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There's a BBC documentary about loaded magazine on TV tonight. It’s called, imaginatively enough, Loaded: Lads, Mags and Mayhem. It’s supposed to be about loaded magazine. Not the loaded magazine you might have seen on newsagents’ shelves from the early 2000s onwards – airbrushed picture of a half-dressed woman you’ve never heard of, unfunny coverlines and no soul. Not that one. No, this is about the original Loaded magazine that launched in May 1994, the one that had Harry Hill riding a badger, Kathy Burke smoking a fag, and Vic and Bob wearing hats made of meat on the covers. The one with lines like ‘Go Straight To Ale – drinking around the Monopoly board’, ‘Room Servicing – why hotel sex is best’ and this endorsement taken from an interview inside with Sir Michael Caine: “I’ve just been reading Loaded. I was laughing my bollocks off”. The one that used to send writers to impersonate Magnum P.I. in Hawaii, search for Jesus in Jerusalem and get in a ring with Prince Naz whilst also giving the world Platinum Rogues – the league table of celebrity bad behaviour– and the Crisps World Cup. You remember. The Loaded magazine that shut down the London Stock Exchange as traders downed tools to read the December 1994 Kathy Lloyd issue and would soon go on to sell over half a million copies a month and define the last truly great decade. The Loaded magazine that should have been humanely destroyed at the turn of the millennium. That one. Not because, as this missed opportunity of a documentary seems keen to suggest, it promoted some kind of generalised mass misogyny that eventually produced creatures like social media scumbag Andrew Tate – it didn’t – but so that its legacy would not be tainted by the lowest common denominator lads mag flotsam that subsequently appeared in its name and beneath the same iconic logo. The makers of Loaded: Lads, Mags and Mayhem talk to several key members of the original team who patiently try to explain what the magazine was all about. Not easy three decades hence, after years of hedonistic excess and when you never had a clue in the first place. “You can look back now and try and reverse engineer a genius publishing masterplan but there wasn’t one,” says loaded co- founder Tim Southwell . “We just knew that was a market because we were the market and we knew there were millions like us out there. “Up to that point all men had were these faux American po-faced advertising vehicles busy selling a contrived version of alpha male bullshit to desperate wannabes in London and the South-East of England. If you want to talk about toxic masculinity you might start there. “We were just a gang of working-class berks from all over the country who ended up in this insane office producing something for ourselves and our mates that we wanted to read. We’d all had our own fanzines and this was just a bigger version – a national fanzine.” Southwell appears in the documentary and has just updated and republished his book, Getting Away With It to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the launch of the magazine. “This is the inside story,” he continues. “When I was updating it I was even more amazed that we got the thing in the shops every month than I was at the time and I found it hard to believe then.” He’s right. I was there. First as a writer (that was me being embarrassed in the ring by Naseem Hamed) and then as Editor-at-Large where one brief was “Go to America and don’t come back until you’ve got into trouble.” Seeking out the godfather of gonzo journalism and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas author Hunter S. Thompson in Colorado, becoming involved in a bar brawl and being chased across the state line by angry gun-toting cowboys and police before taking refuge at his attorney’s place probably qualified. And this was for a magazine that very nearly didn’t happen at all. A chance phone call in early April 1994 alerted the team to the fact that Kurt Cobain had died. Obviously a tragedy in its own right but of more immediate concern was the fact that issue 1 was at the printers and contained an article pointing out that the Nirvana lead singer wasn’t a proper rock star because, after a recent suicide attempt had failed, he couldn’t even kill himself. Hmmm. A frantic call just in time prevented the debut issue from being pulped. Five years later, a print run of 800,000 copies was about to be destroyed after someone pointed out that the actress Cameron Diaz ’s right nipple was clearly visible on the cover of the February 1999 issue. A big legal no-no only averted when someone came up with the idea of placing a sticker over the “offending” body part with the words, “Free Sticker” on it. This kind of thing happened all the time in a work environment before health and safety even existed but space and certain legal considerations prevent me from describing it in full. Kept away from main building in the kind of low-slung bunker with a shed built on an adjoining roof (planning permission? Er no), panics concerning imminent police busts were frequent while it was not uncommon to find annoying staff members sellotaped to chairs and, having been spun round until their faces turned purple, on the brink of passing out. They would be in good company. There were often unconscious people lying around, some of them even worked there. Perhaps this charming tableau from Southwell’s book best captures the essence of the Loaded office: [A heated exchange has just taken place between a writer and a designer] “When Phil went to the toilet Jon sat down at Phil’s computer and set fire to it. There were flames and black smoke everywhere, fumes and everything. Phil put the fire out with his T-shirt and then carried on working at the computer.” Thefts from the fashion dept became so out of control a secure room had to be constructed (subsequently used to store more exotic contraband) and as the magazine’s success and notoriety spread it became a de facto drop-in centre for a lot of the people associated with the 1990s in Britain or just passing through. Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh was a columnist as was convicted drug dealer/ author Howard ‘Mr Nice’ Marks. Robbie Williams , then in his post Take That wilderness period, would occasionally walk-in off the street looking for someone to go for a drink with. Loaded did not report on the swinging 1990s, it was the swinging 1990s - the in-house bible for that glorious moment in time like Rolling Stone in 60s America. Everybody wanted to be in it – although Noel Gallagher was proving hard to get. We did get him eventually (cover had a roll with it because well... you know) but we should have had him earlier. Southwell had left his dictaphone in a hotel room commandeered by Loaded at a festival. Gallagher was one of many who passed through, found the recording device, interviewed himself and sent someone to deliver it to Southwell... who, to his absolute horror, discovered that in something resembling professionalism had made him switch the batteries round in order to prevent recording over an interview with Mr C from the Shamen. “I only did that once,” he remembers now. “Behave like a professional that is.” By the time of the inaugural Loaded awards in 1999 , Gallagher had been interviewed again by Irvine Welsh and they were both in attendance at West End night club Talk of the Town. It was the hottest ticket in London. As Southwell and I watched from the balcony we could see Noel pouring wine into the glass of Richard Whiteley from Countdown while Welsh was playing I-Spy with Charlatans front man Tim Burgess and page 3 model/ loaded cover girl Jo Guest. Across the way TV presenter Johnny Vaughan and girl band All Saints were deep in conversation with Wolf from Gladiators . Next to them, the actor Robert Carlyle, Paul Weller and George Best were laughing their heads off about something while Southwell’s dad was busy flirting with Kathy Burke. Vic and Bob (“enjoy your lunch and watch out for that lunchtime semi”), Prince Naz, Ali G, The Dice Man novelist Luke Rhinehart, Beastie Boys and Paul Whitehouse all recorded cheeky video messages. As had Jean Reno, star of Leon, with the “Best Assassin” award. I presented it to him in Chicago having been thankfully diverted there (and saving my job, probably) after turning up in LA to interview Bridget Fonda for the cover, failing to do so after falling into the right/ wrong company and disappearing for three days. If this all reads like a rollercoaster of misbehaviour, mayhem and joyous escapism, it should do. It all came to a shuddering halt a few months later on a winter evening in Milan in January 2000. Beth Summers, our “big sister” and brilliant Fashion Editor suffered a major brain injury in a horrific motorbike accident during fashion week. She now receives 24/7 care. As Southwell puts it, “My book is called Getting Away With it... that’s when we stopped getting away with it. The original team were gone in a matter of months. Out of there.” You won’t know this if you watch BBC documentary Loaded: Lads, Mags and Mayhem tonight because it’s not mentioned. In fact, despite being a visionary who did more than anyone else that decade to democratise the business of dressing young British men across every demographic, Beth Summers isn’t mentioned at all. At just about 5ft2in tall, she was The Don nonpareil in the wildest, most dysfunctional, creative and dangerous office in magazine history. One look was all it took to get things done her way. As she said before her accident: “The type of men I was working with at Loaded were so different to those I’d worked with [elsewhere]. I can just remember everyone jumping around all the time, just so over-excited. That was so brilliant. The portrayal of women didn’t bother me. Everyone in the office had a certain respect for me. Also I’ve been there, seen it and done it so you couldn’t actually say anything to me that I was going to be shocked by. Apart from that, I was worse [behaved] than they were.” Despite being concerned enough about Loaded’s legacy and how women felt at about it at the time to talk to several people who had nothing to do with the magazine or appeared in it once or twice, here were the filmmakers with the most positive female and defiantly feminist role model and her incredible story staring them right in the face and they bottled it. They knew the facts. They even filmed Beth’s beautiful 32-year-old daughter Eden, now a successful music PR, and spoke to Southwell and others about what happened in Milan but it’s sadly not in the final cut. Perhaps