S&P 500 closes at a record, Dow jumps 450 points as stocks rally in the final minutes of trading

 U.S. stocks climbed on Friday, finishing the volatile week on a high note as stocks benefiting from a successful economic reopening outperformed again.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 453.40 points higher, or 1.4%, to 33,072.88. The blue-chip benchmark was up only 65 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 rose 1.7% to 3,974.54, hitting a record closing high and bringing its 2021 gains to 5.8%. The Nasdaq Composite erased a 0.8% loss and ended the session 1.2% higher to 13,138.72.

All three major benchmarks rallied to their session highs into the close with the Dow jumping tacking on more than 150 points in the final 8 minutes of trading. It was broad-based late buying. Beaten-up tech like Apple rallied into the green in the final minutes. Banks, energy and materials were all big winners in the final minutes and on the day.

Singtel

 

Venture

 

Oceanus : Bought @ $0.038 for Round 2

Read? Oceanus : Bought @ $0.02 for Round 1

No play. No fun???

STI vs DOW (Previous Night)

 KNS!

STI follows safe distancing from DOW!

Here’s How Much DBS Group Would be Worth Today If You Had Invested S$10,000 in it One Year Ago

Read? Here’s How Much DBS Group Would be Worth Today If You Had Invested S$10,000 in it One Year Ago

What about if you had invested many years ago?

Real people. Real Return!

The Truth About Multi-bagger : Real And Illusion (2)

Read? The Truth About Multi-bagger : Real And Illusion Share

Read? Oceanus : Bought @ $0.02 for Round 1

Read? Thirty Years Reflections on the Ten Attributes of Great Investors

Oceanus is the latest illusionary multi-bagger added; BUT it is just for fun play and doesn't help to add any wealth. It is bo lampar punting (i.e. fun play) after badly burnt previously for catching falling knives in 2008! But, itchy hand is always there. Just controlling the itch so that it doesn't get hurt badly! LOL! 

In long-term investing; it is always about position sizing and also our gut too i.e. size of our lampar!

Encountering At Least One Major Economic or Market Crisis Is Good For Our Future Prospective!!! (Good to refresh!)

 Read it in forum page!

Emotional

How should I put it? It has been probably the darkest few months in my work life. And it is not over yet...

I am unsure if I should share this but I decided to post it anyway. If it doesn’t benefit anyone else, it helps me air my pain.

I have been attending many farewells lately. Too many that it starts affecting my emotions. I am unsure c19 is the only contributor but it is one of the factors.

It is not easy seeing departments closed and colleagues asked to leave. It is not new but never at this magnitude.

And yet, it is all about timing. Colleagues near retirement welcomes the nice send off while colleagues around my age felt very lost and uncertain.

While I do what I can to help by spreading words and provide referral, I struggle inside myself. Thinking hard what I should do between now and till I can stop working for a living.

I am not sure about you, it is rather tough for me. Especially as a sole breadwinner. Though I will not have cashflow problem if I stop work for a while, I have not reached the level I can stop work for good.

One side of my brain filled with reluctance for change, the other side preparing for the worst that may come. Far from efficient, I know. Emotion itself is not efficent.

Having worked over 20 years and landed at my currect situation is no fun at all.

But life will go on. And I will continue to focus on my simple financial goals - ensure me wifey will not need to work for money and me kid will not need to worry about money till ready to work.

By the time I write to this point, I feel better already. Appreciate you spending time reading this junk. Cheers.

Read? Encountering At Least One Major Economic or Market Crisis Is Good For Our Future Prospective!!!

Read? Home for Living and not for profit taking - Part 2

It is quite unreasonable for investors to expect both High Growth AND High Dividends???

Read?  How to Lose All Your Capital through P2P or Venture Capital(CoAssets, Gobear), 1M65 SG stocks, etc

He makes a serious point about dividends - I've written about it before, but a factor I missed was about how profits reinvested are usually ultimately used in development of the business.

SEE ALSO: How I got an 9% dividend every year - and why I gave it up 

In fact, that's kind of the purpose of why a company would sell its shares in the first place. 

