The Swan Bell Tower is now an iconic landmark on the Perth foreshore, once decried by the local newspaper, public opinion was shaped by newspaper editorial opinion based on political point scoring. Now enveloped in the Elizabeth Quay construction, the Bell Tower structure sits along side the artificial inlet of the development and will soon be dwarfed by the surrounding hi-rise structures that will line the inlet.

The Bell Tower is a stunning building, housing the Bells of St Martin in the Fields, donated by the City of London during Australia\’s bicentennial celebrations in 1988, the Bell Tower was a tourist attraction in its own right.

I am constantly told by supporters of the Australian Labor Party, the political party of trade unions that the Swan Bell Tower was a waste of taxpayer’s money. I always reply, at $5.5 million dollars, the Bell Tower was designed, built and opened on time and on budget and is still open. This is an unusual situation for a state government project, possibly because it may have been a non-union site with no strikes, work to rule, stoppages and union graft payments.

I always ask these same people what WA Inc cost Western Australia? $877 million of tax payer’s money was lost to money heaven. That could purchase a further 159 Bell Towers around the state, that is of course purely academic as WA Inc delivered absolutely no physical structures or outcomes. Just the Royal Commission inquiry into the workings WA Inc cost over 30 million dollars taking losses to over 900 million dollars. How many hospitals, schools and government programs could that finance?

Marissa Mayer was brought into Yahoo! to turn the fast failing internet business around; the monumental task requires Yahoo! to take on rivals Twitter, Google and Facebook to restore both market share and profitability.

Marissa, a former Google vice president defected to former rival Yahoo! after the business plunged to serious depths of despair; unfortunately, the business hasn’t performed since Mayer’s 2012 appointment. Yahoo! has three main divisions of search, mail and Tumblr and may soon be realigned into four divisions of news, sport, lifestyle and finance. Under Mayer, the business has engaged in high profile acquisitions that have failed to increase shareholder value.

The board is considering the sale of patents, real estate and a number of programs as earning decrease again. Jobs are at risk with 1600 or more employees shown the door with more probable job losses pending. The board is seeking strategic partnerships but one expects Amazon, Google, eBay, Facebook or Apple to launch a takeover and break the company up and sell the divisions individually in a move that might increase shareholder value.

The recent World Economic Forum in the alpine town of Davos Switzerland brings together political and business leaders to discuss contemporary economic issues. Lending glamour to the conference is movie star Leonardo DiCaprio who later met with the Pope to discuss issues with capitalism and environmental issues.

DiCaprio, who was reportedly paid $20 million for The Great Gatsby and $10 million for The Wolf of Wall Street; DiCaprio is blessed with a current net worth estimated between $220 – $245 million. The business of motion pictures has been pretty good to Leonardo; as they say, there is no business like show business.

Just as before when U2 frontman, Bono addressed the conference we all raised a smile. We have ultra rich rock stars avoiding tax in their own countries, then lecturing the world on the need for clamping down on corporate tax avoidance – whoa. The hypocrisy is startling, after being exposed for his own irregular tax affairs, that is tax avoidance in any other terms.

He is happy to espouse Ireland’s tax policies that, according to him have “brought our country the only prosperity we’ve known.” In essence, Ireland’s lax tax laws attract corporations seeking to reduce their tax and social burden. These corporations are predominately tech and pharmaceuticals avoid paying tax in the countries they earned that revenue.

I fully believe corporations have a social responsibility to enrich the communities from where they derive their wealth. Movie stars and rock stars should be addressing their finance managers and accountants on the details of their extensive tax avoidance schemes leaving the symbolic gestures alone. It is the middle class that pays the bulk of the tax, while they have large pay packets, they don’t represent us.

Whilst I have been known to criticise PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) on occasions; I must say, their system of instructor development is pretty much world class. Their instructor development system is educationally correct built on the foundations of adult learning theory applying adult learning principles to dive education.

Likewise, their printed training materials are not only educationally sound, they are of a high quality, their interactive learning resources are world class and visual presentations for the best part hit the mark. The PADI videos while attempting to meet the needs of visual learners do tend to be a bit cluttered and contain subliminal advertising reducing their effectiveness somewhat. Needless to say, the PADI learning materials are generally of a high standard in presentation and quality.

So, the learning materials are no issue, the focus now moves to the instructor learning process, this involves academic, confined water and open water teaching presentations. Initial instructor academic development is similar to standard diver development, that is, read the text book, answer the review questions and review the given answers. However, instructor course material then differs, teaching presentations then align to learning how to teach.

From here onwards; the instructor candidates focus on teaching practice, that is actual instruction, what they do not engage in is a review of teaching methodology, instructional design or alternate teaching methods. This is less of a case of independence and academic freedom and more a case of follow our system and you will be right. The course reviews the PADI range of dive courses from experience, entry-level, continuing education, specialty programs and entry-level (non-instructional).

Much of the focus of the instructor course then moves to the confined water and open water presentations and evaluations. This is the in-water portion of the program, these days the instructor development course has been reduced to 7 days, that is 4 days for the assistant instructor course and 3 days for the instructor development course, a far cry from the 14 day course I undertook back in 2001.

