http://www.taoyuan-nights.com ... Life in Taoyuan, Taiwan. Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:44:41 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en News just in: Taiwanese inflation hits 6% (officially, of course - in the real world outside of politics, it's far worse). Higher inflation means that lenders require higher interest rates to compensate them for the devaluation of the money they are lending - or they simply don't lend. And higher ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/222 Someone once said, history never repeats, but it does rhyme. Here is what happened in Tokyo and Hong Kong when their property prices zoomed in the way that Taipei's have. I believe that in 'house-price-relative-to-earnings' terms, Taipei has recently exceeded the heights of these graphs. So, dear reader, I show ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/221 Let's first take a look at the Taiwanese Government's website about investing in Taiwan. "Taiwan's housing prices will rise 5-10% annually through 2010 at least, according to construction company and real estate brokerage executives speaking at a "real estate summit meeting" sponsored by the Taiwanese real estate magazine Zhu Zhan ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/220 Scott Sommers has trapped Taiwan's bloggers on his blog. Now, it's up to you to rescue them. Bravely find them on the page using your mouse, then lead the bloggers of Taiwan to freedom via the Escape Zone! Click here to begin! (Apologies, Scott... it was too tempting) http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/219 The Taipei Times refers to housing troubles in the north of Taiwan... Finally, it seems like we're there. The number of house sales is continuing to collapse (minus 15% taipei, minus 30% taichung in just one month) at what should be one of the best times of year for sales in ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/218 My mum came to Taiwan for 2 weeks recently to visit me and see a little of the island. She had a great time - all my friends were really nice to her, and helped me to show her some cool places. I saw a few new places myself, too.. Mum, Leila, ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/217 I wrote last October that I thought Shanghai's stockmarket had reached truly epic levels of silliness, with price to earnings ratios being many times higher than that of developed countries, but with considerably higher risks and not obviously higher rewards. Since that post, the Shanghai stockmarket has fallen almost 50%. The FT ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/216 I wrote a post about how it seems that the desire for friendship, purely for the sake of friendship itself, sometimes seems to be considered shameful in Taiwanese society. Instead, it feels like you must have some 'justification' for seeking contact with other people - research, language exchange, employment or ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/213 This can be found near Chihkan Fort, Tainan... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/212 Don't worry, this blog is still alive, and so am I. However, I have an illness that has meant I've been spending a little time in hospital, and getting plenty of rest. I'll post more as the doctors find out more about the illness. I can say though that the ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/211 ETFs - Exchange Traded Funds - are something that I've suggested to all my friends, as a wonderful way to invest money in the stockmarket without having to learn much about shares, and without being screwed over by typical mutual fund charges. An ETF is just a form of index ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/210 Presently, the Red House in Ximen district is hosting a digital art exhibition, "Openplay", which is free for the public to visit. The artwork includes graphical, audio, video, physical and interactive exhibits. The exhibition is open until Sunday, from 2pm in the afternoon till 10pm in the evening (Saturday) or ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/209 The wonderful people at Tealit beat me to it this month: 41292387 (match all the digits for the grand prize of $2 million NTD). 32971009 (prizes for matching 3 or more digits starting at the right hand side). 39376966 (prizes for matching 3 or more digits starting at the right hand side). 50336841 (prizes ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/208 The Taipei times has an interesting article today about franchising in Taiwan. For those of you who don't live in Taiwan, it might be useful to know that the country is nuts for franchising. Every street seems to have the same set of shops. I didn't realised that these tiny ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/207 Michael Turton recently visited Ming Chuan University's Taoyuan campus, to give a special lecture about his views on Internet Journalism and Social Activism. Scott Sommers was there too, to join in the fun. Read more about his experience (and see some wonderful photos) here! Thanks Michael! Michael, Scott, Graeme (thanks to ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/206 The Financial Times today published an article by Nassim Taleb which points out