Sunday, April 29, 2007
Stem Cells - Who Is Crazy? Public or Malaysian Government?
Maybe Dr Chua should do some studies (I hope he knows how to search for info from the internet) on what cord blood can do and the un-charted potential of it. Here are some sites for him to click if he’s too lazy to even move the mouse to search:
If you ask most “educated” doctors, they will advise you not to throw cord blood away. The umbilical cord blood is considered a life saving source of stem cells that are a 100 percent biological match to the newborn. Basically couples have a choice of either discarding the blood, banking it with a private cord blood bank or donating the specimen to public cord bank (obviously Dr Chua’s ministry doesn’t has or planning to have a public cord bank for the benefits of the poor and needy people).
Since the potential and benefits of cord blood are not known to most of the public, discarding the cord blood at the time of birth is commonly done in 99 percent of all deliveries.
What are Cord Blood Stem Cells?
Blood can be collected from the umbilical cord of a newborn baby shortly after birth. This blood is rich in blood stem cells that can be used to generate red blood cells and cells of the immune system. Cord Blood stem cells can be used to treat a range of blood disorders and immune system conditions such as leukaemia, anaemia and autoimmune diseases. Once collected, cord blood can be stored in a cord blood bank and would be available for use by the donor and compatible siblings.
Ethical Issues
Although cord blood stem cells are less versatile than Embryonic Stem cells, their use in research is less controversial as it does not involve the destruction of embryos. Their potential use for cell-based therapies is also attractive as it would be possible to use a patient's own cord blood stem cells to generate tissue for transplantation, thus avoiding problems with immune rejection.
Saviour Siblings
Controversy has arisen over the practice of genetically selecting 
embryos created during infertility treatment, for the purpose of using the donor baby's cord blood to treat an ill sibling. In this procedure, genetic testing is performed to ensure that the embryo will provide cord blood devoid of the genetic defect afflicting the sibling, but which matches the sibling's genetic make up. The donor baby in this case is sometimes referred to as a 'savior sibling'.
The first 'saviour sibling' to be born in Australia was reported in March 2004. A Tasmanian couple used this technology to have a second child who was free of a genetic condition, Hyper IgM Syndrome. Cord blood from this child could be used to treat the affected sibling. As a result of this selection process carried out Sydney IVF Clinic, the woman started her pregnancy knowing that her baby was free of Hyper IgM Syndrome and would be a potential tissue donor for her existing son.
What are the potential uses of human stem cells?
Most of the body's specialised cells cannot be replaced by natural processes if they are seriously damaged or diseased. Stem cells can be used to generate healthy and functioning specialised cells, which can then replace diseased or dysfunctional cells.
For example, in Parkinson's disease, stem cells may be used to form a special kind of nerve cell, a kind that secretes dopamine. These nerve cells can theoretically be transplanted into a patient where they will re-wire the brain and restore function, thus treating the patient.
If Dr Chua is still not convince on the importance of 
stem cells, then he might want to read this latest news (dates 28-Apr-2007) about how scientist from Canada (I bet Dr Chua will not criticize cord blood stem cells if it is Malaysian scientist who discovered this)made a major breakthrough by successfully mapping the stem cells and now know how normal human being cells become leukemic. By converting normal human blood cells to leukemia stem cells in the lab, it is hoped the process of identifying the right drug to heal leukemia cancer can be shorten andproduced to bring joy to human. Read more here.
Dr Chua further claimed that if there’s indeed potential for the use of stem cells, his ministry will study it. The first question I would like to ask him is “Does his ministry has the EXPERTISE to even start producing a medical research on what is stem cells at the first place?” From his statement that the private Malaysian stem cells storage provider is charging RM 500 a year for the storage, somehow I can smell that he’s envy of such companies. Would he think the same if he holds some stake in these companies? Not that his ministry can provide a cheaper alternative by building public stem cells bank.
I’m sure if his ministry can provide the same service and charge half the price (since he’s complaining the high price the private providers) there would be long queues waiting to subscribe for the service. How much money can his ministry make? Based on StemLife Berhad (KLSE: STEMLFE, stock-code 0137) annual report ended 31-Dec-2006, StemLife stored over 5,000 units of stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood of newborn babies. Supposing Chua’s ministry is charging $200 per unit, he’s making over RM$1,000,000 – and mind you, this is repeat annual sales.
Also, StemLife Berhad (currently the largest stem cell bank in South East Asia in terms of units stored) announced (in the annual report) the type of diseases treated successfully retrieved from its’ bank. The following data proves some of the diseases which were successfully treated by Malaysia’s hospitals from stem-cells released (the quantity of treatments is not shown):
- 2004 : General Hospital Kuala Lumpur - Leukemia
- 2004 : Gleneagles Medical Center Penang (GMCP) – Lymphoma
- 2005 : GIMC – Diabetic foot ulcer
- 2005 : HSC – Heart disease
- 2005 : GMCP – Lymphoma
- 2006 : HSC – Heart disease
- 2006 : Subang Jaya Medical Center – Heart Disease
- 2006 : GIMC – Heart Disease and Diabetic foot ulcer
- 2006 : University Hospital – Thalassaemia major
- 2006 : GMCP – Leukemia and Lymphoma
- 2006 : HSC – Heart Disease
As you can see from the simple summary, the number of cases where diseases are cured from stem-cells over the years has been on uptrend. So, how could a Health Minister (himself a doctor) makes such irresponsible claims to confuse the people? If there’s no potential and all these stem-cells is purely “hype”, then the medical specialists in those developed countries who spends millions on it are mainly stupid and morons, aren’t they?
Perhaps the Malaysian government should start preparation to shutdown all these stem-cells storage providers since they’re making money (cheating) out of the public with the hype of it. But these listed companies were approved by the same Malaysian government via Bursa Malaysia (KLSE: BURSA, stock-code 1818) andSecurities Commission. Indirectly are we to say Malaysian government is cheating money out of public since the Health Ministry does not even recognize such a business at the first place?
To those who succeed in getting and still keeping some StemLife’s shares, congratulations as you’ve made over690% profit from the initial IPO of RM 0.33 per share.
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Thursday, April 26, 2007
RIG - Locking Profits After Four Months of Waiting
I entered the position back on 5-Jan-2007 during the period when the oil price hit $55 per barrel. Right after the position I posted the reason why I chose to take the risk investing in this stock. You can read it at What's Your Bet Now Oil Is At $55?
It has since climbed above the resistance of $81 per share. It took almost three months to do that - the main reason why I always investing more than 120 days to option expiration for "oil stocks". You see, oil or energy stocks are cyclical - I can almost swear that the worldwide oil price is controlled by the cartel of the middle-east countries with influence from United States. Or else how can you explain the cyclical pattern? When the oil price drop to below $60 per barrel, you can bet it always and almost will rebounce within the next 6 months (usually within 3 months).
Though this means trading option or investing oil stocks are rather expensive, you can almost can be sure of making money out of it. It's a matter of how much money you want to make, which boils down to the question of how greedy you are. Somehow, as long as President Bush is sitting inside the Oval Office, you can pretty much know that oil price will never goes back to pre-historic period of below $50 per barrel (at least not for long).
APPLE Scores Big – Wait Till iPhone Comes to You
I would think the after-hours trading which saw the stock-price gained more than 7 percent is mainly due to the “double happiness” effect. The great quarterly profit merely started the engine but the vote of confidence by the board (which includes former Vice President Al Gore) in defending CEO Steve Jobs from new accusations of the company’s backdating of stock options is the turbo that propels the stock skyrocket above $100 a share. That’s the reason why the shares of Apple which closed at $95.35, up $2.11 (2 percent) on the Nasdaq Stock Market, leaped to$102.40 in after-hours trading.
For the first three months of the year, Apple said it earned $770 million, or 87 cents per share, up from $410 million, or 47 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Sales were $5.26 billion, up 21 percent from $4.36 billion last year. According to Thomson Financial, analysts, on average were looking for earnings of 64 cents per share on sales of $5.17 billion.
Apple said it shipped 1.5 million Macintosh computers and more than 10.5 million iPods during the quarter. Wait till you see the profit when iPhone comes and rule (well, not exactly eat-up in one shot but gradually) the market. While this is the good news to my investment portfolio, the same cannot be said on Akamai stock after earning announcement.Akamai Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: AKAM, stock) announced first-quarter profit that surged 67 percent on solid revenue growth. But investors were unimpressed, and sent the company's shares sharply lower in the final minutes of trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. So now you know why it’s so damn hard to satisfy these market makers who usually are the market mover.
Net income for the quarter was $19.2 million, or 11 cents per share, up from $11.5 million, or 7 cents per share, for the first quarter of 2006. Excluding certain expenses, income in the latest quarter was $50.7 million, or 28 cents per share.
Revenue for the quarter was $139.3 million, up 53 percent from $90.8 million in the year-ago period. Analysts expected earnings of 28 cents per share on $138.8 million in revenue, according to a Thomson Financial survey. Akamai shares mostly held steady throughout the day, but after the company released its earnings in late afternoon, they dived $5.62, or 10.3 percent, to finish at $48.97. Depending on the chart behavior during the first 45-minutes of trading, I might decide to reverse my position or convert it into spread. The stock could goes into worse territory since those investors who bid-up the Call options might decide to cover their position.
The same story goes to F5 Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: FFIV, stock). My position is in Put option (when it was bid-up the same way like Akamai) mainly due to the technical analysis that shows a stagnant rally since early of the year (2007). $80 bucks per share seems to be the strong resistance with $70 as the next resistance – the 1-year chart shows a very tired bull losing steam to the bear.
Malaysian Government So Rich It Rejects Tax-Payer's Declaration
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
AKAM and The Gang of Four – AAPL, CTXS, FFIV & FRK
After Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT, stock), Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT, stock) and Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH, stock) disappointed me, I hope (hey, sometime I can only predict whether it’ll beats earning but not the bottom line etc) my luck (who said you don’t need lucks to maximize your profit?) will change for the better. Anyhow, as an investor, you should still do your research on stocks’ fundamental and technical analysis.
Rating Indicators for AKAM:
Wall Street consensus : 0.28- StockScouter rating : 9 / 10
- Whisper Number for this stock : 0.31
- Schaeffer rating for this stock : 6 / 10
- Power Rating : 5 / 10
- Insider Trading (last 52 weeks) : ($38.65 M)
- Zacks Analysts Rating: Hold
- Option Trading: June 2007 55.00 Call
- Implied Volatility (IV) for June 2007 $55.00 Strike : 40.91%
Sales, Income & Growth - For the past 12-months, Akamai registered $428.67 Million in sales versus the industry’s $4.32 Billion. Income amounted to $57.40 Million against the industry’s $475.64 Million. While Akamai’s 12-months sales growth is at 51.4%, the income growth is in negative 82.50% (the same industry sector sales growth is at 25.80% and income growth of 119.30%).
Profitability & Financial Health – For the past 12-months, net profit margin is in the region of 13.4%. Akamai has a debt/equity ratio of 0.21 compare to industry’s ratio of 0.50.
Stock Resistance & Support Level – The resistance is at 59.69 (52-week high)while the first level support is at 52.44 (50-day moving average)
Risks – The ratio of AKAM's price-to-earnings multiple (160.20) to its five-year growth rate is above the average of all stocks.
Cramer believes both Apple Inc.’s (Nasdaq: AAPL, stock) and Akamai will be worth getting into ahead of their quarters - Apple as a play on its new iPhone and Akamai as a way to play streaming video.Akamai says that traffic generated by its SaaS (Software-as-a-service model) customers increased fivefold in the year ending January 2007. Let’s face the fact, SaaS can't work without a secure and reliable Web infrastructure to undergird it. SaaS up and coming Google (Nasdaq:GOOG, stock) could unleash a market that researcher Gartner says will triple to $19.3 billion by 2011 – which would put Akamai in the center of attention.
Furthermore demand for software-as-a-service is increasing as small and large businesses alike have become more and more frustrated by the lengthy deployment cycles and the costly maintenance of traditional software. By using the Akamai Web Application Acceleration solution for secure and reliable application acceleration, SaaS providers can confidently approach any enterprise regardless of their size and geographic distribution while reducing the operating costs associated with IT.
"We expect that Google's deal for Doubleclick will benefit public assets such as aQuantive, ValueClick, and possibly even Akamai, as there is a scarcity of high-quality assets combined with an aggressively consolidating sector," Scott Devitt, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus, said in a research note.
Other Stocks Under My Radar (for today’s after market closing target stocks):
- Florida Rock Industries, Inc. (NYSE: FRK) – can you believe I still keep this baby from my positions of the previous quarter pre-announcement? The volume is rather low for this stock.
There’re just too many potential and great companies going to announce their earning announcement this week. I just can’t cover all of them, so I’ll just choose based on stocks which I made money from it before – simply because I’m comfortable with it’s fundamental.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
PayPerPost Acquires Zookoda Instead
Zookoda is said to command a 10,000 blog customers sending emails to 2.3 millions people.PayPerPost might hopes to leverage on Zookoda which allows active bloggers to attract readers to return to their blogs regularly with the email newsletter concept. But provider such as feedburner is already providing such offering and is the leader in email-notifications for readers who subscribe for such feeds.
Why PPP is looking for something such as Zookoda which might not add much-value
to it's current blogger's database is beyond my imagination. EarlierStockTube wander too far away by suggesting that PPP might be courting something more imaginative such as Shozu in PayPerPost Acquired A Company - Who, Why & What? which I think makes more sense. Anyway, PPP might not have too deep a pocket for new acquisition. It seems PPP's management direction is to continue add blogger's size by acquiring companies with database of bloggers.Other Articles That May Interest You ...
