My War Room (8) - Waiting for stronger Eastern Wind?

Read? My War Room (7) - The Lost Years!

The worst drop in STI history in the band of -60+%

Based on the past STI performance, if it is just a correction, it should rebound in the next few days and moves towards 3,000; otherwise we should be preparing for stronger and stronger Eastern wind.   I am preparing for 5-6 levels of Eastern Wind as follows:

Do you believe in Eastern Wind?

A look at the Dow's worst drops since 1899 - updated

Read? A look at the Dow's worst drops since 1899

Createwealth8888: If you think it is like 2008 again, then a few more big drops will be expected.

 

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 635 points, or 5.6 percent, to 10,810 on Monday.

 

•  Aug. 4, 2011: 513 points, or 4.3 percent
•  Aug 8, 2011: 635 points, or 5.6 percent

• Sept. 29, 2008: 778 points, or 7 percent
• Oct. 9, 2008: 679 points, or 7.3 percent
• Oct. 15, 2008: 733 points, or 7.9 percent
• Dec. 1, 2008: 680 points, or 7.7 percent

 

 

 

Do you think DOW has bottomed out?

A look at the Dow's worst drops since 1899

Bottoms Rarely Look Like Thursday's Rout

by Mark Hulbert

Friday, August 5, 2011

Market declines rarely end with days like Thursday's 513-point drop for the Dow.

So even if you think that we're just suffering a mere correction within an ongoing bull market, you still should be prepared for lower prices in coming sessions.

That at least is the conclusion that emerged from my analysis of past bear market bottoms. The days on which those bear markets actually registered their final lows typically were rather uneventful — nothing like what we saw on Thursday.

Consider March 9, 2009, the day of the closing low of the 2007-2009 bear market, arguably the worst one since the Great Depression. Even though there were many days during that bear market that witnessed panic selling, the day of the final low experienced a drop of just 79.89 points.

It was more than three months earlier than then that the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA (^DJI - News) experienced a panic-induced decline that was as bad as Thursday's. That day was Nov. 20, 2008, the day when — not coincidentally — the CBOE's Volatility Index (VIX - News) spiked to its all-time closing high near 81.

Many traders made the same mistake then that I fear that is being made today: Thinking that panic selling signals a low. They were three-and-a-half months early.

Or consider the Crash of 1987, which is the grandaddy of selling panics in U.S. stock market history. On that day, Oct. 19, the Dow dropped 22.6%. And even though the Dow bounced back impressively over the two trading sessions following that Crash — gaining 5.9% on Oct. 20 and another 10.1% on Oct. 21 — the stock market's post-Crash low wasn't registered until Dec. 4, more than six weeks later.

Chances are that the final low of the decline we're experiencing will not be recognized as such until well after the fact. It's most unlikely that, on that day itself, so many traders will be doing what they did on Thursday — falling over themselves announcing that the bottom has been seen.

An old Wall Street saying has it that they don't "ring a bell" at market bottoms. It would appear that this saying contains a lot of wisdom.

Mark Hulbert is the founder of Hulbert Financial Digest in Annandale, Va. He has been tracking the advice of more than 160 financial newsletters since 1980.

Investors flock to low-risk assets, with focus on cash

Weak global economic outlook triggers the move on a day that sees sharp drop in US stock markets


(New York)

LOOKING FOR SAFE HAVEN

A total of US$13.1 billion went back into money market funds on Tuesday and Wednesday as Wall Street declined and the debt ceiling increase was approved this week

IT was a frantic flight to safety. Investors roared into Treasury bonds, cash and other low-risk assets on Thursday, acting on their fears about the weak global economic outlook on a day when stock markets in the United States declined more than 4 per cent.

Just last week, the markets showed signs of nervousness about the government's creditworthiness during a standoff over Washington's debt limit. But on Thursday, yields on two-year Treasury notes touched 0.26 per cent, the lowest ever, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year bond dropped 21 basis points to 2.41. The low yields reflected a surging demand for Treasuries, which have long been considered almost as secure as cash.

The 10-year rates approached depths not seen since October 2010, shortly before the Federal Reserve began to pump hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy amid fears of a slowdown.

Rates on even shorter-term credit, including six-month Treasury bills and overnight loans in the vast market for repurchase agreements, swung towards zero on Thursday. Yields on one-month bills actually fell into negative territory before closing at zero. Gold, Swiss francs and cash, above all else, have become the investments of choice this week as the deepening economic and debt worries in the US and Europe, making stocks look like a minefield to be avoided.

'The move to cash is symptomatic of a broader concern about growth and the stock market,' said Mike Ryan, chief investment strategist at UBS Wealth Management Americas. 'It's all part of a generic derisking exercise.' Tom Forester, chief investment officer for the Forester Value Fund, based in Lake Forest, Illinois, summed up the situation more succinctly. 'Cash doesn't go down,' he said.

Mr Forester said he was shifting assets into a money-market fund that invests in Treasury notes. For other institutional investors, even money market funds seemed risky, and they instead sought the security of cash invested in commercial bank accounts.

The huge build-up in cash does not suggest that the world financial system is on the brink of another Lehman-like panic. But it underscores the broader economic challenges facing the US and Europe, particularly the fear and uncertainty that has taken hold among companies, financial institutions and individuals. Many companies are holding off on investing in new capacity and creating new jobs, instead stockpiling cash in case of another panic. And banks on both sides of the Atlantic are cautious about lending, restricting the money available to both businesses and consumers. Finally, individuals are clamping down on spending, too. Consumer spending in June dropped for the first time in nearly two years, according to government data announced this week.

Cash holdings surge

At the height of the uncertainty over whether the debt ceiling would be raised and a default in the offing, in late July, investors pulled out more than US$100 billion from money market funds and put much of it into banks, lifting fears that the funds could see a run that resembled the one after Lehman Brothers' collapse in 2008. Since the beginning of this year through July 20, holdings of cash in US commercial banks surged 85 per cent, or US$912.7 billion, to US$1.98 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve.

In a sign of just how much cash had poured into commercial bank accounts, Bank of New York Mellon said on Thursday that it would charge institutional clients with more than US$50 million on deposit a fee of 13 basis points.

The move is intended to recover some of the cost of managing the money, but is also a bid to slow the so-called hot money that has been ricocheting among Treasuries, money-market funds and pure cash balances at the big banks.

The Bank of New York Mellon said the fee would be applied only 'to a small number of institutional clients with extraordinarily high deposit levels where the deposits have increased significantly in recent weeks, well above market trends'. The bank did not disclose just how much cash had poured into its coffers recently.

Overall, banks took in nearly US$200 billion between mid-June and mid-July as institutional investors fled money market accounts and sought the safety of accounts protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, according to Joseph Abate, a money market strategist at Barclays Capital. While its rivals have not yet announced similar moves, the Bank of New York's charges are likely to force cash out of banks and back into money market funds and Treasuries, driving rates even lower where possible, Mr Abate said in a note to investors on Thursday.

