2012 is the Year of the Dragon and as celebrations continue up and down the country at the start of Chinese New Year Sherman Tai predicted that in 2012 “Europe’s economy is actually not bad”.
Sherman Tai added: “Where there are changes that lead to improvement, particularly for Germany, England, and France will perform better.
“The decline in banking and insurance in the past year is no longer. Internal consumerism and spending is stable.”
PROPERTY PRICES
“Real estate, particularly England, will have very apparent increase in value, whereas Netherlands, Belgium and Germany will have less of an increase,” said Sherman Tai. “Eastern Europe, countries like Iceland and Norway, will still be weak in economy and real estate. On the other hand, Southern European countries like Italy, Greece, Turkey, and other countries will have declines, which will be initial, then subsequently they will become stronger later on.”
While there is no hope of eliminating the Euro, Sherman Tai says it will be weaker this year, compared to the USD, about 1 Euro to 1.3 – 1.41 USD, with rather large changes.
But he added: “The Great Britain Pound will still be a strong currency, of 1 GBP to 1.55 – 1.65 USD. On average, the unemployment rate in Europe is still high. Some countries will be in double digit. The British Stock Exchange and Frankfurt Stock Exchange will have the largest fluctuations, but on average may have a 6-8% increase.”
ABOUT CHINESE NEW YEAR
Chinese New Year is on a different date each year because the lunar calendar does not have any connection with the solar calendar. Gung hay fat choy is the traditional Chinese greeting for new year. It means: Best wishes and congratulations. Have a prosperous and good year.
The Chinese have identified 12 animals to express zodiacal time. The choice of these animals is based on a tale from Chinese mythology that has been given several interpretations.
One version is: The rat was assigned the job of inviting a variety of animals to a banquet to meet the Jade Emperor who rules the heaven and the earth. At this special meal the animals would have a chance to be selected for the zodiac signs.
The animals who showed up found a place in calendar. The cat apparently never found a spot because the rat fooled him into believing that the banquet was one day later; hence since that day the rat and the cat have been enemies for eternity.
Based on your year of birth, find out which sign you belong to:
The Dragon: 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012
The Snake: 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001
The Horse: 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002
The Sheep: 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003
The Monkey: 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004
The Rooster: 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005
The Dog: 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006
The Pig: 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007
The Rat: 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008
The Ox: 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009
The Tiger: 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010
The Rabbit: 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011