Aside from the reasons why a high dividend can be unsustainable as written above, it stands to reason that a company has to keep developing at the rate of its profit payout - or it starts to go into major decline. 

In other words, a stock that pays out high dividends often compromises growth to a certain degree. 

It is quite unreasonable for investors to expect both High Growth AND High Dividends. 

That's likely why not a lot of stocks - including REITs, have succeeded in paying out high dividends over a 5 - 10 year period without having some kind of growth kick in the face. 

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

Uncle8888's comment to the above

High dividend yield is very personal to the holders of that stocks depending on their Entry price and future company earning growth and dividend payout ratio across economics and company life cycles

Read? High Dividend Yield Stocks? - Part 8

Read? Early, Late or FOMO Comers Into The Party Made World of Big Differences???

Read? Yield of dreams: Investors have "a once in a lifetime opportunity" in blue chips (15)

Venture

Read? Venture Corp : Bought $19.18 for Round 2

Last sold @ $19.20 

This time, hope to do better!

Hoseh! Long white candle on high vol!

Stock market news live updates: Futures dip after Dow, S&P 500 set records

Stock futures dipped on Monday, following a session in which the broader market notched new record highs, as traders looked ahead to retail sales data on Tuesday and a Federal Reserve policy meeting later this week.

During Monday's regular session, Wall Street rallied in choppy, directionless trading, as investors struggled to balance economic optimism against steadily rising Treasury yields.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by over 100 points and the S&P 500 Index also inched to a new high, bolstered by the signing of a new $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that's poised to spur consumer spending and ignite economic growth. Most Americans are poised to receive $1,400 stimulus checks, which began arriving over the weekend, and Wall Street economists have already begun hiking their gross domestic product (GDP) estimates for the remainder of the year, amid expectations that the stimulus will unleash a consumer rebound.

Still, Washington's aggressive spending spree, and super-accomodative monetary policy, has focused growing attention on runaway deficit spending — which is at least part of the reason why government borrowing costs have begun to spike, even as the Federal Reserve remains committed to fostering growth through lower yields and higher inflation. 

The central bank will render its verdict on monetary policy on Wednesday, which is widely expected to confirm a bias for more easy policy.

Last week, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield spiked to a pre-pandemic high around 1.6%, up about 50 basis points in a month. Another warning sign has emerged via Bitcoin (BTC-USD), where prices over the weekend topped $60,000, a new record high before paring those gains on Monday.

With large amounts of fiscal and monetary stimulus backstopping activity, economists at BlackRock are anticipating "a much stronger post-Covid economic restart than what we would expect in a normal recovery. The rapid upward adjustment in U.S. Treasury yields and more muted movement in inflation-adjusted yields make sense in this respect, and are still consistent with our New nominal theme" of higher prices and government liquidity, the firm noted.

Time in the Market > Timing the Market??? (4)

Read? Time in the Market > Timing the Market??? (3)

Jan 2000 to Mar 2021 ( 22 yrs) : Timing the Market and Time in the Market

Feb 2020 to Mar 2021 (14 mths) : Timing the Market i.e. waiting for Bear market since 2009

Let see the outcome in the next Bear market by timing the Market!

Oceanus : Three White Soldiers Marching Up On Monday???

SGX

 

Dow rallies 460 points to close at a record as bond yields fall, House passes new stimulus

 The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 400 points to a record after falling bond yields and a new stimulus package spurred investors to snap up stocks that will benefit from a faster recovery from the pandemic.

The blue-chip Dow jumped 464.28 points, or 1.5%, to close at a record high of 32,297.02. The S&P 500 added 0.6% to 3,898.81, led by energy and financials. The Nasdaq Composite closed less than 0.1% lower at 13,068.83 after gaining as much as 1.6% earlier in the day. The tech-heavy benchmark enjoyed a 3.7% rally in the previous session for its best day since November.

House Democrats passed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill Wednesday, sending it to President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign Friday. Biden said checks of up to $1,400 should start going out this month.