Monday, April 23, 2007
Take A COACH of Luxury Accessories and Money Away
Rating Indicators for COH:
Wall Street consensus : 0.38- StockScouter rating : 9 / 10
- Whisper Number for this stock : 0.38
- Schaeffer rating for this stock : 6 / 10
- Power Rating : 5 / 10
- Insider Trading (last 52 weeks) : ($82.08 M)
- Zacks Analysts Rating: Moderate Buy
- Option Trading: June 2007 52.50 Call
- Implied Volatility (IV) for May 2007 $52.50 Strike : 31.39%
Sales, Income & Growth - For the past 12-months, Coach registered $2.40 Billion in sales versus the industry’s 
$7.25 Billion. Income amounted to $579.58 Million against the industry’s $739.66 Million. While Coach’s 12-months sales growth is at 26.5%, the income growth is in the region of 31.90% (the same industry sector sales growth is at 29.80% and income growth of 28.40%).
Profitability & Financial Health – For the past 12-months, net profit margin is in the region of 24.1%. Coach has a debt/equity ratio of 0.01 compare to industry’s ratio of 0.06.
Stock Resistance & Support Level – The resistance is at 53.81 (52-week high) while the first level support is at 49.86 (50-day moving average).
Risks – The price-to-earnings multiple, 35.20 is higher than the average industry level.
Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst David A. Schick expects "solid" results for the New York-based company. "We believe strong momentum from the holiday season continued through the third quarter, highlighted by the introduction of the Carly handbag group, new styles in the Hamptons and Soho collections and the introduction of fragrance (store checks indicate strong initial reception)," wrote Schick in an April 20 earnings preview. He affirmed his "Buy" rating, and raised his price target to $55 from $50.
Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Christopher Jones reiterated his "Buy" rating as well. He believed the company will "continue to create innovative products and distribute them through new and existing channels." Buckingham Research Group analyst David J. Glick predicted Coach will raise 2007 guidance during its earnings conference call on Tuesday.
Checks indicate Coach’s management is focusing on the high-end market and have introduced several items with higher prices than usually found in Coach stores. With it’s almost perfect 45-degrees chart, I couldn’t find a reason not to invest or trade the option of this luxury maker. What more, this stock has been beating earning estimate since 2002 (that’s 5 years in a row).Not many stock can do it, don’t you agree?
Can I EAT and Make Money At The Same Time?
Rating Indicators for EAT:
Wall Street consensus : 0.48- StockScouter rating : 5 / 10
- Whisper Number for this stock : N/A
- Schaeffer rating for this stock : 5 / 10
- Power Rating : 6 / 10
- Insider Trading (last 52 weeks) : ($12.16 B)
- Zacks Analysts Rating: Hold
- Option Trading: July 2007 30 Call
- Implied Volatility (IV) for July 2007 $30.0 Strike : 26.41%
Sales, Income & Growth - For the past 12-months, Brinker registered $4.28 Billion in sales versus the industry’s 
$12.09 Billion. Income amounted to $227.97 Million against the industry’s $1.53 Billion. While Brinker’s 12-months sales growth is at 6.3%, the income growth is in the region of 18.00% (the same industry sector sales growth is at 7.80% and income growth of 6.70%).
Profitability & Financial Health – For the past 12-months, net profit margin is in the region of 5.3%. Brinker has a debt/equity ratio of 0.45 compare to industry’s ratio of 0.51.
Stock Resistance & Support Level – The resistance is at 33.29 (50-day moving average) while the first level support is at 29.11 (200-day moving average).
Risks – The ratio of EAT's price-to-earnings multiple (18.7) to its five-year growth rate is above the average of all stocks. Shares are being heavily sold by financial institutions
Earlier in mid-Apr, competitor restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday Inc. reported on Wednesday a 5 percent drop in third-quarter net profit and lowered its profit and sales outlook for the year in part because sales this quarter have lagged expectations. The company, which operates a chain of bar-and-grill restaurants, said aggressive discounting by rivals (including Brinker) and frigid temperatures have kept customers away in recent weeks.
Just like Waters Corporation, Brinker has been consistently beat earning estimate from analysts since 2005. I believe this stock will beat earning again – simply because its’ competitors are losing out. My reason for trading option for Brinker is the same as YAHOO's Loss is GOOGLE's Gain -Time to Make Money plus for the simple reason people just can’t stop eating.
Waters Equal Money – Will This Stock Make Me Money?
Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT, stock) will announce its’ earning tomorrow, Apr-24-2007 (before market open). Waters Corporation (Waters) is an analytical instrument manufacturer. The Company operates in two business segments: Waters Division and TA Division (TA). Through its Waters Division, Waters designs, manufactures, sells and services high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), referred to as liquid chromatography (LC), and mass spectrometry (MS) instrument systems and support products, including chromatography columns and other consumable products.
Rating Indicators for WAT:
Wall Street consensus : 0.53- StockScouter rating : 8 / 10
- Whisper Number for this stock : 0.55
- Schaeffer rating for this stock : 6 / 10
- Power Rating : 5 / 10
- Insider Trading (last 52 weeks) : ($11.78 M)
- Zacks Analysts Rating: Moderate Buy
- Option Trading: Aug 2007 60 Call
- Implied Volatility (IV) for Aug 2007 $60.0 Strike : 22.48%
Sales, Income & Growth - For the past 12-months, Waters registered $1.28 
Billion in sales versus the industry’s $1.58 Billion. Income amounted to $222.2 Million against the industry’s $213.27 Million. While Water’s 12-months sales growth is at 10.50%, the income growth is in the region of 10.00% (the same industry sector sales growth is at 11.20% and income growth of 6.30%).
Profitability & Financial Health – For the past 12-months, net profit margin is in the region of 17.4%. Water has a debt/equity ratio of 2.49 compare to industry’s ratio of 0.39.
Stock Resistance & Support Level – The resistance is at 60.59 (52-week high) while the first level support is at 57.38 (50-day moving average).
Risks – The price-to-earnings multiple, 28.00 is higher than the average industry level.
Waters has seen revenues increase by more than 10% each year, and earnings per share by more than 15% a year. Much of its growth over the last three years can be attributed to its breakthrough Acquity UPLC (ultra performance liquid chromatography) machine. The product, which can cost from $150,000 to $600,000, enables drug companies to cut the analysis of a new chemical sample from some 60 minutes to 5.
Waters depends on demands from pharmaceutical company for its specialized lab equipment. Waters has been consistenly beats earning estimate since 2005. And based on its record, it should not have problem getting business from the companies.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
PayPerPost Acquired A Company – Who, Why & What?
In my previous blog which I wrote PayPerPost - Another Way to Make Pocket Money, I mentioned how PayPerPost bought over Performancing two important tools to further enhance its’ offerings. Leveraging on the tools, PayPerPost’s publishers and advertisers will have better report on visitors’ statistic. The acquisition will also drive traffic from the strong28,000 quality bloggers which will attracts more in terms of quality and quantity advertisers to PayPerPost’s market-place.
Now, PayPerPost has announced to its’ publishers or bloggers that it has acquired a companybut it wouldn’t tell which is it. To make things more interesting, PayPerPost opens up the guessing game to all it’s bloggers. OK, PayPerPost is not a giant like Google Inc.’s (Nasdaq: GOOG, stock) who has a deep pocket for basically any acquisition the money-making money likes. While Google has billions, PayPerPost might have only millions in its’ war-chest for acquisition.
Who is it?
I wish I know but it can’t be a listed company on the stock exchange. PayPerPost has the business model which leverage on both advertisers and publishers. An all three parties make profit in this win-win-win situation. PayPerPost basically has the mini Google’s Adsense or Yahoo Inc.’s (Nasdaq: YHOO, stock) Panama advertising model in place by now. The company acquired should be able to deliver the missing piece(s) that can bring further value to PayPerPost. My guess isPayPerPost has acquired ShoZu.
Why PayPerPost Acquired Shozu?
ShoZu provides the free service for anyone who has a phone to send and receive photos, videos and music anywhere anytime. With the acquisition, PayPerPost’s bloggers can do another thing –Video Blogging, a method of blogging which is gaining popularity. ShoZu allows you to capture videos or photos with your phone and upload it to the web instantly. You can add description and tags either before or after uploading the videos and photos. Your destination can be an email, a blog (such as Blogger and WordPress), a photo website (such as Flickr) or a video website (such as YouTube). The cool thing is whenever your friends comment on your online video or photo, ShoZu automatically forwards their comments to your phone of which you can reply direct from your phone. What more, ShoZu is FREE to download and use.
What does this mean for the Posties?
Posties will definitely benefits from such acquisition as he/she doesn’t need to hook-up to internet to do postings. Instead posties now can posts anywhere anytime from the phone. The volume of postings will definitely shoots-up many-fold and this could rival Google’s Bloggger (which also has the function to enable mobile-blogging). With such convenience, PayPerPost should not have problem getting more venture funding to expand and get ready their infrastructure for the flooding-volumes of postings.
PayPerPost - Another Way to Make Pocket Money
What attracted PayPerPost to purchase the selective assets of Performancing.com were two main tools namely Performancing Metrics and Performancing Exchange.
Performancing Metrics enable bloggers to track visitors statistic including blog comments, ads clickthrough and how Google Inc.’s (Nasdaq: GOOG, stock) money-making Adsense. On the other hand, Performancing Exchange is a brilliant tool which brings internet communities together enabling companies and other people who wish to employ professional bloggers to offer their service. The acquisition gave PayPerPost instant access to a pool of 28,000 quality bloggers who became PayPerPost customers.
PayPerPost which has recently raised $ 3 Million in venture funding is a company which business model depends on advertisers and bloggers who are also their members. Once a blogger registered as a member of PayPerPost, he/she will get paid for blogging. You can write about web sites, products, services, and companies and earn cash for providing your opinion and valuable feedback to advertisers.
Now, how can you make money online? If you’re a loyal (if you’re not, I hope you will become one) readers of StockTube, then logically you’re either have deep interest in stocks investing or option trading. This means you’re already an investor or a trader in the equity markets. If you’ve not started trading option or stocks, then you’re a newbies trying to understand more about the world of investing. You’ve to congratulate yourself for being able to trade online via internet at the current age, talk about the investment opportunity availale during your parent time.
But if you’re still not sure about investing in stocks or option, thinking the risks are too high, maybe you might want to make some little pocket-money from the internet by trying thePayPerPost program. What’s the risk? You might lose some of the time blogging if your posts are not accepted by PayPerPost. There're wide varieties of topics to choose from, ranging from technology, health, entertainment, business, free stuff, education etc. That’s your risk. What’s the requirement?
Your blog has to be at least 90 days old (that’s roughly 3 months)
- Your blog must be in English language
- Your blog must have at least 20 pre-existing posts
- Your blog must have no more than 30-day gap between posts in the past 90-days
- Your blog must not have violence or racial intolerance, pornography or adult content.
Once you have registered as PayPerPost member, what you need to do is wait (normally within 48 to 72 hours) for the approval. Once approve, you can start choose the opportunity from a list of advertisers. Some of them specifically require you to write positively about their program, product or services but some of them are neutral. If you’re evil enough you can write positive follows by negative things about them. But most of the advertisers want you to write sincere review. Some of them also want bloggers from specific geographical location only such as from United Kingdom or Australia. The minimum pay for each posts is USD$ 5.00 (RM 17) and you can take up a maximum of three posts per day.
So, if you’re interested, then sign-up here at PayPerPost or click on banner image below to register:
Do you notice a small bar at the bottom of each post within StockTube blog? It looks something like:
To take immediate advantage of a special opportunity, what you need to do is to write aboutStockTube’s post and earn USD$ 7.50. How else can it be any easier to make money than this? Yeah, I know it sounds like chicken-feed compare to your profit investing stocks or trading option. But as I said above, if it’s too early to start your investing or trading’s journey, why not earn some pocket-money blogging StockTube’s post while at the same time read and enjoy what I’ve blogged (almost on daily basis)?
Saturday, April 21, 2007
MoneyMaking Machine GOOGLE – Did You Make the Money
I actually checked the earnings calendar earlier (on Friday of the second week of Apr) but whenever you do that you’ll realize most of the earning dates are not
CONFIRMED. If you’ve been trading option, you’ll know what I mean. The stock which caught my eyes then was Citrix System Inc(Nasdaq: CTXS, stock) but somehow the earnings date has been changed to Apr-25-2007 (after market close) instead of earlier published Apr-18-2007.It’s a good practice therefore to develop a discipline of checking and re-checking the actual date of earning announcement.Google Inc. keeps giving Wall Street what it wants - scintillating earnings growth that eclipses analyst estimates quarter after quarter when it announced a 69 percent increase in first-quarter profit to surpass analyst projections by 38 cents per share. If not for expenses incurred for employee stock compensation, Google would have earned $3.68 per share, beating Thomson Financial estimate of $3.30 oer share.
Quarterly revenue reached a new company high of $3.66 billion, a 63 percent increase from $2.25 billion a year earlier. After subtracting advertising commissions and other payments to its partners, Google's revenue totaled $2.53 billion. That amount was about $40 million above analyst estimates.
Goldman Sachs analyst Anthony Noto restated his "Buy" rating and $620 price target for Google, saying he expects healthy growth for the year. The analyst raised his fiscal 2007 and 2008 earnings per share estimates to $15.10 and $19.50, respectively.