'The movement into deposits during a financial crisis is expensive for US banks because they have to pay deposit insurance on these extra inflows,' Mr Abate wrote. 'These inflows mostly represent 'hot money'.' There are signs that money market funds are beginning to regain some of their appeal now that the debt ceiling has been raised and as stocks swoon.

Amid the decline on Wall Street and approval of the debt ceiling increase this week, US$13.1 billion went back into money market funds on Tuesday and Wednesday, said Peter Crane, the president of Crane Data, which tracks money market mutual fund flows. Data for Thursday was not in yet, but Mr Crane said he expected this trend to continue in the coming days.

'Bad news for everyone else is good news for money market funds,' he said.

That is certainly why they appeal to Mr Forester. He has been building up his cash position for weeks, he said, selling shares of past winners such as IBM and Honeywell. The weak growth in gross domestic product in the first half of 2011, a figure released by the government on July 29, only confirmed his doubts, he said. Now, Mr Forester's cash position in his US$210 million stock fund equals 22 per cent of assets, about double the average since he started the fund 11 years ago. 'You do this ahead of time, you don't do it when the world's falling apart,' he said. 'We've seen a lot of this coming.' -- NYT

Should I sell all my equities and stay sideline?

Just For Thinking ....

Someone asked me: "Should I sell all my equities and stay sideline?"

For every completed stock transactions, there are buyer/buyers and sellers/seller at that transacted price. Obviously, they have different views. Each of them will transact based on his/her own confidence, belief, potential risks and rewards.

 Read? He sold out all his equities so that he can sleep soundly at night

He thinks that The more panic there are in markets, the more we need to keep a cool head and look out for bargains

Read? Don’t Sell Into Selling Climax: Jim Rogers

Read? Faber: Brace for a Global 'Reboot' and a War
Me leh?

I didn't do panic selling in the past neither will I be doing it this time round. Over the years, I have trained my Mind hard (3M's Method,  Mind, and Money) and learn to live with market and price volatility. In investing, I have mentally, financially, and physically separated my investment needs from other needs. Read? Two Bank Accounts? No, You may need Four!

Actually, my net worth is largely tied to the Boom and Gloom of the local stock market (SGX), by right I should  be panic too; but let see how bad this time round.

Not again! Another 33% or more plunge????

S&P's Beers: It was our duty to downgrade the US

NEW YORK - The top official behind Standard & Poor's historic decision on Friday to downgrade the United States' prized triple-A credit rating said it was his company's duty to make such a hard and controversial call.

S&P cut the long-term US credit rating by one notch to AA-plus on concerns about the government's budget deficits and rising debt burden. The decision could eventually raise borrowing costs for the American government, companies and consumers.

'We take our responsibilities very seriously, and if at the end of our analysis the committee concludes that a rating isn't where we believe it should be, it's our duty to make that call,' David Beers told Reuters in an interview.

S&P has been under a lot of fire from the Obama administration for basing its decision and analysis too much on the acrimonious debt-ceiling debate that led to an eleventh-hour agreement on Tuesday to avert a US default.

Government sources have also accused the agency of making a US$2 trillion error in its calculations about US finances, and later removing that number from its estimates while sticking to its plan to cut the US credit rating.

Beers, who is the head of sovereign ratings at S&P, acknowledged that the agency's decision was highly influenced by a change in Washington's 'political dynamics' that hampered members of Congress from reaching a more comprehensive plan to cut the deficit.

'From the standpoint of fiscal policy, the process has weakened and became less predictable than it was,' he said.

'That's the story around the difficulty highlighted in the debt-ceiling debate, cobbling together some type of fiscal policy choices.'

Asked about news reports that there had been a back and forth between the agency and the government during the past 24 hours over the justification of the decision, S&P spokesman John Piecuch said the agency always gives a debt issuer the opportunity to review the announcement before it is made.

'They can go through it and look for numbers, look for calculations - that is what happened,' Mr Piecuch said.

In a statement released later, S&P confirmed it changed its economic assumptions after discussions with Treasury, but said it did not affect the decision to downgrade the country.

Using the Treasury's preferred assumptions on the pace of discretionary spending growth, S&P revised its estimate for the net general government debt over the next 10 years to US$20.1 trillion. This was down from the figure of US$22.1 trillion in the original assumption.

Both estimates were based on fiscal scenarios provided by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, S&P said.

'The primary focus (of the rating review) remained on the current level of debt, the trajectory of debt as a share of the economy, and the lack of apparent willingness of elected officials as a group to deal with the US medium-term fiscal outlook,' S&P said in the statement.

'None of these key factors was meaningfully affected by the assumption revisions to the assumed growth of discretionary outlays, and thus had no impact on the rating decision.'

Mr Beers said one contributing element to the decision was the downward revision of US GDP numbers a week ago. The data showed that the US economy almost stalled in the first half of the year.

'The recession was deeper than what everybody thought a year ago and we think that this raises the possibility that the recovery will continue to be weak.'

US lingered too long over debt ceiling

The United States could have avoided the downgrade of its credit rating if it had lifted its debt ceiling earlier, a top official with Standard and Poor's ratings agency said Friday.

'The first thing it could have done is raise the debt ceiling in a timely manner so the debate would have been avoided to begin with,' John Chambers, chairman of the S&P sovereign ratings committee, told CNN.

He said that in the past the US debt limit had been raised about 60 or 70 times 'without that much debate.'

But Mr Chambers said the blame for the predicament that the world's top economy now finds itself in had to be shared between all the parties involved.

'I think there's plenty of blame to go around. This is a problem a long time in the making whether this administration and prior administration,' he said.

'It's a matter of the medium and long-term budget position of the United States that needs to be brought under control.' -- REUTERS

For his girl friend's 21st birthday hand bouquet

F8 - $60

He said he is still studying so a bit on budget and $60 is okay for him.

I believe his girl friend will like it besides other birthday gifts and dinner.

US credit rating cut for first time ever

WASHINGTON: The United States' credit rating was cut for the first time ever Friday when Standard and Poor's lowered it from triple-A to AA+, citing the country's looming deficit burden and weak policy-making process.


S&P attached a "negative outlook" to the new rating, while government sources involved in the negotiations with the agency attacked its analysis as deeply flawed.

"The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government's medium-term debt dynamics," S&P said in a statement.

"More broadly, the downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges to a degree more than we envisioned when we assigned a negative outlook to the rating on April 18, 2011."

S&P said the negative outlook pointed to the possibility of lowering the rating to AA within two years if the government does not cut spending as much as currently pledged, or if higher interest rates and new fiscal pressures worsen the country's financial picture.



- AFP/cc

WHY the market crashed so hard?

Just For Laugh ...

Once you understand the forces of the bulls and bears at work in the market, you will know why market crashed so hard.

When market as usual

When market panic!

