Beauty & the Beast, the 3D experience.

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ magical classic “Beauty and the Beast” returns to the big screen in Disney Digital 3D™, introducing a whole new generation to the Disney classic with stunning new 3D imagery.

The film captures the fantastic journey of Belle (voice of Paige O’Hara), a bright and beautiful young woman who’s taken prisoner by a hideous beast (voice of Robby Benson) in his castle.

Despite her precarious situation, Belle befriends the castle’s enchanted staff—a teapot, a candelabra and a mantel clock, among others—and ultimately learns to see beneath the Beast’s exterior to discover the heart and soul of a prince.

Featuring unforgettable music by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, and an enormously talented vocal ensemble, “Beauty and the Beast” was the first animated feature to receive a Best Picture nomination from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is also the first animated feature to cross the $100 million plateau in its initial release.

For trailers and more, visit Disney Studios Singapore: here.

China Minzhong: Initiated long position.

Anyone who is a follower of Jim Rogers would know that he is always asking people to become farmers and he is quite serious. Jim is of the opinion that farm incomes will increase exponentially in the next few decades. This stems partially from his belief that we should be invested in real assets like agricultural commodities which would retain their value in the face of heightened inflation around the world.

Recently, I have been looking at China Minzhong, a company which the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) has a 17% stake in. Prudential reduced its stake to less than 5% while Templeton increased its stake to above 5%.

There is an abundance of research which has been done on China Minzhong and it is mostly good. Here are links to some analyses:

1. CIMB (14 Feb 2012)
2. Kim Eng (14 Feb 2012)

China Minzhong has made some large capital expenditure last year and it would take some time to show positive results. The longer term picture looks promising and buying on weakness could be rewarding for anyone who takes a longer term perspective here.

See slides presentation dated 13 Feb 2012: here.

1. Net income margin is consistently above 25%.
2. NAV per share: RMB 5.70 (approximately S$ 1.14)
3. Net gearing ratio: 0.11x
4. Current ratio: 2.7x
5. Half year EPS: RMB 0.48 (approximately S$0.096)

Expectations are for second half of its financial year to show higher EPS.

Technically, China Minzhong's share price emerged from a terribly persistent downtrend at the start of the new year. It then took a while to overcome resistance provided by the 100dMA before hitting a road block set by the 200dMA. It is now supported by the 50dMA and if that goes, we could see a retreat to the 100dMA which is currently at 93c.

Notice that volume has been higher on white candle days and lower on black candle days in recent sessions. Volume seems to be reducing as price pulled back. Consolidation could continue for a while more as weaker holders are shaken out.

I have initiated a long position today at 98.5c. If its share price were to weaken to 93c, I would probably add to my position. 93c is, in my opinion, a very important support if it should be tested. If it should break, we could see price retreating to test the lows of 2011 with 84c as an immediate target.

Perpetual bonds: Good or bad? (Read comments too.)

With interest rates so low these days, one would not be wrong to wonder why are companies and even a REIT issuing perpetual bonds to raise funds with coupons of up to 7%. To a layman like me with very rudimentary understanding of economics, it could be one of two reasons:

1. The business or REIT concerned is not able to get loans because its business is too risky.

2. The amount of liquidity available in the banking system is drying up.

I do not have the necessary knowledge to do an in depth analysis on the reasons why. Indeed, I do not have the inclination as well. I am more interested in how these bonds might benefit me as an investor.

Generally, investors want to be correctly compensated for the risks they are asked to undertake. So, the riskier the investment, the higher the expected compensation. Otherwise, it is a no go.

However, with imperfect knowledge, investors sometimes get the shorter end of the stick. There are examples aplenty of investments gone sour. With the benefit of hindsight, investors learn to avoid similar experience in future or we hope to anyway.

When something new comes along, relying on past experience becomes impossible. Indeed, investors are sometimes misled through creative labelling. Remember the "mini bonds"? The resulting losses were in no way mini.

Now we have "perpetual bonds". What are these?

Perpetual bonds are bonds with no maturity date and investors are not allowed redemption. A glaring disadvantage of such an instrument is the lack of liquidity. Therefore, people with very deep pockets who would never be in an urgent need of cash are more suitable investors.

No matter the depth of one's pockets, however, there is a universal problem of inflation. With inflation in Singapore at more than 5%, if one should park one's money in a perpetual bond that yields 5% or less, it does not make much sense. Add this to the lack of liquidity of such an instrument, more or less, it amounts to an almost complete loss of control over one's dwindling wealth. Ouch.

