stlplaceLast Updated on April 13, 2007 by stlplace
Enough praises for Shanghai, let’s look at the other side of the coin.
Traffic, very few cars will stop and wait for pedestrains to pass, from time to time a bike would zip through (in front of) you;
Cigarette smoking is prevalent in restaurants, sometimes I think about smoking myself because I heard it’s safer than second hand smoke;
Wait in line at banks, I only waited at China Merchant Bank, one of the top banks in China, but still…
Last Updated on April 9, 2007 by stlplace
These days this stock index future is a hot topic in Chinese market. You can read lots of discussion on the web. The concensus is the index will need some sort of adjustment before the debut of index futures. Because most people feel the Shanghai Composite Index is too high (almost 3400 as of today), and “drop before debut of index future” is a trend proved in Hongkong, etc. Don’t ask me what I think of all this. All I can tell you is the stock market here is crazy here: I hear people talking about stocks from parks to work places. Here is just another sign I saw: an advertisement @ the metro people square station, the Chinese words translated “welcome index futures, and invest wisely”.
Last Updated on April 9, 2007 by stlplace
Sogou, the new search engine from Sohu, has a ranking for every web site. I went to their web site, and checked out the following web sites:baidu (type in link:www.baidu.com in the blank and hit “search”, do similar for the other sites), netease, sina, sohu and stlplace. Here are their scores:
baidu: 90, sohu: 81, sina: 72, netease: 64, stlplace: 37.
Last Updated on April 5, 2007 by stlplace
I noticed this “English First Co.”, which is 2008 Beijing Olympics language training partner, because of their ubiquious ads (outside and inside) Cloud 9 building. I understand there are at least 2 levels of Olympics partners. Lenovo, Haier and Coke Cola, etc are exclusive sponsors (in its product category). In other words, they gave more money to Olympics committe and they got more exposure in return. MengNiu (diary product), “English First” and others are product providers. As the name implies, they gave products to Beijing Olympics. But still, I was puzzled why New Oriental did not go for it? I can think of two reasons:
Last Updated on April 5, 2007 by stlplace
Fuwei Film (FFHL) stock got a 22% jump today after it announced a very good earning report. Interestingly, I was thinking about this little known company lately. Why? Because I noticed a few days ago it got upgrade from Maxim analyst. The stock went up about 10% and dropped back to 10 in a few days. More importantly, I liked its products: plastic films used both in cosumer products packaging, and industrial packaging. Here is a link of their products (with pictures). Notice anything familar? From juice and milk bottles, to cigratte, liquor (alcohol), to laundary powder,…things we consume (eat, drink, use) daily.
Last Updated on April 5, 2007 by stlplace
The first quarter is behind us. Just like a public company reporting quarterly results and holding conference call, I am going to do a quick review of my little portfolio. This quarter is a quite rollercoaster for me, as it did for many investors. The Jan and Feb started fairly strong and at one time I had more than 10% gain (I used google finance to track my investments). This is until Feb 27. In one day I lost all my 10% gain because of the loss of my Chinese ADRs (HMIN and MR each lost more than 10%).
Last Updated on April 9, 2007 by stlplace
Jeremy Siegel, a Wharton Finance professor and a well known author, took 100 Wharton students to see Buffett as an annual tradition between the school and the Oracle of Omaha. Here is Jeremy’s report. You don’t need to read it all. I think this is the most important part: “Priorities:…But Warren does not stew about past mistakes. He wisely counsels that anything that happens to your finances is secondary to the important things in life – picking a suitable and compatible mate, developing a relationship with your children, and doing something that you enjoy…”
Laura Rowley, a journalist and an author, also shared similar views.
Last Updated on April 5, 2007 by stlplace
I ordered a book from Dangdang.com, the China’s own Amazon.com. The process was fairly straight forward except the payment. There are lots of online payment options in China these days including the bank card. But I don’t have a special PIN from my bank, so I chose “cash payment on receipt” instead. The book came today (that was fast, consider I ordered on Monday?). Besides saving some money (dangdang gives 36% off, even adding 5 Yuan delivery fee, it’s still cheaper than buying at book store), I wanted to try the online shopping in China. So far so good.
By the way, the book “Road and Dream” was written by Wang Shi, the founder of Vankie, and the guy who climbed many mountains including Mount Everest, or Chomolungma.
Last Updated on April 3, 2007 by stlplace
My luggage case was broken, after travelling through so many international airports (STL, ORD, PVG, NRT, SPM, PEK,…), rolling on the Shanghai streets, in two and a half years. It lost one wheel. I thought about buying another one, but on second thought, I decided to ask if it can be repaired. I searched the company using baidu and gsuo, surprisingly their office is close to my apartment (it seems my apartment is near a lot of good places). I called them yesterday and send in the case this morning. They told me it’s going to cost 20 Yuan, which is much lower than I expected. Now I am waiting patiently for my old friend’s happy return.
