Hail storm killed goats in Spain.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4706398/Hail-stone-storm-Spain-killed-sheep-wrecked-cars.html

Freak weather caused by global warming. Sigh!

Failure of the North & South Korea talk, Why?

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/no-korean-military-talks-north-snubs-souths-call-011540288.html

The NK snubbed the SK because NK knew that SK couldn't decide on any terms and conditions since SK was no longer a sovereignty in the eyes of the NK.

Why did I say so?

Well, this is so easy to see.  If NK is willing to stop its nuclear development in exchange for the removal of THAAD and US troops in SK, is SK able to make that decision?

The answer is a resounding NO.

The real crux of the problem is actually between USA & NK.  Therefore, SK cannot engage NK in any discussion because it cannot make any decision on behalf of USA.  The NK knows this but SK doesn't even understand its own position.

As long as the USA is in the picture, there will NEVER be a peaceful resolution between NK & SK.

Do you eat USA beef? Mad cow disease is detected in USA cow now!

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cattle-bse-alabama-idUSKBN1A32IY

I don't eat USA beef because it is laced with ractopamine.

The USA has mad cow disease now! So watch out for your health!

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2016/11/what-do-you-get-for-being-staunch-usa.html

Political battles are playing out in China!

Have you ever wondered why billionaires in China are getting into troubles?

http://variety.com/2017/biz/asia/wanda-leeco-add-to-darkening-sentiment-china-financial-markets-1202498324/

This is because President Xi is getting rid of the cohorts that belong to the corrupted system.  President Xi is engaged in a dragon-tiger battle in which Xi is the dragon and Hu, Li and Jiang are the 3 tigers.

Let me give you a synopsis of the corrupted system.

Jiang Zemin wielded powers in the military and finance industry.  President Xi managed to wrestle the military power from Jiang prior to taking down his key henchman, Zhou Yong Kang.  Currently, Jiang Zemin is under house arrest (I verified this with my China relative.).

Li Peng wielded powers in the electrical power and finance industry.  President Xi removed Li Peng's daughter from the power industry.

Hu Jin Tao wielded powers in the electrical power and water industry.

Most of the China billionaires are not true entrepreneurs and they amassed tremendous wealth through political powers with their connections.  Wanda's Wang Jian Lin was closely connected to Bo Xi Lai who was taken down by Xi because Bo Xi Lai was Zhou Yong Kang's henchman.  Wang Jian Lin would follow Bo Xi Lai wherever Bo was posted and Bo would approve Wangda's malls in prime districts.

President Xi had ordered banks to terminate all financing to Wangda which caused Wang Jian Lin to sell his company assets to raise funds.  There will be more troubles for Wang Jian Lin because the government is checking his accounts for money laundering.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinas-curbs-wanda-investors-fret-123813928.html

Leeco's founder also got into troubles because of his background.

http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/chinese-court-seizes-millions-assets-leeco-jia-yueting-1202487399/

Jack Ma of Alibaba is very worried now because he is also closely associated with the old guards.

President Xi survived 2 assassinations (one gunshot and one intoxication) while trying to get rid of the 3 tigers.  Jiang was believed to be the mastermind of the assassinations.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/chinese-city-leadership-shake-signals-xi-power-play-021744915.html

Singapore stock calls for 20 July 2017

Nam Cheong defaulted on its bonds!

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-20/nam-cheong-stops-servicing-428-million-debt-as-it-restructures

It is not surprising to see Nam Cheong defaulted on its bonds.  Please refer to our previous posting on Nam Cheong.

https://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/03/what-happened-to-nam-cheong-today.html

OMG! Hail storm in Tokyo!

This is just like in the movie the day after tomorrow.  Climate change is really scary.

World's first electric and autonomous bus completed road test in South China.

Wow! China electric and autonomous bus will be on the road faster than any country including Singapore.

When you conduct military exercise in South China Sea, be prepared for China to conduct military exercise near your sea too.

http://www.asianage.com/india/all-india/190517/india-singapore-navies-conduct-joint-exercise-in-s-china-sea.html

India and Singapore conducted military exercise in the South China Sea in May 2017.  Therefore, it is not surprising to see China conducting exercises in Indian ocean too.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0718/c90000-9243240.html

Do you believe in past life or reincarnation?

http://totalalive.com/girl-remembers-past-10-lives/

There is a girl who remembers her 10 past lives and her past lives stories have been verified by a renowned UK anthropologist.

