5 Retirement Savings Ideas For Young People

by Amy E. Buttell

When you're just starting out in the workforce, retirement seems like a million years away. Besides, you likely have student loans to pay off and maybe a car loan. And odds are, you aren't making a great salary in your first job, if you've even got a job following graduation.

Still, compounding is your ally in retirement savings, so the earlier you start saving, the better. When you begin retirement planning in your 20s and 30s, those dollars have years to grow and are potentially much more valuable than dollars you save in your 50s and 60s -- though any savings helps.

It's important to establish good savings habits when you're young, even though you're likely on a tight budget, says Joe Jennings, investment director for PNC Wealth Management in Baltimore.

1. Budget Carefully When Looking For Work

It's not really possible to start a retirement savings fund when you're going out on interviews and looking for a job. But there are ways to cultivate a low-spending mindset to prepare for saving for retirement once you do get a job.

"Living with your parents while you look for a job, and even after you get one, can help you save money, more than if you were living on your own," says John Corn, CPA, a financial planner with Buckingham Asset Management in St. Louis. You can save up for a deposit on an apartment or begin to accumulate an emergency fund to see you through unexpected expenses like car repairs.

Even if living with your parents isn't an option, you can minimize your expenses by living with roommates, deferring any student loan payments for as long as possible and choosing inexpensive entertainment options.

2. New Jobs Bring Income, More Expenses

Once you've landed your first job, you may need to move, buy some new clothes for work and reorganize your finances. One key aspect of moving into this new phase of life is budgeting, Corn says.

"Every young person needs a budget," he says. "You need to understand what's coming in, net of taxes each month, and what's going out to pay your benefits. Then you have rent, utilities and all the other expenses, like student loan payments."

You can use free budget software at websites such as Mint.com to help you track your income and expenses and set goals. "Your first expense should be to pay yourself, especially to establish an emergency fund in case you lose your job," he says. "You can also save for short- or intermediate-term goals like a new car."

Retirement planning should also be a priority.

3. Invest in Company Retirement Plan

When you start your new job, you'll be given materials about your company's retirement plan, if it offers one. Most companies offer a 401(k) or 403(b) plan where you contribute a percentage of your earnings and, in many cases, the company matches a percentage of those earnings.

"Make sure you aren't just investing your money, that you are also investing your time," Jennings says. "Do some research on your investing options. If there is a match to the 401(k) plan, you want to invest enough so that you get the company match. It's free money; don't leave that on the table."

4. Family Life Brings Financial Opportunities, Challenges

When you get married, you need to reach some common ground with your new spouse about saving and spending. With more income, you have the opportunity to save more for retirement by contributing to two retirement plans.

You also need to know what financial issues and baggage you and your spouse may bring into the marriage. "You want to understand what that person's credit history has been like and what their credit score is," says Corn. "You want to get a picture of what each of your assets and debts are, too, so you know where you stand in terms of your ability as a couple to buy a new car or a house."

As your family grows with the addition of a child or two, the challenges increase. You need to balance the need to continue to save for retirement with establishing and building a college fund. No matter how important it is for you to help your child out with college, don't skimp on your retirement savings. You can't borrow to pay for your retirement, but your child can borrow to pay for college.

5. Boost Savings as Earnings Increase

As you move up the career ladder, it's important to continue to boost your retirement savings with your salary increases. "If you've maxed out your 401(k) plan, you can contribute to a Roth IRA or open a brokerage account and dollar cost average into a diversified mutual fund with $100 a month," Corn says.

And don't ignore that emergency fund. As your family grows and your expenses increase, you'll need to keep adding to your emergency fund. "Generally, we recommend that you keep six months of living expenses in an emergency fund, but with unemployment still pretty high, it makes sense to save from nine months to a year's (worth) of expenses," says Jennings.

STI - Sep 10 became a happy ending. How will Oct 10 end?

What is your bet? Up or Down?

9M FY 10 Quarterly Performance Report

Year Goal Hit Rate


Year Goal Hit Rate improved by +9.0% from 39.1% in 9M FY09 to 48.1% in 9M FY10.


(In 2003, I set some bullish progressive year goals from 2003 to 2011.
2010 Year Goal is 74.9% of 2009 Total Salary including all CPF contributions. Quite a big goal!)

Finding Back The Stolen Wealth By The 2008 Greater Bear

 

Thank to 2010 Bulls for pushing my portfolio value to just -10.8% away from 2007 Bulls while STI is -20.1% away from its Oct 2007 Peak.


More bulls please come and help to push STI up!

Keppel FELS wins US$101 mln contracts for drilling rigs

SINGAPORE : Keppel Corp on Thursday said its wholly-owned subsidiary Keppel FELS has secured new contracts worth S$134 million to complete and refurbish two semi-submersible drilling rigs.


The first contract was awarded by Italian oil and gas contractor Saipem for the commissioning of the technologically advanced semi-submersible rig called Scarabeo 9.

The work scope involves the commissioning of all marine and drilling sub-systems onboard the rig, which will be able to operate at a water depth of 3,600 metres.

Scarabeo 9 is slated to depart from a Chinese yard and arrive in Keppel FELS towards the end of October this year.

The second contract was awarded by a subsidiary of US oil and gas company, Ensco, for the upgrade, repair and refurbishment of its proprietary semi-submersible rig.

The major work scope includes significant life extension work, renewing steel and pipes, operational enhancements, overhauling machinery and expanding and updating the living quarters.

This rig has arrived at Keppel FELS, after fulfilling its drilling contract with Chevron in Perth, Western Australia.

The contracts are not expected to have a material impact on Keppel's earnings in the current financial year. - CNA/ms

STI lower on profit-taking

Straits Times

3,097.63

-8.40

-0.27%

SINGAPORE - Singapore share prices ended 0.3% lower on Thursday as investors locked in profits after healthy gains in the benchmark index in September.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) fell 8.40 points to 3,097.63. In the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 354 to 150. Overall volume traded was 1.65 billion shares worth S$2.12 billion.

Among the losers, property developers with exposure to China were hit the hardest due to Beijing's property market-cooling measures.

CapitaLand fell 1.2% to S$4.06, while CapitaMalls Asia was down 0.9% at S$2.16.

Stocks of commodities companies also declined, with Noble Group falling 0.5% to S$1.89 and Wilmar International losing 0.8% to S$6.01.

Profit taking also weighed on banks. DBS fell 1.1% to S$14.08, UOB was down 0.8% at S$18.32 and OCBC ended 0.6% lower at S$8.85.

- CNA/ir

DOW - Wall St slips as it puts Sept rally on 'pause'

Dow

10,835.28

-22.86

-0.21%

By: Abby Schultz, JeeYeon Park 

Stocks regained some ground in the last few minutes of a volatile session, but closed lower as traders continued to consider the Federal Reserve's plans to lift the U.S. economy. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.86 points, or 0.2 percent, to 10,835.28.

The S&P 500 fell 2.97 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,144.73 and the Nasdaq fell 3.03 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,376.56. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, rose above 23. 

Materials, financials, and consumer discretionary sectors fell, while energy rose.

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said Wednesday that the economy is growing too slowly to help reduce unemployment or stop disinflationary pressures, but he didn't detail specific actions. 

