Keppel FELS' offshore rig named La Covadonga

Keppel FELS held the traditional naming ceremony of its second oil rig delivered to offshore Mexican oil field services company CP Latina on Friday.

 

SINGAPORE: Keppel FELS held the traditional naming ceremony of its second oil rig delivered to offshore Mexican oil field services company CP Latina on Friday.

The offshore rig, valued at S$270 million, was named La Covadonga, and was delivered ahead of time and with a perfect safety record.

It will soon make its way to Mexico to support operations of Mexican national oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX).

The successful completion indicates strong collaboration between Keppel and CP Latina, as well as the rig-builder's intentions to expand business operations in the Mexican region.

Chow Yew Yuen, chief operating officer of Keppel Offshore & Marine, said: "We think Mexico at this point in time... with the energy reform that is going through Congress right now, we think that once the energy reform passes, then actually the deep water play in Mexico is going to come about very strong... and that is the reason why we are in Mexico and why we have decided to make the investment in the shipyard jointly with PEMEX over there."

La Covadonga is the fourth offshore rig completed by Keppel FELS for Mexico since 2012, with orders to build another eight of such rigs for Mexican customers through to 2015.
 

- CNA/ms

The One Thing I'm So Thankful for as an Investor

CW8888: I am thankful too as retail investor with long-term view and able to sit tight and be uncommon. I also diligently track and measure my long-term investment performance over the last 14 years since the inception of my portfolio in Jan 2000.


From Morgan Housel
Motley Fool One Senior Analyst
The Motley Fool
 
Hey Fools,

Hopefully you spent yesterday being thankful for stuff that really matters -- friends, family, health, happiness.

But I'm an investor, and this is an investing website. So let me digress to something a little less important.

I am so thankful that buy-and-hold investing still works.

Imagine you bought shares of the S&P 500 10 years ago and forgot about it, spending the last decade traveling, doing hobbies, and hanging out with your family. You finally get around to checking your account balance this morning, and see your investment is up more than 102%.

You're thrilled.

"Buy and hold works," you tell yourself.

But then you look around and see all kinds of articles, books, and advice proclaiming the death of buy-and-hold investing.

"Buy and Hold Is Dead (Again)" is the title of one popular book.
"The only way to make money in the equity market is to be nimble, and that means adopting a strategy that is not buy and hold," one article reads.

"Buy & hold is a relic of a bygone era when the economy was stable and consistent growth was the norm," another analyst warns.

None of this makes sense to you. What are these people talking about?

Ah, then you get it.

All of these investors spent the last decade trying to be "nimble", trading in and out of markets -- and losing a fortune in the process. Now they're bitter.  

The only people who think buy and hold is dead are those frustrated with their inability to follow it.  
Buy and hold still works, and it's going to continue to work for those who buy a diverse portfolio of good businesses at good prices and hold for the long run. Two wars, the worst recession in 80 years, a financial crisis, a housing bust, and government shutdowns weren't enough to prevent patient investors from more than doubling their money over the last decade.
 I'm so thankful for that.

You should be, too.

One thing I've found to be amazing over the last five years of ups and downs are the number of investors who had a bad month, or a bad quarter, or even a bad year and assumed it meant the market was broken, and that buy and hold was dead. In reality, it’s the other way around: The reason you can earn great long-term returns in the stock market is because we have a downturn like 2008 once in a while. That’s the cost of admittance. It’s normal.

The reason so many investors think buy and hold doesn't work anymore is because we have a culture obsessed with short-term thinking. It's endemic to our entire society, but nowhere is it more obvious than in investing.
One of my favorite investing stories is from BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. Fink was having lunch with the CEO of one of the largest pension funds in the world. "We're investing for the next generation" the pension manager said. "So how do you measure your returns?" Fink asked. "Quarterly" the manager said.
That's most people's problem. We think we're investing for the long run, but we measure success in the short run.


Once you get over this mental roadblock, the value of buy-and-hold investing becomes clear.