Perpetual bonds are a no go for me. However, if the companies and REITs I am vested in should issue perpetual bonds to fund activities which would grow EPS or DPU, I would raise both hands in support.

Like anything in life, whether something is good or bad depends on where one stands.


UPDATES:

The absence of a maturity date means perpetuals usually offer higher yields than bonds with one. Companies are taking advantage of Singapore accounting rules that count the notes as equity and a tax law that exempts interest payments.

The lack of a perpetual's maturity date, in spite of the incentive to redeem at the first call, allows issuers to treat that debt as equity in their books. That reduces the companies' leverage even as interest payments increase.

"The impact on the market is hard to judge" if any issuers choose not to repay, said Dilip Parameswaran, the Hong Kong-based head of Asia Investment Advisors Ltd. "The Singapore dollar market is small and dominated by domestic institutional and retail investors. They may have invested based on an expectation of call, and may be disappointed if the bonds are not called."

As companies consider the cost of refinancing, he said, "if the secondary yields are higher than the step-up coupon, then it makes no sense for the company to call the perpetual."

Source: http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/singapore-perpetual-bond-investors-hope-never-means-three-years


AK says:

What we want to be wary of is also what rising interest rates would do to bond prices. As interest rates rise, bond prices fall. That is the relationship.

For bonds with maturity dates, we just have to hold to maturity and hope that the issuer does not default. We would get back our capital at maturity. With perpetual bonds, there is no maturity date.


Related posts:
1.  Dr Marc Faber: How not to lose money?
2.  To protect our wealth, we have to take risk.

Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day!

To thank Singaporeans for making the world a fairer place and for their support of Ben & Jerry’s, we’re giving away free ice-cream on Free Cone Day!

Small, unnoticed, random acts of fairness make this world a better place.

We have captured some Singaporeans at their best, doing their small deeds to make the world a better place for that single person.

See who these people are and vote for the one that you think has done his or her Random Act of Fairness.

Get free ice-cream on Free Cone Day: here.

Leverage up and buy investment properties now?

UPDATE (December 2016):
I sounded the alarm 4 years ago.

"Many who bought their properties three to four years ago are settling for rents that don't cover their mortgage payment..."
Mortgagee listings this year expected to reach or surpass the 237 recorded in 2015, which exceeded the 236 in 2008 during the global financial crisis. A mortgagee's sale occurs when an owner defaults on the mortgage.
Source:
http://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/more-properties-could-be-up-for-auction-if-interest-rates-bite (8 Dec 16)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

8 March 2012
Today, I stumbled upon an interesting if disturbing bit of information. "Online loan" is the hottest in a list of keywords being searched for in Yahoo Singapore! For whatever reasons, Singaporeans are leveraging up or looking to it, it seems.

With the economy almost at full employment, it is harder to imagine people borrowing because they are in dire straits. Then why? They could be borrowing to fund purchases of consumption goods or to put into investments.

I also continue to read articles and see advertisements telling people how they could own real estate with little or no cash. How is this possible?

The low interest rate environment is here to stay for the next couple of years, with what is happening in the USA, Eurozone and Japan. As Dr. Marc Faber said, a low interest rate environment encourages people to take risks. Is this a bad thing?

I have been told by many that a judicious amount of leveraging could magnify the returns from my investments.

So, with zero gearing in my personal balance sheet now, am I a stick in the mud when it comes to leveraging?

I do understand the benefits of leveraging and, indeed, without it, I would not have been able to make money from real estate investments. However, I would leverage sparingly and would try not to take the biggest possible loan or the longest repayment period, given a choice.

On the other hand, savvy investors who know how to exploit low interest rates would probably benefit a lot more. The fear is always in overdoing it. Overdoing it?

Yes, too much of a good thing is probably bad. I am talking about overleveraging, of course.

A simple understanding of overleveraging is a situation when people are borrowing money, hoping to make money but do not have enough capital assets to cover any likely future losses.

The Singapore government is prudent in capping the loan to value limit at 60% for a second mortgage. In the event of a crash in the property market, it is unlikely that property values would decline by more than 40%.

However, some people have purportedly found ways of going around this ruling. Indeed, from their claims, they have probably found ways around any ruling. If we were to do a search online, we would find websites and blogs with such claims. To find out more, however, we would have to pay to attend related seminars.

