I started serious Investing Journey in Jan 2000 to create wealth through long-term investing and short-term trading; but as from April 2013 my Journey in Investing has changed to create Retirement Income for Life till 85 years old in 2041 for two persons over market cycles of Bull and Bear.

Since 2017 after retiring from full-time job as employee; I am moving towards Investing Nirvana - Freehold Investment Income for Life investing strategy where 100% of investment income from portfolio investment is cashed out to support household expenses i.e. not a single cent of re-investing!

It is 57% (2017 to Aug 2022) to the Land of Investing Nirvana - Freehold Income for Life!


Click to email CW8888 or Email ID : jacobng1@gmail.com



Welcome to Ministry of Wealth!

This blog is authored by an old multi-bagger blue chips stock picker uncle from HDB heartland!

"The market is not your mother. It consists of tough men and women who look for ways to take money away from you instead of pouring milk into your mouth." - Dr. Alexander Elder

"For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them." - Aristotle

It is here where I share with you how I did it! FREE Education in stock market wisdom.

Think Investing as Tug of War - Read more? Click and scroll down



Important Notice and Attention: If you are looking for such ideas; here is the wrong blog to visit.

Value Investing
Dividend/Income Investing
Technical Analysis and Charting
Stock Tips

Saturday 31 July 2010

Smart Money Grabbers over dummy investors - IV

Read? Smart Money Grabbers over dummy investors - III

SINGAPORE: The head of the now-defunct multi-level marketing firm, Sunshine Empire, 49-year old Phang Wah has been sentenced to nine years' jail and fined $60,000.


He was convicted earlier this month on July 16 for several offences, including running a fraudulent trading company and falsifying accounts.

Phang's 46-year-old wife, Neo Kuon Huay was also fined $60,000 for her involvement in what is believed to be the biggest Ponzi-like scheme in Singapore.

The ex-company director, 29-year old Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat was sentenced to seven years' jail.


Phang and Hoo are each guilty of eight charges related to criminal breach of trust involving nearly a million dollars.
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Createwealth8888:

This type of scam is so bloody evil as it sucked in family members, relatives and friends into it and all of them die together and who else left to help them?

No matter how good the investment product including so-called solid blue chips, husband and wife, parents and children should avoid investing all together in the same investment product or stocks as part of family risk management.

Stop thinking "your money is your money" and "my money is my money" and "I want to make money for myself" and especially for husband and wife ...

Friday 30 July 2010

DBS Group records Q2 net earnings of S$718m, highest in its history

SINGAPORE: DBS Group Holdings recorded second-quarter net earnings of S$718 million, before a goodwill impairment charge of S$1.02 billion for DBS Hong Kong Limited.


In a statement, the banking group said the quarterly earnings were the highest in DBS' history.

The earnings before the one-time charge were up 30 percent from a year ago and 35 percent from the previous quarter.

DBS CEO Piyush Gupta said, "DBS' core earnings reached a record high this quarter, reflecting the strong growth in underlying drivers in line with our strategic direction. In addition, notwithstanding the goodwill impairment, we remain structurally bullish on prospects for Hong Kong and China, which are integral to the Asia growth story. Hong Kong is the anchor for our Greater China operations, and we will continue to build the business." - CNA

Warren Buffett, Growth Investor?

ByPrem C. Jain,


NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Most people consider Warren Buffett a value investor, but his methods aren't so simple.

His style has evolved over the years and incorporated strategies of growth investing. For this reason -- having taught his principles for 20 years and benefited from them personally, and as author of an exploration of his investing principles called "Buffett Beyond Value" -- I call him a "value + growth" investor rather than a value investor alone.

To earn high returns as Buffett has, an investor needs to go beyond price-to-earnings ratios or other metrics commonly followed by value investors.

If he were simply a value investor, it would be difficult to understand his recent $36 billion acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe. The acquisition's price-to-earnings ratio of 18 was high. Earlier large stock purchases in Coca-Cola, American Express and Wells Fargo were also not at low multiples. As a matter of fact, most of his buys are at reasonable, not low, valuations.

Also, following the adage of "buy low, sell high," a value investor would sell investments when the stock price goes up. Buffett holds his investments for a long time.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has grown 20% a year -- difficult to accomplish even for most successful growth companies. Buffett clearly invests in common stocks or acquires companies that grow fast. Is he a misunderstood growth investor, then?

Kind of. The most important principle of value investing is to avoid the downside risk, and by investing only in well-established companies, Buffett continues to adhere to this core principle. Beyond that, he is really a growth investor.

Investors don't characterize him as one because he doesn't invest in high-tech companies. This is because he is aware of the downside risk in such investments. The most important aspect of growth investing, on the other hand, is to find companies that will grow for many years to come. His investment style is to find companies that will grow for many years to come (growth investing) with low downside risk (value investing).

Buffett's secret to finding growth companies in traditional industries: people. Buffett looks for managers who have demonstrated outstanding success. On several occasions, he has mentioned that he would not invest in a company unless he admires, trusts and likes its management. And unlike most other acquirers, he does not replace current management. In essence, growth is accomplished through high-quality management and not through high-tech investments.

The main lesson from Buffett that I have learned is that it is possible for an average investor to find simple-to-understand good growth companies such as Wells Fargo and Wal-Mart Stores in traditional industries. Buffett found them and so can you -- by focusing on avoiding the downside risk and searching for high-quality management.

Thursday 29 July 2010

Hungry investors work up an appetite for bonds

When to buy?

Region's debt market running hot and bankers are fighting to do deals


By SIOW LI SEN

(SINGAPORE) It's as if the floodgates have opened in Asia's debt market as billion-dollar deals are snapped up within hours. It's as if the European crisis of May and June never happened. Investors are clamouring for a slice of the action and many last week had to go away empty handed after bankers had to cut back on allocations .

Temasek Holdings' trailblazing S$1 billion 40-year bond was snapped up in less than two hours.

Heavy demand from insurance companies for longest-dated SGD bond opens a new window


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Createwealth8888:

Just only 4.2% returns for 40-year bond was snapped up in less than two hours. It is telling us that fund managers have plenty of money but no balls.  They are telling us that capital preservation is far more important than returns and 4.2% should be enough to pay for their salaries and cover operational expenses. 

Can we still be so bullish?


 

Keppel breaches new depths in the offshore wind energy sector

Seafox and Keppel Fels catch the wind

Keppel Fels' multi-purpose self-elevating platform (MPSEP) design as the basis for a new-generation, wind turbine installation vessel - Seafox 5 - destined for work in the North Sea.



Singapore, 29 July 2010 – Keppel FELS Limited’s (Keppel FELS) multi-purpose selfelevating platform (MPSEP) design has been chosen by the Seafox Group (Seafox) as the basis for a new-generation, wind turbine installation vessel that can withstand harsh offshore environmental conditions all year round in water depths of 65 metres in the North Sea.

Compared with existing wind turbine installation vessels, and the majority of those being constructed, this vessel can operate in some 45%-deeper waters, while reducing downtime even in extreme storm conditions, thus providing a potentially longer operational window. With a large carrying capacity of up to 12 turbines at a time, it enhances the efficiency of constructing offshore wind farms.

A 75/25 joint venture (JV) company has been formed between Keppel FELS and Seafox respectively, to build and own this US$220 million vessel. Seafox has the option of acquiring Keppel’s stake in the JV company.