Too many reasons to sell and less reasons to buy so market will crash so hard!

This is how it begins .....

Market cycles has happened in the past and will happen in the future!

Keppel FELS clinches US$195m repeat order from Transocean unit

By KALPANA RASHIWALA


Keppel FELS Limited said on Friday, Aug 5, that it has bagged a repeat order from Transocean Offshore Deepwater Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of Transocean Ltd, for US$195 million.

Following its order of two jack-up rigs from Keppel FELS on Feb 17 this year, Transocean is exercising its option to build another high-specification jack-up rig based on the KFELS Super B Class Bigfoot design for delivery in Q3 2013, Keppel FELS said in a news release.

Tailored to suit Transocean's requirements, the KFELS Super B Class Bigfoot is designed with larger spud cans, expanding its operational coverage to more places, especially areas where soft soil is predominant. Having larger spud cans enables the unit to operate efficiently while minimising potential leg penetration problems in soft soil conditions.

Keppel FELS is a subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), a wholly-owned company of Keppel Corporation.

Losing back to 2011 Bear???

Sembcorp's Q2 net profit up 8.6%, boosted by utilities

By ANGELA TAN


Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) reported on Thursday that its net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011 rose 8.6 per cent from a year ago at S$175.10 million, boosted by its utilities business.

Turnover was up 1.4 per cent at S$2.17 billion.

For the half year, net profit rose 4.7 per cent to S$335.04 million. Turnover however fell 8.2 per cent to S$4.17 billion.

Return on equity (annualised) for the group was a healthy 17% and earnings per share amounted to 18.8 cents for the period. Economic value added was a positive S$255.9 million, while cash and cash equivalents stood at S$2.2 billion.

HYFLUX REPORTS S$21.9 MILLION NET PROFIT FOR FIRST HALF

- Record order book of S$2.1 billion


- Maintains interim dividend of 0.67 Singapore cents per ordinary share

- Strong balance sheet after successful issue of S$400 million perpetual preference

By ANGELA TAN


Water solutions company, Hyflux Ltd reported on Thursday that its net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011 fell 47 per cent from a year ago to S$14.53 million.

Revenue fell 21 per cent to S$111.08 million.

For the half year period, net profit fell 35 per cent to S$21.93 million due mainly to higher finance costs, higher tax rates and higherdepreciation and amortisation.

The higher finance costs were the result of increased borrowings to gear up for the development of Singapore's second desalination plant, while a more aggressive amortisation policy accounted for the increased amortisation expenses from S$6.8 million in the first half of FY2010 to S$9.9 million in the first half of FY2011.

Revenue was down 18 per cent at S$197.90 million. This was mainly attributable to the timing difference between the decrease in contributions from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) projects which are nearing completion and the start of construction works for the Tuaspring Desalination Plant in Singapore from the third quarter of 2011.

The group closed the quarter with a record order book of S$2.1 billion.

The board of directors has recommended an interim dividend of 0.67 Singapore cents per share. This is equivalent to the interim dividend for the same period last year of 1 Singapore cent per share, adjusted for the bonus shares issue in December 2010.

Keppel secures contracts worth S$146 million

Singapore, 4 August 2011 – Keppel Shipyard Ltd (Keppel Shipyard) has secured two contracts worth a total of S$146 million to convert a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit as well as to fabricate and integrate an external turret mooring system for an existing FPSO unit.


The first contract is from Single Buoy Moorings Inc (SBM) for the conversion of the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) M/T Concorde Spirit into a FPSO facility, to be named FPSO OSX-2. SBM had been engaged by OSX Brasil S.A. (OSX) to supply the FPSO, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2013 and will be deployed in the OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes S.A. (OGX) field in Campos Basin, offshore Brazil.

Keppel Shipyard’s work scope on FPSO OSX-2 comprises refurbishment and life extension works, accommodation block extensions for 80 personnel, a new flare tower, a new internal turret mooring system and topside module supports, as well as the installation and integration of topside modules. Work on the vessel is expected to commence in September 2011.

Mr Tony Mace, Chief Executive Officer of SBM Offshore said “Since 2001, Keppel has been our preferred partner and we are pleased to award another FPSO conversion to them. I look forward to continue with this partnership as we build up our FPSO fleet.”

Mr Nelson Yeo, Managing Director of Keppel Shipyard, said, “We are glad for another opportunity to collaborate with our long-time customer SBM and to support OSX. Committed to safe and value-added services, we will work closely with all stakeholders of FPSO OSX-2 towards a successful conversion project.”

Other ongoing projects between Keppel Shipyard and SBM include the fast-track modification and upgrading of the FPSO Cidade de Anchieta and the conversion of the FPSO Cidade de Paraty, which will subsequently proceed to Keppel FELS Brasil’s BrasFELS for installation and integration of topsides. Keppel Shipyard is also undertaking modification and upgrading work on OSX’s first vessel, FPSO OSX-1.

Keppel Shipyard’s second contract is for the fast-track fabrication and integration of an external turret mooring system for Rubicon Offshore International Pte Ltd (Rubicon Offshore).


FPSO Rubicon Intrepid is currently engaged in the production of Galoc Field, west of Palawan Island, the Philippines. Fabrication of the turret is expected to be completed and integrated to the FPSO in the fourth quarter of this year.

The above contracts are not expected to have any material impact on the net tangible assets and earnings per share of Keppel Corporation Limited for the current financial year.

-

XIRR is really simple to use! (2)

Read? XIRR is really simple to use!

You may have been using XIRR to measure portfolio performance and may have faced these two common issues:

1. Cash withdrawal from your portfolio for spending (exchange your investment dollars to enjoy life)
2. Cash injection into your portfolio as new capital for investing

Cash Withdrawal will improve XIRR

See the following examples for Investor A . His XIRR and his investment portfolio.

His XIRR as on 31 Dec 2011 since investment = 14.3%

Assuming he has decided to withdraw $10K cash  from his investment portfolio for his overseas holidays trip.

So after withdrawing $10K from his investment portfolio, his XIRR will look like this:

His XIRR immediately improves from 14.3% to 14.5%. The more money he spent from his investment portfolio and more his XIRR improves. This is really NONSENSE!!!

For cash withdrawal from investment portfolio, we will have to make pro rated adjustment to both Capital and Realized Gains.

Here is the Maths:

Firstly, you have to express Capital and Realized Gains in the investment portfolio as ratio:

1. Capital as ratio of Total Capital and Realized Gain
2. Realized Gains as ration of Total Capital and Realized Gain

See an example of withdraw $10K from the investment portfolio for Investor A.

After his cash withdrawal of $10K from his investment account; his XIRR dropped slightly from 14.3% to 13.6% , partly due to the effect of Unrealized losses in his portfolio.