Now, this doesn't mean you can buy the market at any time, at any price, and do well. The higher the valuation you buy stocks for, the lower your future returns will likely be, and the longer it might take for buy and hold to work its magic.

But it does work. I've dug through hundreds of research reports and sifted through piles of historic market data. I've found that the single biggest factor separating successful investors from losers is simply the amount of time they have been investing for.

Want proof? I took market data going back to the 1870s and calculated the maximum and minimum returns you could achieve by different holding periods. These are real total returns, meaning they're adjusted for both dividends and inflation. Have a look:

If you're investing for a year or two, you are flipping a coin. Stocks might go up or down, and you have no way of knowing which direction. But if you can hold for 10 years or (ideally) more, the odds turn overwhelmingly in your favor.  

This doesn’t mean bad things won’t happen to markets. But time has a way of smoothing bad events out. Think of it this way: We have good historical market data going back to the middle of the 19thcentury. During that time:

• 1.3 million Americans died while fighting nine major wars.
• Four U.S. presidents were assassinated.
• 675,000 Americans died in a single year from a flu pandemic.
• 30 separate natural disasters killed at least 400 Americans each
• 33 recessions lasted a cumulative 48 years.
• The stock market fell more than 10% from a recent high at least 97 times.
• Stocks lost a third of their value at least 12 times.
• Annual inflation exceeded 7% in 20 separate years.

Yet as a group, stock investors have never experienced a 20-year period when they lost money, even after inflation.

Not once.
Even with stocks zooming to all-time highs this year, I'm still as confident as ever that buying good companies for the long haul is the way to go.

And I'm still buying stocks.

I love companies like Markel, an insurer with a solid history of wise management still trading for a reasonable valuation. If you're interested in other great franchise businesses that our top analysts are looking to hold for the long run, I'd highly recommend checking out what my friend Ron Gross and his team at Motley Fool Million Dollar Portfolio are doing. You can click here for a few companies on Ron's list.

One of my favorite investing quotes comes from a guy named Nick Murray. "Timing the market is a fool's game" he says. "But time in the market is your greatest natural advantage."

Keep that mind as stocks hit new highs.

Happy holidays.

From Morgan Housel
Motley Fool One Senior Analyst
The Motley Fool

Nasdaq ends brief post-holiday session at 13-year high

 

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow and the S&P 500 dipped in thin holiday trading on Friday, but technology stocks helped lift the Nasdaq to a 13-year high.

The Nasdaq got a boost from the technology sector, with Apple (AAPL) up 1.9 percent at $556.07, Microsoft Corp (MSFT) up 1.4 percent at $38.13 and Amazon Inc (AMZN) up 1.8 percent at $393.62.

"It's almost as if people are rotating into the bigger blue-chip names, especially the technology big caps. We wouldn't be shocked at all to see the small and mid-cap names lag a little bit," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist with Schaeffer's Investment Research, in Cincinnati.

But with the both the S&P and Dow on an eight-week winning streak, investors may be cautious in adding new positions.

"We expect, and we recommend to our clients, that if they have exceeded their strategic allocation to equities, to take profit at these levels," said Paul Mangus, head of equity research and strategy for Wells Fargo Private Bank, in Charlotte, N.C.

Volume was light, with slightly over 2 billion shares traded on all U.S. platforms, according to BATS exchange data, as many U.S. investors remained out following the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. The U.S. stock market ended its regular session three hours early at 1 p.m..

The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) fell 10.92 points or 0.07 percent, to end at 16,086.41. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped 1.42 points or 0.08 percent, to finish at 1,805.81. But the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) added 15.136 points or 0.37 percent, to close at 4,059.886.

Retail stocks were in focus as the holiday shopping season gets under way. Many stores opened on Thanksgiving for the first time ever this year, but stores had to resort to steep discounts and shoppers appeared to be making careful purchases.

