February: It Will Be Better

The portfolio turned red contributed mainly by the broad market losses.

Blood on the streets

Bought China Animal Healthcare. Now the stock market is in intensive care...

Well, as said earlier, we still are waiting for the market to digest how the news of tightening liquidity.. my best guess is, all things equal, you will see the uglier side in China/HK more so than in Singapore... this is because the stock markets there are pretty much on steriods and normalisation will have to occur.. the calling back of loans is what the PRC government intends to do to prevent any asset bubble.. control is the key word

That said, there was that day that the STI plunged more than 71 points.. it has been a long while since that happened..

My best guess is that the pull back has and will be short and very sharp.. after which, we will focus on how things might fall apart but forget that the stock market actually went upwards.. i don't buy the "January goes and so is the year" line.. im still optimistic that this year will be an up year, but up a bit, unlike last year. i have got 48 more weeks to be proven wrong..

sit tight for the short and bumpy ride.. earnings season should not disappoint

Stock Markets Tank on "Fears"

More to follow. But let us just say that the stock market is not correcting, but rather pulling back strongly due possibly to a possible rate hike in America with too many implication on equities, as well as, China's central bank pulling the plug on easy money.

those who are inside, try not to look at the quotes (lol) on a daily basis. there should be a bumpy ride for the equities market as the search is on for exit strategies.

Biosensors' Technicals "Overbought"

Buy Commodity Plays

It might be a little late, but if you want to buy stocks for 1-2 years down the road, look at commodity plays.

Yes, they have risen quite a bit but there is still upside. My picks for the sector are IndoAgri, Noble and Olam. Long shot will be Novo Group but if you are feeling lucky, it is worth a buy.

On the other hand, China Animal Healthcare is slowly slipping out of my grabs.  I thought it would be affected by the credit tightening in PRC but it seems that this S-CHip is being propped up, most probably by those institutions which are inside it via placement.

Dual-listing S-Chips are safe, But Overvalued

Novo Group Epure International... dang i missed these 2 dual-listings just because i did not have the money.. congratulations to those vested before the news was announced... dual-listed S-Chips are definitely safer than those that are not... however i caution against trying to spot a dual-listing, it is better to dig out good businesses...

One company you can look out for is China Animal Healthcare... might buy-in if i can find the moolahs... however this stock is as risky as Transcu....

My portfolio carried over from 31-Dec 2009. almost all of them were up with the crazy buying that has surfaced on the SGX.. this Share Junction function sure is a good tool for monitoring my portfolio..

2010: New Beginnings

Unlike in America, the local stock market churned out a better performance over the past 10 years. 10 years ago STI was about 2,400 and now it is 2,800. America on the other hand has had difficulty breaking 10,000. Will the next ten year be better for people who invested in stocks?

I think the main theme for next year will be how the US recovers. I strongly believe that much of the stock appreciation has been due to investors turning to emerging markets as a safe haven from a possible American implosion. Nonetheless, if you do have the money, you should buy some ETFs that track S&P500 so as to capture some of the possible upside once the US settles its own problem.

Stay invested in January, as FY09 earning results will be coming in end Feb. There should be some upside (10% or more) if you hold from the first week of Jan (which is next week) till when the financial results are announced. STI wise, there should also be upside. Prudent investing applies but you should not let those worry warts with their calls of a double dip worry you.

Anyway, here is a short blurb from Shares Investment on their stock picks in 2010

Invest Globally Locally

“Riding the global economic recovery” is the theme for our 2010 stock picks. We are confident that SGX-listed companies with operations outside of Singapore will be prudent investments for 2010. With limited domestic opportunities, overseas markets represent significant opportunities for solid businesses to tap into and boost their revenue stream. Sector wise, we are also sanguine on the prospects in energy and technology as capital investments and consumer spending put on hold in 2009, will flow back in 2010.

Click here to read more

I also found some nice stuff online but more to American markets

From MarketMinder:

•  As 2009 comes to a close, it’s a good time to remember good investors look forward, not back.
• Fisher Investments believes continuing pessimism—shaped by main street investors who’ve yet to buy into this market recovery—is the foundation of the wall of worry bull markets love to climb.
• Second years after a bear market bottom are typically positive and above average (Fisher Investments research).
• The S&P 500 has already regained half the losses from the 17-month bear market—sooner than most would have imagined possible, but also a clear indication we’re in the midst of a true V-shaped recovery.

2009 Portfolio Review

The STI started 2009 closing 1829.71 points on 2 Jan and closed 2897.62 on 31 Dec, or 63.1% higher.

My portfolio started with Singapore Petroleum Company and ended with 10 different stocks. To-date, I have injected $12,081 of my salary to my portfolio which has since grown to $21,810 which includes dividends re-invested and gains from the stock sales.