Looking at the chart, I’m hoping the support level of $482 will be formed as a strong basesoon. But with all the potential legal suits and complaints about Google being too big might create volatility to the Google’s stock. Already Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT, stock) and AT&T Inc.(NYSE: T, stock) are urging government regulators to block the DoubleClick deal as both are worried sick that Google will gain too much control over the online advertising market.And in case you’re wondering, nope, I’ve not close my position yet on Google June 2007 470 Call. I would like to see if it can re-test the $ 500 per-share level again (yeah, you can call me a greedy pig). Furthermore with more than 2 months to go, the time-decay has not kick-in yet, not in huge momentum yet. But as I blogged earlier in YAHOO's Loss is GOOGLE's Gain -Time to Make Money, this giant is a very risky stock to invest either in stock of option trading. In terms of gap-up value, this is the highest gap-up (a whopping $19 from Thursday’s closing to Friday’s opening) in the history of my blogging in StockTube. How can I not love this stock?
Other Articles That May Interest You ...
Thursday, April 19, 2007
YAHOO's Loss Is GOOGLE's Gain - Time to Make Money
In August 2006, it acquired Neven Vision, an online photo-search company. On October 10, 2006, it acquired the online video company, YouTube. In October 2006, it also acquired JotSpot. And the most recent is the acquisition of DoubleClick for a whopping $3.1 Billion
Google’s stock price has been trading in the tight range of between $ 461 and $ 475. As of current stock trading price, Google’s share price will either jumps above $ 475 or dive below $ 461 depending on it’s earning today (after closing bell). Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO, stock) traditionally provides the yardstick of how Google will performs. Yahoo’s loss will be Google’s gain and vice-versa, let’s look at some fundamental data on Google.
Rating Indicators for GOOG:
Wall Street consensus : 3.30- StockScouter rating : 7 / 10
- Whisper Number for this stock : 3.20
- Schaeffer rating for this stock : 5 / 10
- Power Rating : 5 / 10
- Insider Trading (last 52 weeks) : ($2.32 B)
- Zacks Analysts Rating: Moderate Buy
- Option Trading: June 2007 470 Call
- Implied Volatility (IV) for June 2007 $470.0 Strike : 28.18%
Sales, Income & Growth - For the past 12-months, Google registered 
$10.60 Billion in sales versus the industry’s $8.85 Billion. Income amounted to $3.08 Billion against the industry’s $2.34 Billion. While Google’s 12-months sales growth is at72.80%, the income growth is in the region of mind-boggling 110.00% (the same industry sector sales growth is at 57.40% and income growth of 88.80%).
Profitability & Financial Health – For the past 12-months, net profit margin is in the region of 29.0%. Google has a debt/equity ratio of zero compare to industry’s ratio of 0.03.
Stock Resistance & Support Level – The resistance is at 513.00 (52-week high) while the first level support is at 460.81 (50-day moving average).
Risks – The price-to-earnings multiple, 48.00 is higher than the average industry level. Previous day's closing price for GOOG was close to its 50-day moving average. Heavy insider selling especially by Schmidt Eric could put some concern on the stock price to some analysts.
Shares of search engine operator Yahoo Inc. sunk in heavy trading Wednesday, as several analysts restated ratings while showing concern over the company's Tuesday announcement that first-quarter earnings declined 11 percent. On Tuesday, Yahoo announced its first-quarter profit fell 11 percent to $142.2 million, or 10 cents per share, from $159.9 million, or 11 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
It’s always the competition between Yahoo and Google in the online advertising business. Yahoo’s Panama which is suppose to rival Google’s Adsense has been a failure so far in giving Google a run for its’ money. As long as Yahoo disappoints, Google should shines with the market automatically in its’ portfolio. Furthermore, out of 10 times, Google beats Whisper Number 8 times in the earning estimation. Please take note that investing Google's stock is always a risky business.
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Internet Investment's Get-Rich-Scheme You Should Avoid
“The public is advised not to make any investment with companies that are not licensed or approved by the SC,” the SC’s website said. The SC warned investors against the fraudulent investment scheme operated by Cambridge Capital Trading, which has thus far targeted Australian and Singaporean investors.
In February, the SC froze two Malaysian bank accounts amounting to RM1.6mil, closed two websites and questioned several individuals believed to be connected to a global Internet investment scam run by Cambridge Capital Trading.As for Gold Quest International or GoldQuest, it had its offices in Kuala Lumpur raided in 2000 by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry for allegedly operating an illegal scheme. News reports on the Internet said that GoldQuest was a company which lured investors into pyramid-style schemes where gold was the main commodity.
However if you are one of the many people who has been approached before by one of the above internet investment scheme, you might know that one of the high-profile scheme is Swiss Mutual Fund a.k.a. SwissCash. You might have heard that some of the people who actually believe and pump in money into this SwissCash consist of politicians or those with “Datuk” title who are crazy about get-rich-scheme.
But the Malaysia Securities Commission’s website which lists the 50 companies comprises out-dated info as the links are not accurate. For example SC alert web-site at this link said SwissCash’s website is www.swisscash.com or www.swisscash.biz but none of it works. Instead the real link should be www.swisscash.net. It simply shows how irresponsible and careless SC in their basic task in the effort to alert the people at large. A simple validation by SC’s staff to ensure all the links are the actual and working site should do the trick. But none of this is being carried-out.
SwissCash is perhaps one of the most attractive in their plan whereby you will earn USD 5,000 every 30 days with initial investment of USD 20,000. Their website claims the average return is25% to 45% per month, probably beating all the investment out there and putting Warren Buffett in shame.
A simple test will shows how legitimate SwissCash is by an email. I’ve sent an email just to ask how I can check if they have the license to operate by any of the countries or if they can provide some sort of financial reports. After numerous email and not a single response concludes that the company is not sincere in explaining to any queries posed to them.
5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Investing Proton Stocks
After the Crisis, economic was in a mess – property, banking, retails, automobiles and basically all sectors were in downtrend. People lost
almost all their savings investing in Malaysian stocks – or at least in paper-lost. People were holding from spending, simply because retrenchment which wasn’t heard before becomes the buzzword on the street. Needless to say, sales of automobiles took the nosedive.Then the former premier Mahathir decided to handover the baton to current Badawi. Instead of continueing his predecessor’s policies (which very much bending towards cronyism and nepotism), Badawi reverse and steer the country’s policies towards the other way. Not that the new direction becomes better but Malaysian had the choice of choosing new cars which at least better-equiped with basic security features such as air-bag and ABS (anti-braking-system). Most of the accidents happened on Malaysia road result in fatality due to the lack of safety features.
When Honda launched their new generation of 1.5-liter Honda City and Toyota their 1.5-liter Vios 4 years ago, it was selling like hot-cakes despite its’ higher price ranging from RM 78,888 to RM 85,000. Though the price is slightly higher than Proton’s model, many Malaysian consumers who were sick and tired of low quality and after-sales maintenance of Proton’s cars chose Honda and Toyota.
Having said that, should you as an investor consider investing in Proton’s stocks? I would conclude the following reasons as the justification to stay clear of Proton’s share, at least in short to medium term.
- Sales have been decreasing and will continue to slides. For the three months ended Dec-2006, Proton continues to register quarterly losses of RM 281.45 million (USD 82 million). In fact if you refer to the five-year financial highlight, the EPS (earning per share) demonstrates an excellent reverse-healthy trend – dropping consistently from 216 cents per share in 2002 to 8.5 cents in 2006. You can see the figures here. And we’ve not even open up 100% of the automobile’s market to the world. As an investor, would you invest in such a company?
- One of the basic fundamental rules in investing a company is to investigate their management prior to pump in your hard-earned money. Former premier Mahathir’s personal agenda aside, current Proton has indeed a very weak management team who couldn’t drive the organization to a better direction. Quality asides (not that they can do anything in improving it after more than 20-years in the automobile industry), Proton simply does not have a capable team to even produce attractive models. To survive in global automobile industry, you have to constantly produce new models for ever-demanding consumers. The most recent Proton Savvy and Gen2 were not successful in turning around the already sick company
- Proton does not have the innovative and know-how in designing an appealing models. Let’s face it, if the huge and expensive Proton team has half the creativity and design ability of Honda, Nissan or Toyota, Malaysian won’t be driving the still-in-production model launched more than 10-years ago. Hence the need to find a foreign partner such as Germany's Volkswagen (FRA: VOW) or U.S. car giant General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM,stock), of which the talk with Volkswagen already failed attributing to government reluctance to cede control to foreign hands.
- Political pressure will prevent premier
Badawi from giving up control of Protonfor as long as the ruling party relies on the Malay-votes (mostly work under Proton or its’ supply-chains payroll) to retains their power. You can argue until the cows come home that the operational costs will continue to soar but sales drops like there’s no tomorrow and such a justification is strong enough for a re-structuring in cost-cutting. In order to stay in power, nothing can be done to heal the wounds as the pride of retaining the Proton’s logo surpasses the conscious to re-vitalize the company. - Perodua, the second homegrown manufacturer of which Daihatsu Motor, a subsidiary of Toyota, owns a 51 percent stake, will continues to eat-up Proton’s cake in the affordable yet attractive models range. It’s Myvi model was a great success and top the best-selling model overtaking Proton.
Today, former premier Mahathir drop a bombshell stressing Malaysia must choose a domestic partner over a foreign company for ailing carmaker Proton to preserve its status as a national company. "If you sell to a foreign company, it will no longer be a national car. They have to sell to a local company," Mahathir, who is Proton advisor told reporters. Mahathir who oversaw the creation of the ailing carmaker in 1983 under his tenure as premier has singled out Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his administration for badly managing the company.
Its’ obvious Badawi is directionless on how to manage this national bleeding giant. The only way out and decision to make is obvious but it’s highly unlikey to be executed for political survival. This could be the only time Badawi and Mahathir share the same common interest.
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Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Crazy Promotion Starts – 500,000 Free Seat
Earlier, sources from top company executive said that AirAsia X, the long-haul budget airline set up by low-cost aviation pioneer Tony Fernandes, has delayed its takeoff, possibly until next year from the promised date of July 2007 (this year). The delay was said to be caused by higher leasing costs.
Tony launched Tune Hotels.Com recently which allows you to stay in a five-star hotel but pay as low as RM 9.99++ to RM 59.99++ per night. Just like Tony Fernandes successful low-cost carrier, AirAsia Berhad, Tune Hotels.Com will offers basic amenities such as a deluxe five-star bed by King Koil, 250-thread count white duvets, an ensuite "Power Shower" and a ceiling fan. For extra comfort, guests have the option to purchase items like towels and air-conditioning cards.
Whenever such promotion starts, people are just grumbling because they either can’t login to book due to heavy traffic or they are only able to login during peak hour. So, please follow the following tips to get your free seats:
- Best time to log on is between 1 - 7am (Malaysia Time)
- Tell your friends to rotate on shifts to log on to airasia.com
- Aoidd weekends and public holidays and try for mid week and mid day flights.
# TIP: Check Availability of Free Seats here
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Rushing Against Time-Decay - Take Profit on Ralph Lauren
Looking at the chart, Ralph Lauren didn't gap-up after earning announcement on Feb-1-2007 before-market-open as what I hoped for even though it beats earning. It registered earning of $1.03 versus estimated $0.92 cents per share. It could be due to the fact that once a stock (from the same sector) beaten and gapped-up (Estee Lauder announced earning earlier than Ralph Lauren and gapped up real nice), the rest of the stocks from the same sector could have experienced the effect of stock-uptrend. Thereafter the gap-up could be limited unless the earnings announcements are exceptionally fantastic.
Anyway, I'm not complaining based on the 100% profit I'm making from the two and a half months trading the option of this stock. Noticed that I deviate from the rule of buying option with minimum of more than 120 days to expiration? Well, sometimes the market sentiment of a particular stock would made you real confident of the fundamental of the stock. Hence I bought with less than the best-of-practice time-value. And needless to say, the time-decay kicked-in soon after (as you can see from the chart).
It took more than two months from the date of my entered position for the stock to breach higher over it's resistance level of $89. Based on Apr-16-2007 stock's performance and the way the Dow Jones behaved, I concluded that this is my last chance to take profit before time-decay eats further into my profit. Please note that the April-2007 expiration is days away.
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Sunday, April 15, 2007
Apple iPhone’s June Launching to Be Delayed?
Apple had never specified when in June the device would ship, but its wireless partner, 
AT&T(NYSE: T, stock), had been cited in published reports naming a June 11 target date, the same day of an Apple software developers conference.
Apple has hinted that making iPhone is no cake-making as it contains the most sophisticated software ever shipped on a mobile device. With two months or less to go before market release, a device such as iPhone would ordinarily be going through a heavy round of testing in preparation for volume manufacturing. The apparently sudden shift of personnel away from Leopard suggests that a late wrinkle has emerged – at least that’s what most analysts believe.
Richard Doherty, director and co-founder of the Envisioneering Group, says he's tested the phone and didn't uncover problems with it. So, the rumors were that Apple is actually working on fixing security holes as that’s the last thing Apple would like to have – a hacker attacks.
Since Apple hopes customers will use iPhone for online purchases, it wants to ensure iPhone operating system is more secure and powerful than existing mobile phone such as Microsoft Corp.’s (Nasdaq: MSFT, stock) Windows Mobile or Nokia Corporation’s (NYSE: NOK, stock) Symbian.
Another potential problem facing Apple’s team is the challenge to give iPhone sufficient battery life. The battery will have to be powerful enough to handle a variety of functions, but it must also be compact. There's a lot of skepticism about the iPhone's battery life especially when it is expected to have two batteries, one for the phone and the other for the music player. The phone battery, which is very small, would have to power a huge screen, Wi-Fi network connections, and many other power-hungry features.
Analysts are generally okay with a slight delay in Leopard and should the delay in launching of iPhone be announced, they are still bullish on Apple’s stock. It’s better to be late but delivers a well-tested iPhone rather than meet the deadline but giving customers a bug-riddled iPhone, which could be a disastrous. And knowing Steve Jobs, he would not want to tarnish the image of Apple and most importantly his name with an inferior product. Furthermore Microsoft Vista was late by 2-years.
