Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by VesperMartini

This man is cool yo

VesperMartini — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 22:13:04 +0800

Cocoa windfall for Guan Chong

QUOTE

KUALA LUMPUR: The recent sharp rise in cocoa prices has brought a windfall for Guan Chong Bhd, which had earlier stocked up on the soft commodity at substantially lower prices.

The company’s profit margin has already widened substantially to 6.7% for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2010, from 1.8% in the previous corresponding period.

For nine-month period, Guan Chong’s revenue nearly doubled to RM836.3 million from RM424.8 million. Net profit soared more than seven-fold to RM56.17 million from RM7.66 million in the same period a year ago.

“We try to sustain profit margins of about 5% to 7% and sustain that no matter how high or low cocoa prices might go ” Guan Chong CEO Brandon Tay told The Edge Financial Daily yesterday.

Johor Baru-based Guan Chong is an upstream cocoa processor that converts raw cocoa beans into semi-complete ingredients like cocoa butter, cocoa cake and cocoa powder.

The company obtains its cocoa bean supply from Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.

Tay said high cocoa prices are good for the company since it could always pass on the cost increase to its customers by quoting higher selling prices.

“Our prospects are good moving forward. Sales have indeed been great,” Tay added.

“You see, whether at high or low prices, the big boys have to buy cocoa from middleman like us. Once we use our supplies, we immediately hedge it on the futures market to replenish the stock for the coming already kept this [increasing raw material costs] in mind when making their orders,” he explains.

Cocoa prices shot up early this month due to political tension in Ivory Coast, where a disputed election has left the country with two rival presidents.

A one-month ban on cocoa exports from Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest cocoa producer, has added more upward pressure on prices. Cocoa prices rose to US$3,366 a tonne yesterday, from US$2,745 in late August last year.

Commodity analysts quoted by news agencies say that prices might even soar to the US$3700-level, the highest since 1979, should the supply of cocoa get even tighter.

On Bursa Malaysia, Guan Chong’s share price has climbed in tandem with the rise of cocoa prices. The stock surged to a record high of RM2.72 yesterday, up 51% from RM1.80 in mid-December. Analysts say the company’s improved financial performance could be attributed to the large stocks of raw cocoa beans it keeps in storage, which is now worth much more based on current prices.

Its balance sheet as at Sept 30, 2010, shows the company’s inventory has been reduced to RM165.29 million from RM229.98 million a year ago. According to Tay, 80% of the company’s inventory is in raw material.

In fact, escalating cocoa prices and its high inventory level have come in handy for the company in obtaining loans. Its gearing is currently at 1.21 times, based on long- and short-term borrowings at RM180.52 million and total equity of RM149.11 million.

“I know some analysts may not like it, but our company can afford to increase our gearing because our inventory mostly consists of cocoa beans,” Tay says.

Earlier, Tay had indiated that Guan Chong intended to sell some of its raw material stock to fund its second bean-grinding factory, on Batam Island, Indonesia.

“We have completed the first phase of the factory. If we run full capacity in the first phase, it will increase our capacity to 130,000 tonnes from 80,000 presently,” Tay says.

“We will complete the second phase of the factory by the end of this year. The second phase of the factory will add 60,000 tonnes to our capacity,” he adds.

Despite the threat of cocoa bean shortage due to the political unrest in Ivory Coast, Tay remains confident that it will not be a major problem for the company.

“Well, you know, every year they fight. They will eventually find a way to bring out the beans. They will somehow smuggle out from Ivory Coast into neighbouring countries such as Ghana, which will then deliver to the rest of the world,” says Tay.

“So, we actually don’t really have to worry about the supply of cocoa beans,” he adds.

Source: http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/highlights/...guan-chong.html

My.E.G. warn me about Ops Sikap

VesperMartini — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:47:40 +0800

Yeah, the company facebook page told me to obey the rules and drive safe on the road. From what I know, My.E.G. help government to collect saman online. Isnt that a conflict of interest? If its warnings work, how the company is going to make money?

Anyway, here's a piece of article on Ops Sikap. Drive safe everyone! Vrooom Vroom.

Ops Sikap targets 5% reduction in road accidents

QUOTE

PETALING JAYA: The 23rd Ops Sikap campaign has been launched in conjunction with Chinese New Year.

The campaign, which starts today and ends on Feb 10, is targetting a reduction in the number of accidents by 5%.

