Public security is very bad in Europe now!

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0606/c90000-9224831.html

France started allowing China police officers to patrol Paris streets to protect China tourists in 2014 because of the high crimes rate.  Italy has followed suit and allowed China police officers to patrol 4 cities to protect China tourists.

Singapore stock calls for 6 June 2017

Middle East crisis!

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/05/saudi-arabia-and-bahrain-break-diplomatic-ties-with-qatar-over-terrorism

Qatar is being ostracized by other middle eastern countries because it is the main supporter for ISIS.  Qatar has been funding and supporting ISIS for a long time.  Therefore, it's about time that other islamic countries take actions against Qatar.

Noble has difficulty in getting new loans!

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/noble-group-is-said-to-ask-lenders-to-extend-credit-facility

Noble is asking for credit extensions with its existing banks because it has encountered great difficulties in securing new funding.

We did warn in our previous postings that investors would have little confidence in Noble because of its negative cash flows and the weak commodities industry.

Singapore stock calls for 5 June 2017

Malaysian cops are asking for bribery for this Ramadan Festival again!

Here we go again! Bribery is still rampant in Malaysia.  Do not go to Malaysia during this period unless you want to do "kind" donation so that Malaysian cops can enjoy a good Ramadan festival.

London attack after Manchester bombing!

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40146916

Look like terrorists are adamant to disrupt the 8 June election.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/05/whats-motive-for-manchester-bombing.html

Let's see how this will pan out.

Number Puzzle Game

The working will be revealed later. Try it and have some fun!

Baltic dry index - 830

Today, Friday, June 02 2017, the Baltic Dry Index decreased by 20 points, reaching 830 points.

Baltic Dry Index is compiled by the London-based Baltic Exchange and covers prices for transported cargo such as coal, grain and iron ore. The index is based on a daily survey of agents all over the world. Baltic Dry hit a temporary peak on May 20, 2008, when the index hit 11,793. The lowest level ever reached was on Wednesday the 10th of February 2016, when the index dropped to 290 points.

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Related stocks: Sembcorp Marine, Cosco & Pan Ocean.

US rig count - 916

HOUSTON (AP) — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. rose by eight this week to 916.

A year ago, just 408 rigs were active.

Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 733 rigs sought oil and 182 explored for natural gas this week. One was listed as miscellaneous.

Texas added five rigs, Oklahoma added three, while Colorado, North Dakota, and Ohio each gained one.

New Mexico and Pennsylvania each lost two rigs, while Louisiana lost one.

Alaska, Arkansas, California, Kansas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming were all unchanged.

The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May of 2016 at 404.

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Related stocks: Keppel Corp, Sembcorp Marine & Cosco.

Global warming is a threat to humanity but USA President Trump doesn't care.

The withdrawal from the Paris climate pact by USA is definitely a setback for the world.  The Paris climate pact is supposed to control the temperature rise within 2 degree celsius from pre-industrial era.

The impact of global warming can be felt by our generation now.  Just look at the warmer weather in Alaska.  The Alaskan mosquitoes are breeding faster and living longer now compared to the past.

These mosquitoes are spreading because they're slowly killing other animals living in the vicinity.  As it gets harder for the mosquitoes to feed on blood from other animals, the mosquitoes are targeting humans now.

The Alaskan mosquitoes are much bigger than other types of mosquitoes.

DBS and OCBC played a part in Indonesian haze that affected Singapore.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/dbs-ocbc-financed-indonesian-palm-oil-firms-engaged-in-8906772

What happened to corporate social responsibility advocated by our local banks?

http://www.straitstimes.com/business/dbs-sets-up-50-million-foundation-for-corporate-social-responsibility-efforts

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/ocbc-injects-s600000-csr-scheme-initiatives

Look like being conscious of our environment is never part of our banks' CSR.  Making money is a higher priority over protecting the environment!

Resorts World Manila was attacked! This casino is a subsidiary of Genting.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/gunman-kills-himself-suspected-robbery-philippines-casino-police-005155910.html

Resorts World Manila, a subsidiary of Genting, was under attacked and at least 36 people were dead.

Singapore stock calls for 2 June 2017

OMG! There is a huge shortage of Renminbi now! - Part 2

For those not in the finance industry, CNH means Offshore Chinese Yuan while CNY means Onshore Chinese Yuan.  Overnight CNH Hibor is still high at 8.7%.  Can you imagine paying 8.7% just for borrowing Renminbi for an overnight?

What are the implications for a rising Renminbi?

By right, the Moody's downgrade of China's credit rating would cause Renminbi to depreciate because more investors would stay away from China resulting in lesser capital inflows and more outflows.  However, the opposite happened because of intervention by the China government.  The rising Renminbi will affect a few things in the world because China is the 2nd largest economy.

The China property market will start to damper because it becomes more expensive for foreign investors to invest in properties due to unfavourable exchange rates.  The burgeoning debt situation will also be reduced spontaneously because of a stronger Renminbi, especially for the foreign currency denominated debts.  Foreign companies in China and those trading with China will also start to stock up on Renminbi because of this shortage.

All in all, the rising Renminbi will cause the China government to increase interest rates to reduce the demand and keep the yuan in China.  Therefore, fixed income fund manager will be monitoring the spreads between Hibor & Shibor for any arbitrage opportunities.

China will be building an undersea monitoring system in South China Sea.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/29/asia/south-china-sea-underwater-observation-system/

This is akin to USA "SOSUS".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOSUS

China will be able to know the undersea activities soon with this system.  It will be harder for USA submarines and undersea drones to be undetected.

Fake beer production in China!

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0531/c90000-9222451.html

This time is Budweiser brand.

Don't ever think that buying an international brand in China is a safe shopping decision unless the production is not in China.

Singapore stock calls for 1 June 2017

OMG! There is a huge shortage of Renminbi now!

Just take a look at the charts for the past few days.

The overnight CNH Hibor has surged from 5.35% to 42.8% now which shows that there is a huge shortage of Chinese yuan now.  This means that the China government has succeeded in stamping the capital outflow and attracted foreign investors to stock up on yuan.

The HK-China bond trading link has also helped to boost the Chinese yuan demand.

Singapore stock calls for 31 May 2017