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Saturday, April 14, 2007
Giant Google Flashes $3.1 Billion for DoubleClick
The sale of DoubleClick involved weeks of negotiation that included at one point Yahoo Inc.(Nasdaq: YHOO, stock), AOL and most importantly Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT, stock). Microsoft which has more cash than Google and trying to position itself as an advertising rival to Google was however outbid.
The acquisition will also strengthen Google’s position with respect to Yahoo, its chief rival in Internet search and advertising and a leader in the sale of display ads. Yahoo which has been trying to imitate Google’s online advertising program, Adsense, since 2005 has been so far disappointing as far as competing with Google is concern. It’s Panama project, said to be the ultimate weapon to challenge Google’s Adsense has been a failure so far. Yahoo advertising program is only applicable to online publisher and advertiser within U.S. while Google’s Adsense is available worldwide, well, almost.
Google made most of the money from basic online advertisement and the stock price has skyrocket to the $500 per share level not too long ago. But it lacks the strength which DoubleClick has, that is the flashy banner ads and video ads that are more like high-end magazine or television ads. DoubleClick on the other hand lacks the vast network of advertisers that Google has.
One attraction for Google was DoubleClick’s new exchange that brings Web publishers and advertising buyers together on a Web site where they can participate in auctions for ad space.
The sale raises questions about how Google will manage its existing business and that of the new DoubleClick unit while avoiding conflicts of interest. If DoubleClick’s existing clients start to feel that Google is using DoubleClick’s relationships to further its own ad network, some Web publishers or advertisers might jump ship.
Most of DoubleClick’s clients are locked into long-term contracts to keep using DoubleClick. And DoubleClick’s chief executive, David Rosenblatt, said in an interview last night that the company would protect its ability to remain neutral with its clients. “We are exquisitely sensitive to our role as Switzerland,” Mr. Rosenblatt said. “In the simplest sense, they bought customer relationships, and they’re primarily focused on making sure not only are those relationships preserved but that they are enhanced and made better.”
DoubleClick generated about $300 million in revenue and $50 million in earnings before interest, depreciation and taxes last year, mostly from providing ads on Web sites. While some suggested that $3.1 billion was a high price for DoubleClick others said Google was buying far more than DoubleClick’s cash flow. And, Google has plenty of cash to spare. At the end of last year it had $11.24 billion in cash and marketable securities.
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Friday, April 13, 2007
New World’s Second Richest Person - SLIM
In the two months since Forbes calculated its 2007 wealth rankings, the 67-year-old Slim's fortunerose $4 billion to
$53.1 billion, while Buffett's holdings slipped to $52.4 billion as of March 29. In the 2007 rankings released March 8 - but prepared almost a month earlier - Forbes had listed Slim as the world's third-richest man and estimated Gates' fortune at $56 billion.Slim said shortly afterward that he wasn't concerned about his ranking or taking over the top spot, but he expressed differences with Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A, stock), and Gates. "It's not about having who knows how many bonds, to spend them on whatever one wants or live it up all year," said Slim, an engineer who wears modest suits and whose main indulgence appears to be expensive cigars. "I don't have apartments abroad. I don't have a house abroad."
Slim, who owns Mexico's dominant phone company and has holdings throughout Latin America, said his vision of a businessman's role in the world is at odds with that of Buffett, who announced last year he would donate $1.5 billion every year to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "It's very interesting, because he leaves those who are running his affairs the responsibility of being very profitable," Slim said of Buffett. "If they're inefficient or don't get real-term returns, they're not going to be running anything."
"Our concept is more to accomplish and solve things, rather than giving - that is, not going around like Santa Claus," Slim said."Poverty isn't solved with donations."
It’s kind of philosophical opinion, isn’t it? Without generous donations, other not-so-lucky people will not have the opportunity to change their life for the better (a donation to a bright but poor student might makes a difference). We might not have a healthier life or longer life expectancy if not for some philanthropists who donated into R&D (research and development) in health sector.
But on the other hand if the donations are not properly handled and channeled for continuous mankind benefits, it could be mis-used or worst still, generate a false impression that the money donated would lasts forever – creating a lazy and un-creative society.
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Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Why You Should Investing Genting Stock - Perception Game
Genting’s share price rose as high as RM9.95 in early trade, which was RM1.10 or 12.4% above the reference price of RM8.85. It closed at RM9.25, up 40 sen with 11.55 million shares traded. Resorts rose to a high of RM4.06, up 12.15% or 44 sen from its reference price of RM3.62. It ended the day at RM3.80, up 18 sen with 17.99 million 
shares done.
The call warrants of Genting and Resorts also closed higher. Genting-CA closed four sen higher to 41 sen, Genting-CB 4.5 sen to 24.5 sen, Genting-CC five sen to 21 sen and Genting-CD six sen to 13.5 sen. Resorts-CA gained seven sen to 40.5 sen while Resorts-CB increased five sen to 19 sen
The share split of one 50-sen share into five 10-sen shares had made the counters more accessible to retail investors. In the past, its share price of around RM40 made it difficult for retail investors to buy into as a lot of 100 shares would cost RM 4,000. The surge in share prices was also liquidity driven as there were more shares in the market. The number of Genting shares became 3.69 billion while Resorts has 5.61 billion shares after the exercise.
In terms of valuation, Resorts, which is a pure play in gaming and casino operations, is still trading at a lower price to earnings ratio (PER) of 21.7 times compared with other casino operators at other bourses at PER ranging from 25 times to 30 times. Genting is also cheaper as it was trading at 21 times, even though its current PE is above its historic 15 times. Singapore-listed while Genting International (SIN:G13) was trading at 87 times, Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS, stock) 71.4 times, MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM, stock) 33.3 times and Harrah Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: HET, stock) 30.48 times.
Since the perception of the majority is that Genting and Resort stock is more “affordable”, the stocks are expected to see continue buying. Accept the fact that there’re not many good fundamental stocks with good business with excellent management plus a proven model which can generate good return for investors in Malaysia. So for those who’re looking for stocks as their investment tool, both stocks especially Genting will be their ultimate choice.
# TIP: Investing Genting in stages for a better average price if you’re looking for long-term investment of which the stock has global exposure.
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Forever U-Turn Policies – Affecting Foreign Investors
In a statement on April 11, PPBOP said according to BNM, the resident, individual or corporation with or without domestic ringgit borrowing was free to reinvest foreign currency dividends, profits and proceeds from the sale of
overseas investments.Earlier Bank Negara tried to play smart by imposing rule that says Malaysian resident shareholders ofPPB Oil Palms Bhd (KLSE : PPB, stock-code : 6823), PGEO Sdn Bhd and Kuok Oils & Grains Pte Ltd (KOG), which would be acquired by Wilmar International Ltd via a share swap, must repatriate all dividends, profits and proceedsfrom the disposal of the Wilmar shares.
BNM's condition raised eyebrows as it was seen to be inconsistent with its broad policy that has seen quite deliberate liberalisation moves recently of the foreign exchange administrative policies. Pursuant to the easing of capital controls, effective April 1, 2005, Malaysians were allowed to invest abroad any amount if they do not have any domestic credit facilities. Previously, anyone who wanted to take out more than RM 10,000 needed BNM's approval.
This U-Turn is seen as an approval for Malaysian shareholders to keep their money in Singapore. Obviously the relationship between current Malaysian and Singapore government is the main glue that changes the ridiculous policy imposed earlier. Should former premier Mahathir were still in power, he’ll do anything within his iron-fist rule to punish the shareholders. But why would the Malaysian government made the earlier decision to impose only to reverse at a later stage? Does this means the whole government machineries do not work in one direction as far as major decision-making is concern? You can’t say one thing now and say another thing later. This is not the way business is conduct – what more with foreign investors who are holding billions of dollars to invest in this region (stocks investing or conventional businesses) wish to make decision fast without much time to waste with a country flooded with kid’s rules and regulations.
Who is the main person or department within Malaysia that can make such similar vital decision? Bank Negara (Central Bank), Deputy Minister of Finance, Minister of Finance (Prime Minister himself) or third person with invinsible hand giving instruction? It can’t be the Prime Minister himself who imposed the rule earlier as he was, well, busy with problems related to Proton Holdings Bhd(KLSE: PROTON, stock-code, 5304). Could it be the highest political-person from Singapore who actually expressed his dissatisfaction that pressure Malaysian premier to reverse Bank Negara’s earlier decision? How could foreign investors invest confidently in Malaysia without having to worry what the government will impose the next day? Can’t the Malaysia government ever grows-up and stand tall together with other countries who have been behaving professionally?
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Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Does Volkswagen Chief Wants to Meet Badawi?
"I have not seen him yet," Abdullah told reporters in reply to a question on whether he had met the chairman of the German carmaker. "He has not made his appearance here. I don't think I can wait too long ... I can't be waiting 
forever, don't you think so?" Pressed for the date of a meeting, Abdullah said, "I will not tell you when." Yeah right, I bet he doesn’t have a clue on when this piece of problem could ever be solved himself. And I think the right statement should be"Does Volkswagen's Chief wants to meet Badawi at the first place?"
Industry sources said talks between Volkswagen and the Malaysian government had been bogged down over several issues, including Volkswagen's reluctance to assume Proton's debts.Could this be the main obstable with Peugeot earlier on? I bet it is one of the factors. I mentioned one of the factors here because I’m pretty sure the Proton management would set some other ridiculous conditions which could not be thought of by developed countries such as German or France (whether you like it or not they are superior to Malaysia mentality).
Proton Chief Executive Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamad Tahir said at the weekend that a decision on Proton's 
foreign partner should be made quickly but not hastily. "The main issue is that the government's and the country's objectives should be met," news agency Bernama quoted him as saying. And what are the objectives being set? Getting foreigners to pump in their money to save the inefficient and badly managed Proton after which the German can pack their things off? Ask the German to transfer their Mercedez Benz technology know-how and technical skills into the Proton’s forever inferior-mentality? Even if the foreigner are willing to teach (out of sympathy), the question remains if the Proton is capable to learn and master the skills of producing quality and profitable automobiles.
French car maker France's PSA Peugeot-Citroen (EPA : UG) had also explored a tie-up with Proton before calling off the talks last month, saying it was not economically viable to co-produce cars with the Malaysian company. Chances are the conditions set by Proton are being re-used and presented on the table for both Peugeot and Volkswagen. Proton stock price closed down 1.5 percent at 6.55 ringgit.
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Monday, April 09, 2007
Warren Buffett’s New Taste in Railroad Stocks
Berkshire’s 39,027,430 shares in BNI are worth $3.23 billion based on the stock’s closing price on Apr-5-2007. The stock price of BNI jumped $3.03 before market open today, Apr-9-2007, after the disclosure – creating a clean profit of $118 million. Isn’t it easy to make money with money? BNI is the second largest railroad after Union Pacific
Corporation (NYSE: UNP, stock). Shares of companies often get a boost when Berkshire discloses investment stakes.It was not known why Berkshire purchased the stake, Reuters reported. Mr. Buffett, in his Feb. 28 letter to Berkshire shareholders, named 17 companies in which Berkshire, based in Omaha, owned at least $700 million of common stock. He declined at the time to itemize two other companies in which Berkshire owned $1.9 billion of stock “because we continue to buy them. I could, of course, tell you their names. But then I would have to kill you.”
Burlington Northern said on Thursday that first-quarter profit would be cut to about 96 cents a share because of $80 million of charges for environmental costs and the write-off of a technology system. Berkshire’s total common stock investments totaled $61.5 billion at year end 2006.
Earlier this year, the Korean steelmaker Posco rose 3.1 percent, the British retailer (LON: TSCO) gained 2.1 percent and the health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE: UNH, stock) advanced 3.8 percent on their first respective trading days after Berkshire revealed sizable stakes.
CNBC reporter notes that besides Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., Warren Buffett has invested in another North American railroad yet to be disclosed. The reporter mentionsCSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX, stock), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC, stock), Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP, stock) and Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE: CNI, stock) as possibilities. All the stocks mentioned jumped in pre-market and expected to be in volatile mode pending Warren’s announcement. As long as Buffett keep mum on the company, all these stocks will be heavily speculated.
Last week, Canadian National Railway Co. said its first-quarter earnings per share would decline 5 to 10 percent because of weather and a conductors strike earlier in the period. Investors also absorbed Norfolk Southern Corp. profit warning from after the bell Wednesday blaming declining automotive and housing-related freight. It makes sense for Warren to buy during current railroad recession in tandem with buy low sell high rule.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Looking For a New Job? Take a Look at GOOGLE
Depending on what you’re looking for in your new job, you can’t miss the fact that finding a job which is both satisfying and well-paid is getting difficult nowadays. Sometime you simply do not know if the new job is what you’re looking for – you just need to join the company and over a period of time only will you be able to judge if you’ve found what you’re looking for.
However most of us will not think twice about high-profile MNC (multi-national-company) as the perception is that if the company is so big and has presence in multi-countries, it has to be good – well, at least the perks should be good. And one of these high-profile companies which still received thousands of applications per-day is non other than Google Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOG, stock).
Once you’re part of the Google’s payroll, you’re known asGoogler. Google hire great people and encourage them to make their dreams a reality – there’s something call 20% policy whereby Googlers are encourage to spend 20% of their time to do their own personal project(s).
Some of the “Life at Google” that you might want to read are:
- Benefits of working at Google
You can browse what are the jobs opening at Google by searching it here. The lists of opening range from human resources to product management. The jobs opening cover other global sites from Asia Pacific to Europe, Middle East and Africa.
# TIP: to get a feel of an inside look at Google, you can watch a 7-minute-video.
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Investing Technology Stock - Turn Green Packet to Greenbacks
RSI has climbed to about 66% and Stochastic shows a good sign of cross-over. It closed at RM 5.25 which is also the day’s high with good volume. This is one of the stocks in Malaysia whichtraded along the uptrend line with great “discipline”. A 1-year chart shows theresistance is strong at RM 5.80. The ratio of bulls againsts bears is 850 Bulls : zero Bears.