The KFELS MPSEP, designed by Keppel’s R&D arm, Offshore Technology Development, has the distinctive ability over other existing vessels to install and maintain heavy wind turbine foundations, such as the jacket and tripod types, and especially in deeper waters. In addition to being well-suited for servicing offshore wind farms, it also meets all the stringent operating regulations of the offshore oil & gas industry and can support a wide range of related activities such as accommodation, well intervention, maintenance, construction and decommissioning.

Mr Wong Kok Seng, Executive Director of Keppel FELS, said, “The offshore wind energy market holds good potential for installation and maintenance vessels that can operate over long periods in deeper waters beyond 45 metres.

“The KFELS MPSEP will offer significant advantages in terms of safety, operations, time and cost to operators working in these harsh environments. By overcoming the typical limitations of the existing fleet in the market, this advanced vessel will redefine the way in which offshore wind farms are installed and maintained across the world.”

The KFELS MPSEP vessel is scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2012, and will be managed and operated by Workfox BV, a member of the Seafox Group.

Offshore wind energy industry potential


The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) has set a target to achieve 40 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind in the European Union by 2020, and 150 GW by 2030.

Offshore winds tend to flow at greater speeds than onshore winds, thus allowing turbines to produce more electricity. Although a good majority of existing offshore wind  farms are located in water depths less than 45 metres, those coming online ar expected to move further offshore and into harsher environments such as the Central North Sea, where wind speeds are higher, constant and thereby requiring more robust solutions. There is also an increasing trend towards wind turbines with larger capacities which are heavier.

The UK expects to install some 8,000 offshore wind turbines in the next decade, to achieve the Round 3 offshore wind energy goal of delivering 15% of the UK’s electricity needs by 2020. Of these, it is estimated that some 2,700 turbines would be required at water depths greater than 45 metres. The KFELS MPSEP vessel is among the first on order worldwide that is capable of fulfilling this water-depth requirement.

Tuesday 27 July 2010

High Dividend Yield Stocks? - Part 5

Read?  High Dividend Yield Stocks? - Part 4

Read? 6 Common Misconceptions About Dividends

In a later paper, Modigliani and Miller argued that a firm's value is not affected by its dividend policy (payment to stockholders) because increased return in the form of dividends is offset by the reduction in the firm's assets.


Modigliani-Miller theorem


Modigliani and Merton Miller published their famous The Cost of Capital, Corporate Finance and the Theory of Investment in 1958. The paper urged a fundamental objection to the traditional view of corporate finance, according to which a corporation can reduce its cost of capital by finding the right debt-to-equity ratio. According to Modigliani and Miller, however, there was no right ratio, so corporate managers should seek to minimize tax liability and maximize corporate net wealth, letting the debt ratio chips fall where they will. Modigliani and Miller also claimed that the real market value of a company depends mostly on investors' expectations of what the company will earn in the future, not the company's debt-to-equity ratio.

The way in which Modigliani and Miller arrived at their conclusion made use of the "no arbitrage" argument, that is the premise that any state of affairs that will allow traders of any market instrument to create a riskless money machine will almost immediately disappear. They set the pattern for many arguments in subsequent years based on that premise.

The Modigliani-Miller theorem forms the basis for modern thinking on capital structure. The basic theorem states that, in the absence of taxes, bankruptcy costs, and asymmetric information, and in an efficient market, the value of a firm is unaffected by how that firm is financed. It does not matter if the firm's capital is raised by issuing stock or selling debt. It does not matter what the firm's dividend policy is. Therefore, the Modigliani-Miller theorem is also often called the capital structure irrelevance principle.

The theorem was originally proved under the assumption of no taxes, but can also be extended to a situation with taxes. Consider two firms that are identical except for their financial structures. The first (Firm U) is unlevered: that is, it is financed by equity only. The other (Firm L) is levered: it is financed partly by equity, and partly by debt. The Modigliani-Miller theorem states that the value of the two firms is the same.

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Createwealth8888's own words: "I also love dividend play stocks but I treat the dividend as safety net if the stock price falls temporary but not as a buying decision. Technically on chart-wise, I must see that the stock price has the probability of moving higher before considering it in the watch-list."
 
Read? Are High Ratio Dividend Payout Stocks Make A Low Risk Investment? - Part 2
 
Who want to argue with the Nobel Prize winner on "dividends are irrelevant to a company's value"?

6 Common Misconceptions About Dividends

Investopedia.com
Topics:Investing Ideas & Strategies
By Jason Whitby

During periods of low yields and market volatility, more than a few experts recommend dividend stocks and funds. This may sound like good advice, but unfortunately, it is often based on misconceptions and anecdotal evidence.


It is time to take a closer look at the six most common reasons why advisors and other experts recommend dividends and why, based on these reasons, such recommendations are often unsound advice.

Misconception No. 1: Dividends are a good income-producing alternative when money market yields are low.

Taking cash and buying dividend stocks isn't consistent with being a conservative investor, regardless of what money markets are yielding. Additionally, there is no evidence that money market yields signal the right time to invest in dividend-focused mutual funds. In fact, money market yields were anemic throughout 2009, a year that is also one of the worst periods for dividend-focused funds in history.

Many advisors also call dividends a good complement to other investments during times of high volatility and low bank yields. In an October 22, 2009 article, financial guru Suze Orman recommended the following dividend funds: iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (NYSE:DVY), WisdomTree Total Dividend (NYSE:DTD) & Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index (NYSE:VYM).

Reality Check: The 12-month performance after Orman's recommendation was DVY (+7.86%), DTD (+21.91%), VYM (+17.72%). These returns seem pretty good - until you realize you could have just held on to the S&P 500, which was up +26.36% over the same period.

Misconception No.2: Dividend companies are more stable and better managed.

It is generally believed that companies that raise their dividends over a long period have solid market positions and strong cash flow. As a result, the stocks' total return is likely to outpace other stocks.

It's also common to hear the argument that dividends tend to hold companies to a certain standard of financial discipline and that, as a result, these companies budget more carefully and avoid wasteful projects out of fear that shareholders will punish the stock if it fails to return profits to its investors.

Reality Check: It's easy to pick a "solid" stock in retrospect but it is impossible to pick a company today that will meet this statement moving forward. Sure, if you had purchased Coke in 1962…but what about today? In 2007 we would have said that General Electric (NYSE:GE) and AIG (NYSE:AIG) were stable and well-managed dividend companies. Would we say the same in 2009? What about in the future?

The notion that dividend-paying companies are held to higher standards does not bear out. Look no further than the financial industry. In September 2008, AIG had a $4.40 dividend - almost a 4% dividend yield. By 2009, it was clear that AIG and others such as Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Bank of America, Bear Stearns and Citigroup were far from being financially disciplined companies, despite that fact that they were all long-time dividend-paying companies. As it turns out, dividends aren't much of an indicator of the financial discipline or the quality of a company's management.

Misconception No.3: You can count on dividends from solid companies.

Many people believe that it's rare for a solid company to suddenly reduce or rescind its dividend payment.

Reality Check: "Solid" companies like Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), General Motors, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and GE, have either suspended or cut their dividends. Unfortunately, it is a lot easier to identify companies that had a solid record than to identify companies that will have a solid record going forward. It is impossible to predict which "solid" companies today are going to be on shaky ground tomorrow. There is no certainty or stability in future dividends.

The idea that dividends allow you to get paid to wait doesn't make sense. It is the total return of your portfolio that matters, not the current yield. Throughout 2008 and 2009, companies were cutting or suspending their dividend payments at record levels, proving that there is no guarantee for those who buy in to these companies. Just ask anyone holding Freddie Mac since June 12, 2008, which was when Freddie Mac last distributed a dividend and traded at $23.01 a share. At that time, Freddie Mac had a dividend yield of 4.34%. By October of 2009, the stock was down over 90% and hope for future dividends had all but evaporated.