Internal Security and Public Order director Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said there were 6,872 deaths from 414,421 accidents last year compared to 6,745 deaths from 397,330 accidents in 2009.

He said the Road Transport Department has also been roped into the nationwide operation.

“We have set up 19 locations along expressways, highways and trunk roads to catch errant road users,” he said after launching the 23rd Ops Sikap campaign at the Persada PLUS in Subang here yesterday.

He advised road users to be more careful and alert while driving to avoid accidents.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...7859&sec=nation

In China, KFC pwned McD gao gao lat lat

VesperMartini — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:31:43 +0800

McDonald's No Match for KFC in China as Colonel Rules Fast Food

QUOTE

On the edge of Tiananmen Square, just across the street from Mao Zedong’s tomb, He Yingying munches on a piece of chicken and gazes at the benign-looking figure beaming down at her.

“We love him,” she says, bursting into an impish smile.

The 21-year-old student from Beijing’s Capital University of Economics and Business isn’t referring to Mao, whose iconic official portrait dominates the square. She’s talking about a long-dead, white-bearded Kentucky colonel on the logo of the KFC restaurant where she’s feasting on her favorite fast food, Bloomberg Markets reports in its March issue.

In its home market, the U.S., KFC is struggling, an also- ran to McDonald’s Corp., the world’s biggest restaurant company, and feuding with some of its own franchisees over how to halt declining profits.

In China, KFC has achieved such dominance over McDonald’s and local rivals that Colonel Harland Sanders’s image is a far more common sight in many Chinese cities than that of Mao. That accomplishment is striking in a country where foreign companies often stumbled and ran into roadblocks in the past.

The secret to the success of KFC’s parent company, Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum! Brands Inc., can be traced to its use of local ingredients -- both in its management team and on its menus. In the 24 years it has been operating in China, Yum has hired Chinese managers to build partnerships with local companies in its expansion drive and used their expertise to offer an array of regional dishes that appeal to domestic tastes.

Local Flavors

Today, KFC customers can purchase a bowl of congee, a rice porridge that can feature pork, pickles, mushrooms and preserved egg, as well as buy a bucket of its famous fried chicken. In 2010, Yum expected to make 36 percent of an estimated $2 billion operating profit from 3,700 restaurants in China -- eclipsing for the first time its total earnings from the 19,000 Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, Long John Silver’s and A&W restaurants it owns in America. Yum announced on Jan. 18 that it will sell its Long John Silver’s and A&W chains in part to focus on China.

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China Dependent

Yum’s Chinese success story also brings risks. Bearish investors such as hedge-fund managers Hugh Hendry and Jim Chanos are predicting that the world’s second-biggest economy, which has surged an average of 10 percent a year for more than three decades, could slow to a halt if asset bubbles burst and rising labor and food costs bite businesses.

Within four years, Yum will be dependent on China for more than half of its global revenue and profit margin, according to Warren Liu, a former Yum vice president who’s now China chairman of Investindustrial Advisors Co., a $2.7 billion European private-equity firm.

“I worry about too much reliance on a single market no matter how financially attractive that market is,” says Liu, who wrote the unauthorized KFC in China: Secret Recipe for Success (Wiley, 2008). ”If Yum’s China business went south, it would kill the stock,” McGregor says.

David Novak, Yum’s Louisville-based chairman and chief executive officer, says that’s not going to happen. He cites estimates from Morgan Stanley and Euromonitor that China’s economy will triple in size over the next decade, lifting another 200 million Chinese into the fast-food-consuming class.

“China is the best restaurant opportunity in the 21st century,” Novak, 58, says in an e-mail.

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Doubling Down

Novak has doubled down on China. In 2004, he launched a new chain, East Dawning, which serves only Chinese fast food. Then, in 2009, he acquired a 27 percent stake in Little Sheep Group Ltd., a Hong Kong-listed company that operates 480 restaurants specializing in Mongolian hot pot dishes.

Investors are betting that Novak is right. In 2010, Yum shares jumped 40 percent on the New York Stock Exchange compared with a 23 percent rise in McDonald’s shares and a 13 percent increase in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Earnings in the third quarter rose 6.9 percent to $357 million thanks to the surge in China profits. Since Yum Brands was spun off from PepsiCo Inc. in 1997, the stock has risen more than sixfold, compared with the 37 percent rise in the S&P 500 to Jan. 25.

