clinging and movin on.

Despite being terribly expensive, Geneva was a pretty good weekend getaway, with CERN, the Swiss National Day celebrations as well as the charming old city. Not that there's no Altstadt in Hd but the character's totally different. So one thing that I learnt in Switzerland is that although expensive, what you pay for is really quality. Havent had the misfortune to have anything really shitty there but better dont jinx it. who knows when it'll come my way. and i enjoyed it more so than Zurich, which i think has less to see than in Genf. Hopefully it was not just a weather thing.

The Financial Times was the first piece of real news that ive read in a long time. and i can no longer get how certain actions affect certain pieces of the GDP equation. not that i could get everything back when i was taking FNCE101. sure, certain things make some sense but the whole detailed mechanisms of the ISLM and whathaveyou models elude me totally now. its like i might as well have just stuck with ECON001/2. lol. and you wonder how the Wall St. wizards can cause upheaval in the financial world, considering that not much macro knowledge is retained after the invigilator warns us to stop writing. hurhur.

Anyway, there was an article titled "3 Years On - And The Markets Are Masters Again" by a Philip Stephens. In it, he discussed the weakness of governments all over the world in trying to regulate the financial industry. Despite some having claimed that the last recession marked the end of finance as we know it, some years later the situation remains the same. Salaries and bonuses return to pre-crisis levels even before we are out of the woods and GS and Citi "settle" charges of misleading investors by paying the SEC an infinitesimally small portion of what they earn in a year. Moreover, in certain cases of doing so, save stock prices from dipping and in fact make a gain out of it. Disgusted? its at times like this i wish the SEC had the Old Man's suing prowess. Bankers get around new rules which are pathetic attempts at best, due to vague wording. Hardly surprising since they are already famous for financial innovation eh. This begets the question why politicians lack the political will to exact penance from such nefarious institutions. sure, i can understand why banks are important since they facilitate the efficient flow of capital and assets in the markets BUT why should the statesmen be afraid of the bankers?? Is 550 billion the pricetag of justice, when trillions of taxpayers' money have been infused to keep the crumbling system on life-support? so much for big talk when the action is so little. we always seem to know what is good for us but because of certain lobbying groups, the delivery of the panacea is often retarded. so are we going to hesitate further and watch those pompous self-fellating assholes pad themselves even more with other people's money and dissolving the rest away in risky instruments which even the manufacturers dont even know about themselves? i hope not. rewarding yourself for a job well done is only natural. but pitching it at figures that might not be attainable for some who slog their entire lives away not only reeks of sheer arrogance but is also insulting to the bailouts when the rest of the world is still grappling with the uncertainty ahead. and then u read an article about how managers claim there is no incentive to conduct serious stress tests in the banks on how they would react in times of crises and my mind just goes blank.

when touring UN premises in Genf, it struck me how we need an international organisation to be dealing with all the humanitarian needs of the world. With all the countries in the world as member countries, it was mind-boggling how no individual country had a ministry that deals with the noble missions of the UN. instead it seemed more like a place where foreign policy is honed and national interests are pitted against one another. the best of intentions marred once again by self-interests. dont tell me that all these countries are in it only for the name. oh, i do good so that i get some goodwill from other places and look good on the intl stage. and then i think of the buffoons in the banks carrying suitcases of cash home and the children who have no food, education, clothing and water, amongst others and i dont know what to think anymore.