Seniors at successful ageing discussion say they prefer to age in place

Read? Home for Living and not for profit taking (6)



SINGAPORE: To age in place, living independently within a supportive community was the desire of many seniors who were at a focus group discussion on senior-friendly homes on Saturday (Aug 30).
It is the second in a series of public discussions on the national Action Plan for Successful Ageing.

The plan aims to engage Singaporeans to come up with strategies to help seniors age successfully. It will look into eight areas, including lifelong learning, health and wellness and retirement adequacy, with discussions centred on building 'A Nation for All Ages'. Participants will identify the areas they feel are most important in determining successful ageing.

Over half of the 44 participants at the discussion on Saturday were above 60 years old. Most of them said they would rather live in the same flat as they age than to move in with their children. And even if they require more assistance, many preferred right-sizing their apartment or turning to other options like living in a retirement village.


 "Most of them said they would rather live in the same flat .."


CW8888: Home has Utility Value. The older we are and the longer we are living in the same home. It will become the saddest moment in our last phase of our life to let it go. Giving up our home should not be part of our retirement planning.



Some participants said they did not want to force family members to take care of them, citing changing social dynamics and generational differences. Others preferred to stay within familiar surroundings than move out.

The participants asked for more to be done to create a better environment for community integration and mutual support among the elderly such as providing better spaces for communal daily activities between seniors such as cooking or eating.

They also suggested outreach initiatives such as training 'senior ambassadors' - who may be younger seniors physically fit enough to do regular house visits but are old enough to empathise with the concerns of their charges - to interact with lonely seniors.

"They probably want to feel that 'I can be as independent as I can for as long as I want to, for as long as I'm able to', be it financially or even physically. Living with their children may give them the sense that they are dependent on their children physically. So they do not mind or would want to live near their children so that emotional support can be made available, but at the same time they want to be as independent as they can," said Dr Mohamad Maliki Osma, Minister of State for National Development.

"What came across today was also the sense of community. Many of the seniors spoke about the need for the community to come together - neighbours coming together to support one another, to recognise and identify vulnerable elderly neighbours, for example. I think that's also quite positive, because I think many are beginning to realise that we need to build a community that's mutually supportive of one another," he added.

- CNA/ir

Stop Not Till the Goal is Reached! (2)

Read? No Goal. No Aim. No Dream. You are more likely to end up as an Average in your 60s! (2)


Read? Stop Not Till the Goal is Reached!

Uncle8888 fully agreed ...

"Investing is a means to attaining certain life goals, Ms Sabrina Gan believes. And so, as far as possible, investment outcomes shouldn't be put down to luck or fate, she says."


Grasshopper or Ants?

Most of us are better off to behave like ants in the market preparing to survive the Winter with our definite Goals of accumulation to survive through the harsh Winter.

Of course, it is marvelous to live like Grasshopper thinking that there is no need to prepare for tomorrow and so bloody sure that you will die during the harsh Winter. If not, you will be in damn bloody sorry state when you are only half-dead when the Spring arrives and Robins sing. 

Another harsh winter comes. This time, can you smile, sing song and talk cock when you are half-dead?

After the next winter, quarter-dead. How?


Set Goals and prepare for winter?




 











The Moral of the Story

Don't envy the Grasshopper or laugh at the Ants unless we are damn sure we will be dead when the Spring arrives.















 

Retirement Income For Life Planning Model (2)

Read? Retirement Income For Life Planning Model

Read? Can you afford retirement? 5 ways to make sure

4.  Go for growth.
 
Because you have your fixed and discretionary costs covered for at least the next five years, that frees you up to invest the rest of your portfolio more aggressively. You might buy a mix of stocks and riskier bonds. In good years for the financial markets, sell some winners and use the proceeds to replenish your cash cushion. In bad markets, sit tight.



CW8888:

Step 4 is what Uncle888 doing for his retirement income for life strategy.


This is somewhat uncommon way for retirement income planning model. 

Most financial and investment bloggers will advocate dividend income investing as retirement income for life. Right?

S&P sets new record despite rising Ukraine tensions

NEW YORK: The S&P 500 closed August with another record on Friday (Aug 29), continuing its slow climb even as tensions pick up in Ukraine and after Britain warned of a possible terror attack.