it didn’t serve a narrative they appeared to have – that Loaded was some kind of touchpaper to an explosion of anti-female sentiment and could be bagged up with all the lads mags that came subsequently. That’s not real Loaded, not the one we worked on that was adored by millions of young men and women who subsequently deserted the title as it morphed into something else . If you want a rush of 90s nostalgia you could watch the documentary tonight – there are still some laugh aloud moments provided by the original team members – but if you manage to get to the end you will find yourself profoundly depressed. Without hope. The very opposite of what it felt like to read the magazine in the 1990s. ‘Loaded: Lads, Mags and Mayhem’ airs on BBC Two on Friday November 22 at 9pm and will also be available on iPlayer . ‘Getting Away With It: The Real Inside Story of Loaded’ is available hereNoneProtecting Your Online Privacy Has Never Been So Affordable With This Amazing Black Friday Deal
Formula Systems stock hits 52-week high at $87.7 amid robust growthGoogle on Monday announced that it will invest an additional $930 million across its three data center campuses in Nebraska, including the one under construction in Lincoln. Karen Dahut, CEO of Google Public Sector, said the additional investment will bring Google's total investment in Nebraska to more than $4.4 billion. She was joined for the announcement at Innovation Campus in Lincoln by Sen. Pete Ricketts, Rep. Don Bacon, University of Nebraska President Jeffrey Gold and Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird. Dahut also announced that the company will donate $250,000 to the University of Nebraska system to support research into artificial intelligence on its various campuses. Gaylor Baird also announced that Google will donate $100,000 to the Foundation for Lincoln Public Schools to help fund the Spark Summer Learning program, which is a hands-on summer camp focusing on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) for Lincoln-area elementary students. People are also reading... Google has previously said the data center under construction on about 600 acres of land northwest of the 56th Street exit on Interstate 80, will employ at least 30 people. The company has applied for $600 million in state tax incentives for the project and plans it submitted to the city indicate it could eventually grow to 2 million square feet of space if fully built out. Google's other Nebraska data centers are both in the Omaha area. It also has a data center across the river in Council Bluffs, Iowa. This is a developing story. Stay with JournalStar.com for updates. Top Journal Star photos for November 2024 Lincoln firefighter Andrew Brenner sprays water from the top of a ladder truck on to the roof of a former Village Inn at 29th and O streets Wednesday morning. Luca Gustafson, 6, rides to school Tuesday with the bike bus at Riley Elementary School. Each Tuesday, students can bike to school with adult chaperones along a specific route. Wahoo's Braylon Iversen celebrates with Warrior players after they defeated Auburn in a Class C-1 state semifinal game Friday in Wahoo. Lincoln Fire Fighters Association member Andy Evans works to assemble a headboard during a bed-building day hosted by Sleep in Heavenly Peace on Saturday at Hampton Enterprises. Volunteers helped build 20 beds for children in need. Second-time mother giraffe Allie nuzzles her new calf in the giraffe experience enclosure on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at the Lincoln Children's Zoo. Nebraska celebrates during the first set of the match against Minnesota on Thursday at the Devaney Sports Center. Iris Gonnerman, 8 (from right), her brother Oliver, 6, and cousin Noreen Milana, 9, wave flags while watching Veterans Parade outside the state Capitol on Sunday. Nebraska's Connor Essegian scores against Bethune-Cookma on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Covered by a canopy of changing leaves, a car cruises along A street in a neighborhood north of Downtown Lincoln on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. Mild temperatures continue into the mid weeks of November. Wednesday calls for a chance of rain showers before noon with gusty winds. Most days this week are expected to be accompanied by mostly sunny skies and consistent breezes. Norris' Anna Jelinek (left) lifts the the Class B championship trophy alongside Rya Borer on Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. Lincoln Lutheran players embrace one another as threy celebrate defeating Thayer Central in four sets to win the Class C-2 championship match Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. Superior players celebrate their three set win over EMF during the Class D-1 championship match Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. Reflected in a ceiling beam, Leyton takes on Shelton in the first set of the Class D-2 championship match Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. Omaha Skutt's Nicole Ott (left) and Addison West react after a point in the second set during a Class B semifinal match Friday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Hasan Khalil, owner of Golden Scissors, trims the beard of Vitaliy Martynyuk on Friday at his barbershop in Lincoln. Southwest fans Kylea Stritt (from left), Peg Rice, and Stacey Wilson cheer on their team as the "horsemen" during a Class D-1 first-round match Thursday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Millard West players dogpile on the floor after defeating Lincoln Southwest in five set match during a Class A first-round match Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Lincoln Southwest's Shelby Harding dives to save the ball from hitting the ground in the first set during a Class A first-round match Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Second graders Eli Gonzalez (left) and Shrutoshome Datta look at drawings that first and second grade students made at the Monster Jam Art Show on Wednesday at Elliott Elementary School. The elementary school students made drawings of monsters to be turned into different types of art by Lincoln High School students. Norris players celebrate a point against Lincoln Pius X in a Class B state volleyball tournament match, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (right) talks with supporters, including Darlene Starman of Lincoln, at her campaign office on Tuesday in Lincoln. A cutout of Jesus watches over voters on Tuesday at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Lincoln. Abigail Webb votes on Tuesday at F Street Community Center. Nebraska's Rollie Worster (24) shoots a layup while defended by Texas Rio Grande Valley's Marshal Destremau (left) and Trey Miller (right) on Nov. 4 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska's Allison Weidner (left) autographs a poster for Freeman Public Schools student Godwil Muthiani, 12 (center), after the game against UNO on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Muthiani's sign says, "#3 Allison Weinder is the GOAT! Sorry I'm only 12." Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule speaks to an official after a targeting call on Nebraska during the first quarter of the game against UCLA on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Memorial Stadium. The call was overturned after review. Nebraska's Dante Dowdell scores against UCLA in the fourth quarter on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Cadet Elena Burgwald (left) and Cadet Mason Beck look up as a B-1B Lancer flies over Memorial Stadium before the UCLA game against Nebraska on Saturday. UCLA's K.J. Wallace (7) defends Nebraska's Jacory Barney (17) as he makes a diving 40-yard catch in the second quarter on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Memorial Stadium. Lincoln Southeast quarterback Tre Bollen (left) and Tate Sandman react after losing a Class A football playoff game against Millard North on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at Seacrest Field. Millard North won 10-3. After the field clears, Norris' Jarrett Behrends (17) kicks his helmet after the Titans fell to Waverly 16-17 in a Class B football playoff game on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at Waverly High School. A line of people waiting to vote has been normal at the Lancaster County Election Commission Office at 601 N. 46th St., as it was Friday afternoon. The office will be open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to allow voters to cast an early ballot. If they wait until Election Day, they will need to go to their precinct or drop off their ballots at one of five drop boxes across the city. For more stories about about Tuesday's election, go to Journalstar.com . The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Associate managing editor {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Local government reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.Turkish Airlines ( ) has announced a strategic partnership with to enhance passenger experience through a new . The announcement came from Turkish Airlines Board Chairman Ahmet Bolat, who highlighted the system’s potential to improve operational efficiency. The collaboration aims to eliminate lost luggage concerns for travelers and elevate customer satisfaction to new heights. “As Turkish Airlines, we are excited to partner with Apple to implement this advanced baggage tracking system. Passengers will now be able to monitor their luggage seamlessly using Apple’s iOS 16 system and nearby tracking technology via AirTag and Find My features,” Bolat said in a social media post. Through the system, passengers can conveniently locate their baggage and share its real-time status using Apple’s tools. By integrating AirTag technology, Turkish Airlines will provide a smoother and more transparent travel experience, allowing travelers to retrieve misplaced baggage faster and with ease. Bolat added that the technology securely shares location data and automatically deletes it within seven days unless manually removed earlier. Turkish Airlines also plans to incorporate this feature into its own mobile app. In another milestone, Turkish Airlines launched its longest route yet with its first direct flight to Santiago, Chile, marking the 26th destination in the Americas and the 10th country on the continent to feature regular service. The inaugural flight departed from Istanbul on Dec. 18. Initially operated with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, the route will later include Airbus A350-900 and A350-1000 aircraft to accommodate growing demand.
