Latest Posts By pharoah88
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| 16-Jul-2010 09:48 |
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Is bucketing deemed an offence?
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Dabba Trading can be easily done for MANAGED ACCOUNTS ? ? ? ?
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| 16-Jul-2010 09:42 |
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Is bucketing deemed an offence?
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WHY MAS stIll don't regulate - LAND BANKiNG - WiNE iNVESTMENT - ? ? ? ?
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| 16-Jul-2010 09:37 |
Straits Times Index
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STI to cross 3000 boosted by long-term investors
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Why OPEC May Collapse
By Keith Kohl | Thursday, July 15th, 2010
There's a moment that every oil-exporting country will experience, sooner or later. The few select countries lucky enough to label themselves "oil exporter" know it — and have nightmares of the day their number is up. Why the fright? Because we live in a cutthroat, fossil fuel-driven world — a reality we have little chance of changing in our lifetime. |
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| 16-Jul-2010 09:36 |
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DOW & STI
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Why OPEC May Collapse
By Keith Kohl | Thursday, July 15th, 2010
There's a moment that every oil-exporting country will experience, sooner or later. The few select countries lucky enough to label themselves "oil exporter" know it — and have nightmares of the day their number is up. Why the fright? Because we live in a cutthroat, fossil fuel-driven world — a reality we have little chance of changing in our lifetime. |
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| 16-Jul-2010 09:34 |
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DOW & STI
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| 16-Jul-2010 09:32 |
Straits Times Index
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STI to cross 3000 boosted by long-term investors
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| 15-Jul-2010 18:25 |
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Hunting for GOD or MFT
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LAW BREAKERS ? ? ? ? GODLESS ? ? ? ? |
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| 15-Jul-2010 17:00 |
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World Cup 2010
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| 15-Jul-2010 16:57 |
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World Cup 2010
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| 15-Jul-2010 16:02 |
Straits Times Index
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STI to cross 3000 boosted by long-term investors
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MTI’s updated forecast The Ministry of Trade and They were: Better economic performance in the first quarter of this year, stronger-than-expected economic growth in the second quarter and anticipated slowdown in growth momentum for the rest of the year.
Q2 GDP GROWTH by sector On-quarter On-year Overall 19.3 26.0
Manufacturing 45.5 63.0
Construction 13.5 35.9
Services producing 11.4 11.7 |
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| 15-Jul-2010 15:45 |
GLD USD
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Gold going up this year?
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Despite the Greek crisis, some fundamental factors may still drive gold prices up in coming months All that glitters is GOLD EVY HAMBRO O In the first six months of this year, against the backdrop of very volatile global equities markets, gold bullion has gained over 13 per cent to finish at US$1,242 per ounce at the end of last month on the back of continued investor concerns over the Greek debt crisis and the prospect of contagion. With gold hitting all-time highs in several currencies in recent weeks including the euro, we thought it would be worthwhile to remind investors of the fundamental factors which may drive the gold price in coming months and years. ver the past nine years, gold has managed to post successive increases in its annual average price, navigating the choppiest of waters.Demand SideWe continue to see strong investment demand for gold, with investors viewing gold, a real asset, as a hedge against medium-term inflationary pressures and potential US dollar weakness, while also providing important diversification benefits as investors continue to look to gold as a safe haven asset and an alternative currency in the face of volatile currency markets. These issues, in our view, may take some time to resolve. Jewellery demand, which has in the past made up the largest component of total consumption, has been weak during the credit crisis. It was down by around 20 per cent last year but has remained strong in emerging markets and is likely to grow in the future. Indian gold imports were 30 tonnes in March, an 84 per cent increase compared to last year. It is believed that this may have been driven by restocking by Indian jewellers in advance of the Indian wedding season. An estimated one million weddings were believed to have taken place in India between April and May alone. The World Gold Council announced that they expected the demand for gold in China to double over the forthcoming decade. They forecast this coming from both jewellery and investment demand, as the world’s fastest growing consumer of the yellow metal has more than doubled its share of global demand in the past seven years — from 5 per cent to 11 per cent.Supply Side Since mine supply peaked in 2001, the gold mining industry has been struggling to grow production. Despite an increase of 6 per cent (by 144 tonnes) last year, which was mainly driven by the Grasberg Mine in the province of Papua in Indonesia, there is little