Misconception No.4: Dividend stocks provide upside potential and downside protection.

A 2009 SPDR University brochure states that "Dividends provide a stable source of income that can help partially offset market price depreciation that occurs in turbulent markets."

Reality Check: Dividends provide very little - if any - downside protection during market corrections. The S&P 500 was down -41.82% during the September 2008 to March 2009 crash. During the same time, the SPDR S&P 500 Dividend ETF was down -35.87%, which doesn't seem like much downside protection. Additionally, some well-known, dividend-focused funds provided no downside protection and performed worse than the S&P 500 over this period. For example, the Fidelity Dividend Growth Fund was down -46.94% and the iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index was down -43.07%.

Since 1926, dividends have provided about one-third of the total return for the S&P 500, while capital appreciation has provided the other two-thirds. Focusing on dividends, which provided less returns than capital appreciation, makes little sense, especially since the dividend focus is just as risky.

Misconception No.5: Preferential tax treatment makes dividend stocks more attractive.

This misconception seems to imply that dividend stocks are more attractive investments since they are taxed at a preferential rate. Obviously, the lower rate is better than the normal income rates but what does it really mean? Does it mean you should avoid dividends in tax-deferred accounts since they are less attractive?

Reality Check: Of course it doesn't. Then why should the tax treatment warrant dividend investments more attractive than capital gains? It doesn't, which is shown by the lack of any noticeable bounce in 2003 when the preferential tax law was implemented. We need to remember that the tail should not be wagging the dog. After-tax returns are important, but taxes should not drive your investment decisions.

Misconception No.6: Dividend-focused investing is ideal for retirees and conservative investors.

An October 5, 2009, article in the Wall Street Journal stated that "Most types of fixed-rate bonds don't provide any protection against inflation and can lose value when investors are worried inflation will flare. Rising dividends, along with any appreciation in the share price of the company paying them, offer a measure of insurance against inflation."

Reality Check: This statement is incredibly misleading. First, if you want a bond that protects against inflation, you can buy an I-bond instead of taking equity risk. Secondly, all equity investments provide a measure of protection against inflation, not just dividend stocks.

No one ever said you could only have one investment. If you are a conservative investor, you can simply create a portfolio of bond funds and a little bit in a stock fund. The idea is to create an investment portfolio, not an investment collection. Each investment in the portfolio should work with the others to achieve a goal. This works much like the ingredients in a recipe, which come together to create a great dish.

Why are dividends a better way to generate income than capital gains? Capital gains are not a sure thing, but neither are dividends. And there is simply no way to know which stocks will continue to be "solid" in the future.

Conclusion

Dividends are absolutely an important part of the investment equation. Yet there is no empirical evidence that focusing on dividends is a wise decision. Actually, Miller and Modigliani received the Nobel Memorial Prize in large part for their paper, "Dividend Policy, Growth, and Valuation of Shares," in which they found that dividends are irrelevant to a company's value ("irrelevant" is their word, not mine).

On one side the media is dishing out long-lived misconceptions about dividends. On the other side, the Nobel winners are saying dividends are "irrelevant" to stock values. I'm not sure about you, but I know which one of these two groups I'm going with.

Ten Stock-Market Myths That Just Won't Die

by Brett Arends


The Dow Jones Industrial Average last week ended up pretty much where it had been a little more than a week earlier. A rousing 200-point rally on Wednesday mostly made up for the distressing 200-point selloff of the previous Friday.


The Dow plummeted nearly 800 points a few weeks ago — and then just as dramatically rocketed back up again. The widely watched market indicator is down 7% from where it stood in April and up 59% from where it was at its 2009 nadir.

These kinds of stomach-churning swings are testing investors' nerves once again. You may already feel shattered from the events of 2008-2009. Since the Greek debt crisis in the spring, turmoil has been back in the markets.

At times like this, your broker or financial adviser may offer words of wisdom or advice. There are standard calming phrases you will hear over and over again. But how true are they? Here are 10 that need extra scrutiny.

1. "This is a good time to invest in the stock market."

Really? Ask your broker when he warned clients that it was a bad time to invest. October 2007? February 2000? A broken watch tells the right time twice a day, but that's no reason to wear one. Or as someone once said, asking a broker if this is a good time to invest in the stock market is like asking a barber if you need a haircut. "Certainly, sir — step this way!"

2 "Stocks on average make you about 10% a year."

Stop right there. This is based on some past history — stretching back to the 1800s — and it's full of holes.

About three of those percentage points were only from inflation. The other 7% may not be reliable either. The data from the 19th century are suspect; the global picture from the 20th century is complex. Experts suggest 5% may be more typical. And stocks only produce average returns if you buy them at average valuations. If you buy them when they're expensive, you do a lot worse.

3 "Our economists are forecasting..."

Hold it. Ask your broker if the firm's economist predicted the most recent recession — and if so, when.

The record for economic forecasts is not impressive. Even into 2008 many economists were still denying that a recession was on the way. The usual shtick is to predict "a slowdown, but not a recession." That way they have an escape clause, no matter what happens. Warren Buffett once said forecasters made fortune tellers look good.

4 "Investing in the stock market lets you participate in the growth of the economy."

Tell that to the Japanese. Since 1989 their economy has grown by more than a quarter, but the stock market is down more than three quarters. Or tell that to anyone who invested in Wall Street a decade ago. And such instances aren't as rare as you've been told. In 1969, the U.S. gross domestic product was about $1 trillion, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at about 1000. Thirteen years later, the U.S. economy had grown to $3.3 trillion. The Dow? About 1000.

5 "If you want to earn higher returns, you have to take more risk."

This must come as a surprise to Mr. Buffett, who prefers investing in boring companies and boring industries. Over the last quarter century, the FactSet Research utilities index has even outperformed the exciting, "risky" Nasdaq Composite index. The only way to earn higher returns is to buy stocks cheap in relation to their future cash flows. As for "risk," your broker probably thinks that's "volatility," which typically just means price ups and downs. But you and your Aunt Sally know that risk is really the possibility of losing principal.

6 "The market's really cheap right now. The P/E is only about 13."

The widely quoted price/earnings (PE) ratio, which compares share prices to annual after-tax earnings, can be misleading. That's because earnings are so volatile — they're elevated in a boom, and depressed in a bust.

Ask your broker about other valuation metrics, like the dividend yield, which looks at the dividends you get for each dollar of investment; or the cyclically adjusted PE ratio, which compares share prices to earnings over the past 10 years; or "Tobin's q," which compares share prices to the actual replacement cost of company assets. No metric is perfect, but these three have good track records. Right now all three say the stock market's pretty expensive, not cheap.

7 "You can't time the market."

This hoary old chestnut keeps the clients fully invested. Certainly it's a fool's errand to try to catch the market's twists and turns. But that doesn't mean you have to suspend judgment about overall valuations.

If you invest in shares when they're cheap compared to cash flows and assets — typically this happens when everyone else is gloomy — you will usually do very well.

If you invest when shares are very expensive — such as when everyone else is absurdly bullish — you will probably do badly.

8 "We recommend a diversified portfolio of mutual funds."

If your broker means you should diversify across things like cash, bonds, stocks, alternative strategies, commodities and precious metals, then that's good advice.

But too many brokers mean mutual funds with different names and "styles" like large-cap value, small-cap growth, midcap blend, international small-cap value, and so on. These are marketing gimmicks. There is, for example, no such thing as "midcap blend." These funds are typically 100% invested all the time, and all in stocks. In this global economy even "international" offers less diversification than it did, because everything's getting tied together.

