|
|
| Fake warning labels Local supermarkets are now stocking a number of imported goods, mostly from South Korea, which have goofy labels to boost sales. A disposable razor carries the warning, “Do Not Use This Product During An Earthquake.” A coffee percolator advises, “Allow to cool before applying to groin area.” Packets of throat lozenges tell the prospective buyer, “Not meant as a substitute for human companionship.” Mad’s personal ads In spite of Pattaya’s reputation as Sin City, resident lonely hearts are increasingly advertising on the Internet for soul mates. However, some of them show the strains of the economic downturn. One reads, “Compulsive liar seeks beautiful woman to share my 100 million baht luxury plantation near Rayong.” And another, “Hard up doctor aged 35 desires to meet that special woman with real inner beauty. Send X rays at once.” The Swiss connection Peter and Wanni, at the Pitstop Bar and Restaurant in Soi Post Office, claim to have on offer good basic Swiss and Thai food, as well as cold beer, at below average prices for Pattaya. Shouldn’t be difficult to check out. In the same street, the Hare House has a good name as a value for money eatery. Especially if you wanna sample chow American style. Coming down to earth Following the crackdowns on cigarette end hurlers and motorcyclists wearing cardboard helmets, the Pattaya authoritarian state took another rightist turn this week. New regulations at a local airport warn private and trainee flyers that anyone jumping out of an aircraft will face prosecution if they do not use a parachute. Case of SPLAT (Some Pattayans Love A Trial). An official announcement From AFP. News has just broken out that infamous North Burmese drug cartel dealer, Noor (Hill King) Tarak, has had to resign “due to ill health”. He is believed to have been responsible for selling internationally 29% of the illegal substances grown in the Golden Triangle and is thought, in recent years, to have fallen foul of rival drugs groups who felt that he was wearing a boot size too far. The statement did not elaborate on the nature of his maladies except to add that he was found in his Mynamar mansion, clutching a cold milkshake, with twelve bullet holes in his head. |
Seafood supreme Most people visiting Jomtien don’t get much further than the crowded beach areas. But carry on down the Jomtien beach road for a couple of kilometers and there are some great Thai seafood restaurants which provide real value for money. One of the best is the Lungsavai which, unfortunately, does not have an English sign. Best direction is to proceed as far as you can before you have no alternative but to turn left. The Lungsavai faces you immediately before you do that left turn. No frills, just excellent seafood with a menu in English as well as in Thai. A lame excuse A would-be farang criminal with a club foot was arrested in the wee hours of Tuesday morning for breaking and entering into a first class fashion shop in a leading Pattaya shopping mall. But he explained it was all actually a mistake. “I felt tired,” he said, “so I rested my head against the shop window and it fell in.” But what about police who saw him wearing a fur coat from the store? “I wore it to keep the dust off my shirt.” And what about the security guard who saw him trying to knock a hole in the ceiling of he building? “I could not think of anything else to do at the time,” he rejoined. Against police advice, Tony Weeton, 36, confirmed he would be conducting his own defence at his upcoming trial at Chonburi court. The Italian job Sicilian grape squeezer and notorious transvestite Luigio Conti, 28, has been arrested for soliciting for an immoral purpose on the main Sukhumvit highway, contrary to the Suppression of Prostitution Act 1960. He was released from detention after friends pointed out that he had restricted his activities to waving unsuccessfully at cars and lorries as they sped at 90 kilometers an hour towards Sriracha town center. His lawyer warned that any further attempts at gainful employment would likely result in prosecution as Conti was in breach of the work permit regulations. Religious puzzle You need a pen and a piece of paper for this one. Even the promise to ring the bell failed to solve it in the Rovers’ Return pub on Second Road. A man went into a Blackburn, UK, fish and chip chop and asked for two fish. The waitress wrote down 2F. Then a pie and peas. She wrote PP. Then a pastie and chips, so she wrote PC. And a sausage supper. She wrote SS. Looking up at the man, she said, “You’re from the Salvation Army.” So how did she know? The answer is apparently that he was wearing his uniform. |
| Back to Columns Headline Index |
Dear Hillary,
I am a girl and sixteen years old and I am in love with a very nice boy from my school. I mean, he WAS nice. Right now he is behaving very strange. We had a school party a few weeks ago and it was then when he told me he likes me a lot. Since then he acts very strange. He hardly talks to me anymore and doesn’t show me if he likes me or not. Why is it that when a girl likes a guy they make it totally obvious to the guy and to other people? But when a guy really likes a girl he behaves like a jerk! Then one doesn’t know anymore if he really likes you or not. Why are boys afraid to show their true feelings?