Oceanus : Bought @ $0.02 for Round 1

 Read? Oceanus

Joining 4D Punting Game in SGX for fun play!

Oceanus is the latest new stock pick!

1) Total number of different stocks bought and sold; or still holding since Jan 2000 = 59

2) Total number of different stocks bought and sold; or still holding since COVID-19 = 13

Read? Message from Peter

Dear Shareholders,

Good afternoon. On behalf of all of us here at Oceanus, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you for your continued support. It is your unwavering belief and commitment to our enterprise that enables us to achieve our goals as set forth in the “Clean Up” and “Build Up” phases. 

Equity markets worldwide continue to speculate on tomorrow while we focus on the present. We can assure our shareholders that we are continually building strong foundations to ensure growth and business continuity.

Just for your info, the team is busy as usual – working hard on the growth and teching up the business as planned. 

We remain wholly focused on our goals –  to build a robust business model and deliver value to all our stakeholders.

Staying close to our motto, we believe in building a sustainable business for the security of tomorrow.

Best Regards

Peter Koh

Group CEO

Oceanus

 

Real and Illusion Of Wealth In The Stock Market. It is selling that counts! (3)

Read? Real and Illusion Of Wealth In The Stock Market. It is selling that counts! (2)

Read? Lion HST vs CSOP HS Tech (3)

It is selling that counts!!!

It is always about Entries and Exits otherwise; it will be Panadols!

Excellent Entries on potential Touchstones can then be retained for farther observation to be Freehold generating passive income for the next decades!

Lion turning Kitty liao! No Panadols! LOL!

Dow rises 300 points to touch a record, Nasdaq sheds 2% as rotation out of tech continues

 The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed on Monday as investors piled into economic comeback plays after Senate approval of a new Covid stimulus package, while a continuous sell-off in high-flying tech shares put pressure on the broader market.

The blue-chip benchmark gained 306.14 points, or 1%, to 31,802.44 led by Disney. At its session high, the 30-stock average jumped 650 points to hit an intraday record high. The S&P 500 erased a 1% gain to close 0.5% lower at 3,821.35. The Nasdaq Composite slid 2.4% in volatile trading to 12,609.16 as Apple dropped 4.2% and Tesla fell 5.8%. Alphabet and Netflix both slipped more than 4%.

The tech-heavy benchmark closed more than 10% below its Feb.12 closing high, falling into correction territory.

Hmm ... Koala/Panda now got chance to smile back at Lion No King in the Zoo???

Early, Late or FOMO Comers Into The Party Made World of Big Differences???

 

O&G stocks like Keppel Corp have been hated and avoided by most retail investors even its Rig biz will be exited in 3 yrs! Right?

But ..

Early, Late  or FOMO comers into the Party will make world of big Differences!

That is why long-term investing is always personal investing! One man's freehold dividend is another man's Panadol!

Read? The sun rose for Keppel - in a sunset industry!

Read? Just a few multi-baggers may be enough for your kid's university fund - Updated

You See That Room Over There Full of Millionaires!

Anything new in the market across market cycles and technology miracles, innovation and the Next Big Things? 

The only things that are new are the new players into the market. New can be also those late buyers or retirees who have FOMO!

In Dec 1999, during Dotcom Bubble; Uncle8888 attended Cisco IP equipment training course at Cisco's office in Shenton Way; the Trainer proudly pointed to that room and said "You see that room over there full of millionaires"  Those were days when they opted for share options as bonus instead of  collecting cash and could also participate in monthly Employee Share Purchase scheme at discount as part of their saving plan!

Uncle8888 then was so envy! Millionaire employees! Cisco ruled Planet Earth!

SGX

 

RSS Monthly Payouts Anytime From Age 65

Received letter from CPF on RSS monthly payouts anytime from age 65 as follows:

65 - $1,188  (Huat number 88. LOL!)