material sign of growth during the coming few years. In fact, there are few operations next year and in 2012 of notable size and others are exhausted so the growth in supply we saw last year may be offset by declines elsewhere. We estimate that the allin cost for a new ounce of production is between US$850 to US$900 per ounce once exploration, capital expenditure and operating costs are taken into account. In addition, those areas where gold mineralisation is being discovered tend to be in regions of higher political risk. At the current price there is not sufficient incentive for gold mining companies to bring on significant amounts of new supply. Cen tral Banks We have seen developing countries (most notably, China and India) increasing their gold reserves as they seek to diversify their Foreign Exchange Reserves, in particular to reduce their exposure to the US dollar. It is also notable that recently there has been a distinct lack of gold supply into the market from European Central Bank and the only known vendor has been the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Over the past few years, around 400 tonnes of gold has typically been sold into the market by both Central Banks and the IMF. In this year so far, the IMF sold limited volumes, indicating that central banks are increasingly reluctant to sell down their gold holdings. The conclusion that can be drawn from this is that gold is now seriously considered by Central Banks as a monetary asset and a useful source of diversification in a way that has not been seen for at least the last two decades. Whilst the immediate impact of this strategic shift on the gold price may be limited to possible supply curtailments, the long-term implications are extremely supportive as looking back over the last fifty years. Central Banks have tended to be a good indicator of broader investor appetite for gold. A key recent development is the strategic shift in the attitude of the world’s Central Banks towards gold.Still a safe haven asset Whilst uncertainty remains in financial markets and concerns shift from corporate debt to sovereign debt, investors may continue to look to gold as a safe haven asset and an alternative currency as gold reaches all time highs in euro and sterling terms. Also, investors are increasingly looking to gold as a hedge against inflation and potential US dollar weakness. In terms of supply, long term fundamentals remain tight with little sign of any material increases in mine production, and central bank supply is also at reduced levels which for many years was a notable source of supply. Market fundamentals suggest that gold prices are well supported.The writer is managing director and joint chief investment officer of the natural resources team at BlackRock. |
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| 15-Jul-2010 15:28 |
Keppel Land
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Kepland
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Kepp el Land Underperform | $4.08 Macquarie keeps “underperform” call but lifts Keppel Land target price to $3.07 from S$2.31 after increasing RNAV estimate by 17 per cent to reflect improved outlook for Singapore office sector. New target based on smaller 15 per cent discount to RNAV estimate vs 25 per cent previously. |
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| 15-Jul-2010 14:53 |
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Hunting for GOD or MFT
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He wants to CARE ALL the CARELESS in SINGAPORE |
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| 15-Jul-2010 14:47 |
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He wants to CATCH all the Thieves in SINGAPORE. His letter is posted below earlier. I SAY When someone else’s problem is really everyone’s problem
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| 15-Jul-2010 14:42 |
DBS
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DBS
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Saying ‘I’m sorry’ without prejudice
Mak Yuen Teen O She went on to explain that the data she’d given to my boss for an important presentation he was due to make in a few days had contained errors. The presentation had been submitted to the conference organisers. As she continued to explain how the errors had occurred, the more senior staff said: “YT, it is not her mistake. It is my mistake for failing to check the work properly. I am responsible.” I sat down with them and it emerged that the errors were partly caused by somebody else. But they did not try to shift the blame. We corrected the errors, informed my boss — who took it well — and no damage was done. Someone once said: “Employees always make mistakes. It’s whether they tell you or not.” My two staff demonstrated so many important qualities that cannot be easily assessed in an annual performance review — courage, integrity, responsibility, just to name a few. However, the fact that the opening words that came out were “I’m sorry” was important to how I reacted to the incident. About six months after my return to Singapore in the mid ’90s, I was driving a tank of a car, a Volvo. As I had lived in and driven in a country where only tourists from strange countries like Singapore do reverse parking, I was not used to reverse parking. One day, I reversed into the front of a brand-new Japanese car — obviously, the Japanese car had no chance. There was no one in sight and little chance that someone would have seen my deed. The devil in me wanted to drive away, but he lost. I left a message on the windscreen saying, “I’m sorry that I reversed into your car. Please contact me so that I can pay for the damage.” A couple of hours later, the owner of the car called. He told me the accident would inconvenience him, but he was very grateful to me for taking responsibility. nce when I was on leave from the university and running the regional research office for a global consulting firm, two of my staff walked into my office. The