Green Packet is one of the quality companies which successfully put Malaysia map on the globe with its’ R&D in networking spanning in locations such as Cupertino, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai. Probably one of its’ most success stories is the recognition of the clients such as China Telecommunications Corporation, Intel China, Lenovo Group (HKG: 0992), Panasonic and Maxis Communications Berhad (KLSE: MAXIS , stock-code 5051).It attracted the former CEO of TMNet Sdn Bhd, Michael Lai to join Green Packet as the new CEO of its global marketing arm Green Packet International Sdn Bhd effective Jan 15 2007. Being one of the most successful Mesdaq-listed companies, Jeddah-based Saudi Economic and Development Co (SEDCO) agreed to buy 10% stake for about RM 91 million at RM 2.47 per-share. The entry of SEDCO is said to create the springboard for Green Packet to penetrate Middle East wireless networking and telecommunications market.
Green Packet solutions such as SONaccess, SONbuddy, and SONmetro are said to be well-received by ICT-hungry countries such as Saudi Arabia and beyond. Middle East on average are paying RM430 and RM550 a month for only 256 kilobytes per second of broadband connectivity compare to RM40 in Malaysia.With good management and leader such as Chan Cheong Puan it’s not surprising that Green Packet Berhad become the most profitableand has the largest market capitalisation of more than RM 1.6 billion amongst companies listed on Malaysia’s technology market. Convinced of the opportunities of wireless networking technology convergence, Mr Puan founded Green Packet in the Silicon Valley of California in 1999 to boldly forge ahead in the wireless world to develop products to provide a seamless and universal platform for the delivery of user-centric multimedia communication and services regardless of the nature and availability of the backbone infrastructure.
Green Packet Berhad, has posted a pre-tax profit of RM17.92 million on the back of a revenue of RM43.13 million for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2006. Net profit after tax and minority interest was 43.61% higher at RM15.33 million, translating into an EPS (earnings per share) of 3.67 sen per 10 sen share. For the full year ended 31 December 2006, pre-tax profit surged 84.92% to RM58.73 million. This came on the back of a 151.23% jump in revenue to RM98.93 million. The full year earnings are the highest recorded to date. Together with the 10.53 sen EPS (earnings per share) posted in the first nine months of the year, the latest 3.67 sen in Q4 adds up to 14.20 sen per 10 sen share for the financial year ended 31 December 2006.
According to data compiled by Bloomberg, analysts expect Green Packet's net profit to rise to about RM79 million and RM159 million in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The firm had some RM300 million cash in hand as of the end of 2006. Foreign investors particularly like Green Packet due to its’ extensive R&D, global presence and excellent management.Of the four companies awarded the much awaited WiMAX licenses, perhaps only Green Packet can delivers and deploy the technology although I still miss DIGI.com Berhad (KLSE: DIGI , stock-code 6947) who lost twice in its’ bid for 3G and WiMax in Malaysia. You can’t find another listed company in Mesdaq which can rival this stock.
# TIP: If you’ve appetite for technology stock in Malaysia, consider investing in Green Packet stock. Wait till it fell just above the uptrend-line. This Green Packet might turns your Ringgit into Greenbacks.
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Friday, April 06, 2007
Should You Concern with Googlezon?
Google is still the number one search engine drawing more clicks, cash and users from the advertisement’s revenue leaving Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO, stock) and Microsoft Corp.(Nasdaq: MSFT, stock) behind eating its’ dust.
Consumers love Google's simplicity and results, which is why it draws 56% of all searches. And advertisers willingly hand-over some $10.6 billion into Google’s coffer in 2006, a mind-boggling increment of 73% from 2005. Already Google has market capitalization of $144 billion, bypassing the combination value of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX, stock), Viacom, Inc. (NYSE:VIA, stock), CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS, stock) and The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT, stock).
From the monopoly in internet advertisement, Google switch direction and attacks the traditional markets of newspapers, magazines, radio and television. Google is so rich (it has $11 billion of cash ready to be fired) that it gave Bill Gates’ Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT, stock) a run for its’ money by offering a suite of online office software for a small fraction of the price of Microsoft Office. It also provides free wireless internet access giving telecom players endless sleepless nights.
The nine-year-old company was publicly traded only less than three years ago in Aug-19-2004 but it’s the most talked about company in the current age. A year ago, Google was rumored to be jumping into personal computer business. Then you heard about Google’s cell phone and more to come.
Google has the financial and the attraction to pull most of the top brains into it’s payroll – this includes pinching some of the top mathematicians from Microsoft. Till today Google still receives thousands of resume daily from applicants hoping to join the powerhouse. While it doesn’t show any sign of slowing down in eating up market share, it’s fierce and awesome capability worries some people.
"That much money and power concentrated in one place can be dangerous … Google's vast network, now a substantial piece of the Internet itself, is very quickly becoming vital national security infrastructure" says Dyson, who sometimes advises the Defense Dept. on potential threats.
So, is Google too powerful? That’s the question everyone is asking but is equally divided on the answer itself. For investors who make a living trading option or investing shares, Google is their darling stock which made them tons of money. One thing for sure, I can’t live without Google myself even today. Can you?
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Malaysia's Policy - Now You See It, Now You Don't
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Malaysian Government Trying to Silent Bloggers
Bloggers in Malaysia will soon be required to register with the authorities in a move that the government hope to curb the spread of malicious content on the net. The news from the local newspaper, theStar, immediately sparks outcries from web writers.
Using national security as the excuse, a deputy minister told parliament that the ruling might be imposed on bloggers using locally hosted Web sites. Malaysia has promised it would not censor the Internet but has said bloggers were not above the law if they "disrupt peace and harmony".
Despite being the leader in recognizing the information technology and internet as the next business platform for the country with the establishment of MSC (Multimedia Super Corridor), it’s amazing to have ministers or deputy ministers who act and behave as if they’re from an illiterate country who does not know how internet works.Bloggers said the plan to limit Malaysian-based sites was unworkable, as writers would simply move their content to Web sites outside the country.
"Do they even understand how blogs work … Any time today, any number of the 11 million Internet users in Malaysia can register with Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG,stock) Blogger or Wordpress or any of the blogging Web sites and there is nothing they can do about it … None of them need to ask permission to blog of anyone. This is why blogs are popular” Marina Mahathir, an active blogger and outspoken daughter of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad wrote on her blog.
Earlier, the New Straits Times, the country's oldest and pro-government newspaper, filed suits in January against two bloggers, one of them a former employee, over numerous postings in their blogs attacking top company officials. The suit is the first case of bloggers being sued for libel in Malaysia.
Hiding under the name of national security is the normal reasons used by Malaysia government to restrict or contain any people or elements which seen to be a threat to the ruling party. Malaysians are always seen as people who are quite obedience and demonstation are something which is very rare before the internet age. But with the booming of the cyber-age and the arrests of former deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, people started to show their capability in organizing peaceful demonstration to voice their dissatisfaction.
Internet has created the bourderless world with information travels at lightning speed. Malaysian government who are used to work under excessive bureaucracy with great inefficiency is caught pants-down with the new world of cyber-generation. The new rule (if implemented) will only chase away all the bloggers to switch their platform to overseas while the local hosting provider will be the next group of people who’ll have to close-shop.
After text blogging, the video-blogging is gaining popularity now. The technology for a blogger to shoot a video and upload it immediately to his/her blog is already here. The blogging platform can be thousands miles away but the blogger could be anyone walking along the streets of Malaysia. With more and more sophisticated method of blogging appearing, the Malaysian government’s new rule is merely wasting time and resources.
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Will RHB Falls to Foreigners or Sleeps With CIMB?
After opening a new Scotiabank branch outside of Kuala Lumpur, one of four new outlets recently approved by Malaysia's central bank, its’ senior vice-president for Asia Pacific Michelle Kwok said“We are always interested in opportunities to expand our presence, especially in a market like Malaysia. If it aligns with our bank's strategy, we are open to discussion."
After a successful $3.68 billion bid for parent companies RHB Capital (RHBCAP: stock-code 1066) and Rashid Hussain Bhd (KLSE: RHB, stock-code 1309) last month, Malaysian state pension fund EPF (Employees Provident Fund) is at the stage of finding strategic equity partner with intention to sell down as much as 35 percent.
Today, Reuters reported that EPF might see CIMB Bank, an investment bank of Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Berhad (KLSE: COMMERZ, stock-code 1023) as a new partner to merge both RHB Bank and CIMB Bank to rival Malaysian largest bank Malayan Banking Berhad (KLSE:MAYBANK, stock-code 1155). RHB Bank with its’ 200 branches nationwide would be a good fit to CIMB as its’ strong presence in retail banking will add weight to CIMB’s investment and wholesale banking.
The merger of CIMB Bank and RHB Bank will create a new giant with combined assets of $ 70 billion. An announcement of such merger within short-time period might be out of question as RHB Bank has yet to be re-structured to solve its’ huge debts. But then with the brother of deputy Prime Minister Najib at the helm of CIMB, such a possibility cannot be rule-out in a country like Malaysia where politic and business are like twin brothers.
Besides the above two potential marriage partner, EPF is said to be flirting with other partners such as Kuwait Finance House ( KFH ), British banks Barclays (LON: BARC) and Royal Bank of Scotland (LON: RBS).
Who do you think EPF will sleep with? Please do not forget CIMB managed to launch the successful hostile take over of Southern Bank (one of the remaining and most profitable Chinese-based banks in Malaysia) recently despite rejection from its founder. But the rumor in the market is that thedeputy Prime Minister is not getting along well with premier Badawi. So strong was the rumor that the deputy Prime Minister has to call a press-conference to deny it. In Malaysia’s politic, you’ll never know the ultimate winner till the last minute as the stories and the games could easily beat Hollywood’s box-office should it be made a film.
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Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Survival Series - Proton Downsize While PM Waiting
Today, the Prime Minister confirmed that he’s waiting to meet German giant Volkswagen AG’s (FRA: VOW) chief. Just like what one of StockTube's readers commented, it’s rather strange for a head of a country to meet a top official from a company over the fate of Proton. It shows how critical the Proton has reached in terms of its’ illness. Though it has been played down by
certain politician (the deputy Prime Minister, Najib brushed off the dead-line as something which is not so vital), the anxiety shown by Badawi points to a different story altogether.If only Badawi is not the Prime Minister, he could be flying all the way to Germany just to meet and beg Volkswagen to re-consider its’ decision to call-off the talk (though it has been denied that the talk was over). Due to protocol, the Volkswagen chief has no choice but to fly-in instead – thoughhe’s taking his own sweet time to meet the premier.
The whole episode also shows how incapable of the local car manufacturer’s chief at the negotiation table. Proton clearly doesn’t have a capable and strong leader who can drive the company, not only from the business perspective but most importantly the negotiation skills to command the best deal possible for its’ own survival.
At almost the same time (today), Proton Holdings Bhd (KLSE: PROTON, stock-code, 5304) announced it is on track to downsize its network of dealers throughout the country by 20% by end-June. Its’ managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Syed Mohamed Tahir said Proton had made progress in the rationalisation of its dealers as part of initiatives rolled out to enhance the operational efficiency, cost competitiveness and value to customers – a very flowerish and jargon language which doesn’t actually tells the true picture of the real situation of Proton. What can you expect from such a high-level corporate figure who doesn’t take the initiative to understand the real pain of the company but confined within the four air-conditioned walls?
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Tuesday, April 03, 2007
StockTube Migrated to New Google Blogger
Once I migrated minutes ago, I noticed some new features (or new problems?) - amongst them theLabel where you can assign labels for your posts, such as stocks, investing, option trading etc. I need to check the "I accept the Terms of Service" (refer to diagram above) everytime I need to load an image though. Also I noticed something very interesting - there's option whereby you can set the posting date and time (I haven't tried it though). So if you know that you'll be away on 1-week holiday to Maldives (check for potential tsunami strike please) and you do not wish to treat your loyal readers with a plate of spider-webs, then you can prepare some topics in advance and schedule it to be posted according to the date and time desired. It will makes your blog as if it's updated on daily basis.
Another goodies is you can add Newsreel and Video Bar widgets with your new Blogger template. Also, you'll noticed the URL for new Blogger platform starts with www2.blogger.comwhile the ld one remains with www.blogger.com (noticed the difference?). Cool, but I really hope Google has solved all the problems faced during the beta period and their support team is more proactive this time whenever publisher like us seek their assistance.
# TIP: If you've migrated to the new Google Blogger, you need to remember that you login with your Google Account which is equivalent to your GMail account. You need to type in full, for example, stocktube@gmail.com and not the previous stocktube as your login username.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
PM Badawi Anxious to Meetup With Volkswagen?
There were almost 400 Proton dealers nationwide, which was far too many for a single brand, causing the sales to be spread thin. It was reported the dealers suffered a nine per cent drop in sales with losses amounting to RM 240,000 last year. Every dealer has to sell between 35 and 40 cars a month to sustain their operations but since last year they could sell only between 10 and 15 cars a month.
Right after Volkswagen Bids Farewell to Proton, it was reported that Malaysian Prime Minister Badawi was pushing into higher gear and anxiously arranging for a meetup with top officials from German giant Volkswagen AG (FRA: VOW) over the future of ailing national automaker Proton. Malaysia missed a Saturday deadline to name a strategic partner for Proton but the deputy Prime Minister Najib was reported as saying “It doesn’t matter”.
