Jun 24, 2008

Update: Hi to everyone arriving from FT Alphaville, Market Movers and the Economist! If you liked this post, click through to the main page and have a browse. It’s been no secret lately that Zimbabweans are stashing their cash in the stock market, because it’s the only store of value left. ZimbabweEquities.com shows just how ridiculous this has become. Interesting: there’s no longer any official inflation data, and there’s no official exchange rate data, but there is a way to find out how much the Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD) is worth and how fast it’s depreciating.

May 28, 2008

Fuel prices in Malaysia are so heavily subsidised that it’s cheaper to drive across the border to Johor and fill up there (at a subsidised 60 US cents/litre) than it is to fill up in Singapore (US$1.57/litre this morning). Unfortunately, Malaysia is now putting the kibosh on this locational arbitrage, by banning petrol stations within 50km of its borders from selling fuel to foreign-registered cars. But if your car was high-mileage enough, and the tank was large enough, it’d still be worth the trip… assume you’re driving a 3.

May 18, 2008

My typical Sunday morning involves sitting in one of the cafes on Mohamed Sultan Road, demolishing a coffee and leafing through whatever reading material happens to be lying around. Usually I go to the Book Cafe, which (joy of joys) has The Times, the NYT, and the Sydney Morning Herald in its stacks. Today, though, I’m at Delicatessen - which has much better coffee (and a truly great ham-and-omelette croissant), but doesn’t have international newspapers.

Mar 6, 2008

You’ve probably noticed how weak the US dollar is lately. Try this on for size. At an Apple store in the USA, the top-spec Macbook Air costs USD 3,098. In Australia, it costs AUD 4,338 (USD 4,056). A roundtrip to Honolulu on Jetstar (if you can handle Jetstar economy class) will set you back about AUD 920. In Britain it costs GBP 2,028 (USD 4,045), and a round-trip to JFK costs as little as GBP 215.

Feb 12, 2008

Act I: In Which I Can Suddenly Speak Mandarin SFX: Phone ringing AUTOMATIC VOICE: We are now transferring your call to a consultant. Please hold the line. LADY ON PHONE: HellosirwelcometoStandardCharteredhowmayIassistyou. ME: Hi; I’d like to cancel my credit card please. Pregnant pause ME: I’d like to cancel my credit card, please? LADY ON PHONE: Hello? ME: Can you hear me? LADY ON PHONE: Hello, sir? ME: Can you hear me?