I would caution that there are reasons for why the cooling measures are here. Whether the reasons are good or not would depend on where we stand.

However, it is obvious to me that the government is sending a clear message that they want property prices in Singapore to lower in the next couple of years, not that they need to do much more to achieve this.

Given the rising vacancy and lowering rentals in the last few months, how would things look when record numbers of condominums are completed over the next few years?

Over the next 2-3 years, supply of completed new units is set to surge as the government’s current efforts to address the undersupplied HDB and DBSS markets bear fruit and as the bumper supply of land parcels for private housing in the government land sale programme is developed. We estimate that an average of 33,434 units of housing could enter into the market annually between 2012-2015 or 3.5x the average over 2004-2010. This compares with an average household formation of 18,000-26,000 over the past few years.

The current low interest rate environment and low vacancy levels are supportive of rents and the positive rental carry makes property investments attractive. However, with the large incoming supply over the next 2-3 years, vacancy rates are expected to trend up and this would exert pressure on rents and yields, resulting in a drag on prices.

Source: DBS Vickers.

Betting against the government and basic principles of economics, buying more investment properties now, does not seem like a savvy thing to do. Overleveraging would make this worse.

Related posts:
1. Should we be staying invested or in cash?
2. Selling a private property just got harder.
3. Buying a private property as a owner-occupier. Think like an investor.
4. New or resale property?
5. Be a real estate owner the easy way.

Be a plumber or be unemployed?

I read an article in The Straits Times today on how a 50 year old Chinese plumber makes RMB10,000 a month clearing drains in Wuhan, Hubei, China. This is about S$2,000 and about 5 times more than what a fresh graduate in China is able to command as an office executive.

The plumber has saved enough money to buy a car and pay off his mortgage, feats which Chinese office executives are envious of. So, could we expect more graduates to become plumbers in China? Most unlikely.

"Over a quarter of new college graduates are avoiding more physical work as electricians, plumbers, and drivers in favor of office jobs, according to the Labor Ministry, despite average starting salaries less than half of what’s on offer elsewhere."

It was reported that fresh graduates in China would rather remain unemployed than to take up a job that involves menial labour. A fresh graduate, after six months of being jobless, admitted that he could get a job as a blue-collar worker which would pay well but he would rather not do it. Why? It would not sound good when he tells people what he does.

Now, I wonder if we gave the plumber a fancy title, would that help? Sanitation Specialist? Does it sound better?

Anyway, this case is not exceptional as a survey found that 6 in 10 graduates in China would prefer to be a white collar executive making RMB 3,000 a month instead of a blue color worker making RMB 5,000 a month.

I don't think this situation is unique to China either. It is probably the same anywhere.

Is a society more advanced when its people are more concerned about class than financial well being? Class could take many forms, of course, and not just in the form of job titles.

What about the place of work and the dress code? Is working in the CBD and wearing a tie and jacket at work more prestigious than working in a warehousing district and wearing jeans and t-shirt at work? What if the latter were to pay twice as much as the former?

Should we care about how people look at us or how our bank account looks?

Related post:
A movie: The Iron Lady.

SGX: Heavy selling.

SGX Centre Two

SGX's share price could go as low as $6.30 in time. This is the neckline of a reverse head and shoulders pattern which formed from November 2011 to January 2012.

However, both the rising 50d and 100d MAs should provide some support in case of further price weakness. Would they be strong enough to prevent a more drastic decline in price? Your guess is as good as mine.

If I were interested in getting in on the long side, I would pay attention to the 100d MA. See how a trendline connecting the lows of December 2011 and January 2012 seems to approximate its position? Should be a stronger support than the 50d MA and if it should go, $6.30 is the next support.

March 6: Noble Group, Singapore Exchange, Swiber, Hi-P International
Tuesday, 06 March 2012

© 2012 - The Edge Singapore

Sembcorp and SembMarine.

SembCorp's share price broke through the 20dMA as if it didn't exist. Could we see the rising 50dMA tested for support eventually? It is now at $4.70.

SembMarine's share price gapped down dramatically on the back of extremely high volume. It would not surprise me if the 50dMA should be tested for support in the next few sessions. It is now at $4.74. If the selling pressure is strong enough, we could see that giving way too. $4.36 in time? Possibly.

