Gold at US$1,210 an ounce.

I started buying gold bullion coins in March/April 2009, believing that it is a hard currency that has intrinsic value unlike fiat currencies which are flawed.  Jim Rogers and Marc Faber have greatly influenced the way I look at current day world economics and I take their views to heart.

When I started this blog last Christmas Eve, one of my first posts was on the subject of gold. The last time I bought some gold bullion coins was in March this year and I gave one to my dad for his birthday and I just gave one to my mom for Mothers' Day. Last year, I gave each member of my family a gold coin as well and the value of those coins have gone up quite a bit by now.

I strongly believe that we need some hard currencies as a hedge against fiat currencies and inflationary pressures. Physical gold is the most accessible precious metal in Singapore at a "fair" price. There are issues but it's a lot better than the situation with physical silver, for example.

I continue to believe that every person should have some physical gold as a long term hedge against all other forms of investments and cash. This could be gold jewelry as well for people who do not like the idea of buying gold coins just for keeps, but, of course, we would be paying for workmanship and wastage in such instances. Some would buy gold coins with commemorative messages and we would be paying a higher price for numismatic value in such instances.  For me, I still prefer the boring 1oz Canadian Maple Leaf as I buy gold for its intrinsic value.

Gold closed at US$1,210 an ounce on Friday. Translated, to buy a 1oz gold bullion coin at UOB now, we would have to pay about S$1,880.  This compared to when I first started buying last year at about S$1,400 an ounce, the numbers speak for themselves. Check gold and silver prices at UOB.

Of course, gold price will not move up in a straight line.  Prices almost never do.  I would look out for dips and corrections to buy more gold.

I will also be looking out for opportunities to increase my exposure to silver as I believe that it is undervalued when compared to gold.

Related posts:
Gold: to buy or not to buy?
Gold or silver?

Charts in brief: 7 May 10.

Due to a suspected trading error, the US market was sent spiralling down 10 per cent at one stage and recovered to close the session at "just" more than 3 per cent down on Thursday. I can imagine the panic and the horror that shockwaved through the markets.

The technical rebound that quite a few amateur and professional chartists, independent and otherwise, opined would materialise yesterday for the Singapore market did not even get a chance.

STI drops 0.7% to 2,821.11 at closing
Friday, 07 May 2010

© 2010 - The Edge Singapore

Healthway Medical: Announced a dividend of 0.12c and that sent the share price up 1c to close at 15.5c, the resistance provided by the 100dMA. This up day was not achieved on high volume. Not convincing. The MACD has turned up but still remains in negative territory.  MFI has turned up from the oversold region.  OBV has turned up too. Personally, I would sell at resistance. 15.5c is a fair price to reduce exposure. If the price rebounds to 16.5c, even better. The 20dMA is declining and looks set to form a dead cross with the 100dMA.

CapitaMalls Asia: A white spinning top and I am still hoping to reduce exposure at resistance. Might have to lower my expectations as the 20dMA declines rapidly. Would it rebound to $2.10? Maybe.

Courage Marine: Guess what.  The BDI has exceeded 3,400 yesterday.  Nice. Courage Marine sank below support yesterday and closed at 19c despite this fundamentally positive development. If it continues to decline in price to approximate 17.5c, I would be sorely tempted to add to my position. A possible triple bottom in the making then?

Golden Agriculture: MACD continues to decline in negative territory. Candlestick suggests a possible reversal signal. Resistance at 55.5c and 58c. I might sell some of my remaining stocks if a rebound takes place.

SPH: Started the day below the 100dMA but ended the day with a nice white candle. A rebound might send this counter through the immediate resistance at $3.90. A chance to offload some shares, perhaps.

FSL Trust: OBV's gradient is turning gentler. The sell off is ameliorating. MFI has gone flat in the oversold region. That the sell off has been extreme could be seen from how the candles formed in the last three days were all beyond the lower limits of the Bollinger bands.  A black hammer formed in the last session. A rebound on the way? Perhaps. If it happens, sell at resistance? That would be consistent with my practice.

Stocks slide anew, but it's still not a correction
Seth Sutel, AP Business Writer, On Friday May 7, 2010, 8:06 pm

NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market's wild ride may not be over yet.

The Dow Jones industrials whipsawed again Friday, a day after their largest one-day plunge. The average was down as much as 279 points in the morning, went briefly into the black around lunchtime, then ended with a loss of 139....

...The week's losses would put the market about well toward what analysts call a correction, usually defined as a drop of between 10 percent and 20 percent following a sustained rise. The Dow is now 7.4 percent off its recent high of 11,205.03 reached on April 26. The S&P 500 is down 8.7 percent from its recent high of 1,217.28 reached April 23...
 
