I started serious Investing Journey in Jan 2000 to create wealth through long-term investing and short-term trading; but as from April 2013 my Journey in Investing has changed to create Retirement Income for Life till 85 years old in 2041 for two persons over market cycles of Bull and Bear.

Since 2017 after retiring from full-time job as employee; I am moving towards Investing Nirvana - Freehold Investment Income for Life investing strategy where 100% of investment income from portfolio investment is cashed out to support household expenses i.e. not a single cent of re-investing!

It is 57% (2017 to Aug 2022) to the Land of Investing Nirvana - Freehold Income for Life!


Click to email CW8888 or Email ID : jacobng1@gmail.com



Welcome to Ministry of Wealth!

This blog is authored by an old multi-bagger blue chips stock picker uncle from HDB heartland!

"The market is not your mother. It consists of tough men and women who look for ways to take money away from you instead of pouring milk into your mouth." - Dr. Alexander Elder

"For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them." - Aristotle

It is here where I share with you how I did it! FREE Education in stock market wisdom.

Think Investing as Tug of War - Read more? Click and scroll down



Important Notice and Attention: If you are looking for such ideas; here is the wrong blog to visit.

Value Investing
Dividend/Income Investing
Technical Analysis and Charting
Stock Tips

Wednesday 31 October 2012

Singaporeans suffer depressing work-life balance: survey

88% revealed they work beyond official hours.

According to a recent JobStreet.com survey on work-life balance in Singapore, 88% of workers surveyed revealed that they were working beyond their official hours.

Here's more from JobStreet.com:

The main reason cited for working overtime was unreasonable deadlines and overloading of work.
 
Beyond working hours, 70% chose to complete unfinished work in the office while the remaining 30% chose to bring work home.

Only 30% of the respondents claimed that their companies had initiatives in place to promote work-life balance. Flexible work arrangement was identified as the most common initiative practiced by companies.

The survey also revealed a couple of interesting facts:

• 45% indicated that the company pays lip service to work-life balance with policies in place just for show

42% indicated that they chose not to use the company’s initiatives for work-life balance with majority citing the concerns of receiving an inferior performance review as the main reason.


On the second point, 74% of employers surveyed were quick to proclaim that they do not view workers who use the company’s work-life balance initiatives as less committed to their jobs.

Workers identified overloading of work and high pressured deadlines as the main reasons for not being able to achieve work-life balance in Singapore.

Said one respondent, “The work-life balance  initiatives introduced by companies do not solve the root cause towards why employees can't enjoy  work-life balance. Workload is the pertinent issue hence there should be initiatives to ensure realistic allocation of work for each worker or sufficient manpower to sustain the expected workload.”

Concerns about affecting the company’s bottom line as well as employees potentially abusing the system were listed as the main reason. Respondents suggested corporate tax relief and enforcement of policies as steps that the government can take to encourage more companies to promote work-life balance at the workplace.

About 650 workers and 135 employers participated in the survey that was conducted by JobStreet.com in September 2012. 
 

CapitaLand enters funding agreement with Chinese banks

CapitaLand Ltd on Wednesday said it has entered into a strategic co-operation agreement with four Chinese banks for a credit limit allocation of up to 50 billion yuan (S$10 billion) for CapitaLand's China businesses.

The four banks are Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank (CCB) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC).

The move will help CapitaLand provide funding for the group's growth plans in its residential, commercial, retail, serviced residence, integrated developments and financial services sectors across China, said Liew Mun Leong, president and CEO of CapitaLand Group.

Since the start of this year, CapitaLand has committed S$3.0 billion in new investments, with Singapore and China accounting for the bulk of the amount.


Tuesday 30 October 2012

CapitaLand Q3 net profit jumps 85 pct, helped by portfolio gains

SINGAPORE, Oct 30 (Reuters) - CapitaLand Ltd, Southeast Asia's largest property developer, said its third-quarter net profit rose 85.1 percent, boosted by higher operating income and portfolio gains.

CapitaLand, about 40 percent-owned by Singapore state investor Temasek, earned S$148.5 million in July-September, up from S$80.2 million a year ago.

It reported portfolio gains of $$75.0 million in the third quarter, compared to S$34.9 million a year ago, mainly from the divestment of Ascott Guangzhou and Ascott Raffles Place to Ascott Residence Trust.

The property developer's revenue rose 12.9 percent to S$686.9 million from a year ago, driven by higher revenue recognised from development projects in Singapore, China and Australia as well as strong contribution from the group's shopping mall and fee-based income businesses.

"We do not expect a significant impact from these measures on new home sales in the short term. However, we are monitoring the situation closely," CapitaLand said, referring to measures by Singapore to cool property prices.

Sunday 28 October 2012

In the end, his millions meant nothing

Read? The day when doctor brings bad news. It can happen to anyone.

Money was everything to successful aesthetics doctor Richard Teo Keng Siang.

But in March last year, Dr Teo, a light smoker, was struck down by terminal lung cancer. His attitude changed.

He realised that true joy comes from sharing life with people and not from chasing wealth or success.

Now it is his message, not his riches, that has become his legacy.

Videos of his inspirational speeches went viral after he died on Oct 18 at age 40.

