From pension to bond

"The prevailing reasoning in the bond market went like this: stock prices were lower; therefore people were less wealthy; therefore people would consume less; therefore the economy would slow down; therefore the inflation would go down; therefore interest rates would fall; therefore bond prices should rise. So they did."

"My client wanted to take a big risk by wagering a large sum of money on German bonds rising. He was therefore the "buyer" of risk. Alexander and I created a security, called a "warrant", or a "call option", which was a means of transferring risk from one party to another. In buying our warrant, risk-averse investors from around the world would be, in effect, selling us risk...... The difference between what we paid cautious investors for the risk, and what we sold it to my customer for would be our profits."

"The salesmen blamed the traders, and the traders blamed the salesman. Why couldn't we sell their bonds to that many investors, the traders wanted to know. Why could not they find bonds that weren't so embarrassingly awful, the salesmen wanted to know."

Excerpts from Liar's Poker, Michael Lewis

Fun in Lego

Making popcorn? Simple!

Still going on?!

Yummy, scrummy, in my tummy

Custard apple! It tastes so delicious, creamy, juicy and sweet! (Offered from our riverford vegetable box.)

Stratford Upon Avon: Shakespeare's place

              

Zoom, zoom, see how many windows on the wall indeed?

Art is everywhere in our lives! 

Montpellier, Carcassonne, Grotte de Demoisselles

  

Why do we work so hard?

"And I begin to understand the nature of the trouble I'm having communicating to my parents precisely why what I'm doing appeals to me. They are asking me about a job. I am thinking about identity, community, purpose - the things that provide meaning and motivation. I am talking about my life."
(Cited from Ryan Avent's article "Why do we work so hard?").

Beach Holiday in Sanya

(Pictures taken in 2016 CNY time)

How would you define a human generation?

25 to 30  years, from the birth of a parent to the birth of their child?
I prefer that it is defined as "one generation plants the trees, so the next one can sit in their shade".