who, among us laymen, would have thought that a globlal investment bank like lehman brothers could collapse just like that. if i had, i would not have suffered a financial loss. i had put some money in minibonds nearly two years ago. my relationship manager had assured me that the principal would be protected and that the risk was really minimal. "do you know how big lehman is?"
when i read that lehman brothers had filed for bankruptcy, i was prepared to say bye-bye to my ill-advised investment. but, there was still a glimmer of hope in getting something back. it was reported in the papers that we might be able to get back about 30% of the sum. however, the amount seems to be dwindling as my relationship manager called to inform me that i might be lucky to get back 15% of the principal sum.
a number of my retiree friends have been hit, some quite hard. one of them could not sleep the whole night thinking about the loss of her hard-earned saving. i did not lose any sleep; i was just resigned to my fate. when my elder daughter heard about my misfortune, she was quite worried for me, and kept asking if i still had enough money for my retirement years.
did not tell her i have been hit at a number of fronts, not just this one. on paper, i have also lost in the stock market and in dual currencies.
looks like i may just have to collect more aluminium cans each day. if i collect 120 cans a day, in about 25 years' time, i will be able to get back the amount i have lost.