Read the full report in The New Paper on Sunday (Oct 28).

Watch video


Sure-win schemes not a sure thing???

Sure-win scheme for WHO???


invest, Pg 31, Oct 28, 2012, thesundaytimes


Who are likely to believe them?


  1. Seduced by daily advertisement in newspaper or blog posts. One day, they can't resist the temptation anymore. They finally register themselves for the free preview. In the free preview, the Gurus charmed or conned them further for final submission to be disciples and to become religious.
  2. Haunted by their past losses. They have been losing lots of money in trading or investing on their own. So what is $X,XXX  for Holy Grail to help them to recover their past losses in a sure-win scheme. It is just peanuts!!!

Are you seduced or haunted???

If yes, count yourself lucky by reading this blog post from Uncle8888.

Read? Who are the dummies? You or the Gurus???

Money = happiness? (2)


Read? Money = Happiness?

"There is no happiness; there are only moments of happiness." - [anon; Spanish Proverb]

Createwealth8888 likes to extend it further.

There is no happiness; there are only moments of happiness. But unhappiness tends to last longer.


If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.
 
Chinese Proverb
  
 
“如果你想快乐一小时小睡一会。
  
如果你想快乐一天? 去钓鱼了。
  
如果你想快乐的一年? 继承了一笔。
  
如果你想要一辈子的幸福吗? 帮助别人。“
  
中国谚语







Go Fishing???
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. This is something Uncle8888 very familiar with.

But, money can make a difference.
 
There are three options for Uncle8888 to go fishing for one day of happiness; but may not end up happy. Why???
 
  1. Go to Punggol End. It is less than $5.
  2. Go to Kusu/St. John Island. It is around $20
  3. Go to Batam. It is about $200-$300 for three days including some seafood makan.

 For option 3,  the moment of happiness is at the highest level. Most of the time, it is like fishing at his own private fishing spot.

Go to Punggol. It is too crowded. Happiness for a day??? Just really not sure.

After so many years in fishing, the other fisherwoman kaki still can't aim straight and throw her fishing line straight. Very often, it will either land on her left or right to cross into other people's fishing line.
Some people may become sibei buay song. Luckily, some people can be more forgiving with lao auntie but still buay song.

Saturday 27 October 2012

Retirement Income for Life??? (2)



Read? Retirement Income for Life???



Reaching Financial Feedom???

Do we consider ourselves reaching financial freedom when passive income from investment exceeds expenses?

That is the conventional wisdom of defining FF. But, it doesn't factor inflationary rate and it assumes the market is favourable to long-term investors over market cycles. The truth, the market is never favourable to any class of investors no matters how smart the investors are. Google for yourself the failure of Ivy League Endowment Fund especially the famous Yale Endowment Model. One research paper's conclusion shows that they reflect failure of endowment managers to properly diversify and plan for extreme events. Endowments must model and prepare for extreme events, evaluate whether the classification of their assets genuinely reflects true diversification, and perhaps most importantly, appropriate a much larger portion of their portfolios to cash and other liquid assets.

So far, Uncle8888 has reading more and more books in NLBs relating to Retirement planning and mental health especially on Dementia. It is damn bloody scary!!!


Till now Uncle8888 still consider this one as the better model for his retirement planning.


Combining Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs & Retirement Income for Life




The Money Levels for Retirement Life:

  • Survival Money. How much do you spend simply to survive?
  • Safety Money. You will want to protect your life. This could mean health care costs, health insurance, and/or proper portfolio planning so you don’t outlive your money.
  • Freedom Money. Money needed to do the things that bring joy and fulfilment to your life. Could be travel, education, or fine wine.
  • Gift Money. Money for people and causes that deserve your help. This is the replacement for “love”.
  • Dream Money. This is the elusive “self-actualization” level where you find true happiness and meaning.

 
Strengthening this model further ....





 
 
 
Most of us are seriously worry of not having enough for safety money for prolong illness and end-of-life medical costs.
 
 
What is so good about this model?
 
When we are seriously sick, we should be spending much lesser on Freedom Money. This saving in Freedom Money could then flow downwards to support the increase spending in Safety Money.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anyone doing your retirement planning, what do you think?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 



Paulson Fund Losses Prompt Some Investors to Pull Out

Createwealth8888: The truth in investing/trading, even the world's best may also fail badly one day.



Last January, when investors in one of Paulson & Co.'s best-known hedge funds saw the value of their investments had been slashed in half, some wondered how much worse it could get.

Hedge fund manager John Paulson.

Then by Sept. 30, there was an additional drop of 15 percentage points-with three months left to go in the year.

As a result, some Paulson investors-who gave the firm a pass last year when the riskier version of the firm's umbrella fund, Paulson Advantage Plus, saw enormous losses-are now throwing in the towel.

Fed up with lagging returns at the hedge-fund management company, a number of investors large and small are opting to either reduce their capital at risk or yank it entirely by year's end.

It's the latest blow to fund manager John Paulson, who became famous in the investing world after he bet correctly on the collapse of housing prices in 2008.