The S&P retail index (.SPXRT) rose 0.3 percent. Among some of the most active retail names, Target Corp (TGT) declined 0.8 percent to $63.93, Best Buy Co Inc (BBY) jumped 2.4 percent to $40.55, and J.C. Penney Co (JCP) gained 1.1 percent to $10.19.

Kep Corp : Year end Exam. Cleared $11.20

Next level to clear: $11.37

Another new record: 13th time in 2013

Read? Another new record: 12th time in 2013


STI 3,176.35 Down -10.02 (0.31%)

But, Kep Corp, SCI and DBS were Up!

Another Moment of Happiness again!!!

13th new Record set in 2013 for a nice closing in Nov 2013




 

Singapore's real income growth surged in 2013

Singapore Business Review 

Real median income up 9.7%.

According to the Ministry of Manpower, real income growth strengthened in 2013, as nominal median monthly income from work of full-time employed residents (including employer CPF contributions) increased over the year by 6.5% to $3,705 in June 2013 and inflation eased.

The growth in real median income accelerated from 2.5% in 2012 to 3.9%P in 2013.

Cumulatively, the median income (including employer CPF contributions) of full-time employed residents rose by 27.9% or 5.0% p.a. from 2008 to 2013.

After adjusting for inflation, real median income grew by 9.7%P or 1.9% p.a.P over this period, faster than 7.0% or 1.4% p.a. in the earlier five years (2003 to 2008) and bringing the increase over the decade to 17.4% or 1.6% p.a.

Keppel Fels sets its sights on next frontier

By TAN HWEE HWEE Singapore

                 

 29 November 2013 00:00 GMT

Singapore-based Keppel Fels is upping the ante in its fight against the South Korean yard giants after unveiling a new design for a 20,000 psi blowout preventer drillship at the 2013 Pareto Securities offshore oil and gas conference.

Golar in FLNG talks with Keppel

By Russell Searancke

 29 November 2013 04:09 GMT

Norway’s Golar LNG and Singapore’s Keppel Shipyard are negotiating an engineering procurement and construction contract for a floating liquefied natural gas vessel.

The pair began the front-end engineering and design on an FLNG conversion last November, and Golar said it was completed at the end of August.

Golar has ambitions to build several FLNG vessels on a speculative basis at Keppel, which would convert three of Golar’s existing vessels into FLNG ships.

Golar said in its latest results the FEED was done on a 2.5 million to 2.8 million tonne per annum vessel.

Senior board advisor Oscar Spieler said the FEED “resulted in a very, very cost-effective solution at relatively short delivery time. The concept what we have said generally is that we don't want to go for the complex project and the complex gas.”

This means Golar is targeting pipeline-quality gas in benign marine settings, and is focusing on markets in the Americas and West Africa “that offer multiple opportunities”.

Another new record: 12th time in 2013

Read? Another new record: 11th time in 2013


Another Moment of Happiness again!!!



12th new Record set in 2013

The last record was set in Feb 13 and that was 9 months ago.




 

 

Dow and S&P 500 hit records

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow and the S&P 500 closed at record highs on Wednesday, led by Hewlett-Packard's jump a day after the personal computer maker's earnings, while the Nasdaq finished at a 13-year high.

Overall trading volume was light at 4.37 billion shares, according to BATS. Many traders were out for the Thanksgiving holiday, as the U.S. stock market will be closed on Thursday. On Friday, the market will close at 1 p.m..

The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) rose 24.53 points or 0.15 percent, to end at 16,097.33, a record closing high. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 4.48 points or 0.25 percent, to finish at 1,807.23, a record closing high. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) added 27.001 points or 0.67 percent, to close at 4,044.75.

Energy was the day's worst-performing sector. The S&P index of energy shares (.SPNY) fell 0.7 percent after a higher-than-expected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories.

U.S. light crude oil futures fell 1.5 percent to settle at $92.30 a barrel, which may translate into lower gasoline prices for consumers.

Weekly jobless claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell in the latest week, a sign of steady improvement in the labor market. Analysts were expecting an increase in claims.

