Google search results for "douche bank"

:p So...about a year ago a friend in the real estate industry here in NYC, Kayla, told me that Deutsche Bank is sometimes jokingly called the "douche bank".
I was curious about how widespread the joke is...
So I typed "douche bank" in the Google search box, and this was what I got :p Yes, true enough- Deutsche Bank

15-minute Dark Choc Brownie recipe :) (Low-fat, reduced sugar)

Dark (60% cocoa) chocs are lower in fat + good for your sex life ;p
I love dessert, but I don't like anything that's tooooo sweet
unfortunately, that's what most ready-made cakes are like
- they contain too much sugar
So, start making your own dessert:)
it's easy
What I have here is a fool-proof dark choc brownie recipe:)
- yes, it CAN'T go wrong AT ALL if you use the 3 key ingredients listed below
& you only need 15 minutes to mix it up & pop it into the oven:)
- and then you can go have a quickie with your partner & practise the Lusty Leapfrog position while waiting for the choc brownie to cook

There are 3 main secrets to making good low-fat choc brownies :)

1) use good dark chocs (Lindt)

- and they'll turn out nice, no matter
(well, it doesn't have to be Lindt, but if you can get some good 50% & above choc bars.. that would do :) )

but of course..if it's for a big party, you may wish to substitute Lindt chocs with dark cooking chocs - eg Cadbury or Nestle
But cooking chocs suck - they render this "waxy" aftertaste in ur mouth

...my advise is - splurge on the dark choc, skimp on the flour/butter
You don't have to buy expensive butter/self-raising flour
they're all the same
- just get the Home Brand items
more people buy them & they're always fresher

2) fresh self-raising flour

- check the expiry date before purchasing.
The fresher the flour is, the more active the raising agents are

- and hence, the cake would rise more beautifully

3) use "salted" butter. real butter. no margarines

- do you know that real butter is actually healtier?

yes, the cholesterol content may be higher compared to margarines, but the calorie amount is about the same + 'pure' butter contains far less chemicals

Salted butter brings out the sweetness of the brownies - and you won't have to use quite as much sugar

The Recipe:)

a) The bottom layer

2 cups plain flour

1 1/2 cup melted butter

Mix well & line the bottom of the cake tin with the pastry

Prick the pastry with a fork

b) The middle layer

1 1/2 cup pure butter

+

1 1/2 cup icing sugar

+

5 large eggs

+

1 cup high-quality cocoa powder (Hershey's)

+

1 teaspoon 'real' vanilla essence ( not the fake vanilla flavourings, please. it's gonna spoil the brownies)

Mix the above ingredients. Then add

2 cups self-raising flour

Pour into the cake tin. bake at 180 degree Celsius for 40 minutes

Melt 300g dark choc (Lindt) with 1/2 cup skim milk and pour over the brownies

Put the tray in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Then add chopped almond, pecans, hazelnuts or any other kinds of nuts that you prefer

Bloomberg's Hottest Anchorwoman :)

What I like most about Bloomberg's Starting Bell is that the anchor has 'real' knowledge in Finance.
She's not just a pretty tv face.
She's intelligent, sexy...and very articulate :)

Betty Liu brings an award-winning wealth of experience in print, radio and television.

Before entering television, Betty was the Atlanta bureau chief for The Financial Times where she made a name for herself by breaking news and profiling top corporate and political leaders such as Coca-Cola ex-chief executive Douglas Daft, former Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Her coverage of the biggest Fortune 500 companies based in the South (Coca-Cola, Home Depot, UPS, FedEx) earned her a spot on TJFR's "Top 30 business journalists under 30 list" three years in a row.

The FT also nominated her for a Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for her series of articles on immigrant labor in the South.

(Image source: http://tvnewscaps.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=etc&action=display&thread=192&page=4)
Betty Liu is an now an anchor for Bloomberg Television in New York.