Earlier Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota said that any move by the Fed to boost the economy through Treasury purchases would have a more "muted" effect than earlier efforts. Kocherlakota was speaking at the European Economics and Financial Centre in London.

And Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser, a non-voting member, said despite a slowing economic recovery, further Fed financial easing is unnecessary. 

Increasing speculation that the Fed will begin quantitative easing pressured banks Wednesday, which were among the weakest performing sectors.

That's because Fed purchases of intermediate-term Treasury securities will flatten the yield curve between two-year-notes and 30-year bonds, making it more difficult for commercial banks to make a profit, said Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial.

STI: Shares end slightly higher on Wall St lead

By BERNICE BONG


SINGAPORE - The market lost some of its gains but finished in positive territory on Wednesday.

A dealer said sentiment was given a lift this morning following a 0.43 per cent gain on the Dow overnight.

The key Straits Times Index added 8.68 points or 0.28 per cent to 3,106.03. In the broader market, gainers beat losers 5 to 3 in a volume of 1,976.10 million shares valued at $1,733.90 million.

Spot the Sucker – It Might Be You

Source: Jesse-Livermore.com

In his 1987 letter to shareholders, the masterfully quotable Warren Buffett said, “If you’ve been in the [poker] game 30 minutes and you don’t know who the patsy is, you’re the patsy.”


In the same letter, he said, “If you aren’t certain that you understand and can value your business far better than Mr. Market, you don’t belong in the game.”

Four Grades of Sucker

The equally masterful quote-smith, Jesse Livermore, categorized four grades of sucker:

The Beginning Sucker: has read little and knows little.

The Semi-Sucker: has read books about trading – usually written by higher-grade suckers. He can recite wise stock market sayings. He does not realize that reading books is not the same as trading experience. He loses money more slowly than the beginning sucker because he has learned some basic trading rules.

The Wall Street Fool: knows enough to make a profit if he sticks faithfully to his trading rules. The excitement of the market overpowers the fool; he trades more often than he should and loses his advantage over the market.

The Higher Grade Sucker: makes his money from selling trading books because he can’t make money in the markets.

Although Buffett and Livermore are at opposite ends of the financial spectrum in terms of buy and sell criteria, they wholeheartedly agree that if you don’t have some advantage over average market participants, you’ll lose money.

There are a lot of intelligent players in the markets and plenty of fools too. Unfortunately, too many stock market books try to persuade their readers that fools predominate, lulling the semi-sucker into a false sense of security. If only you will do what it says in the book (often with too little detail to put together a truly effective trading strategy) you’ll be successful.

Before you trade, you should have some idea of where your advantage is coming from. You should paper trade to verify your advantage.

Then you need to trade for real – this is hardest of all because once you have your own money in the markets, your emotional involvement increases. The emotions – greed and fear start kicking in – cause difficulties for many traders. Some find the advantage they thought they had evaporates.

So, do you call yourself a beginning sucker, a semi-sucker, a Wall Street fool, a higher-grade sucker or a successful trader? The best test is the direction of your trading account balance over several years

Cambridge- Sold $0.545, ROC 19.5%

Use the money to buy Cambridge Diet?

Round 1: ROC 19.5%, 362 days, B $0.455 S $0.545

Analysts say STI could hit record 4,000 points by end 2012

Createwealth8888: Do you believe it or not?
---------------------------------------------------
By Rachel Kelly

Posted: 28 September 2010 2249 hrs

SINGAPORE : The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) could hit a record high of 4,000 points by the end of 2012.

Experts said that is because companies earnings in Asia are trending upward and this will propel markets higher.

Corporates within Asia are expected to report record earnings in the next two years on the back of economic growth.

Some experts expect earnings growth in Singapore to hit 8.9 per cent in 2011, and 9.8 per cent in 2012.

For the same period across Asia ex-Japan, earnings growth is expected to go up in the region of 11 per cent.

And experts said that this will give the market a boost.

Wong Sui Jau, GM of Fundsupermart.com said: "Within the next two years, several Asian markets will see record earnings growth by 2010, Singapore by 2012, and then other countries by 2011.

"The last time we had record earnings growth was in 2007, and... that was also the time that markets hit record highs. So the question will be, if in the next two years, we see (record) earnings again, then will we see Asian markets, Singapore markets hit an all-time high? We believe yes, this is what is going to happen."

In the last three months, the STI has climbed around 8 per cent, and reasonable valuations could contribute to the index moving even higher.

And during this period of earnings growth, experts said small cap companies, as well as sectors such as leisure and technology, offer potential.

Terence Wong, co-head of Research at DMG & Partners said: "If you look at the small cap space right now, a lot of them have risen considerably. I'd be a little bit cautious, but not too much because I think most of these small caps that have gone up over the last few months, a lot of them are fundamentally sound. It is very unlike 2007.

"So coming back to 2010, many of these stocks, despite them having risen quite a fair bit, I think the valuations still justify a buy position."

In the short term however, market watchers noted that investors continue to trade with caution under concerns of a double-dip recession in the US.

But some said that such dark clouds will eventually subside. - CNA /ls

DOW: Stocks Close Near Highs After See-Saw Session

By: Abby Schultz, JeeYeon Park

Stocks ended near session highs on Tuesday as investors considered the impact of the Fed's next moves to bolster the economy as well as weak reports on the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 46 points, after falling more than 80 points earlier in the day.


The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also rose. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, rose above 22.

The key S&P 500 sectors all ended higher, led by health care, energy and consumer staples.

The market's struggle for direction comes a day after the major indexes fell about a half percent, taking some of the steam out of a September rally.

Some investors may be positive on the market because of a greater likelihood the Federal Reserve will begin quantitative easing.

The Fed indicated last week that they would act if things don't get better in the economy, which is different than the past, when they said they would act if things got worse, Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at BlackRock, said on CNBC.

“That means the probability has gone up a bunch and in the near-term, that’s got to be positive for equities,” Doll said. “You know what it’s done to the dollar and to the price of gold — it’s likely positive for risk assets and the hope has to be that it all translates to better news for the real economy and the nominal economy.”

The Fed's actions would be done in part to counter deflation. LPL Financial said in weekly report that the Fed may introduce "a $1 trillion Treasury purchase program" at the its next meeting, on Nov. 3.

This "reinflation" of the economy will hurt the dollar as well as financial stocks, Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial said in his weekly commentary to clients. Areas that Kleintop believes should fare better in the near-term: precious metals, commodities, commodity-sensitive stocks, emerging markets, real estate, and Treasuries.

Since the Fed's announcement, financials have been the only sector to suffer losses, Kleintop said. On Tuesday, financial stocks gained ground and ended about 0.3 percent higher.

Noble to expand into supplies of nuclear fuel

NOBLE Group Ltd, which counts China's sovereign wealth fund as a shareholder, plans to expand into supplies of nuclear fuel to meet rising demand from China and India, its executive chairman said.

The company bought a 5.1 per cent stake in USEC Inc, a US provider of enriched uranium producing 50 per cent of the fuel in the world, Tobias Brown said in Singapore yesterday. Of all the nuclear plants being built, about half are in China, he said. 'We are looking carefully at the provision of nuclear fuel to Asia,' he noted. 'There's no doubt that one cornerstone of energy production in Asia will be the use of nuclear power generation.'