The November Chicago Purchasing Managers Index and the final November reading for the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index exceeded expectations.


STI sibei SIANZ!!!

How are you measuring up with your investment return? (8)

Read? how are you measuring up with your investment return? (7)

Updated.

Banking on the 3-Rights

Right price, right business and right management are key, writes GENEVIEVE CUA

 

FUNDS which profess to be absolutely return-oriented typically wield a number of tools to achieve this - cash, short sales of securities, market timing and derivatives, for instance. Not so for Yeoman Capital Management. The home-grown firm, whose flagship fund has an enviable 16-year track record, eschews cash and market timing in its quest for absolute returns. Instead, the Yeoman 3-Rights Value Asia Fund relies on old fashioned, long-only value stockpicking, and stays fully invested at any single point in time. So far, the results have been rewarding. In the current year to end-October, the fund has generated returns of 19.34 per cent, compared with the MSCI Far East ex Japan index return of 3.45 per cent.

Since its inception in October 1997, the fund has achieved cumulative returns of more than 638 per cent, compared with the index return of 110 per cent. This translates to a compounded annual return of 13.3 per cent. An investor who put in $100,000 at inception would have seen his funds grow to more than $738,000 - a tidy nest egg.

Yeo Seng Chong, Yeoman's founder and chief executive, says undervaluation is the "prime and only motivation for investing''. "If we can't get undervaluation, we don't participate. The undervaluation is measured in terms of PE (price earnings multiple), dividend yield, free cash flow and discount to balance sheet book value. We also look at return on equity to make sure our stocks have capital efficiency.

"We have a track record and returns consistent with our methodology. Because we have not used cash as a buffer or timing tool, what you see today in performance is entirely due to security selection and portfolio construction.''






 

Nasdaq closes above 4,000

US stocks ended little changed on Tuesday, but the Nasdaq surged past the 4,000 mark for the first time in 13 years.

 

NEW YORK: US stocks ended little changed on Tuesday, but the Nasdaq surged past the 4,000 mark for the first time in 13 years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session flat, with a mere 0.26 point gain pushing it to 16,072.80, a record high.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite outperformed, adding 23.18 points (0.58 percent) at 4,017.75, closing above 4,000 mark for the first time since the 2000 dot-com bust.

The S&P 500, a broad measure of the markets, edged up 0.27 point (0.01 percent) to 1,802.75.

Investors had a batch of data to weigh, including better than expected housing reports and a further slide in consumer confidence.

US home building permits surged more than expected in October to the highest level in five years, the Commerce Department reported.

Home prices in the 20 largest cities on the S&P Case-Shiller index rose 13.3 percent in September from a year ago, topping the 13.0 percent average estimate.

But consumer confidence fell in November, according to the Conference Board, instead of rebounding from an October plunge amid the partial government shutdown.

"The shutdown effect should fade, and the surge in stock prices to new highs ought to lift sentiment. Right now, though, weakness at the start of the holiday season is unwelcome," said Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Nasdaq got a boost from Apple, its top component, which surged 1.8 percent. Leading social network stocks rebounded from sharp falls Monday: Twitter rose 2.9 percent and Facebook gained 2.4 percent.

In corporate news, Tiffany posted a 50 percent rise in third-quarter net income and raised its full-year forecasts. Shares in the upscale retailer jumped 8.7 percent.

The Men's Wearhouse rose 7.5 percent after offering to buy rival men's apparel retailer Jos. A. Bank, up 11.3 percent, for about $1.2 billion in cash. The offer came after Jos. A. Bank made an unsuccessful bid for Men's Wearhouse in October.

Hewlett-Packard fell 0.9 percent ahead of its quarterly earning report after the market close. The computer and printer giant published $5.1 billion in earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter, topping analyst estimates by a penny per share.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.70 percent from 2.73 percent on Monday, while the 30-year dropped to 3.80 percent from 3.82 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

- AFP

SGX seeks owners of $68 million in unclaimed

Read? SGX seeks owners of $68 million in unclaimed

SGX looking for 89,000 investors with S$68.3m of unclaimed dividends and SingTel shares

By

cai haoxiang haoxiang@sph.com.sg

        

 

 

WOW!

