Warning

http://malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/letterssurat/34540-warning

Warning.

It is just a matter of time before we are hit by a food crisis, due to grain production falling below consumption levels, falling grain trade volumes, as well as the concomitant price increases, which we are beginning to notice.

One third of our wage earners have an income near the poverty line. They will not sit idly by and watch their children starve.

This can make all the arguments about racism, unity, corruption, or whatever topic is the flavour of the week irrelevant. The 2007/2008 food price crisis saw at least 25 incidences of unrest and government action globally. After studying the data, it is apparent that unless we act now, we will join the long list of nations that will experience an extended period of unrest and instability, which will be pretty damn stupid considering that this is Malaysia, where the land is fertile with plenty of rainfall.

Agriculture and Food Security:Developments In Malaysia

By T. Indrani, ERA Consumer Malaysia (Nov 2000)

Food security ensures the independence and sovereignty of a nation. History has proved time and again that food is vital to national security. Food crisis sets in when it is not available, or accessible, in sufficient quantities for the local population. Nations have gone to war over food, and will continue to do so, if they are not able to produce enough or buy food for their people.

Malaysia is a net food importing country, despite once having produced almost enough food for the local population. It is not that there is no land to produce food: it is just that the priorities are different.

　

　

INTERNATIONAL GRAINS COUNCIL – GRAIN MARKET REPORT (29 July 2010)

GRAINS* OUTLOOK FOR 2010/11

Prospects for the next grains crop have been significantly affected by the past months adverse

conditions in parts of the Black Sea region, the EU and Canada. Total wheat and coarse grains production is now forecast 23m. tons lower than before, at 1,753m., down from the previous years near-record 1,782m. The impact has been mainly on northern hemisphere wheat and barley crops, lowered by 13m. and 7m. tons, respectively, with little change in the maize figure. The reduced crop prospects have prompted a downward revision in the feed use forecast, with global consumption now projected to rise by only 0.8%, to 1,774m. tons; increases in industrial and food use will outweigh a reduction in feed use. With the global crop forecast cut by more than consumption, world carry over stocks of grain in 2010/11 are placed 18m. tons lower than before, at 369m.

RICE SUPPLY AND DEMAND IN 2009/10

Global rice output in 2009/10 is estimated to have declined by 1%, to 441m. tons following the heavy fall in output in India. Although rice consumption is expected to expand by 0.7%, world carry over stocks are forecast to be show little change; those in the five leading rice exporters are expected to fall slightly, to 25.3m. (26.3m.). Due to a slower than expected pace of shipments to sub-Saharan Africa, the forecast of world trade in calendar 2010 is cut slightly from last month. However, at 29.6m. tons, it would still be 2% higher than in 2009, underpinned by stronger import

demand from Far East Asia, notably the Philippines.

　

　

MALAYSIA GRAIN AND FEED ANNUAL – USDA (19 February 2010)

In 2010, rice imports are expected to drop to one million ton as the Rice Authority works down on stocks. Vietnam was the biggest rice supplier to Malaysia in 2009.

The anticipated 3-4 percent growth in the Malaysian economy in 2010 should sustain increased demand for wheat-based products. Pork consumption is expected to outpace supply as land use for pig rearing becomes more controversial. As domestic rice output is expected to show a drop with the impending El Nino weather condition, self-sufficiency in rice may drop to 6065 percent.

　

ASIA SENTINEL – IS ANOTHER FOOD CRISIS COMING , J Berthelsen (12 August 2010)

Over the past month, global grain exports have been hit by two calamities that have been exacerbated by worries over global warming, particularly affecting the world’s rice crop. For the better part of a decade, the world’s food scientists have been warning against what they have called an Event – a confluence of natural calamities that drive the price of staples – particularly grains – past the point where hundreds of millions of poor will no longer be able to eat.

The question isn’t whether there are enough grains but whether governments will panic again as they did during the 2007-2008 rice crisis. Governments across the planet from Vietnam to Egypt banned exports, driving rice prices from US$300 per metric ton to more than US$1,100 and causing shortages and food riots in several countries and resulting in the fall of the Haitian government. Russia has ordered an export ban until the end of the year and Ukraine is said to be considering one as well.

Review Article – Malaysia’s strategic food security approach, Tey Y.S.

