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[traderabc] 28/9/2010 22:18

A good post about Singapore.



TheHardestButton - 28 Sep'10 - 05:07 - 3799 of 3806

A response for Traderabc

traderabc - 24 Sep'10 - 12:52 - 3759 of 3787.


Singapore is it? Well that's a better choice then Hong Kong I must say, Jim Rogers territory, so I approve ;-) good move dude, the London financial district doesn't have a very bright future so I think you've done the right thing.
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Indeed - and one of the bosses I work for happens to know Mr Rogers so maybe one day I might get 30secs of the good mans time. I think much of what he said convinced me the move was a good one.


I hear the Singapore is very clean and well run, that they don't put up with much nonsense, the sort of place where you'd be arrested for spitting on a pavement. I also hear it's a very prosperous place, I'd be very interested to hear about what it's like there, if you can spare the keystrokes?
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Well it is clean and it is well run. You could be fined for spitting, jaywalking, dropping litter (£500), chewing gum (it's not for sale in Singapore but you can buy it in Malaysia and smuggle it back) and being drunk in a public place. Begging is also outlawed. That doesnt mean it doesnt happen because there are not Police on every corner and indeed Ive been surprised at the lack of a visible police presence. There is a certain paranoia about terrorism (every new apartment has to have its own bomb shelter) but for a multi cultural country where no one religion is allowed to prevail it all seems pretty chilled out - despite the heat.

Prosperous!! You betcha. Its like Dubai but without the huge debts (sovereign wealth fund has USD140bn surplus kicking around). Building and construction is massive and the skyline is filled with work in progress with more planned. The Chinese, Indonesians and Malay have been pouring money into Singapore and why not. No CGT, max tax rate of 20% but most pay under 10% and VAT is only 7%. Alcohol and ciggies are taxed heavily and of course drugs are a complete no-no - but then it seems to make for a better society on the whole.

The public transport is excellent, the underground is run better than any German could dream of and taxis are dirt cheap. The only reason I can pin on why the transport is so good is that only rich people can afford to buy and run a car. To be honest you have no need for a car here anyway and much of it is based on prestige more than practicality.


What I'd like to know from you is how to get profitable exposure to the economy in your part of the World, their currency interests me, as do some of their industries, from what I understand the 'future' belongs to countries like Singapore.
Have you any insight into local exchange traded businesses or London based funds with good track records operating in that part of the world?
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Thats a tricky one. Ive only been here a few months and its clear to me that a) the growth here is extraordinary but can't go on forever - GDP growth at nearly 18% for 1H 2010, that 60% of that is down to companies owned by Temasek (the sovereign wealth fund) and the rest is mostly owned by the Chinese and Indonesians. Most of the industry is based on refining stuff (water and oil especially) and on the fact they have the busiest port in the world (location location location). Indeed your best bet in terms of investing in Singapore is actually to find companies with exposure and operations here rather than Singapore companies themselves. GSK and Pfizer are investing heavily here and of course the banks are trying to muscle in here as well with varying degrees of success.

Still getting to grips with the Hedge funds and the various Unit trusts/ ETFs that specialise in investment here. Will let you know what I find out - having a chat with someone next week about investments but it may be restricted to Singapore 'Permanent' residents (you have to apply seperately and then start contributing to the social fund) - Im not sure what controls they have on foreigners but it certainly seems much easier to invest if you reside here.


So will keep you posted on what else I find out - and do ask if you have any specific questions - sorry if I missed anything pertinent in your original post.

[careful] 28/9/2010 19:07

inflation is a tool for writing off debt.
sometimes it is the least of all evils.
ambrose evans pritchard thinks there is a simple lever to pull or a button to press to solve the worlds problems.

still i love to read his grumbling negative column.
it cheers me up.
ben at the fed knows that civil unrest is always bubbling under the surface.
when youth unemployment in europe reaches 30%+ they will begin to get angry.
so all of these old clowns who think they will work to 70 will have a fight on their hands.

bring on the inflation.....now.

[traderabc] 28/9/2010 18:23

[KR81] Keiser Report – Markets! Finance! Baby Formula!
September 28th, 2010 by stacyherbert

Stacy Summary: We look at the Walmart's baby formula breadlines and Charlie Munger's bailout blessings. In the second half of the show, Max goes to Washington DC to talk to sports writer Dave Zirin about the sports industrial complex.

