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Friday, August 11, 2017

Singapore economy is growing strongly.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/singapore-economy-grows-much-stronger-011839959.html

Our economy grew 2.9% in the 2nd quarter year on year.  Hooray!

Wait....How come we don't feel the good economic growth?

Well, let's look at the GDP composition.

GDP = G + I + C + Net Export (X - M)

G= Government spending
I = Investments (FDI)
C = Consumption
Net Ex = X - M, Export - Import

GIC will impact Singaporeans more directly than Net Ex.  Net Ex is more like trading which will result in trade surplus or trade deficit for Singapore.

Since C is a negligible component of Singapore GDP as we are a small nation with a small population, we can only rely on GI and Net Ex for boosting our GDP.

However, our good GDP growth is derived primarily from Net Ex this time.  Therefore, we don't feel much impact from the good GDP figure unless you are in the trading industry.

Noble financial update!

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/noble-group-reports-1-75-121909015.html

Here's a synopsis of Noble's financial health:

Noble reported a net loss of $1.9b in the first half of 2017.

Noble reported net debt increased by $900m (at $3.8b) in the first half of 2017.

Noble wrote down $1.3b in the first half of 2017.

Noble has a $2b credit facility expiring in Oct 2017.

The last leg to fall will be a liquidity squeeze caused by an increase in commodity prices.  Noble will have to put up more money to buy commodities when the prices rise just to maintain the same profit margin.  This will make Noble keel over.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Turkey hail storm is super scary!

OMG! I don't dare to go out in a storm like that.

China has 100% secured communication now!

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/china-uses-quantum-satellite-transmit-085800014.html

100% secured communication is very important especially during wartime.  A secured communication will greatly improve the odds of winning in a war because enemies won't know your strategies and deployments.

It will also be good if we can use it for financial payment system because nobody can hack it.

Singapore stock calls for 10 August 2017


Philippine slams outside interference in South China Sea dispute.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0809/c90000-9253229.html

Philippine is the claimant but USA, Japan and Australia want Philippine to enforce the PCA ruling.

What a joke!

Australia, do you want to abide by the PCA ruling against Australia before you call on others to abide it?

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2016/09/australia-declares-that-pca-has-no.html

Malaysia is using China radar to monitor Singapore.

http://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/china-offer-malaysia-radar-rocket-launchers-based-johor?cid=emarsys-today_TODAY%27s+morning+briefing+for+August+10%2C+2017_newsletter_10082017_today

The multiple rocket launchers' radar system has a range of 220km which will cover more than the whole of Singapore.  This will monitor our military activities especially the USA navy based in Singapore.

Is our relationship with Malaysia going south?

Malaysia has scored another milestone achievement with China.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/hard-pedalling-soft-power-china-helps-launch-us13b-belt-and-road-rail-project-in

Malaysia is really BOLEH!

Malaysia is improving by leaps and bounds now.  It is having autonomous trains and is deeply involved in the BRI.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/08/wow-malaysia-will-have-autonomous.html

What has Singapore achieved so far?  No deal above $10b with China.

It is really eye soring to see our neighbour progressing so well.  Malaysia will overtake SG in on time.

Iceberg felt vindicated after Noble's writedown.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/noble-apos-giant-writedown-proves-102127119.html

Well, one cannot hide the truth forever. You can lie to a few people some time and you can lie to most people most of the time but you cannot lie to all the people all the time.

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

China-India border war may start within 2 weeks time.

There is a rumour that Chinese businessmen are leaving India now.  This is one of the indicators that a war will break out soon.  China is warning Chinese businessmen to leave India so that they won't be held as hostages in a war break out.

Our PM Lee's national speech is worrisome!

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/pm-lee-hsien-loong-highlights-three-long-term-issues-singapore-tackle-123500869.html

This shows that he cannot bring Singapore forward anymore because he should give Singapore something to look forward but instead he's dwelling on something less grandeur.  Maybe he would like to be a sociologist after his retirement.....sigh!

Ship can sail through Arctic now!

Singapore shipping hub is in a precarious situation once ships start to sail through Arctic.  Sailing through Arctic to Europe only takes 24 days compared to sailing south through Singapore which will take 35 days.