 

SOMEWHERE out there in Singapore, there is an investor who has a S$1.2 million windfall. The investor is one of 89,000 people owning S$68.3 million of unclaimed dividends and SingTel shares who could not be contacted despite the best efforts of the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

Tomorrow, a website at www.sgx.com/mygateway will be launched for investors to check if they have unclaimed assets, using their NRIC number.

Unclaimed dividends come about when investors do not opt for them to be directly credited to their bank accounts. The dividend checks were mailed out but investors did not cash them for various reasons.

Unclaimed SingTel shares and dividends were from the telco's 1993 initial public offering, where investors had signed up for but did not follow through by opening a Central Depository (CDP) account. Most investors have unclaimed dividends or shares of less than S$1,000, SGX said.

“This initiative highlights the benefits Singaporeans enjoy when they invest in shares over the long term. We hope to locate the rightful owners of these assets through this exercise while making Singaporeans more aware of the role share investing can play in their financial planning for their retirement and other needs,” said Chew Sutat (周士达), Executive Vice President at SGX.“

 

Many listed companies pay sizeable dividends. In the past 12 months, the 30 companies making  up the Straits Times Index paid $15.5 billion in dividends, equivalent to a 3% yield. We encourage investors to take advantage of SGX’s direct crediting service which automatically deposits their dividends into their bank accounts” said Lynn Gaspa (葛惠玲),Head of Retail Investors at SGX.

“It is always encouraging to hear real-life examples of investors who invested in shares for the long term and enjoyed healthy returns. There are two lessons here for all of us; first, share investing is a crucial part of financial planning and second, investors should monitor their company’s corporate actions and developments,” said David Gerald (大卫。杰乐), President and CEO of the Securities Investors Association (Singapore)




 

Singapore's inflation rises to 2% in Oct

By

Kelly Tay

         

Services inflation eased to 2.5 per cent in October from 2.7 per cent in the preceding month, led by slower increases in the costs of recreation & entertainment, and holiday travel - PHOTO: SPH

Consumer price inflation rose to 2 per cent in October from 1.6 per cent in September, largely due to an increase in food and car prices.

Economists polled by Bloomberg had been expecting a marginally higher 2.1 per cent rise in the consumer price index (CPI) in October from a year ago.

Because of a pick-up in COE premiums, private road transport costs rose 2.7 per cent last month from a year earlier, rebounding from September's 2 per cent decline.

Food inflation was 2.5 per cent in October compared to 2.4 per cent a month ago, reflecting slightly steeper price increases for both non-cooked food and prepared meals.

Are you Trading or Investing???

Just For Thinking ...


Ask Uncle8888!


He knows whether you are Trader or Investor.










What did you see on your monthly CDP Statement for the last few years?





If most of your monthly CDP Statement were lines of dividends; then you are likely to be an investor!

Plan Your Retirement

Will you have enough money to enjoy a secure and happy retirement?

Try ? Plan Your Retirement

Three Biggest Stock Mistakes Retail Investors Ever Made!

Just For Laugh ...


First, our stocks got suspended and delisted. Gone Forever!


Second, when we are gone it doesn't matter anymore!


Third, it took so many donkey years to break even!

HK firm exits Biosensors for US$312.3m

By

Jacquelyn Cheok jaccheok@sph.com.sg

         

TARGETING

 Shandong Weigao wants to focus on its main businesses - medical consumables, blood purification and orthopaedic products

Singapore
SHANDONG Weigao will be selling its entire 21.7 per cent stake in Singapore medical devices firm Biosensors International Group for US$312.3 million, because of increasing competition in China and its intention to focus on its main businesses.