Earlier this month, negotiations with French car giant PSA Peugeot-Citroen (EPA: UG) collapsed in what has turned into a long running saga to find a partner for the struggling Malaysian company. Proton posted a third consecutive quarterly loss of 281.45 million ringgit (80.40 million dollars), in the three months to December compared with a net profit of 86.51 million ringgit a year earlier.
Would the Malaysian government back down from its’ ridiculous conditions thinking the giant carmakers will help turnaround the sick Proton free-of-charge? While Proton is in desperate for a strategic partner who can help the national carmaker, the foreign partners, meanwhile, are dragging and buying time to get the best deal possible. Such scenario shows how fragile Proton is in the small market of less than 30 million population of Malaysia. It has tried to expand/export to overseas such as Britain and Australia but due to its’ weak quality, it only stands better than Yugoslavia’s car in one of the study.
It was said that the buyers from Malaysia themselves are avoiding the car (if possible) which besides costing higher than an export version, it lacks the basic safety features such as airbag or ABS – which are the main factors contributing to high road fatalities in the country. With the slight liberalization of foreign cars recently, Proton which enjoyed the bias protection in terms of ridiculous high import-tax prior has suddenly collapse in sales.
So, will Volkswagen, the most potential partner so far, is willing to resume talk with Proton now that the Prime Minister himself is putting the matter as top priority? Will Proton losses its shine in terms of either the brand-name or controlling stake or even the possibilities of major restructuring involving retrenchment?
Google’s Latest April Fool Service – TiSP Free WIFI
Users who sign up online for the TiSP system will receive a full home self-installation kit, which includes a spindle of fiber-optic cable, a TiSP wireless router, installation CD and setup guide.Home installation is a simple matter of GFlushing™ the fiber-optic cable down to the nearest TiSP Access Node, 
then plugging the other end into the network port of your Google-provided TiSP wireless router. Within sixty minutes, the Access Node's crack team of Plumbing Hardware Dispatchers (PHDs) should have your internet connection up and running.
Installing a typical home TiSP system is a quick, easy and largely sanitary process -- provided you follow these step-by-step instructions very, very carefully:
Step 1: Remove the spindle of fiber-optic cable from your TiSP installation kit.- Step 2: Attach the sinker to the loose end of the cable, take one safe step backward and drop this weighted end into your toilet.
- Step 3: Grasp both ends of the spindle firmly while a friend or loved one flushes, thus activating the patented GFlush™ system, which sends the weighted cable surfing through the plumbing system to one of the thousands of TiSP Access Nodes
Step 4: When the GFlush is complete, the spindle will (or at least should) have largely unraveled, exposing a connector at the remaining end. Detach the cable from the spindle, taking care not to allow the cable to slip into the toilet.- Step 5: Plug the fiber-optic cable into your TiSP wireless router, which has a specially designed counterweight to withstand the centripetal force of flushing.
Step 6: Insert the TiSP installation CD and run the setup utility to install the Google Toolbar (required) and the rest of the TiSP software, which will automatically configure your computer's network settings.- Step 7: Within sixty minutes - assuming proper data flow - the other end of your fiber-optic cable should have reached the nearest TiSP Access Node, where our Plumbing Hardware Dispatchers (PHDs) will remove the sinker and plug the line into our global data networking system.
- Step 8: Congratulations, you're online! (Please wash your hands before surfing.)
Japan’s Muji Can Succeed With “No Logo”, Can Malaysia?
When Japan's Ryohin Keikaku Co. opens a 5,000-sq.-ft. store for its Mujirushi Ryohin - or Muji - brand inside the New York Times Tower sometime later this year, it will raise an intriguing question. Can a “no-logo” brand win mass-market appeal in the rough and tumble U.S. retailing sector? Muji's success in Japan and Europe suggests it might play well in the U.S.
Since 2002, the brand, which translates from Japanese as “No Brand, Quality Products,” has tested the U.S. market with a limited selection of its 7,000 products at stores run by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Among Muji's biggest boosters are consumers who are tired of in-your-face logos and over-the-top designs.
And yet, Muji isn't just another generic brand. The company taps notable designers such as Sam Hecht, Jasper Morrison, and Naoto Fukasawa to create products, which gives it street cred with the“designerati.” Its policy of using recyclable materials appeals to eco-friendly types. Plus, the company also has cultivated a consumer-friendly image by tapping into an online community of diehard fans who vote on new product designs, offer feedback for design modifications, or protest when the company discontinues a product they can't get elsewhere. Here's a look at a few of Muji's products. Some may be headed stateside soon.
Product developers at Ryohin Keikaku actually asked for ideas from consumers with the prototype so that it can modify it further to suit the majority consumers. Take an example ofbedside lamp; it resembles an airplane sickness bag and has hole at the top so it can be carried by hand or hung on a doorknob. Inside is a warm-colored fluorescent light powered by rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries. Once removed from its recharging stand, the lamp will stay lit for an hour.
Another great design is the lightweight and collapsible speakers which have a shell that's made of cardboard. They can be easily disassembled, and the plastic envelope they're sold can be reused as a pouch to tote the speakers around.
Such are the great designs and innovations from a nation which managed to lock-in the best-brain to bring a country to a greater height. It’s the strangest thing ever happen to country such as Malaysia which has abundance of great brains but chose to kick them away to the welcome arm of other countries; simply because they are not the Malay-ethnic or Bumiputra. Will the government ever understand that in order to stand tall and sit on equal height with developed countries such as U.S. and Japan, human capital is the most important ingredient?
When you depend heavily on commodity export for the last 50-years since independence without sign of seeing the light of becoming a technology and innovative country which has the ability to develops your own IP (Intellectual Property), you’re good till commodities lasts. You’re as vulnerable as a beggar who relies on people’s kindness to give him/her the two meals per-day once you’re out of things to sell. When that day comes, the whole economy might collapse leaving the unwanted population crying endlessly. Why do you think Dubai was built (and still is building) with such a ferocious speed and the market liberalized beyond everyone’s imagination?
Friday, March 30, 2007
Volkswagen Bids Farewell to Proton
The Straits Times, citing a senior Malaysian government official, said Volkswagen delivered the news on Thursday (Mar-29-2007) to Khazanah Nasional, the government's investment arm which is Proton's main shareholder. It also quoted a Malaysian bank chief executive, who was aware of Volkswagen's 
decision, as calling it "a major setback." Khazanah holds a 42.74 percent stake in Proton. State pension fund EPF (Employees Provident Fund) and national oil firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) owns 12.07 percent and 8.84 percent respectively.
"Clearly, they don't want to pour any resources into turning Proton around," the newspaper cited the unidentified Malaysian government official as saying. It’s a no-brainer for such a deal. Who in the world would be idiot enough to help revitalize an ailing and screwed-up company without getting a good return of investment?
Maybe the government still thinks the Proton is one of the greatest human inventions since compass. Already Malaysia premier Badawi stressed the identity of Proton will remains in the history of mankind. Your guess is as good as mine if it’s willing to sell the majority stake to Volkswagen. At the same time, the government wants the new partner to turnaround the sick company to profitable soonest possible. Proton might have set some impossible conditions which are not viable from the business’ perspective. With all these childish conditions, it’s a matter of time before the talk collapse.
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last week also said Proton was in talks with Volkswagen AG and would turn to US auto giant General Motors Corp. (NYSE : GM, stock) if those discussions failed. Maybe he knows the talk with Volkswagen will fails with such a statement.
Malaysia has already extended the deadline for a decision once, after saying last November it aimed to announce a partner by the end of January. The government had set a deadline of this Saturday for announcing a partner for Proton but Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said Wednesday the the deadline might not be met.
"But it doesn't matter," he was quoted as saying by the state Bernama news agency. If you read it right, the statement from Najib meant the government is not very particular concern if the talk goes through. Why set a deadline then if it’s not important? Losing money every quarter and it’s still not important enough to find a solution to it? Maybe losing face is much severe than losing hundreds of millions of dollars.
So it’s up to General Motors’s turn to harass Proton as it’s the only candidate left to become the strategic partner of Proton. Should the talk fails again you can see more of the taxpayers’ money goes into bailing out the pet project of former premier, Mahathir. With this latest news, Proton’s stock price might see continuous sell-down.
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Malaysia Central Bank Pressured to Lower Interest Rate?
Traditionally, Malaysian Bank Negara (Central Bank) has been using the interest rate of U.S. as the yardstick in
order to balance the fund-flows. So, how much or will the Central Bank be reducing the OPR will be watched by all analysts with great interest. Ben Bernanke was hoped to announce the magic-word of interest-rate reduction since he took over from Alan Greenspan but he has not press the button yet.On Malaysia side, the government is definitely pressured to ease the interest rate in order push the implementation of the Ninth Malaysia Plan. A lower interest rate will enable projects’ costs under the Malaysia Plan cheaper for developers, which in this case will most likely be awarded to companies which are closely related to the ruling party, UMNO. As with the previous mega government projects however, any subsequent new projects will definitely run beyond the initial budgets and the government will normally be glad to increase allocation for such over-run projects.
Another strong reason for interest rate reduction is the high-profile of IDR (Iskandar Development Region) trumpeted by Malaysia premier Badawi. Already skeptism is running high on the dream to turn the area into another Hong Kong. With higher interest rate, the risk of developers (mainly political-linked companies) hitting the wall is higher – lower
cost of doing business is vital to survive.The reduction in OPR hopefully will create the excitement in property sectors as lower rate will translate to lower cost of ownership to house buyers. Affortability is the key word in property sector. With speculation of early general election being called end of this year (2007), a lower interest rate will most likely help to win over some voters who have been burdened by the government’s decision to increase the fuel-price recently. You can only expect more good news and goodies to be announced to project a feel-good economic environment for the year.
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Thursday, March 29, 2007
My Longest Option Trade – VLO’s Profit in 4-Months
The main reason I closed was the sharp-drop in stocks market generally and Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO, quote) specifically 15-minutes before the actual oil inventories announcement. During the congressional testimony, Bernanke said while core inflation slowed "modestly" in the second half of 2006, recent readings remain "uncomfortably high." He also said an implosion among some mortgage lenders that cater to those with poor credit doesn't appear to have spread to the broader economy though the situation warrants further observation. The Dow Jones industrials fell more than 100 points.VLO position was opened back in Dec-6-2006 after I blogged on “How to Benefit From A Weaker Dollar”. Looking at the chart, it was indeed a bad timing because right after that the price of oil continues to slides to below $55 a barrel. If I did not buy at least 6-months into expiration, I would be slaughtered as the price of VLO only recover to my break-even point 3-months after I entered the position. It’s equivalent to suicide.
Another reason why I decided to sell VLO today is the first resistance of VLO which is at $ 66has been reached. Though there could be somemore money to be made if I wait a little bit longer, I believe my profit target has been met. It’s time to take money off the table and ring the register. You need to trade, feel the stocks behaviour (especially oil-related stocks), understand its’ resistance & support as well as geo-political news and development in order to confidently trade them. And all these takes time and trading experience.# TIP: Bull and Bear makes money, Pig get slaughtered. Choose wisely which one you want to be.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Stocks & Option – What To Do during Uncertainties?
Rumors about a military confrontation spurred panic buying in after-hours trading Tuesday,sending oil prices above $68 in a matter of minutes. Rising tensions between Iran, a major oil producer, and the West have created a potentially dangerous situation in the Gulf and markets are jumpy.
Prices fell back within a couple hours, although they remained higher than Tuesday's settlement price of $62.93 a barrel. Another possible calming factor was word from Iran's foreign minister that a detained female British sailor would be freed on Wednesday or Thursday. Light, sweet crude for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.13 to $64.06 a barrel in electronic trading by afternoon in Europe."The major concern is that if the rumor had been true, you'd have a major disruption to supply," said Andrew Harrington, an analyst with ANZ Global Natural Resources in Sydney. "You have about a quarter of the world oil coming through the Straits of Hormuz and any military conflict would severely disrupt those supplies, which obviously sees the price spike … The political premium had been taken out of the price, and as soon as any signs of new development takes place, they get put back into the price.”
Traders were also awaiting U.S. government oil inventories data due later in the day. The U.S. Energy Department's report is expected to show a gain of 1.1 million barrels in crude oil inventories in week ending March 23, according to analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. Gasoline supplies are expected to decline by an average of 1.8 million barrels, while distillate stocks -- which include heating oil and diesel fuel -- are expected to dip by 800,000 barrels.Vienna's PVM Oil Associates noted OPEC forecasts that global crude stocks could grow by around 700,000 barrels a day in the second quarter of this year and said "this would be a far more bullish development" than in 2006 and 2005, when stocks increased by far greater amounts.
Still, concerns about the Middle East were likely to remain the main driver of prices. Tehran continues to hold 15 British sailors it captured on Friday, giving no indications of their whereabouts despite repeated pleas for their release from Britain, the United States and the European Union.
Also, the U.S. kicked off a military training operation in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday that commanders said was meant to send a warning to Iran. The operations are the largest show of U.S. force in the Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.This is an almost once in a lifetime to make money either investing stocks or trading option in one particular sector – energy or oil stocks. Past events has shown that in times of uncertainty such as now is an excellent time to “long the oil stocks.” Again some of my favorites include the following:
- Transocean Inc. (NYSE: RIG, stock) - primary business is to contract these drilling rigs, related equipment and work crews primarily on a day-rate basis to drill oil and gas wells - specializes in sectors of the offshore drilling business with a focus on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services.
- Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE : VLO, quote) - owns and operates 18 refineries located in the United States, Canada and Aruba that produce refined products, such as reformulated gasoline (RFG), gasoline meeting the specifications of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), CARB diesel fuel, low-sulfur diesel fuel and oxygenates (liquid hydrocarbon compounds containing oxygen).
# TIP: If today’s (another 30 minutes) oil investories shows sign of drop of supplies, oil-stocks will rally and spike. Remember to buy at least 6 months into the expiry of oil-stocks as you need all the time-value on your side.