Cash injection into your portfolio as new capital for investing

When you have spare cash from your earned income that you want to invest. There is no need to immediately inject it into your investment portfolio as NEW capital and account it in XIRR formula if you haven't use this cash to purchase any stocks yet. This will help to make your XIRR looked much better. Similarly, don't deceive yourself by removing some old capital in your investment portfolio and improves XIRR too. LOL

CapitaLand 1H2011 net profit up 35% to S$500.5 million

Singapore, 4 August 2011 – CapitaLand has achieved net profit of S$399.0 million in 2Q2011, 17% higher than the 2Q2010 net profit of S$339.7 million1. This brings net profit for the first six months of 2011 to S$500.5 million, up 35% year-on-year.

Excluding revaluations and impairments, the Group’s PATMI in 1H2011 was S$271.4 million, 69% higher than 1H2010. In 1H2011, Group PATMI was driven mainly by higher development profits in Singapore and China, and the gain from the sale of a residential site in Shanghai, China.

Revenue in 2Q2011 was S$740.4 million, up 25% compared to 2Q2010. For 1H2011, revenue grew 31% to S$1,352.0 million, mainly from development projects such as The Interlace, The Wharf Residence and Urban Resort Condominium in Singapore, as well as Riviera, Beau Residences and Riverside Ville in China. Fee-based income also increased with higher fund management and property management fees. Rental revenue from shopping malls and serviced residences was lower due to the absence of contribution from the shopping malls and serviced residences that were divested to CapitaLand-sponsored real estate investment trusts in 2010.

In 2Q2011, CapitaLand recorded Earnings before Interest and Tax (EBIT) of S$719.6 million, comparable to the S$723.0 million achieved in 2Q2010. In 1H2011, EBIT rose 9% year-on-year to S$1,003.1 million, with overseas operations accounting for 61% or S$608.5 million.

Rotary Engineering reports net profit of S$20.2m on revenue of S$283.8m for 1H2011

Rotary Engineering reports net profit of S$20.2m on revenue of S$283.8m for 1H2011; declares 1 cent dividend

• Order book stands at S$756.9 million

• Strong cash position of S$98.2 million

• Net assets stand at S$294.9 million

INTEROIL AND NOBLE SIGN HEADS OF AGREEMENT ON LNG SALE

Singapore and Houston, TX -- August 2, 2011 -- InterOil Corporation (NYSE:IOC) (“InterOil”) and Pacific LNG Operations Ltd. (“Pacific LNG”) announced the signing of a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Noble Clean Fuels Limited (“Noble”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Noble Group Limited, for the supply of one million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the Gulf LNG Project in Papua New Guinea.


The Gulf LNG Project in Papua New Guinea (PNG) comprises the Elk and Antelope gas fields and Liquid Niugini Gas Ltd., the InterOil and Pacific LNG joint-venture project company, with modular LNG plants contracted with Energy World Corp. Ltd. and a Fixed Floating LNG facility being developed with Flex LNG Ltd. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.

The HOA sets out the basis upon which the parties intend to conclude terms for the purchase and sale of one mtpa of LNG, (FOB) for a period of 10 years commencing in 2014, to be supplied by the proposed Gulf LNG Project in PNG. InterOil and Pacific LNG intend to complete negotiations and execute binding agreements with Noble later this year.

InterOil Chief Executive Officer Phil Mulacek commented, “We are pleased to have executed our first HOA for LNG off-take from our Gulf LNG Project in Papua New Guinea. InterOil is proud to work with the Noble Group, which has a proven track record of providing long-term fuel supply to major utilities across Japan, Korea, China, and Asia as a whole.”

Liquid Niugini Gas V.P. LNG Marketing Conrad Kerr commented, “Noble is a good fit for the InterOil strategy of mid-scale and FLNG LNG production, and LNG supply is a natural expansion of the Noble Group’s historical relationships in long-term coal supply for power generation.”

SembMarine's Q2 net profit down 15%

SINGAPORE - Sembcorp Marine, the world's second largest rig builder, posted a worse-than-expected 15 per cent fall in second quarter net profit, despite stronger margins.

The company, a unit of waste-processor to infrastructure conglomerate Sembcorp Industry, reported a net profit of S$149.7 million (US$124.4 million) for the three months ended June 30, compared to S$176.1 million a year ago.

The profit was missing the average forecast of two analysts surveyed by Reuters of S$183.5 million.

Sembcorp said its net orderbook stood at S$5.7 billion after securing a total of S$2.6 billion in new orders since the start of the year, excluding ship repair contracts. -- REUTERS

'The Bear Market Is Starting': Marc Faber

Read? http://www.cnbc.com/id/43983284

Are you ready with your platoon, company or division of commandoes for the Bear Attack?

I have taken back 80.2% of my investing capital and they are sleeping at the base camp waiting for the Big Bear to come?

How about you?

XIRR is really simple to use!

Read? How are you measuring up with your investment return? (2)

Read? Have you started using CAGR or XIRR to measure your portfolio performance?

You just need to seperate into two different worksheets in your MS Excel file for 1) detailed recording of transactions and tracking of portfolio and 2) measuring of portfolio performance and returns on capital using XIRR.

Here are snapshots of examples:

Portfolio Tracking

XIRR

Sometime, two steps are simpler than one step for all. Believe it or not.

SEMBCORP MARINE’S JURONG SHIPYARD SIGNS US$444 MILLION CONTRACT

Singapore, August 2, 2011: signed two turnkey contracts worth a total of US$444 million to build another two jackup rigs for a subsidiary of Noble Corporation which had chosen to exercise the two rig options ahead of its original ex were granted in December 2010, Noble has also secured options for another two similar jackup rigs based on the same terms and conditions.

Scheduled for delivery in the third new turnkey units will be built based on the same design and specifications as four earlier Friede & Goldman JU3000N units ordered by Noble. for operations in challenging environments and harsh condi temperature areas such as the Middle East and in the North Sea.

The brainchild of Jurong Shipyard, Noble and Friede & Goldman, the Friede & Goldman JU3000N design jackup rigs will have an enlarged hull for more operational benefits

including ergonomic and efficient accommodation layout, increased deck space and

strategic placement of equipment for enhanced efficiency and safety during

operations. On completion, these new rigs will be capable of operating in waters of 400

feet and drilling to depths of 30,000 feet.

DBS ESTABLISHES USD 5 BILLION EURO-COMMERCIAL PAPER PROGRAMME

SINGAPORE, 1 August 2011 – DBS Bank Ltd. (“DBS”) has established a USD 5 billion Euro-Commercial Paper Programme (the “Programme”), under which DBS may issue euro-commercial paper notes (the “Notes”).

Credit Suisse (Singapore) Limited and DBS are the Arrangers of the Programme. Banc of America Securities Limited, Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited, DBS, Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch and Goldman Sachs International have been appointed as Dealers under the Programme.

Net proceeds from the issue of Notes under the Programme will be used for the general business purposes of DBS and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Notes issued under the Programme will not be listed on any stock exchange.