The broad-market gauge pushed back above 2,000, the milestone it closed above for the first time on Tuesday, to finish at 2,003.37, up 6.63 points (0.33 per cent) for the day. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average added 18.88 points (0.11 per cent) at 17,098.45, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 22.58 (0.50 per cent) at 4,580.27, its best level in 14 years.

NATO's accusation that Russia had moved 1,000 of its own troops inside Ukraine to help pro-Moscow rebels, and had massed 20,000 on the border, stoked the tensions between Moscow and the West, but had no real impact on markets.

Neither did Britain's raising its terror threat level risk to "severe", with Prime Minister David Cameron saying that the Islamic State jihadist group had set its sights on Europe.

The gains came during the slowest week of the year, volume-wise -- it was the last week of the summer holiday.

"The lack of activity during the week was a function of some participants being away on vacation, while many others opted to stick to the sidelines ahead of a three-day weekend in the US that could feature new developments on the geopolitical front," said Briefing.com.

A slight but still surprise fall in consumer spending in July did not dent sentiment, coming after a strong June gain.

The fresh data on spending showed no inflationary pressure; the personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, was up 1.6 per cent year-on-year, well below the 2.0 per cent target.

Technology, financial and energy shares led the way Friday. Home Depot was the best gainer on the Dow, up 1.1 per cent, while United Technologies led the losers, down 1.0 per cent. Gas pipeline firm Kinder Morgan rose 1.2 per cent, and Goldman Sachs added 1.5 per cent. Amid top tech stocks, Microsoft gained 1.2 per cent and Facebook put on 1.3 per cent.

Communications and networking electronics maker Avago Technologies surged 7.5 per cent, boosted by a third-quarter revenue and earnings report that handily surpassed forecasts, and an upbeat outlook for the current quarter.

Cloud computing software firm Veeva Systems beat analysts’ expectations in its second-quarter earnings, sending its shares up 20.1 per cent.

Splunk, another company supplying cloud services to business, jumped 19.1 per cent as it surpassed second-quarter revenue forecasts, despite a wider overall loss from a year ago.
Bond prices were flat. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury held at 2.34 per cent, and the 30-year at 3.08 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

- AFP/fl

Three shots. Game over???

Read? How a Sea Change In Singapore’s Share Market Can Benefit You

b) Spread out your risk (buy in thirds)

Having a smaller board lot size makes it a lot easier for investors to “buy in thirds.” As a quick reminder, “buying in thirds” is described in Step 10 as follows:

“Simply divide the total dollar amount you want to devote to a particular investment by three, and pick three different points in time to add to your position.”

It can be a great way for a new investor to start out. If you’re someone new, the share market can seem to be a scary place and this is where smaller allocations can help.


CW8888: Same. same!









Three shots. Game over???

Now small retail investors can have many three shots games at our biggest Fun Fair - SGX.




Read? Portfolio Management - Buying Rule

Book : The Emotionally Intelligent Investor: How self-awareness, empathy and intuition drive performance

CW8888: Ya. Mind rules them all. Method, Mind, and Money!





The Emotionally Intelligent Investor challenges several long-held assumptions and beliefs, by asserting that a good investment approach starts with introspection. Too many investment gurus tell you to emulate their techniques despite the fact that you may have very different personality traits, motivations and biases. Would Shaquille O'Neal tell a short basketball player to play like him? This book provides a unique template for self-reflection and a framework for developing an investment approach that works best with who you are.

Whereas the consensus opinion is that investing success comes from blocking out emotions and making purely rational decisions, the best money managers actually use their feelings. They actively sense what others in the market are thinking, and they employ gut instincts when making decisions. Nevertheless, virtually all investing text books neglect to mention how to best cultivate and utilize empathetic and intuitive realizations.

In this book you will learn a process for developing an investing advantage by putting yourself in someone else's shoes. You will also discover how a stock chart is a great tool for understanding what the current holders of a security may be feeling, and you will appreciate why technical analysis works.

This book demystifies intuition with respect to investing and provides a method for building and safely harnessing helpful gut instincts. Traditional security analysis is vital, but in this book you will learn why superior returns primarily depend on self-awareness, empathy and intuition. The book is complete with examples and recommendations that illuminate a path towards reaching full investing potential.

The Wait is getting so much longer???

Not following investment Bloggers Herd???

It is so much easier to follow investment bloggers herd into ....

What?