Institute of Agricultural and Food Policy Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia (2010)

Actions taken in response to the food crisis in the selected Asian countries have worked out well and produced promising outcomes from a combination of availability, accessibility, utilization, and stability aspects in food security. In greater discussion, Malaysia weighted more on availability aspect in food security by introducing more short- and long-term policy measures for boosting paddy and rice production, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak. However, much of the unhappiness and disequilibrium in the local paddy and rice market were created due to irrational extensive intervention of the Miller Subsidy and Beras Nasional programmes in the nation. Many of the policy measures target at area expansion and productivity but it was suggested that the dominant

path to achieve the targeted SSL is through R&D at specialized and committed paddy and rice research centre. Alternatively, the country may need to re-evaluate its long-served self-sufficiency approach.

　

MALAYSIAN-GERMAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY, MARKET WATCH 2009 – THE FOOD INDUSTRY

The recent rapid increase in international food prices posed serious concerns around the world. According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the food price index climbed 44% in the first half of 2008, relative to the corresponding figure last year. In June 2008, the price index for cereals escalated 274%, oil and fats 292%, sugar 156%, meat 135%, as well as dairy 263%. The raising prices, which translate into higher food bills, widened the trade deficit, placing a heavy burden on developing countries. The World Bank estimates that the doubling of food prices over the last three years not only could push 100 million people deeper into poverty but also can triggered unrest in some developing countries, creating social and political instability.

The upward pressure on food prices will likely persist over the next years and the era of cheap food prices and sanguinity about food security may be over. Food price inflation will erode purchasing power, increasing the possibility of food deprivation and malnutrition. Therefore, it is necessary for the global community, national governments and other stakeholders to take remedial measures to reduce food prices as well as to mitigate the negative effects of rising food prices. Over the long run, better infrastructure as well as more research and investments should be channelled into the agriculture sector to increase food production.

I could keep adding excerpts all night, all with the same message. Become self sufficient or prepare for massive trouble. The competition for food will be as intense between nations as it will be between individuals.

The urban poor, the displaced multitudes, the millions of legal and illegal immigrants, the homeless, the destitute, the hundreds of thousands of rural folks tending cash crops (palm oil,rubber) basically anyone that falls in the lower rungs of society will arrive at a point where they will say enough is enough.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Hoarding will not be an option, it will just hasten the flash point. Hoarders are usually the first targets, be they innocent retailers or selfish individuals.

Write to your ADUN’s and MP’s, and ask them to study the food situation and guarantee that your area will be self sufficient, and when they can’t, ask them what they are planning to do about it. There is little hope in central policies in this matter, local governments will have to be forced to allow fallow land to be worked while there is still a time buffer.

If you can’t tell one end of the cangkul from the other, or even if you can, try the Fukuoka farming method, three days of work to support an individuals calorie needs for a year. It does not get any easier than that.

Fukuoka has also consistently produced the highest yields-per-acre of rice in Japan, and quite possibly the highest yields in the world, with continuous cultivation (no fallow periods) and no fertilizers, natural or artificial. There is no tilling of soil, minimal weeding, minimal pest control, no irrigation, and not much else being done either (Nathan Lewis).Every calorie that we become self sufficient in is a calorie that becomes available to another.

Vegetarianism, or better still, veganism, even for one day a week, will reduce the feed demand for livestock, releasing the grains for human consumption down the road.

Do not put much faith in the 45 day rice stockpile the government has planned. 45 days is just not long enough for us to grow alternatives for our needs, nature usually takes a little longer to give us her yields. But 45 days will be enough for the wealthy to make good their escape before the shit really hits the fan.

I personally have little faith in politicians or bureaucrats taking the food security question seriously. If the upper two thirds of Malaysian society choose to do the same, expecting that someone will come along and wave a magic wand to make the problem disappear, then all I can say is that you lot deserve each other.

　

Warning

“Remember this,” Tyler said. “The people you’re trying to step on, we’re everyone you depend on. We’re the people who do your laundry and cook your food and serve your dinner. We make your bed. We guard you while you’re asleep. We drive the ambulances. We direct your call. We are cooks and taxi drivers and we know everything about you. We process your insurance claims and credit card charges. We control every part of your life. “We are the middle children of history, raised by television to believe that someday we’ll be millionaires and movie stars and rock stars, but we won’t. And we’re just learning this fact,” Tyler said. “So don’t fuck with us.”