There are many cases of reincarnation in this world and I will just highlight a few amazing stories here.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2016/10/amazing-russian-boy-who-claimed-to-be.html

There is also a China village which is renowned for reincarnation as most of the reincarnations happened in nearby regions.

http://english.china.com/travel/keywords/travelogue/252/20160525/667076.html

Singapore stock calls for 19 July 2017

Singapore non-oil domestic exports (NODX) - Part 4

Singapore NODX increased 8.2% in June YOY.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/singapore-nodx-8-2-june-022800800.html

Year on year changes:

June 2017: 8.2%
May 2017: -1.2%
Apr 2017: -0.7%
Mar 2017: 16.5%
Feb 2017: 21.1%
Jan 2017: 8.6%
Dec 2016: 9.1%
Nov 2016: 15.6%

https://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/06/singapore-non-oil-domestic-exports-nodx.html

Foreigners' feedbacks are more important to SIA than logical rationale.

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-airlines-to-review-serving-nuts-on-its-flights-after-toddler-has-allergic?xtor=CS11-86?xtor=CS11-86

SIA may stop serving peanuts in its planes because of a toddler's allergy.

Parents should understand their own child's health and it is incumbent upon them to make sure that their kids don't eat a certain food.  However, parents have no right to demand airlines not to serve peanuts.  Can we demand NTUC not to sell peanuts or peanut butter because our kids are allergic to them?

Service providers have the right to sell/serve but we've the right to reject or not to buy.  By insisting the service providers not to offer them is not a democratic solution but a selfish act.

There are many allergies and we can't ban all the food.  If someone complains to SIA of chilli allergy, is SIA going to ban chilli?  If someone complains to SIA of seafood allergy which is very common, is SIA going to ban seafood too?

I must say SIA has no logical rationale.  No wonder it is losing to other airliners.

US stock market is the world's most expensive!

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-us-stock-market-is-the-worlds-most-expensive-2017-07-18?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo

How far do you think the US stock market can rise further when it is already the most expensive?  If the corporate earnings cannot match the stock market expectations, then a crash is imminent and unavoidable.

The stock market is so high because of QE and the unwinding of QE is going to begin soon in the USA.

Do you notice that the USD has been falling?

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-falls-after-senate-republicans-abandon-bill-to-replace-obamacare-2017-07-18

What's the impact of USD depreciation?

USD fell heavily yesterday (Tues) because of Trump's medical care reform rejection in congress.  Trump will have problem pushing for his tax reform and fiscal policies in congress too as he is losing support and confidence.

Commodities will spike up because these are priced in USD and buyers can buy more commodities with cheaper USD.  When the demand increases, the price will go up.

Japan is pushing for TPP again after its failure to join OBOR initiative.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/business/trans-pacific-partnership-trade-japan-china-globalization.html

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/13/vietnam-malaysia-stand-in-the-way-of-japans-trans-pacific-partnership-dream.html

Without the USA, TPP is useless as its economic size and benefits will be reduced significantly.

Japan is blaming Vietnam and Malaysia for standing in the way of TPP (ex-USA).

Hahaha! Good luck to Vietnam and Malaysia as these 2 countries will have to compromise a lot in this new round of talk.  Japan will not compromise as it is the biggest economy in the new TPP.

Singapore stock calls for 18 July 2017

The truth about China-India border skirmishes.

It was without a doubt that India encroached on China's territory because it wanted to stop the infrastructure development on China's border.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/06/india-and-china-are-having-border.html

India felt threatened by the infrastructure development which would allow China to move troops to the China-India border rapidly.  However, this is not an excuse to enter China illegally to stop the development.  A country cannot tell another country what to do or not to do in its own country.

India also felt threatened by China's dam developments but India had no right to interfere in any constructions in China.  India can only blame its own geographical limitations.  Just like Singapore, we do not have water resources and have to rely on Malaysia for water.  However, we know we have no right to demand Malaysia to supply Singapore with water.  Therefore, we build new water and desalination plants to produce clean water for ourselves.

India thought it could bully China because of the upcoming 19th congress party.  It had been a China practice to maintain peace and order prior to the 19th congress party but China deviated from this practice this time.  China became more assertive by amassing more troops and conducting live firing exercise to show its determination to protect its border from any incursions.

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2102965/china-flexes-its-military-muscle-tibet-close-border

India knew that it was no match for China and had been defeated by China before in 1962.  Therefore, India had to fabricate and spread some false news through its media and other online channels to garner support for its illegal actions.

After seeing China's assertive stance against India's incursion prior to the 19th congress party in China, India had decided to soften its aggression and try to ease the tension through the diplomatic solution.

http://www.firstpost.com/india/india-china-border-row-nsa-ajit-doval-likely-to-visit-beijing-for-brics-nsas-meeting-on-27-and-28-july-3811461.html

India will be meeting China on 28 July to resolve this matter.

Singapore stock calls for 17 July 2017

PM Lee was ostracized in G20 summit.

What's the point of attending the G20 when Singapore was isolated by other major countries?

Major countries didn't want to communicate with Singapore in G20 because Singapore was not part of G20.  Singapore only attended G20 as an observer.

Singapore extolled good relationship with China but President Xi didn't even interact with PM Lee during the break time.