Read? Here’s 1 Thing You Really Need To Know Before You Start Investing

Not every great investment is suitable for you

Although an investment might have a great chance of turning in a positive outcome, it might still not necessarily be suitable for you.

Continuing from the imaginary example above, investing your entire portfolio in high-yielding shares might not be the best option for you. Since you’ve just started work for only a few years, it’s likely your investment portfolio is small – this makes reinvesting dividends impractical. And given that the reinvestment of dividends can be a very powerful force in boosting long-term share market returns, it might not make sense for you, as a new investor, to chase high-yielding shares.

Instead, it might be more suitable for you (again, hypothetically as per the imagined scenario described earlier) to concentrate on companies which have a strong track record of growth and which retain most of their earnings to fund growth. In that way, you can benefit from the company compounding its own economic value over time.


In sync with Uncle8888's investing advice for the young ones ...

Read more?  How to become rich in stocks??? (26)

Lights off on Singapore's billionaire row at Sentosa Cove as luxury house prices plunge

There's an eerie silence at night in Sentosa Cove, the man-made island resort billed as Singapore's answer to Monte Carlo and the only place in the country where foreigners can buy landed property - PHOTO: REUTERS 

[SINGAPORE] There's an eerie silence at night in Sentosa Cove, the man-made island resort billed as Singapore's answer to Monte Carlo and the only place in the country where foreigners can buy landed property.

Dozens of houses - complete with their own private yacht berths and multiple swimming pools - sit empty while few lights are on in the apartment blocks overlooking the marina, a few kilometres away from Sentosa's giant casino.

Prices in the gated community, where Australian mining tycoons Gina Rinehart and Nathan Tinkler bought properties, fell around 20 per cent in the past year as lending restrictions and taxes on foreign buyers burst a bubble in the South-east Asian financial hub's luxury real estate market.

Investors could see the value of their assets fall even further with developers and investors still struggling to sell even after the recent price falls.

Book: Why Moats Matter: The Morningstar Approach to Stock Investing

Economic moats—or sustainable competitive advantages—protect companies from competitors. Legendary investor Warren Buffett devised the economic moat concept. Morningstar has made it the foundation of a successful stock-investing philosophy. 

Where?

NLB
 

SBI Offshore in negotiations to build five jack-up rigs

Singapore: SBI Offshore announced that it has commenced discussions with an unspecified Middle East-Chinese consortium to build up to five jack-up drilling rigs.

SBI Offshore has already secured a $24m contract from the consortium to design a rig which will be classified by ABS.

The consortium, whose members are involved in oil and gas activities, has indicated that the rigs will eventually be deployed in the Middle East and various parts of Asia.

"We are hopeful of a successful outcome in our negotiations for the Rigs and intend to secure more of such higher-value projects in the future,” commented Chan Lai Thong, executive chairman of SBI.

SBI Offshore said it expected to build the first rig in either China or Singapore if the negotiations are successful. [27/08/14]

CPFIS funds return 3.73% in Q2

By cai haoxiang

 

THE roughly 300 investment funds approved by the Central Provident Fund (CPF) continued to do well amid liquidity from central banks and low volatility.

The average fund under the CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) posted a 3.73 per cent return in the three-month period ended June 2014.

They posted an 11.82 per cent return for the 12-month period to June, and a 16.68 per cent return for the 36-month period to June.

On average, this beat the 4 per cent minimum interest rate offered by the CPF Special, Medisave and Retirement Accounts (SMRA).

Inflation eases further in July on lower COE premiums

SINGAPORE: Inflation in Singapore retreated further in July as Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums fell, the Department of Statistics said on Monday (Aug 25).

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.2 per cent in July from a year ago, slowing from June’s 1.8 per cent and down from May's 2.7 per cent which was a 14-month high.

Private road transport cost fell 1.6 per cent in July, following the 2.8 per cent increase in June, mainly due to the high base last year when COE premiums surged.

Food prices rose by 3 per cent last month, compared with 3.2 per cent in June. Prices of services rose by 2.5 per cent in July, up from 2.2 per cent in the previous month, led by stronger increases in pre-school fees, medical treatments and holiday travel.

Core inflation – which excludes changes in the price of private road transport and accommodation since these are influenced more by government policies – rose 2.2 per cent year-on-year in July, inching up from June's 2.1-per cent gain.

