(SHANGHAI) Chinese securities regulators, seeking to support the stock market, plan to introduce a new system for sales of shares made tradable by the expiry of lock-up periods, the 21st Century Business Herald reported yesterday.
The system is likely to be announced soon after this month’s Beijing Olympics, the newspaper reported.
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Saturday, 23 August 2008
Strategist: Don’t buy equities yet
‘Technically, we’re in dangerous territory, having broken past previous index level lows,’ he said of Asian markets.
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Warren Buffett says 'game is over' for Freddie and Fannie
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest mortgage finance companies, "don't have any net worth," the billionaire investor Warren Buffett said.
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Friday, 22 August 2008
China attracts more US college students
There are almost certainly at least 10,000 US students now enrolled annually in programs in China, up fivefold from a decade ago. China is the seventh most popular destination for US students, according to the Institute of International Education. But it’s growing so quickly that, if trends continue, it will soon pass countries like Britain, Spain and Italy and become the most popular.
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Li Ka-Shing says ‘worst is yet to come’ in global economy slump
(HONG KONG) Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, who predicted China’s stock market bubble would burst, says the ‘worst is yet to come’ from the global credit crunch.
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Thursday, 21 August 2008
How did Merrill Lynch miss the red flags?
Singapore’s Temasek Courts Disaster
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Hua Guofeng dies
BEIJING (AP) — Hua Guofeng, who briefly ruled China as communist founder Mao Zedong's successor but was pushed aside as a prelude to reforms that launched an economic boom, died Wednesday at the age of 87, state-run media reported.
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Don't codeswitch to Singlish, please
IT MAY seem like good manners to turn on the Singlish when communicating with a countryman who can speak only the patois, but think again.
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Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Marc Faber comment on US of A
Dr. Marc Faber concluded his monthly bulletin (June 2008) with the Following:
"The federal government is sending each of us a $600 rebate. If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, the money goes to China. If we spend it on gasoline it goes to the Arabs. If we buy a computer it will go to India. If we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. If we purchase a good car it will go to Germany. If we purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy. The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it on prostitutes and beer, since these are the only products still produced in US. I've been doing my part."
"The federal government is sending each of us a $600 rebate. If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, the money goes to China. If we spend it on gasoline it goes to the Arabs. If we buy a computer it will go to India. If we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. If we purchase a good car it will go to Germany. If we purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy. The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it on prostitutes and beer, since these are the only products still produced in US. I've been doing my part."
FerroChina Neckline Breakdown
FerroChina broke the neckline support at 1.02. 1) ML has been selling down with huge volume from 1.18 to 1.03, 2) many positions bought 1.20-1.30 and 3) potential margin calls underway, don't rule out hitting 0.840.
SSE Weekly
My target for SSE at 2200 almost reached this morning at 2284. Almost everybody is saying China's economy will tank together with her SSE after the Olympic Games.
But I take an opposite view that SSE will recover after the Olympic Games. Perhaps, SSE is building a base around 2200 and start to move up next week when the Olympic Games end?
Global recession will drive down energy prices by 30%
The probability is growing that the global economy – not just the United States – will experience a serious recession. Recent developments suggest that all G7 economies are already in recession or close to tipping into one.
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Monday, 18 August 2008
Diversify your portfolio but choose carefully
Adding a different kind of investment exposure to a portfolio may help to diversify it, but the question is - what kind of exposure is good for that purpose? One good strategy is to find an investment with a “low correlation to the global equity market” - in other words, an investment that moves in the opposite direction to global equities. Fund houses are touting this quite a bit nowadays, but are these really good for diversification? Investors can tell from the corresponding correlation coefficients.
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Commodity prices likely to rebound
Crashing commodity prices have once again given ammunition to sceptics who believe the boom of recent years was a blip, but that view underestimates the demand and economic growth in the emerging world.
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Saturday, 16 August 2008
Hot Money Scapegoated for A-share Market Nosedive
China’s A-share market has plummeted over 10% in the week since the opening of the Olympic Games, and many investors are wondering if hot money is short selling A-shares. Since the middle of October last year, the A-share market has dropped by 60%.