Read full article here.
 
Related posts:
A correction? An opportunity.
Looking for value.
What are investors to do in downtrend?

What are investors to do in a downtrend?

I am a long only investor.  I do not short the market.  The blogmaster of Time to Huat has taken pains to explain to me that short sellers are necessary in the market. I understand the theory but I am still a long only investor.  Using CapitaMalls Asia as a case study, I am reminding myself of what I should be doing and hope that this post is useful to other like minded investors.

I stopped buying at supports upon realising that CapitaMalls Asia is in an obvious downtrend a while back.  Every single bullish reversal signal has failed so far. It cannot get more bearish than this.

I like the fundamentals of the company.  I like the fact that it is in a nett cash position.  Although as investors we want to exploit the discrepancy between price and value and buy undervalued stocks, we should do so when the time is right.  This is only possible when we combine FA with TA.

Buying at supports in an uptrend is the way to go.  When the trend is clearly down, what we should do is to wait and see if the next support level holds up.  We should look out for signs of a basing process.  CapitaMalls Asia is clearly still in decline and I would not add to my position in such an instance.  It has yet to start basing.

What we have to realise is that after suffering for more than a year, the tide has clearly turned in favour of the bears.  This might be momentary or prolonged.  It is futile to wonder how long this phase will last. What matters is to have the correct mentaility which is to stay pragmatic and not be too bullish or bearish.

TA tells us that a downtrend will invite short sellers.  Short sellers will come in and sell down stocks at resistance levels.  Every attempt the stock makes to rally would be cut down as selling at resistance caps gains and pushes down the price.  For long only investors, we should make use of such rallies to reduce exposure and preserve capital. Wait for that basing process and stronger signs of reversals before getting our feet wet again.

When CapitaMalls Asia started the day at $2.08, all hopes of a morning star setup went out the window. True enough, the counter went on to touch a low of $1.96 before closing at the round number $2.00. Another black candle day. MFI is still in the oversold region while OBV continues to decline.  MACD is pulling away downwards from the signal line. Using Fibo lines, we see the different support and resistance levels.

Short sellers also like margins of safety and if I were a short seller, a rebound in price to the 78.6% Fibo line ($2.13) or the 61.8% Fibo line ($2.19) would be salivating propositions.  Having been sold down relatively rapidly, a rebound to these levels is not impossible. After all, a bear market moves down a river of hope.

If I do reduce exposure in CapitaMalls Asia, this would be the second counter I am cutting loss on this year.  The first was China Hongxing which was rather recent as well. That was another case of failing reversal signals. Having conviction is different from being stubborn. The bears have left their caves and they will have their fun.

Charts in brief: 5 May 10.

STI drops 1.4% to 2,860.31 at closing
Wednesday, 05 May 2010

© 2010 - The Edge Singapore

Saizen REIT: FA is about value. TA is about price. Although this REIT is still severely undervalued, when negative sentiments rule, its price could get pushed down lower. My overnight buy queue at 16c was not done.  I am back in the queue.

For people who are hoping to make a quick buck, this might not be a good time to buy in. MFI has formed a lower low and OBV is down. MACD is under zero. All technicals are bearish except for a consistent picture of low volume pullback. If this counter tests the rising 200dMA at 15.5c, I would buy more.

AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT: Technically, this REIT is stronger than Saizen REIT.  MFI has formed higher lows and OBV has hardly declined.  The MACD is poised for a bearish crossover with the signal line though. The merged 50d and 100d MAs provide an important support at 21.5c and 23c remains the resistance.

CapitaMalls Asia:  Could this be a morning star setup? If the price opens above today's closing price of $2.08 and trades to close at or above $2.12 tomorrow, there is hope. The MFI is still in oversold territory but the decline has halted.  OBV is still declining and amidst the distribution activity, price managed form a white candle today.  This, I view as positive. In the event of a successful morning star setup, I expect initial resistance at $2.19.

SPH: Fourth consecutive black candle day. Black spinning top today. Looking at the MFI, we see that this counter was overbought for quite a while.  The index is now moving towards 50%.  50% on the MFI sometimes function as a support or resistance.  Together with the black spinning top today, which suggests indecision in a downtrend, we might see a rebound.  This is especially the case when price is now trading at the lower end of the Bollinger bands.

In the event of a rebound, the downturning 20dMA should provide a strong resistance.  This is at $4.04 now. The set up now might give rise to a morning star pattern just like for CapitaMalls Asia.  We will have to wait and see.  100dMA provides support at $3.79 and 200dMA provides support at $3.67 in the event of a further decline in price.

