Singapore stock calls for 29 August 2017

Rickmers Maritime to delist tomorrow.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/winding-up-of-rickmers-maritime-completed-notes-to-delist-on-aug-30

Goodbye Rickmers Maritime!

This won't be the first and the last but is the beginning of the collapse.

USA is trying to put the blame of its destroyer's collision on China.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0829/c90000-9261565.html

What is USA thinking?  Putting the blame of its collision on China's hacking?

If USA destroyer is so easy to hack, then it shouldn't be out at sea anymore because it poses a clear and present danger to other merchant ships.

This also means that the destroyer is not combat-operational as it is easily hackable.

The USA is trying to fabricate false intelligence again!

South Korea wants to get involved in KL-SG HSR.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/kl-singapore-hsr-project-korea-061550698.html

I believe Malaysia will not want to offend China by awarding the HSR to the South Korea consortium.  China is really pissed off with SK for THAAD installation because THAAD is useless against NK's mobile rocket launchers.

Political battles are playing out in China - Part 2

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/wanda-shares-tumble-rumours-chairman-detained-063825573--finance.html

If the rumour is true, those who try to help Wanda's chairman will be closely monitored by the government.  R&F will be a high profile target by the government.

https://sg-stock.blogspot.sg/2017/07/political-battles-are-playing-out-in.html

India chickens out after 2-month stand off.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/india-says-troops-disengaging-stand-off-china-083126572.html

After seeing China's troops build up and large scale military exercises near the border, India has cowered in and agreed to withdraw.  Afterall, India has no legitimate reason for the incursion and cannot garner international support for its action.

Singapore stock calls for 28 August 2017

Outrage of Modesty (OM) has increased in Singapore.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/overall-crime-cases-in-singapore-fall-in-h1-but-e-commerce-scams-remain-a-concern

Singapore is no longer as safe as before for women.  Women have to be more careful when they go out in Singapore.

Singapore vs China in future economic developments.

What's our future in Singapore?  What's our grandeur plans?

The 2017 national rally speech primarily focused on pre-schooling, diabetics and technology embracement in the future which are mostly sociological in nature.  Will tackling these 3 sociological hurdles help Singapore to leap forward?  Are we at our wits' end now?

Let's look at what China focuses on.

China is focusing on Space, AI and Robotics developments while Singapore is only importing these technologies at its best because our government is focusing on technology embracement.  In other words, we only focus on the usages.  China has its own self-developed driverless transportation systems now while we're only importing the driverless system.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0827/c90000-9260722.html

Financially, China has already developed its own financial technological systems like Alipay, QR code payment, Wechat financial system, etc.  Conversely, Singapore is just importing the QR code payment from China because of technology embracement.

It will become more demoralizing if I continue with the list and our prognosis will become bleaker.

Therefore, I will stop here to let you ponder over our future.

Vietnam has been eyeing Taiwan's Taiping island for a long time.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/print/2017/08/26/2003677199

It has been internationally recognised that Taiping island belongs to Taiwan and Vietnam has been trying to rob Taiping island from Taiwan.  Therefore, Taiwan has the right to conduct any military exercise on Taiping island.

Vietnam is shamelessly protesting this by trying to distort the historical claim that Taiping island is under Vietnam's territory.  Vietnam is an overly ambitious country and Singapore doesn't trust Vietnam at all.  This distrust is evident from our late PM Lee's action against Vietnam.

USD dollar has just hit the lowest for the year 2017.

This is a one year chart and we can see that USD has just hit the lowest for 2017.

Is USA depreciating its USD deliberately to boost its exports for its own economic growth and also increase its own inflation rate so that it can hike interest rates?

Baltic dry index - 1209

Today, Friday, August 25 2017, the Baltic Dry Index climbed by 9 points, reaching 1209 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 - 940

HOUSTON — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. decreased by six this week to 940.

A year ago, just 489 rigs were active.

Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 759 rigs sought oil and 180 explored for natural gas this week. One was listed as miscellaneous.

Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Louisiana, North Dakota and Ohio each added one rig.

Pennsylvania and Texas each lost three rigs. Alaska, Oklahoma and Utah were down by one apiece.

Arkansas, California, Colorado, New Mexico, 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

An introduction of Malacca Gateway.

Malacca Gateway is truly a majestic development which will surpass any development in Singapore insofar.

This development is truly amazing!  Once this is completed, it will definitely replace Singapore as a shipping hub with China's port alliance.  This is not a question of IF but WHEN.

When there is a typhoon, just stay indoor and do not fight the nature.

There is no superman and do not try to be a superman.  Just leave your vehicle and stay indoor for your own safety.  Do not fight the nature unless you are really a superman.

Singapore stock calls for 25 August 2017

Russia is showing to the USA that it will get involved in the Korean peninsula war.

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/russia-sends-nuclear-capable-bombers-mission-near-south-072849269.html

Russia is telling the world with a show of force that it will get involved in the Korean peninsula war.  This is also sending a clear signal to the USA not to attack North Korea unilaterally.

Great job, Putin!

Hahaha! Japanese historian proved that Diaoyu belonged to China.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0824/c90000-9259862.html

This is really funny.  More and more Japanese are fed up with its own government.

First, NHK published a documentary to prove that Unit 731 existed and committed atrocities that the Japanese government denied.

Next, Japanese historian provided an ancient Japanese map which showed that Diaoyu belonged to China.  This proved that the USA and Japan robbed Diaoyu from China after WW2.

The historical facts are present everywhere in the world and it's getting harder for Japanese to change its unglamorous history.

UFO spotted in Philippines!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4811838/Alien-hunters-spot-UFO-clouds-Philippines.html

UFOs are coming to Asia now!

Singapore stock calls for 24 August 2017

Vietnam calls for unity in Southeast Asia. What a joke!

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-vietnam-idUSKCN1B4099

This is really making a mockery out of Southeast Asia.  If you look at the timeline, Vietnam was the first to start building infrastructures on disputed islands in South China Sea.  Vietnam also robbed an island from Taiwan during bad weather in South China Sea in the past.

How to trust Vietnam when it is a troublemaker by itself?  Our late PM Lee didn't trust Vietnam in the past and we must not trust Vietnam too.  Our late PM Lee was the first PM in the world to write to the Thai King to warn about the bellicose Vietnam and also encouraged the USA to attack Vietnam which sparked off the Vietnam war.

Trade war between USA and China will start soon!

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/china-says-necessary-means-defend-024752877.html

Trump is violating WTO rules by unilaterally invoking its US section 301 trade act.  International trading rules must be preserved and respected.  Trump should file a complaint to WTO and fight it out with China in WTO court of arbitration instead of using its own archaic law.

By taking such unilateral action, China will also follow suit and won't follow WTO rules by invoking its own trading act.  When 2 titans fight, the world trading will suffer because these 2 countries will impose unreasonably high taxes against each other.  This ensuing outcome will create economic problems for the whole world.

Last but not least, China has the population size and money to fight an economic war with the USA but the USA doesn't have the deep pocket like China.  Many USA firms operating in China will suffer too in such an economic war.

See the power of typhoon Hato in Hong Kong 23 August 2017

Typhoons will get more severe and frequent in the future due to global warming.

Singapore stock calls for 23 August 2017

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.

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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.

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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.