9 "This is a stock picker's market."

What? Every market seems to be defined as a "stock picker's market," yet for most people the lion's share of investment returns — for good or ill — has typically come from the asset classes (see No. 8, above) they've chosen rather than the individual investments. And even if this does turn out to be a stock picker's market, what makes you think your broker is the stock picker in question?

10 "Stocks outperform over the long term."

Define the long term? If you can be down for 10 or more years, exactly how much help is that? As John Maynard Keynes, the economist, once said: "In the long run we are all dead."

Kep Corp - Sold $9.05, ROC 5.7%

Hope to gather more feathers for a bigger and thicker foldable mattress soon ...




Round 93: ROC 5.7%, 67 days, B $8.50 S $9.05


Round 92: ROC 10.6%, 166 days, B $7.98 S $8.89

Sunday 25 July 2010

When to buy?

Read? When to buy?

I am going to do a "BIAS"

I think this is the most stupid question to ask: "When to buy?"

For every stock transaction, there is a buyer matching a seller/sellers or a seller matching a buyer/buyers.

There is absolutely no exception so the right time to buy is Now.

To buy or not doesn't really depend on the market timing. It depends on the depth of your pocket and/or the size of your balls. When you have deeper pocket and/or bigger ball, anytime is a good time to buy. 

Don't believe me then ask those buyers on Monday.

GE Boosts Dividend 20%, Extends Buyback Plan

Createweath8888: Real sign of recovery as GE is on the path to return more cash back to its loyal shareholders.

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"GE is a company whose tentacles extend throughout large parts of the economy, and (the hike) clearly shows they're (having) a bit more visibility on their future cash flows," explains Adrian Cronje of wealth management firm Balentine.


By: CNBC.com

In a move signaling some recovery from the 2008-2009 financial crisis, General Electric said its board approved a 20 percent increase in its dividend and extended its stock repurchase plan.


The increase in GE's [GE 15.71 0.50 (+3.29%) ] dividend, which came earlier than many had anticipated, raises the quarterly payment to 12 cents per share from 10 cents per share.

The board said the next dividend would be paid on October 25 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Sept. 30.

Separately, the company said it will extend its existing stock buyback program, which would have expired on Dec. 31, through 2013.

Repurchases under the existing $15 billion repurchase plan were suspended on Sept. 25, 2008. The plan currently has about $11.6 billion in repurchases remaining under the current authorization.

GE, which is the parent of CNBC, said it will resume repurchases under the plan this quarter.

"We are able to restore the GE dividend at a historical payout level for 2010 earlier than previously anticipated and to extend our share buyback program because of continued strong cash generation, recovery at GE Capital, and solid underlying performance in our industrial businesses through the first half of 2010," GE Chief Jeff Immelt said, in a written statement.

GE has been working to make GE Capital a smaller specialty finance company, and said progress on this front provided the flexibility to boost he dividend and resume stock buybacks. GE said even with this move it still has the financial flexibility for "strategic and financially attractive inorganic growth opportunities."

Saturday 24 July 2010

Get Rich Courses or Coaching? - II


Read? Get Rich Courses or Coaching? - I


Like those folks in the Rich Dad $500 course. Few year ago, I too have the similar experience with our local millionaire trader and author. I was then pissed off and lost my respect for this guy and stop visiting his blog too.

Few of my colleagues and myself paid $50 for his Candlesticks Technical Analysis Workshop and instead of spending the whole night do candlesticks analysis. He did something unexpectedly. We received more than just candlesticks analysis throughout the night.

In between every few slides he would put a few more slides to try to sell his more expensive Trading course at $X,XXX and wasted much of my precious time and made me damn pissed off.

He claimed to make millions from trading and even wrote a book to teach people how to make millions from trading and yet he was so hard up in trying to make a few thousand buck here and there by pushing his expensive Trading course during a totally unrelated event as we didn't come for a preview on his Trading course. We went to the Workshop to study more on Candlesticks technical analysis and not to waste our time listening to those rubbish Get Rich course.

Can you believe it or not? Someone who claim he made millions and yet so hard up in making thousands. I was dumb for words for these so-called Millionaire bums!

Get Rich Courses or Coaching?

Read? Smart Money Grabbers over dummy investors - III

Another one exposed. This one is a Global Big Name: Rich Dad brand Click here Marketplace: Rich Dad Seminars Deceptive


Money Not Enough

These Financial Gurus may have started off with good intentions to educate the people on financial wisdom and investing skills. But later they lost control of Money Not Enough and start finding other ways and means to make even more money.


 
 
Once they run out of decent ideas of making more money; they may move towards to some indecent ways of making more money. One day when they run of indecent ways of making more money; they may think that it is not evil to con other people’s hard-earn money to make even more money for themselves. Money Not Enough?

Friday 23 July 2010

Heavy demand from insurance companies for longest-dated SGD bond opens a new window

Temasek Holdings has pulled off another trailblazing fund raising exercise, bringing more depth to the local debt market. Yesterday, it sold $1 billion of bonds with a 40-year tenor, double the length of the longest dated Singapore government bond.


Mr Lee: Expects more corporates to issue longer date bonds now

Demand, especially from insurance companies, was strong and came in at $1.7 billion, said Clifford Lee, DBS managing director and head of fixed income, global financial markets.

The latest Temasek Bond which matures in August 2050 will pay 4.2 per cent interest. Investors will be paid every six months, at a coupon rate of 4.2 per cent per annum.

(Createwealth8888: 40-year long-term low-risk returns only at 4.2%)
'The 2050 maturity set a new SGD benchmark, being the longest dated SGD bond yet issued,' said Aaron Russell-Davison, head of Asian debt syndicate, Standard Chartered Bank

7 Secrets to a Happy Retirement

by Sydney Lagier


Some folks transition seamlessly into a happy retirement and get right to the business of enjoying their new lives. But other people have a tougher time entering the retirement years. Some of these folks may wonder whether they are really cut out for retirement at all. Here are seven traits happy retirees share.

Good health.

Enjoying good health is the single most important factor impacting retiree happiness, according to a 2009 Watson Wyatt analysis. Retirees in poor health are nearly 50 percent less likely to report being happy, trumping all other factors including money and age.

A significant other.

The same study found that married or cohabiting couples are more likely than singles to be happy in retirement. The news gets even better for couples enjoying retirement together. Retirees whose partners are also retired report being happier than those with a working partner, according to research conducted earlier this year at the University of Greenwich.

A social network.

The Greenwich study also found that having friends was far more important to retirement bliss than having kids. Those who have strong social networks are 30 percent happier with their lives than those without a strong network of friends. Having kids or grandkids had no impact on a retiree's level of contentment.

They are not addicted to television.

After you retire you will have lots of time to fill. If you want to be happy in retirement, don't fill that time with endless hours of television. Heavy TV viewers report lower satisfaction with their lives, according to a 2005 study published by the Institute for Empirical Research in Economics in Zurich. The same results were found again in 2008 by researchers at the University of Maryland. In that study, a direct negative correlation was found between the amount of TV watching and happiness levels: unhappy people watched more TV and happy people watched less.

Intellectual curiosity.

Adults over 70 who choose brain-stimulating hobbies over TV watching are two and a half times less likely to suffer the effects of Alzheimer's disease, according to Richard Stim and Ralph Warner's book Retire Happy: What You Can Do Now to Guarantee a Great Retirement. Not only will shunning TV make you happier, it will make you healthier. Good health will in turn make you happier -- a not-so-vicious cycle.

They aren't addicted to achievement.

