2008 is the 19th year that Sherman Tai has been using his master's teachings to make predictions about China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and North America. In review, not only were the predictions detailed and accurate, Sherman has eluded to specific occurrences and the outcomes before it happened. For example, in 1992, Sherman predicted that it would be the peak in immigration and will slow down between 1994 and 1997. He also predicted the there would be a major change in the Asian stock market in 1997. In 2003, it was predicted that there would be an infectious respiratory disease impacting the world globally and that was the year that SARS met the world, and that the Asian and North American economies would recover. In 2004, Sherman predicted that in 2005, Hong Kong's Chief Executive Tung Chee-hua would resign amongst some drama. Sherman also predicted, contrary to other fortune tellers, that Chen Sui-bian, President of Taiwan, would be re-elected to continue his presidency and that his popularity would decline with the people. Sherman predicted that there would be a major fire disaster on the Eastern coast of the United States and that prediction was realized with the 911 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Many people felt that as a result of 911, the economies of Canada and the US will decline, but Sherman predicted that rather than declining, the economies would continue to do well and stocks will continue to rise. Sherman predicted that by 2007, the Dow Jones Index would climb to over 13,000 and that Hong Kong's Hung Seng Index would climb over 30,000 points. In 2005, Sherman predicted that crude oil prices in 2006 and 2007 will increase to over $80-90 a barrel. Though at the time of Sherman's predictions, many considered them to be fairytales, a joke, but in time, the accuracy of his predictions was able to prove disbelievers wrong.

In the Western calendar the year of the Rat actually begins on February 4th at 19:03, rather than exactly on Chinese New Year day. The year of the Rat is a relatively good year but with more changes than usual. There is a Chinese that says heroes can arise out of times of change. Therefore, change may not be necessarily bad, especially if you are one to persevere, work hard, willing to improve self value, be competitive, has good judgment in knowing when to stop or proceed, then the change can give you opportunities to become successful. Now, because there is a lot of change, it is important that people are not too greedy and be able to prepare for the worse in times of good, as well as being adaptable to the changes.

Though there may be good times in the economy, bad can be expected to follow, more so for North America than for Asia, which will do well, because of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. More infectious diseases and illnesses can be expected this year, including flu, fire hazards, explosions, and traffic accidents. Therefore, people who do travel, via motor vehicle or boat need to be more careful. However, these problems are not expected to be as serious as SARS in 2003 or 911 in 2001.

Hong Kong

After 1997, the Hong Kong people experience economic decline for the past decade, but amongst these difficulties, Hong Kong was able to face these changes and adjust. After working hard for all these years, from 2005 Hong Kong saw new changes through the hard work of the citizens and sound leadership from the government to growing economy. Sherman previously predicted that in 2007, the Hang Seng Index will reach over 25,000 points and many have said that it was ridiculous and the prediction did become a reality. In the year of the Pig, stocks have reached 32,000 points, real estate prices have risen, with some luxury homes being close to 1997 values. Though freedom of entry of people from China has slowed, it will rise again with Chinese government incentive, increasing the flow of money, tourism, real estate and retail into Hong Kong. The value of the Ren Men Bi exceeds the Hong Kong Dollar, growing even more than the HKD. Because the HKD is connected the USD, the weak USD negatively affects the HKD. After many years, the unemployment rate will finally go down to 4% in 2007, and below 3.8% in 2008. Donald Tsang's position as Chief Executive continues to be secure. The time for democracy for Hong Kong is not ripe yet and there is no sense in the Hong Kong people pushing for democracy when their understanding of democracy is still shallow; therefore, economy should be primary focus, then politics. Once the economy is better in 2008, political disputes will decline. Democratic elections as early as 2010 will not occur. Because of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the parties that are loyal to China fall into greater favor. The democratic parties will have fewer disputes with the central Chinese government. Though there may be green light for more democracy, realization will not be anytime soon. Positive change in Hong Kong's politics, economy, democracy and living of the people needs hard work and patience and can't be achieve in one shot.

