Lai See likes to track the downfall of the technology sector. We always knew the tech boom was maniacal and concept.com was never worth the combined market capitalisation of General Motors, Xerox and our favourite, McDonald's. So we giggled when tech stocks collapsed and smirked as investors rediscovered fundamental analysis. We reckon the best indicator of the mood of the technology sector in Hong Kong is the price and location of IandI Hong Kong meetings. IandI is pretty well-known as a networking group of tech-heads, entrepreneurs and investors. During the tech boom, it used to hold lavish meetings at the Furama Hotel, and the HK$100 entry price included a couple of drinks. This was seen as a good deal; venture capitalists were keen to fund any Net-related business sketched out on the back of a matchbox in those days. How things have changed. Now an e-mail has gone out announcing a monthly happy hour at a Wan Chai pub: no cover charge and HK$20-HK$30 for a drink. So, as IandI suggests, please tell your friends and bring anyone along that has a keen interest in technology. 'We need your help to make this the premier IT event in Hong Kong.' Word surplus: Anthony Lok, deputy head of research at BOC International, agrees with Lai See that there are too many words littering the business landscape. Specifically, company names are taking up a lot of his very analytical time. BOCI publishes research in English and Mandarin, and company names are a major headache. Using the English name in a Mandarin report just won't do. Big companies which are already active in China - our favourite is McDonald's - have their own Chinese names, often phonetic versions of their English names. But new entrants or outsiders are quite a different pile of characters. Looking for references to the companies in Chinese-language publications can help, but Mr Lok insists on consistency. The challenge is to discover if a firm has an official Chinese name, or find an acceptable translation. 'If anyone has a dictionary of company names around the world which have been translated, we would love to get hold of a copy,' Mr Lok said. But while avoiding putting English into his Mandarin reports, Mr Lok has no qualms about inserting foreign words into English ones - he stands out as the only analyst ever to publish a report in Hong Kong with a headline in Swedish: Lessons from Sweden. These days, he uses French more than any other foreign language. This appeared on a recent banking sector report: 'Plus ca change'. We don't understand a word of it, but it certainly catches our attention. Talking bank: BOCI is not the only financial house using foreign words: ING Financial Markets used this unidentified language on an HSBC report recently: Como se dice 'Shareholder value?' Here are some more attention-grabbing words: Skerskeylerden, Murv et, Makollig Ascevery Iinto. Analysts in Hong Kong are welcome to use them as headlines on their research reports, as long as they are properly attributed. Passing the buck: Reader Simon Cuthbert, who works in marketing, is fascinated by Cathay Pacific's latest TV ad campaign. TV watchers will recall the ad depicts rows of smiling Cathay staff passing something from one to the other, hand to hand. Clearly, the ad is all about the friendly customer service our favourite airline is famous for. But Mr Cuthbert asks us: 'What exactly are those sincerely smiling staff passing down the line? 'It seems a little silly to haul it all the way from Hong Kong out to Chek Lap Kok by this rather dated and, I would have thought, not very cost-effective manner. 'It would be far better to give the object to one of the staff to carry to the airport on the bus. Cathay must be making more money than it has reported if it is resorting to such labour-intensive distribution tactics.' Graphic: whee01gbz