The more you are defined by your job, the harder it will be to adjust to life without it. According to Robert Delamontagne's book The Retiring Mind: How to Make the Psychological Transition to Retirement, achievement addicts have the most difficulty transitioning to retirement.

Enough money.

Of course you'll need enough money to support your chosen lifestyle in retirement. But beyond that, more money will not make you happier. The Watson Wyatt survey found that the absolute amount of money you have for retirement is less important than how your retirement income compares to your income before retirement. If you have enough to continue your pre-retirement lifestyle, you have enough.

If you don't have the traits necessary for a happy retirement, don't despair. There's good news for you, too. Consider a retirement that includes a little work. Researchers at the University of Maryland found that retirees who go back to work either full or part-time are healthier. The benefits don't depend on how many hours you work. Even temporary work has the same positive impact on health. If you can't find a paying job, don't worry. A growing body of research shows that retirees who volunteer reap the same benefits of health, happiness, and longevity. And since a happy retirement is a healthy retirement, you'll be set up to enjoy both.

Thursday 22 July 2010

Kep Corp 1H 2010

  • Net profit improved 11% to S$669 million compared to 1H 2009’s S$603 million.

  • Earnings per share of 41.9 cents, up 11% from 1H 2009’s 37.8 cents.

  • Annualised ROE remained above 20%.

  • Economic Value Added before exceptional items increased from S$452 million to S$493 million.

  • Cash outflow of S$859 million.

  • Net gearing of 0.01x.

  • Interim dividend increased 7% to 16.0 cents per share.
Consistently give good dividends

Countries with the most millionaires 2010

No. 18: Singapore


Population: 5.1 million

2009 number of millionaire households: 122,697

Percentage increase: 35.4 percent YOY

Share of country’s wealth held by millionaire households: 53 percent

The chances of running into a millionaire are high in Singapore, which had the world’s greatest density of millionaires, who represented 11.4 percent of total households in 2009. They controlled 53 percent of the country’s wealth. Singapore’s economy shrank 2.1 percent last year but has improved, growing 13.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2010.

--------------------------------------------------

On 23 Jul 2010, Singapore Pools may help to add 1 or more new millioniare into this list.

Smart Money Grabbers over dummy investors - III

Read? Smart Money Grabbers over dummy investors - II

Kishore M Gets Reprimand from MAS

Createwealth8888: Then we have Kelvin Han, now we have Kishore kena reprimand from MAS, and who's next? Sometime, some retail investors need to step back and ask why do these people want to share their Magic Stone or Magic Goose that lays golden eggs for a few thousand bucks? Does it make any moneysense? I don't really know.

Jailed for acting as fund manager without licence


By Khushwant Singh

ADDITIONAL CHARGES: Han could not repay the $718,000 he lost and was declared a bankrupt on Jan 19 last year. Even after that, he got involved in three firms. For this, he was jailed for another month.

TRAINING firm Zone Financial was set up to teach people how to trade futures contracts and indexes.

But it acted as a fund manager between May 2004 and August 2006, collecting nearly $4 million as personal loans from 32 people.

Its managing director, Kelvin Han How Yong, 28, was yesterday jailed for five months after pleading guilty to allowing the firm to engage in fund management without a capital markets services licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Han would persuade participants at his training sessions to invest in a fund - called Kelvin's Fund - for periods ranging from a few weeks to six months.

The money was used to trade futures contracts and indexes and he promised his clients returns of 1 per cent to 5 per cent per month, depending on the amount they put in.

By the time he resigned as managing director in August 2006, he had lost about $718,000.

Two months later, the Commercial Affairs Department began investigations after several people reported to the police that Han had cheated them into investing various sums of money.

Han could not repay the money lost and was declared a bankrupt on Jan 19 last year.

He has yet to make any restitution of the $718,000 he lost while the remainder of the sum invested has been returned to the investors.

Even as a bankrupt, Han was not done yet. Although bankrupts are not allowed to engage in the management of companies without the permission of the court or the Official Assignee, Han got involved in three firms almost immediately. For this, he was jailed for another month.

The court heard that Han had asked his father, Mr Han Koon Siong, to set up event management firm Cronwell in November 2006 with a paid-up capital of $1. Between January and August last year, he took charge of the firm and managed it.

Two other charges of acting as a director of AOL Capital and Rimson Investments last year were considered by the judge when deciding on the sentence.

Zone Financial was also fined $20,000 for offering fund management services without the appropriate licence. The firm has since become inactive.

The MAS said there are 110 firms holding capital markets services licences.

How well do investors understand CFD risks?

By R SIVANITHY


ANECDOTAL evidence suggests that the market for contracts for differences (CFDs) has grown strongly over the past few years and shows no signs of slowing down. No one knows just how big the local market is, since these instruments are traded over the counter (OTC).

But thanks to aggressive advertising and marketing by the big CFD players, an increasing number of retail investors are known to be trying their luck in the CFD arena, probably also encouraged by the fact that several local brokers have also jumped on the CFD bandwagon.

This is fine - the more financial instruments there are available to the investing public, the better. But CFDs are highly complex instruments with plenty of inherent risk.

With a currency CFD for example, it is possible to enjoy 100 times leverage, an attractively high number if the market moves in the investor's favour. But what is sometimes forgotten in sales pitches is that the knife cuts both ways.

So you have to wonder: Are retail players fully informed of all the risks? Or is the financial industry's approach the same as it was on the sale of the failed structured products such as Lehman Minibonds - that is, to focus almost exclusively on high potential returns and downplay the high risks?

You also have to ask, for example, why it is that CFDs are not allowed to be sold to retail investors in the US. And why it is that in the UK, retail investors have to take a suitability test before being allowed to trade CFDs?

Australia has, until now, had no major restrictions on CFDs. But last week, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) - the country's corporate regulator - said that it was looking to clamp down on the CFD industry because of widespread ignorance of the risks.

Ignorant of dangers

The Australian Financial Review, in its July 12 edition, quoted ASIC commissioner Greg Medcraft as saying: 'People just don't understand how dangerous (CFDs) are. There is a real lack of understanding about the impact of leveraging and how it can devastate them.

It's actually riskier than going to the bookies, because with bookies, if you put down $10,000 you only lose $10,000. Here, you put down $10,000 and you've lost your house and whole life savings.'

In the course of its investigations into the Aussie CFD market - estimated to be A$350 million last year but thought to be much larger today - ASIC found that investors were not only ignorant of the risks involved, but also were not being warned by those selling CFDs because the sellers themselves did not fully understand the risks.

It was also reported that two market makers or providers - CMC Markets and IG Markets - control around 70 per cent of the market.

Should the Monetary Authority of Singapore conduct a similar survey here to see if the burgeoning number of investors in CFDs really know what they are buying into? The answer, judging by the experience Down Under, is why not?

Questions to ask

If there was to be such a review - apart from the obvious questions about understanding how leverage works - investors should be asked if they understand the exact nature of the product. For instance, that when they take a CFD position, it is the market maker who is on the opposite side of the trade, which means the playing field is slightly tilted in favour of the market maker because it knows what its customers' positions are and can hedge itself accordingly - usually in the underlying cash market.
(Createwealth8888: What made you think that you as retail speculators can beat the Market Maker at their game? Where does all the free makan and pens that these Market Makers provide at their free CFD semniars come from?)
The investor has no such knowledge. Nor does he know what positions the house has taken, so even though some people may think this is insignificant, there is nevertheless asymmetric information in a CFD trade.