Sherman has said 5 or 6 years ago that there is a feng shui position which will have others help Hong Kong flourish again, though not without some struggles. China is among one of them to help Hong Kong. In 2008, Hong Kong will continue to be strong in the areas of telecommunications, banking, real estate, and tourism. More funds, close to a hundred million, from China will flow through Hong Kong, to international locations, which will have a positive effect on the Hong Kong economy. Large companies from the mother country, for example banks and telecommunications will develop in Hong Kong. Furthermore, more foreign talent and expertise will flow into Hong Kong from overseas, be it Asian or foreigners. Also because of the weak USD, Asia will be a more attractive centre. Stocks and real estate investment in Hong Kong will be a favored by foreigners. Hong Kong is the major financial centre for banking and stock exchange in Asia and is China¡¦s financial centre outside the mainland, is a reality that can not be changed. Being a strong financial centre and political stability are something Hong Kong can achieve despite the challenges of SARS, 9/11, or the 1997 economic downturn. Though there may still be much poverty in 2007 and 2008, in 2008, the unemployment rate will decrease below 4% and there will be a more noticeable increase income in terms of wages and promotions, which is good news for the people of Hong Kong. Stock exchange and real estate continue to be strong, but people will still need to take caution in stocks, as greed for small gains can lead to huge losses. The year of the Rat, the forefront industries in Hong Kong will be banking, real estate, and tourism, but jewellary, automobile, food and hospitality, retail, exports, service, human relations, telecommunications, and insurance will have increases that are not bad. The average citizen needs to contribute some the spending, but in the year of the Rat, there will be more foreigners coming in for investing, work and education, or even immigrate to Hong Kong, increasing spending. Though there is much competition in industries such as retail, service and hospitality, earnings will be higher than the previous two years. Some good news is that smaller companies, if they work hard and is able to be adaptable, have the opportunity to take a part of the market held by large companies. Because the fire star and the wood star are at ninety degrees to each other, formerly weaker industries such as insurance and recycling are able to do better and will contribute to lower unemployment.

The stock market will continue to have huge fluctuations. The Hang Seng Index may have over 1000 points fluctuation each day will not be unusual. Therefore, investors need to invest with caution and within their capabilities. Once there are gains, collect and know when to stop. This is because the stock market in China and Hong Kong will go through changes and adjustments. The Ren Men Bi continues to be strong, being between 6.5 to 7 RMB to 1 USD. The Hang Seng Index has the opportunity to come down to 23,000 points but the higher side will only up to 28,000 points, so people need caution in being too greedy and not knowing when they are losing. If one has excess money to invest, consider oil, banking, real estate, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, and environment type stocks. However, do not be so eager to listen to experts in investing, as these may lead the investor astray and lead to financial loss. Therefore, it is always wise to collect the gains and stop before greed takes over.

Real estate in 2008 on average is better than the previous year, headed by luxury homes and new developments, but middle and smaller sized units will also have not bad sales. Real estate will have increases of 8% to 10% in sales turn over and the selling price. The areas doing with greatest sales include the south and southwest, Central and Mid-levels on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon's west and southwest areas. Hong Kong will continue to have a health development. The less developed New Territories and northwest districts will also have an increase of 5%. Those who wish to invest can consider the New Territories, northwestern districts.

Before 1997, Hong Kong was a popular entertainment centre with a good film industry. Sherman has said since 2004 that the film industry will hit an all time low with the dissipation of its good luck. The industry not only faced problems of piracy, but also fierce competition from neighboring Asian countries like Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan, which exceed Honk Kong in all areas including talent, productions and popularity. Hopefully, with the development of the West Kowloon Cultural District, there can be a new outlet for Hong Kong's performing arts, as well as attracting more international standard cultural and entertainment activities. Increasing cultural exchange activities can help elevate Hong Kong's reputation as a performing arts centre. Actors can use this new status as an opportunity to improve quality of acting, to help the industry.