67 - $1,391 (17% more than in 65 for two years delay)

70 - $1,800 (Automatically monthly payouts. 52%more than in 65 for five years delay )

100% liquid net worth from Sep 2021 onwards!

No more CPF money being locked up by MIW i.e. you can see but cannot spend! LOL!

SGX : Bought Back @ $9.80 for Round 9

Read? SGX

Read? SGX : Sold @ 9.88

Last sold @ $9.88

Dow Dives, Tech Stocks Sell Off On Powell Speech As Yields Spike; Tesla Crumbles 7%

 The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 450 points Thursday in the wake of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's speech, as the 10-year Treasury yield spiked back above 1.5%. Tesla stock dived 7%, while DraftKings briefly jumped on a deal with the UFC before reversing lower.

Among the Dow Jones leaders, Apple (AAPL) fell over 1% Thursday, while Microsoft (MSFT) moved down 0.3% in today's stock market. Visa (V) is in buy range above a new buy point.

Tesla (TSLA) looked to extend Wednesday's 4.8% drop, diving 7% Thursday. IBD Leaderboard stock DraftKings (DKNG) jumped as much as 3.5% before reversing sharply lower after announcing a deal with the UFC.

STI tumble Today???

The truth about Warren Buffett’s investment track record : Morning Brief

Read? The truth about Warren Buffett’s investment track record : Morning Brief

Great stock pickers pick a lot of losers

And just because Buffett may be one of the greatest stock pickers in history doesn't mean all of his stock picks have been winners over time.

Just a quick glance at Berkshire's current top 15 stock investments reveals plenty of positions that are held below cost (i.e. they've lost money).

It's not hard to find times Buffett lost money on a trade or missed out on a big opportunity. Just a year ago, Berkshire dumped airline stocks near their lows just before they roared back along with the other reopening trades.

But a successful investor shouldn’t be judged by his or her mistakes. Rather, they should be judged by the degree to which they are able to achieve their long-term goals.

This goes for all investors who will repeatedly buy too late, sell too early, and miss out on big opportunities that become obvious in hindsight.

So if you're making a lot of mistakes but have a sound strategy and the discipline to stick to it during periods of underperformance, then maybe you too can be as imperfectly successful as Warren Buffett.

2021 - Another tough year for Koala/Panda Retirees depending on dividend income in SGX!

Sigh! With FY 20 dividend income all declared in Uncle8888 investment portfolio for 2021 and expecting interim dividends in 2021 may NOT vary much!

He will need to get more trading income or deploy more War Chest or doing both to avoid 2021 hitting a new Low! Less passive and more active! Tough 10 months ahead!

Dow drops more than 460 points to end losing week on rate fears

 The Dow Jones Industrial Average swung wildly Friday to close near its session low as Wall Street struggled to shake off fears of rapidly rising rates.

The blue-chip benchmark ended the volatile session 469.64 points, or 1.5%, to 30,932.37 after trading in the green earlier. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% to 3,811.15 as energy and financial stocks pulled back. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day 0.6% higher at 13,192.34 as Big Tech names rebounded after a large sell-off in the previous session amid surging bond yields. Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon each rose more than 1%. The tech-heavy benchmark gyrated in Friday’s session where it jumped 1.9% at its high and fell as much as 0.7%.

All three major averages posted weekly losses as fears of higher interest rates and inflation deepened. The S&P 500 slid 2.5% this week for its second negative week in a row. The 30-stock Dow fell 1.8%, and the Nasdaq was the relative underperformer this week, losing 4.9%.

Hmm ... Clock has struck 12? Party ending?

Venture Corp : Bought $19.18 for Round 2

Read? Venture Corp : Sold @ $19.20

Semb Corp: Sold $1.78 ROC 6.2%

Read? SembCorp Industries (SCI): Bought @ $1.63 for Round 56

Round 55: ROC 6.2%, 28 days, B $1.67 S $1.78

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

Round 52: ROC 5.0%, 65 days, B $3.99 S $4.25 (Bought back higher for short-term trading) 

Round 51: ROC 9.6%, 34 days, B $3.47 S $3.83 (Bought back higher for short-term trading)

Round 50: ROC 3.1%, 6 days, B $3.22 S $3.34 

Round 49: ROC 7.9%, 91 day, B $3.14 S $3.41

SembCorp Industries (SCI): Bought @ $1.63 for Round 56

Read? SembCorp Industries (SCI): Bought @ $1.67 for Round 55

No more oily and smelly stock.