We posted about this new Arctic shipping route previously.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/04/new-arctic-shipping-route.html

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

China has an implicit message for USA.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/china-holds-wargames-north-korea-tensions-spike-061206844.html

This war game is to send an implicit message to the USA that yellow sea is out of bound for the USA if USA wants to attack NK.

Singapore stock calls for 8 August 2017


South Korea is punishing Japan for its WW2 atrocities.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/korean-court-orders-japans-mitsubishi-pay-over-war-051843656.html

Although WW2 has ended 70 years already, South Korea still cannot forgive and forget the atrocities committed by Japan because of Japan's denial.  In this sense, China is more forgiving towards Japan despite the Nanjing Massacres.



There are sea lices in the sea. Beware when you wanna swim in the sea.

Sea lices feed on dead and live flesh!

Economic 101 - Don't let the unemployment rate fool you!

In a perfect world, high economic growth will have low unemployment rate and low economic growth will have high unemployment rate.  However, we do not live in a perfect world and there is a paradox in every theory.  Therefore, we can have a low economic growth and a rising unemployment rate in an economy like Singapore.  Rising unemployment rate seems like a benign factor in this case.  How true is this?

The paradox arises from the definition of being unemployed.  An unemployed person is considered unemployed if he is actively looking for a job but cannot get a job within 6 months.  Thereafter, he is no longer considered unemployed because he will be categorized as out of the labour force as his interest in finding a job has disappeared after 6 months.

The labour force consists of employed and unemployed persons (Employed + Unemployed).

The calculation of the unemployment rate:
Unemployment rate = No. of unemployed / labour force

Let's exemplify the paradox with some examples.

Example A:
Labour force = 100 persons (Employed + Unemployed)
Employed = 95
Unemployed = 5

Unemployment rate = 5/100 = 5%

Example B;
Let's say 1 person cannot find a job in 6 months after actively looking for a job and he is considered to be out of the labour force.  Therefore, the following will change.
Labour force = 99 (1 is out of the labour force)
Employed = 95 (remain constant)
Unemployed = 4 (1 is out of the unemployed because he is out of the labour force)

Unemployment rate = 4/99 = 4%

As you can see, the number of employed persons is the same (95) in both examples but the unemployment rate has improved from 5% to 4%.  This happens without any improvement in the economic growth and the government can claim credit for lowering the unemployment rate by doing nothing.

Therefore, when you read any unemployment rate figure, please remember to look at the details and not just the headline number which can be very misleading.

Monday, August 7, 2017

OMG! Thailand is seriously considering the development of Kra Canal and the Thais are very supportive of this project.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Economy/Influential-Thais-in-push-for-Kra-Canal-project?page=1

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Economy/Influential-Thais-in-push-for-Kra-Canal-project?page=2

The Thais are supportive of the development of Kra Canal nowadays because of the great benefits it will bring to Thailand.  This Kra Canal project will have great multiplier effects which will generate a lot of business and job opportunities.  It is also easier to get funding for this huge project after the establishment of AIIB and China is extremely interested in this project.  Moreover, China has both the funds and the technologies to complete this project for Thailand.

Singapore will be finished once Kra Canal is developed.

Is the US professor, Huang Jing, pro-china or anti-china?

Just look at the videos below to form your own opinion.

Huang Jing's speech on China Media.
His speech in China seemed to be in favour of China.  This made sense because he would be arrested if he made anti-china remarks on China's state TV media.

However, he made a speech against China when he's not in China.

Singapore stock calls for 7 August 2017


China AI tops image recognition competition!

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0804/c90000-9251280.html

China AIs have been winning a lot of international competitions nowadays.  China will be a high technology country in no time as it progresses at such rapid speed.

Samsung is suffering in China.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0804/c90000-9251318.html

Samsung is having sluggish sales in China because of THAAD deployment in SK.

China consumers do not want to buy Samsung S8 now because of nationalistic sentiment.

AFP news agency embarked on smearing campaign again.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/china-scores-diplomatic-coup-sea-row-150454667.html

China didn't ignore international laws but ignore a pseudo international court's ruling. PCA is a fake international court which everyone knows by now but AFP still insists that it is UN-Backed despite UN public declaration on PCA.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2016/09/australia-declares-that-pca-has-no.html

Australia also ignored PCA ruling because PCA didn't have the jurisdiction to rule on international matters.  The only true international court is ICJ which is under UN.