Hong Kong will have more issues with natural disasters and well being of the people, which may include floods, communicable disease like the flu, or larger scale poisoning from toxins. People will tend to be impulsive and ill-tempered, so unless people can control themselves better and drive more safely, there will be more traffic accidents. There tends to be more domestic disputes and even tragic demise of families. Remember, a peaceful family is a happy family and a bad family is one whose mouths never stop. Family disputes can lead to bad luck in career and money. This year, Hong Kong will have especially more youth crimes as well, sex crimes, fraud, and white collar crime. The aging population and declining birth rate will also be a problem.

The government attempted to introduce a goods and services tax in 2006 but was predicted to not materialize in 2007, and nor will it be implemented in 2008. The Chinese central government will pass policies that will be beneficial to the people, which may include reduction of taxes, benefiting large companies and high income people. The education system will become more flexible, rather than forcing instruction using Chinese, there will be more incorporation of an English system, resulting in less pressure to look towards tutoring centers to learn English or to go to English only schools. However, the popularity of tutoring will still remain high. Because of poverty and relationship problems, there may easily be physical injuries this year. In 2006, Sherman predicted that this will be more common in 2007 and we saw that indeed, there were a good number of family tragedies caused by money and love. 2008 will still have many of these problems, so people need to be more vigilant. It would be wise for the government to put greater funds into social assistance then social works are better able to reduce the occurrence of these family tragedies.

Sherman previously predicted that in 2006 that, there will be a famous person from the entertainment world who will have surgery and endangered life and evidently Lydia Shum Din-Ha had liver surgery. Sherman also predicted that there will be many love scandals in the entertainment business with many people breaking up and coming together in 2007. The lady killer, Michael Tao Dai Yu divorced due to extramarital affair and Lee San San broke up with Chin Ka Lok. In 2008, the love scandals in the entertainment business will continue to be many. There will be an important figure in the entertainment industry that will pass away due to critical illness.

China

There is quick economic growth for China in 2008, but in the fall, there will be many changes, including stocks, economy, and life of the people. If officials do not limit or control their habits of corruption and conspiracies, this may backlash and if serious, may result in civilian uproar, as well as division of the economy or even slowing of the economy. Inflation will go up this year. Additionally, the discrepancy between wealth and poverty continue to become wider, creating an abnormal economic state where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The Chinese government needs to take a more active role in controlling the growth of the economy, not allowing it to go out of control. The government will also need to effectively managing the corruption by officials through harsh penalization, as this corruption negatively affects the economy. Increasing interest rates to control inflation and loaning too much money to people to trade stocks and real estate will cause a bubble in the economy, creating increased poverty economic recession. Though the government will attempt to prevent the occurrence of economic recession through economic control, but rising inflation will not be easily dealt with. In addition, China will continue to experience many communicable diseases, flooding and natural disasters, affecting food reserves quickly driving up the price of, real estate, home rental costs, and resources which increases competition and can be problematic for businesses. Taking advantage of the situation and increasing taxation on a more local level will not only negatively impact the people, but also affect the economy. In general, income will increase and standard of living of the people will improve. The demand for real estate continues to great and therefore, prices will go up, especially in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Sanguo Zhu. Nan Hai, Zhongsan, Pun Yu, and Shunde will be not bad either. Shanghai, Tsingtao, Sichuan, Chongqing, and Nanjing will have even greater increase. However, increase in real estate values will not be as great as in 2007 and fewer people will invest, especially people from Hong Kong. Those who wish to earn quick money by buying and selling real estate will likely lose money. However, for those who have a lot of money to invest long term in real estate and wait for values to rise, will on the other hand, make money.