Similarly, do investors realise that unlike margin loans, CFD positions are not closed - or force-sold - when the market moves against them, which in theory could mean potentially large losses if the position is not constantly monitored and/or if no stop-loss is implemented?

Additionally, do investors realise that holders of CFDs on stocks are not entitled to dividends, because CFDs are not shares? Do they know that unless they have some form of deposit insurance, there is a chance - albeit small - that they could lose all their money if the market maker goes bust?

Also worth asking is if whether the deposit money collected from opening a CFD account is placed into a pooled segregated account and if so, how this money is to be used if very large customers incur big losses and cannot pay up?

As stated earlier, this is not to say that CFDs are unsuitable investments for retail players. But clearly, these instruments, given their risky nature, are not suitable for everyone. Going by the experience of other developed markets - the latest being Australia - it is worthwhile for local regulators to check if there is adequate disclosure in the marketing of CFDs here.

Help me! I am still losing money in my Investment Quadrant - Part 4

Read? Help me! I am still losing money in my Investment Quadrant - Part 3


Is stock investing also like gambling?

When some retail investors keep losing more and more of their hard earned in the stock investing, and soon they will feel like they are gambling and tell everybody else that SGX is the biggest Casino in Singapore.

So what is Gambling?

Read this Gambling - investment - speculation

When you come to the stock market, you have three options to play the game and you don't necessary have to gamble. It is unlike going to casino in Sentosa or Marina Bay where the only option is to play the game is to gamble.

But, in the stock market, you can choose to gamble, speculate (professional and specialized gambling) or invest.

You can avoid gambling or speculating by having an edge over others in order to survive in the stock market jungle that is full of predators and stop becoming their short-term preys.

When you gamble, you bet your capital and you either you lose your all or part of your capital or take back your capital plus gains.

But, you are not gambling when you put in your capital and not expecting to lose your capital during your expected investing time frame and also have more options to play the game. You can either do one or more of these options:

  1. Leave your capital invested and focus on collecting stock dividends and likely over a long period you will finally recover all your capital plus more.
  2. Periodically recover your capital plus some capital gains and re-invest when stock market presents another opportunity.
  3. Periodically collect both stock dividends and some capital gains and re-invest when stock market presents another opportunity.
Edge

What is your edge? Are you doing these?
  1. Investing in the stock market with the money that you are 99.9% sure that you don't need it for the next 5-7 years.
  2. Mentally and physically separate this stock investing account from your other saving accounts to mitigate the emotional baggage drag-down during bear markets.  Read more? Two Bank Accounts? No, You may need Four! - Part 2
  3. Choose only top tier blue chips that pay regular dividend yield of at least 4-5% and exclude any special dividend payment. These are companies that most likely to be able to borrow more money from the banks or raise more equities in the capital market to refinance their short-term maturing debts or to build up more working capital to survive in bad economy.
  4. You don't worry over falling stock prices and still sleep peacefully at nights.
Stop Gambling but Invest!

Wednesday 21 July 2010

Keppel wins S$170 mln worth of Brazilian projects

By ANGELA TAN


Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), through Keppel Shipyard Limited and Keppel FELS Brasil SA, has secured two contracts totalling S$170 million.

The contracts were clinched from repeat customers for the conversion of a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel and repair of a semisubmersible (semi) drilling rig respectively.

The first contract is for the conversion of the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), M/T Theseus, into an FPSO facility for Single Buoy Moorings Inc (SBM).

Work is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2010. Scheduled to leave Keppel Shipyard in the first quarter 2012, the vessel will head to Brazil where the installation and integration of topsides will be completed.

The second contract is by Keppel FELS Brasil with Queiroz Galvao Oleo e Gas (QGOG) for the repair and maintenance of their semi drilling rig, Alaskan Star.

Expected to be completed in October 2010, the rig will be chartered to Petrobras for deployment in the Campos Basin, Rio De Janeiro, offshore Brazil.

Tuesday 20 July 2010

Is The Stock Market Rigged?

Investopedia.com
By Stephan Abraham

During the financial crisis that started in 2008 we constantly heard and read about corruption and scandal on Wall Street. We became familiar with terms such as overleveraged, mortgage backed securities, recession and liquidity crisis. We also are reminded of the more recent scandals when we hear names such as Bernie Madoff. Madoff scammed billions from innocent investors by using fictitious financial transactions. There was without a doubt a strong dislike toward Wall Street during those days from Main Street. Many would-be first time investors in the stock market do not believe it is a fair playing field. Likewise, many market veterans have been burned once too many by the greedy few at the expense of the general population.


So investors rightfully wonder whether the stock market is rigged. Technically, the answer is of course, no, the stock market is not rigged but there are some real disadvantages that you will need to overcome to be a successful small investors. Let's examine some of them here which in turn may help you navigate thru future market turmoil.

Information

Despite the seemingly endless financial and stock data found online, as an individual investor you do not have access to in-house technical experts or research analysts. Most investors also do not have sophisticated automated trading programs to provide trading suggestions. Nor are most average investors skilled in technical analysis. Perhaps an overlooked nuance in this informational imbalance is the actual timing or dissemination of information that is crucial. Yes, the internet is somewhat of an equalizing factor, but the reality is that many institutional clients know the outcome of information before the investing public does. Brokerage firms typically have a research department as well as a team of traders.

Capital

Perhaps the biggest disadvantage small investors face is capital. If you aren't at all familiar with the inner workings of the stock market, imagine you own a small convenience store and you want to buy a large order of cigarette lighters for resale. You call up your distributor and ask for a price. On the other hand, Wal-Mart calls this same distributor and says they want the same exact cigarette lighters for their thousands of stores worldwide. At the end of the day, Wal-Mart has more pricing power than the mom-and-pop convenient store and will get a better price.

Perhaps to a lesser extent, the same is true when buying or selling stock. At the transaction level, similar to Wal-Mart, a larger client will be able to negotiate lower prices on commissions and fees compared to the average investor. In addition, the average investor does not get the same opportunity to subscribe for an IPO that an institution does. The hot IPOs are generally reserved for the preferred clients: hedge funds and pension funds, and extremely high net worth individuals. Only when all the preferred clients have been offered to subscribe to the IPO would the average investor get a chance to invest. But at the point, you would have to question an investment in an IPO that all the major clients have rejected.

Political Influence

How many individual investors have direct access to elected government officials or have paid lobbyists to look after their interests? Despite the apparent vitriol for financial institutions by the government during the financial crisis, these financial companies still exercise tremendous influence over our political process. Of course, drug, tobacco and technology companies also exert political prowess in Washington. Many former government officials end up landing big corporate jobs and vice versa. Most of us do not have a seat at the table when new laws are being considered or written. We rely on our elected officials to do this for us who are the very same people that are influenced by big investors.

Mitigation Strategies

Don't fret, there are ways to work the system or at least raise your awareness of it, but it requires effort. Information, although not always timely enough to matter, is at your disposal. The internet has become an equalizer for the small investor. Financial-based websites can help small investors make heads or tails out of the financial markets. Set aside an hour a week to review business news and trends and read the readily available research reports and profiles on sites such as Yahoo! Finance and CBS Market watch. Furthermore, it is important to keep a watchful eye over your investments and set a stop loss regardless of how much you like the company you own. Many people get wiped out of the stock market because they do not set stop losses on their investments. Of course, many investors use diversified index funds an investment strategy and are considered to be more "passive" investors. Regardless of your style, monitoring your investments is good risk management.

