Home - Wok

Bought a Tefal wok ( 28cm ) from Metro @ compass point at a cost of $43.90.

Portfolio Update - December 2007

Top Ten Holdings ( by market value )

1. ST Engineering
2. Noble Grp
3. SIA
4. Swiber
5. UOB
6. SingTel
7. OCBC
8. Comfort Delgro
9. Allgreen
10. Semb. Marine

Dividend for the month of November = $427.29

From 05-12 year2007 ( over 8 months ), my total dividend is $15,124.43

Market Value of equity = $428,348.12
Market Value of trust fund ( fundsupermart ) = $73,564.83
Market Value of trust fund ( finatiq ) = $59,819.25

Market remains volatile throughout the month with the credit crunch issue very much in the forefront of the whole nervousness. Year end rally did not materialise, though there was a slight upwsing on the last day of the month. The whole economy in general still appear to be on the rising trend and hopefully 2008 will turn on the heat for another bull run. Under such circumstance, it is important to position oneself for the upswing if it comes, before all the uncles and aunties jump onto the wagon too.

HMI - Rights on 24 Dec 2007

The Rights Issue is to be made on a renounceable non-underwritten basis to Entitled Shareholders on the basis of 2 Rights Shares for every 4 existing Shares held by Entitled Shareholders as at the Books Closure Date at an issue price of $0.05 for each Rights Share, fractional entitlements to be disregarded.

The Issue Price represents a discount of approximately 76.7% to the last transacted price of S$0.215 per Share on the Official List of the SGX-Sesdaq( now known as Catalist ) on 24 October 2007 ( being the last full trading day of the Shares prior to the announcement of the Rights Issue on 25 October 2007 ) and a discount of approximately 65.5% to the last transacted price of S$0.145 per Share ( traded on an ex-rights basis ) on the OfficialList of the SGX-Sesdaq( now known as Catalist ) as at 19 December 2007 ( being the last full trading day of the Shares prior to the Lastest Practicable Date).

Based on the Company's issued share capital of 343,686.600 Shares as at the Latest Practicable Date and assuming that there is no change to the Company's issued share capital by the Books Closure Date, the Company will issue up to 137,474,640 Rights Shares pursuant to the Rights Issue.


Expected Timetable of key events :
Shares trade ex-Rights - 19 Dec 2007
Book Closure Date - 24 Dec 2007
Despatch of the OIS, ARE and PAL - 28 Dec 2007
Commencement of trading of "nil-pad" rights - 28 Dec 2007
Last date and time for splitting - 8 jan 2008
Last day for trading of "nil-pad" rights - 8 Jan 2008
Last date and time for acceptance of and payment for Rights shares - 14 jan 2008
Last date and time for renunciation of and payment for Rights shares - 14 Jan 2008
Last date and time for application and payment for excess Rights shares - 14 Jan 2008

Application :
On 4 jan 2008
Applied 800 shares of rights = $40.00
Applied 4200 shares of excess rights = $210.00

Results :
A sum of $150 was returned to me. ( successfull application of $100 )
This means I was successful in getting
rights = 800
excess rights = 1200

a total of 2000 shares at a price of $100.00

Purchase of SGS T-Bills ( TB-080103-0007 )

My seventh purchase of SGS T-Bills

The bid done for today is for the auction next week :
Issue Code - BQ08100A
Issue Date - 03 Jan 2008
Tenor - 91 days
Maturity Date - 03 April 2008

a 10% downpayment was made ( = $100.00 ) which will be refunded when the transaction is performed next week.

I made a bid of S$1000.00The yield will be known next week through the auction result.

yield = 2.00%
total paid = $995.01
gain = $4.99

Home - Lights

The ceiling light in the living room consists of 3 bulbs of 40W. It is yellow light. Recently I changed it to 3 white bulbs of 40W. The brand is Philips ( also available in OSRAM ). It costs $4.90 each. With white light, one cannot dim the lights, as such, I have taped down the dimmers.

The side lights at the dining room were changed too. I changed it from a 40W yellow bulb to a 60W yellow bulb. Each bulb costs $0.80.

