We have received some requests to discuss credit cards. We are not surprised as these plastics have become ubiquitous to a growing segment of our people. There have been around 7 million cards issued, with roughly 1.5 or so cards per person. We could not resist the pun and put up the title above. We could force an analogy in the sense that just like any kind of debt, a credit card could be a hammer to build or it could be a sickle to cut and deconstruct.
Today, we take a turn and leave investing in the meantime. Let's go to debts or borrowing. At any rate, it looks like the heightened volatility in the financial markets since the last week of May is tapering off this July.
In June, the markets did the jerk. They danced up and down and roiled throughout the month. From its peak on May 15 to end June, stocks are about 13% lower, after falling more than 20% at its lows. The long bonds, on the other hand, are down around 12% in value after losing around 20% at its lows. And the peso hit a low of P44.17 against the dollar.
Some readers found our piece last week 'bitin'or rather vague. We understand the reaction. But our intention was not to tell people to invest or not. It was to show that investing is not as simple as listening to so-called experts say where the markets will go.
Last week, we promised to discuss how to make our savings work for us. Keeping money in a vault, in bedroom drawers, secret walls, or burying it under the ground won’t do it. Aside from not earning, you might forget where you put it or somebody might find and get it. It could pose a security problem. Money starts working when it is invested. And it has to be invested very carefully especially since the financial markets have been rather restless recently.
It’s school opening time again. To many parents and guardians, it is not necessarily a most pleasant time. Some of us would have borrowed or used up what little savings we have for tuition. And yet, the start of classes will force open our wallets wider still. There are books and school materials to be bought, clothes, school bus and many more. That the rains had started, albeit still intermittent, just add to the gloom of the times.
‘A banker is someone who offers you an umbrella when the weather is fine and snaps it back at the first sign of rains. They offer all sorts of loans to the moneyed and those who don’t really need it but snub those who need their assistance badly.
Today, we start this weekly column. Why “East to West”? We like the symbolisms of the phrase. East to West is a vast expanse. We hope to cover a variety of topics. It could also mean that one never gets there. Anywhere you stand, there is always an east and a west. Just like our everyday lives. There is always something to go to, to aim for. Just like contending opinions, there are pros and cons. In EastWest Bank, the current thought is to combine the friendly and soft touch of the east and the efficiency and straightforward ways of the west. If we find the sweet spot between the east and the west, we would have found the Holy Grail in customer service. And just simply, we find “East to West” nice.