China's demand for uranium may rise to 20,000 metric tonnes a year by 2020, more than a third of the 50,572 tonnes mined globally last year, according to the World Nuclear Association. India's needs will grow 10-fold to 8,000 tonnes as it quadruples nuclear-power capacity to 20 gigawatts, according to Jagdeep Ghai, finance director at state-owned Nuclear Power Corp. -- Bloomberg

Sembcorp Marine's yard wins two FPSO deals worth S$75 mln

By ANGELA TAN


Sembcorp Marine said on Tuesday that its yard, Sembawang Shipyard, has secured two FPSO contracts worth $75 million (US$57 million).

One contract was awarded by BW Offshore, while the other was by Bluewater Energy Services BV in the Netherlands

Singapore shares end 0.5% lower on profit-taking

SINGAPORE: Singapore share prices snapped a two-day rising streak on Tuesday, after regional markets lost steam and traders booked profit.


The blue-chip Straits Times Index (STI) ended below the psychologically important 3,100-mark. It fell 0.5% or 16.11 points to 3,097.35.

In the broader market, losers outpaced gainers 476 to 101.

Overall volume traded was 2.52 billion shares worth S$1.85 billion.

A Sound Strategy for an Uncertain Time

by James B. Stewart

Monday, September 27, 2010

Is the stock market losing its predictive powers?

We know the market anticipates economic activity, which is why it's pointless to buy stocks only after good news has been published. Stock prices are one of the leading economic indicators used by the government to forecast economic activity. The rule of thumb has always been that stocks anticipate the broad economy by about six months.

But now that it's official, and we know from the National Bureau of Economic Research that the Great Recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, the market's crystal ball is looking a little cloudy
The S&P 500 peaked at 1565 in October 2007. By late November it had dropped nearly 8%, but not the bear market drop of 20% or more that traditionally signals recession. And then, as the recession actually started, the market rallied, with the S&P reaching 1427 in May 2008. The market gave investors little or no warning of the grave crisis to come.

The S&P hit a bottom of 677 in March 2009, nearly three months before the recession ended, and rose a sharp 30% by May. That was a pretty clear signal, although the forecast came three months late.

Given that they reflect the collective wisdom of millions of investors, the markets may be the best prognosticator we have. But it's just not good enough. These recent results reinforce my belief -- and a fundamental premise of this column -- that no one can predict the future. It is not only futile but counterproductive to invest based on our feelings about where the market is headed next. Sadly, for most investors that approach leads to buying high and selling low, which is anathema to the Common Sense approach.

I believe in a disciplined approach to personal investing that minimizes emotions in decision-making, respects the past, which is knowable, and never tries to predict the future, which is not. I share my decisions in this column and the results are on display for all to see.

By following the Common Sense system, I never buy stocks at a market peak, and I never sell at a bottom. My aim -- successful so far -- is to buy lower and sell higher. I don't claim to have perfect timing. No one can identify markets tops and bottoms with any consistency. But my goal is to earn a profit, and over the long-term, beat the market averages. So far it's worked. (A hypothetical portfolio using the strategy would have outperformed the S&P 500 even during the most volatile stretch of the financial crisis.)

The Common Sense system is also simple to execute. It requires no computers or high speed trading capacity. Indeed, it doesn't require much trading at all, which is why you won't find a stock tip in this column every week. It's designed for average investors, not professionals. I'm a working journalist, not a stockbroker or hedge fund manager. But I firmly believe everyone can manage their own investment portfolios and outperform a simple buy-and-hold index approach.

Here's how the system works: When the market is dropping, I buy stocks at intervals of 10% declines from the most recent peak. When it's rising, I sell at intervals of 25% gains from the most recent low. (Createwealth8888: Quite similar to my investing strategy of buy slowly and sell slowly) These figures are roughly one-half the historical average losses of 20% in bear markets and gains of 50% in bull markets since 1979. They are round numbers and the math is easy to do in your head. I use the NASDAQ composite average as my benchmark, partly because I had mostly NASDAQ-listed stocks when I began the system, and also because the NASDAQ is a little more volatile than the S&P 500 or Dow Jones, which provides more trading opportunities. Investors who want to buy and sell a little less often might prefer another index, but the NASDAQ has worked well for me.

I always alert readers when a new threshold is reached and share my decision to buy or sell. The current targets are about 2025 and 2600.

Easy as this system sounds -- and it is simple in concept -- it's amazing how it difficult it sometimes feels. I remember vividly being at a cocktail party in October 2008. Everyone was boasting about their recent decisions to bail out of the stock market. When my turn came, and I said I had bought stocks that very morning, they looked at me like I was from Mars. The S&P 500 was trading at about 840 that day. On Thursday, it closed at 1125.

Of course there's much more to this column than reacting to broad moves in the market averages. As a journalist, I'm constantly translating news into investment strategies that I both implement myself and share with readers.

My overall exposure to the market may be constant, but I often substitute stocks and sectors. (Createwealth8888: Similar to my Noah Ark strategy, a pair of each kind is nice - sector rotation in buying and selling) Most of all, I find investing and thinking about markets to be both stimulating and fun. It's an adventure and a learning experience, as well as financially rewarding. I hope you'll continue to share it with me.

Understanding Stock Market Risks - Financial Fraud Risk is real! (2)

Read? Understanding Stock Market Risks - Financial Fraud Risk is real!

Another one! This type of risk can never be discovered through by any sort of TA or FA.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SLA staff member charged with fraud of $11.8m


SINGAPORE: A senior staff member of the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is facing 249 charges of cheating the Authority $11.8 million.

40-year-old Koh Seah Wee was charged on June 25 and is alleged to have conspired with two others, Lim Chai Meng and Ho Yen Teck to cheat the Authority.

He did so by awarding network maintenance contracts to various companies.

Koh was a deputy director with SLA's Technology and Infrastructure Department. His level of approval allowed payments to be made to these shell companies and no work was done to fulfil the contracts.

According to some charge sheets, payments were made in amounts ranging from $25,000 to $60,000.

Koh also faced several charges of using the ill-gotten gains of his cheating scheme to buy cars and properties.

The charges spelt out that Koh had used the money to pay for a Lamborghini, Mercedes Benz cars, acquire property at Axis@Siglap along East Coast Terrace, and purchase various unit trusts.

Koh is being defended by Lawyer Ravinderpal Singh and his case will be mentioned again on October 19.

Koh has been remanded and his bail stands at $1.5 million

DOW - Profit taking is in progress?

Dow

10,812.04

-48.22

-0.44%

By: Abby Schultz, JeeYeon Park


Stocks lost ground in the last half hour of trading and closed near the lows of the session Monday amid light volume and a flurry of merger and acquisition activity.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48.22 points, or 0.4 percent, to 10,812.04, after rising nearly 2 percent in the previous session, and after four weeks of gains.


The S&P 500 fell 6.51 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,142.16, while the Nasdaq fell 11.45 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,369.77.


The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, rose above 22.

Financials, industrials and health care sectors declined, while telecom and utilities rose.

5 Best Fast-Growth Stocks to BuyCan Stocks Hold Gains?Why M&A Didn't Lift MarketReasons for Market Correlations

The market weakness was most likely a temporary pause as investors regroup from the significant gains of last week, said Jeffrey Saut, chief market strategist at Raymond James

"We broke out of the May through September trading range that we’d been in, and we broke out with some vigor," Saut said and added that stocks could rise to levels in April, when the Dow was above 11,000, and the S&P 500 Index was at 1,217.

