Admin/File.aspx?id=66