CHUCK PALAHNIUK.

Malaysian

Letter from a Malaysian

Confession of a Malaysian

There is a child born in this country every 58 seconds.

There is a child drawing it’s first breath while we sit here and hunt, armed with our prejudices and stereotypes, while we take aim at those that profess faiths we do not share, while we run mental check lists on whether someone can be considered as a friend or a foe, sometimes on nothing more than the slant of the eyes or the shade of the skin. We pick our battles according to who the victims are, letting those that are unlike us be taken without a whisper of protest.

We have lost the ability to see real threats, because we have become accustomed to seeing threats in everyone that does not look or think like “us”.

We play into the hands of those that control us, like fools, and call ourselves heroes.

Our greatest threats are these.

We have not secured any form of self sufficiency in food. We forget that food production is not like flipping switches in a factory, mother nature has to play ball, and shortages can bring down governments faster than we can put them into power. There is a shortage now, we just haven’t felt the effects yet.

We have brainwashed ourselves into accepting the paper the government prints, the very government we consider as corrupt to the core, as near permanent stores of value. We blithely ignore this elephant in the room; I doubt if the elephant will afford us the same courtesy.

We have switched places with the politicians, and consider them as masters, and as untouchable. The Road to Serfdom indeed. Witness the furore at any attempt to augment the ranks of the elected representatives from the ranks of the intelligentsia. We deem it correct to rate ideology above ability.

We focus on domestic and sectarian battles, while ignoring the clear threat of a major war or two elsewhere. Please don’t go ‘huh?’ at this statement, gentle reader.

Our greatest threat is our collective ignorance, and our common blindness.

My confession is this, I place little hope in the actions of the majority to safeguard the future of this country, and of it’s children.

“This Malaysian (sic) government — what is it but a tradition, though a recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but each instant losing some of its integrity? It has not the vitality and force of a single living man; for a single man can bend it to his will. It is a sort of wooden gun to the people themselves……….All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions;….. The character of the voters is not staked. I cast my vote, perchance, as I think right; but I am not vitally concerned that that right should prevail. I am willing to leave it to the majority. Its obligation, therefore, never exceeds that of expediency…..It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of masses of men.”

~adapted from Henry Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience”

Malaysian.

http://malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/letterssurat/33754-confession-of-a-malaysian-

Foreign Investors Eyeing Malaysia!

 

Foreign Investors Eyeing Malaysia!

 

This could be good news or bad news. The reader has to be the judge.

 

RICS Global Distressed Property Monitor, a quarterly guide to the developing trends in the commercial property investment and occupier market, reports that Malaysia topped the list for enquiries into distressed property listings from specialist funds, with the net balance improving from +22 to +47.

 

Specialist Funds are one of the places where the ‘smart money’ sits and waits for opportunities, as opposed to the other type of money which just runs with the herd. The specialist funds are not rushing in yet, but their collective interest level in Malaysian distressed commercial properties is twice the amount of said properties that fell into the market in the last quarter.

 

A distressed property is defined as a property that is under a foreclosure order or is advertised for sale by its mortgagee (the real owner of the property aka The Bank). Distressed properties usually fetch a price that is below market value. Note that in a typical real estate cycle, non-residential (commercial & industrial) real estate follows residential trends with a time lag of about 5 quarters (the historical range is 3-8 quarters).

 

This raises some questions.

1. Why is the ‘smart money’ eyeing something which many of us believe has not happened yet, or as some believe, will never happen?

2. Why is Malaysia ahead of all other countries and property markets, sitting squarely on the bullseye?

3. If the smart money is already targetting the distressed commercial real estate sector, what is the story with the residential market then?

4. Or is this just a lagging response to the minor house price correction from Q4 2007 to Q3 2008?

 

The answer is important because many subscribe to this belief,“housing provides the only feasible investment opportunity during crisis…“ ( Source: REHDA presentation slides). And this can set us up for a meltdown if we ignore the warning signs that may or may not be out there.