[traderabc] 28/9/2010 18:10

""Within a single week 25 nations have deliberately slashed the values of their currencies. Nothing quite comparable with this has ever happened before in the history of the world. This world monetary earthquake will carry many lessons."

[traderabc] 28/9/2010 18:09

The purple ikon a little down on the left. Well worth listening to this guy.


Hugh Hendry: Partner, CEO & CIO of Eclectica Asset Management - Hugh is the principal portfolio manager and leads both the investment thinking and the research team. He has 18 years' industry experience with Baillie Gifford, CSAM and Odey Asset Management. At Odey he managed a range of funds from $1.0bn of long only European mandates, including the award winning Odey Continental European Fund, to the The Eclectica Fund. Hugh graduated from Strathclyde University in 1990.

[traderabc] 27/9/2010 19:33

Investing For the Next 5 Years

Larry LaBorde
Sep 27, 2010

"Most investment advisors will tell you that you should only invest in stocks and bonds. Invest heavy in stocks when young and change the mix to a heavier allocation into bonds as you get older. This is looking less and less promising as we go forward into this economic storm. There are 7 classes of investments out there; stocks, bonds, cash, precious metals, commodities, collectibles and income-producing real estate."

[traderabc] 27/9/2010 12:34

It's the central banks that are at the root of the problem, these small time national and international banks just symptoms of the far bigger problem.

27 September 2010 Last updated at 12:25


Bournemouth Barclays bank bricked up in loans protest



The bank was bricked up for two hours on Sunday

A developer bricked up the front of a bank in Dorset in protest at the lack of credit available for small firms.

Cameron Hope said he had been refused £240,000 in loans and getting credit was like "talking to a brick wall".

He and other protesters built the wall at Barclays in Westbourne on Sunday, after plans to target NatWest were thwarted. It was quickly taken down.

Barclays said it had never dealt with Mr Hope and had increased lending to small businesses this year by 14%.

The protesters removed the wall after two hours when told to do so by police.

Mr Hope said: "Over the last year we've had different problems with the banks thinking things are getting better and better but they are not, they are getting worse.

[traderabc] 27/9/2010 10:59

[OTE74] On the Edge with Ed Harrison
September 25th, 2010 by stacyherbert

Stacy Summary: On the Edge with Ed Harrison of Creditwritedowns.com

[traderabc] 24/9/2010 18:15

19 Facts About The Deindustrialization Of America That Will Blow Your Mind

[traderabc] 24/9/2010 18:08

David Rosenberg: Forget Gold $1300, It's Going To $3000
Joe Weisenthal | Sep. 24, 2010



Just because we hit that that big round-numbered milestone of $1300/oz this morning, don't think that we're at the peak of a gold bubble. That's at least how David Rosenberg sees it:

[traderabc] 24/9/2010 17:59

In other words, bend over America, the bankers haven't finished with you yet..



Buffett to taxpayers: Get over your anger

Bloomberg News


Taxpayer anger against President Barack Obama and Congress is counterproductive because policy makers took measures including deficit spending to stimulate the economy, billionaire investor Warren Buffett told CNBC.
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"Sentiment has turned very sour in the last three or four or five months," the chairman and CEO of Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said in an interview broadcast Thursday.

"I hope we get over it pretty soon, because it's not productive,'' Buffett said. "We will come back regardless of how people feel about Washington, but it is not helpful to have people as unhappy as they are about what's going on in Washington."

More than three-quarters of U.S. investors view Obama as anti-business and are pessimistic about his policies, a Bloomberg survey this month indicated.

The U.S. unemployment rate is 9.6 percent, even after an $814 billion stimulus measure enacted last year and other government actions.

The Federal Reserve has kept the benchmark overnight lending rate target close to zero and said this week that it was prepared to ease policy further.

"The truth is we're running a federal deficit that's 9 percent of gross domestic product," Buffett said. "That's stimulative as all get out. It's more stimulative than any policy we've followed since World War II."

Buffett also said that the economy remains in a recession, by his definition, because most people and businesses still aren't doing as well as they were before the financial crisis.

Buffett's assessment of the economy contradicts the view of experts who announced this week that the recession officially ended in June 2009.

Buffett said he uses a common sense standard to evaluate the economy. Buffett gets insight into the health of the economy through the performance of Berkshire's many subsidiaries.

This report includes material from the Associated Press.

[traderabc] 24/9/2010 14:35

049balt, are you still around here? I was just wondering about something, if beef prices go up enough to make them profitable in their own right, do the EU subsidies get phased out? By the way how is beef doing, are the higher prices still holding up?