Poverty will continue to be serious and the desire towards owning material goods is stronger. Inflation will increase to double digits. The Ren Men Bi will increase in value, which has some effect on economy. GDP though not as strong will still increase about 9-10%. The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges continue to be very busy with many people trading stocks; however, in mid-year to fall, there will be changes where the small investors will easily be eaten up by the big investors. Therefore, the little people will need to know when to stop and collect their money, or else greed may lead to serious financial loss. A shares and H shares will have large increases and decreases. Stocks will have 12% to 15% decreases in the first half of the year, with adjustments in the third quarter will be another 5% to 8% down, the market situation will become stable at the end of the year. Unemployment will continue to increase and if people do not update their skills, they will easily be left behind the times.

Though China may appear on the outside to have a good economy, internally it has many social problems and more crime, including fraud and robbery. Drugs, gambling, prostitution, and corruption continue to be more serious. Corruption will be more rampant in the northwest and southeast provinces, where the economies may be negatively affected.

There will be more natural disasters in China in 2008, most possibly related to water. Therefore, the government should educated people and prepare for coming of such natural disasters. There may also be earthquakes in the northwest. In addition, there are also more communicable diseases such as flu, so care must be taken in eating and drinking. More fires and explosions can also be expected.

Taiwan

This year will continue to have many changes for Taiwan. Sherman has previously stated in an interview in the March 18th, 2004 Vancouver edition of Ming Pao newspaper that Chen Shui-bian will be victorious in the election, contrary to the surveys and other fortune tellers¡¦ prediction of a Kuomintang victory; Sherman proved to be correct in his prediction. Despite being re-elected, there has not been much change under Chen Shui-bian¡¦s leadership and there have been many scandals in the Democratic Progressive Party, as well as greater anti-Chen Shui-bian activity. In 2008, Taiwan¡¦s economy will improve, where it may be stable or even have a little growth. The Taiwan independence movement will be more tumultuous this year. There may be withdrawal of businesses from the mainland, which does not actually help politics and economy much. Still the economy of Taiwan can not compare with that of China and Hong Kong.

There will be many changes in politics this year, especially after the summer, even change in leadership. Since 1949, Kuomintang had not experienced such kind of change. The changes start in 2007 until the presidential election in 2008. Ma Ying-jeou, Kuomingtang¡¦s nominee, should be the one who is victorious in the election. With Kuomingtang as the political party in control, it should have a stimulatory effect on the economy as well as reducing negative relations with China, something that is positive.

Other than facing political changes, scandals and disputes, natural disaster will be plenty this year. Water disasters and typhoon will cause disruption, as well as earthquakes above 5.5 on the Richter scale. Life of the people will not be settled and economy not stable, resulting, in more illegal trafficking, robbery, kidnapping, sex crimes, and large scale white collar crime.

In the Taiwan Stock Exchange, the Taiwan Capitalization Weighted Stock Index will have an opportunity to surpass 8500 or 9200 points. However, scandals and under the table dealings will make the index go up and down rapidly. The small investors who are too greedy may find themselves eaten up by the big fish. A few years ago, Sherman said that the wave of Taiwanese immigration overseas to the west is over and will slow. Since 2000, 2001 the target location for the Taiwanese is not overseas in the west, but to China, be it investment, marriage, living, or spending. As time goes by, immigration to North America will be less and less.

China and Taiwan continue to have disputes and though both may still have military activity, it will decrease. The odds of military action between China and Taiwan are close to zero. The business relations and flow of people between the two places will be a positive force between China and Taiwan, which is beneficial to both in the long run.

United States

The United State's luck in the year of the Rat is not so good, especially on the Western side of the country, as there are bad stars shining on the West. Sherman Tai has said previously in 2004 that the Fire Star, Metal Star and Water Star come together in the Southwestern direction where the Canada and the United States are and should make banking and business stronger, with increase in productivity. Inflation can be controlled and real estate will grow. But in 2007, the Wood Star and Water Star infiltrate the King of Stars, causing problems in the economy and though the first half the year was fine, the latter part of the year was poor for industries such as automotive, real estate and retail, causing companies to merge. 2008 will be more serious, where more retail, exports and even banking will be affected. The problem that faces the US is that if interest rates are not increased, then inflation will increase. The inflation rate can be expected to be 2.5% or higher. But if interest rates go up too much, then the economy may suffer. However, the Secretary of treasury may put funds into the economy to assist sub prime lending, a move that attempts to recover the economy.

