Lee Hsien Loong gets court approval to jail his nephew Li Sheng Wu.

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/agc-gets-green-light-contempt-court-proceedings-against-mr-li-shengwu

Why is PM Lee so adamant in bludgeoning his own nephew?

This was because PM Lee's younger brother, LHY, destroyed PM Lee's son political career as the PM's son was forced to issue a statement that he was not interested in any political career.  Therefore, PM Lee must ensure that LHY's son also cannot enter politics in the future.

LHL and LHY will NEVER get along because the rift is too deep since this saga has supervened upon the younger generation.

Tan Cheng Block's appeal was dismissed by the high court.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/tan-cheng-bock-s-appeal-over-upcoming-presidential-election-9149466

This is not surprising at all.  I would be surprised if the court ruled in Tan's favour.

Notwithstanding the court's dismission, our readers know the real first elected president in Singapore.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/08/our-poll-showed-that-our-readers-knew.html

This is the danger of a one-party system.  The one-party system can change historical facts and events.

China-India border scuffle at Ladakh

The left side of the border is China and the right side of the border is India.

From the leaked out video, the Chinese soldiers were winning the fight and the Indian soldiers were retreating with their flag.  However, the Indian news media reported that they won the fight and forced the Chinese soldiers back into the China territory.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/15/india-china-soldiers-involved-in-border-altercation-indian-sources.html

The Indians couldn't even win in an unarmed close combat fight and they wanted to go to war with China.

Singapore over promises and under delivers for the BRI involvement.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/china-construction-bank-raising-15-060435088.html

We did state previously in our posting that it was impossible for SG to compete with China & HK for the BRI financing.  Please see our posting below.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/06/what-joke-singapore-to-help-bankroll.html

SG wants to help to finance for the BRI but it just doesn't have the capability to do that because China & HK are more financially savvier than SG.  SG doesn't realize that China has overtaken SG in terms of technology and financial capabilities and still think that it can advise China on developments.

Last but not least, we monitor China developments and our readers can get some updates on China developments on our blog especially those who are intransigent about China.

Singapore stock calls for 22 August 2017

Climate change is causing a lot of weird clouds nowadays.

We need to stop global warming now or we're killing ourselves.

India says China stand off will end soon.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/india-says-china-stand-off-will-end--soon--9143768

India is saying a rhetoric statement because everyone knows winter snow is coming in September.  Both sides will retreat due to the snow, not because an agreement has been reached by both parties.

We stated this in our previous posting.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/08/china-has-presented-factsheet-about.html

A glimpse into the near future of automation.

Fully automatic manufacturing factory without any human (dark factory).

Automatic pharmacy in a hospital.

Medical revolution is coming! Doctors watch out!

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0820/c90000-9257744.html

Medical doctors will be in lesser demand in the future because of medical AI which can perform better than human doctors.  This is a necessary revolution in preparation for space exploration as space travellers require medical AI and robotic operation.

Have you seen robots dancing before?

This is so cool!

Singapore stock calls for 21 August 2017

Here we go again! Another USA naval destroyer collision!

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/us-destroyer-collision-off-singapore-rescue-efforts-launched-011202596.html

USA destroyer collided with a container ship in June 2017.  This time, another USA destroyer collided with a tanker ship.

Look like USA naval prowess is going downhill.  If USA destroyer cannot avoid big ships, how can it fight in a war?  USA navy is not combat-operational nowadays.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/07/us-navy-was-at-fault-for-container.html

AWARE is trying to destroy our military forces.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/stop-being-a-girl-and-man-up-boys-face-gender-police-even-as-men-9139700

Without harsh words and hurtful psychological stresses, our military forces will be very weak and we can never fight a war with such weak mentality.

If you look at the military trainings in other western countries like USA and Russia, their military trainings involve verbal and physical abuses to turn their men into tough operational forces.

Men in Singapore have a responsibility to protect Singapore compared to other men in other countries but AWARE doesn't understand this.  National interest is above all other things in Singapore because without a strong and tough military force, there won't be Singapore.

I'm very disappointed in AWARE for having such a myopic viewpoint.

Who helped North Korea to develop its missiles program?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/14/world/asia/north-korea-missiles-ukraine-factory.html?mcubz=3

https://en.hromadske.ua/posts/nmissile-engines-north-korea-ukraine

The articles pointed out that Ukraine was the main culprit because it was selling the rocket engines in the black market and Iran provided the guidances.

Therefore, China and Russia are not the parties involved.

Baltic dry index - 1260

Today, Friday, August 18 2017, the Baltic Dry Index climbed by 13 points, reaching 1260 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 - 946

HOUSTON (AP) — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. decreased by three this week to 946.

A year ago, just 491 rigs were active.

Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 763 rigs sought oil and 182 explored for natural gas this week. One was listed as miscellaneous.

Among major oil- and gas-producing states, California gained two rigs and New Mexico increased by one.

North Dakota declined by two rigs while Alaska, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Utah were down by one apiece.

Arkansas, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, 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

Singapore stock calls for 18 August 2017

Li Sheng Wu, son of LHY, fled Singapore.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-singapore-politics-nephew-exclusive-idUSKCN1AX2W0

This shows that he has no confidence in our judiciary system because he believes it will be manipulated by his uncle, PM Lee.

If a man of his stature doesn't believe in Singapore, we have to ponder about our future in Singapore too.