I Don’t Understand.
Dear I Don’t Understand,
I believe there are plenty of guys who dare to show their feelings. Then there are others who cannot show them. You’ve got to understand. Usually boys are raised to control their feelings. They’ve been told to be strong, not to feel pain, not to cry - because they are boys. Now, as soon as they fall in love and they are still very young (I assume your boyfriend is very young) they feel pretty shy about it. Maybe they are afraid their friends might laugh at them or they believe they are acting silly by showing the world how much they are in love. It’s this special male thing about them, that many are not willing to admit their true feelings to anyone. Maybe they admit it in privacy to the girl they like, but next day they might feel ashamed of admitting it.
Anyhow, don’t think too much about it. If he really loves you, he will show you when he is ready. Who knows, maybe you won’t like him by then and you will have found yourself another nice boyfriend. One who dares to admit to you, to his friends and to the whole world that he loves you.
Dear Hillary,
I am a Thai, 23 years old and I work as a secretary in a big company nearby Pattaya. I have met a very nice American man who also works in my company and last week we went on our first date. He is very tall and handsome, but I am very small and skinny. To make something out of me I always wear padded bras. He once made a remark that I have a good body, not so skinny like the other Thai girls. Now I am so afraid that when things get serious, I won’t ‘measure’ up to him. What if he starts laughing about me or doesn’t like me anymore when he finds out?
Padded Bra.
Dear Padded Bra,
Don’t worry about it. You are not the only one to wear such a thing. Almost all Thai girls do - and many Farang girls also. For most of them buying a padded bra is an attempt to enhance their self-esteem. Most of the time they think totally wrong.
Girls should not feel worried that without big breasts they have nothing else to offer. If a guy dates a girl just for the size of her chest he’s either only out for sex or simply stupid. If your boyfriend is like them, you wouldn’t want to date him anyway, would you?
When the time comes tell him the truth. If he loses interest - good riddance. If not, he really likes you as a person and what’s inside you. Remember YOU want to be special for a man, and not the size of your breasts.
| Back to Columns Headline Index |
| Back to Columns Headline Index |
Are Dollar-denominated funds a currency risk?
by Leslie Wright
Investors often express concern that they will lose money if their base currency appreciates against the currency in which their investments are denominated.
Are their international investments affected by fluctuating exchange rates? And if so, how does currency movement affect the overall value of their holdings?
The answers to these questions can become especially complicated when an investor is holding an investment vehicle such as a unit-linked insurance policy denominated in one currency, which is accessing funds denominated in two or more other currencies, which themselves may be investing across several different markets where the underlying assets will be traded in a multiplicity of currencies.
Fund value has to be measured in something
Any unit trust or mutual fund has to be denominated in one currency or another, to gauge its worth and performance.
For convenience of international investors, many offshore funds are denominated ( i.e., priced) in US dollars, even if the assets they are holding - shares of companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, for example - are actually traded in Thai baht rather than US dollars. What effect does currency fluctuation have on the price of units?
To understand how this all works and what risks you might be exposed to, let’s first look at a simple example.