 

A visit to the latest BNM banking statistic reports gives the following picture. This is the best available after wading through the heaps of numbers there, please bear with them, or skip the numbers and just read the conclusions

 

Banking System:Loans Disbursed By Sector (RM million)

 

SELECTED SECTOR	YEAR TO DATE	2009 TOTAL	Y-O-Y % CHANGE	SECTOR AS % OF 2009 TOTAL	SECTOR AS % OF YTD TOTAL
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY	31366.2	59505.4	+ 5.4	9.0	8.7
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY	17029.5	26346.5	+29.3	4.0	4.7
TRANSPORT VEHICLES	24073.2	40333.6	+ 19.0	6.1	6.9
CREDIT CARD	39168.1	72090.7	+8.6	10.9	10.8
TOTAL ALL SECTORS	359592.3	656958.5	+9.5	-	-

 

 

 

Banking System: Loans Repaid By Sector (RM million)

 

SELECTED SECTOR	YEAR TO DATE	2009 TOTAL	Y-O-Y % CHANGE	SECTOR AS % OF 2009 TOTAL	SECTOR AS % OF YTD TOTAL
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY	22221.3	44591.9	-1.0	7.5	7.0
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY	11051.6	20406.0	+8.3	3.4	3.4
TRANSPORT VEHICLES	20304.1	37599.4	+8.0	6.3	6.4
CREDIT CARD	40774.9	74147.6	+10	12.5	12.8
TOTAL ALL SECTORS	316275.4	595202.3	+6.2	-	-

 

Borrowers are repaying most of their debts at a higher rate than before, except in the residential sector, which has fallen -7.2% in real terms (the nominal fall and the shortfall from the aggregate increase y-o-y).

 

The data for the repayment by type is incomplete at BNM, but with what is available, the numbers show that the mortgage delinquency rate amongst borrowers from the lower end of the spectrum is falling, and increasing at the higher end. This might seem contrary to logic until you consider that the rich are far more ruthless when it comes to their investments, they will just walk away,but the working class Joe’s will scrimp and suffer to meet their obligations.

 

The next question is whether the Banks are sitting on the foreclosed inventory as is happening in the West in an effort to keep valuations high enough so that more will enter into debt with them?

 

If delinquency rates are increasing at the upper spectrum of the housing market, we should see a decrease in mortgages applied and approved, that is not the case. “New bookings are leading a boost in home loan application. 61% reported mortgage applications for residential properties rose. Approval for housing loans are equally appealing with 50% confirmed that approval of such loans have increased.” (REHDA)

 

In terms of supply, 57% of developers had new launches in H1 2010, as compared to 37% in H2 2009.The best part is that new launches for apartments, condominiums, semi-D’s and bungalows have increased the most. Semi-D/Bungalow from 19% in H2 2009 to 28% of all launches in H1 2010. (REHDA)

 

Where does this put us in the real estate cycle? The reader has to be the judge.

 

The Stages of the Real Estate Cycle

1. Population growth and commercial growth at the early stage of the economic cycle, often supported by government encouragement/ low interest rates, creates an increase in the demand for housing and commercial buildings in excess of current supply.

2. It takes time for construction to gear up. This construction increases demand for vacant land. Bank loans are attracted to construction and real estate sales as prices begin to rise.

3. As vacant land prices rise a boom in land develops, leading to sub-divisions and speculative resale.

4. The real estate cycle peak is characterized by a high volume of subdivision and sales.

5. Construction catches up with demand and a small surplus is created. Rents can’t go up enough to support the higher property costs, making new construction and rental property investment unprofitable. Land values start to adjust downwards, the bubble/mania is broken.

6. Rising interest rates hurt confidence and profits, adding to the downwards pressure on prices. Real estate enters a ‘hanging’ slow phase. Asking prices stay high but there are few buyers. Building, subdivisions, and speculation drops quickly. Sometimes a panic or crash begins at this point; often the market just slowly dies. Many keep speculating during this phase as they’re unaware of the market having turned.

7. Real estate starts to get marked down in price. This tends to take quite a while as owners tend to cling to mortgaged property longer than they would to other assets, like shares. Foreclosures rise but the foreclosure process is not quick.

8. Mortgage costs/interest rates are higher, rents decline, and vacancies increase. The market is dying rapidly. Foreclosures increase; speculators and investors are forced to sell as the capital value of their property decreases below lending margins and rents decrease below holding costs.