South Korea wants to honour comfort women.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/aug/16/buses-seoul-comfort-women-statues-korea-japan

South Korea trashes Japan's hope to cover up its war crimes by honouring comfort women in the buses.

Our PM Lee was definitely offending South Korea and China by asking Japan to stop apologizing for its war crimes.  Singapore was also a victim back then but we must support Japan because of our close fraternity with the USA.  Sigh!

This Chinese invented robot takes the world by storm.

This robot can explore mars and the moon with no problem.

Japan government cannot hide its war crimes anymore!

NHK, a Japanese media, had published a documentary about Unit 731 which the Japanese government had denied.  The truth shocked the Japanese citizens!

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0817/c90000-9256796.html

Even with this documentary, the Japanese government still refuses to acknowledge its war crimes.

Furthermore, our PM Lee also supported Japan's stance by asking Japan not to apologize anymore.

Singapore stock calls for 17 August 2017

Singapore non-oil domestic exports (NODX) - Part 5

Singapore NODX increased 8.5% in June YOY.

https://www.gov.sg/news/content/channel-newsasia---singapore-exports-up-8-5-in-july-in-third-straight-month-of-growth

Year on year changes:

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/2017/07/singapore-non-oil-domestic-exports-nodx.html

Shared bikes business model is a flawed business concept.

Shared bikes businesses are causing problems in a real world.

This type of business model doesn't make sense at all in a real world.
http://fortune.com/2017/03/21/chinese-bike-sharing/

Singapore stock calls for 16 August 2017

World War 4 has started between China & India.

http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/diplomacy/article/2106954/chinese-and-indian-soldiers-said-involved-melee-indian-sources

It was said that WW4 would be fought with rocks because WW3 had destroyed everything.

Look like this is true after all because China and India are fighting with rocks now.  Heehee!

Singapore banks are facing strong headwinds in Oil & Gas sector.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singapore-bank-stocks-battered-by-more-om-bad-news?xtor=EREC-16-1[BT_Newsletter_1]-20170816-[Singapore+bank+stocks+battered+by+more+O%26M+bad+news]&xts=538380

We did state in our previous postings that banks were not forthcoming in their oil & gas loan exposures.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/08/watch-out-for-dbss-2nd-half-earnings.html

They should be more transparent about their loan exposures but they didn't.  This showed that shareholders' accountability is not at the top of their minds and the management just wanted to be hush about the banks' poor performances.

Our poll showed that our readers knew that Wee Kim Wee was not our first elected president.

However, our AGC chose to think otherwise and redefined the common definition of an elected president.

Grey aliens are actually our descendents!

Grey aliens are time travellers from the future to find out the reason for earth annihilation by nuclear weapons.  They are our descendents.

Singapore stock calls for 15 August 2017

Noble group credit rating got downgraded again by S&P and Moody's!

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-14/noble-group-facing-higher-risk-of-default-s-p-and-moody-s-say?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=bd&utm_campaign=headline&cmpId=yhoo.headline&yptr=yahoo

OMG! The default risk is real....very real!

This is the reason that Noble group got downgraded again.

We're also very negative about Noble group.

Please read our previous postings on Noble group.

North Korea had declared that it would fire 4 missiles in mid august 2017.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/09/politics/north-korea-considering-near-guam-strike/index.html

North Korea had detailed a military plan to fire 4 missiles at a region near Guam in mid August 2017.

Let's see whether North Korea will follow through with its military plan.

Singapore stock calls for 14 August 2017

Watch how China foreign minister lectured Japan foreign minister!

Singapore, please learn from this and don't put itself in Japan's situation.

OMG! China women swat members are as good as our commandos.

Don't belittle China's women swat members.  They can kick your ass!

Reuters produced fake news!

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0811/c90883-9253911.html

So many reputable news agencies created fake news this year!  CNN, AFP, Reuters, etc.

This is not the way to increase readership and serve your own political agenda!

The USA is playing the FON theme again!

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0811/c90883-9254167.html

What's the point of intruding and getting chased away? If the USA was really in international water, it should stand on its ground.  However, the USA destroyer got chased away.  This FON is just a pseudo theme for provocation.

When will the USA stop the cat and mouse again!

China military leads in International Army Games 2017.

China has portrayed its military prowess in the International Army Games.

Going to a war with China is asking for annihilation.

Baltic dry index - 1138

Today, Friday, August 11 2017, the Baltic Dry Index climbed by 46 points, reaching 1138 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 - 949

HOUSTON (AP) — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. decreased by five this week to 949.

A year ago, just 481 rigs were active.

Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 768 rigs sought oil and 181 explored for natural gas this week.

Among major oil- and gas-producing states, California and New Mexico each increased by one rig.

Texas lost seven rigs and Louisiana decreased by one.

Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, 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

Malaysia warns Singapore about its ringgit futures trading.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/malaysia-s-central-bank-criticises-sgx-s-trading-of-ringgit-9112900

Since SG is a financial hub, SG is able to influence the ringgit movement if the ringgit futures is left unchecked when the trading becomes popular.

Malaysia central bank doesn't want Singapore to affect the ringgit movement.  No wonder Malaysia sent out a message that China radar system would be placed in JB.

We did mention in one of our posts that Malaysia won't be accommodative towards SG because it had China support. Look like Malaysia is getting tough on Singapore now.  I wonder how Malaysia will punish SG if SG refuses to stop the trading of ringgit futures.

http://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2016/10/malaysia-to-impose-20ringgit-road.html

Singapore stock calls for 11 August 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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

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.