We are always behind time.

During schooling times
           I value times after school !

During National Service
           I value the time when i book-out !

During work
           I value my weekends !

Haze please go away

Haze haze go away
Come again another day
Little Yan Cai want to play

Logical explanation why the Banking and Finance Industry pay well

I am an ex-engineer working in a bank as some calls it front office treasury role.

As for the question on why engineers are lowly paid compared to bankers, it all boils down how much money can you bring to the firm.

E.g. I used to work as R&D engineer, and I work together wih 10+ R&D engineers to innovate 1 product, and a assembly line with another set of product engineers, technicans and factory workers to produce the finished product. Besides of the huge human resources requirements, there are large capital expenditures e.g. machines, factories. The margin is low with high overheads (engineer pay is one major overhead).

In a bank on financial markets, there is product developement team called the quants, abt 3-4 people with phd in maths, who comes up with new structured products and risk management solutions, a desk of 3 traders who manage the risks, a few sales to push the product. There is a middle/back office settling the trades, etc. For a relative small operations, the pnl can be enormous at roughly 5% of volume, thus can be around USD25mio/yr. Divide the bounty between 5-10 FO staff, and you can see how much bonus they get.

http://forums.salary.sg/education-personal-growth/646-engineering-technology-careers-not-valued-singapore-high-cost-low-tech-4.html

What a weekend !!!

1. Waited 2hs for dinner on Friday
2. Waited 1h for dinner on Saturday
3. ate seafood risotto
4. ate parma ham pizza Ma Ma Miaa 
5. Visited Universal Studio Singapore and did not take any photos
6. first time experiencing fireworks upclose
7. explore a world of candies at Candilcious
8. drank an expensive and extremely sweet drink.
9. watching a movie about idiots
10. first visit to kite shop
11. bought my first kite, from a friend
12. watching my friend's new bought kite stuck on the tree in ECP.

The only impressive factor of Universal Studio Singapore is its fireworks, more beautiful than NDP period. The theme park is so small.

What is new in iPhone 5

Source:
http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/tech-fun/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/iphone51.png

Interesting

Source: http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/tech-fun/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/addiction1.png

I thought Shell was the largest ?

The offering has made Petrobras the third largest oil company in the world after US-based ExxonMobil and PetroChina.

Source: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20100928/tts-brazil-oil-stocks-company-petrobras-c1b2fc3.html

WTF !!!

NEW YORK (AFP) - – Citigroup's top new banker, who defected from Swiss rival UBS AG earlier this month, could get a salary of up to 30 million dollars a year, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

Stephen Trauber, a banker specialized in the energy sector, has secured the lucrative three-year pay package, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Source: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20100927/tts-us-banking-company-citi-salary-c1b2fc3.html

How much is the price for privacy and tranquility?

USD$250, 000 for a week stay on 11 islands owned by world renowned magician "David Copperfield'".

Famous guests that stayed here as provided by David Copperfield.

- The famous guy in the IT industry
- The famous tv host in America.