I was reminded the other day – not that I ever need reminding – about why I need to invest. The thing that caught my attention was a small sign that was taped onto a cash register at a drinks stall in Chinatown…. …. The stall holder informed customers that dessert prices would rise by S$0.20, and that canned drinks would go up by S$0.10. There was no apology. Just a statement of fact. I doubt if the drinks-stall owner is alone in feeling the pinch from higher prices. I wonder how long it will take before bakers, dim-sum restaurants, pizzerias, and mee pok sellers are forced to raise prices, too, because of rising wheat costs. And as I write, the price of nickel has risen parabolically to over US$55,000 a ton in just a matter of hours. Thank goodness I bought some spare calculator batteries when I did. Otherwise, I could be trying to relearn how to use my slide-rule again....