Some things are not going to be overcome no matter how much homework you do or discipline you display. Huge investment capital and political influence are examples. But one can review publications and align or at least be aware of where institutional money is going. Many publications such as Investor's Business Daily designate institutional sponsorship as a critical investing indicator. Chances are in your favor if you are buying a stock that has a rising institutional presence. It is also important to realize that markets go up and down and experience what economists refer to as exogenous shocks. These are events that no one, including the privileged few, could have predicted.

Conclusion

The stock market is technically not rigged for the average investor. Laws and governing bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) exist to "level the playing field" for everyday investors. However, there are undeniable advantages money managers on Wall Street have over us: timely access to privileged information, huge amounts of capital, political influence and greater experience. Although intimidating, these apparent disadvantages should not dissuade you from reaching your investment goals. By carefully monitoring your investments and taking risk mitigation steps such as stop losses, as well as keeping informed of general investment themes or trends, you can overcome these imbalances and still be successful in your investing endeavors.

Monday 19 July 2010

Insurance - Human Asset and Liability - Part 3

Read on Insurance - Human Asset and Liability - Part 2

Read more on Insurance Companies Work for Shareholders, Not Customers


Get real on the cost of hedging an aging human asset

I believe Group Insurance is the cheapest insurance scheme that one can get but get real on the escalating cost to hedge an aging human asset so use insurance wisely as a hedging tool as the cost for hedging an older asset rises sharply.




Sunday 18 July 2010

OLAM LODGES TAKEOVER NOTICE FOR UP TO 100% OF ISSUED SHARES IN NZ FARMING SYSTEMS URUGUAY

Singapore, July 18, 2010 – Olam International Limited (the “Company” or “Olam”) today announced that it has notified NZ Farming Systems Uruguay Limited (“NZFSU'”) of its intention to make a cash offer at NZ$0.55 per share for all of the shares in NZFSU that it does not already own (“the Offer”).

Olam is currently the largest shareholder in NZFSU with an 18.45% shareholding following the purchase of shares in NZFSU in September 2009 and May 2010.

The Offer is subject to certain conditions, including Olam achieving a minimum 50.1% shareholding in NZFSU post the Offer and the approval by the Overseas Investment Office.

Olam’s offer price of NZ$0.55 cash per NZFSU share represents a 38% premium over the 3-month average trading price of NZ$0.401 and provides all NZFSU shareholders with the opportunity to realise a significant premium for their shares. If Olam receives full acceptance of the Offer, its shareholding in NZFSU would increase from 18.45% to 100% at an additional investment of NZ$109.6 million (US$78.9 million).

This additional investment will be funded by the Company through a combination of internal accruals and borrowings.

The Offer has the support of NZFSU’s second largest shareholder, PGG Wrightson Limited (“PGW”) who holds 11.5% of NZFSU shares and is New Zealand’s leading rural services company. Olam has concurrently entered into a “lock-up” agreement with PGW whereby PGW has agreed to accept the Offer in respect of its entire shareholding.

Subject to the success of the Offer, Olam would anticipate undertaking a review of NZFSU’s strategy and capital requirements in a timely manner.

Stock investing not always a gamble

No safety net in trading futures, options or forex!!! - 2nd Revisit

Some financial instruments like options and futures are zero-sum game as for every winner there will be a counterpart who will lose the same amount.

Some people may think that stock investment is not a zero-sum game. Yes, it is true that it is not a zero-sum game as for every winner there will be a counterpart who may not lose the same amount.

But, stock investment is still about winning a loser game. If you don't believe me, go and poll your colleagues, friends and relatives. You don't be surprised that to find out that there are more losers than winners.

Let me know if your polling shows more winners than losers.

Stock market is not only winning a loser game and is also great wealth re-distributor. So be careful with your wealth in the stock market.

"The Stock market is a financial redistribution system. It takes money away from those who have no patience and gives it to those who have." - Warren Buffet

Coaches?

Smart Money Grabbers over dummy investors - II

When we don't know to do it or when we don't know how to move up to higher level of competency. We may seek help from professional coaches.

"Live to eat or eat to live?"

Similarly, we have "Coach to live or live to coach?" - Createwealth8888

I realized that there are two distinct groups of coaches.

One group of coaches - "coach to live". Some of these coaches in this group are not star players themselves in their own field but they are just trying to make a living out of coaching since there are demands for coaching services.

The other group of coaches - "live to coach". Some of these coaches are star players themselves who have retired and have proven their excellence in their own fields before retirement; but they choose to live to coach others into competency or excellency.

If you are just looking for elementary or inter-immediate type of coaching, "coach to live" coaches are still fine; but if you are looking for competency or excellency , then you must try to seek out those "live to coach" coaches.

Smart Money Grabbers over dummy investors - II

Read? Smart Money Grabbers over dummy investors

Open your eyes, there is always another Clemen Chiang somewhere.

Here come another one ....

'eBay tycoon' fends off fraud claims in Pg 6, thesundaytimes July 18, 2010

He claimed to have made millions buying and selling stuff online and even co-authored a book entitled Secrets of eBay Millionaire.

He conducted workshops and offering to coach one-to-one.

Benjamin Marc Wee won't be the last Smart Money Grabber making a damn bloody fools out of dummy investors.

"If someone really have Magic Stones that can puke out $$$ so easily, why they are selling at $X,XXX. They should have secretly passed on the Magic Stones to their family members to generate plenty of $$$ for themselves and become one of the richest families in Singapore for many generations to come." - Createwealth8888

Help me! I am still losing money in my Investment Quadrant - Part 3

Help me! I am still losing money in my Investment Quadrant - Part 2

The end result of such analysis is to trigger a buy or sell or hold decision.

To make net return on investing capital in the stock market, you need to make a decision to buy and then make another decision to sell to realize the profit or to hold for the coming stock dividend.


Two questions to ask yourself:

  1. Does focusing on more and more stock analysis lead you to a firmer and easier decision-making to buy or sell stocks.
  2. Since you have started to step up your stock analysis (fundamental or technical or both) further and deeper, does it really help to step up your total net returns on your investing capital too?

Nothing could be further from reality. More analysis may not necessary means more net returns for some retail investors as more analysis may not help to make decision-making easier but may actually make it even harder to decide when to buy or sell.


Switch to Investing

If you haven't been making more money from the stock market with more stock analysis, may be it is time for you to cut down on stock analysis to make it simpler and easier to make decision and start investing.

When you start to focus on the investing part, you will tend to focus more and more on money, portfolio and risk management. Soon you will realize that stock analysis is just one part of a much bigger picture of successful investing.

Saturday 17 July 2010

Help me! I am still losing money in my Investment Quadrant - Part 2

Help me! I am still losing money in my Investment Quadrant - Part 1

Most novice retail stock investors start "investing"(analyzing) in the stock market when they have saved some money from their earned income. They may have first started their "investing" (stock analysis) by listening to stock tips from brokers, friends, or relative and etc.

But after a while the novice retail stock investors realized that they are losing more and more money in the stock market and they embark on a period of learning from their "investing"(analyzing) mistakes.

Some may turn to fundamental analysis or technical analysis or both. Some may seek professional help either from books or by attending professional training courses to progress into more advance stage of stock analysis.

For those who turn to technical analysis through self-learning and still couldn't make it on their own may soon seek to step up their stock analysis further by turning to professional trainers or gurus for stock analysis guidance.

But when the retail stock investors start to lose money once again. They may begin to doubt their analysis skills. They may start again to find ways and means to try to improve their analysis further. They believe more and more analysis will eventually help them to be successful investors.

Does it sound familiar to you?

Help me! I am still losing money in my Investment Quadrant - Part 1

Money Mind and mindset

Why do I keep losing in the stock market?

