Ever since the CPFB introduced a colorful pie chart of our CPF savings a few years ago, I would look forward to mine every year like a teena...
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"Creditors have better memories than debtors." Benjamin Franklin.
Benjamin Franklin
US postage stamp, 1847.
A good friend has been telling me on and off how a friend of his has not repayed a $200 loan made almost a year ago. Well, it could be as good as gone, I said. That got him depressed every time. I would then tell him that he is a poor candidate for a lender. Is there ever a good candidate for a lender?
Well, I was taught that if we should lend someone money, we must do it with the mindset of a donor. Yes, a donor. The only material difference between lending money and donating money is that with the former, the money could possibly come back to us one day. Of course, if we lend money as if we were donating it, the sum is written off. So, if the money should be returned one day, it is a "windfall"! Then, we would feel quite happy, wouldn't we?
This way, we would not have any anxiety about the loan and we might even get to feel quite happy with a possible "windfall" in future! This actually happened with another friend who told me that a childhood friend he lent $5,000 to suddenly called him and said he was finally able to repay the loan. It had been 4 years since the loan was made! So, what must we remember?
No, it is not the famous quote from Hamlet which goes: "Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend." Instead, everyone should learn this as soon as possible in life and remember it well: If we are not able to lend money with the mindset of a donor, don't do it.
The 1.6 litre Lancer GLX (2005 - 2008) is the most reliable (i.e. least problematic) car in the last 15 years! That is pretty amazing.
The Mitsubishi Lancer is a low-powered, three-box Japanese saloon. Yes, it does have an evil twin, in the form of the Evo, but it's the standard granddad-friendly one that delivers the dependability which makes it the most reliable car Warranty Direct has ever seen. (Warranty Direct, 21 November 2012)
We almost bought this car 4 years ago but in the end, we went for the 1.5 litre Lancer EX which has more leg room and a Mivec DOHC engine for S$10,000 more.
What brought us to Cycle & Carriage's showroom back then was really the 1.6 litre Lancer GLX because they were having a sale and the car was being offered for $40+K, inclusive of COE.
$40+K? Yes! Pre-owned? Nope. Brand new from Cycle & Carriage! Now? I don't dare to check how much it now costs!
Buying pre-owned would make more money sense and for anyone who is looking for a compact pre-owned car that is high on reliability, a 1.6 litre Lancer EX built from 2005 to 2008 would seem like a good choice if we believe the report.
Some might wonder if it is time to sell shares of China Minzhong and to lock in some sizeable gains. Well, it is back to the basic question of: "What are we after?"
If we believe that China Minzhong's shares are still undervalued, then, fundamentally, it is not the time to sell. However, if we do not care about fundamentals and are in it for a trade, then, that is a different motive which would dictate that we act differently.
To any casual observer, it is obvious that China Minzhong's share price is having difficulty breaking resistance to go higher. Look at the daily chart and we can see why.
Daily chart.
China Minzhong's price movement seems to be losing momentum as the MACD forms lower highs and the CMF shows money flowing out. Continuing price weakness in the near term is not surprising.
Indeed, price could weaken to support at 80c which is where we find the merged 50d and 20d MAs. A much stronger twice tested support is quite obviously provided by the fast rising 100d MA. In the event of a whipsaw in a correction, this MA could be tested once again for support.
Weekly chart.
For someone with a longer term perspective, no analysis is complete without looking at the weekly chart and bulls would like what they see there. Quite obviously, there is a break out from resistance and where is the next resistance level? The descending 100w MA currently at $1.05? Possibly. Immediate support is at 78c. Do a quick risk/reward analysis and it would seem that being long China Minzhong makes more sense in the longer term.
Ultimately, what we decide to do depends on our motivation for being vested as well as our risk appetite. Remember, TA is about probability and never certainty.
Technical Analysis For Dummies dumps the confusing jargon and unreadable charts for basic explanations and practical guidance. Go to:
Technical Analysis for Dummies
I was just offered $2.5 million on Facebook! What did I do? I rejected, of course. Please lah. $2.5 million only? It is nothing compared to the $15 million I was offered before. ------------------------ Today could be an auspicious day. Today could be a historic day. Today could be a fortunate day. However, I laughed so hard that I think today is an amusing day. Read on.
From the desk of the
Chief Account Officer Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC -Nigeria.
Attn: Sir,
Good day. I know this mail will come to you as a surprise but I need to contact you because of the urgency and confidentiality of this business transaction. I am Chief Account officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
I have a deal here in my office I need a foreign partner to execute with me. I and my colleague over invoiced a contract payment valued US$50million. We awarded contracts for the supply and maintenance of all the oil pipelines and oil drilling equipments for the nation oil wells to some foreign contractors valued US$103billion, which we over invoiced US$50 million addition to the total contract sum.
Now as a matter of fact, most of the contractors have been paid and the remaining contractor’s payments are under process to be paid to them. With that, I and my colleague have decided to include you among these remaining contractors to process the sum of the US$50Million in your company or in your name to claim it for our mutual benefit.
