Friday, 24 October 2008
Asia Ex-Japan Markets To Face 25% More Downside - Daiwa
0855 GMT [Dow Jones] Asia Ex-Japan markets could face another 25% downside from current levels if investors start pricing in global-recession scenario to companies” earnings projections, Daiwa says. Notes based on past cycles, if current economic malaise is just as damaging for Asia, EPS would fall 20%-30% vs AXJ markets” current implied 12-month forward EPS growth at 5%. Says “overly optimistic” earnings-growth forecasts are key risk, as valuations at rather undemanding 12-month forward PER of 9.8X vs low of 9X during 1988-89 recession and below PERs during Asian financial crisis, SARS period. “Given the year-to-date correction in Asian markets, we think there are many stocks that are attractively priced, especially if investors were to begin looking at oversold cyclicals.” Says China Mobile (0941.HK), Belle International (1880.HK), Esprit (0330.HK), Samsung Heavy Industries (010140.SE), SembCorp Marine (S51.SG) fit bill. (LES)
Japan’s Nissin recalls 500,000 noodles over insecticide fears
Japan’s Nissin Food Products Co. said Friday it was recalling half a million cups of instant noodles over fears of insecticide contamination in the latest food safety scare to rock the country’s consumers.
Singapore Market Volatility Hard To Stomach
0706 GMT [Dow Jones] Traders in Singapore still struggling to stomach heightened market volatility despite sharp intraday falls on almost daily basis in recent sessions. “Ours is a dead market. Whatever you go into, you’ll lose money. There’s not much dealing going on, just lots of watching from the sidelines and licking wounds,” says foreign house dealer. “This month has been nothing but blood money, with margin calls after margin calls. If share prices come down further, there will be more margin calls again,” says local house trader. STI down 7.8% at 1609.95 vs 1661.60 at midday, with all components weak; increasingly at risk of going below 1600. (FKH)
Japan's Poisoned "Cup Noodle" snack makes Japanese woman ill
Japanese talk shit and eat shit. Therefore, Japan deserved to be nuked till shit.
Thursday, 23 October 2008
Ships Hit By Credit Crisis As Letters Of Credit Stall – Moody’s
Shippers look likely to be the latest casualties of the global credit crisis as banks grow increasingly wary of providing and honouring guarantees needed for transporting goods, potentially crimping international trade, Moody’s Economy.com Thursday warned in a report.
SAFE to Set up International Reserve Department
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) will replace the current reserve management department with an international reserves department with more detailed responsibilities, among which will be undertaking more macroeconomic research.
Can China keep up growth during financial crisis?
For three decades, China has fuelled its remarkable economic rise by becoming the world’s workshop and unleashing a flood of low-priced exports. But faced with a possible global recession and weakening demand for Chinese exports, the question now is whether the ruling Communist Party can prevent the financial crisis from derailing the country’s economic miracle.
China’s Home-Sales Stimulus May Fail to Protect Economic Growth
China’s measures to encourage home sales aren’t enough to stop a cooling property market from dragging down growth in the world’s fourth-largest economy, said Credit Suisse AG and Standard Chartered Bank Plc.
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
Recession Will Last At Least Two Years: Roubini
The US economy is entering a two-year recession that will be longer and deeper than previously feared, said Nouriel Roubini, a well-known economist and professor at New York University.
Ugly men are a joy to have around
Handsome men may be good for your ego but he can also wreck your life.
CDO Cuts Show $1 Trillion in Corporate-Debt Bets Turning Toxic
Investors are taking losses of up to 90 percent in the $1.2 trillion market for collateralized debt obligations tied to corporate credit as the failures of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Icelandic banks send waves through the global financial system.
Construction sector in for tough times
Industry hopes the Govt will resume deferred public-sector projects
Bankers asked to fly coach
Merrill Lynch , UBS and JPMorgan & Chase are telling senior bankers in Asia to fly coach on short-haul flights and reduce non-essential travel as they step up cost cuts, officials at the firms said.
Four Reasons Stock Market Hasn’t Reached Bottom Yet
The search of a market bottom likely will continue through the rest of the year and into 2009, as signs begin to emerge that a turning point is near but not yet upon Wall Street.