Purchase of SGS T-Bills ( TB-071227-0006 )

My sixth purchase of SGS T-Bills

The bid done for today is for the auction next week :
Issue Code - BQ07151A
Issue Date - 27 Dec 2007
Tenor - 91 days
Maturity Date - 27 March 2008

a 10% downpayment was made ( = $100.00 ) which will be refunded when the transaction is performed next week.

I made a bid of S$1000.00
The yield will be known next week through the auction result.

yield = 2.0%
total paid = $995.01
gain = $4.99

Next In Sight website

In the newly revamped Pulses magazine, one of the guest writers is Sim Kih. She is a phtojournalist with NextInSight, a Singapore online portal dedicated to in-depth features on SGX-listed companies.

Home - Rice Cooker

Today I bought a Philips 1 litre rice cooker @ Robinsons. It costs $50.

Home - Bills for dec

Bills for the month of Dec

1. Singtel residential phone fixed line - $20.92 for quarter
2. SP Services - $23.03
3. S&CC - $18.75 (1/2 month rebate )
4. SCV - no subscription yet.
5. Broadband - $45 ( 1st month )
6. Property Tax - no need due to rebates.
7. TV licence - $110 per year ( paid for 2008 )

black - not paid,
blue - paid

updated on 19 dec 2007, 25 dec 2007, 29 dec 2007

An inspirational story about Tony Fernandes.

Kleer has a very nice and inspirational story arhive here originally published by Dr. Money for the New Paper.

The Perfect Egg

Came across this interesting egg boiling timing instrument in Robinsons@Centrepoint, Burton's Plastic Egg Timer. It is selling at a price of $11.20.

An article on the timer, Egg-Per'fect Color Changing Egg Timer .

IPO - JES

Applied for IPO :
IPO price : $0.67
Shares applied : 5,000
Total cost : $3,350

Updated on 19 Dec 2007 -
Cost Returned : $2,680
Shares Allocated : 1,000
Cost : $670

Kleer's JES part 1
Kleer's JES part 2

RaboJet Cert - Series 5 - knockout

On the observation date 28 Nov 2007, the knockout condition was satisfied. So the issue was exited. All the daily returns will be returned to user. See here for daily returns.

Total number of scheduled trading days duinrg the life of the Certificates = 250
Number of scheduled trading days elasped since Launch Date 28 Aug 2007 = 60
Number of scheduled trading days elasped since Purchase Date 5 Sept 2007 = 56
Number of scheduled trading days to date when Lock In Amount Accumulated = 56
Lock in Amount acumulated to date ( per Board Lot of 1,000 Certificates = SGD $44.8 ( $0.8/day)
Profit = $44.8.0 - $43.43= $1.37

On 10 Dec, I was returned $1026.60 instead of $44.8 because of clearance fee by CDP.

So my actual return is
$1.37 - $26.60
= -$25.23

So in fact I made a loss.

Two reasons for the loss :
1. the brokerage fee when I made the purchase. ( which is zero if I bought it during pre-launch )
2. the clearance fee when exiting.

taking away the overhead, the return is quite attractive. however, with the front and back end fees, and also the small sum invested. It is not that rewarding.

Another blog

On 15 Dec 07 ( Saturaday ), I created another blog here. The purpose of this blog is to keep track of my stuff related to Information Technology (IT) and photography. The intention is not to over-clutter my investment blog.

Home - Internet Broadband

Today, I setup the Internet Broadband in my home.

My broadband is SingNet 3Mbps Unlimited Plan.
( Upload Speed : up to 350kbps )
$45/mth
24 month contract

FREE
30MB Email Storage
24-month 20MB Supplementary
Email Account
3-month Anti-Spam & Email Virus Scan
3-month My Album
1GB Storage
Wireless@SG 1

comes with
- iPod touch - 8GB2

Revolutionary multi-touch interface
Brilliant 3.5-inch widescreen display
Ambient light sensor and accelerometer
Surf the web with Wi-Fi
For
Mac and Windows

- Ethernet Modem (Win/Mac Compatible)



Installation is very simple, just insert the setup CD and follow the installation instructions on the screen. In total, it took around 30 mins.

Download speed is so much faster compared to my experience from starhub broadband.