”If you want an easy way to get a piece of the China consumer story, Yum is a good stock to buy into,” says Shaun Rein, Shanghai-based managing director of China Market Research Group.

Margins Squeezed

Yet Liu Yang, chairman and chief investment officer of the Chinese unit of London-based Atlantis Investment Management Ltd., says she wouldn’t buy the stock because higher regional minimum wages have pushed up labor costs by as much as 21 percent in major cities and food inflation that hit 9.6 percent in December will increase the price of raw materials.

“Yum used to be a good China consumer play, but they will face a squeeze on their margins,” says Hong Kong based Liu, who helps manage $4 billion.

Yum executives said at an investor conference in New York in December that the growing importance of the China business could lead to more volatility in the bottom line.

“We want to become less China dependent,” Novak told investors. ”I don’t know if there’s another China, but I think India, Russia -- you combine a few of these opportunities, and you’ll create another China over time.”

Yum’s success in China has resulted in large part from its ability to create a menu that combines its traditional finger- lickin’ Western fast food with chopstick-lickin’ dishes that appeal to Chinese tastes.

Dragon Twister

While McDonald’s restaurants in China mostly sell the same U.S.-style burgers, KFC’s menu features dishes that would be un- recognizable to its patrons in the U.S. Alongside the Colonel’s ”secret recipe” fried chicken, Chinese KFCs also offer options such as the Dragon Twister, a chicken wrap in a Peking duck-type sauce, and spicy tofu chicken rice based on the cuisine of Sichuan province, home of China’s hottest dishes.

Pizza Huts in China bear even less resemblance to their Western counterparts. While a KFC in the People’s Republic still looks like a Western-style fast-food restaurant, Chinese Pizza Huts are marketed as sophisticated venues for the legion of increasingly affluent and status-conscious Chinese. Seated in comfortably cushioned booths, customers can choose from a 106- item menu that includes wine and Chinese-influenced dishes such as scallop croquettes with crushed seaweed and even French- inspired escargot.

Circumcision Parties

Yum’s cultural flexibility doesn’t end with the localized menu. While fast-food restaurants in the West often host kids’ birthday parties, KFCs in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang autonomous region that’s home to the Muslim Uyghur people, advertise parties for the families of boys who have just undergone the religious ritual of circumcision.

“KFC is certainly doing better than McDonald’s at becoming more Chinese,” says Su Yi, 28, a lawyer, as he pauses between spoonfuls of mushroom, bacon and rice one recent lunchtime in a packed KFC opposite Beijing’s Jishuitan subway station. “I have lunch at KFC twice a week because there’s always one close by. And when I’m out on a date and want to impress a girl, I take her to Pizza Hut.”

China’s embrace of Yum’s brands -- and vice versa -- is most apparent in the center of Beijing, where Colonel Sanders meets Chairman Mao in Tiananmen Square. On the ground level of the three-story KFC, an elaborate mural of the Great Wall greets diners.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-26/m...-fast-food.html

In Malaysia, KFC is becoming more and more local. KFC iz winz.

Malaysia Petani will become very rich in 10 years

VesperMartini — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:22:22 +0800

Commodities Will ‘Make A Fortune’: Jim Rogers

QUOTE

Despite the recent price volatility, and tightening measures from China and India, renowned global investor Jim Rogers says commodities are where you should be putting your money.

“If the world economy gets better, commodities are going to make a fortune. If the world economy does not get better, commodities are the place to be because they are going to print more money, and that's how you protect yourself,” Rogers told CNBC Thursday.

He is not expecting oil to hit the psychological $150 mark in the near term but says the prices will stay high.

“We are running out of known reserve of oil -- these are simple facts,” he pointed out. “We have not had a major elephant oil field discovered in over 40 years.”

He concedes that there will be volatility in the commodities market, but is bullish on its long-term uptrend.

“Nothing goes straight up or straight down,” he said. “But these corrections will be nothing more than corrections in a major bull market which has years to go.”

He warns that now is not a time to own stocks and bonds, and says it’s a myth when brokers say stocks are an inflation hedge.

“Throughout history, go back and look, you know we had huge inflation in the 70s, stocks were not in a good place to be,” Rogers said.

“This is the time when you should own real assets, not stocks and bonds.”

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/41286081

I like to share this good news with all other palm oil platation owners.