9. The bottom of the market has the following characteristics: high vacancies, low construction rates, foreclosures and no speculation. Debt must be written off and properties sell at a deep discount. Only those who entered stage 6 with little or no debt survive to buy the dramatically discounted properties.

(http://www.nowandfutures.com/real_estate.html)

 

A quick look at the US, as there is no market better studied than that.

Look at housing. The facts are grim. This is from Charles Hugh Smith:

About two-thirds of U.S. households own a house (75 million); 51 million have a mortgage and 24 million own homes free and clear (no mortgage). Most of the other 36 million households are moderate/low income and have limited or no access to credit and limited or no assets.

If we look up all the gory details in the fed Flow of Funds, we find that household real estate fell from $23 trillion in 2006 to $16.5 trillion at the end of 2009. That is a decline of $6.5 trillion, more than half the total $11 trillion lost in the credit/housing bust. Home mortgages have fallen a negligible amount, from $10.48 trillion in 2007 to $10.26 trillion at the end of 2009. As of the end of 2009, total equity in household real estate was a paltry $6.24 trillion of which about $5.25 trillion was held in free-and-clear homes (32% of all household real estate, i.e. 32% of $16.5 trillion).

That leaves about $1 trillion–a mere 1.85% of the nation’s total net worth– of equity in the 51 million homes with mortgages. …$6 trillion in wealth is gone

(“What we know–and don’t want to know– about housing”, Charles Hugh Smith, of two minds.com)

Are we going to have a bust in the property market? Maybe it’s not all bad news, if we look at the “Property Recommendations Mid 2010″ by Global Property Guide.

 

” With a slightly sinking feeling, we make the following recommendations:

Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur is relatively low cost, has good yields, and low transaction costs. Capital gains taxes are low but income taxes are high. The worry is high capital flight, which indicates that something is amiss in Malaysia’s economic environment.“

 

Apart from this recommendation, and another one meant for the super rich who are looking for multi million dollar properties, we are absent from everywhere else. The latest focus is on Colombia, Turkey, South Africa, Egypt, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia as far as emerging markets go, apart from the usual suspects i.e BRIC.

 

Conclusion:

 

A double dip in the global economy, which is looking like a sure thing, will not see FDI inflows in the areas we would like, but will see money come in to snap up properties at fire sale prices. The beneficiaries are the Banks, the victims will be all of us.

 

I wish I could send some strongly worded questions to the Shadow Minister for Housing, does anyone know who he/she is, and where he/she is hiding?

 

Jeevindra Kumar

 

Sources: BNM, REHDA, RICS, marketoracle.co.uk

 http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/letterssurat/33586-foreign-investors-eyeing-malaysia-

Wealth management on a tight budget

It’s a given that the wealthy have more options to consider when it comes to growing and protecting their wealth. But that is not an excuse for those of us with limited resources to do nothing.

1. Get out of debt. Paying off your debts is a form of savings, and in a deflationary scenario, debt is a killer.

2. 6 to 12 months of expenses in cash. Calculate how much you will need on a monthly basis to pay all bills and living expenses. Have a kitty for that in cash. Do not dip into this kitty for any reason that is not an emergency, and if you do, top it back again as soon as you can.

3. Even if all you have left after doing the above is just RM 1000 in excess cash, convert it into either gold or silver. The foundation of your wealth must always be built upon a 7 – 15% base of noble metals. There is a premium when you purchase investment quality Gold and Silver (coins, bullion, bars), so it will be cheaper and in some ways more prudent to substitute jewellery for coins. The easiest ways to do this will be through Ebay for silver, which you can sometimes get at no premium to spot market prices, and buying used jewellery from pawn shops, as you will be paying only for the gold content and not for the workmanship. I have also seen silver jewellery being sold at a discount in shopping malls , so always be on the lookout for a bargain. Store in a secure location, don’t walk around with them.

4. If you want a more active portfolio, and have an understanding of the underlying market, you can also opt to hold undervalued currencies which can give returns in excess of 10% p.a. with little effort. Right now the Sterling looks the best bet in the short-term. If you want to hold a currency for the long-term, the Swiss franc is the best bet as it is the only ‘major’ currency where the notes in circulation are balanced by gold reserves to nearly 100%. It is also the darling of the wealthy in times of crisis, and has a proactive citizenry who do not let the Swiss Central Bank get away with any hanky panky.