A new risk marker for heart diseases

Createwealth8888: One good way to reduce and maintain low level of cholesterol in your body is to do long hours exercise like 2-3 hours of running, jogging or brisk walking on the road at one go.

Total Cholesterol Reduction



Phasic activities such as cross country running may help reduce the amount of total cholesterol in your bloodstream more effectively than static exercises such as weight training or wrestling. Phasic activities use more rapidly adaptive movements with relatively short periods of muscular contraction, whereas static activates require less movement and sustained muscular contractions. According to a study in the "Journal of Lipid Research," phasic activities reduced total cholesterol levels in test subjects, but static activities did not. The study reports that subjects that had greater cholesterol reductions also reported higher intensity activity, so more intense running may reduce your cholesterol level more than lower-intensity running.

HDL Cholesterol Increase


Running may promote higher HDL cholesterol levels in your blood. According to the American Heart Association, HDL cholesterol is "good" cholesterol, because it may protect you from heart disease by transporting cholesterol out of your arteries. The Peak Performance website reports that the more miles a woman runs may correspond with higher HDL cholesterol levels. Running 40 miles each week may increase a woman's HDL cholesterol and reduce her chances of developing heart diseases by 30 percent. Peak Performance reports that a man may experience higher HDL levels that reduce his risk for heart disease by 10 percent for every 10 miles that he runs in a week.
--------------------------------

SINGAPORE: Obesity, high cholesterol and smoking are some well-known factors that can lead to heart disease.


But there is another measure that can push a group of seemingly-healthy people into the high risk category.

Doctors said C-Reactive Protein (CRP) levels can be a more accurate indicator of possible heart diseases.

A screening test that measures CRP in blood can be a more accurate indicator, say doctors.

While such screening tests are not for everyone, those above the age of 40 who go for regular screening may benefit most.

Associate Professor Tai E Shyong, Senior Consultant & Head, Endocrinology, National University Hospital, said: "The Singapore recommendation is that everybody above the age of 40 should have a cholesterol measure, should have a blood pressure measure, should have a blood sugar measure.

"Then you can combine all these information to a score that tells you the chances of having a heart attack the next ten years is five per cent, 15 per cent, 20 per cent. That's the first thing you have to do. You got to do a risk assessment. What we're saying is that those people who're high risk, they need treatment.

"Those people at low risk probably don't need a drug, so there's no decision to be made. It's specifically the people who are in between 10 and 20 per cent. If you measure CRP, and the CRP is high, you might be a little bit more aggressive with drug therapy."

Cholesterol drugs or statins may now be prescribed for those at moderate risk but a high CRP.

Currently, doctors prescribe such drugs known as statins to those with heart disease or who are at high risk.

Studies by European researchers suggests their risk of stroke and heart attack can be cut by about 50 per cent.

However, there are side effects to statins, such as headache, muscle pain, abdominal pain, weakness and nausea.

For this reason, Associate Professor Tai said it is not cost effective for low risk individuals to take statins to lower the risk of heart disease as the side effects may outweigh the benefits.

But he added the best prevention is still to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

"One of the things that is important to remember is that lifestyle modification can bring down CRP. In fact, one of the most effective ways to do it is to lose weight. The other thing that's important is that, if you smoke, you got to stop smoking."

- CNA/fa

Investing Made Simple by Uncle8888 (21)

Read? Playing The Game of Leverage (8)

Read? Investing Made Simple by Uncle8888 (20)

Hmm...  Uncle8888 you are debt-free. Why you never take a 30-years housing loan?  Housing loan is the cheapest loan in town you know hor. Walau, you not financially savvy leh!

Jessie Livermore once said in his three simple one liners:

In the stock market:

1. Time is not money.
2. Time is time.
3. Money is money.

How many of you who are investing in the stock market fully understand them and appreciate these three simple one liners. Once you really understand them, you may think and act differently in your investing strategy and in your portfolio and money management.

In your life, there are three distinct phases related to wealth:

Phase 1: Consuming your parents' wealth
Phase 2: Accumulating your own wealth
Phase 3: Living off your own wealth or your children's wealth

However, there are some lucky fellows who are consuming part of their parents' wealth in all three phases. Unfortunately, most of us are not so lucky so we have to work harder in Phase 2 to accumulate wealth.

Phase 2: Accumulating your own wealth

You accumulate your wealth from earned income through employment, self-employment or doing businesses and also from investment return and capital appreciation in your investment portfolio.

During your wealth accumulating phase, the rate of inflation will pose a serious threat to your wealth. It may even diminish your wealth if you are not able to beat the inflation rate by bigger margin year on year. In another word, your goal investing should not be just beating inflation rate unless you are one of those high income earner with high net worth looking to preserve wealth.

In that story, the hare over slept and woke up too late to catch up with the tortoise and lost the race.

In the next race, the hare decided to change his race strategy. He knew himself well that and he would need to sleep somehow. So this time, when the race started, he went to take a nap and tortoise ran first. This time he took a shorter nap. After the nap he was full of energy and, he dashed down the road at triple speed.  

Do you think the Hare will win this race?

 Rate of Return during Wealth Accumulation Phase

Do you understand the moral of the story of the second race by the Hare and Jessie Livermore's three simple one liners?

When you are debt-free, you will have all necessary fire power and fuel you need and in better position to take higher risks for higher rate of returns.

When you are debt-free, it may be easier your spouse to quit her job and stay at home to take care of her family. When your spouse is taking care of day-to-day faimly affairs; it will leave you with more time to take care of your investment affairs.

When your investment do well, you can afford to slag a little in your office and gaining even more time for your investment activities.

Time is time. Money is money. Finally, for investing during your wealth accumulation phase, it is the rate of returns that will determine how you may end up in this phase. Like the Hare in his second race, he took a nap and then woke up with full of energy. He dashed down the road at triple speed and won the race.

How?

Do you get it now?

DBS - Somehow bullish in a fearful market environment.

DBS is so bullish as it has managed to break out from a long period of weekly consolidation. Does it tell us that fund managers are more comfortable in parking their money with SE Asia largest bank. At $15.53, it is still a long way to go to its all time high of right adjusted price at $22.81

Trend of DOW vs. STI since 2008

STI doesn't look too bad in term of performance lately. Will more fear come and drive it sharply to follow DOW down trend? Place your bet.

Protecting Our Portfolio From The Next Bear - Revisit

Last time Super Mum asked: "My concern now is to preserve my capital in case of the prolong 'bear' and become 20-30% losses. Any view on how to preserve capital?"



Are you asking the same thing too?


Read? Protecting Our Portfolio From The Next Bear

Jessie Livermore's Portfolio and Money Management idea

There are times when playing the stock market that your money should be inactive and waiting on the sidelines in cash and waiting to come into play.

In the stock market:

1. Time is not money.
2. Time is time.
3. Money is money.

Often money that is just sitting can be later moved into the right situation at the right and make a vast fortune. Patience, patience, patience is the key to success not speed. Time is cunning speculator's best friend if he uses it right.

