Nick Fang’s Say

It’s been ANOTHER crazy week in the world of finance.

Global stock markets have pretty much gone berserk, with massive falls and unbelievable volatility seen all around the world.

The one trend, if you can even call it that, is the fact that nothing governments do seems to have much effect on the pessimism and lack of confidence investors are feeling right now.

Wall Street is virtually unrecognisable, capitalism appears to be on the wane and the financial sector seems to be heading towards higher regulation by the authorities and governments.

I’ll leave the debate over the pros and cons of taking this path to the experts, although a definitive verdict seems to be lacking at the moment.

I’m more concerned with what we, the regular folks on Main Street, can do, as we watch stock markets plunge, oil prices spiral downwards and our economy slips into seeming recession.

Having sifted through reports and commentaries from all over the world, the key message I’m hearing is:  DON’T PANIC.

The craziness in stock markets is currently being driven by fear and panic (when is it not?). Signs in the real economy are not great, but they certainly don’t warrant the irrational sell-offs of virtually every sector that we have seen in the past week or so.

If sense and calm can prevail, we might be able to see a bit more clearly and slow the chaos down just a bit.

The second over-riding message that is being sent out is that prudence is very much needed right now.

While there’s no need to panic, it’s also clear that there are tougher times ahead. I for one am curtailing any unnecessary purchases and trying to up my levels of savings.

The experts say that this strategy will enable us to take advantage of bargains and investment opportunities as and when they arise in the months ahead.

But of all the difference bits of advice I’ve read of late, the one that resonated the most with me was the recommendation for us to focus on taking care of the other aspects of our lives even as our financials take a beating.

One article I read said we should keep our fitness up, get in shape and stay in good health.

Being fit and healthy always helps one to keep in a positive frame of mind, and endorphins, the hormones released when we work out, are all-natural pick-me-ups that rarely fail to get us in a good mood.

This has become pretty important in the current crisis.

Now, I don’t proclaim to be a financial guru, but not panicking, being cautious with our money and staying healthy seem like good advice to me, not just in times of crises but all the time!

Here’s wishing you all a good week ahead, and hopefully less craziness in the financial markets!

Sorry for the long-ish absence but it’s been a pretty crazy couple of weeks.

I am of course referring to the drama on Wall Street and the United States economy that has threatened to spill over into our living rooms and lives in the form of slowing economic growth, worthless investment products and uncertainties over our insurance policies and even bank holdings.

It’s been quite interesting and exciting from a journalistic point of view, when you never know what big news the next day is going to bring.

But at the same time, it is definitely unnerving for many of us to be in a position where our investments, pensions, nest-eggs, maybe even livelihoods are at stake.

There have been numerous reports of worried investors, bank customers and insurance policyholders searching for answers and clarity from the authorities and companies that have been affected by the financial turmoil.

Unfortunately, definitive answers have been hard to come by, especially given the continued murkiness about the future and the global economy. The recent news of the approval of the mega-billion dollar financial rescue package in the US is sure to buoy spirits, but the end is far from being in sight.

I’ve never been big into investments and while I am concerned about the future of the economy, I am lucky enough to not be in dire straits yet.

But this crisis has made me think.

I’ve always held that there is more to life than just the chase for cash, the rat-race, the pursuit of the almighty dollar.

Perhaps I have been fortunate to have enjoyed a privileged position where living hand-to-mouth has not been a reality yet.

Yet, in the current difficult situation, it feels wrong to be talking about a higher purpose, about a deeper meaning to life, when peoples’ livelihoods are in jeopardy.

Is life really all about the five or six Cs (I lose track of how many we’re up to now)? When push comes to shove, is that what really matters to all of us?

Will there ever come a time when we can say that, hey, it would be nice to have more in the bank, but at least we have our health, we can enjoy time with our families or a quiet evening with good friends?

I’m not sure we’ll ever have the answer to that question, but I’d sure like to hear what you think!

A couple of things happened recently that got me thinking about identity.

I don’t mean identity in the sense of one’s personal details on one’s IC, but more of the intangible essence of uniqueness that sets us apart from each other.

Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner and, to me, one of the greatest athletes of all time, recently announced his planned return to competitive bicycle racing next year at the ripe old age of 37 and after close to four years of retirement.

Speculation has been rife over his motivation for coming back, after a successful career that saw him reach the pinnacle of his sport, earn a few millions and become a true-blue celebrity with a rock-star girlfriend and numerous A-list movie star chums.

His official reason is a desire to keep publicising his cancer foundation and fight against the disease to a global audience, a noble motivation for sure.