more junior staff said: “I’m sorry, YT. I’ve made a big mistake.”CONTRIVED APOLOGIES There have been times when I should have said sorry, did not, and wished I had. I think much of the hostility that arises when things go badly wrong can be defused if the people involved would just have the humility to say: “I’m sorry. I could have done better.” I am concerned about the lack of willingness of business leaders to say sorry when they or their companies have made mistakes or could have done better. In cases where some business leaders have “apologised”, the “apologies” were often evasive or non-specific and came across as contrived. The following are “apologies” from some of Wall Street CEOs and employees, as spotted on a • Mr Alan Schwartz, former Bear Stearns CEO: “I just simply have not been able to come up with anything, even with the benefit of hindsight, that would have made a difference.” • Mr Chuck Prince, former Citigroup CEO: “I’m sorry the financial crisis has had such a devastating impact for our country. I’m sorry about the millions of people, average Americans, who lost their homes. And I’m sorry that our management team, starting with me, like so many others could not see the unprecedented market collapse that lay before us.” • Mr Dick Fuld, former CEO of Lehman: “What we did wrong is I believe that we did not understand the contagion of one security, one asset class to the next. I believe that we did not — and I take — I take responsibility for this — I did not see the depth and violence of this crisis … I would say that bad judgments were made regarding the market, yes.” • Mr Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs CEO: “I heard nothing today that makes me think anything went wrong,” Mr Gerald Levin, former CEO of Time Warner who presided over the disastrous deal with AOL, recently made an apology on CNBC’s While it was good of him to apologise, it came almost 10 years after the event. Wall Street Journal blog:Squawk Box. He said: “I presided over the worst deal of the century, apparently ... I guess it’s time for those who are involved in companies to stand up and say: ‘You know what I’m solely responsible for it.’ I was the CEO. I was in charge. I’m really very sorry about the pain and suffering and loss that was caused. I take responsibility. It wasn’t the board. It wasn’t my colleagues at Time Warner.”FEAR OF LIABILITY Why have we come to this? Why is it so hard to say sorry? One reason is probably pride. But perhaps the more important reason is the fear of legal liability when one apologises. I was dismayed to discover on the Internet an article that says apologies are risky and that CEOs should consider eleven questions before they do so! I was both amused and flabbergasted to discover that, in the United States, the federal government and 34 states have enacted “apology-immunity” statutes which make expressions of sympathy inadmissible. In other words, laws are needed to allow people to say that they are sorry. It is so sad. But I think it need not be this way, at least in Singapore. We do not have a highly litigious society and I hope we stay that way. Saying sorry often gains respect and helps prevent further damage. I am glad the CEO of DBS, Mr Piyush Gupta, has publicly apologised to DBS and POSB customers for the recent disruption in banking and ATM services. In his letter, he wrote: “You have every right to expect uninterrupted services 24/7, 365 days a year from us and I am sorry we have failed you on that count.” But I am disappointed that in all the many corporate sector scandals we have seen in Singapore, where shareholders have lost large sums of money through fraud, dishonesty or mismanagement, we have seldom — if ever — heard a CEO or director say they are sorry and that they could have done better. So, what happened to my two staff? When I left to return to the university, they told me they wanted to move on too. It became my personal mission to use my contacts to help them find good jobs because I believe the qualities they demonstrated will make them assets to any organisation. The writer is associate professor of accounting at the NUS Business School. |
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| 15-Jul-2010 14:38 |
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Hunting for GOD or MFT
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Saying ‘I’m sorry’ without prejudice Mak Yuen Teen O She went on to explain that the data she’d given to my boss for an important presentation he was due to make in a few days had contained errors. The presentation had been submitted to the conference organisers. As she continued to explain how the errors had occurred, the more senior staff said: “YT, it is not her mistake. It is my mistake for failing to check the work properly. I am responsible.” I sat down with them and it emerged that the errors were partly caused by somebody else. But they did not try to shift the blame. We corrected the errors, informed my boss — who took it well — and no damage was done. Someone once said: “Employees always make mistakes. It’s whether they tell you or not.” My two staff demonstrated so many important qualities that cannot be easily assessed in an annual performance review — courage, integrity, responsibility, just to name a few. However, the fact that the opening words that came out were “I’m sorry” was important to how I reacted to the incident. About six months after my return to Singapore in the mid ’90s, I was driving a tank of a car, a Volvo. As I had lived in and driven in a country where only tourists from strange countries like Singapore do reverse parking, I was not used to reverse parking. One day, I reversed into the front of a brand-new Japanese car — obviously, the Japanese car had no chance. There was no one in sight and little chance that someone would have seen my deed. The devil in me wanted to drive away, but he lost. I left a message on the windscreen saying, “I’m sorry that I reversed into your car. Please contact me