Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by moosset

Should you take a loan at a low interest rate?

moosset — Sat, 07 Mar 2020 13:29:03 +0800

At what interest rate and yearly return that it's worth taking a loan?

I saw the discussion on ASB-financing thread where ppl arguing about whether one should take a loan.
Note: it sounds like ASB-financing related but actually it can be applied to other things like a car loan, mortgage etc so please bear with me.

Say,
IR, interest rate is 4.5%
T, tenure is 30 years
L, loan amount is RM 200k

In excel with the following code, we get RM 1,013.37.

CODE

=PMT(IR/12,T*12,-L)

In 30 years, that's RM 364,813.42.
A person who took the loan would have RM 200k and assuming 5.5% dividend every year, that's RM 996,790.26 after 30 years.
Deducting the cost,
RM 996,790.26 - RM 364,813.42 = RM 631,976.83.

However, if you save RM 1,013.37 x 12 months or RM 12,160.45 per year in ASB (or any instrument with the same yearly return of 5.5%), compounded yearly ...
in excel, we get RM 880,847.82.

CODE

=FV(IR,T,-1013.37*12)

So, instead of the loan with monthly repayment of RM 1,013.37, wouldn't it be better to just save RM 1,013.37 by yourself?

(1) Is my logic flawed? I had always thought ASB-financing was free money.

(2) so at what point, or rather at what interest rate and what yearly return that it's worth taking the loan?

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Is Vancouver the best city in the world?

moosset — Sat, 29 Feb 2020 14:31:36 +0800

Is Vancouver the best city to live in the world?

Is it better than Melbourne and Sydney? Can Malaysians migrate there easily?

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Rant: GSC cinema website

moosset — Thu, 13 Feb 2020 17:58:21 +0800

I don't know how many of you search for movies / book ticket online.... but how come the GSC website so jialak!!

Is it just me or you just can't search movies based on the cinema locations?
I've to click on a movie, then have to choose a date, and then found out that the movie is not available at my local cinema!

It would make my life so much easier if they just let me filter by cinema locations. Then I can see what movies are available.
AAAAAAAHHHHH!! So annoying!

and there's also no feedback form/button. How are they ever going to improve themselves?

I'm a SINGER我是歌手2020 Malaysian contestant

moosset — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 22:25:13 +0800

Shila Amzah used to be on this show 5 years ago. This year, we have Lee Pei Ling 李佩玲。

The contest has changed slightly this year. Malaysian Lee Pei Ling is one of the 3 challengers to challenge the more established singers.
She sang "I wanna be free". She challenged the singer who sang before her.

[YOUTUBE]JFbwdvfHNt4[/YOUTUBE]

Also performed on the show is Zhou Shen 周深, Mao Bu Yi毛不易 and MISIA (Japan), Hua hua 華華華晨宇:

[YOUTUBE]3jTwsKaxQm8[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]kQnjaI48v1A[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]Y8H9O7JsIpU[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]AEeuklEh6V0[/YOUTUBE]

Why Do Bats Carry So Many Diseases?

moosset — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 11:02:16 +0800

youtube comments:
Also to be noted is that other flying animals are not as dangerous as bats because bats are mammals with similar physiology to human, so that the viruses can attach to both. Humans can't catch plant or sea urchin viruses because we are just too different.

[YOUTUBE]Ao0dqJvH4a0[/YOUTUBE]

Boeing 777X second attempt at a first flight

moosset — Sun, 26 Jan 2020 02:10:21 +0800

Boeing's new aircraft, the 777X, features foldable wingtips, a first for a commercial airplane. Watch it attempt its first flight following yesterday's cancellation.

8 airlines have placed order for this aircraft:
ANA
BA
Cathay
Emirates
Etihad
Lufthansa
Qatar
Singapore

At 07:55 on why we need this feature.
At 12:35 folding down its wingtips.

[YOUTUBE]fRpUQHoQ_oE[/YOUTUBE]

Replay

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The Economy of Sweden: Home of Entrepreneurs!

moosset — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 21:42:25 +0800

Sweden is a beautiful Scandinavian country famed for its beautiful people, flat packed furniture, PewDiePie and meatballs. Now of course if you hadn’t guessed by the channels title we are only here to look Sweden's economy, and it is a remarkable one at that. Sweden is home to one of the highest standards of living in the world and is often held in extremely high regard when it comes to workers rights and general quality of life indicators such as working hours, happiness rates and life expectancy. It is also a nation with a rich history of setting the trend for other economies to follow, Sweden is home to the Riksbank founded in 1668 it is the oldest central bank in the world, blazing the path for monetary policy that dictates every major economy in the world today.

So how did it get here. We have explored rich nations with strong welfare systems that seem to do everything right on the channel before… most notably Norway, Sweden's little brother the to west… But Sweden is slightly different in the sense that it was not blessed with the Norwegian sea and its abundance of oil and gas, so it was not able to build up a sovereign wealth fund with oil profits like Norway was and so on paper it is citizens are poorer than Norway's but their quality of life seems exactly the same.

