Date: April 30, 2008
MARKET REVIEW & GUIDANCE
(1st May 2008) SIAS Investor Education Programme By Charlie Lau Suan Liat A SIAS Investor Education Trainer |
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Market Review for April: Back home in Singapore, Olam raised S$307m via placement of 155.6m new shares @ $1.97, 2nd week of April. April Fool’s day also saw Jade Technology’s share price plunged from 22c to 6c after a one-week halt for investors to stomach the abortion of takeover by Jade’s president, Dr Anthony Soh. Price increase in food staples seemed to be more severe with the world in April than the US sub-prime mortgage malpractices. Singapore is more fortunate in that the SIN$ strengthened in record high against the USD. April saw hungry people from some third world countries throwing paper & stones at government officials over unbearable increase in cost of food staples & getting beaten up by enforcement agents with batons & bayonets. “Global investment funds & the weak USD are mainly to blame for high world food prices” — Jose Graziano, UN. Take away futures trading of food staples and the world won’t go hungry, albeit some brokers & bourses would be leaner. Some countries have already designated oil, steel and cement as strategic commodities. — That is, no futures trading, no hoarding, all under government control on such products. Citizens could be better off if such control could be extended to food staples. Conclusion: Since 1996 when US, by chance under Alan Greenspan, at the helm of the Federal Reserve Board, discovered how easy it was to “improve” the US economy by “cooking” its interest rates and “monetizing” subsidies, expenditures and wars, so started a decade of “easy money” on a monstrous scale. “What goes up, must come down.” Stocks that went up unrealistically Hi without fundamentals, but with “easy money” dropped back to realistic levels now when the “easy money” is no more. But alamat! Investors now dare not buy although there are bombed-out stocks with very sensible dividend yields and earnings. Singapore’s own Investment Guru, Dr Tony Tan, Deputy Chairman & ED of Government Investment Corp [GIC] bought into CitiGroup, UBS and others with wings all over the world. In investment, timing is very important, and always look at three things – Fundamentals, Fundamentals & Fundamentals.
*If you wish to contact our writer, please email at sllau@uobkayhian.com |
MARKET REVIEW & GUIDANCE
(1st May 2008) SIAS Investor Education Programme By Charlie Lau Suan Liat A SIAS Investor Education Trainer |
|||
|
|||
Market Review for April: Back home in Singapore, Olam raised S$307m via placement of 155.6m new shares @ $1.97, 2nd week of April. April Fool’s day also saw Jade Technology’s share price plunged from 22c to 6c after a one-week halt for investors to stomach the abortion of takeover by Jade’s president, Dr Anthony Soh. Price increase in food staples seemed to be more severe with the world in April than the US sub-prime mortgage malpractices. Singapore is more fortunate in that the SIN$ strengthened in record high against the USD. April saw hungry people from some third world countries throwing paper & stones at government officials over unbearable increase in cost of food staples & getting beaten up by enforcement agents with batons & bayonets. “Global investment funds & the weak USD are mainly to blame for high world food prices” — Jose Graziano, UN. Take away futures trading of food staples and the world won’t go hungry, albeit some brokers & bourses would be leaner. Some countries have already designated oil, steel and cement as strategic commodities. — That is, no futures trading, no hoarding, all under government control on such products. Citizens could be better off if such control could be extended to food staples. Conclusion: Since 1996 when US, by chance under Alan Greenspan, at the helm of the Federal Reserve Board, discovered how easy it was to “improve” the US economy by “cooking” its interest rates and “monetizing” subsidies, expenditures and wars, so started a decade of “easy money” on a monstrous scale. “What goes up, must come down.” Stocks that went up unrealistically Hi without fundamentals, but with “easy money” dropped back to realistic levels now when the “easy money” is no more. But alamat! Investors now dare not buy although there are bombed-out stocks with very sensible dividend yields and earnings. Singapore’s own Investment Guru, Dr Tony Tan, Deputy Chairman & ED of Government Investment Corp [GIC] bought into CitiGroup, UBS and others with wings all over the world. In investment, timing is very important, and always look at three things – Fundamentals, Fundamentals & Fundamentals.
*If you wish to contact our writer, please email at sllau@uobkayhian.com |