Can play for one more Round?

Yield of dreams: Investors have "a once in a lifetime opportunity" in blue chips (15)

Read?  Yield of dreams: Investors have "a once in a lifetime opportunity" in blue chips (14)

Sembcorp Ind final dividend for FY 20 declared is $0.04 and no interim for FY 20 and assuming $0.01 for H1 FY 21 i.e. total dividends for 2021 is $0.05

Hopefully without the smelly and oily SML, the worst is over for SCI and the beginning of new Rainbow from 2021 for income investing as retiree.

Freehold positions of Three Little Pigs for cashflow as retiree

Boring investment strategy for investing for income!

2007 Bull Market Made Me A Wizard!!!

 Read? So, which am I?A monk, shaman or wizard?

I am Wizard in 2007 Bull!

I easily made money from the Market with T+5 Contra. No money down!!! Bom pi pi!

How to know whether we made it to the class of Wizard?

Read? Hey! Are you good at stocks? (2) Good to Refresh

One Uniqlo share for 100,000 yen sparks concern over Nikkei dominance

Read? One Uniqlo share for 100,000 yen sparks concern over Nikkei dominance

FOMO everywhere!

Holding Cash is dumb!

Hoot! Never too late to hoot!

Luckily, in Singapore we have voluntary CPF Top Up!

Earning 2.5% and 4% compound interests is smart money! Right? LOL!

Welcome to new world where Cash is NOT King but DUMB!

SGX

 

Lion HST vs CSOP HS Tech (3)

Read? Lion HST vs CSOP HS Tech (2)

HST : Bought @ $1.338 for Round 2

HK Tech Indexing beats SGX DIY stock pick! Walau!

Where Does The Money In The Stock Market Come From? (8)

Read? Where Does The Money In The Stock Market Come From? (7)

Revised picture in Uncle8888 coffee talk slides!

A picture that may worth your closest look at this?

Get it? No?

Where Does The Money In The Stock Market Come From? (7)

Read? Where Does The Money In The Stock Market Come From? (6)

Read? Asset Bubbles Through History: The 5 Biggest

4. The Dotcom Bubble

When it comes to sheer scale and size, few bubbles match the dotcom bubble of the 1990s. At that time, the increasing popularity of the Internet triggered a massive wave of speculation in "new economy" businesses. As a result, hundreds of dotcom companies achieved multi-billion dollar valuations as soon as they went public.

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

LOL! Uncle8888 came to the market dreaming of becoming Financial Independence to get out of Rat Race after reading that book : Rich Dad. Poor Dad at the Peak of Dotcom Bubble and kena burnt by following one local well-known Millionaire-business owner into his Dotcom company! 

Followed the Wizard can't be wrong!!!

Hmm .. may be you are too young for Dotcom Bubble!

How about recent Bubble-like? You know! Right?

Those who have realized their millions by selling Dream to those who are dreaming of becoming the next Millionare!

This is how real millionaires making real millions from those who are sitting on illusionary millions in the market until it is burst and gone!

Lion HST vs CSOP HS Tech (2)

Read? Lion HST vs CSOP HS Tech

HST hit a new high on CNY Eve giving  investors a Huat feeling! LOL!

Yield of dreams: Investors have "a once in a lifetime opportunity" in blue chips (14)

 Read? Yield of dreams: Investors have "a once in a lifetime opportunity" in blue chips (13)

Broken dream of yield! Sibei sianz!

DBS final dividend for FY 20 declared is $0.18 and assuming same dividends for 2021 remaining at $0.18 *4

Another year of pain for retirees depending on dividend income in 2021. 