"Successful stock investing starts from stock analysis and continue from it." - Createwealth8888

Some DIY retail stock investors are still not very clear between Stock Analysis and Stock Investing. Many are still stuck in the stage of Stock Analysis and didn't really advance themselves into the stage of Stock Investing.

Knowledge, skills and mindset related to Stock Analysis and Stock Investing is different and require different approach.

Stock Analysis

Stock Analysis is about having a view on the market and/or a stock by either fundamental analysis or technical analysis or both.

Some may even throw in Hope Analysis in addition to FA and TA.

The end result of such analysis will be a trigger to buy or sell or hold decision on your stock or stocks in your portfolio.

Stock Investing

For retail stock investors, it is about using their limited investing capital to make net return to meet their investment goals over their investing life-cycle.

Stock Investing is different from Stock Analysis. Stock Investing is about making a net return on investing capital while focusing strongly on money, portfolio and risks management.

Successful stock investors will diligently measure and track their portfolio performance and are very concerns over the net returns over a period.

They may revise their methods or change strategies in their stock analysis when they discovered that their stock investing are not meeting their investment goals.

But there will be some retail stock "investors" who don't really care to measure or track their investing performance over a period and still thinking that they are investing?

Wake up, "investors" and stop getting stuck at Stock Analysis and start investing!

Friday 16 July 2010

Money Mind and mindset

The diagram below is the CASHFLOW Quadrant.
E For employee
     S for self-employed
      B for business owner
 I for investor     

Most people still feel more comfortable spending more time and effort in E or S quadrant as staying in this quadrant will rarely cause them to lose money. Losing hard-earned money is a real pain in the neck.
 
Many will still try I quadrant; but soon they realize it is not as easy as they initially thought. So after a long while, they finally realize that they are not making any real progress but in fact losing more money than expected. Finally, they either give up or totally lose confidence in I quadrant and don't believe anymore that I is the way to go for them. They think it is still better to spend more time and effort in E or S.
 
B is reserved for who has that entrepreneur spirit.

Why do I keep losing in the stock market?

"Why is it that it is always other people that make money playing stocks, never me?"

"Why is it that when I expect the market to go up, it goes down?"

"Why is it that when I add up all my winnings on the stock market, they always seems to be so little compared to the massive losses I have endured."

Sound familiar, right? Then this book is for you. It is written by a local remisier in Singapore context and it is available in NLB.

Thursday 15 July 2010

Bull, Bear and The Pyramid

Read ? Portfolio Management - Your Personal Over-Sold and Over-Bought Indicator - Revist

We often hear this:

"Bulls climb up a wall of worry, bears slide down in a slope of hope ."

Why must the bull climb up a wall of worry?

The bull should stop climbing the wall of worry but climb the wall of the Pyramid.

The layer of Pyramid represents the level of stocks that the Bull should be holding when it climbs the wall of Pyramid.

Similarly, why must bears slide down in a slope of hope?

The bear should just slide down the slope of inverted Cash Pyramid.



The layer of Pyramid represents the level of cash that the Bear should be holding when sliding down the inverted Cash Pyramid.

Fishing and Stock Market - III

 read? Fishing and Stock Market - II

Fisherman's strategy in the stock market

1. Be on the lake when the fish are feeding.


Know what sectors the market likes - sector rotation in play.

2. Don't go fishing when the lake is packed with tourists.

You probably won't be able to get near your favorite fishing hole, and even if you do, all those churning propellers will scare the fish away.

If everyone is playing the same stock idea, the easy money has already been made and stock price has already been push high up.You probably won't be able to get near your favorite fishing hole mean you cannot buy the stock at your price that you wish too)

Since the stock price has already pushed high up, potential buyers will become wary and will hesitate to buy up (all those churning propellers will scare the fish away). Sooner or later old buyers will turn to sellers to take profits.

3. Come prepared with well-maintained fishing equipment, an adequate supply of bait, lures and sharp hooks, and an extra supply of patience.

Give your newly purchase stocks some time to work, but don't use margin to see them out as daily interests paid to your broker will cause you much anxiety.

Do your homework. Set your profit target and action plan.


4. Don't make noise; you will scare the fish away.

Stay calm after buying. There is no need to fear when the market against you unless you are buying on margin or you need the money next week. Good luck to you!

5. Don't fish where there are no fish. Know the structure of the lake and the habits of the fish you are trying to catch. Electronic fish finders can help you locate fish, but it won't make them bite.

Avoid low liquidity stocks. Don't waste time on those stocks that Big Boys are not interested as they are the ones who can move your stocks up.

6. Despite your best preparations, sometimes the fish just won't bite.

Be patient. Buy slowly and sell slowly. The market is like the tide. It will come and it will go.

7. Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of a school of feeding fish. Keep your hook baited and in the water. Correct equipment problems quickly, and get the bait back in the water.

When your stocks are running fast up, stay with the trend and don't sell too earlier or just take partial profits.

8. When a big one takes your bait or hits the lure, set the hook firmly, keep tension on the line at all times and play the fish until it tires. Keep the landing net out of sight.

Don't sell winners too soon and leave some for multi-baggers.

9. When a really big one breaks your line, take it in stride. He may still be in the area, so always have a backup fishing outfit aboard.

Do proper money management and have enough money to buy on further dips.

10. Know when to come back to shore, particularly when whitecaps start to appear or there are storm clouds in the distance.
 
If the market gets too crazy sometime it is better for you to stay out.

Tuesday 13 July 2010

Fishing and Stock Market - II


Read? Fishing and Stock Market






 
Go to Kelong fishing can be like investing in the stock market.

You spend a a few hundred bucks plus 5-6 hours of traveling to go to the kelong and guess what could happen?

It started to rain heavily and strong wind blowing at the Kelong, and you would have to spend the next few hours watching the rain.

There was almost nothing else to do other than waiting for the next meal to be served.

The next day, it rained again. Another day wasted.

On the third day morning, the rain has stopped but it was time to go home with another 5-6 hours of travelling back with just a few fishes.

Bad things do happen like a bad market. We get stuck and basically can't really do much other than watching. 

Just take it!
 






Long-term investing is a Marathon Race!


Long-term investing is more like a marathon race. At the Starting Point, you can see thousands and thousands of runners lining up to start the race. They all look like they are going to complete the race but many will not.

Once the race begins, sooner or later some will start jogging or walking. Many more will eventually give up and go home instead of trying their best to reach the Finishing Line.

Like a marathon race, tons of people will come to the market to invest but sooner or later many more will slowly give up. Only those who are very determined,  have strong investing goals, plenty of mental, emotional and financial stamina will be able to find ways and means to complete this race whether by walking, jogging or running.

Did you enjoy really your marathon race?

Monday 12 July 2010

SALE OF CJ-70 HARSH ENVIRONMENT JACK-UP DRILLING RIG TO SEADRILL

Singapore, July 12, 2010 : Sembcorp Marine wishes to announce that its whollyowned subsidiary, Jurong Shipyard Pte Ltd (JSPL) has signed a contract to sell the CJ- 70 harsh environment jack-up drilling rig under construction in JSPL to a subsidiary of Seadrill Ltd.

The sale price at US$356 million is based on the construction status of the rig with delivery scheduled no later than end April 2011. On delivery, the harsh environment jack-up rig will be on a five (5) year charter to Statoil.

The rig was originally ordered for construction by another owner, which in 2009 went into liquidation. JSPL terminated this contract in September 2009 as no further payments were received under the said contract.

The above transaction will have a positive contribution to the earnings per share of Sembcorp Marine for the year ending December 31, 2010 arising from the resumption of revenue and profit recognition.
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