Mobile phone exploded in the chest pocket could cause serious damage to your body.

This is a very GROTESQUE video of the damage to a body when a mobile phone exploded in a chest pocket.

Do not place mobile phone in your chest pocket or pants' pocket!

Sunday, August 6, 2017

A glimpse of China Air Force prowess.

It's always thrilling to watch the air force training.  Enjoy!

Typhoon Noru in Japan!

More and more countries are getting torrential rain and typhoon effects which are worse than before.

Nature is angry now! We need to stop climate change or else we will suffer for our own doings.

Saturday, August 5, 2017

USA tried to subvert SG's interest!

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/singapore-revokes-professor-apos-entry-113706061.html

We know that those Chinese who are anti-China will emigrate to USA.  Therefore, this Chinese US citizen is definitely working under the guise of the USA to subvert our interest.

This is what we get for being USA's ally.  Opps...Maybe USA doesn't regard SG as an ally but a pawn.

Flying dragon captured on cam in China.

A flying dragon or a flying dinosaur?

OMG! Dubai's 84-storey building catches fire again!

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/03/middleeast/dubai-tower-fire/index.html

Fire-proof building materials are needed to prevent such fire!

AGC is taking action against Li Sheng Wu, Son of LHY.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/agc-seeks-contempt-court-proceedings-li-shengwu-004530979.html

Sigh! LSW and his dad LHY will not want to live in SG anymore.  The only one left will be LWL, sister of PM Lee, in SG.  LHL is breaking up the Lee family.

Alan Greenspan warns about the bond bubble!

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/04/greenspan-bond-bubble-about-to-break-because-of-abnormally-low-interest-rates.html

Yes, interest rates cannot stay low perpetually and low-interest rates will affect the financial industry especially the banking sector.

The risk-free rate is at 2.26 now and if you factor in the 2% inflation, you are virtually making no income out of buying the 10-year treasury bond.  This lack of money-making opportunity forces investors to seek higher returns in riskier assets and causes bubbles in other assets.

The FED's intention is to increase interest rates gradually so that it will have ammunitions to handle the next recession.  However, when the bond yields start to rise rapidly, the risk-averse investors will flock to bonds and dump riskier assets that they bought previously.  This is why Alan Greenspan said that stock market would crash when the bond bubble burst.

This too-fast-too-furious event is not reflected in the mindsets of ordinary investors yet because VIX is showing great complacency among investors.

Baltic dry index - 1032

Today, Friday, August 04 2017, the Baltic Dry Index climbed by 9 points, reaching 1032 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.
=====================
Related stocks: Sembcorp Marine, Cosco & Pan Ocean

US rig count - 954

HOUSTON (AP) — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. decreased
by four this week to 954.
A year ago, just 464 rigs were active.
Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 765 rigs sought oil and 189
explored for natural gas this week.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas gained four rigs and Alaska increased by one.
Louisiana declined by five rigs, Oklahoma decreased by two and New Mexico and North Dakota
were down by one apiece.
Arkansas, California, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, 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.
=====================
Related stocks: Keppel Corp, Sembcorp Marine & Cosco

Friday, August 4, 2017

China has given India the ultimatum to leave China's border.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/chinese-social-media-abuzz-with-statements-on-doklam-standoff-warning-india-to-pull-back/story-aMXRzigv5sTkykUVus2AkN.html

We did mention in our previous post that a border war was likely to break out in August if India didn't retreat from China's border.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/07/china-may-attack-india-in-august-if.html

India is asking for troubles.  Many Indians will die if India doesn't retreat.

Singapore stock calls for 4 August 2017


Watch out for DBS's 2nd half earnings report.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/dbs-sees-more-provisions-ahead-in-oil-and-gas-portfolio

DBS is obviously not providing enough provision for its exposure to the oil and gas industry.  This Indian CEO said the worst was over in Feb 2017.  If the worst was already over, why would there be a need for more provision than previous guidance?

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/02/will-ezra-affect-dbs-like-swiber-did.html

We were skeptical about its under provision because DBS was not forthcoming with its exposure to Ezra.


Wow! China is exporting its electricity!

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-china-energy-idUSKBN1AK011

Besides exporting its technologies, China is also exporting its electricity to ASEAN.  This will at least help some developing countries in meeting their energy needs before they can be self-sufficient by building more power stations.