INFLATION EXPECTED TO EASE FURTHER

Looking ahead, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said inflation is expected to continue easing for the rest of the year with car prices projected to exert a slight drag.

Consequently, CPI-All Items inflation is expected to come in at 1.5 to 2 per cent this year, while core inflation is expected to stay elevated at 2 to 3 per cent, the MAS said.

Domestic cost pressures, particularly stemming from a tight labour market, are likely to remain the primary source of inflation as inflation in most of Singapore's key import source countries is expected to be modest, the ministry added.

- CNA/cy

Grand old investor and gambler??? (2)

Read? Grand old investor and gambler???


Read? Where Does The Money In The Stock Market Come From?


You gambler or investor?





Investing is like gambling is like "lim kopi"

It is how you like?

• kopi oh = hot black coffee (sweetened)
• kopi oh peng = iced black coffee (sweetened)
• kopi oh kosong = hot black coffee (unsweetened)
• kopi oh kosong peng = iced black coffee (unsweetened)
• kopi = Coffee with condensed milk (sweetened)
• kopi peng – iced White coffee (sweetened)
• kopi 'c' – hot coffee with evaporated milk (sweetened)
• kopi 'c' kosong – hot coffee with evaporated milk (unsweetened)
• kopi 'c' peng – iced coffee with evaporated milk (sweetened)
• kopi sterng – iced coffee extra smooth. Usually tastes better than regular kopi (sweetened, extra smooth)
•  

 

Rebooting our trading/investing strategies??? (2)

Read? Rebooting our trading/investing strategies???

100% of Uncle8888's initial capital as War Chest in Jan 2000 is back and with  another 9.4% of recent profit locked in bank too.

Timeline of Uncle8888's investing journey .....

It is like Jan 2000 all over again. The difference is that he is restarting in "expert" mode as The Guru, The Lao Jiao and The Kung Fu Manual to continue his investing journey for the final verdict.

Keppel Corp: How do we create wealth?

Download this PowerPoint slides to read?  How do we create wealth?


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In corporate finance, Economic Value Added (EVA), is an estimate of a firm's economic profit – being the value created in excess of the required return of the company's investors (being shareholders and debt holders). Quite simply, EVA is the profit earned by the firm less the cost of financing the firm's capital. The idea is that value is created when the return on the firm's economic capital employed is greater than the cost of that capital. This amount can be determined by making adjustments to GAAP accounting. 




EVA = NOPAT - (Capital Invested x WACC)





***

NOPAT: Net Operating profit after Tax
WACC: Weighted Average cost of capital

How to become rich in stocks??? (26)

Read? How to become rich in stocks??? (25)

Read? Don't Count Yourself As Winner (Too Early) If You Are Still Investing!

"Come and think of it, since it is a life-long journey, does it means that if you invest in stocks continuously until your last breath (touch wood), does it means that you will never be a true winner (or loser) of the game? Errr... I think so, at best, you can consider yourself an interim winner/loser (those cash out the profits/losses along the way). So, who will be the real winner/loser of the game? My answer is : those you are passing your legacy to. ;-)" - Richard, Invest Openly

 

 

Who is the real winner as long-term investors?

 

 

Proudly to declare the real winner is ....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Someone like Uncle8888!

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHY?

Free tutorial lessons from Uncle8888


As long-term investors, we will be holding on to our stocks across market cycles of Bull and Bear.  In the Bull markets, we didn't sell to realize the gains so in the Bear markets, it will become too silly to sell since we should have realized those gains during the Bull Run.

So can how we as long-term investors be the real winner in the stock market without selling?


As long-term investors, the daily stock price fluctuations across market cycles are nothing more than unrealized paper gains or losses. We can't really do much unless we want to realize these paper gains or losses to end the game.

So as long-term investors, how do we win?




Dividends!


A higher level of winning is Growth-dividends.

Do not just focus on dividend yield. 

We must focus on both dividend yield and dividend payout ratio at the same time. This is the higher level of winning for long-term investors.


See Uncle8888's worked examples of real winning stocks. 

You may want to take a look at it and tell him how to lose when he has taken back the initial investment cost from many years of receiving these dividends and choose to continue the game in future market cycles of Bull and Bear.

         

The only thing you can laugh at him.

"Uncle, you could have been richer if you are smarter!"






 


 

 


 

Semb Corp: Round 54 Akan Datang???

