Looking at the history of the building, compass readings and the owners’ birthdays and names, Ms. Ingber designed a plan for the 45-seat dining room.

There was too much fire in the space, notwithstanding the fire that destroyed the restaurant, Ms. Ingber determined. Ms. Scism had a lot of fire in her, and Ms. Lo had some as well. The cure: round shapes, metal and water. Water is strategically placed in clear, stylish vases. A large, round metal mirror hangs in the front of the restaurant.

Six Chinese luck coins were placed on both sides of the stairs leading from the kitchen to the dining room. And essences were mixed into the paint and in the various spaces.

Three Wu Luo’s, or golden gourds, are scattered in the restaurant, including one in a dark corner of the basement.

And then came the edicts: Don’t place important guests (i.e.: critics) at certain tables. Kitchen meetings should be held in the front of the kitchen. Play piano music to bring in more metal.

The dining room maintained its golden coloring but Ms. Ingber suggested adding red. “Red and yellow do encourage digestion in food,” she noted. Yellow and red panels line one wall and the owners insist there is brilliant red there too, if you look carefully (try under the table).

Finally, Ms. Ingber recommended scrapping the logo. It looked too much like a flame on a log.

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CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets brought its popular “feng shui index” out of retirement this year, mailing feng shui investment guides to 5,000 money managers at 1,200 institutional firms.

The guide, which relies on the divinations of two feng shui masters, predicts short-lived market upswings in Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index this month and in April before bottoming out in August, only to soar again in the autumn and winter.

“Clients love this report,” said Simone Wheeler, a spokeswoman for CLSA. “Particularly when the markets are so uncertain, we find that what is meant to be a lighthearted view is as eagerly read as our macroeconomic research reports.”

At Bank of China International, energy-sector analyst Lawrence Lau doubles as the bank’s in-house feng shui master. In a recent note to clients, he wrote: “While some may think that ancient superstition has little to offer in terms of investment advice, I challenge readers to ask themselves: ‘Have all your Black-Scholes, rocket science quantitative black-box models and fundamental analysis done much better over the past year?’”

Turning to an analysis of ancient Chinese cosmology, Mr. Lau then recommended that investors this year put their money in stocks tied to the elements of fire and wood — that is, companies in the energy, electronics and agriculture sectors. Mr. Lau says some of his Chinese clients, though not his Western ones, take feng shui predictions seriously, and he is conscientious about reading the signs. He regards his predictions as simply an additional alternative resource for those who wish to take them seriously.

But what is particularly interesting is what the Feng Shui masters said about 2008:

• Feng shui master Kerby Kuek predicted in February 2008 that abnormalities would hit the housing markets in the spring, that things would turn sour in the autumn, and that financial markets would be in “chaotic scenarios” between August 7 and November 6. “World markets are in serious trouble!” he had written.
• Feng shui master Raymond Lo told the Associated Press in January 2008 that water and earth — two of the five elements Chinese mystics believe are at the root of all things — were in conflict, bringing financial and political rumblings, tsunamis and epidemics. “Earth usually conquers water, but it is too weak to control the rat, which symbolizes the most powerful water,” he said at the time.
• Feng shui master Peter So told Hong Kong’s The Standard in February 2008 that there would be some fluctuations in the stock market in 2008. The Year of the Rat, he said, was dominated by the wood element, meaning those working in wood-related industries would enjoy some good fortune and prices of agricultural products could soar.
• Feng shui master Alion Yeo recommended financial prudence to The Standard in February 2008 ahead of a cooling-off period for the economy. He advised people to save money and be very cautious about investments.

Sounds like a pretty good track record to me!

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