"We expected, based on the way [Paulson] does things, that we're going to have periods of time where he's out of favor," said Craig Husting, the chief investment officer of the Public School and Education Employee Retirement Systems of Missouri, a pair of pension funds that have trimmed their investments in Paulson's Advantage Plus to a third of the original size over the past year and a half. "But just the beta - the volatility of his bets - is why we pared back."

With just days to go before an Oct. 31 deadline for investors who want to redeem their capital to notify Paulson, Husting may well be joined by a panoply of others.

They range from the private bank of of Citigroup (C), which revealed in August that it would claw back its funds (a process starting in 2013), to the 92nd Street Y, which people familiar with the matter said pulled its capital this year because of concerns about future potential losses and its investment mix.



Other significant players, including the brokerage arm of Morgan Stanley (MS), are considering pulling funds, but haven't yet made a final decision, people familiar with the matter said. (A spokeswoman for the 92nd Street Y didn't return calls for comment, and a Morgan Stanley spokesman declined to comment.)

Paulson, which is known for its aggressive, 25-person investor-relations team, isn't taking the reversals lying down.

"Recent performance in our Advantage Fund is disappointing and we understand investor frustration," said the firm in a written statement.

The firm noted that over the lifetime of the Advantage Funds, which were opened in 2004, Paulson had "far exceeded" both the event-driven hedge fund index and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index (^GSPC), returning more than 10 percent annually.

It also noted that the vast majority of its current Advantage fund participants - 89 percent - have invested in it using gold as a currency, rather than dollars, an option Paulson offers to all its investors. In gold-share terms, the Advantage fund is flat for the year, the firm added, not down.

During the past year, Paulson has worked to appease worried investors.

Last winter, the company invited unhappy Advantage fund participants to move their capital into other Paulson funds while preserving their high-water marks. That meant that the former Advantage investors had the chance to participate in 100 percent of their new funds' profits, rather than the standard 80 percent, with the remaining 20 percent reverting back to Paulson management.

At the same time, Paulson set up a new risk-management structure that gathered for biweekly meetings and set new trading and leverage limits.

Ironically, though, it was some of the resultant hedges against a further credit crisis in Europe, as well as battered performances in Paulson's gold-miner portfolio, that have given the firm's Advantage funds trouble since.

Through Sept. 30, people familiar with the matter said, the Advantage Plus fund has fallen 15 percent, meaning that a dollar invested in it on Jan. 1, 2011, would be worth about 41 cents today. In the Advantage fund, the drop was roughly 10 percent, meaning that that dollar would be worth 57 cents today.

That fall has been equally pronounced in the firm's total assets under management.

Once $38 billion, the figure has fallen to nearly half that since early 2011, and now sits at nearly $20 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

Of that, about $12 billion belongs to John Paulson and his employees, creating what the firm described in its statement as "a very sticky capital base."

The firm also points out that on a capital-weighted basis, its funds are up an average of 2 percent this year.

Heartened by Paulson's tremendous wins during the recession and hoping 2011 was a one-off, many investors hung tight over the past year.

But an August announcement that Citigroup would remove Paulson from its internal hedge-fund platform, which initiated a $410 million redemption process, crystallized the doubts among some of the fund company's more patient investors.

"In my 20-plus years, I have never seen someone go from so high to so low in such a time period," said Brad Alford, who runs the Atlanta investment firm Alpha Capital Management and had originally invested about $10 million of his high net worth clients' money in Paulson. That figure, Alford estimated, is now closer to $3 million.

His frustration with Paulson is such that he's pulling out of a broader fund-of-funds platform entirely just to remove his capital from Paulson - even though the platform contains other funds he likes, such as DE Shaw's Oculus Fund, which is up by double digits so far this year.

"You just get so frustrated that you are done with the name, you are done with the manager, he's done something you can never go back from," Alford added. He's had better luck with mutual funds that employ hedge fund-type strategies with much more liquidity and a fraction of the fees, he said.

Friday 26 October 2012

True joy comes from helping others in hardship???


Read? The day when doctor brings bad news. It can happen to anyone.


 
"True joy I discovered comes from interaction. Over the last few months I was so down. Interaction with my loved ones, my friends, my brothers in Christ, my sisters in Christ, and only then was I able to be motivated, able to be uplifted. To share your sorrow, to share your happiness – that’s true joy.

And you know what makes you smile? True joy comes from helping others in hardship, and because I’ve gone through this, I know what hardship entails. In fact, there’re some cancer patients who tell me a lot of times, people come up to them and tell them, “Stay positive. Stay positive.” Yah, right. You come in my shoes and you try to stay positive! You don’t know what you’re talking about!

But I have the licence. So I’ve been going out to meet other fellow cancer patients, to share with them, encourage them. And I know, because I’ve been through it, and it’s easier for me to talk to them."
- Dr Richard Teo



Createwealth8888:


One woman knew it better.

True joy comes from helping others in hardship.


She heard that giving Maths tuition to primary school kids may be a good way to making small pocket money in her "growing" free time.

One day, that the opportunity did come. 

One primary six girl needs Maths tuition badly to catch up for her year end PSLE.

Guess what happen???

Instead of collecting tuition fee, she ended up giving free tuition after hearing that her mother is a single parent with 80 years old Grandma living with them.

Like that how to collect tuition fee???