[YOUTUBE]2E0dWHCnic8[/YOUTUBE]

Charting the World’s Major Stock Markets 1990-2019

moosset — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 21:22:41 +0800

If you invested $100 in the U.S. market on November 26, 1990, you’d have over $1,000 today.

Over nearly 30 years, the S&P 500 has increased by 901%, which is the most out any of these major indices. If you invested in the German or Hong Kong markets, you’d have fairly similar results as well — each gained more than 800% over the same time period.

Meanwhile, the markets in Canada, France, and the United Kingdom have all increased, but at a far slower pace:
In S&P 500 terms, Canada would be sitting at 1,717 — which is where the U.S. market was back in 2013.
France would be at 1,160, a mark the S&P 500 last hit in 2010.
The United Kingdom would sit at 1,072, also equivalent to 2010 for the U.S. market.

Finally, in S&P 500 terms, the Japanese stock market would be at a lowly 315 points today — roughly where it started 30 years ago. In other words, if you had invested $100 in Japanese stocks in 1990, you’d have gained just $1 over a period of three decades.

What about Bursa Malaysia??

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Source

Boris' idea of "Singapore-on-Thames"

moosset — Sat, 14 Dec 2019 05:13:25 +0800

Last time when SG left, everyone thought they were doomed! How many years before they took over M'sia GDP?

UK how? Will it prevail over EU in 5 to 10 years? Economists also say UK will be doomed. What do you think?

[YOUTUBE]B6fne0PXIZM[/YOUTUBE]

Singapore family home in M'sia with 11 bedrooms

moosset — Sun, 01 Dec 2019 20:40:18 +0800

[YOUTUBE]dW13kV9W0wk[/YOUTUBE]

Question regarding protests

moosset — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 21:35:43 +0800

Just curious, can a protest ever be done at a 'convenient' place or time??

Say, you want to protest against A, but you have to apply for a permit.
If the permit says, you cannot protest in front of A's house and not near his work place, and that you are only allowed to protest in a jungle between 3am to 6am. Then what's the point of a protest?

A protest is to show your dissatisfaction by getting A's attention, and by causing A trouble. Isn't it?
If you're only allowed to protest in a place or time where A doesn't care, then no point protesting, right?

Just a thought.

What do you think about protest? How should a protest take place?
Would like to hear your constructive opinion.

Finance students / CFA: help with calculation

moosset — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 20:57:36 +0800

Say, I got the following cashflow:

|22-Apr | 10,000 |
|03-May | 1,000 |
|03-Jun | 1,000 |
|03-Jul | 1,000 |
|19-Jul | 2 |
|26-Jul | 1 |
|29-Jul | 1,000 |
|05-Aug | 1,000 |
|29-Aug | 1,000 |
|17-Sep | 1,000 |
|30-Sep | 1,000 |

All are in-flow to invest in certain instrument. Say, today, 15-Oct, I want to withdraw all and it's worth 17,700.
How do I calculate the money-weighted return?

Is it
10,000/(1+r)^(number of days/365) + 1,000/(1+r)^(number of days/365)+ ..... = 17,700
and solve for r??

Is my method correct?

What It Takes To Be A First Class Flight Attendant

moosset — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 02:53:09 +0800

[YOUTUBE]vp-8-WXeq-E[/YOUTUBE]

Rent to own scheme

moosset — Sat, 12 Oct 2019 14:19:55 +0800

Is the Rent-to-Own scheme better than the traditional mortgage?

Is the total cost cheaper?

Indian Villager vs Sweden’s Greta Thunberg

moosset — Sat, 28 Sep 2019 23:32:14 +0800

[YOUTUBE]iOgmElb-vwQ[/YOUTUBE]

Interactive Brokers (IBKR)

moosset — Sat, 28 Sep 2019 21:11:34 +0800

Interactive Brokers (IBKR)
Updated: 25th Aug 2020.

To use IBKR, you have 3 options:
1. via IBKR main website;
2. via TradeStation Global, TSG (not to be confused with TradeStation International);
3. via Captrader, please refer to another thread.

via IBKR
Just google Interactive Brokers and register there.
There's a monthly activity / inactivity fee of $10 per month, but can be waived if your net liquidation (cash + equities + bonds etc) is above $100k.
If you can meet the min requirement, this would be better as their fees (and margin rates) are lower than TSG.

Fees - https://www1.interactivebrokers.com/en/index.php?f=1590

via TSG
No monthly inactivity fee if balance is above $2500.
After registration, you'll have access to two platforms:
1. You may use the IBKR platform known as Traders Work Station (TWS) on both Windows and MacOS.
2. You may also use the platform developed independently by TSG, only available on Windows.

Note: In order to link TSG with IBKR, you SHOULD open your IBKR via TSG website. You'll be redirected to an IBKR website (could be HK, Australia etc).
If you opened an IBKR yourself without going through TSG website, you may not be able to link these entities.