Temasek raises $328m from SembMarine stake sale
Tuesday, 06 March 2012

© 2012 - The Edge Singapore

Sembcorp Marine shares fall after news of Temasek stake sale
Tuesday, 06 March 2012

© 2012 - The Edge Singapore

Tea with AK71: My briefcase.

When I first started work as an adult, I spent almost $200 buying a leather briefcase. I saw it in a mail order pamphlet, thought it looked nice and the price rather reasonable. It lasted some two years before giving way. So, did I buy a new briefcase? No.


One of my vendors gave me a briefcase made of fabric. It was much lighter than the leather briefcase I had and it was free! I was very pleased with that briefcase and used it with pride until it too gave way a few years later.


My third briefcase was also made of fabric. Again, it was free! Wow! That was a free bag from a periodical I subscribed to. I believe it was Asiaweek. I don't see this periodical anymore. Could be defunct now.

Since the demise of the leather briefcase I first bought as a working adult, I have never bought another briefcase. Every single one was free since.


Over the years, I would collect free briefcases. Collect? Yes, they were free from merchants, banks or malls when certain conditions were met. In recent years, I also received two briefcases as presents from friends, a leather one and a fabric one.

My current briefcase is my favourite, a very lightweight fabric bag that has lasted me four years but it has finally given way. It has torn but I want to continue using it for a while more.

Free bag from United Colors of Benetton.

After years of faithful service, it is fraying.

This was a free bag from United Colors of Benetton. Yes, it is branded!


The bag was given free to my sister for purchasing a certain minimum amount from them. She didn't want it. So, I took it!


This was probably 8 years or so ago. I can't be sure but it was a long time ago. I think the shop was in Centrepoint.


Well, nothing lasts forever really, not even a diamond, scientifically speaking. I would have to retire this bag one day and choose a replacement from my ready stock of free briefcases at home. ;p

Related post:
Money management: Needs and wants.

A movie: The Iron Lady.

I just watched "The Iron Lady" in which Meryl Streep plays Baroness Margaret Thatcher, the powerful former leader of Great Britain. Meryl Streep's performance was entrancing and she got the accent down pat!

It was a sad movie in the end but it was a sadness with an air of dignity.

Many things that Baroness Margaret Thatcher stood for in the movie resonated with me and I feel that Singaporeans or anyone, for that matter, would benefit from her wisdom.

This left the deepest impression on me:

“What I do think is a man should be encouraged to stand on his own two feet. Yes, we help people. Of course we help people, but for those who can do, they must just get up and do. And if something’s wrong, they shouldn’t just whine about it. They should get in there and do something about it. Change things.”

I have, whenever and wherever appropriate, made comments to the same effect.

When people tell me that they are just average people and that they cannot achieve financial freedom, I tell them to stop being average. Be more than average. Often, we are our worst enemies.




Related posts:
1. Do you want to be richer?
2. Envious? Find our own way.

Losing your hair?

Some of us might be suffering from pre-mature hair fall. I know many friends who are pulling out their hair because of this problem. Er... ok, bad joke.

Anyway, if you suffer from pre-mature hair fall, why not give natural remedies a try?

TK TrichoKare is a holistic hair and scalp care centre that provides European Herbal remedies (consisting natural botanicals such as Jojoba, Rosemary, Nettles, Burdock, Aloe Vera and Lavender) for all hair conditions.

Fill out your details and enjoy a special introductory price at TK TrichoKare: here.

Yongnam: FY 2011 results.

Went through Yongnam's FY2011 results as I munched on my lunch of wholemeal bread with margarine. I am very impressed with the results. For a company in a sector which is expected to suffer from the vicissitudes of cyclical effects with weak margins, it has done really well.

Year on year, revenue dipped 0.7% while gross profits improved 8.2%. Gross profit margin improved from 28.6% to 31.1%! This shows an increase in productivity. I always like using less resources to do more.

EPS improved 15.5% year on year from 4.38c to 5.06c. NAV improved from 18.92c to 23.25c. This is an increase of 22.9% as gearing reduced 38.8% from 0.49x to 0.30x. Earnings and assets are up while borrowings are down. Very nice.

To make the picture nicer, a dividend of 1c per share has been declared. This represents a pay out ratio of about 19.8%. At a share price of 25.5c, it translates to a dividend yield of 3.92%. 

The dividend paid out in the preceding year was 0.65c per share. Dividend per share has grown 53.8% year on year, therefore.