(Image source: http://tvnewscaps.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=etc&action=display&thread=192&page=4)

Betty was formerly an anchor and correspondent for CNBC Asia, based in Hong Kong. She covered the daily market action in the Greater China region for all of CNBC's morning shows including the signature program, Squawk Box. She anchored the coverage of the China market meltdown in February 2007 and also anchored CNBC's newest show, Capital Connection, which launched in March 2007.

(Image source: http://reportercaps.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=othernetworks&action=display&thread=11377)

Betty is also a book author and has written about personal finance. She published the financial and lifestyle guide, "Age Smart: Discovering the Fountain of Youth at Midlife and Beyond" (Prentice Hall, May 2006), which was turned into a month-long weekly series on CNBC Asia called "The Good Life". Her book led her to writing a bi-weekly personal finance column in The South China Morning Post.

Prior to joining The FT and CNBC Asia, Betty was the Taiwan bureau chief for Dow Jones Newswires - the youngest ever in Asia - and a Hong Kong-based regional correspondent for the newswire. In 1997, she received a Dow Jones Newswires Award for her coverage of the Asian financial crisis.
She has written for The Wall Street Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, and Philadelphia Magazine.

Betty was born in Hong Kong and graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with an English degree. She is a mother of twin boys.

Why I chose Great Eastern Life Insurance :)

I guess I'm really really lucky that my siblings are a techie & a finance expert :)) My bro's an Oracle expert & my sis' did ACCA
Bro's doing some really cool projects at an MNC, sis is a top exec at a public-listed company...
There's always someone to help fix the modem/broadband, format com hard disk, telling me what shares/bonds to buy, & which life insurance to choose :) :) :)

When it was my turn to buy a life insurance, I just asked my sis
She calculated & compared the present/future value of dozens of life insurance packages and came up with the conclusion that Great Eastern Life's the best

(I have a complaint though. The Policy Certificate looks so dull, gloomy... it almost looks like a death certificate, touchwood. *cringe* Geez, can't you guys whaking come up with a more colourful design? I know, we all buy life insurance for "that reason"...but c'mon, the policy cert design doesn't have to reflect that!)

By the way, Great Eastern Life is not paying me to endorse their products
I'm just sharing some useful info with you guys, just in case you're shopping for a life insurance & don't have anyone to rely on for advise, apart from insurance agents

I would have bought AIA's insurance had it not been because of my sis' due diligence
Why?
cuz AIA's Sales team is excellent
I'm have a soft spot for good customer service...
would I have regretted if I had bought AIA?
I don't know ;)
...umm, if I know for sure that Uncle Sam's gonna bail us out forever, then I'd probably go for AIA

Who on earth is Gareth Morgan? Can we really trust him with our Kiwisaver retirement funds?

Okay, we all know that Gareth Morgan is the TradeMe whizkid's Dad who made 47 million when his son sold TradeMe, but the fundamental question remains - Can we really TRUST him with our Kiwisaver retirement funds?

Babe, I wish I know the answer...but unfortunately, I don't.

I don't have any Kiwisaver investments to worry about - but I loath deception, I hate the despicable doings of Bernard Madoff and other swindlers like Nick Leeson, and I am very very worried about the possibility that Gareth Morgan might screw up innocent investors' hard earned money.
- and I just felt obligated to share my personal concerns with you

I'm not saying that he is a swindler. Heck, what do I know about his future plans? Maybe he really is a good guy. But,... what what what if he isn't? What if he turns out to be another Bernard Madoff?

My retirement funds (known as the EPF, or Employees Provident Fund) is managed by a government entity - not by a private banking institution or a one-man investment company like Gareth Morgan Investments

This is Gareth Morgan's photo:-
(Source: http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/Morgan_gareth160.jpg)












Here are some of the things about which struck me as rather odd:-

1) Gareth Morgan Investment's website seems to bear a resemblance to some scam companies
- cheap web design... yet the company purportedly has a sophisticated online login for the KiwiSaver investors
(this is just my personal opinion based on observation and simple common sense. You can choose to disregard my thoughts)

2) "Fan Mail from Life Insurers"
*roll eyes* Yes, GMI indeed has a "Fan Mail from Life Insurers" page