On the other hand, Elliot Spar, market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus, said third-quarter earnings were likely priced into stocks during the September run-up. Prices could move a bit higher, but at this point, in the short term, he sees "limited upside."

Spar said if earnings are in line with expectations, then the market is unlikely to move higher because people are not going to "pay up for in-line earnings with the economy slowing." As a result, Spar said investors should "take profits here and do some hedging."

Buy Gold/Silver as insurance or hedge against inflation?

Here is the Maths and decide for yourself how wrong can you be by ignoring hedging?

Let simply assume your  wealth is $100K and you hedge 7% of it with Gold/Silver and SGD depreciated by -30% and Gold/Silver appreciated by 300%.

So what is difference between hedge and No-hedge?

This is just 23%.  Is 23% that significant for 7% hedge?

STI - A higher high!

Straits Times

3,113.46

+20.78

+0.67%

SINGAPORE: Singapore shares ended 0.67% higher on Monday, in line with their regional peers.


Asian investors took their cue from the United States, where the Dow jumped 1.86 percent on Friday on upbeat sentiment after US data showed an improvement in sales of big-ticket items.

Japan's pledge on Monday to boost spending to stimulate its economy also helped restore investor confidence about the strength of the world economy.

In Singapore, the blue-chip Straits Times Index (STI) closed up 20.78 points at 3,113.46.

In the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 320 to 203. Overall volume traded was 2.51 billion shares worth S$1.87 billion.

Bank stocks, which have suffered because of fears of the world economy slipping into a so-called double dip recession, gained on Monday.

Novel Polymer-Free Drug-Coated Stent Demonstrates Comparable Safety and Efficacy to Conventional Drug-Eluting Stent with Durable Polymer at 12 Months

Washington DC, USA, 25 September 2010 – Biosensors International Group, Ltd (“Biosensors”, “Company”, BIG:SP) today announced 12-month results from the First-In-Man (“FIM”) trial of BioFreedom™, a novel polymer-free drug-coated stent (“DCS”) which showed a similar reduction in in-stent late lumen loss to Boston Scientific’s Taxus® Liberté® drug-eluting stent (DES), with no evidence of stent thrombosis. These results were presented by the Principal Investigator, Professor Eberhard Grube, International Heart Center Essen, Germany, as part of the First Report Investigations III session at the 22nd annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (“TCT”) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation.


BioFreedom represents the latest development in Biosensors stent technology, featuring a micro-structured abluminal surface which permits the controlled release of Biolimus A9™ without the use of a polymer. Two versions of the stent were studied in this trial – one with a drug dosage of 15.6 μg/ per mm of stent length (standard dose) and the other with a drug dosage of 7.8 μg/ per mm of stent length (low dose).

In this second cohort of the FIM trial, 107 patients were equally randomized to each of three treatment groups: BioFreedom standard dose (SD); BioFreedom low dose (LD); or Taxus Liberté. Median in-stent late lumen loss in patients receiving BioFreedom SD was 0.17 mm and in those receiving BioFreedom LD 0.22 mm, compared with a median in-stent late lumen loss of 0.35 mm in the Taxus Liberté group. BioFreedom SD demonstrated equivalent efficacy, measured by late lumen loss, compared with Taxus Liberté (P = 0.001), with a trend towards superiority (P = 0.11).

Both BioFreedom SD and BioFreedom LD demonstrated sustained safety up to 12 months, including absence of stent thrombosis.

“The results from this study are very significant as they demonstrate for the first time that a polymer free drug-coated stent is as safe and effective as a conventional drug-eluting stent with a durable polymer coating over a twelve-month period”, commented Professor Grube. “I am excited about the concept of a polymer-free stent, as the rapid drug clearance and absence of a polymer drug carrier could promote more rapid vessel healing and ultimately reduce the need for longer term dual anti-platelet therapy. However, additional clinical data is required to confirm these initial encouraging results.”
 
“These latest results confirm that we continue to lead the industry in stent innovation, first in terms of biodegradable polymer technology and now polymer-free technology”, added Jeffrey B. Jump, President & CEO of Biosensors. “We are now in the process of planning larger studies with longer-term follow-up to further investigate this exciting development”.


BioFreedom FIM is a prospective, multi-centre study involving 182 patients with symptomatic ischemic heart disease. It consists of a first cohort of 75 patients, with a secondary endpoint of in-stent late lumen loss at 4 months, and a second cohort of 107 patients, with a primary endpoint of in-stent late lumen loss at 12 months. In each cohort patients were randomized into three groups: those treated with BioFreedom SD; those treated with BioFreedom LD; and those treated with Taxus Liberté. Results from the first cohort, showing equivalence between BioFreedom and Taxus Liberté, were presented at TCT in 2009. The clinical status of the patients in the trial is being reported annually for five years from the date of stent implant.
 

SIA to sell five-year bonds worth S$300m dollars (2)

Read? SIA to sell five-year bonds worth S$300m dollars

Read older post? Measure, Measure, Measure - Part 2

Three colleagues, a friend and a relative have asked me good to invest in SIA bond at 2.15% or not?

My responses to them:

• Do you want to lock in for 5-year for a mere 2.15% returns?
• Note that at such a low rate of 2.15% it may be easy to buy now but hard to sell in the market as the future buyers for this bond will have little meat left. Unlike buying preference bank shares at 4-5% yield it will still have some meat left for the future buyers e.g 3-4% is still not bad.
• Since it is lower than CPF OA risk-free rate at 2.5% so is it wise to take a non risk-free investment for a lower return?

I ask them to decide for themselves.

Trading Courses – Does it work?

Borrow the idea from La Papillion


** "BIAS" is a special feature in my blog where I get to say whatever I want with scant regards for your feelings. I'm not politically correct in this feature, so go ahead, judge me."

Read older post? Why the guy was so talented, he has to give seminars?

Read? Trading Courses – Does it work?

Many so-called Gurus may not be that excellent in their own trading skills but have excellent marketing, selling, and presentation skills and able to continue to sell courses to gullible customers.

Read the following articles on the greatest Gann course and Gann Software and you may open up your mind

W.D. Gann is one of the most famous traders of all time, and has a huge devoted following - however the fact is, Gann never made the huge profits many of his disciples claim.


He did not have a success rate of 90%, as is often claimed - the logic his methods are based upon are unsound, and his predictive methods don't predict - they leave everything to subjective opinion!

Many sources quote Gann's trading profits at $50 million dollars, however this is not true.

An interview that Alexander Elder had with his son tells the truth.

Firstly, his son confirmed that when his father died in the 1950s his estate was valued at just $100,000 - and that included his house.

Secondly, his son confirmed that Gann was unable to make enough money from trading, and therefore supplemented his income by writing and selling courses.

Which Theory of Market Behaviours to believe?

Source: The Universal Principles of Successful Trading - Brent Penfold.


I will briefly summarise it here.

Three Broad Groups:

1. The Predictors

They are:

• astrology
• cycle analysis
• Elliot wave theory
• fractual analysis
• fundamental analysis
• geometry
• W.D. Gann

Practitioners of these schools of analysis believe they can determine where the markets or stocks are heading.