In FY2011, Yongnam saw greater contribution by its Specialist Civil Engineering business which commands a higher gross margin over its Structural Steelworks business. This allowed its gross profits to grow while revenue flatlined.

In FY2012, this trend is likely to continue. As of end December 2011, Specialist Civil Engineering already had a 61% share of its order book value of S$462m.

Not only does Yongnam have an enviable number of projects on hand, the high barrier to entry in the niche it has carved out for itself means that competition now and in the future is quite limited, allowing it to command better margins.

The increased spending by regional governments on infrastructure projects and Yongnam's strong ties with reputable international contractors will probably see Yongnam winning more contracts as the year progresses. This bodes well for the company, especially with expectations of a slow down in private sector demand.

See presentation slides: here.

See press release: here.

Related post:
Yongnam: Smart money is accumulating.

Sheng Siong: A good investment for income?

Last year in August, Sheng Siong's IPO created a bit of a buzz. The company promised a pay out ratio of 90% in FY 2011 and FY 2012 to woo investors and offered shares to the public at 33c a piece. It was 1.3x oversubscribed.

For FY2011, net profit fell 36.1% while revenue fell 8%. Net profit margin declined to 4.7% in FY2011 from 6.8% in FY2010. This is although gross profit margin improved somewhat to 22.1% compared to 21.8% in the previous year. Frankly, I find its net profit margin to be rather unattractive and it actually looks worse than some local construction companies'.

However, delivering on its promise of a 90% pay out ratio, the company has proposed a dividend of 1.77c per share for FY2011. At its last traded price of 48c a share, it translates to a dividend yield of about 3.69%. For those who got their shares at IPO, they would have a dividend yield of 5.36% on cost.

Many invested in Sheng Siong thinking of its business as recession proof and that it is a defensive stock to own. However, its numbers suggest that it does not have much of an economic moat and is not really defensive per se. In fact, the leaner margins have been attributed to keen competition from rival supermarket chains.

Debt free and with more cash on hand, let us see if the company would be able to deliver more value to shareholders in the new financial year. However, for any would be investor, it pays to note that after FY2012, there is no guarantee that Sheng Siong would continue with its 90% pay out ratio.

If the payout ratio were to be reduced to 50% or even 30%, what would the dividend per share amount to then? Would its earnings per share grow fast enough to compensate for the lower pay out ratio in order to continue delivering a similar quantum of dividend per share?

Sheng Siong might be a good place for grocery shopping but is it a good investment for income?

The jury is still out on this one.

See slides presentation: here.
See results announcement: here.

Trading to put food on the table.

I read an article in today's Sunday Times by Goh Eng Yeow on how to sniff out good stocks to invest in. However, I am not going to blog about sniffing out potential winners in the stock market. I am going to blog about something that's probably less exciting: the day trader who wrote to him saying how he lost a big fortune in the stock market last year.

"With mounting bills, and zero financial reserve left, and no job, the current state of mind is like losing a wing man in Tom Cruise's Top Gun. Every day is a challenge mentally and physically to put food on the table..."

I know of friends who have lost big time in the stock market. Personally, I lost a six figure sum in the stock market before as well. It was definitely a nightmare and no one should have to suffer like this. So, can we avoid such an experience?

Well, the only way is probably not to invest in the stock market. As long as we are going to invest in the stock market, we are taking on risks. The idea is to reduce such risks as they cannot be removed.

I think a very pertinent question to ask before we take that first step as an "investor" or a "trader" is to ask ourselves if we are ready. By this, I do not just mean if we have the necessary knowledge required to do fundamental and technical analyses. I also refer to whether we have our safety nets in place. This is even more pertinent a question if we were to be a full time "investor" or "trader".

I know of people who dream of making it big as an "investor" or a "trader". Personally, I am not qualified in any way to say that their dreams are just dreams. Although I do not know of anyone on a personal basis who has become very rich investing or trading in the stock market, there could be people out there who have done so.

However, no matter what our aspirations, embarking on any journey without a contingency plan (or several contingency plans) is a terrible mistake. It would be like going on a sea journey on a ship without lifeboats. Would you do that?

I remember a fellow blogger telling me that if we are making a living from the stock market, we would need to have regular income from the market as frequently as possible. Otherwise, there would be no food on the table. To me, that sounds like having no contingency plan.

So, I replied that "If a person is making a living trading the stock market full time, I expect that he should have a sizeable capital. If he has very little capital and he depends on his gains from trading to put food on the table, a prudent thing to do is to find a salaried job."