Treasury Sees US Economic Recovery in Late 2009
U.S. Treasury Undersecretary David McCormick said on Wednesday the U.S. economy is in for a challenging few quarters but could start to recover late next year.
Russia, Iran and Qatar Move Toward Forming Gas Cartel
Russia, Iran and Qatar made the first serious moves Tuesday toward forming an OPEC-style cartel on natural gas, raising concerns that Moscow could boost its influence over energy markets spanning from Europe to South Asia.
Argentina Nowhere to Hide
First is Iceland, then Ukraine, follow by Pakistan. Now look at the Latin American market starting with Argentina
Daughter Demoted
Citic Pacific has demoted Frances Yung Ming-fong, daughter of its chairman Larry Yung Chi-kin, and cut her salary for her involvement in the unauthorised foreign-currency bets, managing director Henry Fan Hung-ling said yesterday.
Closure of toy factories was premeditated, say authorities
Guangdong authorities have described the closure of Hong Kong-listed Smart Union’s three factories in the province last week as a premeditated move that deliberately left workers and suppliers in arrears.
20 Merrill Staff Here Let Go
Axe falls in last 2 days on those in the equity, fixed income and energy units
MGM, Sands, Boyd may be edging closer to bankruptcy
Any one of three major Nevada gaming companies based in Las Vegas could face the prospect of bankruptcy because of heavy debt and falling stock prices, a University of Nevada, Reno professor and gaming expert said.
Faber Says Stocks May Rally, Won’t Reach Records
U.S. stocks fell too far and may rally without setting records, investor Marc Faber said.
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
Singapore’s Housing Plan May Haunt
Singapore’s real-estate market could find itself haunted by a plan that once served it well.
Taiwan DPP is a Piece of Shit
DPP's actions is a disgrace to democracy and rule of law. DPP supporters are nothing but a bunch of thieves and gangsters.
Stock Manipulation Probe Launched After Prices Spike
U.S. regulators are investigating whether investors manipulated end-of-day stock prices to avoid being forced by their brokers to sell holdings.
Economists React: China’s Growth Is Slowing, Not Slumping
Economists and others weigh in on China’s sharper-than-expected economic slowdown. The country’s GDP grew 9% in the third quarter from a year earlier, slower than the second quarter’s 10.1% gain.
Monday, 20 October 2008
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Americans blamed for crisis
CHINESE state media on Sunday lambasted reckless US consumers addicted to spending money they don't have for being partly to blame for the current financial crisis, suggesting such a thing couldn't happen in prudent China.
US housing: far from bottom
THE falling US housing market, the trigger for the global financial crisis, is still far from reaching the bottom, promising more pain for consumers and more bad debt for banks, analysts say.
Saturday, 18 October 2008
Private equity firms diversify to ride market dips
Gone were the days when it was possible to buy companies at realistic prices with cheap debt, and rely on balance-sheet restructuring and rising valuations to create equity value.
Banks may compensate victims of ‘mis-selling’
Focus on ‘vulnerable’ customers who bought Lehman-linked products
Sales of premium cars and sports models hit the brakes
When you are wealthy and worried about the current economic mess, you’re more than likely to immediately stop buying more jewellery, wine futures and yes, that new car too.
It looks more like the end of the beginning
A prominient businessman recently said of the US$700 billion US Treasury bailout plan that it didn’t mark the beginning of the end, but rather the end of the beginning.
Slippery Side-Bets That Hurt Casinos
It is not just the shadow of a downturn that the casinos have to ward off. It is also the spectre of side-betting. This practice is rampant in Macau, often carried out right under the nose of the casinos, and yet they are helpless to staunch the massive revenue haemorrhage.
Shang Says Beijing Will Roll Out Measures to Boost Stock Markets
The central government is planning undisclosed policy measures to boost its ailing equity markets and defuse mounting hostility from investors who have seen the value of their shares dive in recent weeks.
Shanghai Eyes Tax Breaks for Funds
Shanghai is considering tax and other incentives to lure venture capital, private equity and hedge funds to the nation’s financial hub, according to a senior city official.