They hold out the appealing notion that you can know the market or stock's future direction and there control your own trading or investing destiny.

They project an appearance of certainty for the future. The predictors present an illusion of knowledge, which in turn presents an illusion of control. These illusions lead to surplus of optimism and confidence and then fall into intellectual trap.

2. The Dreamers

Dreamers are those use indicators, just some examples of indicators and there are too many of them

• ADX
• DMI
• enevelopes
• ratio analysis
• MACD
• moving averages
• ROC
• RSI
• Oscillators

These practitioners are dreamers because most of these indicators are derivatives of the price and contain adjustable parameters. Consequently, they represent second-hand curve-fitted information. Dreamers believe they will make money trading this type of second-hand adjustable data. (Createwealth8888: the key word is adjustable, the promoters of these indicators will always win their case. If you haven't been making money using these indicators, you haven't learn to adjust it correctly. Not a big joke meh?)

3. The Pragmatists

They are those use some of the following:

• breakout analysis
• chart analysis
• DOW theory
• intermarket analysis
• market profile
• pattern analysis
• pivot point analysis
• seasonals
• spread analysis
• statistical analysis
• tape reading
• volume analysis

The pragmatists focus on raw price and raw volume. They have no interests in looking into the future. They prefers not to deal with substitutes such as indicators but focus on the real thing - price.

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

Now, I realize I more inclined towards the Pragmatist camp.

Read? Fundamental or Technical Analysis? - Revisit 3

Read? Technical Indicators? - Part 2

Will You Try To Pay Off Your Housing Loan ASAP If You Have One? - 3rd revisit

Read older post? Will You Try To Pay Off Your Housing Loan ASAP If You Have One? - 2nd revisit

Heard another round of discussions. Should I pay off my housing loan asap if I am able to?

Actually, you should be asking yourself how do you want to feel in the next few recessions when you become an older and matured employee and will have higher chance of being seen as a cost-cutting element to help the company to survive the recession.

I have witnessed more than enough cases to believe so. Sometime, life can be that cruel, those are desperate and worry of being letting off during recessions will somehow have the axes fall on them first.

Noble Weekly

A September Bear Looks to October

by David Callaway

Friday, September 24, 2010

Earnings warnings in the tech and banking industries. A two-day crack in the dollar. Gold nearing $1,300 an ounce. And the Obama Administration imploding faster than the Chicago Cubs in April.

I admit it. I was one of the bears on September, telling everybody that the traditional bad month for stocks was shaping up to be a doozy this year. And through three weeks, the market has proved me wrong.

Of course, it's the second half of September that earns the month its poor reputation, so we've still got a few days left. But you can't argue with a 7% gain in stocks in such a short time. It's been a good run. More from MarketWatch.com:

Which makes me all the more worried about the next few weeks as earnings warning season hits. The S&P 500 Index (NYSE: ^GSPC - News) is stuck at the 1,130 level that many technical analysts say it has to clear before we can have another meaningful move higher.

Even though the European debt situation appears to have faded, for now, it's hard to see stocks extending their gains all the way through the election and then beyond to the end of the year, without some sort of pullback. If one is to come, earnings warning season might be the time.

Step forward to October, a month of notorious market meltdowns, as well as a month known for marking the bottom of big stock declines. Now that the Fed is out of the way for another six weeks or so, it's all about earnings for U.S. markets.

Adobe Systems Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ADBE - News) weaker-than-expected outlook really wasn't that weak, but investors wasted no time reacting on Wednesday, pummeling the shares for a 20% loss to a new 52-week low at one point in trading.

A hair-trigger reaction like that shows a nervous market, with investors poised to move quickly to protect the gift given to them by the markets in the past few weeks.

Likewise the sudden move by the euro against the dollar, springing from $1.30 to above $1.34 in just two days of trading. Yes, sighs of relief from Irish and Greek debt investors after successful bond auctions helped, but that was still an extraordinary move.

Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank's (NYSE: DB - News) warning about third-quarter results from its corporate banking and securities business confirmed what we already knew about what a lousy summer it was on Wall Street. Big banks are already shedding jobs as a dull market with no volume hits their results.

Against this weak backdrop are the huge gains in gold and silver, which continue to defy gravity on the weak dollar and in anticipation of a spike in inflation that the Fed just can't see right now. Moves by the Obama Administration to conduct the traditional midterm housecleaning before the election can't help the dollar, so precious metals bulls are relishing the opportunity to push even higher in the next several days.

The key here is the trading volumes. They've started to pick up in the past few days. If we're going to see a jump in volatility it will likely come soon, before the traditional pre-election rally takes hold and fund managers begin prepping their portfolios for a fourth-quarter run.

If stocks do lurch lower, however, bulls will see that as a buying opportunity ahead of expectations for a better economic recovery after the election and early next year. And as noted before, there is a ton of cash on the sidelines looking for an appropriate entry point.

So while the next few weeks of earnings warnings could be a nightmare for some specific shareholders, particularly in tech and banking, any pickup in trading activity can only be a plus for investors looking past the quarterly earnings horror show.

Week Ahead: Stocks Broke Out, but Can They Hold Gains?

By: Patti Domm

CNBC Executive Editor

Stocks broke out of their summertime trading range, and the question now is whether the market can hold on to September's record-setting gains.

"We're at some major market levels...1150 in the S&P, $1.35 in the euro and $1,300 for gold. We need to surpass those levels to see further immediate gains."

With the past week's 2.4 percent gain, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is now up 8.44 percent for the month and is on track for its best September since 1939.  

The Dow, at 10,860, is up 11.1 percent so far for the third quarter, which ends Thursday. The S&P 500, up 9.5 percent in September, closed above the tough, 1130 resistance level twice in the past week, a signal to some traders that the market may be set to trade in a new higher range.

"Ultimately, the big deal is going to be whether the economic growth rate is really accelerating in the fourth quarter or whether it doesn't," said James Paulsen, chief strategist at Wells Capital Management. "In the short run, these technical levels matter. There's no way to get to 1200 unless you break through what's been the overhead resistance to the trading range since May."

"If I'm worried about anything I am worried a little about the earnings season, only because you had a weak quarter...I'm watching the GDP revisions leading up to the earnings reports. If people are revising down their growth, you generally get a disappointing earnings season. If they're revising up, that's a good sign," he said.

There is a smattering of data in the coming week, including ISM manufacturing data, consumer sentiment readings and monthly auto sales.

Economists are watching the personal consumption expenditure data on Friday, since it is a gauge the Fed looks at as a measure of inflation.

The Fed, in the past week, was the biggest driver of markets, after it promised it would move on quantitative easing, or QE, if the economy warrants it.

The dollar went into a tail spin, losing 3.4 percent against the euro and nearly 2 percent against the yen. For the week, Treasurys were slightly higher, with the 10-year yielding 2.610 percent.

Gold rose 1.6 percent to a record $1,296 per troy ounce, and silver jumped 2.9 percent to $21.38 per ounce, a 30-year high. Oil rose 2.1 percent to $76.49 per barrel as the Fed's comments sent buyers into commodities. Some economists believe the Fed will use its Nov. 3 meeting to announce QE, which would likely be the purchase of a significant amount of Treasury securities by the Fed in an effort to push lending rates even lower.