the sheer stupidity of the bulk of modern financial 'theory'. NNT is one of the few authors in Finance I take seriously; the others being Warren Buffett, and Benjamin Graham. His books, 'Fooled by Randomness' and ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/205 Title says it all. Click here http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/204 You may remember that I blogged a few times about how crazy the Shanghai stockmarket had become, back in March. Well.... it's not been sitting around twiddling its thumbs. It's now a full 70% more crazy. The profits being reported are now largely fictitious. Companies are reporting increases in shareprices ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/203 94706755 (match all the digits for the grand prize of $2 million NTD). 01151187 (prizes for matching 3 or more digits starting at the right hand side). 20658657 (prizes for matching 3 or more digits starting at the right hand side). 76860639 (prizes for matching 3 or more digits starting at the right ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/202 1 minute of serious wobblyness, and 3 minutes of bouncyness here in Taoyuan. Here are links to the data on the earthquake - biggest we've had for a few months. CWB1, CWB2 CWB1 (Chinese), CWB2 (Chinese) USGS As usual, I have lots of respect for the incredible Taiwanese engineers that have built an electrical grid ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/200 Having just returned from a trip to the UK, I was stunned to find that in just 2-3 weeks, prices have shot up on a number of items I typically buy. Fruit and vegetables: subjectively, seem to be about 10% more expensive. Yoghurt drinks: up 20%. Bus travel: From $15, to $18 - ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/199 The Economist talks about 'underground' Chinese banks. This opens the possibility that black market banking is allowing China's economy to rage, even as the Chinese government tries to rein it back in. More Asian economics over at toshou... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/198 Do you have an Apple Mac or an iPod? Then this may be useful if you ever need to get it repaired. Although there are a number of Apple stores in Taiwan, most of them do not offer a repair service themselves. Instead, they will accept your damaged Mac or ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/194 While walking around a buxiban area near Taipei Main Station, I came across what I think was a school, which had a giant map on the wall of the English-speaking countries of the world. As you can see, it's quite interesting and unusual. Map of the UK. Today's Lesson: The capital cities ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/195 From the Taipei Times, July 31 2007: New report paints mixed picture for housing market By Jessie Ho and Amber Chung, Tuesday, Jul 31, 2007, Page 12 The housing market continued to boom in the second quarter as both the value and quantity of properties for sale increased, but whether ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/196 Many of you will have heard of the 'One Laptop Per Child' $99 laptop project. I've had my eye on the OLPC for some time, but it was never clear that I would ever be able to actually buy one. Unfortunately (for me), the OLPC project is targetting developing countries, ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/192 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNO6G4ApJQY It seems this is a genuine 'news' report from the US shown on Fox. Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/193 "Happy Corner is then performed along with a song parodying Happy Birthday to You, with the lyrics changed to "Happy Corner to You". Happy Corner. It's not what you might think. More here at the Taipei Times. Other blogs: Michael Turton on insider trading in Taiwan. DoubtingToShou on the joys of the recent ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/191 Here are some thoughts I've been musing over for many months, since I first arrived in this country. Point 1: Old people are screwed. Can't get a good return from the bank on their lifelong savings, because of low interest rates. Can't effectively invest in assets like housing and stocks (prices ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/189 28179328 (match all the digits for the grand prize of $2 million NTD). 18220444 (prizes for matching 3 or more digits starting at the right hand side). 26888640 (prizes for matching 3 or more digits starting at the right hand side). 