Climate change will decimate India more than anything else.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/08/south-asia-hot-live-2100-170803041954544.html

India should get its priority right.  Climate change will decimate its country and economy more than anything else.  India, take my advice and stop invading your neighbours.

India will have a big problem feeding its huge population because its land size is only 1/3 of China.  Crops can't grow on parched lands and many parts of India don't have access to potable water.  All these problems are of paramount importance to India right now.  Time is running out for India!

Are you pissed when your government treats you like this?

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/macpherson-rc-apologises-charging-new-citizens-less-community-event-010058507.html

Singapore bred citizens have to pay more than newly converted citizens!

What's next? Singapore bred citizens have to accept lower salaries than newly converted citizens?

Wow! Malaysia will have autonomous trains soon!

http://en.people.cn/business/n3/2017/0804/c90778-9250826.html

China is exporting its high technologies to other countries now.  Malaysia will have autonomous trains soon and also learn the technology from China.

This is one of the benefits of being China-friendly.  Malaysia will overtake Singapore in the future because of China.

SIA is facing headwinds now!

http://www.todayonline.com/business/sia-introduces-voluntary-no-pay-leave-cabin-crew

Look like economic downturn is coming soon!

SIA is asking its staffs to take no-pay leaves due to an oversupply of manpower.  Why?  This means that SIA is not getting enough passengers on board its planes which don't require a lot of working staffs. Why are there fewer passengers?  Is SIA losing passengers to other airliners or economic downturn is causing passengers to travel lesser?  Maybe businesses are turning to web conferences for business meetings and negotiations.

This is something to ponder about seriously.


Who is the richest man in the world? Nope, it's not Bill Gates.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/31/financier-bill-browder-says-vladimir-putin-is-worth-200-billion.html

The richest man in the world is Putin (Russia President).  He is estimated to be worth USD$200B.

Wow!

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Iceberg's full report on Noble Group!

https://iceberg-research.com/2017/08/03/noble-group-is-sinking-this-saga-reveals-the-complete-failure-of-the-regulators-in-singapore/

We are also worried about the sustainability of Noble because of its negative cash flow after selling its golden goose assets.  Like we said before, Noble's white knight can pull out after getting privy information and fully understand the situation better than ordinary retail investors.

Singapore stock calls for 3 August 2017


Our local residents committed abduction!

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/two-myanmar-men-trial-attempting-abduct-compatriot-pasir-ris-carpark-112316332.html

Singapore PRs are considered locals by our government.

Indeed, Singaporeans commit more crimes than foreigners as stated by our PM.

China has the best AI now!

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0802/c90000-9250209.html

China AI tops Stanford's reading comprehension ranking.

It's an amazing accomplishment because it shows rapid evolution in China's technology.

Real ghosts caught on CCTV!

Enjoy!

Ghost moved ladder in Singapore Changi Terminal 4!

It seems that our readers love to watch ghost video and we've decided to put up another one.

Something weird was happening in Singapore Changi Terminal 4 during construction.

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

President Duterte has killed another mayor and his wife for drug dealings.

http://www.npr.org/2017/07/30/540408626/police-raid-in-philippines-kills-mayor-who-president-had-named-as-drug-suspect

Wow! This president hates drugs to the core.  He won't tolerate drug in his parliament.  The Ozamis mayor and his family were reported to be involved in drug dealings.  The mayor and wife were killed because they resisted police arrest with guns and grenades.

This is the 3rd mayor who was killed in Duterte's drug campaign.

China has presented the factsheet about China-India border. India is speechless now.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/world/neighbours/020817/withdraw-troops-from-doklam-with-no-strings-attached-china-tells-india.html

India will be speechless now about its incursion into China's territory.  I think China wants to set the record straight before embarking on military action as snow will fall in September.  China has not much time left to chase Indian troops out of China's territory.  August will be the only month suitable for such a military action.

Singapore stock calls for 2 August 2017


Yale economic professor and nobel laureate Robert Shiller gave a warning about stock market.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/26/the-market-risk-that-makes-nobel-laureate-robert-shiller-lie-awake.html

The stock market is in a dicey conundrum whereby the PE ratio is high and the volatility is low.  His CAPE (Shiller PE Ratio) predicts that the stock market will crash big time whenever it is high.  The CAPE is above 30 now and the big crashes are all above 30.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

A glimpse of China's military power.