Lehman Analysts Still the Best Despite Bust
Lehman Brothers Holdings may have gone bust but their analysts were unbeatable. For a sixth year, the now-bankrupt investment bank was home to Wall Street’s smartest stock market analysts, according to Institutional Investor magazine.
Credit Crunch Leaves Shipyards High and Dry
The credit crunch is taking a toll on mainland start-up shipyards, resulting in massive delivery delays, according to a report by global ship broker Clarkson.
Bank ‘War’ Ahead?
Savers could switch to foreign banks with higher returns but local banks are fighting back
Trader Takes Own Life Over Large Losses
An S&P 500 futures trader died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound just hours after losing several million dollars Wednesday, one of Wall Street’s most volatile days.
Buffett’s “Buy Now” Call Gets Lukewarm Reception
Warren Buffett tried to persuade demoralized investors the U.S. stock market is not falling off a cliff. Not everyone was immediately convinced.
Friday, 17 October 2008
Recession May be Deepest Since 1970s
The U.S. economy is showing disturbing similarities to patterns seen in the painful recessions of the mid-1970s and early 1980s and it may be a year or more before it resumes anything near normal growth.
Woman pours excrement on ex-husband’s home
A woman in Shanghai splashed excrement all over her ex-husband’s residence after the man failed to make child support payments, according to a local newspaper.
China’s reform, opening up bring big change in people’s thinking
The biggest change brought about by China’s 30 years of reform and opening up is one in the thinking of the Chinese people, said David Lampton, professor from Johns Hopkins University, in a recent interview.
China’s Property Market Under Microscope
The central government is closely monitoring the property market after 18 cities including Shanghai launched various measures to arrest falling property sales, a senior official said Thursday.
Shanghai, Beijing auctions draw poor response from developers
Land put up for auction by the Shanghai and Beijing municipal governments has either been withdrawn or generated poor response as developers tightened their purses amid the global credit crunch.
Has the Dow hit the bottom yet? Analysts are divided
After two weeks of triple-digit swings and heavy losses, investors and market watchers are wondering just when the US bear market will hit bottom.
Has the Dow hit the bottom yet? Analysts are divided
After two weeks of triple-digit swings and heavy losses, investors and market watchers are wondering just when the US bear market will hit bottom.
Falling rents may take shine off S-Reits
SINGAPORE-LISTED real estate investment trusts, or S-Reits, are now finding favour with analysts.
Four S-share Firms Clarify Net Cash Positions
JES International, Sino Techfibre, China Hongxing, Synear give updates
High Volatility Making Oil Hedging Tough
Big oil consumers also face problem of fewer counterparties
E3, Sinomem unit may be facing corporate governance issues
Two more companies with principal operations in China may have stumbled over corporate governance issues.
A Black Mood Seizes Markets Worldwide
Gloomy outlook for major economies sends equities into violent tailspin
Different Regime for Overseas Firms?
Foreign listings pose challenges in regulatory enforcement and differences in applicability of Singapore company law
China sets out to move up the value chain
Transformation of industrial parks shows the way to the nation’s industrial upgrade
It’s in China’s own interest to help resolve global crisis
That is why China knows that it is in its own interest to extend a helping hand - if it can do so without serious damage to itself. On Oct 8, China joined six central banks, including the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, in cutting interest rates.
More are dining at home
As the country faces its first recession since 2002, Singaporeans are changing their eating habits. More are opting for home-cooked meals in an effort to save money. When they eat out, people are choosing cheaper dishes like economy rice instead of long-time favourites like chicken rice.
Hedge Fund Carnage: ‘Invisible Catalyst’ Causing Big Market Moves
Few tears are being shed as the hedge fund community, once the new “masters of the universe”, are suffering through a big comeuppance.
Credit Cards Could Become Next Trouble Spot in Crisis
Credit-card delinquencies are likely to become the next flashpoint in the credit crisis, though the impact on the overall economy won’t be as severe as the housing slump, analysts believe.
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Don’t Be Rushed Into Buying Stock
With major markets back at the levels of 1999, stocks may look like a bargain. They’re probably not.