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David Stevenson: Go on the defensive to avoid fate like Japan’s
A disturbing thought has been dogging me: we may not be about to enter a “normal”, cyclical bear market of 25 to 30 per cent losses, but may instead endure a bear market akin to Japan’s, where returns on equity are pounded down as successive waves of rallies are consumed in a wider sense of gloom and re-rating.
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Monday, 11 August 2008
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Hedge funds brace for more heat after record losses
Hedge funds are braced for more dire performance data after sharp reversals in commodities and financials last month pushed some funds to record losses - making the goal of positive returns for the year even harder to reach.
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Saturday, 9 August 2008
UN chides media ‘frenzy’ over Beijing smog
BEIJING - THE United Nations’ environment boss has rebuked global media for a 'frenzied focus' on Beijing’s pollution and ‘amnesia’ over past hosts’ similar problems.
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Thursday, 7 August 2008
清明上河圖
Along the river during the Ching-Ming Festival
This painting was originally painted during the Northern Song Dynasty, 1085-1145. It was repainted again during the Qing Dynasty. It is measured 528cm in width and 24.8cm in height. It is considered as one of the Great Treasure of China and was exhibited in the Hong Kong Museum of Art last year.
Take your time and walk through this painting which stretches across some length. At each of the three white boxes, click your mouse within the box and you will be amazed.
View the painting here
This painting was originally painted during the Northern Song Dynasty, 1085-1145. It was repainted again during the Qing Dynasty. It is measured 528cm in width and 24.8cm in height. It is considered as one of the Great Treasure of China and was exhibited in the Hong Kong Museum of Art last year.
Take your time and walk through this painting which stretches across some length. At each of the three white boxes, click your mouse within the box and you will be amazed.
View the painting here
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
You Can’t Control Animal Spirits
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
HSBC warns on credit crisis in Asia
HSBC on Monday warned the credit crisis was beginning to hit Asia as the banking group signalled emerging markets would not be immune to a severe economic slowdown in the US.
Stephen Green, HSBC’s chairman, said the bank had seen signs of an economic slowdown in countries such as India and Vietnam, combined with rising inflation. Falling stock markets had hit demand for wealth management products in the region.
Stephen Green, HSBC’s chairman, said the bank had seen signs of an economic slowdown in countries such as India and Vietnam, combined with rising inflation. Falling stock markets had hit demand for wealth management products in the region.
Monday, 4 August 2008
Sunday, 3 August 2008
S&P emails slammed mortgage debt products
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Analysts at Standard & Poor’s Rating Services warned against mortgage-related debt products in internal e-mails that, in one case, called the complex financial deals “ridiculous,” the Wall Street Journal reported in its weekend edition.
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Friday, 1 August 2008
Profits of Doom
The rise of the bearish analyst
TEN years ago it was easy to make your name as a securities analyst. Take a technology stock, think of a number, double it and then announce that as your price target. Time it right and your call would be a self-fulfilling prophecy, as investors worldwide would regard your views as a buy signal. Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley and Henry Blodget of Merrill Lynch ruled the markets.
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TEN years ago it was easy to make your name as a securities analyst. Take a technology stock, think of a number, double it and then announce that as your price target. Time it right and your call would be a self-fulfilling prophecy, as investors worldwide would regard your views as a buy signal. Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley and Henry Blodget of Merrill Lynch ruled the markets.
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Disney Shanghai to include media deal
The joint venture agreement would give Disney a huge advantage over U.S. media rivals by allowing it to bypass foreign film import quotas and summer and holiday blackout periods, as well as television censorship, both imposed by the central government.
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Thursday, 31 July 2008
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
Hopes that the Olympics would cure Chinese market woes have been dashed
The Gambler by Kenny Rogers
You got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you’re sitting at the table.
There’ll be time enough for counting when the dealing is done.
