udon for summer

Sometimes I meet American people at a Japanese restaurant thinking over the menu, trying to decide what to order. Some people are brave enough to ask which one I would recommend.

Most of time, I recommend what I like. I took a picture of list of dishes I like to eat for lunch so I am posting it for American friends.

Normally, Japanese people eat a lot of carbs, either rice or noodle. The noodle in the picture is called udon. When you put curry on top of the noodle, it's called "curry udon." As guys get hungry so fast, I like to eat a little bowl of rice in addition to the noodle. Spicy eggs of cod and minced mountain yam enhances the taste of rice so much. As side dish, I ordered two pieces of croquet.

It was pretty hearty lunch, I think I can work hard for a few more hours:)

How About Curry Rice for Lunch?

Everyday at work, lunch break is something I look forward to. I usually go out to eat Japanese food.

Today, I ate Japanese curry. There are many different kinds of curries; Indian, Korean and Japanese... just to name what I know.

Characteristics of Japanese curry is that its color is brown. It usually has diced beef, carrots and potatoes in it. It tastes good when the potatoes and carrots are diced in large pieces.

Today's curry tasted especially good because the flavor of the potato and carrots were still inside the veggie itself. It was cooked well, but not to the point is melted.

all kinds of penguins

Did you know that there are so many different kinds of penguins in the world?

http://www.adelie.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/species_notes/SP_NOTE.htm

Financial Sector Being Hammered

Starting from last week, stock market has been bear. Most notably, financial stocks are being hammered due to worries over US sovereign rating threatened by S&P.

This is really a simple math; if the country's credibility is down, banks based in the country needs to pay higher price to finance a dollar.

The biggest decline in the financial sector today was Bank of America (BAC). BAC has a larger exposure to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae compared to its peers.

I saw market news in the canteen, but the reporter was kind of optimistic that the marker will make a quick come back. I kept on hearing the same at the beginning of financial crisis. I really hope that market participants will have a positive look soon.

Gold Price Surging

Gold prices are surging while concerns about the state of the global economy looming. Investors are rushing to gold, pushing a high of $1,675.90 an ounce in New York on Wednesday, up from $1,641.90 on Tuesday.

Investors, spooked by a raft of discouraging reports about slowing job growth, have been pulling out of stocks and retreating into the safety of the precious metal.

The country's credit rating could still take a hit down the line, threatening the value of the dollar. Once you don’t trust in currency, you don't trust the markets and you don't trust your leaders. The only thing left is gold.

About Rating Agencies

S&P and Moody's both have threatened to cut the top-notch credit rating of the United States' sovereign debt for the first time in its history. As all professionals in credit market know, agency rating is a big factor to determine the borrowing cost. This is very big milestone in the financial market, as the move can push up the cost of credit world wide for many years.

There was an interesting Reuters article explaining the criticality of rating agencies by going through a role they played in recent economic cycles. The article also briefed David Beers, who is the global head of sovereign credit rating for S&P. I have heard about him before, but had no idea who he is, so it was interesting.

I am neither supportive nor against the credit agencies, because there are tons of pros and cons about them. But just like the world is not perfect, it is unreasonable to expect perfection from the rating agencies. Bottom line is that market needs them, and participants, including government, should work together to improve the clarity of information.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/02/us-ratings-insight-idUSTRE7714TI20110802

Tablet

Recently, almost everyone on commuter train has a tablet. Most popular one among my colleagues is nook and iPad.

I have been curious About it so I went to Barnes & Nobles today to play with nook during a break. It is pretty interesting, and it would definitely make my bag lighter(#^.^#)