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Home Prices Seem Far From Bottom
The American housing market, where the global economic crisis began, is far from hitting bottom.
Asia looks to its own consumers to bolster region’s economies
For years, Asians have been held up as an example to the world for their discipline in saving rather than spending. Now their leaders are trying to break them of that habit.
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Thursday, 16 October 2008
Shanghai companies eye Wall Street talent
Financial institutions in Shanghai are likely to start snapping up jobless Wall Street professionals by the end of this year.
CIC says US fund to return all its investment
China Investment Corp (CIC), which operates the country’s sovereign wealth fund, on Wednesday said it had given notice to the Reserve Primary Fund, a US money market fund, to withdraw all its investment before the latter’s suspension announcement.
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Home buyers get government support in Delta cities
New housing policies by governments in Shanghai and Hangzhou, two major cities in the Yangtze River Delta, will boost the sluggish market and make homes more affordable by giving breaks to home buyers and developers.
Fund market suffers from global crisis
China’s stock-oriented funds have tumbled more than 50 percent in the first three quarters, dragged down by fluctuating stock markets both at home and abroad, according to a report by Lipper fund research firm.
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Asia seething at IMF’s and West’s double standards
The US$2.5 trillion combined bailout of Western financial institutions may have eased the crisis, but it has done rather less to assure the creditor nations of the East that their holdings are safe from erosion by money-printing central banks. Indeed, events have aroused the resentment that surfaced during the Asian crisis a decade ago at a global financial architecture perceived, with some justice, to be weighted against Asians.
China urged to help bail out US financial system
Beijing should buy Treasury bonds before others, says investment bank
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America’s ‘State Street’ and China’s Future
The crisis leading to a Wall Street rescue exposed market risks, but also tested our determination for continuing reform in China.
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Petitioners Describe Abuse in Secret Prison
Ma Xirong, had her first brush with a “black” jail when she was thrown into a stuffy room at the Juyuan Hotel in southern Beijing in March 2006.
Petitioners Being Held in ‘Black’ Jails, Activists Say
Rights groups claim secret prisons, or “black” jails, are sprouting up on the mainland in a campaign by regional authorities to purge petitioners.
SEC Extends Short-Sale Disclosure Order
Big investors will be required to disclose their short positions to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under an interim final rule issued by the SEC on Wednesday night.
Cosco Singapore Responds to SGX Queries on Price Fall
It says no official notification of Cosco Dalian’s client filing for bankruptcy
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When Silence was Not Golden
COSCO Corp Singapore truly became a penny stock yesterday, with another tumble in its share price in what was an acute crisis of confidence.
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Can China’s Banks Survive the Financial Storm?
With signs of cracks appearing across China’s credit system, concerns are growing that the country’s banks may be ill-equipped to handle a drop in the Chinese economy.
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Suffering Asian Hedge Funds Look To Stem Redemptions
Asian hedge funds, already hurt by market volatility and newly-introduced short-selling restrictions, are now getting hit by a sharp uptick in redemptions.
Singapore Property Developers, Trusts Fall on Outlook for Rents
CapitaLand Ltd. led Singapore’s developers and property trusts lower after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said office and retail rents will decline amid the widening global financial crisis and an economic slowdown.
South Korea won suffers biggest loss in nearly 11 years
The South Korean won suffered its biggest daily loss against the dollar in almost 11 years on Thursday as local stocks tumbled on global recession fears and theforeign currency shortage in the local money market deepened.
HK Has Fastest Buyers in Asia, Study Shows
Hongkongers, ready, set, buy. Compared with their Asian counterparts, shoppers here take the least time to make purchasing decisions, a study has found.
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Sex Video Toppled Vice-Mayor of Beijing
An hour-long sex tape secretly recorded by a mistress triggered the downfall of Beijing vice-mayor Liu Zhihua , it was reported yesterday.
Canton Fair exhibitors grumble as western buyers fail to turn up
It was only the first day, but this season’s Canton Fair did not appear to be pulling in enough buyers.
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Airbus to Delay Increase in Production
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