Some of the economic data also was a bit better than expected in the past week, including Friday's durable goods, which had been disappointing last month. "It was the report that hit forecasting the hardest. Now everybody's wiping their foreheads," said Credit Suisse economist Jonathan Basile.

Basile said the durable goods report, which showed a 1.3 percent decline in August, was actually better than expected because it showed core capital goods orders gained 4.1 percent. "Firms went from major destocking to a little restocking. Then they wet to understocked, to just about right," he said.

September Surprise

September's strong market performance was a surprise to many strategists who had expected the usually tough month to be turbulent on the downside. The question in the next week is whether fund managers will sell to capture their September and third quarter gains, or ride it out into October.

"I think you're in for a period of the stock market working its way higher but at a very modest pace. I think you're going to see a lot of volatility between now and the end of the year, but it wouldn't surprise me to see a pull back here."

"Our target has been 1100 to 1140 (on the S&P), which would be a pretty flat market," said Scott Wren, of Wells Fargo Advisers. "I think you're in for a period of the stock market working its way higher but at a very modest pace. I think you're going to see a lot of volatility between now and the end of the year, but it wouldn't surprise me to see a pull back here. We're a little cautious in the near term."

Brian Dolan, strategist with Forex.com, said the final days of September could bring an even weaker dollar. (

"It's month-end. It's quarter-end, and it's going to get a little bit sloppy here. In terms of those kind of flows, in terms of the gains we've seen in U.S. shares, there's probably going to be a need for greater selling on the month end date. It'll probably lead up into that. Certainly the dollar is on its heels at the moment. It's not going to take much to push that," he said.

"We're at some major market levels...1150 in the S&P, $1.35 in the euro and it was $1,300 for gold. We need to surpass those levels to see further immediate gains. There is the risk of some consolidation in the next week," he said.

In the Treasury market, traders are watching the auction of $100 billion in 2-year, 5-year and 7-year notes Tuesday through Thursday.

Econorama

The week's data includes the S&P/Case Shiller home price index and consumer confidence, both released on Tuesday. Thursday's numbers include revisions to second quarter GDP, the Chicago Purchase Managers' index and weekly jobless claims. Friday's reports include consumer spending, ISM manufacturing, and construction spending. There are also personal income and spending numbers and the core PCE deflator Friday.

Other events this week include the first meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Committee on Friday. That group is headed by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and includes Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke; Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Schapiro; FDIC Chair Sheila Bair, and Commodities Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, among others. The FDIC also has an open board meeting Monday. Its agenda includes discussion of how, under new financial regulatory rules, a large financial firm could be liquidated if it is a risk to the system.

Bernanke also speaks on Thursday at a town hall meeting with educators in Washington. Other Fed speakers include Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart on Tuesday' Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota; Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser, and Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, all speak Wednesday. The New York Fed's William Dudley speaks Friday morning at a journalism conference, and Dallas Fed President Richard Fischer speaks Friday on the economy.

Dolan said he is also watching Chinese purchasing managers' data Wednesday and Friday and the August leading index early in the week. The Japanese Tankan survey is released on Wednesday. European finance ministers meet at the beginning and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet is expected to speak.

Who are the Greater Fools now? Buyers or Sellers?

Everybody comes to the stock market with one objective - to make money?


Since everybody want to make money from the stock market; where does the money really come from?

Of course, there will be some money coming from companies paying out periodically as stock dividends; but that is not much money compare to the enormous size of the money changing hand in each stock market trading day.

So most of the money in the stock market will come from the Greater Fools distributing their hard earned money to the Better Fools.

It is foolish to expect to make money from the stock market where in fact there is so little money to make from stock dividends as most of the money gain or loss will come from the Greater Fools. In the stock market you are just another fool and don't ever think you are smarter than the rest of the market players.

It is either you are a Greater Fool

or a Better Fool.

Did you feel missing out on this Bull rally?

Are you one of those bears who are expecting a bad Sep 10 and a mini crash in Oct 10? Like me?

Probably, I will get it wrong for Sep 10 since with the end of quarter window-dressing next week, the market will likely to be supported and a historically bad Sep may not happen.

Read this post on 12 Apr 10? More Cash or More Stocks?

But one must also remember this too:

While it is smart to run with Bull with rising stocks and not with cash; but also must be wise enough to cash it out slowly and get ready more cash for the next Bear.

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

By: Jeff Cox


CNBC.com Staff Writer

Bullish sentiment intensified Friday on Wall Street, even amid another round of weak economic reports and scant other reasons to buy stocks.

Market pros have been left to do little else but go with the flow, amid fears of stepping in front of a rally that could last all the way until the November elections. Major indexes rallied nearly 2 percent in afternoon trading.

"This feels like there's been a big psychological switch in just the past few weeks to the point where it's scary how fast things have shifted," said Rick Bensignor, chief market strategist at Execution Noble in New York.

Indeed, sentiment polls across the board are showing optimism among investors even among more weak economic news, including mixed durable goods numbers and flatlining housing sales.

The American Association of Individual Investors reported bullish sentiment of 45 percent in the past week, while bears were at 25 percent—in historical terms a tilt solidly in favor of the bulls. The Market Harmonics Investors Intelligence Survey, which polls investor newsletters, had a similar 41-to-29 edge for bulls.

With unemployment at 9.6 percent and housing still in a slump, it's hard to make a fundamental case for a strong stock market. But investors are parsing numbers like Friday's durable goods report that showed a larger-than-expected drop overall but core strength in business spending.

The key may be that any news that looks even remotely positive is enough to push a market higher that is relying more and more on electronic trading, which in turn feeds off technical indicators. Under those conditions, an oversold market doesn't need much impetus to rally.

"Something seems to be going on that's not macro fundamentally related," Bensignor said. "The news today wasn't particularly good yet the market is screaming to the upside. I attribute this more to the behavioral side of the market. The laws of trading physics urge that we go higher.

The Standard & Poor's 500 [.SPX 1148.67 23.84 (+2.12%) ] is trading well clear of technical resistance, clearing its 200-day moving average by more than 20 points during a month in which the market is rising in nearly historical proportions.

The S&P has gained almost 8 percent in September—historically the market's worst month—as cyclical sectors including information technology (up 10.5 percent), consumer discretionary (9 percent) and industrials (also 9 percent) have led the way.

At a 5 percent gain, financials have been about middle of the pack for the rally, which is suggesting to some not full confirmation of the surge higher.

"The financials have been lagging," says Michael Cohn, chief investment strategist at Global Arena Asset Management in New York. "The fact is, this really is not breaking out anywhere without the financials."

As the market traded in a tight range since the May 6 "Flash Crash" that brought the Dow industrials [.DJIA 10860.26 197.84 (+1.86%) ] down nearly 1,000 points at one juncture, Cohn has been among those employing the buy-the-dips sell-the-rallies strategy. He's not as confident about stepping in front of this rally, believing that it is being fueled by anticipation over the November election.

"There's nothing new except maybe the news has for a period of time been benign, so that's letting the market rally," he says. "There is nothing to push on it to get it down. As long as the news remains benign everything will be fine, but I'm not expecting this thing to go much further."

There also could be clues about the market rally in the bond trade.

