UOB has just marked down its O&G loans by 70-80%.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/uob-burdened-toxic-loans-o-044300079.html

This showed that our banks had been too optimistic about the recovery in the O&G industry in the past.

Let's see what DBS & OCBC will do.

We did warn about such optimism and the banks were not forthcoming with O&G loan exposures.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/08/singapore-banks-are-facing-strong.html

ECB will start QE tapering in Jan 2018.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/ecb-gently-trim-asset-buys-delicate-messaging-act-063209193--business.html

ECB will start reducing bond purchases by $20B euros in Jan 2018.  The bond purchases will reduce from $60b to $40b in Jan 2018 and will continue to reduce gradually over time.

Spain to suspend Catalan autonomy.

https://in.news.yahoo.com/spain-moves-suspend-catalan-autonomy-094803353.html

https://qz.com/1106478/catalonia-independence-crisis-spain-plans-to-invoke-article-155-and-impose-direct-rule/?utm_source=YPL&yptr=yahoo

The Spanish move will definitely spark more instabilities in Catalan and the Spain stock market.

Singapore stock calls for 19 October 2017

HNA to delist CWT from SGX after Nov 2.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cwt-to-be-delisted-after-nov-2-as-hnas-control-crosses-90

Goodbye CWT!

Another client has left SGX. Sigh!

SGX doesn't understand the capital market!

Why do I say that?

Just look at the flopped collaborative agreements in the past.

SGX-CLOB failed!
SGX-ASX failed!
SGX-TWSE failed!
SGX-ASEAN failed!

https://www.theedgesingapore.com/asean-trading-linkage-quietly-shuts-down

The SGX has just signed another collaborative agreement with Nasdaq.  Needless to say, it will flop too because no company will want to list on SGX when it can list on Nasdaq.  This win-lose collaboration will benefit Nasdaq more than SGX.

https://www.thestreet.com/story/14347895/1/nasdaq-singapore-s-sgx-announce-agreement.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO&yptr=yahoo

SGX just doesn't understand the capital market and stock trading exchange well enough.  It removed and reinstated the lunch break, kept changing the bid/sell spreads, etc.  No wonder SGX is losing its listed clients more than it is attracting the IPOs.

Singapore stock calls for 17 October 2017

North Korea warns of a nuclear war!

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/nuclear-war-may-break-time-warns-north-korea-042811050.html

I hope there won't be a nuclear war in Asia as this will cause devastations.

The USA softens its stance after NK warning which is a good news for Asia.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/u-not-ruling-eventual-direct-talks-north-korea-024603566.html

Bitcoin fanatics: Dumbest thing on wall street.

https://www.thestreet.com/story/14340563/1/dumbest-thing-on-wall-street-bitcoin.html

Bitcoin fanatics really don't know what they're saying.

They try to use the Wi-Fi analogy to say that Bitcoin is as useful as Wi-Fi but Bitcoin is not Wi-Fi.  Wi-Fi is a technology but bitcoin is a derivative of a technology.  The technology behind Bitcoin is Blockchain, an open digital ledger.

One of the derivatives of Wi-Fi is wireless files transfer.  Therefore, Bitcoin is just like a wireless files transfer if we want to make a compatible comparison.  We use wifi everyday but not wireless files transfer.  Therefore, bitcoin is not as important and useful as what the fanatics portend it to be.  It is the blockchain technology that we're interested in, not bitcoin.

Anyway, Wi-Fi is already outdated because there is Li-Fi now.

It's time for the fanatics to wake up from their dreams.

China won't be using normal MRTs in the future.

China will be implementing maglev system in China instead of using the normal MRTs track.  Maglev system gives passengers a smooth ride.  Just look at the coin standing on the floor during motion.

Singapore non-oil domestic exports (NODX) - Part 6

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-nodx-exports-fall-1-1-after-4-months-of-growth-9317146

Singapore NODX decreased 1.1% in September YOY.

Year on year changes:

September 2017: -1.1%

August 2017: 16.7%

July 2017: 8.5%

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%

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/08/singapore-non-oil-domestic-exports-nodx.html

Somalia worst terrorist attack in decades.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/15/truck-bomb-mogadishu-kills-people-somalia

A truck bomb had just killed more than 300 people in Somalia last Saturday but not many news media reported it.

Whether the victims are black, white, yellow or brown, we must express abhorrence towards such terrorism of killing innocent lives.

Fully automatic carpark in China.

Car parking is such a breeze in China now.

Our PM Lee still thinks that the Tuas mega port will boost Singapore as a maritime hub!

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/transport/tuas-mega-port-will-boost-singapore-as-a-maritime-hub-pm-lee

Our PM Lee negates the Melaka Gateway impacts on SG port and also disregards the China port alliance which bypasses SG.

China also took over the Gwadar port in Pakistan from SG and this would definitely impact SG.  We fought so hard to get the Gwadar port under SG control because it was strategically located.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2016/10/singapore-was-no-match-for-china-in.html

All these are omitted from PM Lee's speech.  Therefore, I would DISAGREE totally with his analysis.

Singapore stock calls for 16 October 2017

New downturn MRT open house encountered service disruptions.

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/train-delay-blights-downtown-line-open-house

We cannot even make our MRT work properly nowadays!

The top management always blames the lower ranked employees for not doing the job well.

If you've been living in China, you will know that China MRTs carry more people than SG but they won't break down like our MRTs.

How can we expect to have a proper working KL-SG HSR?

North Korea and South Korea won't hold talks in Russia.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/north-korea-not-ready-hold-talks-south-korea-092549896.html

It is not surprising that NK is unwilling to talk to SK.  We did state the reason for this impasse in our previous posting below.

https://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/09/south-korea-seeks-russias-help-to.html

Global inflation is coming because China PPI is spiking!

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/china-september-producer-prices-jump-most-six-months-023245562--finance.html

China PPI rose 6.9% in September year-on-year!  It is only a matter of time that China will export inflation to the world.  Therefore, it is right for FED to raise interest rate in December.

China's economy is powering ahead with an estimate of 7% in H2.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/chinas-pboc-chief-sees-7-percent-gdp-growth-034417545--business.html

It's nice to see China powering ahead with good economic growth because China is our largest trading partner.  SG can just ride on China's prosperity and prosper together.

Cheers!

OMG! Apple Iphones may be banned in China!

https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/13/16472908/qualcomm-iphone-sales-ban-lawsuit-china

Qualcomm has applied to a China court to ban Iphones in China.  If this injunction gets passed, Apple stock prices will crash because China is Apple's largest market outside the USA.