BARGAIN hunting could help boost the stock market this week, analysts said, but the trimmed rate cut projections by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) could potentially dampen investor sentiment. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange last week hit an over five-month low on Dec. 19, closing at 6,395.60, but rebounded a day after, ending the week at 6,406.38, down by 3.2 percent week-on-week. This was the lowest close of the stock index since it closed at 6,358.38 on July 2. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said that the stock market has been on a decline for over two months, largely due to US President-elect Donald Trump's statements on protectionist policies, which could lead to higher US inflation, fewer Fed cuts, slower global trade, and clipped gross domestic product growth. Philstocks Financial Inc. research manager Japhet Tantiangco described last week's trading as "turning more bearish" as it extended its decline. "The bourse's MACD (moving average convergence/divergence) line has crossed below the signal line, indicating downward momentum," he said. "Its 50-day and 200-day exponential moving averages are about to form a death cross with the appearance of such indicating a possible downtrend in the medium to long run," Tantiangco added. He further said that the market is still unable to break above its 10-day exponential moving average, but the 6,400 support line still holds. With the continuous decline, Tantiangco said that "from a fundamental standpoint, the local market has been driven to more attractive levels, giving opportunity to bargain hunters." "However, the trimmed rate cut projections of both the Federal Reserve and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas may weigh on the market," he noted, adding that concerns about the 2025 national budget may also affect market sentiment. Tantiangco said that the further depreciation of the peso is still expected to pose downside risks to the market. The peso hit a record low of P59 against the dollar last Dec. 19. For its part, online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia.com said that hawkish comments from the US and Philippine central banks spooked local equities and led to the stock index falling below 6,500. "The Fed and the BSP played out their predicted moves this December round of policy meetings: both 25-bps (basis points) sized cuts to cap the year," it said. "The catch is in the outlook for next year, both scaling back on aggressive rate cutting; by the end of this week, consensus is at less than 100-bps cuts for the entirety of 2025," it added. The online brokerage firm said this is another case of central banks' commentary moving the markets instead of the actual rate change, which is a phenomenon likely to continue well into next year as policy magnitude shifts to be more dependent on evolving data. "On a sliding scale with hawkish and dovish policy on either end, a lot of 2025 is shaping up to be played at the gray area in the middle," it explained. 2TradeAsia added that central banks remain directionally leaning toward a neutral rate, acknowledging the role of pro-growth policy amid weaker global economic growth. It advises investors to "expect quiet sessions in the final trading week of the year." "Take the time to reassess portfolio strategies/make tactical pivots to average down/lock in yields amid the recent bout of pessimism," it said. "2025 forces and themes are looking to demand more active management styles as the hunt for alpha becomes less straightforward and more challenging," it added. Unicapital Group research head Wendy Estacio-Cruz, meanwhile, said, "The index bounced on Friday (Dec. 20) amid bargain hunting as investors digested the rate cuts from both the US Fed and the BSP." "We expect a range of 6,300 to 6,700 next week, with a possible Santa rally," she concluded. Analysts said that investors are expected to watch out for more positive catalysts for the week and that the immediate support this week would be at 6,400, with resistance at 6,500-6,800.VC sees N200m 150-seater lecture hall donation solving big problems in Uniport
Egain CFO Eric Smit sells $7,319 in stock
