The Case of Kodak

From Dec 31 last year to Nov 23 this year, the day before the Thanksgiving holiday, Kodak’s share price tumbled 78.5% to US$1.15 (RM3.70) a share – a precipitous fall from its all-time high of US$94.75 on Feb 14, 1997. Kodak’s stunning decline is a cautionary tale that Malaysia’s corporate chieftains and policy makers would do well to study.

First, unlike Apple, early dominance in cameras and film technology made Kodak complacent. "You press the button, we do the rest" was the phrase Eastman immortalised.

Second, Kodak was slow to recognise the impact of digital photography.

Third, Kodak announced recently it will sell 1,100 digital imaging patents – about 10% of its patent portfolio - the need to generate long-term sustainable profits.

inkjets are threatened by electronic copies on tablets and smartphones.

According to the Association of Natural Rubber Producing countries, this year Thailand is expected to produce 3.35 million tonnes while the comparable figure for Malaysia is estimated at 975,000 tonnes. With Malaysia’s current output just 29% that of Thailand and with rubber planting requiring even more labour than oil palm, this policy objective, if true, is surreal.

As Kodak has shown, continuing to rely on a buggy whip business isn’t likely to reinvigorate Malaysia’s economy.

Kodak: A cautionary tale
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/221739

Politics, 天下乌鸦一般黑?

There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt. ~ John Adams

Populist policies undermine reform
Failure to demonstrate such flexibility and implement necessary reforms will see us going down the slippery slope that countries such as Greece and Italy find themselves in today. We can say goodbye to reformasi if the national agenda for change is usurped by populist desperadoes.

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/218388

派鈔票政治
The PIIGS — Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain — borrowed gobs more than they could ever actually pay... 加薪，沒問題；花紅，多多益善。公務員是國家的骨幹，當然要疼要愛。更重要的是，130萬公務員，就是130萬張選票，這才是硬道理 ... 民粹政治就是儘量討好群眾，只要可以激起人民的熱情，讓大家又high又happy，就可以放手做。民粹不求治國理念，不求管理效能，不放眼明天和未來；只求可以執政，混過今天。...

不管是國陣或民聯，應該提出振興經濟，帶動成長的政策，提高國民收入；而不是把國庫的錢派光光，讓人民更加依賴補貼。派鈔票容易，國家淪落也容易。

http://opinions.sinchew-i.com/node/21145?tid=17

Zorba the Greek — get a job!
The problem is that most of the hard-working citizens long ago moved to the US, Canada, Australia and other countries to escape their corrupt governments and unfriendly business environment. Left behind were unionised workers and do-nothing bureaucrats who owed their sinecures to political patronage...

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=%2Fdata%2Fopinion%2F2011%2FNovember%2Fopinion_November27.xml§ion=opinion

The One Percent: Gigantic Government + Gigantic Corporations = Massive Wealth Inequality
Helping the poor is certainly a noble goal, and handouts can certainly ease suffering at least temporarily. But handouts are never a permanent solution and they can cause large numbers of people to end up becoming completely and totally dependent on the government. What poor and middle class really need are opportunities. Handouts will keep people alive, but they will not give people hope and a future...

http://www.wealthwire.com/news/liberty/2123?r=1

“引爆点”迟早到来•玛丽娜马哈迪
人民迟早会达到一个“引爆点”，不再容忍任何压制和贪污，他们会做一些事情，即使这意味着一些人将得死亡。

我们在嘛嘛档和网上大骂白痴政客就厉害，但是当确实要做些事情的时候，我们就找藉口。我们耸耸肩，说我们不能改变的，只有一些人能够。这样，我们就自己解除了力量。我们的领袖指望这样。

我们会容忍笨蛋领导我们多久呢？我们会容忍肆无忌惮的贪婪与憎恨多久呢？

http://www.nanyang.com/node/400962?tid=490

这是滥权越权还是失信？
搞了多年，牛没养好养够，应该再善用餘款去改善增产才对。却反而把可以改善及提高产量的余额，用去买与牛肉没关係的豪宅。

这岂不像将军的军需预算不用在购买军火粮食，打败敌军，反而把钱拿去投资跟打仗没关系的矿产品。这是滥权、越权还是挪用公款的失信之罪？小民无知，只主控官、律师、法官才说得清。

http://www.nanyang.com/node/400959?tid=490

律己以严
如果有一个排行榜，比较的是哪一个国家的人民对于政府事务或相关事宜最为宽宏大量，我想，马来西亚的人民肯定能榜上有名。是逼于无奈还是真的宽宏大量，姑且不论，但我们的政治环境里确实从来不曾出现“引咎辞职”这样的名词，甚至连“问责制”这个名堂也陌生得很。从高高在上的决策人到执行政策的公务员，谁也不必为任何过失负责任。就算要追究责任，那也可能是许多年以后的事，而且很可能最终的结果还是不了了之。

话说回来，这回公布的总审计司报告，东西买贵了已算是小case了，养牛竟然养到要买千万豪宅这才叫厉害！只是，明明是养牛计划却不好好利用相关贷款来发展养牛业，反而拿去投资方地产了，这不是“不务正业”吗？

http://www.nanyang.com/node/400960?tid=490

民眾見怪不怪了，變得冷漠無情了，要怪的人和事都懶得去怪了──只要貪污貪的是別人的錢就OK，反正死的是別人也OK──最終養肥的是一頭叫民主的怪物。

Related:
腐败、债务及其内幕 http://howtze.blogspot.com/2010/05/blog-post_06.html

Fashion Updates

1. Global Access - Malaysian designers enter French ready-to-wear market

Contemporary Batik

It is not always about flowers and butterflies when you think about batik prints. Neither does it all point to caftans and resort wear. In Michelle Lau’s world of batik, you can find more than just flowers and butterflies as the Meesha Sukira brand seeks to find a balance between the heritage of batik and modernity.