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Monday, 28 July 2008
Sunday, 27 July 2008
Need some stock tips? It’s anyone’s guess but casinos seem a good bet
I have been trying to work out what is the next move for equity markets. I’ve been watching TV, surfing the Net and reading the papers. I’ve even started looking at the analyst reports that the bank produces. My conclusion is that there is an approximately equal number of commentators who think that markets are about to rebound as there are commentators who think that it has farther to fall.
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Record 13,400 homes to be completed next year
Rents expected to fall, especially in prime districts and East Coast. Fiona Chan reports.
More here...
Banks brace for more pain
Most banks did better than expected in the second quarter. But concerns about capital, credit and housing are likely to weigh on the sector for the rest of the year.
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Friday, 25 July 2008
Temasek Selling Merrill Lynch
One writer said, “Should we just move on? I do not think so. The patently huge mistake is not merely the result of recklessness but rather a systemic lack of accountability in making some of our largest investments.
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Thursday, 24 July 2008
Angry Youth: The new generation’s neocon nationalists
On the morning of April 15th, a short video entitled “2008 China Stand Up!” appeared on Sina, a Chinese Web site. The video’s origin was a mystery: unlike the usual YouTube-style clips, it had no host, no narrator, and no signature except the initials “CTGZ.”
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Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Lost in the new Beijing: The old neighbourhood
BEIJING: Historical cycles that took a century to unfold in the West can be compressed into less than a decade in today’s China. And that’s as true of Beijing’s preservation movement as it is of the nation’s ferocious building boom.
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Why have oil prices been falling?
Oil prices have risen to record levels in recent weeks, with traders in London and New York paying more than $147 a barrel for crude oil at its peak on 11 July.
But since then, prices have fallen on both sides of the Atlantic, dipping almost 13% to a low of $128.23 for a barrel for US light sweet crude on 18 July, and down 10% to $129.66 for Brent crude.
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But since then, prices have fallen on both sides of the Atlantic, dipping almost 13% to a low of $128.23 for a barrel for US light sweet crude on 18 July, and down 10% to $129.66 for Brent crude.
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Monday, 21 July 2008
World’s Most Economically Powerful Cities
What’s the world’s most economically powerful city?
If you picked New York or Tokyo, you’d be wrong.
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If you picked New York or Tokyo, you’d be wrong.
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Sunday, 20 July 2008
How emotional pain can really hurt
Love really does hurt, just as poets and song lyric writers claim.
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Raising the bar
A rare slip-up in court by Singapore’s elder statesman, Lee Kuan Yew
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What happens if oil prices rebound sharply?
The direction of change of international oil prices during the remainder of the year will, in our view, heavily influence the near-term fate of the global economy and international financial markets. Falls in global oil prices, of the kind we have seen over the past few days, clearly brighten the prospects for the global economy. Conversely, a possible return to rapid increases in oil prices could have a disastrously negative influence on global growth.
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Saturday, 19 July 2008
House prices ‘will keep falling’
House prices in the UK and the US are likely to fall for another two years, the chairman of one of the world’s most powerful banks has warned.
Sir Win Bischoff of Citigroup told BBC Business Editor Robert Peston he expects it will take two years for the markets to “stabilise”.
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Sir Win Bischoff of Citigroup told BBC Business Editor Robert Peston he expects it will take two years for the markets to “stabilise”.
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Friday, 18 July 2008
Expect More Crisis
IndyMac has failed. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been hobbled but kept alive by a government and Federal Reserve rescue.
All of this happened just weeks after President Bush and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson claimed that the worst of the credit crisis had passed. Don't believe anyone who tells you that the worst is over until the banks, insurance companies, investment funds and mortgage companies that hold securitized debts fess up to what those securities are actually worth. The problem isn't that the securities are illiquid, it's that the prices should be lower than the financial institutions are willing to admit.
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All of this happened just weeks after President Bush and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson claimed that the worst of the credit crisis had passed. Don't believe anyone who tells you that the worst is over until the banks, insurance companies, investment funds and mortgage companies that hold securitized debts fess up to what those securities are actually worth. The problem isn't that the securities are illiquid, it's that the prices should be lower than the financial institutions are willing to admit.
