The U.S. economy added 243,000 jobs in January, far exceeding expectations and lifting the Dow to a four-year high yesterday. Amid this cheer, there is one employee group that is known for completely goofing up with their projections rather consistently — that of the analyst community. Either companies miss their estimates or far exceed them. They have been getting it all wrong all the time.

When they cannot do their job right, why do we need them at all.  Until the end of last year, the naysayers  kept harping on how the world is going downhill economically, trying to advice investors to keep away from the markets. But that is only for gullible investors, not for themselves! Those who did not heed their advice have profited and those who did must be ruing their missed opportunities.

Not just the Dow, all global markets have been hitting new highs despite all attempts by the so-called market watchers / researchers to drag them down. Who needs projections when accurate data are what we should be basing our investment strategies on!  There should be no room for fiction in the marketplace, only fact! Analysts — this is one community the world can live without!

G Joslin Vethakumar

“We are not embarrassed about our show. In fact, there is nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“There is no point talking about our performance.”

The above is just a sampling of some comments made at post-match press conferences by our cricketing stalwarts — such as Ashwin and Virat Kohli. In fact, newbie after newbie (Ishant Sharma as well) is allowed to be the spokesperson for India in Australia when that responsibility should be with the captain or any of the senior players in the team.

So it is a loss of face for India both on and off the field. In fact, the nonsense coming out of these juniors is more damaging for the country than their consistent failures. Defeats happen, so we should not go overboard with it – just as getting carried away by victories is not a sane approach.

If anything, what Ashwin has been saying regularly in Australia only shows they care little about how they play and more about the money they make. It is only Indian fans who stress themselves out by watchiing the mediocrity on display who should get embarrassed.

Either Dhoni and the seniors do not have the courage to face the media or they are deliberately trying to insult journalists by making them listen to the inanities coming from the juniormost cricketers on India’s behalf. A gag order against them will be in order.

G Joslin Vethakumar

But this year, Christmas decorations started being replaced by Chinese New Year crafts, blossoms, plants and trimmings as early as on December 27. At my office, the Christmas Tree was taken out on December 27 (the first working day after Christmas) and Lunar New Year ornamentation was in.

So was the scene in many shops and malls around Singapore though the Orchard Road Christmas glitter was intact on January 2.

This is partly because the Chinese New Year this time comes early – on January 23. This year is extra special as it is the Year of the Dragon.

It is only a new makeover as the festive mood will continue to linger and lift our spirits up.

G Joslin Vethakumar

Until yesterday I had not thought of making any New Year Resolution. But I made one after reading today’s Ex-Pat Files piece on New Year resolutions in The Straits Times – Do NOT waste time reading this kind of trash that the newspaper is notorious for!

Why should I have to read some silly writer’s meaningless personal story, and that on the sacrosanct Op-Ed page? My mistake, though – having read it! You cannot expect anything thought provoking from its band of puerile Asian journalists (barring some exceptions that include Rohit Brijnath).

No more fury on a New Year day, particularly after talking about spreading warmth at the beginning of this post!

I must, however, say that journalistic standards have slumped in the region where material joys have driven real talent away from this honourable profession.

Have a wonderful New Year everyone!

G Joslin Vethakumar

If that were to happen, we will have seen the last Christmas last week. We have seen several doomsday predictions in the past that have evaporated amid a lot of fuss but without any big damage.

Cosmos Regeneration: Incidentally, in today’s edition of The Straits Times, Mexico’s Ambassador in Singapore, writes that the ancient Mayans of his country did not predict the word would end in 2012. They, he claims, just predicted the end of the 13^th cycle, “b’ak’tun” of the Mayan calendar and the beginning of a new cycle in which the cosmos would regenerate.

For the superstition-inclined masses, this may spell good news as the world will rid itself of the unlucky “13” and beckon the arrival of a period of good fortunes. Some room for optimism there!

Visit Mexico: Because some seriousness is assigned to the Mayan prophecy, a “visit Mexico” campaign has already been launched and may pick up momentum in the year we are just ushering in. I spent much of 1999 in Mexico (Monterrey) and that is one of the best periods of my life as I made good friends there.

I have found Mexicans to be a genuinely warm and unpretentious people who lead a life of contentment, enjoying music, dance and drink. I would love to visit the place again, this time with my family. Not sure if it will happen in 2012, the year of the London Olympics.

The London Plague: Talking of London takes me back to 1666 (the year with the ominous “triple six”) when the bubonic plague struck the city, leaving more than a 100,000 people dead. The Great Fire of London the same year brought more trouble for its residents who feared the end of the world was near.

Reading Too Much?: History is replete with grim predictions of people reading too much into nature’s fury and man-made disasters. And, of course, the prophecies of Nostradamus have also received much attention. His predictions are nonetheless believed to cover thousands of years.

The following are some links I found online when I did a search for doomsday predictions. You will see some interesting information there.

http://www.rense.com/general53/endt.htm

http://morechristlike.com/failed-end-of-the-world-predictions/

http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~jamesf/Nfaqs.html

http://www.abhota.info/end3.htm

Not Balderdash: It is not sane to dismiss all prophecies as plain balderdash. Made centuries ago, they seem to indicate a scientific basis and are warning signals for the world to pay attention to.

Let us try not to harm nature, be mindful of such factors as global warming, and stay clear of killing each other based on religious or racial considerations (it happened in the U.K. last week when an Indian PG student was shot dead in something that is believed to be nothing but “hate crime”, reminiscent of some incidents in Australia the last few years.).

Unfortunately, almost always the youth are behind such hate crimes, and that has dangerous portents for the world. If that is allowed to persist, irrespective of whether the world meets its end or not, peace and harmony (or whatever that is left of it) will cease.