Purchase of SGS T-Bills ( TB-071221-0005 )

My fifth purchase of SGS T-Bills

The bid done for today is for the auction next week :
Issue Code - BQ07150V
Issue Date - 21 Dec 2007
Tenor - 91 days
Maturity Date - 21 March 2008

a 10% downpayment was made ( = $100.00 ) which will be refunded when the transaction is performed next week.

I made a bid of S$1000.00
The yield will be known next week through the auction result.

yield = 2.0%
total paid = $995.07
gain = $4.93

IPO - Soon Lian Holdings Ltd

Applied for IPO :
IPO price : $0.21
Shares applied : 10,000
Total cost : $2100

Updated on 18 Dec 07
Shares Allocated : 0
Cost : 0

Kleer's Soon Lian

Finance Learning - Inflation

Inflation Tutorial

Inflation is defined as a sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services. It is measured as an annual percentage increase. As inflation rises, every dollar you own buys a smaller percentage of a good or service.

Several variations on inflation:
- Deflation;
- Hyperinflation;
- Stagflation.

In recent years, most developed countries have attempted to sustain an inflation rate of 2-3%.

Causes of Inflation
Demand-Pull Inflation - This theory can be summarized as "too much money chasing too few goods". In other words, if demand is growing faster than supply, prices will increase. This usually occurs in growing economies.

Cost-Push Inflation - When companies' costs go up, they need to increase prices to maintain their profit margins. Increased costs can include things such as wages, taxes, or increased costs of imports.

Problems arise when there is unanticipated inflation:
- Creditors lose and debtors gain if the lender does not anticipate inflation correctly. For those who borrow, this is similar to getting an interest-free loan.
- Uncertainty about what will happen next makes corporations and consumers less likely to spend. This hurts economic output in the long run.
- People living off a fixed-income, such as retirees, see a decline in their purchasing power and, consequently, their standard of living.
- The entire economy must absorb repricing costs ("menu costs") as price lists, labels, menus and more have to be updated.
- If the inflation rate is greater than that of other countries, domestic products become less competitive.

The question shouldn't be whether inflation is rising, but whether it's rising at a quicker pace than your wages.

In some situations, little inflation (or even deflation) can be just as bad as high inflation. The lack of inflation may be an indication that the economy is weakening. As you can see, it's not so easy to label inflation as either good or bad.

Measuring inflation is a difficult problem for government statisticians. To do this, a number of goods that are representative of the economy are put together into what is referred to as a "market basket." The cost of this basket is then compared over time. This results in a price index, which is the cost of the market basket today as a percentage of the cost of that identical basket in the starting year.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) - A measure of price changes in consumer goods and services such as gasoline, food, clothing and automobiles.

The Fed meets eight times a year to set short-term interest rate targets.

Interest rates directly affect the credit market (loans) because higher interest rates make borrowing more costly. By changing interest rates, the Fed tries to achieve maximum employment, stable prices and a good level growth. As interest rates drop, consumer spending increases, and this in turn stimulates economic growth.

It's the Fed's job to maintain that delicate balance. A tightening, or rate increase, attempts to head off future inflation. An easing, or rate decrease, aims to spur on economic growth.

The main problem with stocks and inflation is that a company's returns tend to be overstated. In times of high inflation, a company may look like it's prospering, when really inflation is the reason behind the growth. When analyzing financial statements, it's also important to remember that inflation can wreak havoc on earnings depending on what technique the company is using to value inventory.

This example highlights the difference between nominal interest rates and real interest rates. The nominal interest rate is the growth rate of your money, while the real interest rate is the growth of your purchasing power.

Conclusion :
Some points to remember:
- Inflation is a sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services.
- When inflation goes up, there is a decline in the purchasing power of money.
- Variations on inflation include deflation, hyperinflation and stagflation.
- Two theories as to the cause of inflation are demand-pull inflation and cost-push inflation.
- When there is unanticipated inflation, creditors lose, people on a fixed-income lose, "menu costs" go up, uncertainty reduces spending and exporters aren't as competitive.
- Lack of inflation (or deflation) is not necessarily a good thing.
- Inflation is measured with a price index.
- The two main groups of price indexes that measure inflation are the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Indexes.
- Interest rates are decided in the U.S. by the Federal Reserve. Inflation plays a large role in the Fed's decisions regarding interest rates.
- In the long term, stocks are good protection against inflation.
- Inflation is a serious problem for fixed income investors. It's important to understand the difference between nominal interest rates and real interest rates.
- Inflation-indexed securities offer protection against inflation but offer low returns.