Fees - https://www.tradestation-international.com/...ng-commissions/

Money transfer
These methods have worked in the past:
1. InstaRem: transfer HKD, SGD, GBP to IBKR (EUR - worked for some, rejected for some (25th Aug 2020));
2. CIMB: transfer money (via CIMB transfer or InstaRem or Transferwise) to CIMB SG, from CIMB SG to IBKR in SGD;

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3. Transferwise: transfer SGD, AUD, GBP, EUR, HKD, CAD to IBKR (for Canadian dollars, it takes longer than usual. Beware!);
4. Bank Islam (over the counter);
5. Maybank Internet banking, about $25 for fees;
6. BigPay (to deposit SGD) but can't enter your own reference number.

Not proven yet:
1. deposit USD via InstaRem, Transferwise.

Notes:
1. Your IBKR base currency doesn't matter. You can deposit in any currency!!!
No automatic currency conversion. All currency conversion must be done manually on the platform. You want to buy SG stocks? You convert your money to SGD. You want to buy HK stocks? You convert your money to HKD. NO AUTOMATIC CONVERSION!!

2. For live market data, subscription fees may be required.
3. Whether it's account opening or trading or money transfer, it's really not that difficult. Just click, click, click.... and you'll find your way. Nothing is finalised until you click the final button CONFIRM etc etc. So, don't worry!

For more info:

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/4744515
https://betterspider.com/funding-your-accou...ractivebrokers/

Special thanks to:
1. [@Ramjade]
2. [@dwRK]
3. [@Yggdrasil]
4. [@powerlinkers]
5. [@erizdagreat]
6. [@Lakeambience]
7. [@TOS]

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Updated 02 Jun 2020
For withdrawal, you can withdraw to your bank account in any developed country like Australia, UK, Singapore, HK etc.

Alternatively, you can also open an account with Transferwise and get a borderless account. It's possible to withdraw EUR from IBKR to TW Borderless account. I haven't tried other currencies yet but will keep this post updated as more info comes in from other users.

For more info: https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...post&p=96979697

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more info, courtesy of [@polarzbearz]

Step-by-step to getting started via TradeStation Global (Interactive Brokers)

Malaysia airlines (MAS) + AirAsiaX (AAX)

moosset — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 10:48:54 +0800

Is it a good idea to merge MAS and AAX??

Note: AAX not AA.

________________________________________

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/mala...business-shrink

KUALA LUMPUR: The potential merger between loss-making airlines, Malaysia Airlines Bhd and AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) would likely see the new merged entity (newco) operating under the Malaysia Airlines brand, and this could mark the scaling back of Malaysia AAX’s (MAAX) long-haul low-cost business, according to Nomura Global Markets Research.

“With regards to Malaysia, we think the viability of operating a long-haul low-cost is less feasible compared to Singapore and Bangkok, where both Singapore Airlines’ Scoot and Thai AirAsia X (TAAX) have seen a financially more sustainable performance than MAAX, where Kuala Lumpur is its base,” he said.

On Wednesday, The Malaysian Reserve reported, quoting sources, that Khazanah Nasional Bhd is pushing for a merger between its wholly-owned Malaysia Airlines and AAX. The report added that the proposal would require the government to inject money to recapitalise Malaysia Airlines and settle all outstanding debts prior to the merger. AAX will then make a bid to acquire or merge with the leaner Malaysia Airlines.

Ahmad Maghfur is of the view that the newco’s next possible logical move would be to pare short-haul capacity further as it likely focuses on growing its mid-long haul segment, backed by the existing order book backlog that AAX already has with Airbus (comprising 78 Airbus A330-900s, 30 A321XLRs and 10 A350-900s). Malaysia Airlines’ order book backlog, in contrast, is just 25 Boeing 737 Max, where currently there is uncertainty on the delivery timeline given the ongoing regulatory and safety issues it is facing, he added.

Other considerations would be whether the newco will likely dispose of its stake in TAAX, which is 49% owned by AAX. “If this occurs, TAAX would likely be taken over by AirAsia,” said Ahmad Maghfur.

Which city in China for tourism?

moosset — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 21:59:15 +0800

Thinking of visiting mainland China for the first time. Which city is best? Beijing, Shanghai or other cities?

Are there any cities that you'd like to visit again?

#excluding_HK_Macau_Taiwan

Job hunting in China

moosset — Thu, 29 Aug 2019 09:47:26 +0800

Hi.

Is it possible for fresh grads to do job hunting in Shanghai or Shenzen?

Which visa can we apply to do job hunting?

Insurance ppl come in

moosset — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 19:50:14 +0800

Say if you transit in HK, and you bought AA with AA insurance, and you paid with credit card (which has travel insurance), do you get any compensation?

who should you claim for this flight delay / flight cancellation? AA or CC?

if no buy AA insurance, then cannot claim anything?