There seems to be a common theme emerging from companies giving profit guidance....
Thursday 31 Jul 2008 @ 6:15 PM
We are in the midst of the current Q2 or H1 reporting season and it would be too difficult to go through every announcement and look at the forward looking statement to see what companies are guiding for in the third quarter of second half of 2008.
I have decided to use another approach, ie to loo ....
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Wall Streets has another day of gains........but its part of that increased volatility that I was talking about
Thursday 31 Jul 2008 @ 8:50 AM
The US markets opened firm last night on the back of better than expected jobs data with the ADP showing the creation of 9,000 jobs instead of a loss of 55,000. The important figure is non-farm payrolls due this Friday with the market expecting a further decline in jobs by about 70,000. Another imp ....
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Crude oil prices fall almost 2.5% overnight....fuelling rally in US markets......Financials also rally with index up almost 8%
Wednesday 30 Jul 2008 @ 8:14 AM
Crude prices were firm yesterday and into the start of trading on US markets last night but gave way to selling pressure and fell 2.5% or US$121.95 for Brent per barrel. This led to a strong rally in fuel consumers such as airlines by 12-19%. Oil service companies such as Haliburton fell 3-6% on t ....
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Palm oil prices continue to fall inline with weaker crude......Malaysian Plantation Minister announces plans to arrest fall
Monday 28 Jul 2008 @ 9:55 AM
Palm Oil prices continue to fall from their peak of M$4000 per earlier this year to M$3050 now. Last week alone, Palm oil prices fell from M$3500 per tonne to M$3050 - a decline of 12.9%. This fall is inline with the recent weakness in crude oil which peaked at about US$145 per barrel to US$123-124 ....
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Global banks still not out of the woods as New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sues UBS for multi Billion dollar fraud
Sunday 27 Jul 2008 @ 10:11 PM
Last Thursday, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sued UBS, accusing it of committing a "multi-billion dollar fraud" by steering clients into auction-rate securities that became impossible to sell once the credit market tightened. The lawsuit said at least seven UBS executives dumped $21 million ....
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No need to rush and fill your petrol tanks this weekend as Crude Oil falls below US$124 per barrel....but
Saturday 26 Jul 2008 @ 3:24 PM
Crude oil fell at the close to US$123.72 per barrel for Brent - a weekly drop of 4.3%. This and some slightly better economic data helped US indices close higher on Friday with the Dow up by 21 and the Nasdaq by 30 to 11370.7 and 2310.5 respectively. Financials were however lower with two more bank ....
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Under pressure to become Bullish.......I think
Friday 25 Jul 2008 @ 8:04 AM
After the close to 90 point gain on Wednesday and with some consolidation yesterday for the FSSTI, I was under some pressure from friends on a golf course yesterday to become Bullish. Comments like "stocks have fallen so much and are cheap", "the worse is over" and "you are too bearish" peppered our ....
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Are we at the bottom of the bear market ?......what should we do .....? should we start to BUY.....?
Wednesday 23 Jul 2008 @ 8:56 AM
The US markets were in a relief rally last week with the indices rebounding about 3.6% - a combination of being heavily oversold and Fed intervention to curb naked short selling especially of financials stocks contributed to the rebound. So its more technical and linked to Fed intervention. Looking ....
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With crude oil prices what should we do with Keppel Corp ??......a Blog question
Monday 21 Jul 2008 @ 7:46 AM
Padraig Harrington won the British Open.. I was hoping Greg Norman would win as it would give older golfers a boost. The wind was terrible with balls moving on their own whilst on the Green. Even our own Lam Chih Beng shot a +31 with a final round of +11 to rank 83...not bad considering the terrib ....
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Crude Oil falls further to US$128-129 per barrel....US markets mixed overnight but supported by financials....
Saturday 19 Jul 2008 @ 7:51 AM
The weather for golf yesterday am was perfect but unfortunately my game wasnt up to scratch although the losses were minimal. The good news this morning is that KJ Choi leads the British Golf Open followed by Gred Norman and our Lam Chih Beng makes the cut.
Now back to more serious stuff...Crude ....
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US markets rally on better bank earnings - Crude Oil falls to US$130 !!! ....but bell weathers' disappoint after market
Friday 18 Jul 2008 @ 6:17 AM
The British Open got off to a terrible start with leader at one under (Rocco Mediate and Graeme McDowell). Favourites Ells, Vijay and Mickelson are at +9-10. I am off to cut some grass this morning but will leave you these views to think about today ahead of the week.
First Crude Oil did FALL BE ....
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Plantation companies could face a massive double blow to earnings if crude oil prices fall !!
Thursday 17 Jul 2008 @ 9:37 PM
Palm oil prices have been driven sharply higher by crude oil because at these levels of crude, it makes economic sense to convert palm oil into fuel - biodiesel. The chart pattern for palm oil in the last two years mirrors the price chart for crude oil.
What is the double earnings blow that p ....
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Have crude oil prices peaked ?!.....how low can they go ?!......which stocks should you be selling ?!
Thursday 17 Jul 2008 @ 4:04 PM
Crude oil prices have fallen from their recent peak of just over US$145 per barrel. The latest decline yesterday was due to building inventories and the absence of any further escalation of hostilities in the Middle East especially from Iran which had caused fears of supply disruptions when they tes ....