The instructor candidate is evaluated throughout the whole 7 days by the instructor trainer known as a Course Director before PADI themselves come out to independently assess the competence of the instructor candidate over the course of an evening and two days (usually a weekend). The evaluation begins on the first evening with a series of written tests that include physics, physiology, dive table use, dive programs and finally dive equipment. Then an open book standards test is administered to identify individual course standards in the instructor manual.

At the completion of the written examinations, the academic topics, confined water and open water tasks are handed out. Candidates must then go home and prepare two academic micro-teaching presentations, two confined water and two open water skills they must present. The next day sees all candidates in confined water teaching two diver skills with the other candidates as students.

The evaluator is in the water with the candidate and orders the instructor candidate and assistant to duck their heads below the water while problems are handed out to the students to encounter. The object is for the instructor candidate to solve the in-water problems, failure to do so will result in a fail, some students are instructed to perform the skills correctly, this mimics what occurs in a real world class.

The instructor development course has been shortened, this is a concern, especially for potential candidates with sometimes less than 100 dives, many candidates complete their 100 dive minimum during the course. In direct comparison to myself, I had over 750 dives before starting my instructor course.

Of that, I had over 250 dives before beginning my divemaster training so I had slightly over 500 working dives experience earned over two full seasons as a divemaster and assistant instructor. A classmate had over 2000 dives as an underwater guide, the other ten members of my course however barely met minimum levels, the actual dive skills were sadly lacking of most candidates.

As a former dive store owner, I employer a number of instructors straight out of their instructor examination – they were not job ready and much internal training was required, as a small centre, we didn’t have the resources to train instructors, I performed much of the in-house training myself. I recall my first scuba class and confined water sessions as an instructor, too slow and didn’t get schedule right.

These newly certified instructors were not ready to independently supervise and instruct dive students, I was then forced to act as an assistant to the instructor to directly supervise their class, this isn’t to just learn the shop procedures, this was a competency issue. No dive store owner I know would employ a newly certified dive instructor with 100 dives and expect them to teach a class effectively unsupervised.

The Elizabeth Quay project on the Perth foreshore is nearing the end of being a construction zone, the inlet has been flooded as the excavation has finished with some minor construction continuing. Whilst Elizabeth Quay will be officially opened on Friday, construction will continue for a number of years yet. When completed, this will be a major draw card for the city of Perth in terms of social and economic progress connecting the Swan River to the city.

Chevron, a major tenant has requested a two year delay to the tower to be constructed on the corner of Barrack Street and the Esplanade as the Gorgon and Wheatstone gas projects are behind time and budget. Chevron recently laid off 1500 workers on the construction phase of the project as the Western Australian economy stagnates, the state government has recently instigated a hiring freeze as the state unemployment rate rises to the highest levels in 13 years.

The major construction projects in the city have generated jobs but comes at a high cost to the state’s finances. With the state budget in disarray after the collapse of iron ore royalties and GST distributions, the construction phases look to wind down as the economic downturn is expected to bite even harder. The state government will pretty much have empty coffers with no new major construction projects planned due to state debt climbing past the $30 billion level unless alternate funding is procured. I’m also concerned major anchor tenants at Elizabeth Quay may further postpone construction due to economic conditions that are unraveling right now.

The women’s big bash league is now being televised on free-to-air television with their games being played as the pre-game entertainment to the men’s match later in the evening. The games are pretty good, their skills are excellent and they are very entertaining to watch. They are playing the same franchise teams as the men and have overseas import players ensuring the best talent is on show with developing local players with exposure to the world’s best women players.

The women are playing shorter boundaries, the average pace delivery is around the 100 kph mark so some women are wearing helmets when batting, others just front up in a cap as most deliveries are slow/medium. What they do well is swing the ball, it is argued the women swing the ball more than the men as the men’s greater pace  produces less swing. The women might be playing to near empty stadiums at the moment, that will change as their game is given greater exposure – these games are well worth watching.

I have heard plenty of discussions at work in regards to the sharemarket; the general consensus is this is a pure form of gambling with little to do with investing. They liken share selection to throwing darts at a dart board, they are quick to share tips on penny dreadlocks in much the same way tips are bandied around the race track with an in the know punter sprouting free tips.

Now let’s keep in mind these people undertake no research, no analysis and no strategy is utilised – indeed, they are gambling without a strategy. When you gamble, you own nothing but when you invest you own a small part of the company. Now we all know share prices fluctuate, this a market after all and if share prices rise every time then there is no downside risk. Yes, markets go down as well as up and a prudent investor needs to understand the factors affecting markets.

A number of factors need to be considered, the general economic conditions are paramount, a working knowledge of macro-economics is vital. This doesn’t mean sitting a formal course although this helps, for the first 20 years of my share trading and investing, my knowledge of macro-economics was gained from reading books. A working knowledge of fiscal policy, monetary policy and exchange rates is vital; the interactions of interest rates, balance of payments, inflation, commodity prices and unemployment all factor in general market decisions.

