USA is back on a growth path.

Warren Buffett sent an open letter to the U.S. government recently thanking it for a job well done:

"Uncle Sam, you delivered... overall your actions were remarkably effective."

Warren Buffett thinks that the stimulus money and bailouts worked. Well, there is finally hard evidence that the U.S.A. is back on a growth path. This is taken from Yahoo!Finance:

“In October we were able to rule out this double-dip nightmare scenario,” he says. “We are able to see very clearly, with a good deal of conviction, a revival in growth,” Achuthan tells Aaron and Dan in this clip. The improvements are widespread, Achuthan says.

-- Profit growth and productivity are on the rise. Achuthan says that leads to more hiring and capital investment in equipment.

-- Housing has stabilized. The outlook may not be rosy, but “it’s not falling off a new cliff,” which means it’s not a drag.

-- Cheap capital as a result of low interest rates. The private sector continues to create jobs.

-- Pent-up demand. Thanks to the jump in jobs, people are less afraid of losing their positions, Achuthan suggests. And after two years of saving and worrying, consumers have “frugality fatigue” which is beginning to show in the improvements in holiday shopping data.

Posted Dec 01, 2010 03:50pm EST by Peter Gorenstein

This bodes well for U.S.A.'s trading partners like Singapore.

Related posts:
Comments on the US economy.
The US consumers are back!

First REIT: XR and fair value.

A friend called me yesterday and said he might buy into First REIT with a view of getting more excess rights. I gave him my full support and told him he is likely to make money in this exercise. It turned out that he didn't get any yesterday.

Assuming that he had bought 4 lots at 98.5c /unit, his average price including rights units would be:

98.5 x 4 + 50c x 5  /9 = 71.55c /unit

At the estimated annualised DPU of 6.4c for 2011, it would mean a yield of 8.94%.  Not bad.  If he managed to get 1 lot of excess rights later on, the average price would be 69.4c which means a yield of 9.22%! I like this.

My expectation is for the REIT to trade closer to an 8% yield.  That means I expect the REIT to trade closer to 80c per unit with the estimated annualised DPU revised upwards to 6.4c for 2011.

I had people asking me if they should sell their First REIT units when it went CR. My advice to them was to keep the units and to accept and pay for their rights.  The proposed acquisitions and rights issue is a good thing for existing unit holders: a strong yield on investment with a good chance of capital gains.  Of course, there were still some who sold which allowed me to buy more at 95c /unit.

In an earlier blog post, I mentioned that I did not see any reason why the REIT should trade below the TERP of 70c, XR, and if it did, I would buy more. Today, it touched 70c only to bounce higher. It closed at 73.5c after touching a high of 74c. Congratulations to fellow unit holders!

Allow me a little indulgence as this is something I have always wanted to do:

Rating: BUY.
Fair value: 80c/unit.

Related posts:
First REIT: Rights issue.
First REIT: Bought more at 95c.

Starhub, CapitaMalls Asia and CitySpring.

A reader asked me what's happening to Starhub and another one asked me what's happening to CapitaMalls Asia. The recent price weakness must be spooky for quite a few investors.

Starhub's uptrend is clearly broken. The support at 20dMA broke five sessions ago and closing at $2.63 today on high volume looks ominous as a long black candle was formed. $2.63 is where we find the rising 50dMA. Could we see price bouncing off the 50dMA? We could but there is no clear sign of a reversal. So, if price bounces off the 50dMA, it could be just that: a bounce.

The MFI has been forming lower highs and in a rebound, we could see it testing its downtrend resistance which approximates 50% which itself is a natural resistance.  If the MACD continues to descend towards zero, we could see it crossing into negative territory. We could see price testing the 100dMA as support then. Using Fibo lines as a guage, $2.51 is also where we find the 161.8% Fibo line. It would take a brave person to go long at this point in time. Immediate resistance at $2.72.

CapitaMalls Asia's share price closed below $2.00 once more. A long black candle was formed on high volume as price closed at $1.97. Will this counter test its low of $1.91 touched on 7 May 10? With all the momentum oscillators trending down, it could.

Time to go long? I don't think so. I would let the downtrend run its course and wait for clearer signs of a reversal. Watch out, in the meantime, for signs of stabilisation. See if the candlesticks start moving inwards away from the lower Bollinger.

I fully divested my investment in CitySpring, an investment which I have long regarded as a mistake, in early October. Kim Eng has downgraded the trust to a SELL now: Kim Eng Securities downgrades Cityspring Infrastructure Trust to Sell from Hold, cuts target price to $0.52 from $0.62 on prospect of lower distribution payouts, dilution risks.

Cityspring Infrastructure cut to Sell by Kim Eng
Tuesday, 30 November 2010

© 2010 - The Edge Singapore

Related post:
CapitaMalls Asia: Uptrend broken.
CitySpring Infrastructure Trust: Thoughts on divestment.