Use a pizza to describe Malaysian Economy

VesperMartini — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:17:59 +0800

The Economy, Any Way You Slice It

QUOTE

Pizza has a big place in the Davos diet. At almost every bar and restaurant in the town it's on the menu and the CNBC team practically lives on it during the WEF. It's quick, filling and, depending on the toppings, can provide a nutritional boost.

But something new caught my eye as I was heading along the main drag, the Promenade. There's a restaurant actually offering an official WEF Pizza. (On closer inspection it wasn't an acronym like Watercress, Eggs, Feta.)

Now, what exactly would a WEF Pizza be? How could a pie or a slice capture the global and economic spirit of the annual meeting?

Or taking it a step further, how could a pizza represent some of the global economies?

Here's what we hope to see on the menu next year:

Germany Pizza - You get one huge pizza, but you have to share it with a bunch of other tables around the restaurant.

USA Pizza - You get one bad pizza with subprime beef topping, but you can leverage it up to six pizzas.

China Pizza - You order a medium and get an extra-large pizza.

Japan Pizza - You get pretty much the same pizza you've had year after year.

UK Pizza - You get a pizza with a lot of slices cut out of it already.

(For the record, the WEF Pizza is red onions, olives, rocket and salami.)

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/41288971

Bruno Mars- Grenade

VesperMartini — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:24:19 +0800

Bruno Mars - Grenade

QUOTE

Easy come, easy go
That's just how you live, oh
Take, take, take it all,
But you never give
Should of known you was trouble from the first kiss,
Why were they open?
Gave you all I had
And you tossed it in the trash
You tossed it in the trash, you did
To give me all your love is all I ever asked,
Cause what you don't understand is
I’d catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I’d jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah , yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Oh, oh
I would go through all this pain,
Take a bullet straight through my brain,
Yes, I would die for ya baby;
But you won't do the same

No, no, no, no
Black, black, black and blue beat me till I'm numb
Tell the devil I said “hey” when you get back to where you're from
Mad woman, bad woman,
That's just what you are, yeah,
You’ll smile in my face then rip the breaks out my car
Gave you all I had
And you tossed it in the trash

You tossed it in the trash, yes you did
To give me all your love is all I ever asked
Cause what you don't understand is
I’d catch a grenade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I’d jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah , yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Oh, oh
I would go through all this pain,
Take a bullet straight through my brain,
Yes, I would die for ya baby;
But you won't do the same

If my body was on fire, ooh
You’ d watch me burn down in flames
You said you loved me you're a liar
Cause you never, ever, ever did baby...
But darling I’ll still catch a grenade for ya
Throw my hand on a blade for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I’d jump in front of a train for ya (yeah, yeah , yeah)
You know I'd do anything for ya (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Oh, oh
I would go through all this pain,
Take a bullet straight through my brain,
Yes, I would die for ya baby;
But you won't do the same.
No, you won’t do the same,
You wouldn’t do the same,
Ooh, you’ll never do the same,
No, no, no, no

Source: http://www.directlyrics.com/bruno-mars-grenade-lyrics.html

IMHO, this type of lyrics should be censored. It is conveying a misleading message by telling guys to sacrifice for their loved ones like alviss. I know girls may find this song touching. But, to me, it sounds like a man fighting a terrorist.

The Maxis Ipad Advert on /k/ Homepage

VesperMartini — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:29:44 +0800

Very good design coupled with good colour choice. it makes me wanna buy an ipad. the ad has been here for a few weeks. se7en's pocket must be fat!

Why we should never attempt to time the market

VesperMartini — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 14:06:09 +0800

Artradis Hedge Fund to Shut After Losses; Diggle Plans New Firm

QUOTE

Artradis Fund Management Pte, whose hedge funds made a combined $2.7 billion in profits for investors as markets see-sawed in 2007 and 2008, is closing down after it lost money from wagers on price swings in the last two years.

The Singapore-based manager plans to give investors in Artradis AB2 Fund their money by Feb. 28, said co-founder Stephen Diggle. The firm hopes to return money in its Artradis Barracuda Fund by the same date as it awaits investors’ vote to wind up the fund, he said in an interview today. The volatility funds are “substantially in cash,” he said.

“We had seven years of profits -- 2007 and 2008 were spectacular -- but the last years we’ve been losing money,” Diggle said. “That’s become unacceptable to us and to our investors. It was time to draw down the curtain.” Diggle declined to say how much money the firm lost or reveal its returns for 2010.