Read? Semb Corp: Sold $5.49 ROC 4.1%

Round 53: ROC 4.1%, 444 days, B $5.24 S $5.49 (Bought back higher for short-term trading)

444 days of taking 32 cents (15+17) dividends as pain killer!



SembCorp is falling out of love again!

 

Keppel delivers fourth jackup rig to Qatar ahead of schedule

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) has delivered its fourth jackup rig, "Dukhan", to Gulf Drilling International Ltd. q.s.c. (GDI) of Qatar nine days ahead of schedule, on budget and with a perfect safety record.

“Dukhan” is a high specification rig built to Keppel’s proprietary KFELS B Class design. Keppel FELS has previously delivered three similar jackup rigs to GDI; "Al Khor", "Al Zubarah" and "Les-hat".

Mr Wong Kok Seng Managing Director (Offshore) of Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) and Keppel FELS said, “We are pleased to deliver another major project to GDI early, on budget and to their highest satisfaction. It is a result of the strong partnership we have built with GDI over the years on a variety of projects. Repeat customers are a testament to the quality of Keppel O&M's products and services as well as the effectiveness of our proprietary designs. I am confident that "Dukhan" will be just as successful for GDI as the three rigs we have delivered to them since 2006.

“In addition, our shipyard in Qatar, Nakilat-Keppel O&M (N-KOM), is also supporting GDI with the repair and maintenance of their rig fleet. N-KOM has recently secured a contract to build a customised liftboat for GDI. We look forward to supporting GDI as they expand their offshore fleet and presence in the Middle East.”  

Customised for GDI with features that enable it to work anywhere in Qatar, "Dukhan" will be chartered to Qatar Petroleum for five years. The KFELS B Class is equipped with larger spud cans for reduced bearing pressure which expands its operational coverage, especially in sea beds where soft soil is predominant. It includes a 15,000 PSI choke system for well control and can drill wells through 30,000 ft with a cantilever that can skid out 75 ft from the edge of the hull to drill wells. It also features offline stand building and 7,500 PSI mud pumps.

Besides the four jackup rigs Keppel has built for GDI, N-KOM, its joint venture shipyard with Qatar Gas Transport Company, is constructing a self-propelled and self-elevating liftboat customised for GDI. N-KOM has also been awarded a six-year repair and maintenance contract for GDI’s fleet of jackup rigs operating in the Middle East. 

Dying To Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing (Re-visited)

When Your Doctor Has Bad News: Simple Steps to Strength, Healing, and Hope

 

 

 

Read? Dying To Be Me: My Journey from Cancer, to Near Death, to True Healing

Confession of old timer in the market! (2)

Read? Confession of old timer in the market!

More than 20 years in the market across several market cycles, and these "lao jiao" just manage to breakeven.

Probably "breakeven" is a face-saving statement.

What went wrong?

Did they keep moving into different Circle of Competency to look for better Mouse Trap (Method) over their last 20 over years in the market and still finding?

Remember the 3M's?

The Mind rules them all!

 

Bumi, Eni sign $3bn FPSO deal

 

 

CW8888: Keppel got chance or not?

 

Read? Keppel secures contracts worth S$368 million 

 

 

01-July-2014

Mr Michael Chia, Managing Director (Marine & Technology), Keppel O&M, said, "We are pleased to be entrusted once again by our longstanding customer Bumi Armada to be part of their significant FPSO Armada Kraken project. We are indeed privileged to have the opportunity to continue to contribute to the expansion of their FPSO fleet.

 

 

 

 

Bill Lehane 20 August 2014 13:12 GMT 

 

Bumi Armada has signed a contract to provide a floating production, storage and offloading vessel for Italian major Eni's East Hub project at the oil-rich Block 15/06 off Angola. 

 

The signing formalises an award that saw a letter of intent signed in April and which Upstream had predicted in January. 

Bumi is providing the floater under a 12-year charter, operations and maintenance contract worth an aggregate value of around $3 billion, or $3.9 billion if all eight years' worth of options are exercised.

Due on stream in the fourth quarter of 2016, the floater will be equipped to store 1.8 million barrels of oil, with the capacity to handle 80,000 barrels per day of oil production.

It is the first time Bumi Armada will convert a Very Large Crude Carrier into an FPSO. 

Confession of old timer in the market!

We know he is very active in the market; but he seldom talks about it. 