Wow! Amazing!

Singapore stock calls for 1 August 2017


Noble is raising cash just for debt repayments.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/embattled-trader-noble-group-pays-40-million-bond-052002693--finance.html?_fsig=_SX2GCnSxkXKplqyrZ2A5w--

When a company is raising funds by selling its assets just for the purpose of debt repayments, we know this company is no longer viable because its business model is not generating positive cash flow to sustain its own operational and financial needs.

Cash flow is the most important thing in a sustainable business!

The impact of USD falling is already being felt in the oil market.


https://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/07/do-you-notice-that-usd-has-been-falling.html


We can see the correlation between these 2 charts (USD vs Oil price).  USD and Oil price have an inverse relationship.

Death knell for virtual currency is bellowing!

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bitcoin-split-idUSKBN1AG2MF

We will never support virtual currency because it is a flawed concept.  Many people just don't understand the concept of money and think that money can be created through technology.  Money was not created in the past through technology and it also couldn't be created through technology in the future.

The so-called bitcoin split will cause huge damage to virtual currency because anybody can just do a blockchain split to create free money.  Bitcoin miners don't want any blockchain split because it will undermine bitcoins.  Bitcoin developers want to create free money out of nothing but don't allow others to use the open source technology to do bitcoin splits to get free money.

Today, we'll have bitcoin and bitcoin cash.  In the near future, we'll have bitcoin dollar, bitcoin note, etc.  As these developments progress, people will lose confidence in virtual currencies because there are no regulations for these splitting developments.  To prevent the loss of confidence, people will start to demand for regulations to protect their investments.  Therefore, we'll be back to square one where the same group of people doesn't want regulations in the first place.

2 armed robberies in Singapore in 2 days recently!

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/armed-robbery-reported-ubi-ave-1-singapore-police-force-042229175.html

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/man-arrested-armed-robbery-upper-bukit-timah-road-petrol-station-report-112543223.html

What is happening to Singapore?

We've a Canadian robbing our standard chartered bank.  Now, we've 2 armed robberies yesterday and today!

Singapore is no longer as safe as thought.  Singapore has to deal with terrorism and armed robberies now.

Monday, July 31, 2017

Singapore stock calls for 31 July 2017


Indecent act in public - SMRT.


You can be charged for performing an indecent act in public under Section 294 of Penal Code.

Please do not do this in our MRT!

Taiwan is flooding again!

Opps! Perhaps ponding is a better term to describe this. Heehee!

This "ponding" is what our minister would describe the situation.

Sunday, July 30, 2017

China may attack India in August if India doesn't withdraw its troops.

Time is running out for China and India!

Why?

This is because the temperature will turn cold in September and it is not conducive to fight in such a cold climate at high altitude.  Therefore, China will want to resolve this border skirmish in August because it is a disadvantage to start a war in September.

India must retreat in August or face a losing war.  India cannot occupy its neighbour's territory and demand for a diplomatic discussion to resolve the issue or request both sides to retreat.  Where does India want China's troops to retreat to when China's troops are already in China's territory?

This is precisely why China refused to have a diplomatic talk with India because of India's incursion.  India had miscalculated and misjudged this incursion.  India will pay a super high price for such an incursion before China's 19th party congress.  Don't think that China won't start a war before 19th party congress!

China's military technology!


Flooding in Germany and UK. Petrol and diesel cars will be ban by 2030.

Flooding in Germany.

Flooding in UK.

This is what will happen when we've global warming.

Germany wants EU to ban petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3834674/Germany-s-federal-council-Bundesrat-pushes-force-EU-BAN-petrol-diesel-vehicles-2030.html

The UK will ban petrol and diesel cars by 2040.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/25/new-diesel-petrol-cars-banned-uk-roads-2040-government-unveils/

The carbon emission will be greatly reduced in the future.  If China and USA follow suit, crude oil prices will collapse as nobody will use crude oil in the future.

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Ghosts alighting from a ghost plane in Phuket airport every night.

This video was taken by Phuket airport staff.

You can see that there's ghosts rushing to the custom from the boarding bridge but without the plane beside it.

Astronaut captured UFO in her live telecast accidentally.

A space debris, comet, asteroid or meteorite cannot change direction like that. So what is that?

