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24 July 2026: Key Date for Gold Investors

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  24 JULY: KEY DATE FOR GOLD INVESTORS. A major regulatory enforcement action will come into effect on 24 July 2026 in China. Chinese mega-banks are officially shutting down all intermediary services for retail investors to trade leveraged and paper precious metals contracts linked to the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE). This action is being led by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)—the world’s largest bank by assets—alongside other state-owned giants like Postal Savings Bank of China, Ping An Bank, and China Guangfa Bank. • The Specific Targets: The ban completely turns off retail access to deferred delivery contracts like Au(T+D). These are the highly speculative, margin-funded instruments that allow ordinary retail investors to short or long gold using leverage through their mobile banking apps. • The Deadline Rule: After settlement on 24 July, retail traders can no longer open any new positions. Any remaining leveraged contracts must be manually closed out or taken to ...
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Mee Pok Tar:Singapore Spicy Noodles

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Spicy noodles with liver, minced pork, fish ball, fish meat dumpling, braised mushroom. A popular Singapore food in the  coffeeshops and hawker centers of the public housing estates heartlands. Cost: S$5.00
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My Monster Jazz Archtop Guitar

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A MONSTER JAZZ ARCHTOP GUITAR I got this monster made-in-China Farida 18" archtop from a friend in the UK relocating to Hong Kong and wanting to get rid of excess baggage. Farida is more well-known for their acoustic guitars, this archtop is no longer in production. You can gauge how huge this thing is by comparing with the '68 Morris copy of a Gibson ES175 (Left) which has a lower bout of 16.75 ", and the '78 Yamaha copy of a 17" Gibson L5-CES (Right) The Farida is heavy and won't fit into any standard archtop gig carrying-case. It is very well-made with an Ebony fingerboard, and very loud when played unplugged. And has an old-fashioned sound like those rhythm guitars in a 1930s big band going comp comp comp before electric guitars were invented.  Looking at the tail-bridge, it's a copy of the 1939 D' Angelico New Yorker which probably has a valuation today of at least $50,000.
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A China Patriotic Song Composed with Suno AI

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I  composed this song more than a year ago. I repost it because I think its really well-done by the Suno AI. Also, many of my old posts were not viewed because my blog was not able to be indexed by the Google search engine until recently. Unfortunately I forgot how to copy and embed the code. So just click the link to listen.  Chinese patriotic song composed with Suno AI  
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On Old Neighborhood Chinese Restaurants

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We went to Chin Lee Restaurant for Cristina's sister Rosalie's Birthday. Chin Lee is one of the few neighborhood Chinese restaurants in Singapore that have survived the onslaught of modernization, fast food, and the changing gastronomic inclinations of the younger generation. Indeed, judging from the crowd on the day of our visit, it is thriving. Old neighbood restaurantsin  the public housing estates of heartland Singapore, where 85% of Singaporeans live, are a focus point for birthday celebrations, and community gatherings, especialy for the older generation.  The food at Chin Lee is old-style Teochew. Like the Hokkiens and Cantonese, the Teochew Chinese hailed from Southern China. Their food is known for its fresh clean taste, with less oil and salt, and more use of steaming and braising  instead of stir-frying  What we ate (see pics below). 1. Pig Trotter in Jelly 2. Birthday Buns with Lotus Paste fillings. 3. Braised Duck with Intestine and Bean Curd sheets. 4. ...
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Chinese Animal Zodiac: 2024 1 oz Asahi Silver Dragon Bullion Coin

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  Bullion Star Singapore commissioned Asahi Refinimg of Japan to mint a 1 oz Silver bullion coin commemorating 2024 the year of the Dragon. This an investment grade no-VAT 999 fine silver coin. It is a beautiful coin which will show steady increase in premium over the Silver spot price.  In Chinese culture, the dragon embodies wealth, strength, and power. The Dragon is the fifth mythical animal of the Chinese Zodiac. Each twelve-year zodiac cycle also corresponds with one of the five traditional elements in Chinese astrology: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and for 2024 – Wood. The Wood Dragon is known for its stoic confidence, and its great zest for life and creativity. The obverse of the BullionStar 1 oz Silver Dragon – 2024 features a roaring dragon with an exquisite, frosted finish, on a field of interlocking six-point stars. The body of the dragon forms a figure of eight, symbolizing prosperity and luck. The left side of the field contains a Lenticular image security feature. ...
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The Queen's Beasts Collection: Investable Silver Bullion Coins

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The Queen’s Beasts Collection consisting of 11 distinct 2 oz silver bullion coins was issued between 2016 and 2021. Each coin features a heraldic (coat of arms) animal representing the genealogy of Queen Elizabeth II and the British Royalty. The statues on which the coins are based stood in front of the annexe of Westminster Abbey for the Queen's coronation in 1953. The originals were later presented to the Canadian Museum of History, but replicas are now displayed at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. The year beside the coin list below is the date of issue of the coin. 2016 The Lion of England The Lion of England is the crowned golden lion of England, which has been one of the supporters of the Royal Arms since the reign of Edward IV (1461–1483). It supports a shield showing the Arms of the United Kingdom as they have been since Queen Victoria's accession in 1837. In the first and last quarters of the shield are the arms of the House of Plantagenet, taken from the arms of Ri...
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