Two weeks have passed since the Japan quake and there are conflicting reports to the nuclear situation. In one day, we can have 1,000 times the normal amount of radiation before being told it was a mistake in the calculation. We hear about optimism in getting the situation under control followed by news that the situation is grave. We are assured that even though higher than normal radiation is found in some food sources, we will have to take in X amount of times before there are serious effects. This is like telling me that this is poisonous but don't worry, you won’t get poisoned until you take in X number of times. Yet, to be safe, these food sources were destroyed. I'm puzzled how miniscule levels of radiation from Japan can be detected in US and yet none of the countries in Asia Pacific found any. I only read about passengers from Japan with higher the amount of radiation. With such conflicting information, couldn’t the same be said about the stock market? I believe that the Market is driven by human emotions and these emotions are swayed by the conflicting information that we receive. Shares in Saizen and GLP have plummeted and steps have been taken to assure us that the affected properties are safe and they represent only a small portion of their portfolio. Yet the overall impact is still anybody guess. I still have my one lot of GLP from the IPO and a couple of friends who owned Saizen. While all of us are not selling yet, could there be better opportunities else where? Should we stick to them or should we take the opportunity to buy more? I believe many are in the same predicament as us. On the bright side, at least we have the opportunity to make these difficult decisions. I recently received a phone call from my insurance agent advising me to do a free fund switch (CPF OA) to the money market fund and check how things pan out. Although I don’t hold any Japan funds, I took her advice because my current strategy is to consolidate cash. I wonder how many policy owners are aware that they could have funds vested in Japan. My guess is not a lot. Although they will be caught in the same predicament as to the next step to take, but at least they are aware and will not be caught by surprise when they receive their next annual statement. For the opportunist, my advice is to do your research well. There can be pitfalls where you least expect. Take my case for example, the near double digit falls in the Nikki and Topix epresents a very attractive proposition. After some research, it led me to Lyxor Japan 10US$ listed in SGX. The last thing in my mind is for the pricing mechanism to fail. I only realize this after reading Wilfred’s blog. Personally, this feels the same when a stock is suspended. As luck would have it, procrastination led me to miss this ‘opportunity’ and the index has since recovered. I believe that I am not the only one who has learned something from this episode and I will like to encourage you to share yours as well.