The email address in "Contact AK: Ads and more" above will vanish from November 2018.

PRIVACY POLICY

FAKE ASSI AK71 IN HWZ.

Featured blog.

1M50 CPF millionaire in 2021!

Ever since the CPFB introduced a colorful pie chart of our CPF savings a few years ago, I would look forward to mine every year like a teena...

Past blog posts now load week by week. The old style created a problem for some as the system would load 50 blog posts each time. Hope the new style is better. Search archives in box below.

Archives

"E-book" by AK

Second "e-book".

Another free "e-book".

4th free "e-book".

Pageviews since Dec'09

Financially free and Facebook free!

Recent Comments

ASSI's Guest bloggers

AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT: Scrip dividend II.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

I have been asked online and offline if I would be taking part in the Distribution Reinvestment Plan (DRP) offered by AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT.



The price is $1.2421 per unit. This is at a slight discount compared to the closing price of the REIT in the last session which was $1.27 per unit.

The last DRP offered unitholders a price of $1.1622. Shortly after, the unit price plunged to hit a low of $1.085. Could we see a repeat of history? Could unit price plunge lower this time as well?

I did not take part in the last DRP and was waiting to accumulate closer to S$1.00 a unit. Unfortunately, Mr. Market was hungry for AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT and buyers overwhelmed sellers after unit price touched a low of $1.085.

So, if we put these pictures together, we could see the REIT's unit price plunge below the DRP's offered price again. How low would the unit price go? This, no one can say for sure but if the opportunity should present itself, for anyone who would like to increase exposure to the REIT, buying then would make sense.

So, am I taking part in the DRP?

Related post:
AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT: Scrip Dividend.

Tea with AK71: Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

As a boy, I used to visit the temple dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy on Waterloo Street regularly with my parents. During the very difficult years of the 1980s recession, we were even more regular. Till today, my dad would still visit regularly.

Personally, I have not been to the temple in years. Today, I made use of the public holiday to visit the temple. I went through the usual routine of prayers and making a donation to the needy when I got there.

A visit to the temple always sets my mind at ease, not because I think the Goddess of Mercy would make things right but because I would reflect on my life and realise that things are not too bad. Sometimes, life gets a bit choppy but we have to count our blessings. Remember to be humble and remember to help the less fortunate.

As I was leaving the temple, on impulse, I took a photo with my Samsung Galaxy Ace. It was hastily taken and as it was very sunny, I could not see the photo taken clearly then. I looked at the photo when I got home just now and I was really amazed by it.

佛光普照

May the benevolent radiance of the Lord Buddha shine on all of us.

Good debt is always good?

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

I look at debt as a necessary evil. Sometimes, I need that extra help in order to buy something.

Then, do I take as long as I can to repay the debt? Well, in this environment of very low interest rates, the concept of good debt has gained traction. Why not?

The idea of good debt is appealing because it gives us more funds which could possibly generate higher returns than the interest paid on the borrowed funds. What is the catch here? Yes, only if we can use the funds to generate higher returns.



The late Dennis Ng said that the rich always take on debt while the average man tries to be debt free. This is not always true. I know of rich towkays who have so much money in their bank accounts that they would pay for a luxury car in cash instead of taking a car loan! No matter how low the interest rate is on a car loan, it is still some 10x more than what a savings account pays in interest. I also know of average people who are leveraged to the max to capitalise on good debt.

So, who is right and who is wrong?

Recently, UOB came up with a 50 year home loan offer. Khaw Boon Wan has called this a gimmick, advising people not to fall for that and that it doesn't make sense. Now, does it make sense? For someone who is financially savvy and who is able to make his money work much harder, it could possibly make sense.

Personally, I am rather apathetic about the whole matter. There will always be people who are more comfortable with debt. Hey, ask the Americans. Then, there are those who are less comfortable with debt. I have heard of mainland Chinese buying condominium units with cold, hard cash.

Again, who is right and who is wrong? It is really subjective, isn't it?

For people who are proponents of good debt, the pertinent question to ask is whether our money can always make higher returns than the interest paid on the loans? For now, it looks that way. What happens the day the party ends? Are they getting drunk on debt?

For people who are more conservative, the pertinent question to ask is whether they could be short changing themselves by being debt free in this environment of very low interest rates. Of course, if the most sophisticated wealth building tool they know is fixed deposits, staying debt free is the way to go.