Olam closes US$1.25 bln syndicated term loan

SINGAPORE - Singapore commodities trader Olam International said on Friday it has successfully closed a $1.25 billion syndicated term loan facility.
The facility comprises a US$625 million three-year tranche and a US$625 million five-year tranche. Olam said it represents the largest syndicated financing for the firm to date.

The proceeds will be used for refinancing of existing debts, as well as for working capital and general corporate funding requirements, including capital expenditure and expansion of Olam's supply chain management business. -- REUTERS

FIRE AT WAREHOUSE OF SEAWATER DESALINATION PLANT OF 500,000M³/DAY AT MAGTAA, WILAYA OF ORAN, WESTERN ALGERIA

Hyflux Ltd (“the Company”) would like to announce that a fire broke out on 28 July 2011 at its warehouse at the Project site.

The Project is now more than 80% completed. All building erected and equipment installed at the construction site are not affected by this fire. There is also no incident of personal injury arising from this fire.

The warehouse which caught fire is sited a few hundred metres away from the construction site for the Project. It houses equipment which are required to be incorporated into the Project. According to preliminary estimates, all related costs and damages arising from this incident are around USD 50 million.

As a result of this incident, all damaged equipment and other supplies will have to be reprocured. Thus, the Project completion is expected to be delayed till May 2012 instead of August 2011.

The Project is covered by a comprehensive construction all risks insurance policy with internationally reputable insurers. The Company will work with its insurers to investigate the cause of the fire and to make claims accordingly

Noble - More bulls come and break it?

Lian Beng’s FY11 net profit increases 100.7% to S$48.6mil;

Lian Beng’s FY11 net profit increases 100.7% to S$48.6mil;


proposes dividends of 1.6 cents per share

• Revenue increased 46.7% to S$507.3 million from S$345.7 million in FY10

• Cash and cash equivalents at a healthy S$149.9 million as at 31 May 2011, up 111.7% from S$70.8 million as at 31 May 2010

• Proposed dividends of 1.6 cents per share for FY11 is 100% more than 0.8 cents per share in FY10 and represents a stellar 4.2% dividend yield

• Robust order book of S$839 million to contribute towards top line through FY14

DBS FIRST-HALF EARNINGS UP 23% TO RECORD SGD 1.54 BILLION

Createwealth8888: Half-yearly dividend for H1 2011 remains at $0.28 that translated to 3.6% yield for half year or 7.2% for full year for me. It is just a decent yield for keeping a too-big-to-fail bank for Singapore Govt in the portfolio.



SINGAPORE, July 28 (Reuters) - Singapore's DBS on Thursday posted a quarterly profit that was slightly above analysts forecasts, helped by strong loan growth as it rebounded from a loss a year ago when it took a goodwill charge.

DBS, Southeast Asia's biggest lender, made a net profit of S$735 million ($611 million) for April-June against a net loss of S$300 million a year earlier due to a goodwill charge on its Hong Kong business.

This was DBS's second-best profit number ever after it posted a record S$807 million net in the first quarter.

That compared with an average forecast of S$728 million, according to eight analysts surveyed by Reuters.

Excluding the goodwill charge, DBS's year-ago net profit was S$718 million.

The result marks the fourth straight quarter when DBS has posted better-than-expected earnings as CEO Piyush Gupta spearheads a recovery in the existing business and avoids expensive acquisitions. ($1 = 1.204 Singapore Dollars) (Reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Kevin Lim)

Biosensors Reports Continued Strong Sales and Operating Results for the First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2012

Highlights of quarterly performance:


 Continued robust revenue growth in Q1 FY12, with total revenue of US$57.0M, representing a 73% increase year-on-year


 Approximate six-fold increase in net profit over Q1 FY11 to US$22.6M


 Agreement announced to acquire the remaining 50% interest in JW Medical System Limited (“JWMS”) from Shandong Weigao Group Medical Polymer Company Limited (“Weigao”) subject to regulatory and shareholders’ approval


 Plans for Global LEADERS, the largest ever “all comers” randomized clinical trial between two drug-eluting stents, announced during the EuroPCR congress in Paris


 Terumo commenced sales of its Nobori drug-eluting stent in Japan during May resulting in an increased licensing revenue for the quarter

“This is yet another quarter of improvement in our product sales, achieved without any major new geographical market access,” commented Co-CEO Mr. Jeffrey B. Jump. “Our results reflect an increased penetration in existing territories, due to greater levels of acceptance of our products by physicians, as well as the launch of the Nobori stent in Japan.”

For Q1 FY12, Biosensors reported total revenue, including licensing and royalties, of US$57.0 million, a 73% increase over the same quarter of fiscal year 2011 (“Q1 FY11”). Total product revenue in Q1 FY12 was US$41.4 million, a 41% increase from Q1 FY11’s US$29.4 million.

Total Interventional Cardiology Products (“IVP”) revenue was US$37.7 million, a 43% increase from Q1 FY11’s US$26.3 million. The increase was primarily driven by continued growth in the sales of the Company’s BioMatrix™ family of drug-eluting stents (“DES”). Total Critical Care Products (“CCP”) revenue for Q1 FY12 was US$3.7 million, a 23% increase from Q1 FY11’s US$3.0 million.

Licensing and royalties revenue in Q1 FY12 grew to US$15.6 million. This is an approximate four-fold increase over Q1 FY11’s revenue of US$3.6 million.
 
Gross margins on total product sales were 74% in Q1 FY12, an improvement of 1% from Q1 FY11. This was driven primarily by the shift in product mix towards the Company’s higher margin DES products, combined with increased economies of scale in manufacturing.

Sales and marketing expenses were US$16.1 million in Q1 FY12 compared to US$9.4 million in Q1 FY11. The increase was due to higher payroll and related expenses associated wit the build up of the sales and marketing function as well as higher expenses for participation in medical congresses and travel.

General and administrative expenses were US$6.1 million in Q1 FY12 compared to US$4.5 million in Q1 FY11. The increase was mainly attributable to higher professional and patent renewal fees, as well as increased payroll-related and travel expenses.

Research and development (“R&D”) expenses, which include costs for new product development and testing, clinical trials and regulatory approvals, were US$4.4 million in Q1 FY12 compared to US$3.2 million in the prior year’s corresponding period. The increase was mainly due to higher clinical trial expenses.

Included in the Q1 FY12 results is the equity method of accounting for the Company’s 50% ownership interest in JWMS. This resulted in a net income of US$4.1 million, compared to US$5.2 million for Q1 FY11.
 
For Q1 FY12, the Group reported a net profit of US$22.6 million or 1.68 US cents basic earnings per share (“basic EPS”) and 1.64 US cents diluted earnings per share (“diluted EPS”), compared to a net profit of US$3.2 million or basic EPS of 0.30 US cent and diluted EPS of 0.29 US cents for Q1 FY11.