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US markets rally stongly overnight by 2-4% - dont be fooled as we are still in a Bear market
Thursday 17 Jul 2008 @ 8:03 AM
The sharp gains in US markets overnight with the Dow higher by 277 and the Nasdaq by 70 to 11239 and 2284 respectively is not a trend reversal.
A number of factors contributed to the sharp rebound:
a) the US markets were oversold and due for a technical rebound
b) the SEC was conducting invest ....
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Should you subscribe for the OCBC Class B preference share with a 5.1% dividend ?
Wednesday 16 Jul 2008 @ 6:31 PM
OCBC is opening the retail tranche of this instrument today worth about S$50mn of its S$1bn offering. Investors must subscribe for at least 200 shares at a price of S$100.00 per share, ie S$20,000.00 minimum investment. This tranche will be subject to balloting if it is oversubscribed at the close ....
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"It is the most serious financial crisis of our lifetime" - George Soros - echoing similar comments by Wee Cho Yaw made earlier this month
Wednesday 16 Jul 2008 @ 11:38 AM
The US housing and financial crisis is worsening. Comments from Fed Chairman Bernanke last night that the US economy is facing numerous difficulties - persistent strains in financial markets, rising unemployment and housing problems was a confirmation of the seriousness of the problem. He added tha ....
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Any attempt by the Fed to save Freddie and Fannie will not help......IndyMac the first of many casualties of the US banking sector
Monday 14 Jul 2008 @ 10:36 PM
The Singapore market closed down modestly today but still held onto the 2900 level. Dow futures pointed to a strong opening (up by over 100 points) on short covering amid expectations that the Fed would come to the rescue of these two institutions which together account for about half of total US mo ....
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Why all the fuss about Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and are they Govt backed ?
Sunday 13 Jul 2008 @ 3:03 PM
I thought I would do some research on these two names which have been making the press headlines and sending markets into a roller coaster ride last week. On reading what I have found - it comes as no surprise that the US housing market is in such a mess. You cannot assume that a Government perceiv ....
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Chaos in US markets last night underscore the serious housing problems in the US
Saturday 12 Jul 2008 @ 10:17 AM
I am writing this Blog from the Hong Kong airport as I wait to catch my flight back to Singapore。
First - I was surprised at the resilience of the Singapore market on Friday where investors tried to hold the STI Index above the 2900 level。 This was possible in a weak and thin market ....
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Singapore's Q2-2008 GDP growth was +1.9% yoy and -6.6% quarter on quarter....
Thursday 10 Jul 2008 @ 11:07 AM
The advance Q2-2008 GDP growth estimates check MTI website showed slower Q2-2008 year on year growth of 1.9% from a 5.6% decline in manufaturing, a 6.9% growth in services and a 15.2% rise in construction. No major surprises here ....
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US markets fall on corporates woes not the Iran missile tests - crude was stable but US$ falls
Thursday 10 Jul 2008 @ 6:37 AM
The rise in US and Asian markets yesterday amid some weakness spurred a rally in shares in the US and the rest of the world. The thin volume seemed to suggest that the rally was prompted more by short covering than by serious buying, ie the start of a bottom.
Last night US markets slumped badly w ....
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Yesterday's rally in STI was a relief rally - Wee Cho Yaw's comments confirm the underlying risk
Tuesday 8 Jul 2008 @ 6:52 AM
I was out of the office most of yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by the strong gains in the STI Index. Volumes were better but still low compared to the better times last year. Given the recent spate of weakness - we can assume that the rally was short covering or a relief rally as there has ....
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Healthway Medical's unhealthy market debut by Barry Porter of Mediacorp in Today - a buying opportunity
Sunday 6 Jul 2008 @ 7:00 AM
I read an article in the Today newspaper last Saturday by Barry Porter of mediacorp - the article headline was "Healthway Medical's unhealthy market debut". He cited the 37.5% decline in the IPO price on the first day of trading as the Company dared to launch despite uncertain market conditions and ....
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Don't be fooled by the modest gains in Wall Street overnight !
Friday 4 Jul 2008 @ 8:23 AM
Stock markets are so listless that the first thing I did when I woke up this morning was to check when the Chinese tennis player had made it into the finals - that was unfortunately not the case.
Then I checked Wall Street and was surprised at the more than 70 point gain in the Dow despite the ECB ....
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Crude oil could cross US$150 per barrel this month or even this week if the FED doesnt raise interest rates
Wednesday 2 Jul 2008 @ 3:36 PM
The Singapore market continues to exhibit a weak undertone - with this morning's rally not being sustainable. There was noticeable selling of blue chips on some volume...but property stocks in particular the Capitaland Group being firm. A quick check on analysts recommendations on Bloomberg did not ....
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A medical doctor dishes out his stock advice to me over breakfast......an interesting view
Wednesday 2 Jul 2008 @ 9:42 AM
I had roti prata breakfast with a medical doctor this week. It was a casual meeting and I thought that after my recent bout with some medical issues I could seek a second opinion on what I should do. The conversation than wandered into the economy and what investors should do.
Thinking that he w ....
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The Singapore market even after its recent falls is still not
Tuesday 1 Jul 2008 @ 6:54 PM
The Bulls - if there are any left out there have been arguing that the Singapore market is "cheap" after its recent correction. According to Bloomberg, the STI Index is trading on a prospective PER of 14.1 compared to 10.6 in FY2007. This implies that the market is forecasting a 20-30% decline in e ....
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