I am a physician, currently practicing as an Anesthesiologist. My other passions are finance and investments. As of 2013, I have passed all three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams, all in my first attempts. I received my Masters of Business Administration degree in 2008. I received my certification as a securities specialist from the Philippine Stock Exchange in 2009.
In a love story – whether it ends happily or not, the setting is also important. In this post I will feature Christian Grey’s Penthouse in Escala, the setting for most of the “action” in Fifty Shades of Grey.
The Escala apartments is actually a real-life building, though E L James had not been there when she wrote the book. She used the promotional materials of the condo to describe the penthouse.
See related post about Fifty Shades of Grey here. The movie will be open in the Philippines on February 11.
Address: 1920 Fourth Avenue, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Escala, the setting for Fifty Shades of Grey. Image from bizjournals.com
Penthouse – Christian Grey’s pad in ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’
Fifty Shades of Grey is one of the most highly anticipated movies this year. The movie will hit theatres on February 11, 2015 in the Philippines. However, the biggest cinema chain in the Philippines, SM Cinema, will not be showing Fifty Shades of Grey in its theatres as it follows its traditional rule of not exhibiting R18 movies.
Fifty Shades of Grey, a movie based on the book of the same name by E L James, will hit theatres in most parts of the world this month.
Fifty Shades of Grey will be “unveiled” to worldwide audiences this Valentine’s week. Image by popsugar.com from the official movie trailer
Fans of the movie in the Philippines will be lucky to see it earlier than most since the movie will open here on February 11, ahead of its February 13 release in the United States.
The Economist invented the Big Mac Index in 1986 to better demonstrate Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). But does The Economist actually eat the Big Macs in their study? The Big Mac Index assumes parity in value; but I disagree, because Big Macs around the world are not equal in yumminess.
An economic theory that estimates the amount of adjustment needed on the exchange rate between countries in order for the exchange to be equivalent to each currency’s purchasing power.
In layman’s terms; if a basket of goods and services is worth US$100 in the United States and an identical basket of goods and services is worth only US$ 77 in the Philippines at current exchange rates, then the Philippine Peso (PHP) is undervalued by 23 %.
Unfortunately, many people in the world no longer use baskets, and deciding which good makes it to the basket may be contentious. Since McDonald’s (see MCD:US latest stock quote), the company that serves Big Macs, can be found in most countries, using the burger as a proxy for the “basket of good and services” makes sense. Of course, the Big Mac method is not accurate; but according to The Economist, this makes the PPP theory more “digestible”.
Digestible? Did The Economist staff actually eat the Big Macs? Do The Economist writers actually eat at McDonald’s? In my opinion, some Big Macs are yummier than others.
Here is a rundown from Big Macs from around the world, and a depiction of the countries’ under/ over-valuation against the US Dollar:
Big Mac from New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America. Average Price: US$ 4.79
Do students in Yale eat this New Haven Big Mac while debating the merits of the Big Mac Index? Image from spaceofjase.com
Since this is an investment related blog, it’s only fitting that I see opportunities where there is one.
The 63rd Miss Universe will be held tonight in Florida (tomorrow morning Manila time), where Miss Universe 2014 will be crowned. It is already 2015, so it seems that there has been a slight delay.
This blog goes (virtually) to Doral. Image from missuniverse.com
A lot of people do not care about pageants anymore, but many people still do – Filipinos and South Americans in particular. To reach out to that audience, I will be posting Miss Universe related investment information.
Bienvenidos.
Learn more about the actual pageant here. If you are in the area, see if you can still buy tickets here.
Finance, M.D. thefinancemd.com 