Excluding the fair value adjustments for warrants, net profit would have been US$24.1 million, or basic EPS of 1.80 US cents and diluted EPS of 1.76 US cents. For Q1 FY11, excluding the restructuring charges related to the closure of the U.S. operations and fair value adjustments for warrants, net profit would have been US$9.9 million or basic EPS of 0.93 US cents and diluted EPS of 0.90 US cents.

The Company continues to expect its full year FY12 total revenue to be 50% - 60% higher than its full year FY11 total revenue. In this assumption, the Company anticipates to complete the acquisition of the remaining 50% equity of JWMS within the second quarter of this fiscal year, subject to regulatory and shareholders’ approval.

"Looking ahead for this new fiscal year, we believe the market dynamics will continue to improve for Biosensors,” concluded Co-CEO Dr. Jack Wang, “This last period represents our fifteenth consecutive quarter of product sales growth. We will continue to invest in our sales and marketing channels to maintain this sales momentum. During the past quarter, we announced the intention to take over the remaining equity of JWMS from our JV partner. Subject to various approvals, once this deal is concluded, it will present better opportunities for Biosensors in China. Last but not least, we remain committed to investing in R&D to develop superior cardiovascular solutions for the future."

Happiness within?

We may not be sure on how to increase the happiness level in the future; but we can be sure what will decrease the happiness level. If we have one more thing to worry for the future and if that worry come true it will definitely bring down our Happiness Score or Index.

Long-term committed expenses

Our two long-term future expenses are monthly mortgage payment for residual home and life insurance premiums payment. Once they were started, we will have little choice but to find all means to cover them till their end.


I believe no one with the right mind will want to pay their insurance premiums sooner than expected. So we are now left with mortgage payment. This one will require us to clearly think through. Every one has to decide for themselves what is happiness within. Is that feeling of richness in us happiness within?

Read? debt-free — and that, to me, is richness enough

Healthy body and not on long-term medications

Anyone on long-term medications is unlikely to increase his or her Happiness Score or Index. One way to make our body as healthy as possible is through continuous long hours e.g. 2-3 hrs exercise. This is what learned from my seniors who are not on any long-term medications. They either run or jog long distance for few hours on the road or swim more than 100 lapses in the pool.

I know it is very hard to do that. I too have that difficult. I know some of you guys swear by charting and technical analysis. Some of you love multi-bagger stocks.

Actually, continuous long hours exercise is just like seeing a chart for a stock. It is about testing supports and breaking resistances. Every time you are doing it on the road or in the pool. You are testing support and breaking resistance. You have to press on to test higher support and break higher resistance. Soon you see a strong uptrend on your BODY. After a few years of strong up trend, you will get a multi-bagger BODY.


Read more on Happiness?

Singapore Offshore and Marine Sector

Petrobras announced its five year investment plan for 2011-15, after two earlier refusals by the company’s board. Investments of US$224.7 bn are in line with the previous plan of US$224.1 bn. Importantly, the quality of the spend seems to have a larger upstream focus, with investments of US$127.5 bn, 7% higher than the previous plan.

Petrobras announced that it has launched a new tender for 21 rigs after awarding the first batch of seven rigs to a Brazilian consortium led by EAS and cancelling the pre-existing tender in mid-April 2011.

The rig-building programme will proceed with the order of nonchartered units to be owned by Sete Brasil, a holding company established on 13 May 2011 backed by BNDES (Brazil’s state-owned development bank) with potential investment by other funds.

Petrobras will hold a stake of between 5% and 10% in Sete Brazil.

As the third and fourth lowest bidders in Petrobras’ tender for 28- deepwater rigs, we believe Keppel and Sembcorp Marine remain in a strong position to win drillship orders from Petrobras.

Singapore's GIC reports 20-year annualised return of 3.9%

SINGAPORE: The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Ltd (GIC) has reported achieving a 20-year annualised real rate of return, in excess of global inflation, of 3.9 percent for the financial year ended 31 March 2011.



The 20-year nominal annualised rate of return was 7.2 percent in US dollar (USD) terms.

The report presents the performance of the funds under GIC's management.

GIC has also published the 5-year and 10-year nominal rates of return to provide a sense of the on-going medium-term investment performance. GIC had previously only reported returns over 20 years.

The 5-year annualised return in USD terms was 6.3 percent net of fees with a volatility of 12 percent, while the 10-year annualised return was 7.4 percent with volatility 10 percent.

Mr Lim Siong Guan, GIC's Group President, said: "GIC has been on a steady course of increasing transparency since the release of its first "Report on the Management of the Government's Portfolio" in September 2008.

"This year, we have included the 5-year and 10-year nominal rates of return. These provide an intermediate measure of GIC's longer term performance. The 20-year annualised real rate of return remains the key focus for GIC as it is our mission to preserve and enhance the international purchasing power of the reserves."

Mr Ng Kok Song, GIC's Group Chief Investment Officer, said: "The 20-year annualised real rate of return for year ended March 2011 has improved from 3.8% of the year ended March 2010 to 3.9% of the year ended March 2011. This is due to the further recovery of equity markets.

"Although the global financial crisis is now behind us, we still face challenges in the economic and investment environment. The sustainable recovery of the developed economies remains uncertain, while the emerging economies face challenges in restraining inflationary pressure and currency appreciation.

"GIC will continue to respond nimbly to this challenging environment and maintain its focus on delivering good long-term investment returns for the Government."

- CNA/de

Playing The Game of Leverage (8)

Read? Playing The Game of Leverage (7)

When you don't play the Game of Leverages. This is what some people may think of you.  You are risk averse. You are financially less savvy. I heard it. Someone was saying that Createwealth8888 is risk averse. Another one thought that he is financially less savvy and has missed out making more money by not doing leverages. Really arh?

There are two issues here :

1. Risk averse
2. Financially less savvy

Building up your net worth (wealth)

Most of us will build up our net worth (wealth) mainly from earned income and partly from investment portfolio. Our earned income may come from job employment, self-employment or doing businesses; and capital injected into our investment portfolio come from saving more and spending less. However, there will be some lucky fellows who have rich parents contributing significantly to their net worth and/or by injecting huge capital into their investment portfolio.

Risk Averse

By not doing leverages, Createwealth8888 is deemed to be a person who is risk averse. When I heard it, I really want to laugh at these people. Such a shallow thinking! The only peoples who are risk averse that I know are those who park most of their money into bank fixed deposits and/or money market fund.

Speculating in the stock market is bloody risky business. Anyone who has some commonsense on stock market will know it. In another word, anyone who speculates in the stock market is either ignorance or not risk averse.

Do you still think that Createwealth8888 is risk averse? Please, don't let me laugh at you when I hear you say that again.

Financially Savvy

Since most of us are either working at our jobs or doing businesses to build up our net worth by earned income and partly by increasing the size of our investment portfolio through investment gains. Several things can happen here.