Surprisingly, today he confessed!

After more than 20 over years in the market trading and investing; he didn't achieve much. He said he probably just breakeven!

For trading, he has tried many different methods including margin trading and using high leverages to make from small price movements.  

He also tried to do value investing and invest long-term like Warren Buffet.

The only thing in the market he didn't try is forex trading.

Now, he bets on China market.

BTW, he started young too in his 20s!




The Moral of the Story

Time and effort spent in the market is irrelevant!


There is something out there in the market that many of us still can't get hold of it!

 

 





















 

50 Unfortunate Truths About Investing

Read? 50 Unfortunate Truths About Investing


By Morgan Housel 

Sorry, but ... 

1. Saying "I'll be greedy when others are fearful" is much easier than actually doing it.

2. The gulf between a great company and a great investment can be extraordinary.

3. Markets go through at least one big pullback every year, and one massive one every decade. Get used to it. It's just what they do.

4. There is virtually no accountability in the financial pundit arena. People who have been wrong about everything for years still draw crowds.

5. As Erik Falkenstein says: "In expert tennis, 80% of the points are won, while in amateur tennis, 80% are lost. The same is true for wrestling, chess, and investing: Beginners should focus on avoiding mistakes, experts on making great moves."

6. There are tens of thousands of professional money managers. Statistically, a handful of them have been successful by pure chance. Which ones? I don't know, but I bet a few are famous.

7. On that note, some investors who we call "legendary" have barely, if at all, beaten an index fund over their careers. On Wall Street, big wealth isn't indicative of big returns. 

8. During recessions, elections, and Federal Reserve policy meetings, people become unshakably certain about things they know nothing about.

9. The more comfortable an investment feels, the more likely you are to be slaughtered.

10. Time-saving tip: Instead of trading penny stocks, just light your money on fire. Same for leveraged ETFs.

11. Not a single person in the world knows what the market will do in the short run. End of story.

12. The analyst who talks about his mistakes is the guy you want to listen to. Avoid the guy who doesn't -- his are much bigger.

13. You don't understand a big bank's balance sheet. The people running the place and their accountants don't, either.

14. There will be seven to 10 recessions over the next 50 years. Don't act surprised when they come.

15. Thirty years ago, there was one hour of market TV per day. Today there's upwards of 18 hours. What changed isn't the volume of news, but the volume of drivel. 

16. Warren Buffett's best returns were achieved when markets were much less competitive. It's doubtful anyone will ever match his 50-year record.

17. Most of what is taught about investing in school is theoretical nonsense. There are very few rich professors.

18. The more someone is on TV, the less likely his or her predictions are to come true. (U.C. Berkeley psychologist Phil Tetlock has data on this).

19. Related: Trust no one who is on CNBC more than twice a week.

20. The market doesn't care how much you paid for a stock. Or your house. Or what you think is a "fair" price.

21. The majority of market news is not only useless, but also harmful to your financial health.

22. Professional investors have better information and faster computers than you do. You will never beat them short-term trading. Don't even try. 

23. How much experience a money manager has doesn't tell you much. You can underperform the market for an entire career. And many have.

24. The decline of trading costs is one of the worst things to happen to investors, as it made frequent trading possible. High transaction costs used to cause people to think hard before they acted.

25. Professional investing is one of the hardest careers to succeed at, but it has low barriers to entry and requires no credentials. That creates legions of "experts" who have no idea what they are doing. People forget this because it doesn't apply to many other fields.

26. Most IPOs will burn you. People with more information than you have want to sell. Think about that.

27. When someone mentions charts, moving averages, head-and-shoulders patterns, or resistance levels, walk away.

28. The phrase "double-dip recession" was mentioned 10.8 million times in 2010 and 2011, according to Google. It never came. There were virtually no mentions of "financial collapse" in 2006 and 2007. It did come.

29. The real interest rate on 20-year Treasuries is negative, and investors are plowing money into them. Fear can be a much stronger force than arithmetic.

30. The book Where Are the Customers' Yachts? was written in 1940, and most still haven't figured out that financial advisors don't have their best interest at heart.

31. The low-cost index fund is one of the most useful financial inventions in history. Boring but beautiful. 

32. The best investors in the world have more of an edge in psychology than in finance.

33. What markets do day to day is overwhelmingly driven by random chance. Ascribing explanations to short-term moves is like trying to explain lottery numbers.