Beside the free tuition, she also throws in free milo and snacks during tuition as she thinks that growing up girl like her kids are often hungry before meals.











Me, No multi-baggers (6)



Read? Me, No multi-baggers (5)


How do you know someone is honest or not?

It can be quite difficult to confirm that someone is honest.


Do we know someone who is not honest?

Very easy. When they were caught doing dishonest acts, we will know that we cannot really trust them.


How can you find multi-bagger stocks?



The answer is same as finding an honest person. It is very difficult.

It is easier to know who will not find multi-bagger stocks?


Are you expert or strong believer in Bearish Divergence???

Bearish Divergence

A technical analysis where new price tops are getting higher as a certain technical indicator top is dipping, indicating weakness of the uptrend.

See an example

RSI Figure 5
Bearish Divergence compares the movement of prices to movement usually of an oscillating or ranging indicator as well as volume indicator. As the new price tops are rising, an indicator's bottoms are not, indicating weakness in the trend.














What does technically well-verse or expert in Bearish Divergence do when they see one?



Read? Master the Art of Formless Form - The Greatest of All Kung Fu in Investing (2)







Thursday 25 October 2012

CPL - Finally, more bulls came and made it possible!!!

 
 




 

 
 
 
 

NOL breaks loss-streak with US$50m profit

NEPTUNE Orient Lines ended six straight quarters of losses with net profits of US$50 million in its third quarter ended Sept 21.

It posted a US$91 million loss in the corresponding quarter of last year.

Q3 revenue was up four per cent to US$2.30 billion from $2.21 billion a year ago.

However, in the first nine months of 2012, its losses came up to US$321.4 million, deepening from US$157.8 million in the same reporting period.

Is life sometime cruel to the innocent (naive, kiasi) when come to investment?

Just For Thinking ...

Read? Same story line and yet people believe them???


Is life sometime cruel to some innocent (naive, kiasi???) when come to investing?


Read? CAD on trail of Edgeworth Properties?


Local stocks in SGX is NOT that dangerous. It can offer reasonable returns over long-term for diversified portfolio through 3M's - Method, Mind and Money. It is also NOT that difficult to learn 3M's investing knowledge.

Do help your friends and relatives who are newbies or oldies but still innocent (naive, kiasi???) to point them to sources of free learning.

Free sources of learning may not be that difficult to find as some of source owners are willing to share their experience at no costs. It is what I called true giving back to the society or community.


For starters, read Uncle8888's articles on your right. To share some of my thoughts, learning and experience ...


Wednesday 24 October 2012

The day when doctor brings bad news. It can happen to anyone.


Read? The day when doctor brings bad news. It can happen to anyone.


Read? Dr Richard Teo Keng Siang

Watch? Video of Dr Richard

Do people doesn't believe that bad news from Doctor may actually come sooner than expected in our life?



CapitaLand establishes US$215m housing private equity fund

SINGAPORE: Property group CapitaLand has set up a housing private equity fund that will invest in value housing developments in China.

The company said in a statement that the CapitaLand China Value Housing Fund (CCVHF) was successfully closed at US$215 million (S$264 million).

CapitaLand's wholly-owned unit, CapitaValue Homes, has a 58.6 per cent stake in the fund, totalling up to S$155 million.

Meanwhile, other corporate and institutional investors hold the remaining stakes.

The CCVHF is CapitaLand's 12th real estate private equity fund in China and has a fund life of five years.

Two value housing projects which are currently in development, The Rivervale in Guangzhou and The Floravale in Shanghai, will be injected into the fund as seed investments.

CapitaValue Homes' chief executive officer, Chen Lian Pang, said in the statement that "China is currently 51 per cent urbanised and seven million new households are expected to form every year. Value housing will meet the needs and affordability of many young and first time homebuyers."

Meanwhile, CapitaLand Financial' chief executive officer, Wen Khai Meng, added "the fund will offer investors an opportunity to gain exposure to the value housing segment in China."

CapitaLand currently has total assets under management of about S$36.1 billion from its six real estate investment trusts (REIT) and 15 private equity funds.

- CNA/fa


Protecting our gains from the market actions???


Just For Thinking ...





Read? Jack Schwager Market Wizards Seminar Review

Martin Schwartz was formerly a fundamental analyst on Wall Street. After he become a trader, he managed to achieve an (audited) average return of 25% over a ten year period. Don’t let your jaws drop, it’s 25% a month and not 25% a year. This he did using purely technical analysis.

There were only two months that he lost money, once when he lost 2% and another when he lost 3%. However, Martin always took his profits and invested into treasury bills, so you do not see an astronomical compounding of returns.


Read? Jesse Livermore Money Management Rules


Rule 5: Take the profits in cash


Jesse Livermore felt that after a huge winning trade, you should take 50% of that and place it in cash. This money should be put aside in the bank, hold it in reserve, or lock it up in a safe-deposit box. I do not necessarily agree with this money management rule, because if you treat your investment wins as if they are going to eventually leave you, this must have some affect on your subconscious, which in turn will hurt your profits. I think if you put aside maybe 20% and then treat yourself to a nice dinner or a small shopping spree is better because it provides you positive reinforcements of your trading activities.