1. If you become rich from your jobs; you have an excellent and outstanding career. You are among the top income earners in Singapore.
2. If you become rich from businesses; you are an excellent and outstanding businessman in your industry.
3. When you become rich from your investment portfolio; you are super investor or financially super savvy.

Is someone financially savvy or not?

It should be judged by the performance of his or her investment portfolio. It doesn't necessary mean that people do leverages are financially savvy. People who don't are less savvy. You shouldn't have such shallow thinking.

How do we measure and benchmark financially savvy?

Since most of us are doing our best to build up our net worth; may be one way is to measure the investment gains in the investment portfolio and benchmark it against his or her net worth.

For example, when the percentage of investment gains in the net worth (wealth) is more than X% ; we will assign it with the following score in a 10-point scoring system:

> 90% : 10
> 80% : 9
> 70% : 8
> 60% : 7
> 50% : 6
> 40% : 5
> 30% : 4
> 20% : 3
> 10% : 2
> 0% : 1

Unless you score more than 5 points, don't ever think that you are more financially savvy than Createwealth8888 who doesn't play the Game of Leverages.

With a score of just 5, I am an average investor so nothing to shout about.

SEMBCORP’S SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SUBSIDIARY AWARDED S$121 MILLION REFUSE COLLECTION AND RECYCLING CONTRACT IN SINGAPORE

Sembcorp Industries announces that its solid waste management subsidiary, SembWaste, has been awarded a S$121 million, seven year contract by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to provide refuse collection and recycling services to the Bedok sector in Singapore.


With the contract, Sembcorp now serves five out of nine geographical sectors in the country. Refuse collection and recycling operations for the new sector will commence on November 1, 2011.

This transaction is not expected to have a material impact on the earnings per share and net asset value per share of Sembcorp Industries for the current financial year.

Rotary Engineering bags 13 contracts totalling S$40m

SINGAPORE: Mainboard-listed Rotary Engineering has clinched 13 contracts totalling S$40 million from April this year for projects based in Thailand and Singapore.


Singapore-based projects included a contract for mechanical works for an oil major, as well as for construction of two fuel tanks and a water tank for Alstom Power Singapore.

In Thailand, the group will embark on the construction of piping for Thai Tank Terminal and the building of 9 storage tanks for Thai Oil Public Company.

Rotary's chairman and managing director Chia Kim Piow said that the company will "continue to be vigilant in its pursuit for new and interesting projects".

Going forward, Mr Chia said that Rotary is keen to continue playing a part in the development of Singapore's oil and gas industry and infrastructure.

"We are still very busy prospecting for new business here in Singapore, in the region and further afield," he said.

"There are opportunities and we continue to field many enquiries. The challenge is to ensure that we select the right deals."

- CNA/cc

Singapore's June inflation up 5.2% on-year

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Consumer Price Index in June rose 5.2 per cent year-on-year.


This was in line with market expectations, and compares with the 4.5 per cent rise in May.

The upward cost pressures were concentrated in the usual sectors of transport, housing and food.

A rise in accommodation costs and electricity tariffs pushed up housing costs by 8.8 per cent.

The cost of transport increased by 10.4 per cent because of more expensive cars and petrol, while food prices rose 3.1 per cent on-year.

Education and stationery costs moved up 3.3 per cent and healthcare cost increased by 2.3 per cent.

Core inflation - which excludes more volatile items such as accommodation and transport - rose 2.3 per cent year-on-year.

On a month-on-month basis, headline CPI slipped 0.2 per cent, while core inflation remained unchanged.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index rose by 0.4 per cent in June. Excluding accommodation costs, the June CPI was up 0.3 per cent.

- CNA/al

Twin pack, BCI -24 Black and Color - Brand new to be given away

I have so much problem in aligning the old printer to print nicely and decided to throw it and get a new printer. So now I have one box of Twin pack Canon BC1-24 Black (one pack open up) and one box of brand new Twin pack Canon BC1-24 Color to give away as part of Keep Green movement.

You want them. Pls email me. You have to collect them either at Hougang Mall or Hougang MRT station Control Room's Exit/Entry as handover point.

Home for Living and not for profit taking (6)

Read? Home for Living and not for profit taking (5)

Reading is easy and writing is hard. To keep writing more to defend a particular view is even harder. When it becomes necessary to defend it further, I will have no choice but to do it.

I will have no issue when peoples start debating Property vs. Stocks investing. Each side will share their own investing experiences and performance results. Each side will try to convince each other that one of them is more right than the other and I have no problem in accepting either conclusion. But, when some people start to compare their HOME vs. Stock investing, then I will have strong view. That is the reason why I have been writing several blog posts on "Home for Living and Not for Profit Taking."

Stocks are for investing or speculating. There is no doubt about it. If you have two or more houses; one of the houses will become your home and the rest of them can be for investing or speculating. But, if you only have one house and that is your home. Home is for living and not for investing or speculating for profit.

Why do we buy a house?

We will want to buy a house when we plan to get married and start a family. Some married couples may choose to remain as DINK (Dual Income No Kids) while some other married couples may SINK (Single Income aNd Kids) and most family will have kids.

Most of us when we married we will want to buy a HOME to begin a different phase of our life. A family life either with kids or without kids. A home is for living with our family. Unlike singles, they can choose to live in their existing home (in fact, it is their parents' home but one day can became theirs too). Singles can choose to buy a home for living and then have absolute freedom to do what they like within their home. Their parents cannot stop them.

Single can also choose to buy a house as second home to live and at the same time it can be a house (property) for investing or speculating. He/She can later sell his/her house for profit and return to his/her home (parents' home).

Home has Utility Value

Home has utility value. We utilize it for our living as a creature of comfort. Stocks don't have any utility value and we don't utilize our stocks for our living at all. Because home is a utility when we sell our home we have to replace it either by renting, buying a second home or moving back to stay with parents. But, when we sell our stocks, it is not necessary to replace them as stocks have no utility value.

Even if you sell your first home and replace with it a second home to live. The utility value of the two home  can never be the same. One of the them will have higher utility value.

Let get back to the case study of my ex-neighbour as it is easier to understand the utility value using real life example.

His first home sold will have higher utility value since it is just one bus stop away from the MRT station and his second home bought is a few bus stop farther away from it. In the past, he and his family members can comfortably walk to MRT station from their home within 5 minutes. But now, he and his family will have to walk so much farther distance to the MRT station or incur additional transport cost to take bus to the MRT station. So there is some hidden cost in his second home.

Profit taking from stocks are pure monetary gains and there is no hidden costs associated with it. Profit taking from home will have monetary gains as stocks; but it is never pure monetary gains like stocks. Your monetary gains in your sold home may come in the way of lower utility value in your second home with hidden costs often are unaccountable.

Do you still want to compare HOME vs. Stock Investing in term of monetary gains?

Think again. Home for Living and Not for Profit Taking.