Median household income in 2020 is $9,189

Read? Median household income in 2019 is $9,293

Read? Household incomes fall in 2020 due to COVID-19 impact, but rose in past 5 years

SINGAPORE: Median household incomes fell last year as Singapore's economy shrank, but had increased over the last five years, according to a paper released by the Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) on Monday (Feb 8).

The median monthly household income from work fell by 2.5 per cent from S$9,425 in 2019 to S$9,189 in 2020, reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. After adjusting for inflation, it was a 2.4 per cent drop.

However, from 2015, when the median monthly household income was S$8,666, there was a cumulative increase of 5.2 per cent or 1 per cent per annum in real terms, said DOS.

To account for different household sizes, DOS also provided figures for the median monthly household income from work per household member.

This fell from S$2,925 in 2019 to S$2,886 in 2020, a decline of 1.3 per cent, or 1.2 per cent after adjusting for inflation - the first decline since 2008/2009, a result of the Global Financial Crisis. But from 2015 to 2020, the number grew by 14.6 per cent, or 2.8 per cent per annum in real terms.

This trend held true for households across income groups, it said. 

DOS said that households in the 1st to 60th percentile saw a S$37 to S$49 drop in their average household income per member, whereas households in the 61st to 100th percentile had their income fall between S$96 and S$337.

After adjusting for inflation, households in the top 90 per cent income groups recorded real income declines of 1.4 to 3.2 per cent, while incomes for households in the bottom 10 per cent declined 6.1 per cent.

However, their incomes all grew in the five years from 2015 to 2020, with increases ranging from 0.6 to 2.9 per cent a year.

INCOME GAP REDUCED AFTER GOVERNMENT TRANSFERS

The income divide as measured by the Gini coefficient was the lowest in two decades, as government transfers closed the gap.

The Gini coefficient is equal to zero in the case of total income equality, and is one in the case of total inequality.

Singapore's Gini coefficient was 0.452 in 2020, unchanged from 2019 but fell to 0.375 after government transfers and taxes. The Gini coefficient was 0.398 in 2019 after transfers, a record low then.

"This can be attributed to the significant amount of government support provided during the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, especially for households staying in the smaller HDB flats," said DOS in a media release. 

Resident households received S$6,308 per household member on average from various Government schemes in 2020, which was higher than the S$4,684 received the year before 

Those in HDB 1- & 2-room flats received S$13,670 per household member on average, close to double the transfers received by resident households in HDB 3-room flats.

The report noted that its analyses focused on resident households with at least one working person, which constituted 86.7 per cent of all resident households in 2020.

The full Key Household Income Trends 2020 report is available online at www.singstat.gov.sg.

Source: CNA/hm(ta)

Winning The Loser's Game (2)

Read? Winning The Loser's Game

We should be playing our own Game by tracking, measuring, and adjusting or revising our 3Ms - Method, Mind and Money Management to win this Loser's Game as Losing is part of this Game of Capital!

Sailing on the new Boat and see how it goes!

Uncle8888 is now sailing on two Boats i.e Boat 2000 and Boat 2020 (20 Years Younger!) or Father and Son Boat! LOL!

New 2020 Sailing Boat (13 months old)

Real and Illusion Of Wealth In The Stock Market. It is selling that counts! (2)

 Read? Real and Illusion Of Wealth In The Stock Market. It is selling that counts!

Long ago, Sir Isaac Newton gave us three laws of motion, which were the work of genius. But Sir Isaac's talents didn't extend to investing: He lost a bundle in the South Sea Bubble, explaining later, 'I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men.' If he had not been traumatized by this loss, Sir Isaac might well have gone on to discover the Fourth Law of Motion: For investors as a whole, returns decrease as motion increases.  ~Warren Buffett

Read? GameStop falls 42% more despite easing of broker restrictions, down more than 80% this week

Of course; there are real winners taking money off the hard earned savings from pitiful losers who will be sitting on unrealized paper losses for how long! Sigh!

There is always buyers and sellers in the market! Always keep this in our Mind! We won but someone lost it. We lost but someone won it!