It is a shame that Jesse Livermore was unable to follow his own money management rules, because if he had, maybe his life would not have ended so tragically.



Createwealth8888's comments






















Mr Bear, I am not going to give back all to you like in 2007.

No way!!!











Singapore inflation rises to 4.7% in September

SINGAPORE: Singapore's inflation rate accelerated last month, driven again by housing and transport costs.

Data from the Department of Statistics showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in September rose 4.7 percent from the same month a year ago.
That's up from 3.9% in August, which was the lowest rate in almost two years.
September's inflation rate marks a reversal of price moderations experienced over the last three months.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the pick-up in September was anticipated given the surge in COE prices the previous month.

COE premiums rose 40% on-year to a record average high of S$83,600, pushing private transport costs up 10.8 percent year-on-year following a 6.3 percent increase in August.

Alvin Liew, UOB's senior economist, said: "Currently (inflation is) at 4.7 per cent, I believe that if transport costs or the COE premiums were to spike in some of the months (ahead), it won't be too surprising to see our inflation rate for some of the months going up above 5% again."

Housing cost inflation in September jumped by 7.7 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 7.4 percent rise in the previous month.

Analysts say that while housing and transport costs remain a concern, the increasing price of services, particularly healthcare and education, should also be watched.

Mr Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, said: "In the area of healthcare, due to the medical treatment component, there has been a significant price spike in September...that is more than the trend line in the year as a whole, and in education, to a lesser extent, that is the case as well."

Services inflation inched up to 3 percent in September against a 2.7 percent rise in August, reflecting a stronger pickup in the cost of holiday travel and household services.

Meanwhile, food price inflation eased slightly to 2.1 percent in September, down from a 2.3 percent increase in August.

Analysts say September's elevated inflation rate justifies the MAS' decision last month to leave intact its policy of a modest and gradual appreciation of the Singapore dollar to help dampen inflation.

- CNA/fa/ir

Sunday 21 October 2012

Why bother with Portfolio Measurement and Monitoring???

Just For Laugh....




Ask those slim women. Why they measure?







Do these women watch their diet, measure and do enough exercise to keep slim?


Tired of watching diet, don't measure, don't monitor, and become lazy in exercising.


Soon they will up size ....







Saturday 20 October 2012

Are you easily seduced by SEX???

Just For Laugh .....




Are you easily seduced by sex???






























A former bank officer was jailed for 12 weeks on Thursday for commercial sex with an underage Vietnamese girl. He is the seventh man to be jailed for paid sex with a minor involving Vietnamese girls.

He pleaded guilty to paying $120 to the then 17-year-old girl at Four Chain View Hotel in Geylang on July 21 last year.





Are you easily seduced by SEX???



SEX provided by Trading Gurus at a price!!!




They promise you great action!


SEX = Simple Easy eXpert techniques to make money in the stock market.

Of course, they are uncensored by MAS.








In the book, Millionaire Teacher by Andrew Hallam.

The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have learned in School.


Rule 8: Avoid Seduction.
















Investing in S-REITs???

Are you newbies in S-REITs investing?


Do you want to get educated on S-REITS free of charge?


There is this new book available in NLB written by local author.


Title : Building wealth through REITS
Author:   Jayaraman, Bobby


Hurry up hor!





 


 

The Curse of 19 Oct 1987???




We all know that we will need to invest the most during the Bear Market.

The question is how do we plan to do it?

Uncle8888's War Room Planning for the next Bear


It is weighted-step back planning into the market based on the level of fall in STI. The objective is to minimise the impact of losses when he got it damn bloody wrong like in 2008/09.

Unlce8888 so smart to think that ....

  1. It is just pull back. No problem. Hoot!
  2. It is just correction. Don't worry. Hoot bigger. I can't be wrong. My TA Tok Kong (Hokkien).
  3. Oh no!. This is Bloody Bear liao!!! Alamak no more bullets left. Damn shit!!!

But, this time, it has to be different .... otherwise, Uncle8888 has not learnt much after paying for the expensive YTD Tuition fee of $414K (realised losses, unrealised losses and write-off) since 2000 to Singapore University of Stock Market for further study in PHD (SGX Stocks)





 
BTW,  most of us will have to pay some tuition fees in the stock market to learn good practical lessons. The only difference is how much do you need to pay for these lessons to graduate from either PSLE, O Level, A Level, Degree, Masters, or PHD.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 






Friday 19 October 2012

Me, No multi-baggers (5)



Read? Me, No multi-baggers (4)




Multi-bagger stocks or Multi-bagger Total Retun???


But, before you answer this, you must believe you can FLY like an Eagle!!!





 

















Read? Who influence you into investing?

Read? Eagle can Fly!!!


Read? Learn From a Fool - Believing that I Can Find a Ten Bagger


Luckily, there is no investment or finance bloggers during my earlier days; otherwise, will I still believe I CAN FLY LIKE EAGLE!!!

These are not penny stocks hor!!!






Thursday 18 October 2012

9 Stocks That Have Been Paying Uninterrupted Dividends for More Than 68 Years

  
Before the late 1950s, most stock investors focused not on capital gains but on dividends. According to Fidelity Viewpoints, "For many years, dividends were the primary reason to invest in the stock market."