Meesha Sukira targets women who are 35 and above who know what they want and are certain of their purchases.

"Our target has always been women who are strong, confident and most importantly, they cherish individualism while they also appreciate art. They knowwhat theywant to achieve, are very certain and straightforward."

Expressive but minimalist, these are the characteristics of Meesha-Sukira collections which boast of shift dresses, maxi dresses and accessories such as clutch bags and shoes.

http://www.roslanwilkinson.com

theSun Daily, FASHION, November 23, 2011, Page 20

2. Bloggers turn designer for new shoe line



While fashion purists may argue bloggers already have too much power in the fashion world, a series of shoes designed by some of the most prominent online trendsetters will go on sale November 22, 2011.

Bloggers including Susie Lau of Style Bubble, Style Salvage's Steve Salter, Leandra Medine of the Man Repeller, and Face Hunter's Yvan Rodic have collaborated with footwear producer Six London and website Farfetch.com to each create an "ultimate shoe."

http://news.yahoo.com/bloggers-turn-designer-shoe-line-171202582.html

3. Asian shoppers 'fight' over Versace for H&M

It has been reported that fights broke out during the launch of Versace for H&M in China on Thursday, November 17. The hotly anticipated collaboration finally hit stores in Europe and Asia Thursday, and WWD writes that some shoppers on Shanghai’s Huai Hai Lu shopping street ended up in a scuffle.

http://news.yahoo.com/asian-shoppers-fight-over-versace-h-m-173530769.html

4. Intimate Luxuries in The Gardens, Mid Valley

5. 奢侈品消費逾8000億 中國佔全球市場20%

全球奢侈品市場今年再雙位增長，銷售額按年成長10%至1910億歐元（約8190億令吉），中國更佔全球市場20%。

消費品專家普里茨爾（Rudolf Pritzl）認為，儘管國際市場動盪及經濟不穩，奢侈品領域卻能一枝獨秀，表現“反危機”的勢態。

奢侈品專賣店的營業額增幅大于普通大型商店，全球奢侈品近30%銷量來自專賣店。

http://www.chinapress.com.my/node/271386

Digital Publishing, Google One Pass, Amazon Kindle

When Amazon.com says it already sells more Kindle books than paperback and hardcover books, e-publishing is finally ready for prime time. The march of technology is unstoppable, books and lifestyle magazines are going tablet as iPad and Kindle are gaining more grounds into people's daily life.

All the arguments against e-books are about external incidentals – the feel of a book, the crinkle of the pages and so on. None of these things has anything to do with what makes a book worth reading – that it’s a well-written, thoughtful and compelling story. John Biggs, an editor at TechCrunch, has predicted that by 2013, e-book sales will surpass all other book sales (not just at Amazon.com). By 2016, lifestyle magazines will go tablet-only. By 2020, every high school and college student will have an e-reader. Finally, by 2025 the transition would be complete with print largely disappearing even in the developing world. If Robert Andrews, the UK editor of PaidContent.org, is to be believed - Last year, he posted an article where he cited the rising cost of newsprint and the inefficiency of delivering newspapers via trucks as reasons why “printing on paper may increasingly look like just another cost that, soon, could be removed from the balance sheet”. Asians are crazy about mobile gadgets and tablets are as popular here as they are overseas. So, the writing is on the wall as far as print publications are concerned. It’s now up to the publishers – established ones as well as new ones yet to emerge – to ride the digital trend.

Progress of Digital Publishing

If you are into the digital content or publishing world, check out these 2:

Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing is the fast and easy way to self-publish your books for sale in the Kindle Store.
With Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) you can self-publish your books on the Amazon Kindle Store. It's free, fast, and easy. Books self-published through KDP can participate in the 70% royalty program and are available for purchase on Kindle devices and Kindle apps for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, PC, Mac, Blackberry, and Android-based devices. With KDP, you can self-publish books in English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian and specify pricing in US Dollars, Pounds Sterling, and Euros. You will also find useful information on our active community forum.

https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/signin

Google One Pass is a payment system that enables publishers to set the terms for access to their digital content.
It offers purchase-once, view-anywhere functionality, so users can view the content they buy across all of their devices.By providing a system for user authentication, payment processing, and administration, Google One Pass lets publishers focus on creating high quality content for their readers. Publishers have flexibility over payment models and control over the digital content for which they charge and the content that is free for consumers.

http://www.google.com/landing/onepass/

A recent survey by eMarketer daily shows that One in Three Online Consumers to Use a Tablet by 2014:

Sources:

Digital future of publishing
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/209577

Amazon Now Sells More Kindle Books Than Hardcover and Paperback Combined
http://techland.time.com/2011/05/19/amazon-now-sells-more-kindle-books-than-hardcover-and-paperback-combined/

One in Three Online Consumers to Use a Tablet by 2014
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008701&ecid=a6506033675d47f881651943c21c5ed4

High Tech High Touch

High Tech High Touch, 缺一不可

施比受有福

重赏之下，必有勇夫。同样的，Pay Peanut, Get Monkey!

资不抵债，实现财务自由的一个简单计划:

1。创办一家企业, Create a business
2。对企业实行再投资, Reinvest and grow the business
3。投资房地产, Invest in Real Estate
4。购买舒适的生活, Use income from assets to buy luxuries