so that I can pay for the damage.” A couple of hours later, the owner of the car called. He told me the accident would inconvenience him, but he was very grateful to me for taking responsibility. nce when I was on leave from the university and running the regional research office for a global consulting firm, two of my staff walked into my office. The more junior staff said: “I’m sorry, YT. I’ve made a big mistake.”CONTRIVED APOLOGIES There have been times when I should have said sorry, did not, and wished I had. I think much of the hostility that arises when things go badly wrong can be defused if the people involved would just have the humility to say: “I’m sorry. I could have done better.” I am concerned about the lack of willingness of business leaders to say sorry when they or their companies have made mistakes or could have done better. In cases where some business leaders have “apologised”, the “apologies” were often evasive or non-specific and came across as contrived. The following are “apologies” from some of Wall Street CEOs and employees, as spotted on a • Mr Alan Schwartz, former Bear Stearns CEO: “I just simply have not been able to come up with anything, even with the benefit of hindsight, that would have made a difference.” • Mr Chuck Prince, former Citigroup CEO: “I’m sorry the financial crisis has had such a devastating impact for our country. I’m sorry about the millions of people, average Americans, who lost their homes. And I’m sorry that our management team, starting with me, like so many others could not see the unprecedented market collapse that lay before us.” • Mr Dick Fuld, former CEO of Lehman: “What we did wrong is I believe that we did not understand the contagion of one security, one asset class to the next. I believe that we did not — and I take — I take responsibility for this — I did not see the depth and violence of this crisis … I would say that bad judgments were made regarding the market, yes.” • Mr Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs CEO: “I heard nothing today that makes me think anything went wrong,” Mr Gerald Levin, former CEO of Time Warner who presided over the disastrous deal with AOL, recently made an apology on CNBC’s While it was good of him to apologise, it came almost 10 years after the event. Wall Street Journal blog:Squawk Box. He said: “I presided over the worst deal of the century, apparently ... I guess it’s time for those who are involved in companies to stand up and say: ‘You know what I’m solely responsible for it.’ I was the CEO. I was in charge. I’m really very sorry about the pain and suffering and loss that was caused. I take responsibility. It wasn’t the board. It wasn’t my colleagues at Time Warner.”FEAR OF LIABILITY Why have we come to this? Why is it so hard to say sorry? One reason is probably pride. But perhaps the more important reason is the fear of legal liability when one apologises. I was dismayed to discover on the Internet an article that says apologies are risky and that CEOs should consider eleven questions before they do so! I was both amused and flabbergasted to discover that, in the United States, the federal government and 34 states have enacted “apology-immunity” statutes which make expressions of sympathy inadmissible. In other words, laws are needed to allow people to say that they are sorry. It is so sad. But I think it need not be this way, at least in Singapore. We do not have a highly litigious society and I hope we stay that way. Saying sorry often gains respect and helps prevent further damage. I am glad the CEO of DBS, Mr Piyush Gupta, has publicly apologised to DBS and POSB customers for the recent disruption in banking and ATM services. In his letter, he wrote: “You have every right to expect uninterrupted services 24/7, 365 days a year from us and I am sorry we have failed you on that count.” But I am disappointed that in all the many corporate sector scandals we have seen in Singapore, where shareholders have lost large sums of money through fraud, dishonesty or mismanagement, we have seldom — if ever — heard a CEO or director say they are sorry and that they could have done better. So, what happened to my two staff? When I left to return to the university, they told me they wanted to move on too. It became my personal mission to use my contacts to help them find good jobs because I believe the qualities they demonstrated will make them assets to any organisation. The writer is associate professor of accounting at the NUS Business School. |
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| 15-Jul-2010 14:23 |
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Hunting for GOD or MFT
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Is the public space being shut down in Malaysia? W As is often the case when the powerful run out of articulate replies, force becomes the answer. Ever since the Bersih movement for fair elections carried out its highly successful demonstration in October 2007, and the Hindraf rally the following month finally gave voice to the long-suffering Indian Malaysian community, the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) has been left without convincing arguments in support of its style of governance and its refusal to reform discredited institutions and remove discredited individuals. Instead, still ignorant of the mood on the ground, the BN continued using the Internal Security Act (ISA) and its leaders continued to wave the keris and condone arrogance in its ranks. Though shocked by the March 8 election results of 2008, it nevertheless took the BN a whole year to get rid of an ineffectual Abdullah Badawi. The expansion of public space during Mr Abdullah’s period was put to good use by many Malaysians — but not by the governing parties, which remained stuck in the comfort of old mindsets. However, no one can accuse Prime Minister Najib Razak of being ignorant of what needs doing. His first act as the country’s new leader was to release ISA detainees, and he immediately