So I am now contacting you to present you as the sub-contractor who has this amount of US$50million to be paid for the supply of heavy oil drilling equipments used in recent overhauling of the refineries.
I will advice you furnish me with your personal information including your personal cell phone number and the name of your company with address to enable me register it with our cooperate affairs commission in charge of allied and companies registration as an indigenous company.
It is mandatory that any foreign company must be registered in this country. Also with your acceptance to execute this business with me, I need to be sure of your confidentiality towards the conclusion of this deal, you will be given 30% of the total amount, 5% map out for re-fund of expenses incur by any of the parties, while I and my colleague will take 65% once the money gets into your company account in your country.
Also with my position here, I can officially arrange with you to be lifting 2 or 4million barrels of Crude Oil per month by getting a year or two years crude Oil allocation contract in your name and company name whether you are here or not. With this we can make more money from the oil lifting here in Nigeria.
I will detail you more on this once I get your response.
Thank you and hope to hear from you as soon as possible. Send me your cell phone number to call you for more details.
Best Regards
Chief Account Officer (N.N.P.C)
Very nicely crafted. Now, what would you do if you were to receive an email like this? Imagine ASSI rubbing shoulders with high ranking (corrupt) officials from Nigeria. Tsk, tsk. In this case, they are probably bogus high ranking (corrupt) officials. Double tsk, tsk! OK, I have to go say the Lord's Prayer now.
Related posts: 1. Advice from a fraudster. 2. Taking candy from a baby. P.S. To me, there is no short cut to wealth creation. We could try our luck at TOTO once in a while but what are the chances of winning? Of course, we might end up having to share the big prize money with 20 other winners too! Wealth creation is best done with both feet on the ground and walking down well trodden paths.
Anyone who has been reading local personal finance blogs regularly in the last few years would have no doubt come across many accounts by bloggers about how they read a book titled "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki and that changed the way they looked at money.
The book is about financial independence achieved through the ownership of income producing assets instead of working for a salary our entire life. Robert Kiyosaki is a natural story teller and the book is inspirational. If you should be interested in getting a copy. There are great bargains at BetterWorldBooks:
Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids about Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!(Pre-owned copies available in good condition @ US$5.98 each) Robert Kiyosaki also wrote another book which divides people into four distinct types:
E is for Employee S is for Self-Employed or Specialist B is for Big Business I is for Investor I would suggest this as a companion read to "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" as Robert tries to encourage readers to invest in financial education and to start investing for cash flow.
Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom(Pre-owned copies available in very good condition @ US$6.98 each) "It won’t happen overnight, and it will be hard work. But if you’re diligent, plan well, and execute your plan, you’ll be much better off in the future whether the markets are up or down." Robert Kiyosaki. Buy pre-owned from BetterWorldBooks and you will be helping the environment and funding literacy for the poor. Free shipping globally. Visit BetterWorldBooks here:
The last time I had a detailed blog post on SoundGlobal was almost a month ago on 7 December. At that time, I said that the declining 100wMA would provide resistance at about 60c.
Daily chart.
Resistance was taken out decisively today as volume expanded. However, a long upper wick was formed on the white candle with price closing the session at 61.5c, a strong resistance which was tested many times in July/August 2012. It could not be taken out then. Could it give in this time?
Ah, it is always hard to say for sure but the momentum oscillators are definitely looking more bullish this time. There was a lower high on the MACD back then which hinted at a weakening positive momentum.
For sure, we can use TA to see where the resistance levels are likely to be if 61.5c should be taken out in future sessions. How? By using Fibo lines and candlesticks.
Fibo lines.
138.2% is at 68c which coincides with the highs of February 2012. 150% is at 70c and this coincides with the highs of July 2011. 161.8% is at 71.5c and this coincides with the support turned resistance of May/June 2011.
It is good to bear in mind that prices don't go up or down in a straight line. They climb a wall of worries and go down a river of hope. So, although sentiments have taken a turn for the better, it would not be wrong to take profit through partial divestments at these resistance levels.
Weekly chart.
The weekly chart shows a clear break out from resistance provided by the declining 100w MA. Of course, the week is not yet over. If the session tomorrow should see share price closing clearly above the 100w MA, then, in the new week, there is a chance of price rising to test resistance at 68c, 70c and even 71.5c.
------------------- I like to share good deals when I find them and did just that in my blog post on Wilmar last night. I said there were two copies of "Technical Analysis for Dummies" for sale at US$9.48 each and that they were really great bargains. A reader sent me an email to say that they are no longer available. I was surprised and checked just now. Indeed, they were both sold to readers of ASSI. Hey, you guys are fast!
I don't know when they might have more copies at US$9.48 each since BetterWorldBooks sell pre-owned books and they don't have regular shipments from the printers.
Well, when I checked just now, there are 5 copies of this book left which are in much better condition than the two which were sold at US$9.48 each.
These 5 copies are priced at US$17.36 each. With free shipping, they are still fairly good bargains. Of course, you would also be helping the environment and funding literacy for the poor by buying from BetterWorldBooks. :-)
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