An investor has bought units in a U.S. stock market fund. This fund by definition can only hold U.S. stocks; it can’t invest in Thailand, for example. Its underlying assets - the stocks & shares it is holding - are valued in dollars, and the fund itself is denominated in dollars. Because all the variables are in the same currency - US dollars - the only currency risk the investor is exposed to is fluctuation between his base currency and the US dollar.
If his base currency - the currency he earns and spends - is also US dollars, his only concern is fund performance. In effect, his only risk is if the U.S. stock market takes a dive.
But what about an investor who has bought units in a dollar-denominated Thailand Stock market fund? What are his currency risks if the Thai baht drops against the U.S. dollar?
In this case there are two variables: the performance of the stock market, and the relative strength of the currency.
If the local stock market moves up and the exchange rate between the baht and the dollar remains the same over the period in question, the net value of the fund’s assets (NAV, to use the technical abbreviation) increases both in local currency and international currency value. In other words, the price of units goes up.
If, however, the SET moved up but the baht depreciated against the dollar by exactly the same percentage (a highly unlikely scenario, but useful for this example), the gain in stock price would be exactly offset by the loss in currency value, so the NAV in US dollar terms would effectively move sideways. The price of units in US dollars would effectively remain unchanged.
Similarly, if the stock market moves down and the local currency depreciates against the US dollar, the price of units, valued in US dollars, will drop even further than just the amount by which the market corrected.
But - and this is a big but - if that investor had purchased his fund units by having exchanged Thai baht into dollars, and now converts the US dollar value of his holdings back into Thai baht terms, he will note that the fluctuation in exchange rates has miraculously disappeared! How?
To continue with our examples above, if the SET moves up and the currency exchange rate moves sideways, converting current US dollar fund-unit value back to Thai baht shows an increase in baht value approximating the stock market increase (assuming for the purposes of this exercise that the fund managers manage to match the performance of the SET.)
If the SET moved sideways but the baht had weakened against the dollar, the fund-units’ price would have dropped in US dollars as outlined above, but converted back to baht would now be worth more weakened baht, so the value of these units in local-currency terms would be virtually the same as before the currency drop.
In other words, holding units in an offshore fund which happens to be denominated in another currency does not necessarily expose you to a currency risk if the units in that fund were bought with your base currency.
Diversification reduces risk
If, however, you bought those units with a third currency (e.g., Sterling or Swiss Francs), then you are potentially exposed to currency risks should this third currency strengthen or weaken against either the US dollar or your local base currency.
How then can one avoid this risk and hedge one’s bets? One obvious way is by diversifying one’s holdings - not keeping all your investment eggs in one basket, no matter how comfortable or familiar you may be with that market. If that basket drops suddenly, you will probably end up with egg on your face.
Next week we shall look at how currency fluctuations affect a globally-diversified portfolio, and how third-currency orientated investors (e.g., Sterling, Swiss Francs & Deutschmarks) are affected by relative currency strengths.
If you have any comments or queries on this article, or about other topics concerning investment matters, write to Leslie Wright, c/o Family Money, Pattaya Mail, or fax him directly on (038) 232522 or e-mail him at [email protected]. Further details and back articles can be accessed on his firm’s website on www.westminsterthailand.com.
Leslie Wright is Managing Director of Westminster Portfolio Services (Thailand) Ltd., a firm of independent financial advisors providing advice to expatriate residents of the eastern seaboard on personal financial planning and international investments.
| Back to Columns Headline Index |
Health & Nutrition Facts: Eat Five A Day
by Laura Zubrod
What is full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and nutrients that reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease? What is low in sodium, fat, and has no cholesterol. The answer? Fruits and vegetables.
When it comes to fruits and vegetables, more is better. Fruits and vegetables are high in Vitamins A, D, K, fiber and contain small amounts of iron and B vitamins. Whole fruits and vegetables eaten with their peels are your best source of fiber. Fruit and vegetable juices contain very little fiber. Fruits and most vegetables contain a large percentage of water which accounts for their being low in calories. It also makes them a good source of fluid for your body.