tried to brand his administration with the phrase “One Malaysia, people first, performance now”. Among other things, he altered regulations to ease the flow of foreign investments and rolled out with the New Economic Model to replace the mindset fostered over 40 years by the New Economic Policy. And yet, these moves have not been able to turn the tide. No doubt, they have made the Prime Minister a more popular man, judging by recent polls. But the political regime he heads is still on the defensive. In the end, it is about votes, and the ruling coalition has not been doing too well in the by-elections that have taken place since the general election. The latest in Sibu, which the BN lost by a tiny margin, shook the Premier’s confidence. Is time running out for his administration? Despite initiatives targeted at winning the middle ground, his party and its allies are still unable to regain non-Malay votes, and his government is still unable to raise its credibility. Most challenging to Mr Najib is the resistance coming from within his own party. The integrity of his reform programme hangs on his willingness or ability to brush this aside. The latest rumours about the bad economic health of the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) hit the BN where it hurts most. If the feeling spreads among rural Malays that Felda has been seriously mismanaged, then the Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) would be able to gain critical ground in Umno’s heartlands. The fact that it was The party is defying the Home Ministry and is still going to press, though under a new banner. At the same time, PAS’ weekly, The latest in this alarming sequence is the ministry’s threat to close down the Democratic Action Party’s monthly, Truth be told, it has been common in Malaysia for applications for obligatory annual extensions to publication permits to take many months to process. So, how is Premier Najib to get out of this latest dilemma? The answer is simple. He can turn the matter into an issue of procedural inefficiency on the part of the Home Ministry. If publication permits are to be given by the year, then the least the public can expect is for the turnaround time for applications to be minimal, if not automated. However, the larger picture is about public debate. Mr Najib’s “One Malaysia” was his attempt to counteract the opposition’s simpler message of good governance. Let us hope the failure of “One Malaysia” to stimulate renewal within the BN does not lead a desperate government to limit public space even further. hat is to be made of the Malaysian government’s move to close down all the periodicals published by the opposition coalition? Is public debate being shut down?Suara Keadilan, the weekly journal of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, which claimed that Felda was basically bankrupt, made it convenient for the government to withdraw its publishing licence.Harakah, also ran into trouble. The ministry refused to extend its permit when that ran out on July 7 and now has the journal’s back against the wall for daring to continue publication.The Rocket. Here again, the excuse was the lack of an extended permit.The writer is Senior Fellow at the Institute of South-east Asian Studies. His latest book is Pilot Studies for a New Penang. |
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| 15-Jul-2010 14:11 |
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Hunting for GOD or MFT
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Melvin Chan seems LiKE GOD but not yet EMPOWERED |
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| 15-Jul-2010 13:56 |
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I SAY When someone else’s problem is really everyone’s problem
O The other day, as I opened the fridge door for my drink, another man also reached into the fridge to get a can for himself — but in a curious manner, opening the door just enough to slide the can out, and standing at an angle where the store owners would not be able to see him. It was only after I’d taken my drink to the counter that I realised the man wasn’t in the queue, and had in fact disappeared from the shop. Thief! I told the store owner, but by then it was too late. The man had disappeared into the morning rush-hour crowd. Unable to help further, I continued on my way to work, but as I passed another shopping centre (“Building B”), I saw the thief again. Fortunately (or so I thought), I saw a security guard doing his morning rounds. I promptly told the security guard what had just happened. “That man there has just stolen something from a shop,” I said. The security guard got very excited. “The shop is in Building A,” I added, helpfully. “Oh, Building A! I’m sorry,” he said, smiled, then shook his head and pointed out that he was a guard for Building B. Building A, he implied, was not within his jurisdiction. The least he could do, I said, was to help me to detain the man — who by the look of it had possibly stolen other things from other stores as well, judging by the rather full plastic bag he was now carrying. “No, Building B only.” By then, the man had crossed the road and boarded a bus. It’s ridiculous that an innocent stallholder had to suffer a loss, and that a petty crook got away scot-free, because a security guard would not go a little out of his way to help detain him, just because the “victim” was a tenant in a different building. It doesn’t matter if the loot was just one canned drink. This “someone else’s problem” mindset is most disappointing. Yes, you may be paid to guard one building — but civicconsciousness is everybody’s duty. n the way to work every morning, I usually stop by a small deli located at the corner of a downtown building — let’s call it Building A — to buy a drink. |
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| 15-Jul-2010 13:42 |
DBS
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THE TRUTH THE RICH NEVER PAY GST
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