Like a friend told me, I have a choice. His intended message was that I have a choice whether or not to embrace good debt. Personally, I understand the concept but I am more comfortable being debt free.

I feigned ignorance and replied: "People who do not have a choice should not be investing in property." With this, I deviated from his line of reasoning that good debt is always good. Instead, I insinuated that people who do not have a choice but to borrow to invest in properties just because of the very low interest rate environment and the perceived future returns should think twice.

Of course, the choice is theirs. ;)

Tea with AK71: Climate change.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Let us take a break from all the hustle and bustle of our lives. Let us think about the world and if we are helping to make a difference.

Beijing was hit by the worst rainfall in 60 years last month.


The relentless, weather gone crazy type of heat that has blistered the USA and other parts of the world in recent years is so rare that it can't be anything but man-made global warming...

The research says that the likelihood of such temperatures occurring from the 1950s through the 1980s was rarer than one in 300, Now, the odds are closer to one in 10...

The increase in the chance of extreme heat, drought and heavy downpours in certain regions is so huge that scientists should stop hemming and hawing... AP



Mother Nature will find a way to right the imbalances. In Beijing, the official pollution index, which had showed an unhealthy rating before the storm hit, registered “excellent” after the storm, with the air noticeably free of its normal acrid smell. Full story: here.

If we do not make changes, Mother Nature will change things her way.

Related post:
Tea with AK71: Just storms?

Wilmar: Touched a new low.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

In the last session, Wilmar's share price touched a new low of $3.18. Many market participants are wondering if they should go long here. Of course, conventional wisdom would say wait for the sellers to be done selling.



So, are the sellers done selling? The OBV shows that distribution activity has not ceased. However, both MFI and MACD have not formed lower lows as compared to May 2012 when share price was higher but declining. Together, the technicals tell me that there are still sellers around but demand has picked up if only barely so.

Technically very weak, we could see lower prices for Wilmar's shares if the current floor fails to hold. Immediate support is at $3.18 while immediate resistance is at $3.54.

Although we could hope for a gap fill at $4.65 which is also where we find the declining 200dMA, that is a long shot and unlikely to happen in the near future.

After such a massive selling down, market participants are likely to take whatever gains they can and run for the hills if there should be any run up in share price. So, adopting a trading mentality could be fruitful for anyone interested in going long here.

Related post:
Wilmar: Not a time to sell.

China Minzhong: Pushing higher.

To any chart watchers, it is obvious that China Minzhong's share price has broken out of resistance.  From here the immediate resistance is provided by the declining 100dMA which is currently at 73c. It could approximate 72c in the next few sessions.




Overcoming the 100dMA could see a test of resistance provided by the 200dMA which is also declining but more gently so. The 200dMA is at 83c. The last time the 200dMA was tested was earlier this year in February.

With all the momentum oscillators up sharply, the worst is over for China Minzhong's share price, it would seem. MACD suggests a return of positive momentum. MFI suggests demand is stronger. OBV suggests robust and continuing accumulation.

It has to be said that a longer term downtrend that started in early 2011 is still intact. So, traders ought to be careful and watch the longer term resistance.

Related post:
China Minzhong: Crossroads.

Sound Global: Retest of resistance likely

On 7 July, I said that the technicals suggested it could be time to sell Sound Global's shares and that if price were to move higher, it would be a slow grind upwards. This picture has, essentially, stayed intact till now as its share price has been stuck at resistance, not being able to move convincingly above 61.5c, a many times tested resistance in the last few months.



Mr. Market is feeling slightly bullish of late and, so, could his attention move to Sound Global?

The company's fundamentals are strong and with sentiments improving, there is a chance that its share price could move higher. A retest of resistance at 61.5c looks likely. However, whether resistance could be taken out would depend on volume which has been rather low.

After 61.5c, the next major resistance is at 68c.

Related post:
Sound Global: Would I buy now?

Sound Global said it has agreed to undertake the second phase to expand the existing capacity as well as to increase the existing discharge standard of the wastewater treatment plant BOT project in Jingbian County, Shaanxi Province, China.



Monthly Popular Blog Posts

All time ASSI most popular!

 
 
Bloggy Award