37661297 (prizes for matching 3 or more digits starting at the right ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/188 Ok, this is just for fun - stick with it, and you will see just how crazy the world of finance can seem. 1) Recently, a consortium of banks (Fortis, Santander, and RBS) offered £48 billion to buy ABN Amro. 2) According to the words of RBS's CEO, Fred Goodwin: RBS has ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/190 You can now easily find the Nintendo Wii in Taipei - for example, in K-mall (near the Taipei Main Station) and also at malls nearby many MRT stations. The normal Wii is typically priced at $7999 NTD. If you look around, you should be able to find places selling it ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/187 Do you ever find yourself wanting to access your email from both home and the office - but at the same time, hating the crappy webmail client that seems like the only way of doing it? In fact, there is a much nicer solution than 'POP3' email (outlook express), or ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/186 I recently came across this interesting collection of photos of unusual protests in South Korea. http://www.who-sucks.com/people/the-exciting-world-of-south-korean-protests I wonder, has anyone ever compiled a compendium of unusual Taiwanese protests? http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/185 Sometimes, when you're talking about investing, you use the word 'friction' to describe the costs that are associated with using stockmarkets. For example, if you're investing in the US, Taiwan, or anywhere else, you must pay a stockbroker money to buy or sell shares, and move money and share ownership ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/183 Take a look here and consider the reality that underlies each change of the digits. http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/182 I believe this vehicle to be the preliminary field test of a new, twin-barrel, single-turret 'stealth tank' designed to merge almost invisibly with civilian traffic in Taiwan. The alternative explanation is simply too stupid to be true. And yet people wonder why I travel by bus rather than scooter. http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/181 Two weeks ago, I was in the local branch of a major bank here in Taiwan. I had just finished changing some coins into notes, and was walking out of the bank. As I did so, a woman in a very smart black suit (who had been standing near the ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/180 Taiwanese scooter helmets. A baby kitten with poo on its face. Students dancing. http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/170 Scene: Mu walking down street on hot day. Mu: (thinks) Ah! A tea shop. I'll get myself a nice cup of tea. Mu: Hey there. Can I have a cup of lemon green tea please? Guy: Sorry? Mu: Qing, yi ge li mon lu cha. Guy: Oh, ok, lemon green tea. ... Guy: You want some sugar? Mu: ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/168 Funny things are afoot. In the last month, and particularly the last few days, the value of US debt started dropping very sharply. You can see this on the Swaprates site I mentioned yesterday - look at the US extended rates. There is a significant change in financial press sentiment ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/179 This is for those of you whose hearts don't leap with joy at the mere thought of calculating the implied market expectations of future rates. Basically it's an easy way to get access to market prices for future lending rates. In other words: what are the banks 'betting' that interest ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/178 The Financial Times published an interesting story today, suggesting that China is imitating Taiwan in its stockmarket lunacy. The anecdotes related in the FT article are quite remarkable; I wish I could have seen it in person. "Having taken 25 years to reach 1,000 in late 1986, the Taiwan Stock Exchange ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/177 News just in: It's NOT a whole new paradigm after all. LOL. "Hmm. That's not right. I'm pretty sure the wiggly line thing isn't meant to do that. I'm sure it will be OK though. Yeah, it'll be OK. I'll just keep watching it for a while though. Just in case." http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/176 PRC government triples the tax rate on trading shares (0.3% stamp duty from 0.1%). Shanghai market index drops 6%. Shanghai stockbrokers at a loss trying to explain the concept of a market fall to recent joiners who have only ever seen the market go up. Don't worry lads ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/175 Take a look here. Thanks to www.re-discovery.org! http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/174 Several newspapers published a syndicated article recently, based on a survey of investor* behaviour in the Shanghai market (SSE). I've already talked about how completely fracked up these folk are, and I think the numbers in this article are a particularly excellent quantitive demonstration of this fact. ChinaHR.com, a Web-based job ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/172 While perusing the Taipei Times yesterday, I noticed that the Taiwanese government has announced they wish to push the Taiwan banking sector into a wave of consolidation. Consolidation just means "companies buying each other out" or "merging together to form bigger companies". The aim is to produce some Taiwanese heavyweight ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/171 20250504 (match all the digits for the grand prize of $2 million NTD). 11489122 (prizes for matching 3 or more digits starting at the right hand side). 13311551 (prizes for matching 3 or more digits starting at the right hand side). 35345410 ... http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/173 Sunset over Taoyuan. Pastel mountains. Taoyuan, the dark city. http://www.taoyuan-nights.com/archives/169