Then you need to look to individual company performance by looking at the earnings per share, price earnings ratio, dividend per share and dividend yields as a fundamental analysis. The company needs to be compared against other businesses within the sector for performance, no fundamental analysis is complete without some form of technical analysis.

Now I know a number of stockbrokers view charting as voodoo, but you really need to view the entire market and individual share price from a historical perspective to verify the trend. You might have determined through fundamental analysis the share you seek investment; for me, technical analysis is all about market timing as there is no value in buying in a market top or major downtrend. For me, it is better to wait for the trend to turn around as general market conditions improve or the factors affecting the downtrend such as commodity prices, competitive forces, supply chains or break-even points are addressed.

I like to look at the upper management and their performance, well managed businesses have shown long-term gains with current upper management teams that have succession plans in place. I prefer to not invest in companies with a history of management scandals, they set the strategy and direction of the company. Ben Graham in The Intelligent Investor famously stated “An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and an adequate return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative.” 

For me, a big difference exists in trading and investing. I once traded shares and I am now an investor in shares and other derivatives. There is a big difference in trading for a short-term capital gain and investing long-term for dividend yields; a capital gain is welcomed but not the primary investment factor. The preservation of capital is the primary investment factor with the dividend yield the secondary factor for investment decision-making.

Big hitting West Indian Chris Gayle lit up Ethihad Stadium with a masterful batting display of power and aggression for the Melbourne Renegades. In what was to be his last appearance in the BBL, Gayle left no doubt in anybody’s mind that he is not only a great talent but an excellent drawcard for T20 cricket – such a shame to lose him.

Gayle equaled Yuvraj Singh’s T20 batting record with a quickfire knock comprising of 2 . 6 6 6 6 2 6 6 4 1 and finally another towering 6 to bring up his half century as a no ball added another run to the total. Ironically Gayle declined a boundary side interview after his majestic knock, this is a disaster for Cricket Australia who have indicated Gayle will not be invited back to the BBL next year. Furthermore, Gayle’s legal action against the Fairfax Media Group could potentially reap him millions in lost revenue from cricket appearances and endorsements. Everybody is a loser after this poorly handled witch hunt.

The B-52 Stratofortress began service in the United States Air Force in 1955 as a long range heavy bomber during the cold war era. Despite being a sub-sonic aircraft, the super-sonic B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit have failed to replace the B-52 as a long range heavy bomber with the B-52 remaining in service. The cancelled B-70 Valkerie project, despite reaching speeds of mach 3 and an operating altitude of 70,000 feet failed to replace the B-52 as the front line strategic bomber.

The B-52 remains in service for a number of reasons, the aircraft has the ability to fly long range missions, loiter in an area just outside of the battle field before dropping precise weapons and is a robust aircraft that is reasonably cost effective to operate. The B-52 is expected to remain in service until 2045, an extremely long service life for not only a military aircraft but for any aircraft.

The B-52 can carry an array of weapons from nuclear to conventional; during the cold war the B-52 loitered at high altitude close to the borders of the former Soviet Union providing rapid first strike or retaliation capabilities as part of a three prong nuclear deterrence strategy. Amazingly, 742 B-52 aircraft have been built with a production run from 1954 to 1963. In comparison, 104 B-1 Lancer 21 and 21 B-2 Spirit stealth bombers were built ensuring the B-52 remains the most prolific aircraft in the heavy strategic bomber fleet.

After another stunning knock for the Melbourne Renegades, international T20 player Chris Gayle was pulled up boundary side and interviewed by Network Ten sports reporter Mel McLaughlin. While people will draw their own conclusions over Gayle’s remarks, I thought they were made in jest with a smile on his face. He livened up what was bound to be another boring interview.

Ironically, Mel is now taking on-air interviews over the incident becoming a bit of a celebrity herself, reporters will soon have a higher profile than the players. Others will call it sexist and while I disagree with them, that is their opinion. There was threats of booting him out of the BBL before he was fined $10,000 by Cricket Australia in what I thought was a purely reactive response.

Now Fairfax Media dredges up an old story from last year before the World Cup where it was alleged Gayle exposed himself to a woman in the change rooms after walking out of a shower after a training session. The incident was reported to team management at the time as the woman who was employed by the team claimed she was looking for a sandwich. Jumping on the bandwagon, Fairfax Media want a beat-up story to create media momentum to sell newspapers.

In a case of he said/she said, now another investigation will be conducted with the ICC taking a backward step not wanting to become involved. Gayle has had enough and has now stated his intention to sue Fairfax Media for defamation – yeah. So unless further witnesses suddenly appear or video evidence arises – there is no case.

Maybe Cricket Australia should yank all the mics from the players on the ground with all media releases to go through a team communications manager with no coaching or playing staff to front the media. The networks should lose their unlimited access to the players – they will no longer be able to do a hatchet job on players like Gayle.

This is an over-reaction for a sport trying desperately trying to attract women viewers, this is the first year of a televised women’s BBL and they don’t want to alienate potential women viewers. The women’s BBL is good and people will watch the league regardless – no need to make Gayle the fall guy for some off-the-cuff remarks made on the boundary line.