The daily recommendation is to eat three to five servings of vegetables and two to four servings of fruit along with a variety of food. Eating at least the minimum number of servings of fruits and vegetables adds up to five a day.
Try to eat at least one vitamin A-rich fruit or vegetable each day. Dark green and orange-colored fruits and vegetables help you meet your need for vitamin A. Good sources of vitamin A are: broccoli, carrots, spinach, sweet potato, pumpkin, tomato, kale, cantaloupe, papaya, mango, and durian.
Eat at least one vitamin-C rich choice daily. You’ve probably heard that oranges and other citrus fruits like grapefruit, lime, lemon, and pomelo are good sources of Vitamin C. A half cup of cantaloupe gives you half the vitamin C you need for a day. Fresh strawberries are another great source of Vitamin C, 3/4 cup provides 100% of your daily needs. Other good sources of vitamin C are: broccoli, green peas, fresh chili pepper, potatoes with skin, green pepper spinach, sweet potato, tomato, apple, banana, cantaloupe, mango, papaya, guava, watermelon, durian, and strawberries.
Eat at least one fruit or vegetable high in fiber each day. Fruits and vegetables high in fiber include: beans, broccoli, carrots, peas, potato with skin, sweet potato, tomato, apple with skin, banana, orange, strawberries, pear with skin, grapes, guava, and pineapple.
Dried fruits like raisins, prunes, and dried apricots supply you with a moderate amount of iron. One cup of dried fruit provides 30-40% of the iron you need each day as well as significant amounts of potassium.
What’s a serving?
One medium fruit such as a banana, orange, apple,
1/2 cup cut-cup fresh fruit
1/4 cup dried fruit such as raisins, prunes, dates, pineapple, mango, etc.
3/4 cup or 6 ounces fruit or vegetable juice such as orange or tomato juices
1/2 cup raw or cooked vegetables
1 cup raw leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, kale
Most people consume about 2 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. It’s easy to increase your intake to 5 servings a day, especially here in Thailand where fruits and vegetables of all shapes and sizes are in abundance. Try some of these suggestions for increasing your fruit and vegetable intake:
Fruit makes a refreshing low-calorie snack or dessert. Top with yogurt, dry cereal, or shredded coconut for an added zip.
Try a frozen banana (peel it first), it tastes like banana ice cream. Or add frozen bananas and skim-milk in a blender for a great frozen treat. Add several pieces of raw fruit to the blender to come up with your own special fruit smoothie.
Fruits and vegetables are portable. Take them with you when you to work or when you travel or run errands. A box of raisins can be stashed in your purse, briefcase, or glove compartment.
Add grated, shredded, or chopped vegetables such as zucchini, spinach, and carrots to lasagna, spaghetti sauce, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and mixed meat, pasta, and grain dishes. Grated carrots can turn plain peanut butter into a chunky and healthful treat.
Drink 100% fruit or vegetable juice as a snack or a replacement for a soda. Add a little soda water to fruit juice for an extra fizz.
Puree fruits for a thick, sweet sauce to top grilled or broiled seafood or poultry.
When eating at restaurants, choose one entree with lots of vegetables or order a platter of stir-fried mixed vegetables.
Stock up on cleaned, peeled, cut-up and ready to eat fruits and vegetables. When they are ready to eat and clearly visible, fruits and vegetables are more likely to be eaten.
Take the 5 A Day Challenge. Invite family members, friends or coworkers to share in a contest to see who can eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day for a week.
Fruits and vegetables are an excellent source of many nutrients our body’s need. Savor the tastes, textures, flavors, and aromas of fruits and vegetables today and the benefits of your healthful diet will be yours for years to come.
Readers may write Laura care of the Pattaya Mail with questions or special topics they would like to see addressed.
| Back to Columns Headline Index |
Copyright © 1998 Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]
Created by Andy Gombaez