5. Do not, in any way, shape or form, follow the herd. By this I mean do not jump into whatever asset class the general public is flying to at any point in time. In Malaysia right now, real estate is the current darling. This is driven by credit (mortgages) and while valuations can still go up, a double dip which looks more and more likely in the global economy will squeeze credit, and many property ‘flippers’ who have not taken anything off the table will find themselves in the same boat as millions all over the world. The time to get into properties, just like any other asset class, is when the general public won’t touch it with a ten foot pole.

6. Read. There are tremendous changes happening right now. And knowledge will help you find ways to protect your wealth from external factors. The best website at the moment is http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/, try to read at least one article a day. Malaysians in general suffer the same mentality as others, in that they think,”it won’t happen to me”. Trust me it will.

7. Don’t panic. This ties up with being well-informed. Expect that change will happen, but do not panic when it does. Every right action you take today will show its true results at some point in the future.

8. I am truly sorry that the best options out there are beyond the reach of us normal folk, but that is the way things are. The world is not fair, but that is not a reason to just roll over and play dead.

Good luck and God Bless.

Jeevindra Kumar

Understanding Today’s Economy

 

UNDERSTANDING TODAY’S ECONOMY

The global monetary systems are broken. This simply means that most, if not all fiat currencies, or currencies by decree (the polite term for a politicians promise), are entering the twilight of their existence.

But two hostile forces are pulling in opposite directions, and the game will be played out according to who wins first, and who wins second.

The citizens of the world are pulling the economy into a deflationary phase; spooked by the ineptitude of the authorities, they have entered the default mode of financial survival, “when uncertain, save money, spend less, lend less, reduce borrowings, hold cash above all else”. Good common sense, except that when too many follow these rules, it reduces prices of goods and services as it becomes more difficult to part a man from his dollar; the prices of real assets drop, incomes will fall with falling prices as profit margins are reduced, which in turn reduces the number of available jobs because of slower or negative business growth and expansion, which makes things worse, which reinforces the whole loop.

In the opposing corner are the sovereign governments, nearly all of whom are into debt at levels never before seen, and the only way out for them is to be able to monetise all the debt, and hyper inflate their respective “currencies by decree” until the repayment of debt is done with little more than worthless coloured paper.

They also want to get re-elected, so it is not as simple as running the printing presses at maximum speed, as that will just bring the lynch mobs to their doorsteps before they can make good their escape.

While this silent, but massive battle plays out, we see another significant development coming into play. The slow but sure ascent of Gold, and it’s sidekick, Silver, back into contention as the money of choice for not only the citizens, but the governments that rule over them as well, witness the Central Banks buying physical Gold once again after decades of selling the stuff from their coffers.

Gold was unceremoniously kicked from its pedestal in 1971 by Nixon, when he shut the Gold window which allowed holders of US Dollar bills to convert them into physical Gold,essentially decoupling all currencies from Gold.

So now we have the citizens of the world, holding inflation at bay with one hand, while the other hand converts the paper cash it holds into Gold and Silver.

While the Citizens are winning at the moment, the time will come when hyper inflation will have to win, as the credit bubble can only de leverage to a certain point, after which Governments have to choose between defaulting on their debts directly like Argentina did in 2002, or monetise the debt and pay it off.

Citizens do not need a Government to survive, but no Government can survive without Citizens, because it’s the Citizens who support the Governments with their taxes and give them control through their votes. Hyper inflation and continued mismanagement will see governments tumble like bowling pins.

 

“The Breakup of the United States”, by Michael S Rozeff, Jul 26, 2010

“Switzerland Under Siege, Free Markets May Yet Save the Swiss Franc” by Axel Merk, Jul 20, 2010

“Governments Squandering the Wealth of Generations” by David Galland, Jul 16, 2010

 

Some events can push the situation off the cliff overnight, for example;

“Government Confiscation of Gold: It Happened Before — Could It Happen Again?“, by J D Seagraves

 

 

So, what is the best we can hope for here in Malaysia?

Force intellectuals into office, and hold a gun to their heads until they sort things out, gets my vote.

“The Disappearing Intellectual in the Age of Economic Darwinism” , Henry A. Giroux , Global Research, Jul 13, 2010

 

 

Jeevindra Kumar