Treasury yields have been drifting higher, particularly in the 30-year bond [US30YT=XX 3.7931 0.0621 (+1.66%) ], as sentiment slowly grows that the bond rally is losing steam and inflation is beginning to emerge.

Consequently, the hemorrhaging of money out of equity funds and into bond funds has slowed the past three weeks. Equity funds including exchange-traded funds saw net inflows of $3.3 billion last week, according to Lipper data. Excluding ETFs, equity funds had outflows of $332 million.

Hedge fund manager Doug Kass said on CNBC earlier that shorting bonds will be the best trade in the coming decade, particularly if the Federal Reserve's expected renewed attempts at quantitative easing fail.

"There is a possibility that QE2 fails just the way QE1 failed, and the administration will be forced into some sort of transformative jobs program—more fiscal stimulation at the expense of monetary (policy)—and that will provide growth," said Kass, head of Seabreeze Partners in Palm Beach, Fla. "That will be the end of the bond market, I guarantee you."

As for the stocks rally, Bensignor thinks it could last as long as it takes for retail investors, who now make up only a fraction of daily trading, to get back into the game. Even then, the rally could have more legs, but would quickly form a top once investor confidence becomes full-blown.

"They've been burned so many times they don't want much to do with this market," he said. "The more (stocks) move up the more (retail investors) will come back in, which will signal some early point in the end."

DOW - Bull charge!

Dow

10,860.26

+197.84

+1.86%

Strong rally sends markets to 4th week of gains

By Ryan Vlastelica

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks notched their fourth week of gains on Friday as investors used a rise in business spending to revive the September rally after three days of losses.

Economic data gave a mixed picture, but traders latched on to a rise in August business spending as the latest sign the recovery is on firmer ground. That seemed to trump a lackluster report on new home sales in August.

"Last month investors were positioned for what we thought would be a double-dip recession and massive inflation, but since it ended up being not nearly so bad, we've swung the other way," said Lawrence Glazer, managing partner at Mayflower Advisors in Boston.

Buying was broad across sectors, with about five stocks rising for each one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, and four stocks rising for each one that fell on the Nasdaq.

For September, which is historically a weak month, the S&P 500 is up 9.5 percent. Investors said the need for money managers to boost quarter-end performance bolstered buying.

Continuing a recent trend, volume was very light, with only 7.55 billion shares traded on the NYSE, Amex and Nasdaq, far under the previous year's daily average of 9.65 billion shares.

"The volume suggests there's not broad retail participation, and to have conviction in the rally, you'd like to see that," Glazer said.

The government reported non-defense capital goods orders, which are closely watched as a proxy for business spending, surged more than 4 percent in August, a rate twice what had been expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI - News) was up 197.84 points, or 1.86 percent, at 10,860.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^SPX - News) finished up 23.82 points, or 2.12 percent, at 1,148.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:^IXIC - News) was up 54.14 points, or 2.33 percent, at 2,381.22.

For the week, the Dow was up 2.4 percent, the S&P rose 2.1 percent and the Nasdaq added 2.8 percent.

Traders noted that a short bias going into the open this morning had been chased out when the market held its gains after the flat housing data. That pushed prices up as traders covered short positions.

The broad-based S&P 500 index crossed a major resistance level at 1,130 on Monday, but its close below that mark in the last session and light trading volumes have caused some investors to question the move's sustainability.

Other technical indicators are pointing to an overbought condition in the S&P 500, although the declines of the last three days have eased that somewhat.

"I think what you have here is month-end and quarter-end pressure developing with huge asset-allocation trades," said Tom Sowanick, chief investment officer of the Princeton, New Jersey-based OmniVest.

Boosting investor sentiment was the share offering of Brazilian state oil company, Petrobras. The sale of nearly $70 billion in shares surpassed expectations, erasing concerns that stocks were less attractive assets. U.S.-listed shares rose 2.9 percent to $16.13.

After the market closed, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke at Princeton University but did not discuss the outlook for the economy or monetary policy.

Olam in merger talks with Louis Dreyfus, shares jump

SINGAPORE - Louis Dreyfus, one of the world's top commodity traders, is in merger talks with smaller rival Olam International valued at nearly US$5 billion, as the French group moves to expand its footprint in Asia and Africa.

The news, which drove Singapore-based Olam's shares up as much as 9.2 per cent to a three-year high, underscores the sector consolidation as global players seek to extend their reach in different commodities to take advantage of booming demand.

Louis Dreyfus Commodities, which generates US$35 billion in revenue for commodity trading, dominates the flow of agricultural commodities worldwide together with rivals Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge Ltd and Cargill Inc.

'If there is a merger, they could take advantage of economies of scale and geographical locations. Olam is strong in Africa, Dreyfus is strong in the United States,' DBS Vickers analyst Ben Santoso.

'If you have a merger between these two, then they could easily rival the bigger competitors such as Cargill, Bunge or Archer Daniels Midland,' he said.

Louis Dreyfus is the world's largest cotton and rice trader and ranks in the top three in orange juice, wheat, corn and sugar markets.

Bankers familiar with Olam's workings said while the talks are at an early stage, the two companies are likely to discuss a joint venture in areas they overlap. One analyst, who asked not to be named said a full-fledged merger was unlikely.

Olam confirmed the talks with Louis Dreyfus after France's Les Echos newspaper reported on Thursday the family-owned group was considering a merger and a listing of certain activities among possible options to expand.

'The company wishes to inform shareholders that it had engaged in preliminary confidential discussions with Louis Dreyfus Commodities in relation to a possible business collaboration which may take the form of, among others, a merger,' the Olam statement said.

No benefits?

Andreas Bokkenheuser, a Singapore-based analyst at UBS, said a full merger was unlikely to benefit Olam because Louis Dreyfus was a significant trader of cyclical commodities so a combined entity would trade at similar multiples to rival Noble.

Olam trades at 22 times 2011 earnings, against Noble Group's 15 times earnings, UBS estimates.

'Olam already commands the largest market share within several of its product lines, so we question whether a merger would render any advantages in the form of increased pricing power and supply chain synergies,' Mr Bokkenheuser said.

Olam, a US$4.7 billion company which generated S$10.5 billion (US$7.9 billion) in revenue in the 2009/10 financial year, said the talks were still at an early stage and no definitive agreements have been entered into so far.

The company, about 14 per cent owned by Temasek Holdings, is headed by India-born Sunny Verghese.

A source familiar with CEO Verghese said the Louis Dreyfus family could be looking for professionals to run the business in emerging markets.

'Sunny can run a tight ship and can really give good direction, ' said the source.

Mr Verghese last year announced a three-year plan for the company to double net profit margins to more than four percent and boost the firm's intrinsic value by three to four times.

The company also operates rubber and palm oil plantation and plans to expand to expand further into sugar plantations in Indonesia and increase its oil palm plantation holdings in Africa.

The former chief executive of the 159-year old Louis Dreyfus, Robert Louis-Dreyfus, died in July last year and passed on his majority stake in the group to a special trust, with the remaining capital owned by other family members.

Kalai Pillay, an analyst at Fitch in Singapore, said the consolidation in the commodities business reflected the current low cost of capital and the increasing sophistication of such firms in areas such as risk management.

'It costs almost nothing to borrow money now. M&As are happening not just in commodities but across all industries.'