Shandong Weigao, via its wholly owned subsidiary, Wellford Capital, will sell its stake to Bermuda's CB Medical Holdings at S$1.05 per share, which represents a premium of around 11.7 per cent to Biosensors' closing price of S$0.94 on Thursday.

Shandong Weigao said yesterday that it estimated a loss of around 449 million yuan (S$92.2 million) from the sale.

Net proceeds would be used as working capital and to develop its three core business units: medical consumables, blood purification and orthopaedic products.


CW8888: Cut losses as see no future in China!

Stocks rise; S&P 500 sets record finish above 1,800 in seventh week of gains

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54.78 points, or 0.3 percent, to end at a record 16,064.77, with Boeing pacing gains that included 23 of the blue-chip index's 30 components. After finishing above 16,000 for the first time on Thursday, the Dow set an intraday record of 16,068.78, and ended up 0.7 percent for the week, which marks a seventh consecutive weekly rise, its longest such stretch since an eight-week advance that ended Jan. 21, 2011.


The S&P 500 rose 8.91 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,804.76, its first finish above 1,800, with health care the best performing and telecommunications the largest laggard of its 10 industry groups. It climbed 0.4 percent from last Friday's close, extending to seven its streak of weekly gains. The Nasdaq added 22.49 points, or 0.6 percent, to 3,991.65, leaving it up 0.1 percent for the week.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), a gauge of investor uncertainty, fell to 12.35.

STI Sibei Sianz!!!

 

Kep Corp : Year end Exam coming???

Health and Wealth. Know the difference!

Health and Wealth?





Do you know the difference?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The difference is so minor. It is quite the same!

 

 

 

 

 

Health and Wealth

 



It is the Height and Width of our personal happiness index.

We will need both!



Read? Four Pillars in our life to support our happiness index

Dow Closes Above 16,000 for 1st Time

STI Super Sianz!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Pras Subramanian | Hot Stock Minute – 2 hours 14 minutes ago

After several intraday crosses during the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) finished above 16,000 for the first time.  Today's milestone move for the Dow came after a late-day slide on Wednesday.  Stocks started off strong due to encouraging jobless claims reports, then took off on news that the Senate Banking Committee had cleared President Obama's nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, for a full Senate confirmation after the Thanksgiving break.

 

Many on Wall Street believe Janet Yellen will continue the market-friendly policies of the current Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke.

 

The blue chips ending up climbing 109 points on Thursday, or 0.69%, finishing at 16,009.99.  The Dow components were strong across the board, with names like Disney (DIS), JPMorgan (JPM), and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) among the gainers.  The technology-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was the big winner today, jumping 1.22% to finish at 3,969.15.  The index, poised to top 4,000 for the first time in over 10 years, was powered by big names like Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), and Intel (INTC).  The broader S&P 500 (^GSPC) ended a mini-losing streak, gaining 0.81% to finish at 1,795.85.  On the commodities side, gold slid to a fresh 4-month low, as investors left the safety of the precious metal and sought higher returns elsewhere.

On the economic front, the Labor Department said on Thursday that just 323,000 new jobless claims came in last week, below the predicted number of 335,000 new claims. In addition, the producer price index, a gauge that measures the change in prices businesses receive for their goods, matched expectations thus adding to market optimism.

Keppel wins another jackup order worth around US$265 million from Ensco

CW8888's own estimated  Order Book

Due to payment term of 20/80 or 10/90, most of the reveune recognition happening from 3-4 years from now.

Revenue Forecast looking stable ahead

Due to the nature of repeated orders; the Operating Margin should be stable if not improving

 

 

 

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M), has secured a contract to build a repeat KFELS Super A Class harsh environment jackup rig from a subsidiary of Ensco plc (NYSE: ESV) for around US$265 million.

Scheduled for delivery in 2Q 2016, it will be the fourth ENSCO 120 Series jackup rig that Ensco has ordered from Keppel FELS since 2011. As part of the contract, Ensco has an option to order another similar rig.