DirecTV extends its agreement as title sponsor of the Holiday Bowl SAN DIEGO (AP) — Sports San Diego announced Thursday that DirecTV has extended its agreement as title sponsor of the Holiday Bowl. Neither side would say how long the agreement is for. DirecTV began sponsoring the Holiday Bowl last year. Canadian Press Nov 21, 2024 4:15 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message SAN DIEGO (AP) — Sports San Diego announced Thursday that DirecTV has extended its agreement as title sponsor of the Holiday Bowl. Neither side would say how long the agreement is for. DirecTV began sponsoring the Holiday Bowl last year. After two editions at Petco Park, the downtown home of the San Diego Padres, the Holiday Bowl is moving to Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley. It will be played Dec. 27 and match a top team from the Atlantic Coast Conference against current and former teams from the Pac-12. ___ This story removes an incorrect reference to DirecTV sponsoring the last two Holiday Bowls. It began sponsoring the game last year. The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Get your daily Victoria news briefing Email Sign Up More Television News N.S. Liberals say if elected next week they would move fast to cut taxes, build homes Nov 21, 2024 9:32 AM Our Lady Peace, Mike Weir among Canada's Walk of Fame honourees for 2025 Nov 21, 2024 7:42 AM Pamela Hayden, longtime 'Simpsons' voice actor, including Bart's friend Milhouse, hangs up her mic Nov 20, 2024 2:37 PM
The US Federal Reserve cut rates by 0.25 percentage points last week. The most surprising aspect was a hawkish shift that indicated cuts next year may only add up to 0.5 percentage points, causing stocks to plunge. Since Donald Trump was elected president, stocks have seen the "Trump effect," with Tesla's share price rising like crazy. This has made the imbalance in US stocks even more pronounced as the S&P 500 keeps hitting new highs but is driven mainly by just a few stocks. At the same time, the Dow has recorded its longest decline since 1974. This hints at an extremely unhealthy market and it is merely a matter of time before a significant correction happens. However, even if a 20 percent correction were to happen, that does not mean it will fall into a prolonged bear market like in China and Hong Kong. The main reason is that many US listed companies have unique characteristics. Nvidia shares, for example, surged 180 percent in the past year as its artificial intelligence chips comprise over 70 percent of the global market share. Even if the economy faces cyclical issues, AI is expected to become a new development trend over the next five years. Nvidia's profit growth may slow but its revenue will still be bolstered by demand. While its price may slip by 20 percent or more, an ample cash flow and stable profit prospects mean it can still attract investors. In contrast, many firms here lack that uniqueness despite solid profit foundations. Many of them are affected by Chinese policies, leading to murkier prospects. Furthermore, as they grow, they often come under pressure from others trying to copy their models, resulting in significant revenue declines due to price wars. Although the Chinese electric vehicle industry has seen accelerated development in recent years, many of its firms have resorted to extremely low pricing to gain market share, leading to many of them being unable to achieve profitability. This not only threatens European and Japanese carmakers - such as Nissan, which has faced financial difficulties - but also caused many Chinese firms to encounter production challenges due to similar issues, leading to layoffs and unpaid wages. Therefore, even though EV sales in China have topped the world, the lack of a solid profit foundation has caused many of the sector's stocks listed here to fare poorly. The only exception is BYD, whose profitability is secured by its ability to independently research and produce battery packs, allowing for effective cost control. However, BYD is a rare case. Even Tencent and Alibaba, with the highest market capitalizations here, are not unique, with their primary market being only in China. As such, they have struggled to regain their peak in 2019 and 2020 due to a lack of recovery momentum in the Chinese economy. Similarly, before 2019, Hong Kong stocks were able to weather crisis after crisis and reach new highs every five to 10 years. This was primarily due to Hong Kong's unique position as a bridge between world markets and China, especially since its WTO ascendancy, which led to a massive influx of foreign investment into China. Naturally, Hong Kong benefited. However, in recent years, Sino-Western tensions have been rising, leading foreign confidence in investing in China to slip. Hong Kong's uniqueness is also under question by the West, diminishing its appeal. Moreover, over the past two years, a stronger greenback has reduced the appeal of Hong Kong dollar assets internationally. Coupled with the fact that we do not have unique industries, these factors have put Hong Kong in a difficult situation. More significant is that foreign investors are starting to question our financial state. All these factors will limit the performance of the Hang Seng Index. If this continues, it will be impossible to hit new highs in the next five to 10 years and the idea of "the East is rising and the West declining" should not be entertained further. Andrew Wong is a veteran independent commentator