Humanity has a responsibility to let that not happen.

-G Joslin Vethakumar

I was hoping better sense will prevail at least after the recent visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Tamil Nadu, but that has only paved the way for more drama, bunkum and kolaveri (homicidal urge). Democracy does not mean the right to run berserk at the drop of a hat. It gives people the freedom to voice different perceptions in a cultured way.

For a change, I wish Tamilians will show a sense of balance when it comes to emotional outbursts from self-serving politicians and film gangs and look at issues dispassionately.  By the same stretch, Malayalees can reciprocate by thinking about others, too, and not just themselves. Even a learned man like Shashi Tharoor was unable to rise above parochialism on the issue.

Violence in different pockets of both the States over an issue that is best resolved by experts is abhorrent, to say the least.

- G Joslin Vethakumar

The joy of sending friends and relatives physical greeting cards is disappearing — the process of picking the right card for the right person and giving it some personalisation is itself fun. The electronic era is killing that habit.

Anyway, have a fun-filled Christmas.

One fallout of the recent breakdown in train services in Singapore is that SMRT has begun to get negative reports from analysts who predict accompanying maintenance costs can cut into the operator’s profits. That’s stating the obvious. Nothing meaningful can be expected from a breed that thrives on economic gloom.

I think Government-linked companies must not be allowed to list in stock exchanges. By jostling with the corporate stack in equity markets, they get too focused on profits and cost-cutting. This results in a reluctance to upgrade infrastructure and beef up staffing. Service standards become a casualty in the process.

I do not wish to make a big issue of the breakdown as it can happen anywhere. But generally SMRT response to faults has been appalling. It takes weeks for them to fix escalators in disrepair or faulty doors in train stations.

The Singapore government has a reputation of functioning like a business entity and doing anything that will boost its coffers. Making the country economically sound with a huge reserve pile is indeed a healthy strategy. But when service standards slump and the quality of life for residents takes a hit, it becomes questionable.

Population Growth: For instance, I feel the government has been mindlessly increasing the population of the country through a steady import of people from overseas. As a result, Singapore has become a crowded, overpopulated country. This congestion has affected the quality of life as residents have to battle with massive crowds wherever they go any time of the day. There are no indications that the injection of mass is about to abate either.

The government seems to go with the “more the merrier” notion, assuming a bigger population is good for businesses that can expect strong consumption rates.

One reason why no city in China or India figures in the list of the world’s most liveable places is that the overpopulation there affects the quality of life! On the contrary, the list of the world’s best places to live in is dominated by cities in Canada and Australia that are thinly populated and that makes the governments there serve them better with good healthcare and high-quality education.

G Joslin Vethakumar

Tracking the Dow, all Asian markets demonstrated bullishness as investors flocked back in today to push the indices higher. Asians always love to ape the West without a character of their own. Financial markets in the region are no exception.

So, analysts have yet again demonstrated that while they love to drag the markets down and profit from it they are not always successful at it. One excuse they always have, when they have been proved wrong, is that “indices may have shot up, but volumes were thin.” Another predictably classic statement from them is that the rally will only be temporary as the economic fundamentals have not changed. They will even play up non-events (North Korean leader’s death two days ago, for instance) to induce a slide.  Oh, how they love to see a crashing economy!

They are the ones who have made the stock markets a gambling den. It is best they shut up and let investors make their own decisions.

G Joslin Vethakumar

The people in Tamil Nadu have some uniquely interesting and intrinsic traits. While they are often seen as too self-centred with zero tolerance for people of other races, some facts show a different picture.

They made a Malayalee, MGR, a megastar and the country’s first chief minister from tinsel town. They hero-worship a Marathi from Karnataka, Rajinikanth, the reigning superstar, whose fans treat him like a God. Tamil fans even built a temple for Khusbhoo, a yesteryear actress from the North. I don’t think they can be easily dismissed as actions and outcomes arising from the craze they have for film stars. Non-Tamilians from other fields shine and thrive throughout the State..

Opportunistic Political Rascals: But the harmony gets jolted when opportunistic rascals try to take political capital out of issues that arouse regional sentiment. The people of the State get easily swayed and manipulated by political parties, making the world think that they are an insular breed with hatred for non-Tamilians when they are not. So, why do they lack the ability to view political issues objectively and NOT get carried away by divisive speech?

I am talking about the heat generated in both Tamil Nadu and the neighbouring State of Kerala over the Mullaiperiyar dam. It is an issue that is best left to experts rather than politicians who cannot think beyond their selfish interests.

Kanimozhi and Shashi Tharoor: On the one hand, Tamilians accord a heroine’s welcome, influenced by the DMK, to Kanimozhi, who was released recently from jail over her suspected role in the 2G scam. On the other, they go on a rampage attacking Keralites, assuming they are out to deny them their due share of water by calling for the dam to be decommissioned and building a new one.

The people of Kerala are not above board either as they, too, have resorted to similar tactics. Even Shashi Tharoor showed what a parochial leader he is by openly advocating the Kerala line of reasoning. Having had to quit the Union Cabinet sometime ago, he perhaps has begun to nurse Chief Ministerial ambitions in his home State.

Supreme Court Observation: It is worth noting, though, that the Supreme Court yesterday rejected Kerala’s plea for lowering the water level in the dam to 120 feet. “There is nothing serious, grave or emergent about the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam warranting our interference at this stage,” the Supreme Court observed on Tuesday.

Safety of the people is paramount, so leaders from the two States should take a rational, scientific approach on the dam and not allow racial passions to run high.

Let both sides have the equanimity to accept a decision that is in the best interests of the people of both the States.

G Joslin Vethakumar