The economy in 2008 will persist to be slow and may even decline slightly. Because the economy isn't strong, crude oil prices will continue to be in the range of $98 to 125 a barrel. Gold prices will increase past $880 to $980 an ounce. Regardless, resource, currency, and foreign exchange markets will have large fluctuations, in part due to the wars globally, especially in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle Eastern countries, as well as terrorist activities internally. It is not expected that there will be any major terrorist attacks in the US in 2008. However, it will still pose a threat to the American economy and market. Therefore, the USD will continue to be relatively weak and money will tend to flow out of the country and hence less money into the economy. However, investors should not jump at the chance of investing to take advantage of the economic times. It would be better to wait until at least the fall until the currency, economy and financial market are more stable before investing. If one insists on investing in US stocks, crude oil, mining, technology, pharmaceutical, and exports will be better choices. As said, the USD will continue to be weak and fall in value in 2008. The Euro will be fluctuating around 1.53 to 1.6 USD. The Ren Men Bi will continue to increase in comparison as the USD goes down, fluctuating around $6.5 to $7. Dow Jones Index will be fluctuate up and down about 10% to 15%, but eventually it will meet about 13,500 points.

Politics in 2008 will not have any major changes. President Bush will continue to be challenged by people and opponents. In the upcoming presidential election, Hilary Clinton will try her best to be the first female president of the United States, but eventually she will fail, and Obama will take her place. Terrorists and their activities will continue to be strong, but the chances of capturing Osama Bin Laden will be slim to none. Unemployment rate will go up slightly, reflecting the economic status. Regardless of finances or politics there will be many scandals, where there may be many CEO's of companies forced to resign or run into legal problems. Safety of the citizens will continue to decline, as there will be increase incidence of shootings, theft, and white collar crimes will be especially high. Inflation, compared to 2007, will continue to increase. Natural disasters will not be few either. There may be disasters related to fire, water and wind, including large scale traffic accidents and explosions, especially in the Northwest and the Southeast. The Western side of the United States will not be very good. If it is possible to choose, do not invest in real estate and property in the United States before autumn, as one should not think that because property values may decline, that it would be an opportune time to invest.

Canada

To some extent, the Canadian politics and economy is affected by the US. Though Sherman predicted that the Canadian economy in 2006 and 2007 will do slightly better than the US, and in 2008, though again affected by the slowing of the US economy, the effect will not be as great compared to previous years. Though growth will not be as much as in 2006 and 2007, the economy in BC, Alberta, and Ontario will continue to grow stably. The GDP will increase by about 2.3%. The unemployment rate will go down to below 6%. Inflation will remain low, not exceeding 2.2%, compared to the US which will be about 2.5% or above. The economy will be a bit slower in the first half of 2008, but will improve afterwards. The Canadian Dollar and the economy will continue to be good in the year of the Rat, due to its natural resource industries, especially natural gas, crude oil and precious metals. The Canadian Dollar continues to be strong, being worth approximately 7.6 to 7.88 Hong Kong Dollars this year. Interest rates will decrease slightly but not by more than 0.5%. Exports will experience slight increase, in particular for precious metals, mining and technology. Forestry and paper industries will be weak in the first half of the year, with some slight recovery in the second half of the year. Automobile, machinery, and import/export, and retail will not do as well compared to 2007. Construction will not do quite as well as previous years, but real estate will be fairly stable. The huge growth that Calgary and Edmonton experienced in 2006 and 2007 will slow down a bit in 2008; however, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver will not have much of a drop. Because many Chinese have been buying property in Vancouver, in particular the west side of Vancouver, real estate prices have been driven really high in the past couple of years, but it will slow a bit, which is a normal economic adjustment; however, mid-year real estate will be a bit stronger, so sellers should not worry. Stock exchange is split to the east and west with Vancouver is not great though nothing special anticipated and Toronto continues to be more health year. Stocks that will do well include telecommunications, crude oil, mining, precious metals, and diamond; however, it will be like a roller coaster. The aforementioned stocks can be expected to have a 5-7% increase, but if you do not have a great deal of funds to invest, it is unadvisable to dabble in stocker or else you risk being eaten by the big fish.