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Thursday, 17 July 2008
2 + 20, and Other Hedge Fund Math
MANY people would jump at the chance to invest in hedge funds, which have mainly been available to only the very wealthy. But a new study finds that the funds’ high fees make it unlikely that investors will improve their long-term performance by putting money into hedge funds.
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Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Singapore Property
A Hong Kong based Asia property analyst for a small successful private investment bank was asked if he should buy property in Singapore
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Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Qipao - a statement of Oriental beauty
SLINKY, elegant, chic (and often practical), the classic qipao was a symbol of trendy Shanghai. The old-fashioned formless dress was nipped, tucked and slit for liberated women, writes Fei Lai.
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Singapore's judiciary system is still third world standard
'If the prosecution allowed their own witnesses to see their statements, I can't see why they should deny it to the defendant.' - LAWYER EDMOND PEREIRA
Read "Judge slams CNB for complete neglect of duties" here.
Read "Judge slams CNB for complete neglect of duties" here.
Fannie, Freddie crisis not the last: Soros
Billionaire investor George Soros said that the crisis over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will not be the last, and noted that the broader credit meltdown will impact an already slowing United States economy.
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Monday, 14 July 2008
The mortgage lender illusion
It’s dispiriting indeed to watch the U.S. financial system, supposedly the envy of the world, being taken to its knees. But that’s the show we’re watching, brought to you by somnambulant regulators, greedy bank executives and incompetent corporate directors.
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Battle for China
British experts and scholars held a heated public debate in London Saturday on some key issues of China’s recent development and called for a balanced portrayal of China.
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Saturday, 12 July 2008
ILM study confirms growing power of Chinese managers
China has the fastest growing global economy and – according to research by the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) – also boasts a highly ambitious, sophisticated and commercially astute management population that poses a rising challenge to managers and businesses in the West.
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Unlimited rise in oil price in case of Iran war: Opec
Cartel won’t be able to make up lost output, says its head
VIENNA) The head of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) warned on Thursday that oil prices would experience an ‘unlimited’ increase in the event of a military conflict involving Iran because the group’s members would be unable to make up the lost production.
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VIENNA) The head of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) warned on Thursday that oil prices would experience an ‘unlimited’ increase in the event of a military conflict involving Iran because the group’s members would be unable to make up the lost production.
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Friday, 11 July 2008
A Nightmare for the U.S.
The Voice (issue 264 - 11th May) ran an article beginning, ‘Iran has really gone and done it now. No, they haven’t sent their first nuclear sub in to the Persian Gulf. They are about to launch something much more deadly – next week the Iran Bourse will open to trade oil, not in dollars but in Euros’. This apparently insignificant event has consequences far greater for the US people, indeed all for us all, than is imaginable.
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Thursday, 10 July 2008
Most Obnoxious Tourists? The French
Remember the tightwad tourist whose baggy shorts, frequent complaining and shouted questions about why none of the locals spoke any English made the ugly American the world’s Visitor From Hell? Well, it’s time for Archie Bunker to move over and make way for Petulant Pierre. According to a recent international survey, the French are now considered the most obnoxious tourists from European nations, and behind only Indians and the last-place Chinese as the worst among all countries worldwide.
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Singapore’s Minister Mentor Slips Up Under Oath
Lee Kuan Yew testifies to a laudatory letter that was never sent by an international legal organization
It was the kind of error that would earn a Singapore opposition politician a trial for perjury, probably with a heavy fine and perhaps a jail term. But when Lee Kuan Yew testified in the recent trial of opposition leader Chee Soon Juan probably “misspoke” – told a crucial untruth, deliberate or not.
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It was the kind of error that would earn a Singapore opposition politician a trial for perjury, probably with a heavy fine and perhaps a jail term. But when Lee Kuan Yew testified in the recent trial of opposition leader Chee Soon Juan probably “misspoke” – told a crucial untruth, deliberate or not.