Earlier this month, Sempra Energy and The Royal Bank of Scotland agreed to sell the retail commodity marketing operations of their joint venture to Singapore-based Noble Group Ltd for US$317 million.

Wilmar International, the world's No1 listed palm oil firm, said it is in the process of acquiring Australia's Sucrogen, from CSR for US$1.5 billion. -- REUTERS

STI - Shares end slightly higher

By BERNICE BONG

SINGAPORE - The Singapore market rose in tandem with the Hong Kong bourse, finishing slightly higher on Friday.

The key Straits Times Index added 9.55 points or 0.31 per cent to 3,092.68. In the broader market, gainers beat losers by 12 counters in a volume of 2,368.80 million shares valued at $1,708.90 million.

DOW - Stocks sank in the last half hour of trading

Dow

10,662.42

-76.89

-0.72%

NEW YORK (AP) -- A September stock rally weakened on Thursday as investors were disappointed by a jump in unemployment claims and more signs of trouble for Europe's economy.

The market got off to a bad start after applications for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly last week. European stocks also sank after following a lower reading on business activity in the 16 countries that use the euro and news that Ireland's economy shrank 1.2 percent in the second quarter.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 77 points, its second day of losses. The Standard & Poor's 500 index, the benchmark most often used by professional investors, fell below a key threshold watched by technical analysts. Gold hit another record as traders sought safe havens.

The slide raised doubts about whether a three-week rally that vaulted stocks higher in September would continue. The Dow is still up 6.5 percent for the month, but is 4.8 percent below its 2010 high reached on April 26. For the year, it's up 2.2 percent.

Traders were disappointed to see first-time unemployment claims rise last week, breaking a recent trend of declines. The Labor Department said claims jumped by 12,000 and are still at levels that signal employers are not significantly adding new jobs.

"It's all about jobs right now," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank. "When claims pick up, that's a worrisome sign."

Unemployment claims had fallen consistently in recent weeks, reducing worries that the economy might fall back into recession. Modest improvements in many economic reports have driven stocks sharply higher in September.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 13 of the past 16 days, but broke a five-day winning streak on Wednesday. Some market watchers are starting to think the rally may have run its course.

"We've had a really good run that people didn't expect and now we're asking, 'Does the news support it?'" Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at BNY ConvergEx. "The answer today was, 'No.'"

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 76.89, or 0.7 percent, to close at 10,662.42.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 9.45, or 0.8 percent, to 1,124.83, falling back below a closely watched threshold of 1,131. That had been the high end of its recent trading range until Monday, when the index charged above that level and stayed there, something analysts see as a bullish sign. Prior to Monday, the S&P had only crossed above 1,131 one time since June 21.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 7.47, or 0.3 percent, to 2,327.08.

Falling stocks outpaced rising ones 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 3.9 billion shares.

Stocks erased some of their losses on news that home sales climbed back from 15-year lows in August and an index of future economic activity rose more than expected. Stocks turned lower in the last hour after trading mixed for much of the day.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a widely used benchmark for consumer and business loans, was flat at 2.55 percent.

Gold gained $4.20 to settle a record $1,296.30 an ounce. Gold has hit a series of record highs over the past two weeks as investors seek safe stores of value as the dollar weakens and after the Federal Reserve said it was ready to push interest rates lower and encourage slightly more inflation. Investors seek out gold as a hedge against inflation and a weak dollar, and when other assets appear to be too risky.

AP Business Writer Bernard Condon contributed to this story.

SGX enhances Securities Borrowing and Lending service

 Createwealth8888: More and more shorting possible  and STI will then fall faster!

------------------------------------------------------------
SINGAPORE: The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is enhancing its Securities Borrowing and Lending service to bring additional benefits for investors and SGX central depository account holders.


With the enhanced service, over 80 per cent of the total listed stocks on the SGX Mainboard and Catalist are now eligible for lending or borrowing via The Central Depository (CDP).

The number of stocks eligible for lending increased from approximately 150 to over 600.

Investors now have expanded opportunity to lend out their stocks and institutional borrowers can have access to a larger pool of different stocks from the CDP.

"With access to a large pool of stocks, institutional investors can consider new trading strategies. This will also improve overall liquidity of the stocks," said Mr Lai Kok Leong, vice president, depository services of SGX.

The CDP, which currently safe keeps securities for retail investors and institutions, will be the counterparty for all lenders and borrowers.

SGX said this will provide a single point of processing for all activities including corporate actions as well as borrowing and lending of securities.

The exchange said stock lending activity could help CDP account holders to lend out their shares to earn lending fees and improve the total earnings on their assets. - CNA/fa

STI - Reversing?

Straits Times

3,083.13

-12.97

-0.42%

By JOANNAH PEREZ

SINGAPORE - Singapore shares closed lower on Thursday with the blue-chip Straits Times Index down 12.97 points to 3,083.13.

Volume was 2.17 billion shares worth $1.49 billion.

Gainers led losers 249 to 243.

Can an ETF Collapse?

By: Herb Greenberg

CNBC Senior Stocks Commentator

The question of whether an ETF can collapse is the focus of a fascinating new report by Bogan Associates, an under-the-radar investment firm in Boston.

The concern of the Bogan report, as well as other market participants I’ve been talking to, is that the complexity of exchange-traded funds and their increased use as trading vehicles by hedge funds can be quietly but quickly creating serious market risk.

At the heart of the matter is what stock ETFs really are: Derivatives with unlimited share creation prospects. Unlike regular mutual funds, which buy and sell stocks with the cash from investors, ETFs buy so-called “creation units” from participating institutions. Each creation unit represents 50,000 shares owned by an “authorized participant.”

I can’t stress the complexity of the structure. If the very nature of these “creation units” is beyond the comprehension of most investors the actual mechanics of ETFs involve an even far more complex matrix of transactions.

Harold Bradley, chief investment officer of the Kauffman Foundation, goes so far as to say: “These are like unregulated futures contracts because of their unmitigated open interest.”

The “unmitigated open interest” he’s referring to a startling figure in the Bogan report: That while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has about 17 million shares outstanding, it has around 97 million shares short. That’s right, more than 500 percent of the ETF is net short.

“This implies total gross ownership of XRT in the market of roughly 96 million shares,” says Andrew Bogan, who co-runs the firm with his father, Thomas, a former interim research director at State Street. “So the assets held by the ETF operator (State Street Research - no relation to State Street Global Partners) in this fund are about $680 million, while the implied ownership of all the long holders would be worth $3.9 billion.

“In this extreme example, the ETF operator holds only about 17 percent of the shares that people most likely believe they are buying when they buy XRT in their account. The remaining stock is implicitly promised by short-sellers though their prime brokers if authorized participants”—the institutions that own the shares behind the creation units—wanted to redeem more than 17 percent of the shares owned.”

In effect, he says, this amounts to a “fractional reserve stock ownership system” and a “shadow market caused by massive scale short-selling.”

The big question: Who will be left holding the bag? Retail investors? Prime brokers? Even Bogan and his co-authors can’t answer that; the data is that unavailable and the issue is that complex.

To repeat what I said in CNBC’s Man vs. Machine segment : Many critics are concerned that ETFs have grown well beyond their original intention and have become a monster that will wreak havoc.