Home - TV - free gifts

Today I collected the free gifts redemption for my Sharp TV.
It includes a $200 cash card.

See this link for usage of cash card.

Finance Learning - P/E ratio

Price Earning Ratio

P/E, you simply take the current stock price of a company and divide by its earnings per share (EPS):
Most of the time, the P/E is calculated using EPS from the last four quarters.

Historically, the average P/E ratio in the market has been around 15-25. This fluctuates significantly depending on economic conditions. The P/E can also vary widely between different companies and industries.

In other words, a P/E ratio of 20 suggests that investors in the stock are willing to pay $20 for every $1 of earnings that the company generates. However, this is a far too simplistic way of viewing the P/E because it fails to take into account the company's growth prospects.

Although the EPS figure in the P/E is usually based on earnings from the last four quarters, the P/E is more than a measure of a company's past performance. It also takes into account market expectations for a company's growth. Remember, stock prices reflect what investors think a company will be worth. Future growth is already accounted for in the stock price. As a result, a better way of interpreting the P/E ratio is as a reflection of the market's optimism concerning a company's growth prospects.

The P/E ratio is a much better indicator of the value of a stock than the market price alone. For example, all things being equal, a $10 stock with a P/E of 75 is much more "expensive" than a $100 stock with a P/E of 20. That being said, there are limits to this form of analysis - you can't just compare the P/Es of two different companies to determine which is a better value.

1. Company growth rates - How fast has the company been growing in the past, and are these rates expected to increase, or at least continue, in the future? Something isn't right if a company has only grown at 5% in the past and still has a stratospheric P/E. If projected growth rates don't justify the P/E, then a stock might be overpriced. In this situation, all you have to do is calculate the P/E using projected EPS.

2. Industry - It is only useful to compare companies if they are in the same industry. For example, utilities typically have low multiples because they are low growth, stable industries. In contrast, the technology industry is characterized by phenomenal growth rates and constant change. Comparing a tech company to a utility is useless. You should only compare high-growth companies to others in the same industry, or to the industry average.

Earnings is an accounting figure that includes non-cash items. To complicate matters, EPS can be twisted, prodded and squeezed into various numbers depending on how you do the books. The result is that we often don't know whether we are comparing the same figures, or apples to oranges.

A low P/E ratio does not necessarily mean that a company is undervalued. Rather, it could mean that the market believes the company is headed for trouble in the near future. Stocks that go down usually do so for a reason. It may be that a company has warned that earnings will come in lower than expected. This wouldn't be reflected in a trailing P/E ratio until earnings are actually released, during which time the company might look undervalued.

First of all, we believe that novice investors shouldn't be shorting. Secondly, you can get into a lot of trouble by valuing stocks using only simple indicators such as the P/E ratio. Although a high P/E ratio could mean that a stock is overvalued, there is no guarantee that it will come back down anytime soon. On the flip side, even if a stock is undervalued, it could take years for the market to value it in the proper way.

Home - TV

Today, my LCD TV was delievered. The model is as follows :

Sharp AQUOS LC37A53M

Features :
High Resolution WXGA Panel with 100Hz/120hz fine Motion Advanced Technology
( 1366 x 768 pixels )
7500:1 high Dynamic Contrast Ratio
Two HDMI Inputs
PC Input ( 15-pin D-sbub )
3D Y/C Comb Filter

5 years warranty.
Best Denki ( compass point )

Finance Learning - Stock Buyback

A Breakdown Of Stock Buybacks

excerpt as follows :
A stock buyback, also known as a "share repurchase", is a company's buying back its shares from the marketplace. You can think of a buyback as a company investing in itself, or using its cash to buy its own shares. The idea is simple: because a company can’t act as its own shareholder, repurchased shares are absorbed by the company, and the number of outstanding shares on the market is reduced. When this happens, the relative ownership stake of each investor increases because there are fewer shares, or claims, on the earnings of the company.