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Singapore falls short on rights: lawyers' group
It said the Singapore judiciary had a good international reputation when adjudicating commercial cases that did not involve the interests of PAP members or their associates.
"However, in cases involving PAP litigants or PAP interests, there are concerns about an actual or apparent lack of impartiality and/or independence," it said.
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"However, in cases involving PAP litigants or PAP interests, there are concerns about an actual or apparent lack of impartiality and/or independence," it said.
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Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Monday, 7 July 2008
A National Cleansing
When a distinguished American military commander accuses the United States of committing war crimes in its handling of detainees, you know that the country needs a new way forward.
Full article in comments
Full article in comments
Saturday, 5 July 2008
Friday, 4 July 2008
Credit Suisse Calls for a rebound in July
Our tactical indicators suggest taking a net long position in July following the heavy sell-off of Asian equities last month.
Six indicators with positive signals. This is a massive increase compared to last month, where only one indicator scored with a positive signal (EPS revisions). They range from price technical, earnings revisions, valuations and liquidity pattern. On the other hand, two indicators have negative signals: the OECD lead indicators and the rising volatility of Asian equities.
Full article here
Six indicators with positive signals. This is a massive increase compared to last month, where only one indicator scored with a positive signal (EPS revisions). They range from price technical, earnings revisions, valuations and liquidity pattern. On the other hand, two indicators have negative signals: the OECD lead indicators and the rising volatility of Asian equities.
Full article here
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Sarkozy not wanted at Olympics
Chinese people do not want French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, according to the results of a survey published on Wednesday.
Read comments for full article
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
China rules no skimpily dressed bar staff from Oct
BEIJING - CHINA’S government has told discos, karaoke bars and other entertainment venues to install windows in private rooms and ensure staff dress modestly from Oct 1 as part of an effort to crack down on prostitution and drugs.
According to rules released on the Ministry of Public Security’s website, entertainment venues must install transparent partitions between rooms that ensure ‘the whole environment of the consumer’s entertainment area in the room can be seen’.
‘When open for business, the transparent part of rooms and windows to rooms at singing and dancing entertainment venues must not be obstructed,’ the rules say.
Discos, karaoke nightclubs and other bars in China frequently have private rooms for hire, and are a favourite places for businessmen to entertain guests, sometimes with prostitutes, which is illegal in China.
Staff clothing is also covered in the new rules. ‘Staff members should dress tastefully, and not be too exposing.’ Other rules demand closed circuit television cameras be installed and security guards placed at discos. -- REUTERS
According to rules released on the Ministry of Public Security’s website, entertainment venues must install transparent partitions between rooms that ensure ‘the whole environment of the consumer’s entertainment area in the room can be seen’.
‘When open for business, the transparent part of rooms and windows to rooms at singing and dancing entertainment venues must not be obstructed,’ the rules say.
Discos, karaoke nightclubs and other bars in China frequently have private rooms for hire, and are a favourite places for businessmen to entertain guests, sometimes with prostitutes, which is illegal in China.
Staff clothing is also covered in the new rules. ‘Staff members should dress tastefully, and not be too exposing.’ Other rules demand closed circuit television cameras be installed and security guards placed at discos. -- REUTERS
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Monday, 30 June 2008
HK market may not have seen bottom yet
Analysts expect more bad news this year
Read full article in comments
Read full article in comments
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Reaction to LKY's Speech on the Possibility of a Freak Election
Some notable reactions gathered from various places.
China Bulls Get Shanghaied
“Every time bubbles pop, they tend to go down 80%, even as much as 90%,” says Nicholas Vardy, who edits the Global Guru and Global Stock Investor newsletters from his home base in London.
So, where would the ultimate lows be? “1,200, that’s where I’d put it,” says Vardy. That’s another 50%+ decline from Shanghai’s current price around 2,900.
Read full article in comments.
So, where would the ultimate lows be? “1,200, that’s where I’d put it,” says Vardy. That’s another 50%+ decline from Shanghai’s current price around 2,900.
Read full article in comments.
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