Stock Which You Should Avoid At All Costs - PSCI
PSC Industries Bhd (PSCI) aims to return to the black for the year ending Dec 31, 2008, said executive deputy chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Ramli Mohd Nor. PSCI recorded a net loss of RM93.7mil for 2006 versus RM533.5mil in 2005, while revenue fell to RM76.8mil from RM170.96mil previously.
“We are working hard to be profitable this year but a more conservative target would be next year. We expect shareholders’ funds to be positive and earnings per share to grow as well … We are positive about the new scenario and will leverage on our expertise in maritime, oil and gas, and 
commercial shipping to grow the business”Ramli said after the group secured shareholders' approval for its restructuring scheme at the EGM yesterday.
The restructuring exercise involves the settlement of the group’s total borrowings of RM595mil, leaving the group relatively debt-free, via the issuance of new shares and the raising of RM69.6mil through a rights issue. It will reduce PSCI’s accumulated losses to RM172mil from RM771mil and improve shareholders’ funds to RM67.46mil from negative RM535mil previously.
On the multi-billion ringgit contract to supply 27 offshore patrol vessels to the Royal Malaysian Navy, Ramli said the group was on target to complete four vessels by 2009. “The Government has placed orders for six vessels so far. We delivered two last year and will launch the third and fourth vessel in the water this year,” he said.
Now, let’s look at the “achievement” of PSCI so far. During the period of previous premier, Mahathir, privatization was being pushed so aggressive that some of the deals were too costly compare to market price due to “insufficient” feasibility study or ministers being ill-advised. One of the recipients of this privatization is PSC Industries Bhd., a Malaysian company controlled by Amin Shah Omar Shah.
In 1998, PSC Industries Bhd (KLSE: PSCI, stock-code 8133) signed a RM 24 billion deal to build 27 patrol vessels for the Malaysian Navy. The 10-year contract also gave PSCI exclusive rights to service Malaysian navy’s entire fleet. This instantly gave Amin Shah top popularity image as one of the top government’s blue-boy as the deal was the country’s biggest deal. But as with most of the failed projects which places cronyism and nepotism on top of experience and capability in delivery, PSCI soon dived into deep financial difficulties.
After 7 years (2005) into the deal and despite government’s advancement of more than RM 2.5 billion to PSCI, it still couldn’t deliver even one complete ship which met the basic standard. The first two ships built by PSCI and its foreign partners, led by Germany's ThyssenKrupp AG, have failed to even pass predelivery trials, caused by chronic computer-system glitches. The problems have forced the Malaysian Navy to temporarily shelve plans to purchase the next four patrol vessels scheduled for delivery from PSC. Some Malaysian officials question whether the country even needs the heavily armed, 90-meter-long patrol vessels it contracted to buy.
On the other hand, with overdue debts of more than 650 million ringgit in 2005, Amin Shah, who owns 29% of PSC, was locked in a legal dispute with his main Malaysian banker over the company's failure to service its debt obligations.
Boustead Bhd, which is majority owned by Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera, finally bailed out PSCI with the following dollars and cents, among others:
- forking out about RM150 million to subscribe for PSCI's creditor shares and a rights issue
- RM162 million to secure 30% stake pledged to Credit Suisse First Boston
- US$11.1 million it had to pay the legal advisers of an offshore company for successfully procuring the CSFB loan
- paid Affin Bank RM150.1 million for a 27.7% stake pledged by PSCI's 100%-owned subsidiary Penang Shipbuilding and Construction Sdn Bhd (PSCSB)
PSCI is a classic example of how privatization deals were negotiated privately in top secret without a competitive and open tender. The privatization program started by former premier Mahathir in his 22-years in power has spent billions in mega-infrastructures which often awarded to closely connected politically-link individuals.
So, what should you do with this stock? RUN away as fast as you can (even bare-foot) – don’t even touch or look at the stock price. It amuse me that the management dare to issue new share to solve their huge debts caused by nothing but pure-incompetency. Who would be stupid enough to subscribe to the right-issue?You’ll be surprise to see there’re still some novice investors who will invest their life-saving into these new shares, which in my opinion is worthless. The basic fundamentals of stocks investing criterias have been blogged earlier, so go and read the links provided below. Can you imagine the Malaysian government actually awards a company which doesn’t even have a website (the website says it’s under construction) with a RM 24 billion high-tech project?
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Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Money Back Policy – A Smarter Central Bank?
Malaysian resident shareholders of PPB Oil Palms Bhd (KLSE : PPB, stock-code : 6823), PGEO Sdn Bhd and Kuok Oils & Grains Pte Ltd (KOG), which would be acquired by Wilmar International Ltd via a share swap, must repatriate all dividends, profits and proceeds from the disposal of the Wilmar shares.
Shareholders with overall investments abroad of not less than RM50 million are also required to complete the “Quarterly Report in External Assets and Liabilities of Resident Companies in Malaysia” beginning the first quarter of 2007. Other Malaysian resident minority shareholders of PPB were only required to complete their respective forms for declaration of payment and receipts if their investment in Wilmar exceeds the equivalent of RM 50,000. The Malaysian shareholders must also inform the Foreign Exchange Administration Department accordingly.Above are two conditions imposed by Bank Negara Malaysia when giving its approval to shareholders of PPBOP, PGEO and KOG to subscribe for 1.43 billion shares in Wilmar International Ltd. Earlier, The Kuok Group, controlled by tycoon Tan Sri Robert Kuok, undertook a mammoth S$6.6 billion (RM15.18 billion) corporate exercise to merge several of its companies in Malaysia and Singapore, including Wilmar International Ltd (SIN : F34) and PPB Oil Palms Bhd (KLSE : PPB,stock-code 6823).
As part of the deal, Wilmar has offered to acquire PPB Oil Palms, Kuok Oils & Grains Pte Ltd (KOG) and PGEO Group Sdn Bhd for about S$4.1 billion. Wilmar said the acquisition of the companies would be satisfied via the issue of 2.4 billion Wilmar shares based on their last transacted price of S$1.71 per share. StockTube believed the measure taken by Kuok then was to strengthen his empire from being taken hostile after the super merger of three of Malaysia's largest palm oil producers - Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad (KLSE: GUTHRIE, stock-code 3131), Sime Darby Berhad (KLSE: SIME, stock-code 4197) and Golden Hope Plantations Berhad (KLSE: GHOPE, stock-code 1953).
Analysts said that while the central bank had been liberalising certain measures to actively promote investments in the country, it also appeared that Bank Negara wants to ensure that funds were not being channelled out of Malaysia through “back-door” methods. If the country’s investment climate is excellent and transparent with good prospect of generating more profit with re-investment, there’s no reason why investors (doesn’t Malaysian government trusts Robert Kuok?) would repatriate their monies out in a big-way. Isn’t Robert Kuok sits in the advisory board for IDR (Iskandar Development Region)?
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Monday, March 26, 2007
Where to Get FREE Malaysian Stock Historical Data?
Unfortunately Malaysian stock market is too small and insignificant to foreign investors that mining such historical data seems not feasible to be done by professional vendors. Such task is being shouldered by local equity provider such as brokers and Malaysian’s own stock exchange. However, as can be predicted, the efficiency does not presence – even Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange or Bursa Malaysia (KLSE: BURSA, stock-code 1818) does not provide such basic information.
The closest you can get is the data or chart that might be provided by your own brokers but if you wish to get your hands on it for free, you’ll find yourself in the Amazon jungle finding your way out.
Yahoo Finance used to provide historical data on Malaysian stock market previously but not any more, for reason stated above. The latest info 
you can get from Yahoo Finance is the data of Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI). Your workaround is to study the companies’ annual report, quarterly earning announcement and news on the dividend and share split or bonus issue to consolidate your information. It’s a tedious process, no doubt but that’s the best you can do. If you do not mind paying, then you can get data from provider such as bizfun.cc and download the subsequent data manually from its’ site.
If any of you knows how to get the above historical data for “free”,please drop your feedback at the “Comment” below so that all the readers can share your generousity.
TIP: To get free historical data on KLCI from 1993 till now, visitKuala Lumpur Composite Index Historical Price to download it.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Legend of Macao Gambling King - Stanley Ho (Part 2)
The low-profile Stanley Ho has quietly plotting his counterattack strategy to ensure the Ho family will continue dominates Macao for years to come. He placed his 30-year old son, Lawrence Ho, at the helm of Melco International Development(HKG: 0200), a listed Hong Kong company he controlled. Melco formed a JV (joint-venture) with Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd. (ASX:PBL), one of Australia’s biggest media and entertainment companies to build several large casinos and hotels in the city. It went public in the United States in 2006 and already carries a stock market valuation of $6.8 billion.After winning the bid for the second casino in Singapore, Genting Bhd agreed to sell a small stake in its $3.4 billion Singapore casino project to Ho and would in turn buy a controlling interest in a new gaming project that Ho plans in Macau but was met with angry voices from Singaporeauthorities. In a latest statement to Singapore Exchange, Genting International (SIN: G13) said it was divesting its stake in a Macau hotel casino to be run by Ho, putting a no-entry sign-board on the face of Stanley.
On the other hand, Stanley’s daughter Pansy, 44, who helped him manage his Shun Tak Holdings Limited
conglomerate (HKG: 0242), formed a joint venture with MGM Mirage, giving her a 50 percent stake in a company that is building some of Macao’s biggest casinos. Nevada regulators approved the MGM Mirage deal with Pansy Ho, but not without hinting at the sensitivity surrounding the Ho legacy.In a civil court case in Hong Kong involving a group of Chinese bank officials who were accused of fleeing to the United States from China with hundreds of millions of dollars, evidence has surfaced that some of the money was laundered through Mr. Ho’s casinos.
Turmoil is also brewing closer to home. Although Mr. Ho has announced plans to take SJM public in an offering that analysts say could raise $2 billion, the public offering has been mired in a legal battle with Winnie Ho, his sister. Winnie Ho has contended in a lawsuit filed in Macao that she actually provided most of the initial capital for the original company, S.T.D.M., in 1962, then helped run the company until 2001. But over the years, she says, her brother cheated her out of her shares and cheated investors out of $3.9 billion in dividends over four decades.
Despite the opposition he faces on many fronts - from gambling regulators, from new competitors in Macao and from his own family, Mr. Ho appears undeterred. In his interview with Macao Closer, he talked brashly about his past and his future, saying he battled pirates during World War II and weathered death threats when he opened his first casinos.
And now, he says, he can battle the Vegas giants because his casino company is the toughest. But the age is catching up prompting the next question of whether his trusted son, Lawrence Ho is capable of continueing his legend father’s legacy. The good news – Stanley has options from his pool of 17 children from his marriage to four wives.
… back to Part-1 of "Legend of Macao Gambling King - Stanley Ho".
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Legend of Macao Gambling King - Stanley Ho (Part 1)
Today, five years after Stanley Ho’s gambling monopoly expired, the Americans plan to bury Ho’s old collection of smoky ballrooms empire. The Wynn Macao hotel and casino, from the Vegas heavyweight Steve Wynn’s Wynn Resorts(Nasdaq: WYNN, stock), opened last September. The MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGM, stock) has a huge project going up next door. And Las Vegas Sands(NYSE: LVS, stock) is building the world’s biggest casino and convention center worth $12 billion.The main attraction of this tiny Macao is the huge Chinese gamblers who traditionary love to gamble. Macao is such a magnet to the Americans businessman due to the fact that the average table in Macao earns three times more than a comparable table in Las Vegas, according to C.L.S.A. Asia-Pacific Markets, the investment bank. Macao posted $ 6.9 billion in gambling revenue in 2006 easily outpacing Las Vegas. Stanley Ho’s gambling company recorded $4.3 billion revenue in 2005. So it was not surprise to see 21 casino operators from around the world bid for gambling license a few years ago. Genting Group (KLSE: GENTING, stock-code 3182) was one of the bidder who lost.
Stanley Ho was born in 1921, into one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest and most prominent families. His grandfather, who was of Chinese and European descent, was a comprador, or go-between, forJardine Matheson, the legendary British trading house and power broker that once dominated the colony’s maritime trade as well as its opium trade. Mr. Ho’s uncle helped finance Sun Yat-sen, who led the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty in 1911 and founded the Chinese Republic. And his father was a comprador for the powerful Sassoon trading house.In the 1930s, amid a global depression, Stanley Ho’s father went broke and fled to Vietnam, leaving the family penniless. In 1941, after the Japanese occupied Hong Kong, Stanley dropped out of college and fled with other refugees to Macao. There, he made his first fortune by helping to run a trading company that swapped goods with the Japanese in exchange for food to feed Macao’s starving population.
After the war, Stanley returned to Hong Kong a wealthy man. He built upon that success in 1962, when he helped form an investor group that won the exclusive right to run all of Macao’s gambling operations. Mr. Ho had promised to bolster tourism by modernizing Macao and upgrading its infrastructure. But the main business of the original company - Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macao, or STDM - was gambling, which was legalized in Macao in 1847 after Hong Kong unseated the Portuguese colony as the region’s major trading port.
Stanley’s casinos only see the real money flowing in at the late 1980s, after China’s economic reforms which created a class of wealthy entrepreneurs and gamblers. According to some historians, the bulk of Stanley Ho’s gambling revenue came from V.I.P. rooms he subcontracted out to groups that lured Asia’s high rollers to Macao. The subcontractors shared the gambling profits with Stanley Ho’s casinos.
Though the Law enforcement officials and gambling analysts say that many of the V.I.P. room operators had links to Chinese organized crime groups known as triads, they admitted thebusiness model was a smart and brilliant way to maximize profit because it required very little investment on Stanley’s part. Stanley Ho’s casinos only had to provide the rooms, chips and dealers - the casino did not have to search for big customers, do background checks or ensure that the high rollers paid their debts. Stanley never denied that organized-crime figures operated in his casinos either.