Given the terrible payouts on savings accounts and most bonds right now -- 215 stocks in the S&P 500 have a higher yield than a 10-year Treasury bond -- 2011 marked the Great Dividend Resurgence. Of the top 10 most-read Fool.com articles last year, eight were dividend-focused. Our free report detailing a dozen or so high-yielding stocks, launched late in 2010, has been downloaded nearly half a million times.

And in a happy coincidence, it's good to be a dividend investor again.

Cash in your pocket

Out of the approximately 7,000 companies that report dividend information to S&P Indices, only 101 cut their dividend last year. That figure is down from 145 in 2010, which was down from 804 in 2009. During the year of reckoning (2008), 606 companies reduced their dividends.

Not only are fewer companies cutting payouts, more are increasing them. In February alone, "two dozen" companies have raised their dividends, according to Dow Jones Newswires, bringing the 2012 total number for dividend hikers to almost 60. And we're six weeks in.

3M (NYSE: MMM  ) is one example. On Tuesday, the conglomerate said it would raise its quarterly dividend 7%, marking the 54th straight year it has increased the payout. Big picture, S&P Senior Index Analyst Howard Silverblatt expects dividends to rise a remarkable 11% this year, as my colleague Morgan Housel noted.

That double-digit gain is feasible given that companies are flush with cash. As of late January, U.S. corporations had total cash reserves greater than $2 trillion, "close to a 50-year high in relative terms," wrote Time. Meanwhile, the S&P dividend payout ratio -- dividends paid as a percent of earnings -- is close to an all-time low.

Dividends = discipline

As I've written before, I love companies that have shown a commitment to raising their payouts (I've long owned 3M in my own portfolio). As an owner, you can rely on inflation-beating dividend payments and feel secure in the academic studies showing that dividend-paying companies are better-disciplined stewards of shareholder capital.

That 3M has increased its dividend for more than half a century is impressive. Even more so, the company has paid dividends without a single interruption for more than 95 years, a remarkable streak that is more common than I first thought.

Consider that the nine stocks listed below have all been paying dividends since Franklin Roosevelt was in the White House -- at least -- an awesome consistency that shows a culture of discipline, determination, and stewardship at these firms. (To trot out my favorite dividend one-liner, professor Aswath Damodaran has said "dividends are like getting married; buybacks are like hooking up.")

To evaluate how attractive these stocks are now,I've also included their five-year dividend growth rate -- because dividend growth is at least as important as dividend consistency.

Company
Paying Uninterrupted Dividends Since
Yield
Current Yield Higher Than 10-Year Treasury?
5-Year Dividend Growth Rate

3M
1916
2.5%
Yes
3.6%
Coca-Cola
1920
2.7%
Yes
8.7%
Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT  )
1924
3.4%
Yes
10.2%
Colgate-Palmolive
1895
2.5%
Yes
12.7%
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG  )
1890
3.3%
Yes
11.4%
General Mills
1944
3.1%
Yes
10.8%
Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI  )
1887
2.2%
No
11.6%
United Technologies (NYSE: UTX  )
1936
2.4%
Yes
12.8%
Church & Dwight
1901
1.4%
No
39.2%
 
Dividend growth rate data from MSN Money.
 
These dividends may not survive another six decades. But when searching for the kinds of income-producing blue chips that will allow you to rest easily, this list is a great place to start. Or to put it more broadly, to find the kinds of stocks that will consistently pay you a good portion of their earnings (or better yet, free cash flow), start with those that have shown a long-standing pattern of that behavior.

--------------------


Createwealth8888:

So dividend income for a life time is not a dream?



 

CPL - One more attempt to breakout???

 
 
Can breakout tmr???
 
 
 
 

Kep Corp: 3Q & 9M 2012 REPORT CARD




 
 
SINGAPORE, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Singapore's Keppel Corp Ltd , the world's largest oil rig builder, reported third-quarter net profit of S$346 million ($284.5 million), 15 percent lower than the S$406.1 million it made a year earlier, mainly due to lower-margin projects.
The third-quarter figure was above the S$324 million average forecast of five analysts polled by Reuters. Keppel made net profit of S$520.9 million in the April-June quarter of this year when it booked gains from property units it sold earlier via a deferred payment plan.
In the third quarter, Keppel's offshore and marine segment secured S$7.3 billion in new orders from Brazil, Kazakhstan and Singapore, bringing its net order book to S$13.1 billion at the end of September, with work extending to 2019.
Many analysts remain bullish about the company's outlook due to high oil prices, the need for oil firms to replace old rigs, and rising spending on exploration and production particularly in Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa.
However, Keppel warned that with surplus capacity in shipbuilding, more yards are chasing offshore work, and that aggressive competition continues to exert pressure on newbuild prices and margins.
Keppel has been the global market leader in designing and building offshore drilling rigs since 2000, with 50 percent market share for jack-up rigs and 33 percent for semisubmersible rigs, according to a Keppel spokeswoman.
Before its results were released, 21 of 24 analysts tracking Keppel had 'strong buy' or 'buy' ratings on the firm, and three had 'hold' calls, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Keppel competes with Sembcorp Marine Ltd in the offshore marine market.
Keppel shares closed up 0.9 percent at S$11.39 on Thursday. The stock has risen 22 percent so far this year, beating an increase of almost 16 percent for Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index.