Mr Tong Chong Heong, Chief Executive Officer of Keppel O&M, said, "We are pleased that Ensco, which has the largest fleet of premium jackup rigs in the world, continues to expand its fleet of harsh environment jackup rigs with Keppel FELS. It marks the strength of our reputation for providing proven rigs that are the best in class.

"Customers come to us because we have the experience and expertise to come up with solutions that can meet their needs. We are able to stay ahead of the competition because we have the R&D resource and execution capabilities to deliver customised and differentiated rig designs that are high performance, cost efficient and reliable. We are encouraged that established drilling contractors such as Ensco continue to value rigs of quality and the Keppel promise of on-schedule project execution."

The ENSCO 120 Series rigs are based on the KFELS Super A Class, which is an enhancement of the proven KFELS MOD V-A Class jackup and features its proprietary and superior jacking and fixation system that has a perfect track record operating in a variety of environments. To date, over 2,800 jacks designed by Keppel FELS' Offshore Technology Development unit have been installed in the jackup rigs built to KFELS' proprietary designs.

Keppel FELS delivered the first ENSCO 120 Series jackup, ENSCO 120, earlier this year, which has been chartered to Nexen and is about to begin work in the North Sea. ENSCO 121 and ENSCO 122 are also contracted for multi-year terms in the North Sea following delivery from Keppel FELS.

Mr Dan Rabun, Chairman and CEO of Ensco plc, said, "Through the ENSCO 120 Series, we are expanding our fleet of ultra-premium harsh environment jackup rigs that have a significant performance advantage in harsh environments around the world.

"Customer acceptance of the ENSCO 120 Series design has been remarkably strong because the rig has proprietary, patented technology that significantly increases the operational efficiencies in harsh environments. The Ensco patented cantilever system, strong jacking system, and deep well capabilities of the ENSCO 120 Series rigs, paired with our skilled crew's knowledge and experience, are a winning combination for our customers.

"When developing a new series of rigs, we believe in choosing a winning design and standardising it to achieve greater efficiencies. Having looked at shipyards around the world, we have always come back to Keppel over the years because of their ability to consistently provide industry-leading rig designs in a timely and reliable manner."

The ENSCO 120 Series rigs can operate in water depths of 400 feet and drill to depths of 40,000 feet. It features advanced automated drilling systems with 2.5 million pounds of static hook load, a spacious deck and comprehensive amenities for the comfort of a 145-person crew. It also has an offline stand building capability to handle drill pipes efficiently, boosting overall rig performance and productivity.

For enhanced operational safety, the rigs are equipped with the latest pinion overload detection, rack phase difference detection, and brake failure and overload protection devices, thus meeting even the stringent Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) standards of various sectors in the North Sea.

The above contract is not expected to have a material impact on the net tangible assets or earnings per share of Keppel Corporation Limited for the current financial year.

Singapore property developer CapitaLand is planning to sell one-third of its stake in Australand

SINGAPORE: Singapore property developer CapitaLand is planning to sell part of its stake in Australand.

This comes after the Singapore property firm said earlier this year it will be retaining its stake in the Australian residential and commercial property developer after a strategic review.
In a filing with the Singapore Exchange, CapitaLand said it is now proposing to sell 115.66 million of the approximate 342 million stapled securities it currently owns in Australand.
This works out to about one-third of CapitaLand's 59.1 per cent interest in Australand.
Australand develops and owns properties mostly located in Australia's largest cities -- Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
According to media reports, the deal is said to be worth up to S$507.5 million (A$434 million), with the securities reportedly proposed to be sold between A$3.685 and A$3.75 each.
Allocation and pricing of the securities is expected to take place on November 21. 

- CNA/gn

Long-term investment compounding return: Theory vs Real

Just For Thinking ...

"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." - Yogi Berra


"Been there, through then, here I am! Knowing there is difference in theory and practice!" - Createwealth8888


Theory of  Power of Compounding





In Practice, long-term investment return can end up like this ... and not always UP, UP, and AWAY like Superman!

