Gong Xi Fa Cai! Kung Hei Fat Choy! Good Health! The start of this Chinese new year has been somehow bleakly and is overshadowed by the pandemic caused by the coronavirus. Welcome to the year of the rat, or more precisely, the year of the metal rat.[mepr-active membership=”1734″ ifallowed=”show” unauth=”message” unauth_message=”Please login or purchase a membership to view full text.”]
In Chinese culture, the rat is a sign of wealth and surplus. The smart and adaptable rats keep a cool head even in unexpected situations. The accompanying element, metal, stands for reliability, stability, and the ability to turn unlucky events into a fortune. The year of the metal rat should, therefore, be a good year with plenty of opportunities to make profits, to try new things, or to build up reserves for tougher times. Anyone born in the year of the rat is said to have a good feeling for profitable businesses. The global economy is supposed to be positive in rat years. There will be more speculation on the stock exchanges than usual. However, unnecessary risks should be avoided. And the year should be more peaceful than in dragon or tiger years.
But there are also warning voices. Hong Kong’s feng shui master Raymond Lo predicts even a significant slow down of the general economy this year. Looking back into 2008, the last year of the rat, the stock markets ended in a disaster. The subprime crisis and the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers triggered a downward slide of the stock markets worldwide, which culminated in a global financial and economic crisis. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost almost half its value at that time.
However, the rat is known to be a hard-working survivor, and its intelligence helps to find a way out of tricky situations. The rat can also be very combative. Hardly anyone believes that things will get really bad in 2020. The spread of the coronavirus might reach its peak very soon, the BREXIT is decided and history, and Donald Trump’s reelection almost certain. Things are never as bad as they seem. Every cloud has a silver lining.
A look at the industries that supposed to perform well in the year of the metal rat. Here is the feng shui masters’ prediction:
GREAT: Industries associated with the fire element, such as energy, restaurants, and entertainment, are expected to prosper in the year of the rat
GOOD: Earth industries, such as real estate, land development, mining, insurance, computer software, and technology. But also the metal industry might do well, such as automobiles, engineering, banking, and machinery.
TO AVOID: Water industries, including shipping, transportation, and communication, which might face stiff competition. Also, wood industries, such as fashion, media, books, and environment, which might face difficult times in the year of the rat too.
The worst months of this year, according to feng shui, will be March, June, and December. But don’t worry, by hanging a six-metal rod wind chime at your door, everything will be fine.
In this sense, we wish you a healthy and prosperous year ahead!
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