2010/05/18 News Update

Euro sinks to four year low as Europe debt crisis cause investors to pull more money from stocks, preferring gold and Asian bonds instead.

US closed +5.67 to 10,625.83 on 17/5/2010

Crude oil +0.48 to USD70.56 per barrel

US bond sales revive as Europe contagion concern recades: credit markets/ Bloomberg

Japanese stocks climb as Yen weakens; inpex falls on lower crude oil price/ Bloomberg

Samsung may become 'uncatchable' with $15.6bil capital spending plan/ Bloomberg

Asia should consider using capital controls to limit inflows, ADB advises/ Bloomberg

Japanese demand for services slipped 3% in March, second month of decline/ Bloomberg

US stocks gain as Euro rebounds from four year low; oil retreats/ Bloomberg

MISC buys stake in VTTI for US$735m/ the star

- move in line with shipping firms's strategy to grow tank terminal business

Credit Suisse says HLB's offer price for EON Cap too low

Alliance identifies Sng as its new CEO

Compensation noost for MAS

- Its Q1 net profit of RM310m due to delay in A380 delivery

MAHB net profit dragged down by FRS139

Shanghai, Shenzen lead fall in Asian markets

- investors resumed selling on risky bets that included emerging market equities and commodities amid growing fears that the sovereign debt crisis in Europe would derail global economic growth

Forex swings to hit exporters

- Firms are more exposed to fluctuations in US dollar than to Euro or Pound

- the Euro and Pound are expected to remain weak in the near term

No impact from Thai turmoil

- but Malaysian companies will be affected if the situation worsens, says FMM

Analysts positive on F&N glass divestment plan

Adamus takeover bid for M3nergy at RM1.85 per share

April vehicle sales up

- buyers rushed to take delivery before interest rates hike

Asia urged to be more assertive in global economy

Reject unfair offer by Lonbisco, TPC shareholders advised

Talks still on for sale of RBS assets

- No target date for proposed disposal to materialise, announcement in due course

Xinquan Q3 net profit up 46%

made a net profit of RM32.7mil

Salcon clinches RM84.21mil project

- from Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd for alternative water supply to the KL International Airport

Prudential launches US$21bil cash call

- move to woo shareholders' backing for its AIA acquisition

Big bargains from Europe/ the star

- the Euro's fall made eurozone assets attractive and boosted exports

7 Mistakes to Avoid???

Some good sharing on what i read. In a lot of ways investing is like badminton match in our recent Thomas Cup 2010. In badminton, having a killer serve or smash technique will win you a lot of points. But it does not mean you are the winner at the end of the day. It's often the player with the least mistakes who wins ;)

Below are some of the temptations:
1. Swinging for the fences - buy great company with economy moats. Do not load portfolio with risky and swinging for the fences on every pitch.
2. Believing that it's different this time - example year 2000 on semiconductor stocks.
3. Falling in love with products
4. Panicking when the market is down
5. Trying to time the market
6. Ignoring valuation
7. Relying on earning for the whole story

Know When to sell?

One of the investor asked this "what is your exit strategy?" I told him i got very good answer in one of the book i am reading. I think these are very true and i would like to share with the readers.

Ideally, we'd all hold our investments forever, but the reality is that few companies are worth holding for decades. The author point out when you shouldn't sell ;)

1. The Stock has dropped.
2. The stock has skyrocketed
3. Did you make a mistake?
4. Have the fundamentals deteriorated?
5. Has the stock risen too far above intrinsic value?
6. Is there something better you can do with the money?
7. Do you have too much money in one stock?

2010/05/07 News Update

US closed -347.80 to 10,502.32 on 6/5/2010
Crude oil -USD2.86 to USD77.11 per barrel

US stocks plung before parring losses/ Bloomberg
- US stocks tumbled the most in a year on concern Europe's debt crisis will halt the global recovery. The selloff briefly erased more than $1trillion in market value as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 1,000 points, a 9.2% plunge that was its biggest intraday percentage loss since 1987, before paring the drop

Electronic Trading to blame for Stock Market plunge, NYSE's Leibowitz says

Nasdaq to cansel trades of stocks moving more than 60% in market plunge

China's accelerating producer prices may show yuan peg stoking inflation

Europe equity fund outflows jump to $2bil in week on Greece concerns

Swire properties pulls $2.7bil Hong Kong offers as IPO slump deepens

Euro set to rally above $1.30 after 'excessive' slide: Technical analysis

Crude oil may slide to $60 after biggest three day decline in 15 months

Citigroup finds 'no evidence' bank was invloved in Erroneous stock traders

Greek violence threatens to scare away tourists needed for saving economy

US Stocks plunge most in year as 'panic selling' grips market

Maxis testing 4G technology./ The Star
-Celco also conducting trials for IPTV as part of growth strategy.

Experts confident of Asia's long term fundamentals./ The Star
-Market observers are confident that the long term fundamentals in Asia outweigh any temporary sell-down due to the Greek debt crisis.

Intel to close R&D unit in Kulim Hi-tech Park./ The Star
-According to the source, Intel would gradually close the unit over the next 12mths.
-The workdone at the KHTP facility would be transferred  back to Arizona.

FTA talks with EU enter second round./ The Star
-Envoy says a successful agreement will benefit bilateral trade.

TM to maintain dividend at last year's level./ The Star
-the company aims to stick to its dividend payout policy of a minimum RM700mil or up to 90% of normalised profit after tax.

Higher LNG profit lifts MISC earnings./ The Star
-MISC posted a 36.5% jump in its net profit to RM196.4mil and recommeded a final dividend of 20sen per share tax exempt.

Economist: Q1 GDP seen at over 9%./ The Star

Maxbiz escapes suspension./ The Star

TH Plantations to grow landbank to 50,000 in 2year./ The Star

Stock market heading for better times./ The Star
-Petronas listing in H2 will spill over into the oil and gas play.

Ijm unit bags RM247mil Sarawak road contracts/ The Star
-2 other firm also win jobs for the Murun dam access road.

M-sport plans 1 for 4 rights issue./ The Star

Sarawak Cable plans two new products./ The Star

Bank Islam eyes stake in PT Bank Muamalat./ The Star
-Midest investors also interested in Indonesia's biggest islamic bank.

The Sabah factor in Petra Energy's plans./ The Star

BiotechCorp to focus on commercialising local research./ The Star