Golden Agriculture: MFI declines. OBV declines.  MACD has gone under zero. Overall, a bearish picture. The price managed to close at 55.5c, the support identified in previous TAs.  However, that this support was punctured today is a negative. If the 200dMA at 50.5c is tested, it has to hold.  If it does not, the uptrend is compromised. No prize for guessing where I am putting my buy queues.

Healthway Medical: Nothing much has changed apart from the fact that price touched a low of 14.5c today. 14c next? Possibly but the picture of low volume pullback is intact. We do not want to see the rising 200dMA breached.  This is currently just below 14c.  I might join the buy queue at 14c as a hedge.

FSL Trust: Heavy reduction in volume as price moved lower today to close at 52c. MFI has moved deeper into oversold territory.  OBV declined further. Another probable morning star setup. In the event of a reversal, strong resistance could be found at 60c.

I still see support at 51c in the event of a continuing decline. I bought some units today at 52c with a view that most of the heavy selling is done and over with.  Of course, I cannot say that the selling is over but any selling would probably be less vigorous from now on. The panic we see here approximate that of what was seen during the onset of the financial crisis in late 2008 and such panic, I believe, has to be overdone.

Courage Marine: Got my shares today at 20.5c and 20c.  MFI declining towards 50%. OBV declining. MACD moving towards zero and would probably go under. The best case scenario, technically, for this counter now is some sideway movement for some time to come, it would seem. What is left for me to do now is the easy part: hold.  Of course, I might buy more on any further weakness.

Related posts:
Charts in brief: 4 May 10.

Charts in brief: 4 May 10.

STI drops 1.5% to 2,901.18 at closing
Tuesday, 04 May 2010

© 2010 - The Edge Singapore

Courage Marine: Closed at 20.5c and I managed to get part of my overnight buy queue filled. In the buy queue again tomorrow. I am also in the queue to buy at 20c. Uptrend is still intact although weakened. The MACD is pulling away downwards from the signal line.  The weakness would probably continue.  I would draw attention to the volume.  It is shrinking with the weakening price.  A low volume pullback. Fundamentally, this is still one of the stronger shipping companies listed in Singapore.

Courage Marine acquires Capesize vessel as replacement
Tuesday, 04 May 2010

© 2010 - The Edge Singapore

CapitaMalls Asia: Sell signal on the MACD. Reversal hopes dashed. Reaching a low of $2.09 before closing at the round number of $2.10 suggests more weakness to come on an ugly black candle day. $2.07 is the next support.  I am not buying more for now.  I will wait and see if the subsequent support levels hold.  Buying at supports in an uptrend is the way to go but the downtrend here is clear.

Golden Agriculture: Went XD. Price closed at the 58c support.  Next support is at 55.5c. The MACD continues to move down and is approaching zero.  The MFI continues to decline below 50%, suggesting a lack of buying momentum. There is no heavy selling going on but continuing weakness seems likely.  This would likely put more stress on the current support level.

Healthway Medical: A picture of low volume pullback continues as price closed at 15c today. 138.2% Fibo is at 15c and the 150% Fibo approximates 15c.  This is a stronger support than 15.5c, surely.

MFI is creeping up in the oversold region which suggests that buying momentum is slowly improving.  OBV is slowly drifting down which suggests that there are people giving up and selling down the counter.  No big movement either way which suggests that slowly buying in as a hedge is quite safe.  The rising 200dMA is at 13.5c and this limits the downside risk.

Saizen REIT: MFI dipped further into oversold territory. OBV is flat. MACD has dipped under zero.  The weakness is obvious.  It is during times of pessimism when people are giving up that bargains are to be found.  The reasons for me to buy into Saizen REIT remain valid and I am still in the buy queue at 16c.

FSL Trust: This counter stood out like a sore thumb in my watchlist.  It was so red and sore that I had to do a midday analysis of it. Well, technically, the picture is so obviously negative that it is not necessary to say much. The merged 100d and 200d MAs provided a very important support at 60.5c.  Breaching that was a bad sign. The gapping down today and the subsequent huge ugly black candle suggests further weakness.

The question on people's minds is probably how low might it go? I don't know but I can tell that the next important support is at 51c or so.  This is derived from drawing two sets of Fibo lines.  I would wait and see if that holds, if it goes that low.

Fundamentally, FSL Trust's business is a simple one.  It has to ensure that its ships are leased out and it gets charter income.  After deducting all the expenses, it could distribute what is left to unitholders.  These days, it does not give out 100% as it keeps some to pay down its debts.  It is still paying out of its cash flow and not earnings.