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

SGX

 

Unexpected Token Of Appreciation From Follower (Ex-colleague)!

CW8888, Uncle8888, or Master8888 LOL!

He has spare $300K as capital to invest as NEWBIE, continue to save under low interest rate or reduce his outstanding housing loan. 

At last CNY makan session (End Jan 2020, STI was falling down like London Bridge) gathering with few other ex-colleagues; he was discussing and exploring options. He already has two investment properties in overseas but he has never in stock market. 

He didn't want more investment into properties so he is considering stock investment.  But as newbie he has no confidence in investing so he wanted to seek guidance from lao jiao who has made it! 

Same same as Uncle8888. Actually; our colleagues or ex-colleagues who are serious lao jiao investors among us are the most practical role model for NEWBIES to seek guidance or investing experience of DO and DO NOT ! 3Ms - Method, Mind and Money Management!

Read? Who influence you into investing?

S$3 billion in CPF top-ups made last year, 40% more than 2019

CW8888 : More money into CPF so less money into stock market. LOL!

Read?  CPF members added $1.6b to retirement funds from January to October, up from a year ago

SINGAPORE: A total of S$3 billion in Central Provident Fund (CPF) top-ups were made by 140,000 people under the retirement sum topping-up scheme last year.

This was 40 per cent more than the amount of top-ups made in 2019, the CPF Board said on Wednesday (Feb 3).

The CPF Board said it saw a substantial increase in top-ups of S$1.2 billion in the last quarter of 2020 alone.

This shows that people are "saving and planning for their own and loved ones’ retirement more than ever, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic", it added. 

Of those who made top-ups last year, more than one-third were topping up for the first time, an increase of more than 50 per cent compared to 2019. The highest increase was among members below age 35, which was an 86 per cent increase from 2019.

Besides saving more for their own retirement, more members were topping up for their parents in 2020, with a 27 per cent increase compared to 2019, said the Board.

Group Director from the Retirement Income Group, Tan Chui Leng said more members, especially young adults, are realising that topping up their CPF is a “key part of their retirement plan”.

“By topping up in January each year rather than December, members could earn 20 per cent more interest on their CPF savings in just 10 years. As a parent myself, I am glad to see that children too are helping their parents boost their retirement savings by topping up for them,” she said.

The top-ups made up under the retirement sum topping-up scheme comprise both cash top-ups and transfer of CPF savings, and can be made to CPF members themselves or to their loved ones, said the Board.

Top-ups need not be in a lump sum and can be made in small amounts via GIRO throughout the year. Top-ups can also be done electronically via the CPF website or mobile app.

CPF said members can enjoy tax relief equivalent to the amount of cash top-ups made to their own CPF account, up to S$7,000 per calendar year.

If they are also making top-ups for their family members, they can enjoy additional tax relief of up to S$7,000 per calendar year, subject to terms and conditions.

Source: CNA/zl(ac)

Playing The Game of Leverage (11) - Counterparty Risk in Trading CFDs

Read? Playing The Game of Leverage (10) - Counterparty Risk in Trading CFDs

CW8888 : Nothing is new in the market! It is just new players coming into the same old Game of Capital! Capital NOT enough! How?

Higher volatility, liquidity draw younger investors into CFDs

Some CFD platform operators report explosive growth in trading volumes; pandemic may also have lifted investors' liquidity by cutting consumption

Read? Higher volatility, liquidity draw younger investors into CFDs

TRADING in contracts for difference (CFDs) is on the rise in Singapore, with increased interest from a new crop of younger investors. Higher market volatility, greater liquidity and wider availability of information are also drivers of the trend, said market players.

CFDs allow investors to speculate on future market movements of an underlying asset without having to own the asset. CFDs are available for a wide range of financial instruments including shares, currencies, indices and commodities.

Adam Reynolds, Asia-Pacific chief executive of Saxo Markets, said the brokerage has seen "very strong growth" over the past two years.