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Home for Living and not for profit taking (9)

Read? Home for Living and not for profit taking (8)


Read? A prudent taxi driver


He shared the experience of a neighbor who sold the first HDB flat, took out the profit and spent it away. The neighbor took a full loan on the resale HDB flat and now had to pay $1,000 a month up to age 75. This was very stressful.

Another friend sold the HDB flat on two occasions and took out the profit. He invested in the stock market and lost the money entirely. He could not pay the mortgage on the 5 room HDB flat which was repossessed. Now, he had to downgrade to a 3 room HDB flat, and was in a worse condition than the taxi driver.


The Moral of the Story

Is your only residential home as an investment instrument and for profit taking?

Like any drivers on the road, they believe that they are above-average drivers.

Same as for many retail investors, they too believe they can compound their investment return well above inflation and interests rate over market cycles.

How many retail investors can afford to lose substantial capital and still manage to recover and build up enough retirement fund for next 25-30 years?








Punggol town phase 2 development unveiled



Good for Uncle8888's retirement. Low cost leisure activities. Walking, Jogging and Cycling.





SINGAPORE - As Punggol moves into the next chapter of its development, it could potentially become Singapore's biggest housing town - twice that of Ang Mo Kio today - and feature the Republic's newest seafront public housing estate.

National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Tuesday outlined several new ideas characterising Punggol Phase II, which will cover developments over the next 15 years and beyond.

"Punggol Town will be big," said Mr Khaw, speaking at the HDB Awards 2012. The number of apartments will increase from the current 26,000 to nearly 100,000.

There will be "distinctive districts, each with a unique character and identity" to give residents a strong sense of attachment to their neighbourhoods, he said. For instance, there will be seven different waterfront housing districts.

Waterway East and Waterway West Districts are currently already under development, while the Northshore and Matilda districts are likely to start development first within the next five years, subject to demand.

The Northshore District, to the north of Punggol Town, will feature Singapore's newest seafront public housing and Punggol's tallest residential buildings. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will explore new building forms for the district.

The Matilda District will be developed along Punggol's western waterfront, as its landscape and architecture draws inspiration from the rich history of the area.

There will also be "attractive public spaces to encourage community activities", said Mr Khaw, citing a new Punggol Downtown with a new town hub and town square.

And even as Punggol urbanises, there will be "abundant greenery" to soften its high density, assured Mr Khaw.

More green parks and green corridors will be integrated with the waterfront promenades, according to the HDB in a news release. The existing My Waterway@Punggol and the Punggol Waterway Park will be enhanced, with green spaces expanding towards the north.
There will also be green linear corridors for recreational activities such as jogging, cycling and brisk walking. An example is the Old Punggol Road, which will be kept as a linear 1.5km heritage trail.
The HDB said: "Residents can look forward to more recreational spaces and commercial amenities such as a new sports complex, a Horse Riding Centre, and a hawker centre. "Community interaction will also be enhanced with the upcoming Punggol Town Square and a Community Club where residents can gather and organise local community events."

"These ideas for Punggol underpin the planning philosophy that we are adopting for all HDB towns: make space for greenery, support an active citizenry, create opportunities for residents to mingle and bond, retain social memories and sharpen the character of each HDB town," said Mr Khaw.

"If we execute it well, we can create gems out of our HDB towns," he continued. "Execute it well, we can live very comfortably, despite a higher population density."

One analyst said the new developments will bode well for home owners in the area.

David Poh, director of Propnex, said flats in Punggol have already been doing well in the resale market.

He said: "If the government is putting in more development plans into Punggol -- like seafront housing, more amenities, more facilities, more infrastructure -- I think it will further enhance the value of Punggol flats and I'm sure the prices of Punggol flats will continue to rise."

HDB will hold an exhibition to gather feedback on the development plans from the public.

The first phase of Punggol development began in 1996, with the announcement of the Punggol 21 Vision.

-TODAY/CNA/ac/ir



Tuesday 16 October 2012

5 Common Types of Over-Investing in Singapore


5 Common Types of Over-Investing in Singapore

There’s a fine line between optimism and stupidity. Of late, too many Singaporeans (home owners especially) have failed to spot that line. And it’s not just property buyers: On a daily basis, Singaporeans wipe out their savings on stock trading, tuition fees, or  investment schemes less stable than Charlie Sheen. In this article, I look at the most common forms of over-investment:


finance sheets
 
$120k in stocks, $50 million in property, but Excel? Sorry, no budget.

What is Over-Investing?

In personal finance, over-investing means putting more money into an asset (whether it’s a house, stocks, ungrateful son, etc.) than the asset is actually worth.

In terms of psychological appeal, it’s a very easy misstep. Our brains are wired to assume anything worth doing is worth over-doing, so even veteran investors fall for it. But let it get too far, and you’ll compromise your financial security. Typical sources of over-investment are:
  • Renovations
  • Rental Properties
  • Tuition
  • Trading Seminars
  • Private Transport

Expensive watches
 
I heard time is money, so I blew my life savings on these.