Japan defence minister resigned because she destroyed internal records for Japan-UN mission.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/27/tomomi-inada-japanese-defence-minister-resign-south-sudan

This is not surprising because Japanese government will destroy and whitewash anything that the government doesn't like.

Japanese government insisted in the UN mission continuation despite its own law didn't allow it and this led to her to destroy the internal record.

She was unlucky that someone found the internal record on a computer that she claimed was discarded.

Baltic dry index - 933

Today, Friday, July 28 2017, the Baltic Dry Index decreased by 9 points, reaching 933 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.

=============================

Related stocks: Sembcorp Marine, Cosco & Pan Ocean.

US rig count - 958

HOUSTON (AP) — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by eight this week to 958.
A year ago, just 463 rigs were active.
Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 766 rigs sought oil and 192 explored for natural gas this week.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, New Mexico gained four rigs, Oklahoma increased by three and Louisiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Wyoming each gained one.
Texas declined by one rig.
Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Utah were all unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May of 2016 at 404.
=============================
Related stocks: Keppel Corp, Sembcorp Marine & Cosco

Friday, July 28, 2017

Russia is expelling a lot of USA embassy staffs in Russia.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/russia-orders-us-cut-diplomatic-staff-says-seize-093237700.html

The fight is on.  The USA imposed a new sanction against Russia and Russia expelled the USA embassy staffs.

Tit-For-Tat is nothing new but Russia is able to take on the USA because China is supporting Russia's economy by buying oil and gas in RMB.

Russia will station in Syria permanently now.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/putin-signs-syria-deal-cementing-russias-presence-half-113942368.html

The USA has no control over Syria now because Russia will be in Syria for a long time.  It won't be easy to overthrow Assad now and the USA has to accept that Assad will be at the helm of Syria for a much longer time than expected.

SGX praised ex-ceo Magnus Bocker but omitted the petition against him.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/bocker-was-a-driving-force-for-change-sgx

https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/petition-to-remove-magnus-bocker-as-the-ceo-of-sgx

SGX should just keep its mouth shut.  The truth was Magnus Bocker had a disgraceful departure from SGX but SGX still wanted to honour him.  His passing on won't wipe out his disgraceful departure.

We can forgive but we cannot forget.

Singapore stock calls for 28 July 2017


A fruitless gold shop robbery in Malaysia! Robbers left in frustration!

It pays to install shattered proof glasses in gold shop.

USA is creating false intelligence against North Korea again.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/u-general-north-korea-icbm-threat-advancing-faster-203432119.html

Yes, the USA is doing it again.

China is just sitting right beside NK but China is not afraid of any missile attack from NK.  The USA is so far away but is constantly afraid of NK's threats.

The USA has THAAD systems on its homefront and also in the overseas military ground.

So tell us honestly, what are you really afraid of, USA?

Singapore elected president status is sealed. Let's not waste time on it anymore.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/tan-cheng-bock-no-objection-chief-justice-hearing-appeal-case-reserved-presidential-election-131154386.html

Tan Cheng Bock is fighting the war alone and we know he will lose for sure because the EP status is already sealed.

Why fight this war when the majority of Singaporeans don't care at all?  Our poll shows that Singaporeans know who's our first elected president but we don't dare to tell our AG that.  AG's declaration is definitely against our common consensus that an elected president must win in an open election with a majority vote count.  Instead, our AG has created a new definition that an elected president can be an appointed president who has exercised an elected president's power.

Let's just revert back to the appointed president system so that we can save our time and effort to vote for a reserved elected president as such a president won't command the same respect as an openly elected president.

South China Sea won't be peaceful anymore!

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/britain-plans-send-warship-south-china-sea-move-002530690.html

The UK wants to join in the "fun" now.

The western countries are never part of Asia but they want to control Asia in the name of FON (freedom of navigation).  They cannot cite a single case of China stopping any commercial ship sailing in South China Sea but will carry on with their smearing and fearmongering campaigns against China.

I think China should change its strategy of not forming a strategic alliance like NATO because it is very difficult to fight alone.  An APTO (asia pacific treaty organization) is definitely welcome in Asia to stop the western countries from meddling with or controlling Asia.