Last year in particular was "explosive", he said. Total CFD volumes for Saxo in Singapore were 3.4 times higher compared with 2019, and the number of clients trading them more than doubled.

Tell us what you think. Email us at btuserfeedback@sph.com.sg

Similarly, Tony Lim, chief executive of IG Asia, said there was an "above-trend increase" of CFD trading on the group's platform.

The increased trading could be driven, at least partially, by higher market volatility. The CBOE Volatility Index closed at a high of 82.69 in March last year, surpassing its previous peak of 80.86 in November 2008. The Vix, as it is also known, typically reflects market expectations of volatility over the next 30 days.

"Many investors use CFDs as a way of hedging their existing portfolios through periods of short-term volatility," said a spokesperson for CMC Markets. "With the recent market volatility in the past year, there were many opportunities to take advantage of that volatility."

Telecommuting arrangements arising from Covid-19 have also provided Singaporeans with more time to "seek other investment options as well as learn to trade", CMC said.

Saxo's Mr Reynolds suggested the pandemic may also have increased investors' liquidity: "(People are) not spending money on travel as much anymore. So they have a lot more disposable income . . . which they're tending to push to the stock market."

The ease of obtaining information to inform trading may be another factor, he added.

"The dissemination of information has become much stronger over the last few years in things like the Twitter universe or via the social media information universe."

Instead of relying on research reports from banks, more investors are now doing their own research and making their own calls.

And while bank reports might be more "bland", Mr Reynolds noted that platforms such as Twitter would feature "lots of people with very interesting opinions".

While he acknowledged that some of those opinions are "wacko", he added that "in aggregate, (they) can be very useful".

One online platform that has recently emerged as a mover of markets is Reddit, where young traders exchange tips and ideas on the WallStreetBets forum.

CFD traders have a wide demographic. CMC Markets said its traders are mostly "male and above the age of 40", but there has been growing interest among those under 35.

IG's Mr Lim, too, said the bulk of its CFD traders are "middle-aged professionals" with growing interest from younger investors.

Among local traders, foreign exchange (FX), shares and indices are some of the more popular CFD instruments.

IG's Mr Lim said FX is the "traditional favourite", given Singapore's status as a "regional FX trading hub". For stocks, banks and technology stocks tend to be most popular. And among the indices, the Nasdaq 100 Index, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average top the list.

Trading in CFDs is expected to grow here.

Said Mr Lim: "Given the increase in volatility we have seen across markets, sectors and asset classes - which is expected to sustain - the trend remains a positive one in the year ahead."

But Saxo's Mr Reynolds cautioned CFDs traders against taking on "so much leverage that you get squeezed out by attempts that move against you".

Investors trading CFDs pay only an initial margin - a percentage of the total cost of the underlying asset - to open a position. If the underlying asset moves against this open position, the investor will need to deposit additional funds to cover the losses.

"We've had such a rapid move and a consistent move up, there will be some pull-backs at some stage," Mr Reynolds said.

He noted: "You've got to be cautious about them and be prepared to hold through those sorts of environments."

Real and Illusion Of Wealth In The Stock Market. It is selling that counts!

Book : It's when you sell that counts

CW8888 : GameStop is great example real and illusion of wealth in the stock market. Uncle8888 truly learnt the truth from this book in Nov 2008! It's when you sell that counts if you happen to buy them at good entries! All are equally critical, entries and exits and holding; but to optimize the profits is NEVER that easy!

Read? Reddit user who helped inspire GameStop mania says he lost $13 million on Tuesday, but is still holding on

Keith Gill, AKA Reddit’s DeepF------Value, apparently lost more than $13 million on Tuesday alone from his GameStop bet as the shares dropped 60%.

Despite the losses, the investor is holding onto 50,000 shares of GameStop as well as 500 call options in the brick-and-mortar video game retailer.

At GameStop’s record high last week, Gill’s total return in the name ballooned more than 2,000% to as much as $33 million, according to his Reddit posts.

Read? MARKETS GameStop short sellers are still not surrendering despite nearly $20 billion in losses this month