An award for ASSI.

I have abstracted the following from an email received today:

Dear AK71,

 Congratulations! Angela here, and your blog, A Singaporean Stockmarket Investor, is an essential part of our resources!

 As a website dedicated to help those consider a career in accounting, we only provide the best information available. Whether it's a resource that helps you understand finance, or provides insight on what to invest in, we provide them for those seeking to obtain this information. This is why we've featured your blog, as it is one of the best to teach our readers.


Please do not hesitate to call or email if you have any questions. Again, congratulations, and keep up the awesome work!

Cheers,
Angela Turner
(530)324-1593

This is a happy development and I would like to thank all readers for the spreading the word.

Healthway Medical: Support at 15c broke.

The counter closed at 14.5c today. Remember I mentioned that support is at 15c. Well, that broke today but it did not look to me like a convincing flush downwards as the volume sold down at 14.5c was very light and in fact, it was a one lot sell down at closing which caused the counter to close at 14.5c today.

I am wary of being whipsawed out. With the MACD hugging the signal line, this counter could go either way. However, with a picture of low volume pull back intact, comparing the high volume sell downs in mid October, when support at 16c was broken, to the current thin trading volume, the suggestion is that most of the weaker holders have been shaken out.  This does not mean that the price could not go lower.

I like to look at the weekly chart for more clues when the near term charts get a bit hazy. The picture of low volume pull back is reinforced in the weekly chart. Believe it or not, the counter's longer term uptrend is still intact. The MFI and RSI have both formed higher lows recently. These form positive divergences with the decline in the counter's share price. The MACD is still plunging into negative territory, however, and we could see price weakening further.

13.5c is a strong support, tested first in February, being underpinned by a rising 20wMA then. It was tested again in May, being underpinned by a rising 50wMA then. This time round, 13.5c could be tested once more as support and it would be underpinned by a rising 100wMA. So, we could see 14c tested soon if this pattern plays out.

China Hongxing: Rebounding.

China Hongxing's downtrend is still intact and there is no sign of any positive divergence to suggest that a reversal is at hand. However, price goes down a river of hope and we are seeing a rebound.

Although a white candle was formed today, it was on the back of relatively low volume. The lower highs on the MFI shows declining demand. However, with it and the RSI in negative territories, we could have a respite. I see resistance at 16c in case the rebound continues as that was a support which broke on 22 Nov and could be the near term resistance now.

It pays to remember that 15.5c was itself a strong support which broke and it is where we find the gently declining 200dMA. It could prove a challenge to overcome this resistance level unless volume expands meaningfully on buy ups.

Related post:
China Hongxing: Testing support.

$50k in annual passive income: Year end status.

The last time I wrote about my attempt to achieve an annual passive income of at least $50k was on 5 Sep when I concluded that "With Saizen REIT's contribution, I would probably exceed the target I have set for myself which is "to create a minimum of $50k in annual passive income from investments in the stock market alone."  I shared this aim here in my blog on 27 Feb 2010, more than half a year ago. Like with everything, however, this needs confirmation. Let us see what happens in December 2010." Read blog post here.

For quite some time now, my focus has been on my top three investments when I talk about building a reliable stream of passive income from the stock market.  They are Saizen REIT, AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT and LMIR.

One of my friends told me that this is inaccurate since I do not include dividends received from my other investments in the stock market such as First REIT, Suntec REIT and SPH. I must admit that I have not been fastidious that way. However, my investments in other counters are so dwarfed by my top three investments that, for the sake of simplicity, I have excluded them. Also, funds from the complete divestment of CitySpring Infrastructure Trust and Cambridge Industrial Trust as well as the privatisation of Hyflux Water Trust have largely been redeployed to AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT and Saizen REIT.

So, for this blog post, again, I will just focus on my top three investments to see if I have managed to hit the said target. I don't think we need to wait till December to see how things will turn out since both LMIR and AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT have declared their final distributions for the year.

Saizen REIT

Saizen REIT's next income distribution is in March 2011. I overlooked the fact that this REIT pays half-yearly. So, without any contribution from Saizen REIT in December, I would probably not be able to hit the $50k target this year.

Also, my estimate of an annualised 1.6c DPU for Saizen REIT was somewhat optimistic earlier in Sep and it was partly premised on the successful re-financing of YK Shintoku. A more realistic annualised DPU is probably about 1.2c if YK Shintoku's loan was refinanced successfully sooner than later. This is after learning at the AGM that continual divestment of properties in YK Shintoku is necessary in order for refinancing to be viewed more favourably by potential lenders. For me, this means a reduction of 25% in estimated passive income from this investment.

Needless to say, such a reduction is not helpful towards achieving the annual passive income target I have set but in absolute dollar terms, I still expect this REIT to contribute a lion's share of my passive income for 2011.

Read my comments here.

AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT

This REIT had a successful rights issue recently which made its existing unitholders somewhat richer. I was very pleased with the rights issue and I have not sold any of my rights units exercised at 15.5c as they will enjoy a yield of 13.4% in 2011 when the annualised DPU of 2.08c kicks in. Of course, trading at 22.5c a unit now, I have a handsome 45% capital gain (on paper) for these rights units as well.

However, the last income distribution came in weaker at DPU of 0.3968c. In my blog post of 29 Oct, I said, "This is because of the issue of 513.3 million rights units on 14 October 2010 and 7.2 million units to the Manager on 19 October 2010 for payment of the acquisition fee in relation to the acquisition of 27 Penjuru Lane. Distributable income from 27 Penjuru Lane would be included in the next distribution, not this one, since the acquisition was done in 3Q FY2011 and not in 2Q FY2011."  Read blog post here.

Of course, this does not change the fact that the lower DPU this time round (payable in December) is not going to help me hit my passive income target this year.


LMIR

Although I am still somewhat disappointed with the management, this REIT is a stable passive income generator. Their latest DPU of 1.09c is marginally higher than the previous quarter's 1.04c.  This is largely in line with my expectations, that "I expect the S$ to appreciate more robustly in future and it is unlikely that the DPU would reduce much more.  Conservatively, I estimate the DPU to be 1c per quarter or 4c per year from December 2010." Read blog post here.

Obviously, at a more conservative estimate of 4c DPU per annum, this is 20% lesser than the 5c DPU I was expecting at the start of the year.

So, based purely on these three investments, I have come up short this year with regards to my annual passive income target in the stock market.

Important development:

Recently, I have been buying more units of First REIT with a view that their recently announced acquisitions and rights issue are attractive propositions which would provide a distribution yield of 9% in 2011. Including the rights which I am entitled to and which I fully intend to accept and pay for, First REIT would rival LMIR as my third largest investment in the stock market.

So, from 1 Jan 2011, I will include dividends collected from First REIT in my calculations towards the target of $50k in annual passive income. I will continue to share my results here in my blog. Wish me luck.

Related posts:
$50k in annual passive income.
First REIT: Rights issue.

Tea with AK71: A moving bathtub and fridge!

This was taken when I was driving along Scotts Road towards Ion Orchard.  At the traffic junction, I spotted this truck which must have belonged to a contractor doing some renovation work. It had sacks of stuff and on top of these sacks was balanced a fridge and on top of the fridge was a bathtub! 

Very dangerous! No one followed too closely behind the truck. What if the strappings came loose and the bathtub slid down the sacks like a ski slope?

Sabana REIT: Fundamental analysis.

Sabana REIT closed at $1.02 and touched a low of 97c at one point today. After the rather strong performance by MIT and GLP on debut not so long ago, the unenthusiastic response to Sabana REIT on its first day of trading by market participants was somewhat surprising. Let us do an analysis of the REIT and whether it is a good investment at the current price.

Sabana REIT has an aggregate leverage of 26.5% which is comfortable but bear in mind that a Shariah compliant REIT cannot lever beyond 35% while other REITs are quite comfortable levering to 45%. Its NAV per unit is 99c. So, it is trading at a slight premium to NAV and at 97c, the low of the day, it was only at a slight discount to NAV.

The total GFA of all its properties is 3,286,220 sq ft.  Its largest property which has a GFA of 810,710 sq ft has a remaining lease of 45 years. The rest of its properties have remaining leases of between 22 and 72 years. Three properties have remaining leases of 31 years or less and their combined GFA is 706,055 sq ft. Nothing irregular here. Although close to a quarter of its GFA would come to an end in 31 years or less, it does not seem worrisome at this point in time.

The REIT has an occupancy rate of near 100%. This is a good thing but it also means that there is little room to increase occupancy and revenue through renting out more space. 59.5% of its leases (by revenue) will expire in 2013 while the rest would expire in 2015. So, income should remain predictably stable till 2013.

The REIT will distribute 100% of its taxable income till 31 Dec 2012. Thereafter, at least 90% of taxable income will be distributed. Income distributions will be made quarterly to unitholders.

The estimated annualised DPU for 2011 is 8.63c and for 2012 is 8.67c. These represent yields of 8.22% and 8.25% respectively based on the IPO price of $1.05 per unit.

I believe that we have a fair offer here in Sabana REIT. Although I would rather invest in AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT which offers an annualised DPU of 2.08c for 2011 which would translate to a yield of 9.24% at a unit price of 22.5c, investing in Sabana REIT could provide some safety through diversification.

One thing that worries me is the lack of a track record of Sabana REIT's manager whereas AIMS is an old hand at managing REITs and Mr. George Wang's achievements are impressive. So, would I invest in Sabana REIT? If price weakens further, I might just buy some.

View prospectus here.

Related post:
Sabana REIT: IPO at $1.05/share.