1. Renovations

Renovations are a substitute. Because a new house costs too much, a do-over is the next best thing. It’s like how I buy expensive jeans to make up for being fat. (Shut up, it works if I say it does).

A combination of shows like Renovaid and cheaper reno loans are also taking effect. Elton Koon, a general contractor, mentions that:

“Last time only private housing, like (owners of) bungalow or semi-D, will call designers. Today a lot of HDB flats also like to have design.”

Walk-in wardrobe
 
That smell is because it has to double as my kitchen.

According to Elton, the most popular renovations involve walk-in wardrobes, “open concept” layouts, and kitchen islands. In fact, Elton’s last project was a HDB flat in Woodlands, which racked up a bill of over $45,000.

Come on. Is it that important to squeeze a walk-in wardrobe into your HDB bedroom? It’s not as if more floor space for a bigger bed would be less attractive. And the tremendous cost involved (some can reach $12,000 – $18,000) are just excessive.

When the median cash over valuation (COV) in your area is $30,000, a renovation fee of $45,000 is a serious over-investment. Any appreciation in property value is chewed up by that extra cost. But if you must do it, at least get the cheapest renovation loans; try sites like SmartLoans.sg.

2. Rental Properties

I’m not just referring to shoebox flats. I’m referring to the crazed desire for rental income, which has rookie investors buying property on a whim. There are two impressions at work here:
  1. Home loans are cheap, so forget playing it safe. As long as I make the monthly repayment, I don’t care.
  2. Rental income is predictable
First off, home loan rates are low. This is different from cheap.

Home loans can be low compared to loans in 1998. They can be low compared to HDB rates. But they are never cheap as in baseline, “value meal at McDonald’s” cheap.

Cheap = Something you can buy with trivial effect to your finances.

Bulk refuse area


There are plenty of places with low rent in Singapore.

Just because home loan rates are low, that doesn’t mean you should get presumptuous. We’re still talking 15 or 30 year loans, with repayments that chew up much of your income. Nor are the rental incomes predictable. If oversupply grows, for example, or a global financial crisis forces ex-pats to head home, rental income may fall far below loan repayments.

In the event of decreased rental income or vacancy, your rental property is worth far less to you than you’re paying for it.

3. Tuition

Beyond a certain point, tuition just becomes a waste of money. It should be simple to evaluate: Put the money in, see if results improve. No improvement? Get someone else. Otherwise, leave it as is.
But that’s not how Singaporeans behave. If they aren’t hiring multiple tutors for the same subject, they’re piling on repeat tuition sessions. The assumption seems to be: “One session a week good, three sessions a week better”.

Mrs. Ng, a tutor who teaches A-Level Chemistry, disagrees:

“I always tell parents there’s no point hiring me for so many sessions a week. Between twice a week and three times a week, there’s no difference. Beyond that I’m just helping with homework.”


Tuition teacher


Does this story also involve returning wallets and misbehaved students? Because I’ll stab you.

And what about multiple tutors for the same thing?

What, if one tutor improves the results by 10%, three tutors will rack it up by 30%? Is that how we think it works? Take a closer look. I think you’ll find that improvement remains fairly static, tied to the work of the best tutor, rather than multiple tutors.

Hire the good one; the rest are not a paying investment.

4. Trading Seminars

Oooh, look, a trading seminar that teaches you how to make a million bucks. Or another entrepreneurship talk, or motivational speaker.

I’ll let you in on a secret. These seminars don’t really sell information. They sell a temporary buzz.

You go there to have people yell in your ear, real loud, that YOU CAN DO IT MAN. Then you come out all fired up, make plans and phone calls, and give it up a week later.

Then you see another seminar in the papers…etc.

Businessmen


I know I can succeed, because I’ve paid well-dressed people to tell me I can.

There are real seminar addicts out there, who invest anywhere from $800 – $2500 a month on these things. Apart from the “high” of a pep talk, few of them can translate their investment into actual dollars.
The next time you go for one of these, check your bank book two or three months later.

Is there any extra income you can attribute to the seminar? Or have things mostly stayed the same?

Look, if all you want is a pep talk, send me $20 and your address. I’ll send you a recording of an applauding audience, and scream your name onto the backing track. Or just follow us on Facebook, and we’ll update you on any trading courses that actually work.

5. Private Transport

Your car, your van, your bike, whatever. You know that most vehicles can only depreciate right? Unless you’ve got something that’s going to be vintage, you’re just wasting money on any upgrades.

Cars in a big jam


Wow, I sure get to places faster now I have this car. Almost three minutes faster.

Even with “classic” vehicles, you might be spending more on maintenance than you’ll ever get back.

To keep a car running past the 10 or 15 year mark, you need skilled mechanics, a workshop worth of tools, and a lot of luck. And even if you do keep it working, the sale price may not cover the years of care and effort.

An even greater waste is the use of body kits or engine mods. These can wreck your insurance claims, raise maintenance costs, and add dubious value in a resale. This isn’t Need for Speed: You’re driving a glorified cart to work and back, not a race car. Tuning it is like buying a donkey and trying to race it at the Turf Club.
 
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