Artradis, which managed about $800 million as of Dec. 31 compared with about $4.5 billion in January 2009, outperformed in declining markets by using options contracts to trade volatility. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has risen 91 percent since March 9, 2009, when it sank to a near-six-year low following the September 2008 bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

The 30-day volatility on the Asian stock benchmark has fallen to about 17 percent, from a record 78 percent on Nov. 13, 2008.

Government Bailout

The U.S. government and Federal Reserve have pledged about $12.8 trillion since 2008 to fix the financial system and prevent deflation, and policy makers committed $600 billion to buy Treasuries to stimulate economic growth, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Diggle, 46, plans to transform his family office, Vulpes Investments, into an investment management company and take over the Artradis Russian Opportunities Fund and the Artradis Testudo Fund, which has only the partners’ money, he said.

Diggle and Richard Magides founded Artradis in 2001. They set up Barracuda in May 2002, followed by AB2 in June 2005. Diggle, who graduated from the University of Oxford in 1986, was head of the Asian equity derivatives trading department of Lehman Brothers and ran its futures operations in Hong Kong.

Magides, 47, received a science degree from Essex University in 1986. Before starting Artradis, he was the chief operating officer of Malaysia’s Rashid Hussain Securities Sdn., where he oversaw operations in New York, London and southeast Asia and managed its proprietary trading.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-25/a...s-new-firm.html
Past Returns

In 2008, Artradis’s volatility funds had the highest returns among Asia-focused hedge funds that manage at least $500 million, according to Eurekahedge Pte, a Singapore-based data provider. The regional benchmark equity index lost 43 percent in 2008, the biggest decline in its two-decade history.

Volatility hedge funds seek to make money from buying and selling options on securities and indexes. Traders usually purchase options when they expect market fluctuations to increase and sell them when they expect swings to decrease. Options are derivatives that give the right but not the obligation to buy or sell an underlying security at a set price and date.

good example of hare vs tortoise.

Stanley Ho - Family Members Seize Gambling Empire

VesperMartini — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 13:39:14 +0800

Stanley Ho Says Family Members Seize Gambling Empire Stake

QUOTE

Stanley Ho’s family seized his stake in the parent of SJM Holdings Ltd. without his consent and the Macau billionaire may take action to keep control of the gambling business he built over five decades, his lawyer said.

SJM, Asia’s biggest casino operator, yesterday said Ho, 89, gave up control of a 31.7 percent stake in Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau, its parent, to two companies owned by members of his family.

The dispute over SJM, which owns 20 casinos including the flagship Lisboa in the world’s biggest gambling hub, comes after Ho was released from a seven-month stay in a hospital last March. Ho, who fled to Macau from Hong Kong ahead of the Japanese army in World War II, wanted to divide assets equally among families of his four wives, according to his lawyer Gordon Oldham, the senior partner of Oldham, Li & Nie.

“What really upsets him is that he’s not even dead yet, but in the twilight of his life his second and third families appear to be squabbling and pinching it for themselves,” said Oldham over the phone. “There’s no doubt that he has all his faculties.”

SJM, which has the biggest gaming share in the former Portuguese colony, fell the most in a month yesterday in Hong Kong trading on concern the ownership transfer may affect decision making. The stock was halted today pending a “price- sensitive” announcement, the company said.

‘Slight Concern’

“There’s a slight concern over the legal action,” Andrew Sullivan, director of institutional sales at OSK Securities Hong Kong Ltd., said by phone today. “There will be that split between family members. Yet whatever the outcome of the re- distribution, I very much doubt you’ll see the company severely damaged. Day-to-day running of the company will continue.”

Ho and partners in 1962 secured a gaming monopoly in Macau, a 10-square mile territory one hour by ferry from Hong Kong, from the colonial government. He lost the monopoly in 2004. He sired 17 children from four wives.

Ho’s third wife Chan Un-chan and children Pansy, Daisy, Maisy, Josie and Lawrence took control of Lanceford Co., which holds the 31.7 percent stake in STDM that Ho gave up, according to statements yesterday from SJM and Brunswick Group LLP, the public relations company for Lanceford. The five children are from his second wife, Lucina Laam King-ying.

Action Winner Holdings Ltd., owned by Chan, will hold a 50.55 percent stake in Lanceford, and Ranillo Investment Ltd., controlled by the five children, will have 49.45 percent, according to Brunswick yesterday.

