A New Year, A New Decade, A New Hope.

2009 is gone and good riddance! It is a year that is best forgotten and I have no found memories whatsoever. It was a year that saw many forms of miseries to people from job losses to financial losses to natural disasters to diseases like the H1N1 flu.
2010 promises to be a good year and a new chapter but it is also going to be the Year of the Metal Tiger (on February 14)....a white Tiger...so what can I expect from this Tiger and what will the year of the Tiger eventually pan out be like?
On the job front...more employment opportunities. Given the good economic growth there will be more hirings. Companies are also making up to their exisiting staff by giving out bonuses and re-instating back the salaries which were cut during the economic crisis....show of optimism! But will the hirings also include the older workers and the PMETs?
On the investment front... the local equity market had surged to a dizzling height and most Asian equity markets are already on the 70%-80% level.. any likelihood to sizzle further to pre-October 2008 level?...or more choppy?..and commodity prices have all climbed back to their old highs...so is there opportunities?
On the personal financial front...inflation is creeping up but interest rates will remain ultra low which means an erosion on savings unless interest rate rises too...likely?
On the property front...prices have surged and I will say missed the boat already as it is unlikely that prices will drop notwithstanding that there will be more launches of new private and public flats.
At this juncture I can only remain hopeful...hoping that the global economy will continue to expand...that there will be no major financial defaults, major corporate failures or major natural disasters....I will be able to secure a job eventually.
HOPE...a powerful word.