Sherman previously predicted in 2005 that the Canadian government will have a change in governance in 2006 with the Liberals stepping down due to scandal and that it will only be a minority government; this has become reality. In 2008, there will be another federal election, with the Conservatives hoping to be victorious with a majority government. The Conservatives have a very high chance of winning the election, but, if they have the election as early as the spring or summer, they will continue to be a minority government. On the other hand, if the Conservatives wait until the fall or winter for an election, the chances of becoming a majority government are greater. Though there may be some changes in the national debt, the chances of repayment are very slim. There will be more political disputes this year, which many of them seem foolish, as well as some being scandals. There will be some tax deductions as well as some improved minor social benefits and medicare. There will be no hope of canceling overseas investment tax and GST. However, the immigrants from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan who have returned to their home country will not return and this wave of immigration is over. The immigrants who do still come to Canada are generally from China, but those numbers are small compared to the numbers who return; as a result, the Chinese market will not be very good. Immigration this year will be strong from India, North Korea, and Eastern Europe.

Sherman predicted in 2006 that in 2007, the year of the Pig, there will be a lot of gun violence and traffic accidents and increase in union strikes. In 2007, we saw a lot of shootings and violence in Vancouver, as well as the garbage collection strike that lasted well over 90 days. We saw the small airplane that crashed into a Richmond high rise.

In 2008, though natural disasters will not be serious, the results of human actions continue to cause concern. These include large scale gun violence, traffic accidents, home invasions, and youth crimes, which will increase rather than decrease. Water disasters will be more frequent this year, for example landslides from prolonged rainfall. There will also be a greater incidence of communicable diseases from animals. Therefore, people will need to watch what they eat and drink. People will also need to drive more safely. The weather will be a bit crazy this year, where it isn't hot when it should be and isn¡¦t cold when it should be, or when it is cold, it will be really cold. At least something for Canadians to be happy about is that there will be fewer strikes compared to previous years and will therefore be less of a disruption to daily life.

Europe

The economies that will continue to do well include Great Britain, Germany and France. However, other European countries, in particular Eastern Europe will not do very well. In general, changes will not be great, but in general will be better than 2007. The British Pound (GBP) will go stably, will stay around 1.95 USD. The British will still continue to refuse joining the Euro currency. The Euro will do well this year, being worth between 1.53 to1.6 USD. The Frankfurt Stock Exchange will do well because of the good German economy, with increases of 5% to 8%. In general the European economy will experience growth, but not to the extent of the Asian economy, and will do so slowly.

Central and South America

Sherman has previously said that the economy will be fairly stable, especially in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico in 2007, as well as earthquakes and water and fire hazards which threaten the safety of the people. In 2008, there continues to be growth in the economies of Central and South America and not just Mexico, but the majority of the countries. However, earthquakes and water and fire hazards will continue to cause distress to people and the economy. In particular, Peru and Chile will have earthquakes that are above 6 on the Richter scale. But in general, economic growth and productivity will increase by about 6% to 7%.

South East Asia

The Asian economies will be healthy and strong, especially India, Eastern Japan, and South Korean, countries other than China and Hong Kong. This is comparably one of the best years in the past 10 years. Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam will experience apparent growth. The growth in economy and real estate in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia tend to be milder. Those wishing to invest should choose Japan, India and South Korea in the areas of electronics and technology, or in Japanese and other Asian exports. Long term investments may see an increase of 10% to 15%. The Japanese Yen was strong in 2007 and will continue to be strong with more apparent growth in 2008, being worth between 100 to 108 USD. On the other hand the Hong Kong Dollar will continue to be weak because of its ties to the USD.