Explanation Demanded

Stanley Ho sent a letter to Daisy demanding an explanation for the change, and hasn’t seen a response, Oldham said. Lanceford also holds other assets and represents the bulk of Stanley Ho’s wealth, Oldham said.

Ho was ranked Hong Kong’s 13th richest man with a net worth of $3.1 billion by Forbes magazine earlier this month.

SJM is 56 percent owned by STDM, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Joseph Lo, a director at Brunswick, which represents Lanceford, couldn’t immediately respond to the report and said he was trying to get in touch with the family. Calls made to press secretaries for Pansy and Stanley weren’t answered.

Lawrence Ho has no comment on the newspaper report according to Maggie Ma, a spokeswoman for Melco International Development Ltd. Lawrence is the chairman of Melco International, which rose 3.8 percent to HK$5.68 at 11:29 a.m. in Hong Kong.

Ho last month transferred his 7.7 percent stake in SJM to Angela Leong, mother of his five youngest children, after he was released from a seven-month stay in a hospital last March.

SJM has a market share of 32.6 percent in Macau, the only place in China where casinos are legal, according to a Jan. 17 research note from CLSA Ltd. analysts Aaron Fischer and Huei Suen Ng. Sands China Ltd. has 16.5 percent followed by Wynn Macau Ltd. with 15 percent and Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. with 12.6 percent. the CLSA analysts estimated.

Shun Tak Holdings Ltd., a property developer that also operates ferries between Hong Kong and Macau, on Dec. 2 said Ho cut his direct ownership in the company in favor of two holding companies in which his children have stakes. Shun Tak rose 0.2 percent to HK$5.09 in Hong Kong trading.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-24/s...-post-says.html

I iz sad.

Do you prefer to be alone or in a group?

VesperMartini — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 11:43:32 +0800

Yesterday, a friend told me he prefers to go solo these days at his working place. He said he could save a lot of time if he do the little things alone. He eats alone, go out alone, and rest alone. Except for some important projects, he never mixes with his colleagues. I told him that he would eventually get boycotted by his colleagues if he does not manage his relationship well with them. He replied that he does not care as long as he is the best performer in the company. I just smiled and nod my head when I hear his answer.

This friend seems to not give a fucuk about office politics. The company which he is working at is very well known for office politics in KL. And yes..he is the fastest climber in the company for a 27 year old, outpacing senior colleagues who are more experienced and more qualified (in terms of academic qualifications as he only owns a degree while the others have MBAs, other professional qualifications). 5 figured salary, german car, high-ended condo.

So, the question for today is, would you rather be selfish than selfless in order to achieve career success? The downside is you risk being backstabbed by your colleagues from time to time. Oh, not to forget the upside..luxurious lifestyle with a hot gf.

Make your choice.

Doug Kass: Gold Price Will drop to $1050 in 2011

VesperMartini — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:01:01 +0800

Doug Kass: Gold Slides To $1050/oz in 2011

QUOTE

You might remember that Doug Kass told us last month that gold was going to be among the worst asset classes in 2011.

Well, if you’re long, you might want to fasten your seatbelt. Kass thinks you're in for a bumpy ride! He thinks you’re looking at more downside – a lot more – about $300 dollar’s worth.

”I think gold experiences wild volatility in price this year. I think it briefly touches $1050 an ounce and ends the year $150 an ounce lower than where it is now,” Kass says in a live interview on CNBC’s Fast Money.

We know it's kind of a dire prediction from the widely followed president of Seabreeze partners and CNBC Contributor. And yes, we also know that Kass is a bit of a bear. But he has a rather uncanny track record.

Less than a week before the S&P 500 hit a generational low of 676 on March 9, 2009, Kass went on CNBC and predicted the bottom. Also, on July 6, 2010, he said the market had made its lows for the year and that also proved to be true.

Now back to gold - Kass is bearish because he doesn’t see a catalyst that can drive it higher.

”When an asset class has climbed from $250 an ounce 11 years ago to $1340 and ounce now - compounding at 17% annually - you need very compelling reasons to own it and I think the reasons have substantially diminished,” he says.

How about the inflation argument – after all hasn’t the Fed made inflation a cornerstone of their strategy to restore the economy. But to that, Kass says balderdash,

“Clinging to the inflation, money printing thesis,” is a pipe dream for the gold bugs.

He thinks signs are emerging that inflation will be rather tame.