If a person has a sizeable capital, he could put it to work investing in stocks which offer decent yields of 5 to 6% or S-REITs which could yield 10% per annum even at current prices. The dividends and income distributions would be a nice supplement to his earned income. Earned income? Yes, don't give up our jobs unless our passive income from the stock market is enough to replace our earned income.

Investing in the stock market need not be a high risk activity. It is only a high risk activity because individuals allow it to be so.

Individuals sometimes put their lives at risk with dreamy ideas of what the stock market is and what they could achieve. Dreams could then become nightmares.

Take it from me. I have been there before.

Related posts:
1. Seven steps to creating passive income from the stock market.
2. Create more passive income with limited capital.
3. How did AK71 overcome his losses and grow his portfolio?

OCBC Research: Industrial REITs.

I came across an interesting piece of research by OCBC on industrial REITs in Singapore and would like to share the salient points here (some of which I have mentioned before in my blog):

Industrial REITs reported healthy 4Q11 results.

Industrial REITs appeared to outperform market expectations.

Expecting stable performance.

Operating metrics still healthy.

Earnings likely to stay resilient.

Percentage of leases due for renewal at comfortable level.

Aggregate leverage may inch upwards after funding potential investments.

Industrial REITs in better financial position now

Maintain OVERWEIGHT view.

I am pleased to see that AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT, Sabana REIT, CIT and Cache Logistics Trust have all performed above consensus expectations as I am vested in all four. Bigger names such as Ascendas and Mapletree have only performed within expectations; not vested. (Refer to exhibit 3 in the report.)

See the full report: here.

Related post:
Office S-REITs VS. Industrial S-REITs (3).

Hock Lian Seng: 2c dividend per share.

On 17 October 2011, I looked at Hock Lian Seng's numbers after observing how insiders were buying up its shares at 23.5c a piece. I decided that its numbers were decent enough and that it would probably be able to pay a dividend of 1.5c a share.





I bought more shares at 24c a piece while waiting to see if price would fall closer to its NAV per share. Prices did go lower and touched a low of 21c in one later session but my buy order was not filled.

Today, it announced a dividend of 2.0c a share on the back of rather encouraging numbers. Mr. Market has reacted in the usual fashion and Hock Lian Seng's share price touched a high of 27c before closing at 26.5c today, up 1.5c from the preceding session.

I really like how its gross profit margin improved to 24.9% and its nett profit margin improved to 19.0%. Construction firms having thin margins is common knowledge amongst seasoned investors and being able to improve on their profit margins says something about the strength of Hock Lian Seng in the sector.





Of course, as investors, we own shares and we want to see if we are now in better shape on a per share basis. Well, EPS improved 15.1% to 6.1c. No doubt, this is one reason why a much higher dividend has been announced. 2c per share represents a payout ratio of 32.8%.

Hock Lian Seng will gun for more infrastructure projects in Singapore amidst greater spending by the government in this area. If they are successful in their endeavours, the company would be able to ride out the mild slowdown in the economy which is being forecast for the coming years.





See press release: here.

Related post:
Hock Lian Seng: Insider buying.

Yongnam: Smart money is accumulating.

OBV is used to detect distribution and accumulation activities. This, in itself, might not be very useful apart from providing material for a chit chat over tea. Looking at OBV together with price movement, however, could be rewarding.

A simple technical analysis suggests that smart money is accumulating shares of Yongnam.

Look at how the OBV has been gradually rising although its share price has been forming lower highs since early October 2010. An upward sloping OBV coupled with a weakening share price suggests that smart money is accumulating. Mind you, accumulation could go on for a long time as seen in this case.

However, there is support and buying on weakness could be rewarding as we could see prices going higher in time.

I have done some FA on Yongnam and its numbers have been improving over the years. Margins have been improving while gearing has been reducing.

Yongnam has carved a niche for itself in the construction industry and concentrates its efforts mainly in the infrastructure sector which continues to see major expenditure by regional governments.

What Yongnam does has a high barrier to entry and it is also probably the biggest in the game it plays. Yongnam seems to have an advantage and consistently gaining new contracts gives this claim credibility.

Visit Yongnam's website: here.

HY Markets.

Who are HY Markets?

“HY Markets is a division of the Henyep Group, a global diversified conglomerate with business in financial services, property, education, and charity spanning 3 continents and 20 countries worldwide. The Henyep Group of companies are registered and authorized in world-leading jurisdictions including London, United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong. This provides clients with the comfort and security of a global institution.