We also need AMF (Asia monetary fund) to handle any financial crisis in Asia because IMF is too prejudiced.  Even though IMF has indicated that it will move its HQ to Beijing in the future, we must always be on our guard because IMF places more stringent requirements on Asia countries than western countries.  Just look at how the IMF treated Thailand and Indonesia during the asia financial crisis.  Now, look at how IMF treats EU especially Greece.

https://www.rt.com/business/397424-imf-move-beijing-decade-lagarde/

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Singapore stock calls for 27 July 2017


FED doesn't raise rate in July but may start QE tapering in September.

How will QE tapering affect the market?

QE tapering is reducing its bond purchases or rollovers (reinvestment of its bond proceeds upon maturing) on a monthly basis.

As bond price and yield are inversely related and demand affects the bond price, the yield will stay low when the bond price is high.  When there is lesser demand for the bond, the bond price will fall and the yield will go up.  This is almost the same as hiking interest rate without literally hiking rate.

Hiking rate literally will affect currency movement and short term rate but QE tapering will only affect long term rate and is more neutral for the currency and stock market.

On the whole, the interest rate will still go up albeit slowly.

Noble Group plunges heavily today after profit warning and asset sales.

https://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/07/whats-left-for-noble-group-after.html

https://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/07/noble-group-update.html

We did warn about Noble Group on a few occasions.  It is not surprising that its P&L won't look good because it had sold off its golden goose.

Don't think that a company can be saved whenever a white knight appears.  Sometimes, the white knight is also ignorant about the company and the industry.  The white knight is financially strong enough to pull the plug but an ordinary retail investor can wipe out his life saving.


China has taken over a Sri Lanka port.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0726/c90000-9246810.html

China has been buying up ports over the world and also set up a port alliance for its BRI (Belt Road Initiative).  This will greatly reduce Singapore strategic importance that the USA values because the USA can contain China shipments by sealing the Strait of Malacca from Singapore.

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Stockbank blog has just received a top 75 Singapore investment blog award.

We've been informed by Feedspot that we've been awarded a top 75 Singapore investment blog award.


We will strive to continue to provide articles that are of interest to our readers.

Our top 3 readers come from Singapore, USA and Russia.

Yes, Russians like to read our blog and we don't know why.  We are surprised that Malaysians are not in our top 5.

Nonetheless, we are happy to receive our first award.  Thank you for your support.

What's left for Noble Group after selling income generating businesses?

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/noble-group-said-seek-buyers-085506625.html

This is really getting worrisome as Noble sells off its income generating businesses.  Noble will be left with negative cashflow assets that nobody wants.

Sigh!

Singapore stock calls for 26 July 2017


Flooding in China.

In Singapore context, this will be just ponding as defined by our minister. Heehee!

Quantum communication can be operational 24 hours soon.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0726/c202936-9246537.html

Way to go, China!

China is really becoming a high technological country now with excellent achievement in quantum technology.

India fired at Pakistan again!


http://www.kashmirvision.in/news/pakistan-summons-indian-envoy-over-border-tensions

India is stirring troubles for its neighbour again.  The China-India border skirmish is not settled yet and India is attacking Pakistan again.

Sigh!  This India is such a bully and must be taught a lesson!

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Singapore stock calls for 25 July 2017


AFP news agency is still recalcitrant about correcting its false reporting.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/china-urges-asean-to-reject-outside-interference-9062252

The whole world already knew that PCA was not a true international court and it was not part of the UN or backed by UN.  However, AFP news agency still insists that PCA is UN-backed till today even when UN has declared that PCA is not related to UN.

We had some postings about PCA before.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2016/07/icj-has-declared-that-it-is-not.html

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2016/07/un-has-publicly-declared-that-pca-is.html

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2016/07/the-truth-about-south-china-sea-ruling.html

China has given India its harshest warning!

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2103864/chinas-defence-spokesman-warns-india-not-take-any

China had recently conducted live firing exercise for 11 hours on 5000m higher Tibet plateau in preparation for a war with India.  This live firing exercise was to demonstrate that its military equipment and weapons could operate well in a high altitude environment and its military personnel could function properly without any sickness.

China has carefully selected a certain race to be stationed in a high altitude area.  This group of people possess a special DNA that can function very well in a low oxygen environment.  You will know what I'm saying when you've been to a high altitude area.

A war break out between China and India is highly probable if India doesn't withdraw its troops from China's border soon.  China is losing its impatience because President Xi must resolve this before the 19th party congress.