 

 

 

 

Kep Corp: Year end exam coming!

Keppel FELS delivers Floatel Victory

 

Newbuild: Floatel Victory completed for Floatel International

Keppel FELS

    

 

Bill Lehane                   

 

19 November 2013 09:57 GMT

Singapore’s Keppel FELS has delivered the newbuild semi-submersible accommodation vessel Floatel Victory to Sweden’s Floatel International.

 

 

 

 

 

       

Dow edged higher to a fresh record on Monday after topping 16,000 for the first time, while the S&P 500 breached 1,800 but pulled back in late trade.

NEW YORK: The Dow edged higher to a fresh record on Monday after topping 16,000 for the first time, while the S&P 500 breached 1,800 but pulled back in late trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a meagre gain of 14.32 points (0.09 per cent) at 15,976.02 after reaching an intra-day high of 16,030.28 shortly after the market opened. It was the blue-chip Dow's fourth consecutive record close.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 6.65 points (0.37 per cent) at 1,791.53, falling heavily in late-afternoon trade after earlier scaling above 1,800 for the first time.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 36.90 points (0.93 per cent) at 3,949.07.
"Stocks turned lower in the final hour of trading after Carl Icahn expressed a cautious outlook on equity markets," Wells Fargo Advisors said in a market note.
"The comments added to existing trepidation following a six-week rally on the S&P" and ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech on late Tuesday, the firm said.

Art Hogan, head of product strategy for equity research at Lazard Capital Markets, said Sunday's news of major airplane orders for Boeing and Airbus catalysed markets.

Dow member Boeing rose 1.7 per cent after winning more than $100 billion in new airplane orders at the Dubai Airshow on Sunday.

JPMorgan Chase, another Dow component, rose 1.6 per cent after announcing a $4.5 billion settlement on Friday to compensate 21 institutional investors for losses on mortgage securities it and Bear Stearns sold before the financial crisis.

Microsoft, another blue chip, retreated 1.7 per cent after Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded it to "underperform" citing "transition risk" over the company's search for a new chief executive to replace outgoing head Steve Ballmer.

Heavyweight Apple dropped 1.2 per cent on the Nasdaq. Other tech stocks stumbled. Facebook tumbled 6.5 per cent, Tesla sank 10.2 per cent and Netflix lost 2.3 per cent.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury dropped to 2.68 per cent from 2.71 per cent on Friday, while the 30-year dipped to 3.77 per cent from 3.80 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

- AFP/fa

 

 

STI sibei sianz!

Investors add US$34.1 billion to equity mutual funds in last 4 weeks

CW8888: Really? Retail investors were chasing stocks. Bull Peak coming in 2014?


From BusinessTimes, 18 Nov 2013

INVESTORS poured some US$34.1 billion into all equity mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in the past four weeks that ended Nov 13, the biggest four-week total since January, according to data from TrimTabs Investment Research.

TrimTabs research published on Sunday showed that retail investors have been piling into stocks at the fastest rate since January, when US$38 billion flowed into equities. "The record highs on many major US stock market averages are luring mom and pop back into the market," said David

Santschi, chief executive officer at TrimTabs Investment Research in a note.
The S&P 500 index is up 26 per cent year-to-date. "The intermediate-term demand outlook remains very favorable for US equities," Santschi said.

Investors are putting their money in US equities mutual funds more than global ones. About US$19.8 billion flowed into US equity mutual funds, compared to US$14.3 billion into global equity mutual funds in the last four weeks.

Book: The Psychology of Speculation: The Human Element in Stock Market Transaction

Good to know yourself before you get too involved in day trading and thinking you can win lots of money in the stock market after attending some "Guru" guided courses.

Uncle8888 Like:

Notwithstanding the many excellent books have been written on the subject, the real secret of stock market success still remains (and probably always will remain) locked up in the bosoms of a few who are too busy to write, and too rich to feel the need of writing.