"HY Markets provides investors with efficient and direct access to all their trading needs. Start trading with the security of an FSA regulated company."

                                                                                                                                (Source: HY Markets website)

There are many reasons why a trader should deal with HY Markets:

Henyep Group companies are authorized and regulated by world leading financial authorities providing clients with global access to capital markets. It has the following licenses: FSA, DFSA, SFC, HKEx. Moreover, Henyep has over 30 years of gold trading experience and is a member firm of Hong Kong's Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society.

I would like to highlight the most important points here:

1. It is regulated by FSA in UK.

2. It has total transparency and security of the world’s financial centers.

3. Of many advantages is that HY Markets has a long history. It has been serving investing community for more than 25 years.

To read up on their history, click here: Group History.

HY Markets is also famous for its multi trading platforms:

Offering both Revolutionary Web-based Trading and desktop platforms. Each platform has its advantages, for example: Web-based trading platform (which you do not need to download) could be accessed anywhere with Internet connection.

HY Markets has a complete product offering. It can meet all the trader needs. You can trade Forex, oil/gas, metals, commodities and stocks. In addition, you can buy long and sell short all the products. It has up to 400:1 leverage.

HY Markets has Personalized Customer Support. 24/7 customers are supported by phone, email or chart. They have experienced staff and help desk in local languages. Moreover, they offer VIP services.

HY Markets offers variety of trading tools:

For examples, it offers: daily economic calendar, currency conversion, Live Reuters news, glossary of terms and charts.

HY Markets offers a demo account.

In addition, they have a section on education with video tutorials. Where a beginner can learn trading basics: an introduction to margin trading and investing (margin trading basics, order types and understanding account information).

Furthermore, they provide traders with technical analysis. You may learn to use charts and statistics to make investment decisions: chart types, indicators and patterns, trend analysis.

Also, HY Markets gives fundamental analysis. The beginner can learn the ability to forecast market movements by analyzing: economic data announcements and news, macroeconomic factors.

It is always easy to stay updated with HY Markets. They provide traders with daily market commentary. Receive daily updates on all major capital markets and stay on top of your investment decisions!

Starting an account.

HY Markets has very easy opening procedure. You can start trading just with $50 in 5 minutes and you can fund account with credit card.

HY Markets offers variety of live accounts. They have MINI Account where you can start trading from $50 and up. It has up to 200:1 leverage. and 1/50 premium contract which is good for beginners.

You can choose STANDARD Account where the starting trading amount is $750 and up. It has up to 200:1 leverage, 1/10 premium contract.

HY Markets offers PREMIUM Account as well. You can start from $2,500. It offers up to 200:1 leverage, regular contract sizes.

Spreads at HY Markets start as low as 2 pips.

Finally, HY Markets offers CUSTOMISED and Islamic accounts to meet the demanding needs of all investors. Such service includes tailor-made accounts customized to individuals' needs, personal dealers, and dedicated account executives.

Visit HY Markets today: English language homepage.

Advertorial

A movie: John Carter.

From Academy Award®–winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton comes “John Carter” — a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars).

“John Carter” is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present.

The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins).

In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.

Watch the trailers at Disney Studios Singapore: here.

AK71 gets recognition from the government!

Some time back, I wrote about how I was asked to take part in Eldershield. That blog post generated many good comments, putting forth arguments for and against me taking up Eldershield.

In the end, I decided to take up Eldershield because of an appeal by LP, the blog master of "Bully the Bear". He said "...  I wish to appeal to your sense of public charity - help contribute to the pool of money so that those poor elders can insure against this risk at lower premiums." That more or less made up my mind for me.

Today, as I was going through my mail, I came across one that had the words "ON GOVERNMENT SERVICE" together with our national crest on the envelope. I experienced palpitations.

A traffic offence? I flipped the envelope and saw the return address: "NSSC, 1, Depot Road, Singapore 109681." Wah! Being called up for reservist? Or did I forget to inform MINDEF that I would be going overseas before my last trip?

I opened the envelope and this was what I saw:

Paragraph 2 is of the greatest interest to me:

"In recognition of your contribution to National Service... you are entitled to an annual deduction of $1,500 from your taxable income... "

Of course, the letter also reminded me that I am ageing.

Related post:
Tea with AK71: Eldershield.