Wow! We can charge our HP with my clothes in the future!

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0724/c90000-9245730.html

No more power bank! Heehee!

Australian foreign minister showed her ignorance of China-India border skirmish.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0724/c90883-9245817.html

Quote:
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop reportedly said, "My understanding is that this is a long-term dispute ... Australia's position is that territorial disputes should be resolved peacefully between the claimant countries."
"It is right to say that territorial disputes should be resolved peacefully, but I must point out that such a saying is not applied to the situation in Doklam because there has been no territorial dispute at all at the site where the incident takes place," spokesperson Lu Kang said.
End Quote.
When you don't understand something, it's best to keep your mouth shut!  Maybe Australia is trying to embark on a smearing campaign too.  However, India had already acknowledged that it intruded China's border territory to stop the infrastructure development.
Australia has proven itself to be a less trustworthy country again. Why?
Australia supported PCA ruling against China but openly ignored PCA against itself.

Monday, July 24, 2017

India must do a reality check or else it will suffer tremendously.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/china-warns-india-not-harbour-illusions-border-stand-042140857.html

It is without a doubt that the border skirmish is in favour of China because India encroached on China's territory.

UN security council resolution states that any country can embark on military action against any incursion.  Therefore, China has been very restrained in dealing with India by not invoking military action against this incursion.

India was badly defeated in 1962 for invading China's border when both countries' powers were not significantly apart.  However, China's economic size and military power have progressed tremendously and the 2 countries are widely apart now.  India's land size is only 1/3 of China and its economy is about 20% of China's economy.

Therefore, India will suffer a humiliating defeat which is worse than 1962 when both countries go to war and both countries will not use any nuclear weapon for this war.

Singapore stock calls for 24 July 2017


Smearing campaign against China by BBC.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40701121

BBC is following CNN in fake news productions by stating that Vietnam stopped its oil drilling after China's threat.

Let's look at BBC recent reporting.

BBC reported false news about China-India border skirmishes when it stated that China was the first to remind India that China was not the China of 1962.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40478813

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-40653053

The true fact was India was the first to remind China that India was no longer the 1962 India.  Subsequently, China retorted by stating that China was also not the 1962 China.  BBC omitted the timelines of the statements to create a false impression in its reporting.

Let's look at the timeline reporting below.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/not-the-1962-india-anymore-jaitleys-response-to-china/articleshow/59387725.cms

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/06/30/india-of-2017-is-different-from-the-india-of-1962-arun-jaitley_a_23009944/

India Arun was the first to state that India was no longer the 1962 India on 30 June 2017.

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/china-retaliates-to-arun-jaitley-saying-this-is-not-the-india-of-1962-war-1719900

Then, China retorted on 3 July 2017 by stating China was also not the 1962 China.

However, BBC chose to omit the timelines in its prejudiced reporting and accused China of threatening India.  Shame on you, BBC!

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Baltic dry index - 977

Today, Friday, July 21 2017, the Baltic Dry Index climbed by 13 points, reaching 977 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 - 950

HOUSTON (AP) — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. decreased by two this week to 950.
A year ago, just 462 rigs were active.
Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 764 rigs sought oil and 186 explored for natural gas this week.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Louisiana gained four rigs, California increased by two and North Dakota and Utah each gained one.
Oklahoma and Texas each declined by three, New Mexico fell by two and Alaska decreased by one.
Arkansas, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, 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

USA is forcing China to take Taiwan by force.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2017/07/13/499383/aits-chairman.htm

The USA mooted the idea of performing navy port of call in Taiwan and passed a provision last month.  Thereafter, the USA upped its ante by trying to make it a legislation for its navy to establish the port of call in Taiwan.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/china-slams-us-defence-bill-over-taiwan-provision/articleshow/59633295.cms

This is against the one China policy and anti secession law in China.  If China doesn't invoke its anti secession law after USA port of call in Taiwan, the Chinese won't trust the communist party anymore.  Therefore, China has to take Taiwan by force to satisfy its nationalistic sentiment.

I don't understand how the USA congress can have the power to intrude and contravene another sovereignty.  If this practice is allowed in the international arena, any country can do the same and China can also pass a legislation in its parliament to violate the sovereign of USA.  Even ICJ which is under UN cannot accept and rule on any case that will violate another sovereignty.