”Non-US central banks are hiking interest rates, they're restricting credit and it seems likely that our Fed is nearing the end of quantitative easing.”

What’s the bottom line?

Perhaps this Kass-ism sums it up best. "Bulls think gold is god without the letter 'L' but they’re wrong for worshipping at its alter.”

Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/41198968

I personally dont rate Doug Kass. This is a brave comment made by the CNBC guy. I will bump this post again when 2011 ends.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Malaysia Hedge Fund

VesperMartini — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 14:37:08 +0800

We always hear about hedge funds nowadays.
There seems to be a lot of hedge fund in major financial centres like HK, SG and JPN but we rarely hear them in Malaysia, do we?
So far, we have a couple of well managed mutual funds and close-ended fund, but why no hedge fund?
Is hedge fund illegal in the country?
What does it take to start a hedge fund?

Father, Father save me!

VesperMartini — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 14:28:07 +0800

Former drug addict gives his life to save pastor from drowning

QUOTE

KUANTAN: A former drug addict sacrificed himself by jumping into the sea to save another man from his church group who was swept away by high tide during an outing at the popular Teluk Chempedak beach here.

The body of Hoh Kun Fatt, 22, from Kampung Baru Ampang, Selangor, was found at 5.11am yesterday near the Hyatt Regency Resort here, about 900m from where he was last seen.

Family and church members mourned the death of Hoh, whose last words were: “Save the others!”

Hoh had jumped in to save Pastor Loh Chee Kuang, 38, in the Thursday tragedy.

Eyewitness Pastor Chow Kok Min, 42, said Hoh had managed to save himself and hung on to a rock when he spotted Loh submerging – and he jumped right back into the water.

Other group members from Charis Youth Centre, Broga, then dived in and managed to pull Loh to safety, said Chow at the Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan mortuary.

Hoh was nowhere to be seen as the waves continued to hit the shore.

“We will return to Kuantan to complete our mission after Hoh’s funeral in Kuala Lumpur,” said Chow, adding that Hoh would have wanted them to complete their anti-drug awareness campaign at eight Chinese primary schools here.

In Kuala Lumpur, Loh said Hoh had doubled back to save his life even though both of them could not swim.

“He managed to push me to the rocks, but another wave hit us and we were dragged back out to the sea,” a visibly upset Loh said at the funeral service in Kampung Baru Ampang last night.

Another church member who was also caught in the waves, Ng Niang Ping, 30, recalled that Hoh had kept pushing him towards the rocks so he could get to safety.

Hoh’s sister, Mei Kin, 30, held back tears as she recounted how her deceased brother changed for the better after joining the church.

“It’s heartbreaking to see him gone, especially just when he got his life back on track. We are so proud of him,” she said.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...1571&sec=nation

This is absolutely fantabulous...I'm actually thinking of converting to christian right now..who says theres no love in this world?

Rakyat laundered more than RM 208 bil in 2010

VesperMartini — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 14:23:04 +0800

Bank Negara to issue statement on illicit fund

QUOTE

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara will issue specific comments on news report that Malaysia is ranked fifth among countries that have the most illicit fund outflows, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“It can be many reasons but let Bank Negara provide more specific comments on that,” he said after launching Dana Belia 1Malaysia yesterday. Najib was asked to comment on an online news regarding illicit money outflows from Malaysia based on a report by US-based financial watchdog, Global Financial Integrity.

The report said the illicit money outflow from Malaysia in 2000 was at RM67.7bil (US$22.2bil), which eight years later ballooned to RM208bil (US$68.2bil). — Bernama

Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?f...20&sec=business

Be proud of Petronas

VesperMartini — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 14:18:06 +0800