[traderabc] 24/9/2010 13:42

The Road to World War III - The Global Banking Cartel Has One Card Left to Play
Posted on Thursday, September 23rd, 2010 at 1:54 pm

[touch2002] 23/9/2010 15:22

Any other holders on here - seems quiet even given the limited market cap / free float...

[traderabc] 23/9/2010 13:27

$10 Oil? Mike Maloney Schools Bankers on Deflation, Gold and Silver (Part 1 of 2)



Part 2

[traderabc] 23/9/2010 12:31

Unreal, Iran war called off, Goldman to open bank in Iran...


[KR80] Keiser Report – Markets! Finance! Bedbugs!
September 23rd, 2010 by stacyherbert
Respond

Stacy Summary: We look at the scandals of World War III ending before it even started thanks to Goldman Sachs seeking to move into Iran; and taking on the bourse Abbie Hoffmann style. In the second half of the show, Max goes to New York to talk to Joe Weisenthal from BusinessInsider.com about bedbugs, gold and pensioners.

[eriktherock] 22/9/2010 20:44

trader, I placed my first short trade today since early 2008. Now that silver high from back then has been kissed and gold silver ratio is still over 60, well I'm sure you get the picture. I'm scaling in of course so would not be troubled by Au over $1300.

[traderabc] 22/9/2010 20:37

Amazing Arrogance, Gall, Chutzpa, and Unmitigated Effrontery from Berkshire Hathaway

It's hard to know exactly the precise words to describe the arrogance and unmitigated effrontery of Charles Munger, the billionaire vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, who today rattled off an insane barrage of insensitive comments regarding the bailouts.

[traderabc] 22/9/2010 20:33

September 20, 2010
Gold Prices Outlook
The US has been giving the signal that it is going to print more money and Japan has recently said they are going to print more money - what is happening is that money printing is starting again and the market knows it.

A bubble will form one day for gold but it won't be any time soon. Seventy-five per cent of the people had never owned gold, or silver. So you can see most people still do not own gold. For most people in the world gold is still an unknown entity.

During gold's hysterical phase, in 5 to 7 years, everyone will be buying the yellow metal.

It is not the way people are supposed to invest but they see something moving and they all want to jump on. The gold bull market has a long way to go, all commodities have a long way to go - in the end we will end up with a hysterical bubble, at which point I hope I am smart enough to sell, but that is years away.

[traderabc] 22/9/2010 20:32

September 22, 2010
75 Percent Of High-End Money Managers Have Never Owned Gold
A months ago when speaking to a room full of high-end money managers, they were asked how many of them owned gold. Seventy-five per cent of the people had never owned gold, or silver. So you can see most people still do not own gold. For most people in the world gold is still an unknown entity.

in Nasdaq.com

[traderabc] 22/9/2010 20:31

Jim Rogers there is no Gold Bubble yet
Click here to watch the interview >>>>>
In an Interview with kitco.com on 15 September 2010 , Re-known Investor Jim Rogers said that he does not believe that the Gold is in a Bubble cause most of the people still do not own Gold....Jim Rogers :" Buyers are more anxious than the sellers , The US has been giving the signal that it will print more money and Japan has recently said it is going to print more money .., what's happening is the money printing has started again and the market knows it I am not the only one who watches kitco news...regarding what will take the Gold bubble to form Jim Rogers says : what it will take is gigantic amount of buyers and price increase that goes through the roof , if you look back at previous bubbles back a year or two at historical bubbles , people just become hysterical it doubles triples quintuples , it is staggering what happens at the end of a bubble ...most people still have not invested in gold and Silver and other things as you probably know , few months ago i made a speech to 300 , 400 big time international money managers from all over the world and the moderator , I did not know why he asked , but he asked how many of you have ever owned gold 74 percent of the people in the room have never owned gold much less Silver or soy beans or Goodness knows what else ...so can see that most people still do not own Gold , first time in 2010 the central banks are probably going to be net buyers and that has not happened since 1988 , 22 years and eve the net buying is not going to be very much it is going to be small...everybody is going to be buying more gold , and yes more Asian banks are going to be buying more Gold , Bangladesh just bought some last week ...we are going to see more of it ...it is not the way people are supposed to invest and what they do is when they see something moving and they want to jump on and the more it moves the more they want to get on ...so the Gold bull market got a long way to go