Some have suggested that he wants to erase suspicion he may have used drugs in his career by submitting himself to the now exceedingly stringent testing regimes that have sprung up in the last few years.

Others say he may have run out of money, or just wants a last fleeting dance with glory that so many former champions seem to lust after in their twilight years.

I think it’s something else, something deeper.

Armstrong was a champion triathlete in his youth, turning pro at the tender age of 15 and racing against the very best in the world. He became a world champion cyclist at 21, tasted success at the biggest races in the world, and then was diagnosed with cancer three years later.

His recovery and subsequent miraculous return to the top of the sport is well-documented, but what people seem to have missed out is that, first and foremost, Armstrong is a competitor at heart.

In the years since his retirement, he has run marathons and raced in the occasional mountain bike race. In all cases, he has approached the training and racing with single-minded focus and determination reminiscent of his years as a professional athlete.

I think he is coming back now because he misses that part of his identity, that thing that set him apart from all others in his own eyes, that made him HIM.

It’s not as simple as enjoying a sporting lifestyle. If that were the case, he could just continue to enjoy the occasional bike ride with friends and satisfy his passion for sports.

But he’s coming back and he’s coming back to win because that’s how he sees himself: as a winner.

My boss asked me last week why I was competing in a fencing competition over the weekend.

I haven’t been training as much as I used to when, as a member of the national team, I was preparing myself for competitions such as the South-east Asian Games, Asian championships and other events around the world.

In recent months, a change in life priorities has meant that I am spending my energies and time focusing on other activities, and my swords and fencing suits have been slowly gathering dust.

But when I heard that we were having national trials here in Singapore, I signed up in a second.

I knew that I would be up against other younger athletes who had been preparing themselves much better than I had.

I had a litany of excuses ready: I’m old, my carcass is breaking down, I’ve been too busy to train, there’s no big competitions to prepare for in the next few months anyway.

But I refused to trot any of them out and dutifully showed up to compete.

When my boss asked me why, I muttered something about needing the ranking points to keep my position as one of the top few fencers in Singapore.

This might have sounded like a fading athlete on an ego trip. And maybe that’s partially true.

But when I thought about it later, I realised that I still like jumping into the occasional fencing event, or even triathlon, because being an athlete has been part of my identity for a long time too, at least as far as my personal life is concerned.

I started out swimming at age 5, before competing as a gymnast, then triathlete, then pentathlete, and subsequently fencer, for most of my life.

Sport has been what I’ve always enjoyed doing in my spare time, and I think it has helped me to balance out school in my earlier years, and the demands of my career in my working life.

And it’s really hard to let go. This is how my family has viewed me over the years, it’s how my friends know me, it’s how I know myself.

Who knows, there may come a time when I will step back completely and move on to other things, like starting a family, collecting stamps or some such activity.

But I know, for now, that I can’t let go. It’s something that has been such a big part of my life, of my identity, that letting it go completely is hard for me to imagine.

I see this in my fellow athletes here, and in giants of sport like Armstrong.

What is the part of your identity that you can’t live without?

Hello!

This is the first entry I’m putting up on this site and I hope my random ramblings provide you with some form of entertainment, or at least that they help you pass the time!

I thought I would make my first entry about something that has made a few headlines of late: making babies, or rather why we’re not making enough of them.

This year’s National Day Rally touched on the issue of us Singaporeans’ inability to replace ourselves, and also detailed the Government’s plan of financial incentives to encourage more people to get married and start procreating.

I had the opportunity to take part in a couple of forums organised by MediaCorp to discuss this issue and one of the things that surfaced was the idea that perhaps more is needed to be done to change some underlying cultural and social norms that are behind our dwindling birth rates.

I don’t think anyone will disagree with the fact that people these days are just busier than they were, say, 50 years ago. Life is much more hectic, the pressures to excel, succeed, work hard, be the best…make it much harder for people to find time for things like romance, dating, and subsequently marriage and babies.

I personally think that people just need a bit more time, a bit more space, a bit more energy for the finer things in life…to develop, to grow, to get to know themselves as well as people around them.

But by dangling financial incentives for babies, we seem to be reinforcing the idea that money is king and women are almost like jackpot machines - pull the handle and if a baby pops out, you win the prize!

I’m sure that the incentives will be a big help for some families, but something else needs to be done to address the wider issue of our lifestyles.

I’m not sure I know what that thing is…maybe more should be done to showcase the positives of having a family, being a parent, and what this represents.

One thing I do know is, if I wasn’t as tied up in my work and career, I’d probably have started working on replacing myself a lot sooner!