(Duh, gimme a break! I have a life insurance policy, PA (Personal Accident) insurance, travel insurance, automobile insurance, but the thought of being a FAN of insurance providers has never crossed my mind - not even once)

3) Sam Morgan's appointed as the Director of Gareth Morgan Investments
- & it didn't even make it to the news!
Who is Sam Morgan?
My guess is that he's either a brother or cousin or nephew, son or son-in-law of Gareth Morgan
So, in other words... Gareth Morgan Investments is what Malaysians would describe as a "Chinaman company"
("Chinaman company" is an informal term to describe family-owned businesses that the Chinese are famous for - for example... a company where the father is the CEO, & the aunts/uncles/siblings/kids hold key positions in the company)

(to be continued)

Nouriel Roubini a.k.a. Dr. Doom, the Celeb Economist

Ladies & Gentlemen,
Meet "Dr Doom" - Mr Nouriel Roubini - a professor at New York University (NYU)
Early 2008, when he talked about the "impending economy recession" that we're all too familiar with right now, his students thought that he was going cuckoo

(Image source: http://www.marketobservation.com/blogs/media/blogs/Statistics/NourielRoubiniApril182008.jpg)

But, with the then surprising fall of Fannie Mae (Gosh, how can you name a bank Fanny? That's awful) and Freddie Mac giant banking institutions (because Fanny Fannie Mae is always mentioned alongside Freddie Mac, I can't help but think about something phallic whenever I see/hear Freddie Mac), Roubini became an instant celebrity!
Now, people all around the world wants to know what Nouriel Roubini has to say about the economy

I have to confess that I have been a bit of a Roubini New junkie, and that probably is one of the reasons why I have been a bit (unnecessarily) apprehensive about the current economy and banking institutions in New Zealand

Career
(Source: Wikipedia)

For much of the 1990s, Roubini combined academic research and policy-making by teaching at Yale and then in New York, while also spending time at the International Monetary Fund, the Federal Reserve, World Bank and Bank of Israel. Currently, he is a professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University. He spent much of his time working on emerging-market blowouts in Asia and Latin America which helped him spot the looming disaster in the U.S. "I’ve been studying emerging markets for 20 years, and saw the same signs in the U.S. that I saw in them, which was that we were in a massive credit bubble," he said.

Roubini's take on Year 2009:-
At a conference in Dubai in January, 2009, he said, the U.S. banking system was "effectively insolvent." He added that the "systemic banking crisis.... The problems of Citi, Bank of America and others suggest the system is bankrupt. In Europe, it’s the same thing." To deal with this problem, he recommends that the U.S. government "do triage between banks that are illiquid and undercapitalized but solvent, and those that are insolvent. The insolvent ones you have to shut down." He adds, "We're in a war economy. You need command-economy allocation of credit to the real economy. Not enough is being done," he felt at the time.

Good quality Kiwi bread

Was having a lil' Consumer Price Index comparison talk with my friend Li Li who has been residing in Auckland since 8 years ago.
We're debating about the higher average income and higher taxes in New Zealand, the higher car prices in Malaysia (a Toyota Vios costs NZD$40k in Malaysia) , the cheaper dairy products in New Zealand (a NZD$3.99 tub of Yoplait yogurt costs NZD$11 (MYR21) in Malaysia)...
She lamented about the higher cost of bread in New Zealand, but I still think you get a better value for your money here in Auckland compared to Malaysia.
- Fresh and natural ingredients are used
- Kiwi bakers don't cheat or skimp on flour by adding more cancer-causing chemicals such as bread improver and bread softener
- The variety is just amazing!
You can find at least 50 types of bread in a typical supermarket

Fresh loaf of fragrant rye bread (bought from Countdown supermarket, Auckland City), NZD$3.50 (MYR7.50)

 

Signature Range Rye Bread 750g (Less than NZD$2.99)

Signature Range Mixed Grain Bread (I think it's less than NZD2.99) 

In Malaysia, a normal loaf of rye bread that you can get from Countdown will cost 3-5 times the NZ price at a gourmet bakery in a posh 5-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur (eg, Renaissance Hotel)
All supermarkets in Malaysia (except for Cold Storage) offer a limited choices of bread; white bread, wholemeal bread, burger buns... and unfortunately, most bread contain a hazardous level of cancer-causing preservatives (propionic acid), artificial flavouring, colouring, bread softener and bread improver. Awful!!!

