Greed Will Make You Bleed
By Marion Marking

Marion Marking is editor in chief at ChinaBusiness-Philippines magazine, which publishes monthly in English and Chinese and is available at National Bookstore, Powerbooks, Fully Booked, leading newsstands nationwide, and online via http://ChinaBusinessPhilippines.com. She can be reached at m.marking@fairnewsmedia.com.

While stuck in traffic the other night, I was wondering why people were still trooping to the malls so far from payday despite the global economy melting down around our ears. I guess that's the way it is in the Philippines where Christmas season begins the day after Halloween; and in the 21st century when Christmas comes with a hefty price tag.

Or Filipinos are still in denial. Our editorial covers tell you that much. (Our November cover asked “What Recession?” and our December one tells you to shop.)

Businesspeople from all over have been telling me that we won't feel the effects of the global financial crisis until halfway into 2009. But many act as if the effects will never be felt at all. Who knows, maybe they're right. Those that don't have money still don't have it and many of those who bore the brunt of the recent downturn have, so far, only seen their losses on paper. The wise ones are saving for a rainy day; some have never stopped doing so.

Asia's booming economies have always been characterized by high savings. The frenzied consumerism that characterizes the Philippines (just watch how malls go up overnight) will not make it great. Savings will.

Now, investing it is another story. A top financial adviser once told me: NEVER gamble with your savings. Invest only the amount that won't hurt you too much if you happen to be wrong.

Someone ought to make black shirts emblazoned with red letters that read “Too much greed will make you bleed” and sell them on Wall Street.

While Philippine malls are packed with shoppers, American consumers are reluctant to spend. US retail sales dropped to a record low in October such that food and clothing retailers are feeling the pinch in their stock prices. Abercrombie & Fitch, J.C. Penney, Procter and Gamble, Wal-Mart and a host of other popular American consumer companies are experiencing declines.

The common solution these days is to sell part of your company off. The news is that Procter and Gamble, the largest consumer product manufacturer in the world, expects a better stock market performance after it sold off Folgers, America's largest coffee enterprise.

Maybe American consumers have the right idea. Stop spending. If times get really bad, you may end up selling (just like Wall Street's finest) all those Christmas goodies you bought at holiday prices. After all, Christmas should be about more than just spending, binging, and other forms of holiday excess. If you realize this now, you probably won't mind it too much that your wallet is a little thinner as you enter the New Year.