2. Open Market The second alternative a company has is to buy shares on the open market, just like an individual investor would, at the market price. It is important to note, however, that when a company announces a buyback it is usually perceived by the market as a positive thing, which often causes the share price to shoot up.

Nevertheless, there are still sound motives that drive companies to repurchase shares. For example, management many feel the market has discounted its share price too steeply. A stock price can be pummeled by the market for many reasons like weaker-then-expected earnings results, an accounting scandal or just a poor overall economic climate. Thus, when a company spends millions of dollars buying up its own shares, it says management believes that the market has gone too far in discounting the shares - a positive sign.

Another reason a company might pursue a buyback is solely to improve its financial ratios – metrics upon which the market seems to be heavily focused. This motivation is questionable. If reducing the number of shares is not done in an attempt to create more value for shareholders but rather make financial ratios look better, there is likely to be a problem with the management. However, if a company’s motive for initiating a buyback program is sound, the improvement of its financial ratios in the process may just be a byproduct of a good corporate decision. Let’s look at how this happens.

Moreover, buybacks reduce the assets on the balance sheet (remember cash is an asset). As a result, return on assets (ROA) actually increases because assets are reduced; return on equity (ROE) increases because there is less outstanding equity. In general, the market views higher ROA and ROE as positives. (See Reading The Balance Sheet.)

The buyback also helps to improve the company’s price-earnings ratio (P/E).

Based on the P/E ratio as a measure of value, the company is now less expensive than it was prior to the repurchase despite the fact there was no change in earnings.

Bull markets and strong economies often create a very competitive labor market - companies have to compete to retain personnel and ESOPs comprise many compensation packages. Stock options have the opposite effect of share repurchases, as they increase the number of shares outstanding when the options are exercised. As was seen in the above example, a change in the number of outstanding shares can affect key financial measures such as EPS and P/E. In the case of dilution, it has the opposite effect of repurchase: it weakens the financial appearance of the company.

In many ways, a buyback is similar to a dividend because the company is distributing money to shareholders. Traditionally, a major advantage that buybacks had over dividends was that they were taxed at the lower capital-gains tax rate, whereas dividends are taxed at ordinary income tax rates. However, with the passing of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, the tax rate on dividends is now equivalent to the rate on capital gains.

Conclusion
Are share buybacks good or bad? As is so often the case in finance, the question may not have a definitive answer. If a stock is undervalued and a buyback truly represents the best possible investment for a company, the buyback - and its effects - can be viewed as a positive sign for shareholders. Watch out, however, if a company is merely using buybacks to prop up ratios, provide short-term relief to an ailing stock price or to get out from under excessive dilution.

....

Purchase of SGS T-Bills ( TB-071213-0004 )

My fourth purchase of SGS T-Bills

The bid done for today is for the auction next week :
Issue Code - BQ07149
Issue Date - 13 Dec 2007
Tenor - 91 days
Maturity Date - 13 March 2008

a 10% downpayment was made ( = $100.00 ) which will be refunded when the transaction is performed next week.

I made a bid of S$1000.00
The yield will be known next week through the auction result.

yield = 2.00%
total paid = $995.01
gain = $4.99

Oilpods Investment

I received my 4th monthly income from my ownership of the Brookshire Salt Dome project= $108.38

Brookshire Salt Dome project monthly income breakdown
Aug 07 = $114.49
Sept 07= $110.89
Oct 07 = $108.84
Nov 07 = $108.38

Total Sum to date = $442.60

Total Holding Yield = 442.60/ 15,210 = 2.91%

Makansutra Raw + episode 1

Makansutra raw is on TV. Details here.

Episode 1 recommended stores are here and also listed below.

