Poor Sarah Palin! It seems references to lipstick and pigs follow her wherever she goes. So here it is again. The former Alaska governor's widely reported invitation to be a keynote speaker at this year's CLSA Investors' Forum in Hong Kong has many people waiting with bated breath. And, sure enough, another invited speaker, investment strategist David Roche, has titled his talk 'De-lipsticking the pig: why the great credit excess was denied'.

Those who watch Bloomberg TV often, on which he is a frequent guest, or avail themselves of the services of his firm, Independent Strategy, would have been familiar with Roche's outspoken and contrarian views. However, it's not clear whether the investment guru is being unusually provocative, or merely using an old English expression to brighten up what may be a dry subject, much like US President Barack Obama did when he was still a candidate.

Obama, you may recall, landed himself in hot water last year when he said 'you can put lipstick on a pig, and it's still a pig'. He was apparently criticising his electoral opponents' claim that they would bring real policy change to the White House. However, Palin's detractors and supporters saw the remark as directed at Palin, who famously said on the campaign trail: 'What's the difference between a hockey mum and a pit bull? Lipstick.'