In fact, the bread in Malaysia are so unhealthy that we had to resort to making homemade bread

Homemade brioche with fresh Iranian dates:) My Dad's favourite

These are photos of my sister’s eldest son when he was 3-yr-old:-). He’s very very fussy about food. I was delighted that he tried the homemade banana bread without any coaxing and so, decided to take snapshots of him eating em;-)

He's cute, aye?;)

"Don't get robbed overseas"- ANZ billboard advertisement

 

"Don't get robbed overseas"?

ANZ, IMHO... that's a serious puffery offense

I just can't believe that I fell for your sweet billboard promises...

You probably ripped me off more than any other banks did
A fixed $5 monthly charge for an ATM card?
That's just not fair!

I dropped by at the Queen St branch today to transfer funds from the Everyday Saving (online) account to the Everyday Banking (ATM) account.
The bank teller refused to do it for me, but was happily trying to sell me some Bonus Bond deals.
(Something like LOTTO, except that you don't lose your money if you don't win any prizes)

ANZ, why do you have to make banking so complicated?

I wasn't in the mood for any Bonus Bond or LOTTO
I just wanted to transfer funds...
I can't possibly log in to my online bank account using wi-fi connection because it's not secure!

Guess what, I had to resort to lying to the bank teller that "my Internet's not working" before she reluctantly agreed to help me transfer funds - after which she told me that "this will be the only time that we'll do it for you" and then proceeded to giving me a long lecture on how I should start using Telephone Banking.
No, thanks!
I don't have time for the ... "Welcome to ANZ Bank. Press 1 for... bla bla bla... press 2 for... bla bla bla"

Sorry, ANZ... I would have to go over to KiwiBank
Bye bye!

Banking in New Zealand

Not too long ago, New Zealand's one of the countries with the highest budget surplus in the world.
But when the New Zealand Labout Party lost the election, they went on a spending spree... leaving the small population of 4.3 million people with heavy debt & high taxes.
Needless to say, I was a bit apprehensive about traveling in Auckland during this tough economic time...
But I suppose any probable banking trouble won't affect me much if I choose to transfer my money to a bank with good ratings.

So, before I got here, I downloaded a long list of banks in New Zealand, and checked the ratings - a tedious process which got me scratching my head.
How on earth am I supposed to know what AAA mean? -AA?

The only AAA that I knew before this was the AAA size battery
Also,... how would I know whether or no the bank's rating is really AAA or if it's just good PR?
(While my sis & bro-in-law are Finance geniuses, I'm the exact oposite)

Anyway, I didn't get to consult them before I left KL, so when I got here... I just made a wild guess on which bank would be deemed too big to fail - and put all my eggs there.

Let me introduce you to the ANZ Giant

Why I think it would be too big too fail...

- It's based in Australia.

- It also bought over the National Bank of New Zealand  + a few other banks

If it ever fails, we won't just be seeing a demonstration on Auckland's Queen St

Heck, there'd be demonstrations on the Queen Streets in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Wellington, Christchurch and everywhere else in the Asia Pacific!

So, before I got here, I wondered why the owners of Central Hostel would open an account with an unheard of ASB Bank.

Now I know why...
& I think I kind of regretted using ANZ Bank

Why?
They leverage on the fact that they're too big to fail - and they charge a premium for their services

For example, ATM (Everyday Banking) card users are charged a $5 monthly fee
Other banks here do it for free.
You only pay charges if you exceed the max transactions per month
And... if you're an ANZ customer, you really have no choice but to open an "Everyday Banking" account
Why?
The Savings account don't come with any bank book or bank statements!
It's just an online bank account!