The premature end to the two leases would cost the trust US$20,700 x 2 per day in charter income. This represents 15% of FSL's charter income. This might affect future DPU if the management does not have any contingency plans to reduce the negative impact of this development.

Related posts:
FSL Trust: A sinking ship?
Charts in brief: 3 May 10.


Posted May 04, 2010 10:07am EDT by Henry Blodget

FSL Trust: A sinking ship?

The sell down today is very severe and it is due to revelation that two ships are being returned prematurely.  Their leases were supposed to end in 2014. This would mean the removal of two significant income streams for the trust to the tune of US$20,700 per day per vessel, to be exact.  See announcement here.

At midday, FSL Trust was down almost 10% at 54.5c on extremely high volume. Two groups of people are probably wondering how low it could go.  The first group would be unitholders (if they have not sold by now).  The second group would be people who still want to buy into the trust for some reason.

Looking at the chart at midday, all MAs, short and long term, have turned down.  The MACD is plunging into negative territory and pulling away from the signal line. MFI re-enters the oversold region. Look at the OBV, it has jumped off a cliff!  People are discarding FSL Trust! Unless some re-assurance is received from the management that the trust has some contingency plans, this panic selling is likely to continue for a bit more. 

How low could it go? In such a panic situation, it is hard to say but it could go much lower. However, to be fair, in situations of extreme selling, there is always a chance of a rebound. I will do some charting again this evening and perhaps look at the numbers too.

Related posts:
High yields: Successes, failures and the in betweens.
Charts in brief: 19 Mar 10.

Charts in brief: 3 May 10.

A brand new trading day in a brand new month.  It's May! Are you going to sell in May and go away?

STI drops 1% to 2,944.22 at closing
Monday, 03 May 2010

© 2010 - The Edge Singapore

CapitaMalls Asia: Black candle day on reduced volume. Price closed at gap support: $2.16. MFI is still in the oversold region. MACD is still below zero.  Momentum is negative but the distance between the MACD and signal line has narrowed. Reversal is looking dicey, again. See what happens tomorrow.  As usual, I would sell on the way up.  If price continues to decline, look to the next supports and see if they hold.  Would buy on weakness if supports hold as I still like the fundamentals of this counter.

Golden Agriculture: MFI and OBV flattened.  This counter is looking directionless. Having been trading beneath the 20dMA ,which has turned downwards, for four sessions in a row does suggest that a slow drift downwards is probable. 60c is the immediate resistance now.  If the support at 58c is taken out, the next support could be found at 55.5c as provided by the rising 100dMA.

Healthway Medical: Traded the whole day at one price only, 15.5c. The trading volume has been in decline as the price drifted lower.  This is a positive. The rising 100dMA should provide a relatively strong support at 15.5c.  The MFI is in oversold territory and I do not expect the price to crash.

The current price level is good to enter as a hedge for anyone who has been waiting to get in.  However, looking the MACD's behaviour of staying closely to the signal line in a parallel fashion as it goes deeper into negative territory suggests that this malaise might continue for some time. In case of further weakness, support would strengthen with every 0.5c decline in price.

Courage Marine: Price plunged after XD today. I like the fundamentals of the company and I see 20.5c as a strong support provided by the rising 50dMA and I would buy more at that level.  Price might continue to weaken to 20c and I would accumulate if it happens.  If price continues to lower towards 18c which is the price where the counter made a double bottom, I would load up more.  A triple bottom?  Maybe.  So, buy on weakness but I would not break the piggy bank.

Especially, I would like to draw attention to the declining volume as price weakens.  It is a low volume pullback.  This gives me greater confidence in my decision to accumulate on weakness.  The FA is good.  The TA lets us know entry prices which are considered fair.  It doesn't get any better than this for me.

Saizen REIT: Ongoing weakness seen here. 16c might be called upon as the support next and this, in my opinion, would be a strong support as we see three Fibo lines approximate 16c. They are the 138.2%, 150% and 161.8% Fibos. I am in the buy queue at 16c.

MFI is in the oversold region but the down trending OBV suggests some distribution activity.  So, it might be oversold but there are unitholders who are still willing to sell down.  Looking at the numbers, the suggestion is that smaller unitholders are the ones selling.  I do not see any high volume sell downs. For a REIT with almost a billion units currently in the market, a daily trading volume of 1m to 2m units is almost nothing.  If people are willing to sell cheaper, I am willing to buy cheaper.  At 16c, this would be almost a steal at a 60% discount to the last reported NAV!

Related post:
Charts in brief: 30 April 10.