Malaysian Premier Vow to Keep Proton’s Badge
Abdullah said while the government wants to see Proton become more competitive with a partner, it will insist on Proton maintaining its own brand name. He said Proton Holdings Bhd (KLSE:PROTON, stock-code : 5304) is currently only in talks with Germany's Volkswagen
(FRA : VOW) but those if negotiations failed, Proton could begin talks with US auto giantGeneral Motors Corp.(NYSE : GM, stock). He further said a good foreign partner will help Proton develop in terms of models, engines and technology.The Prime Minister seems to be sentimental with the pet-project of his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, despite the national carmaker getting seriously ailing with the soft-demand for automobiles in Malaysia. Or maybe he wouldn’t want to take the risk of firing a new salvo by scrapping Proton which might anger Mahathir who has “ceasefired” since his attacks at Abdullah’s administration recently. Furthermore, any hints on dropping the name Proton might give an impression that the majority Malay-workers of Proton might loose their jobs – a suicide mission to Abdullah at the current period when the rumors of early general election will be called at the end of this year, 2007.
The Malaysian government who owns 59 percent of Proton, including a 43 percent stake held by its investment arm, Khazanah Nasional is under intense pressure to find a partner for loss-making Proton, which has seen a sharp decline in sales due to increased competition from local and imported cars. Proton's market share has fallen sharply after the gradual removal of duties which has made imports more affordable while a persistent reputation for poor quality and unimaginative models besieged the carmaker.
Other local companies that have expressed interest in Proton include Mofaz Sdn Bhd, Naza Group and DRB-HICOM Berhad (KLSE: DRBHCOM, stock-code 1619) but most analysts believe local companies do not have any value-add which Proton is urgently seeking.
What’s in the name if the company is ailing to the point of reporting losses quarter after quarter? What will the government do if the foreign partner requires the name to be dropped? Ask the potential savior to fly kite and get out from this country? Most probably – I believe the government still has cash to keep pumping into Proton’s coffer, out of pride. Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and EPF (Employees Provident Fund) still have hundreds of billions of extra cash to bail out any new patient.
Current Stock price of Proton is hanging at the RM 7.00 level, mostly due to the report in the mid-January that General Motor is prepared to offer as much as 10 ringgit ($2.85) for each Proton share provided the U.S. firm is given control of the finances of Proton and manages its vendor system. Will the government takes-up this offer if the talk between Proton and Volkswagen fails? If the General Motor controls the Proton, will the government run berserk if GM decides to drop the Proton badge which synonym to TV cartoon ThurderCat?
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Friday, March 23, 2007
Real Property Gains Tax Abolished – For Now or Forever?
The RPGT has long been seen as an “unnecessary” obstacle to the nation’s attempt to attract more foreign direct investment. News reported that doing away with the
RPGT will spur foreigners to snap up our property as they would not have to worry about having to pay a flat 30% RPGT when they sell it off in say, one to five years’ time.There are also those who feel that doing away with the RPGT will not have a big impact, as generally people do not dispose of their property within the first five years. I agreed that the abolishment of the RPGT will brings some relief and excitement to the property market but it will not bring the crazy-rush to the already over-supply market.
You simply have to relook back at the previous 1993-94 Super-Bull run period where the speculators were seen snapping properties as if it’s buy-1-free-1 sales. The main difference between now and then was the cash flow that individual possess. Back then; people were making money almost daily from the stock market. Everybody were trading without money – the fact that they traded within T+7 (you only settle the trading amount on the seventh day from the transaction date) and still makes good money created an illusion that they’ve finally found the ultimate money-making machine. And when you and any of your friends who have not even graduated from high-school or college are making money more than a company’s director paycheck, you’re simply hooked to the system.
When these people were making money continuously from the stock market, it created an instant wealth, so much so that they actually do not know where to park their money. Property was their next target – so people started to snap-up any new project being launched. Queuing for nights just to get hold of the property was a normal process then. Most of them are not first time buyers – they’re buying it for investment hoping to get rid of it immediately when there’s a buyer. Property’s price skyrocketed because the overwhelming demands versus supplies. It thus created a bubble (when the 1997 crisis arrived).
Forward to the future - the year 2006-07. Stocks were said to be in the bull-run starting in the 4th quarter of 2006 but tons of people brushed it off as the sign for an early general election. Some of the unhealthy-signs:
- FDIs (foreign direct investment) are not flowing in
- Inflation skyrocket because the government decided to let the burden of oil-price’s hike to be shouldered by the people on the street
- Property is over-supply
- High unemployment were seen for the first time
- Global economy uncertainties
- Local private companies are stagnant locally and chose to expand overseas due to obvious reason
Low buying power - one can see developers advertising the same projects even after buyers have moved into their units
What worries industry players and the home-buying publics are the “constant ad-hoc changes” in policies that not only confuse investors and homebuyers but also may actually backfire and cause the property market to crash if the goodies given are suddenly taken away. It’s a norm in Malaysia that whenever the government needs you, you’re given the carrot but once you’re done with your contribution, the carrot will be taken away – worst still you’re punished for theirs’ own incompetence (such as locking in your investment profit from taken out).
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DIGI – If You Can’t Beat Them, Suck the Coffer Dry
"Right now, we have too much cash and too little debt … Our balance sheet is under-leveraged and we have to make good, to get to a more optimal balance sheet. We will announce, at some point, a better restructuring of the balance sheet" Lundal told reporters on the sidelines of an investor briefing in the Malaysian capital.
Lundal declined to comment on speculation that DiGi may tie up with ailing state tech firm Time DotCom Berhad (TIMECOM : stock-code 5031), after DiGi failed, in two separate government tenders, to win licences to offer high-speed 3G and WIMAX services.DiGi is the only one of Malaysia's three mobile phone firms that has chosen not to expand offshore, a strategy that has enabled it to keep returning its profits to shareholders in the form of capital repayments and pay handsome dividends.
Why am I not surprise with such a move? In fact I think it’s a brilliant move. If you want to know why, then you should read my previous article “Lost Again - What Should DIGI Do Next?”. I also wrote about how the smarter Telenor drove up the stock price to prevent TimeDotCom from launching a hostile takeover. If you can’t beat them, suck the coffer dry. Transport all the money out from here back to Norway. Can you blame them? Put it this way – what would you do if you are denied again and again license for expansion only because you’re not majority own by Bumiputra or Malay-ethnic? Malaysia government is idiot enough not to encourage foreign investors to further "re-invest" their profit into the nation.
Norway's Telenor ASA (OSL: TEL), DiGi's main shareholder with a controlling 61 percent stake,stands to benefit the most from these capital repayments or dividend payouts. Since the Malaysian government has given the Norwegian firm until the end of 2007 to reduce its stake as a foreign shareholder to a maximum 49 percent, DIGI.com has been consistently refrain from spending any new huge budget on the company but systematically rewards itself in terms of handsome dividend.
And things can only get better and better for shareholders as the unused money need to be dried soonest possible – with the hope of leaving an empty shell back to the bias-government. Can you blame Telenor since the rules state that at least 30 percent of the equity of a publicly traded firm must be held by Bumiputras, or indigenous Malay, shareholders – something equivalent to daylight robbery?
# TIP: If you're looking to invest in high-dividend stock, DIGI.com stock perhaps will reward you with the highest dividend ever seen throughout this year, 2007.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Malaysia is Dying For Foreign Investment?
Simon Chan, investment director of the Hong Kong- based BNP Paribas Asset ManagementAsia, which manages 210 billion euros (RM974 billion) worldwide, said there was now renewed interest from Hong Kong. “We’re likely to increase our investment. We’re investing quite a bit in the Asian region, including Malaysia … If they (Malaysia) are
able to deliver what they promise, and they keep on doing that, not only will it attract us back to the market but we’ll also keep increasing our investment in Malaysia” Chan said.Chan also hopes to see more efforts to protect minority shareholder interests, such as by paying dividends, more transparency and better corporate governance. He noted a strong message emanating from Malaysia that it wants investors to return.
Tiana Erajuuri of Finland’s FIM Asset Management said the fund had invested some €50 million (RM232 million) in Malaysian big-cap stocks. Erajuuri further commented - “We’re looking for a little more openness. Maybe the accounting could still improve, that is, more explanation and disclosures in accounts … Malaysia have improved a lot from five years ago, but there’s still room to grow”.
Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz also announced the liberalisation in foreign exchange (forex) policy to enhance Malaysia's competitiveness. To attract more foreign capital, more flexibility was announced for foreign stockbrokers and custodian banks to get overdraft facilities from local banks to avoid settlement failures by removing the previous overdraft limit of RM200 million.
Almost at the same time, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak tried to woo investors with the same old stories of Malaysia’s edge of having the presence of natural resources, raw materials, low-cost and high-skilled labour, designated economic zones, conducive tax structures and business-friendly regulatory policies etc etc.
Strangely, Bursa Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Yusli Mohamed Yusoff recently blamed local investors for not having faith in Malaysian listed companies when the foreign fund managers are bullish with the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. He noted that foreign institutional investors were the net buyers on Bursa, accounting for 35% of last year's (2006) daily volume.
It seems the foreign investment has reach an alarming low rate which prompted the Malaysian government to take these steps and to do with more marketing talk to attract further foreign investors. Everyone must have ask where is the International Trade Minister, Rafidah, who used to boast that if the foreign investors are not happy with the Malaysian policy which is bias towards the ethnic-Malay (Malaysia has a policy that makes it compulsory for companies to allocate 30% equity for ethnic-Malay), they can pack and go elsewhere.
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Fed Comments Ignites Investor Hopes
The Dow soared 159.42, or 1.30 percent, to 12,447.52, biggest one-day point gain since July 24. The Standard & Poor's 500 index jumped 24.10, or 1.71 percent, to 1,435.04, and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 47.71, or 1.98 percent, to 2,455.92.
The Fed's decision means that commercial banks' prime interest rate - for certain credit cards, home equity lines of credit and other loans - stays at 8.25 percent. The Fed has left rates alone since August, giving borrowers time to catch their breath after two years of steadily rising rates. Investors are betting the Fed will cut rates later this year to guard against any undue economic weakness. Many economists predict the central bank will probably start cutting rates early next year.
The Fed is still sticking to its forecast that inflation should recede over time and that the economy - despite strains from the housing slump and troubles facing lenders and borrowers of risky mortgages. The Fed did slightly downgrade its assessment of current economic conditions, saying recent barometers "have been mixed." In contrast, at its previous meeting in late January, the Fed said recent indicators "suggested somewhat firmer economic growth."
The economy has been feeling the strain of the housing slump. Investment in home building in the fourth quarter was slashed by 19.1 percent on an annualized basis, the steepest decline in 15 years. However, the jobs market remains in good shape. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 percent in February and workers got fatter paychecks even as bad winter weather sent a chill through U.S. job growth.
Fed policymakers continued to make clear that the biggest risk to the economy is inflation. To fend off inflation, the Fed steadily boosted interest rates for two years, the longest stretch in its history. But since last summer, it has left rates alone. The Fed's goal is to slow the economy sufficiently to thwart inflation but not so much as to cripple economic activity.
Other countries such as Malaysia, Singapore & Thailand are expected to take the cue from the Fed’s move and maintain the existing interest rate.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Stock That You Can Milk for The Next 40 Years
In written answers to Teresa Kok (DAP representative of Seputeh) and Tan Kok Wai (DAP representative of Cheras) at the Dewan Rakyat today, Works Minister Samy Vellu said that until the end of last year, an average of RM41 million was spent to maintain all the highways and bridges concerned. DAP
(Democratic Action Party) is the leading opposition party in Malaysia in terms of number of parliamentary seats.Samy Vellu explained that about RM5.9 billion was spent to build the North-South Highway and RM27.83 million was the monthly cost of maintaining it. The 50-year concession period for that highway began in 1988.
He further said that the amount of toll collected for the Penang bridge was RM1.7 billion while that of the North-South Expressway Central Link (ELITE) stood at RM1.05 billion. Projek Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan Berhad (PLUS) is involved in the operation and maintenance of a tolled expressway network comprising the North-South Interurban Toll Expressway, the New Klang Valley Expressway, a section of Federal Highway Route 2 between Subang and Klang, and the Seremban-Port Dickson Highway (SPDH) in Peninsular Malaysia. PLUS Expressway Berhad (KLSE: PLUS, stock-code 5052) is closely related to UMNO, the ruling party of Malaysia.
Looking from the history, when Mahathir Mohamad became Malaysia's premier, he instructed his trusted friend Daim Zainuddin to overhaul the then paltry business interests of the dominant party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO). In 1984 Mahathir named Daim finance minister and appointed him UMNO's treasurer with responsibility for the party's investments. Daim immediately began privatizing state projects and brought in Halim Saad, one of his commanders and a nominee shareholder and manager for UMNO.
A New Zealand-trained accountant, Halim in 1984 formed a private company that acquired a controlling equity stake in publicly listed UEM (now defunct), then a small engineering services concern.UEM's ownership in UMNO was hidden from the Malaysian public for the next three years. But UEM's Plus subsidiary was awarded a contract to finance, build, and operate a toll road running the length of peninsular Malaysia-the North-South Expressway. This project, which ultimately cost about $1.4 billion-became UEM's cash cow for years.With the reported billions of dollars collected, it means the initial building-costs has been recouped and whatever profits to be collect from now onwards (till the year 2038) will become pure profit minus the maintenance-costs. It’s near to impossible for the government to revise the contract which obviously sided PLUS, so the stock-price of PLUS will have only one way to go over the time – NORTH.
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