Marine Parade Laksa (The Original Katong Spoon Laksa)
50 East Coast Road
#01-64/72 Roxy Square
8am – 7pm

328 Katong Laksa
216 East Coast Road
9am – 9pm

Famous 49 Katong Laksa
49 East Coast Road
Hock Tong Hin (off Ceylon Road)
9am – 9pm

Guan Hoe Soon Restaurant
214 Joo Chiat Road
11am – 3pm, 6pm – 9pm
Closed Tue.
Tel: 6344 2761

Hajjah Mona Nasi Padang
#01-301 Geylang Serai Temporary Market(between Eunos Road 5 & Sims Ave)
7.30am – 7.30pm
Closed Wed

Geylang Lor 29 Fried Hokkien Mee
396 East Coast Road
Food R Us Coffeshop
11.30am – 9.30pm (till sold out)
Closed Mon

Swee Guan Fried Hokkien Mee
549 Geylang Road
Sing Lian Eating House (off Lor 29)
4.30pm - 11.30pm
Closed Alt Wed

Rabojet Cert Series 6

I saw an advertisement in Business Times today on the pending launch of Raboject Cert Series 6.

RaboJet Certs Series 6 is a structured product. The performance of th Certificates is linked to, but not directly invested in, the H-shares of 3 Chinese companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong: China Mobile Limited, China Life Insurance Company Limited & Bank of China Limited ( "underlying shares"). These are three of China's largest listed companies.

I called POEMS and found that i can buy Rabojet Cert from my broker from POEMS. I need to fill up a form in order to make a purchase. I cannot buy it over the phone. Also, there is a small fee to pay when making the purchase.

If cert is purchased before launch date, there is no broker's fees to pay, only those payable in the table above. Closing date for order is 12 Dec 07, 12pm.

See this link for basics of certificates.

Asus Eee PC

Came across this interesting PC ( subnotebook ) from Asustek. Saw on advertisement that it was sold at the recent SITEX 2007 @ S'pore Expo.

It is actually based on a Linux OS and uses Flash as storage ( h/d ).

The following are some reviews I gathered :
1. Asus Eee PC First Thoughts
2. Asus Eee PC Hands On Preview
3. Asus Eee PC - wikipedia

SGS Treasury Bill information

SGS Treasury Bill details can be found in SGS website here.
( weekly auction result is also displayed there )

The issue code can be found in the link here.

Financial Terms - Currency Carry Trade

What does it means...
A strategy in which an investor sells a certain currency with a relatively low interest rate and uses the funds to purchase a different currency yielding a higher interest rate. A trader using this strategy attempts to capture the difference between the rates - which can often be substantial, depending on the amount of leverage the investor chooses to use.

Investopedia says...
Here's an example of a "yen carry trade": let's say a trader borrows 1,000 yen from a Japanese bank, converts the funds into U.S. dollars and buys a bond for the equivalent amount. Let's assume that the bond pays 4.5% and the Japanese interest rate is set at 0%. The trader stands to make a profit of 4.5% (4.5% - 0%), as long as the exchange rate between the countries does not change. Many professional traders use this trade because the gains can become very large when leverage is taken into consideration. If the trader in our example uses a common leverage factor of 10:1, then she can stand to make a profit of 45%. The big risk in a carry trade is the uncertainty of exchange rates. Using the example above, if the U.S. dollar were to fall in value relative to the Japanese yen, then the trader would run the risk of losing money. Also, these transactions are generally done with a lot of leverage, so a small movement in exchange rates can result in huge losses unless hedged appropriately.

Details here.

Draft beer

Draught beer (also known as draft beer or tap beer) has several related though slightly different understandings. The majority of references to draught beer are of filtered beer that has been served from a pressurised container, such as a keg or a widget can. A narrower meaning is beer that is served from a keg (or tap), but not from a can, bottle or cask, is also used. A more traditional definition is beer that is served from a large container, which could be either a keg or a cask. The different understandings may at times overlap and cause confusion. Some traditionalists object to the more modern use of the word when applied to canned beer. The slight usage differences of the term is due to the history and development of beer dispensing.

Details here.

Home - Bills - SP Services for nov

SP Services bill for nov
= $42.20

Liverpool Fan Club

The Liverpool Football Fan Club is relocated to the following location :

Official Liverpool F.C. Fan Club (Singapore)

Telok Ayer Hong Lim Green Community Centre

20 Upper Pickering Street

Singapore 058284

Home Page here.

Location here.