34. For most, finding ways to save more money is more important than finding great investments.

35. If you have credit card debt and are thinking about investing in anything, stop. You will never beat 30% annual interest. 

36. A large portion of share buybacks are just offsetting shares issued to management as compensation. Managers still tout the buybacks as "returning money to shareholders."

37. The odds that at least one well-known company is insolvent and hiding behind fraudulent accounting are high.

38. Twenty years from now the S&P 500 (INDEX: ^GSPC  ) will look nothing like it does today. Companies die and new ones emerge.

39. Twelve years ago General Motors (NYSE: GM  ) was on top of the world and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL  ) was laughed at. A similar shift will occur over the next decade, but no one knows to what companies.

40. Most would be better off if they stopped obsessing about Congress, the Federal Reserve, and the president and focused on their own financial mismanagement. 

41. For many, a house is a large liability masquerading as a safe asset.

42. The president has much less influence over the economy than people think.

43. However much money you think you'll need for retirement, double it. Now you're closer to reality.

44. The next recession is never like the last one. 

45. Remember what Buffett says about progress: "First come the innovators, then come the imitators, then come the idiots."

46. And what Mark Twain says about truth: "A lie can travel halfway around the world while truth is putting on its shoes."

47. And what Marty Whitman says about information: "Rarely do more than three or four variables really count. Everything else is noise."

48. The bigger a merger is, the higher the odds it will be a flop. CEOs love empire-building by overpaying for companies.

49. Investments that offer little upside and big downside outnumber those with the opposite characteristics at least 10-to-1.

50. The most boring companies -- toothpaste, food, bolts -- can make some of the best long-term investments. The most innovative, some of the worst.

Benchmark Your Monthly Gross Pay in Singapore???

Uncle8888 loves benchmarking exercise!


Read? Relating to Singapore's income

Check here: Benchmark Your Monthly Pay By Age & Gender 2014


Definition for gross monthly income:

For employees, it refers to the gross monthly wages or salaries before deduction of employee CPF contributions and personal income tax. It comprises basic wages, overtime pay, commissions, tips, other allowances and one-twelfth of annual bonuses. For self-employed persons, gross monthly income refers to the average monthly profits from their business, trade or profession (i.e. total receipts less business expenses incurred) before deduction of income tax.

Your benchmark for your monthly gross salary.

Retirement Income For Life - How come PM Lee didn't mention investment income from stocks at NDR???

Investment income from stocks are deemed risky for average folks?

Singapore Garden Festival 2014

Uncle8888 went to smell flowers again!

Is our long run investing journey looking like this?

Did you see what I see?

Lian Beng, Heeton, KSH to co-develop Brisbane asset

LIAN Beng Group, together with Heeton Holdings and KSH Holdings will, through their respective subsidiaries, co-develop a A$150 million (S$173.87 million) mixed-use site in Brisbane, Australia.

The three companies on Monday identified two components to the joint venture:

The first involves a residential development joint venture with Australian counterpart Marvel Investments Pty Ltd, which will hold an effective interest of 67 per cent; the rest is held by Heeton, Lian Beng, and KSH consortium with effective interests of 18.15 per cent, 9.90 per cent, and 4.95 per cent respectively.

The second is a hotel development joint venture with Heeton and Lian Beng holding effective interest of 70 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.

Extending Lease Buyback Scheme to 4-room flats.

With the extending Lease Buyback Scheme to 4-room flats ...

Uncle8888 will have his fund of last resort firmly secured without having to leave his old nest. It can be very sad to leave an old nest to settle somewhere else in order to survive.


Read? Retirement Income For Life Planning Model

A fully paid home as fund of last resort.

Keppel Corp was mentioned by PM Lee in his National Day Rally!

SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was so impressed by how some employees at Keppel have progressed in their careers despite not having much academic qualifications that he turned interviewer to find out their stories, he said at his National Day Rally speech on Sunday.

He said that when he visited Keppel Offshore and Marine in Tuas, he was deeply impressed by what management and staff had achieved, and their can-do spirit and confidence. He then went back again with a video crew to interview them himself.

Ms Dorothy Han told him that she graduated from the Institute of Technical Education and joined Keppel FELS as a draughtsman 25 years ago. She left then came back, and rose to lead the pipe design section of the engineering department, supervising 62 people.