QUOTE

Top companies: Most profitable
Rank Company Global 500
Rank 2009 Profits
($ millions) Profits % change from 2008
1 Gazprom 50 24,555.7 -17.8
2 Exxon Mobil 3 19,280.0 -57.4
3 Industrial &Commercial Bank of China 87 18,832.2 18.1
4 BP 4 16,578.0 -21.6
5 China Construction Bank 116 15,627.9 17.3
6 Petrobras 54 15,504.0 -17.9
7 Barclays 96 14,648.3 82.3
8 Microsoft 115 14,569.0 -17.6
9 Wal-Mart Stores 1 14,335.0 7
10 Vodafone 80 13,782.3 165.6
11 Procter &Gamble 66 13,436.0 11.3
12 International Business Machines 48 13,425.0 8.8
13 Goldman Sachs Group 134 13,385.0 476.4
14 Merck 294 12,901.3 65.2
15 AT&T 21 12,535.0 -2.6
16 Royal Dutch Shell 2 12,518.0 -52.4
17 Banco Santander 37 12,430.3 -4.3
18 Wells Fargo 46 12,275.0 362.3
19 Johnson &Johnson 108 12,266.0 -5.3
20 Bank of China 143 11,867.5 28.2
21 Total 14 11,740.9 -24.3
22 J.P. Morgan Chase &Co. 25 11,728.0 109.2
23 E.ON 27 11,670.0 529.8
24 China Mobile 77 11,656.3 1.9
25 Petronas 107 11,649.1 -23.9
26 General Electric 13 11,025.0 -36.7
27 Telefónica 68 10,808.3 -2.7
28 Bristol-Myers Squibb 405 10,612.0 102.2
29 Chevron 11 10,483.0 -56.2
30 China National Petroleum 10 10,272.5 0
31 Nestlé 44 9,604.0 -42.4
32 Agricultural Bank of China 141 9,514.1 28.5
33 Pfizer 140 8,635.0 6.6
34 GlaxoSmithKline 163 8,625.6 2.2
35 Novartis 160 8,400.0 2.5
36 BNP Paribas 18 8,106.2 83.3
37 Berkshire Hathaway 28 8,055.0 61.3
38 Hewlett-Packard 26 7,660.0 -8
39 Samsung Electronics 32 7,562.1 50.4
40 AstraZeneca 226 7,521.0 23.3
41 Enel 60 7,498.8 -3.2
42 Sanofi-Aventis 169 7,318.1 29.8
43 Roche Group 153 7,168.9 -13.5
44 Lukoil 93 7,011.0 -23.3
45 Deutsche Bank 113 6,912.2 N.A.
46 Coca-Cola 245 6,824.0 17.5
47 Google 355 6,520.4 54.3
48 Rosneft Oil 211 6,514.0 -41.4
49 Philip Morris International 331 6,342.0 -8
50 Bank of America Corp. 15 6,276.0 56.6

Source: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/glo...panies/profits/

Looking for a Malay Music Title

VesperMartini — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:30:58 +0800

I saw this music video on 8TV a couple years ago. The storyline of the music video is as follow;

once upon a time, there is two lovely malay couples. the guy work in a circus as a clown. the girl does not noe her bf job.
one day, his gf betray him by going out with another guy to the circus. the real bf found out his gf betrayed him but still tried to get his job done by making them laugh.
the end of the music video, the guy starts to remove his make up to reveal his looks to his gf.

wat's the music title? eventhough im chinese, i actually find this mv very touching

Richest 25 years old in malaysia? Yeo Keong Shyan.

VesperMartini — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:01:10 +0800

QUOTE

In a separate announcement, Starhill REIT said that Yeoh Keong Shyan, son of YTL group managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, was appointed to its board as executive director.

Keong Shyan, 25, graduated with LLB (Hons) and has obtained the Capital Markets and Financial Advisory Services (CMFAS) Certification.

He is currently responsible for the YTL hotels and resorts division, being the vice-president of YTL Hotels & Properties Sdn Bhd, YTL Land & Development Bhd and YTL Land Sdn Bhd.

Starhill REIT closed at 87.5 sen yesterday, trading at a discount to its net asset value per unit of RM1.19 before factoring in the pending income distribution.

Source:http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/in-the-financial-daily/180423-starhill-reits-income-drops-after-sale-of-lot-10-starhill-gallery.html

Any nice food in Sunway Pyramid?

VesperMartini — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:45:20 +0800

i am looking fo a good restaurant to settle my lunch n dinner in sunway pyramid this sunday. any recommendation from /k/? i hope to avoid those general restaurants like dragon i, sushi king, kfc, mcd, wendys, fish market, food court, ramen, etc. thanks for ur help!

Samsung Galaxy S/Galaxy Tab or iPad

VesperMartini — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:42:32 +0800

Okay, i just made some serious money after taking profit in some of my foreign stocks. Now, i want to reward myself with a fancy gadget. So, among Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung Galaxy Tab, and iPad, which one do you guys recommend?

Things to consider;
function
specs

how much u spend on ur gf/wife per month?

VesperMartini — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 19:33:25 +0800

question as topic.