What have I been busy with

My last real post was more than a month ago due to time constraints due mainly to school and work commitments, not to mention the Chinese New Year break.

School took most of my time. I was roped in to be the backup for a project which I was originally tasked to sit out. The thing with this group project is that the members giving me problems were those that were allocated to my group by the lecturer. Furthermore, I decided on a group project module because it meant one less exam but who would have known that it cost me the same amount of time and anguish!

Concurrently at the point of time, I had to work on my essay which was due in the middle of February. This was for my more regular module focused on Southeast Asia but the theme was unfamiliar to me. This was not helped by the fact that the section of the National Library where I had intended to camp and do my research was closed for maintenance work.

The triple whammy was that I had a very important piece of report I needed to update as part of my day job. I did badly for the previous update and went at lengths that I did not meet the same problems as with last time. Needless to say, there were days at work when my brain stopped functioning because there was just so much to read and digest. 

As for the stock market, there was a major meltdown during the Chinese New Year period and things have started to look normal. I am maintaining my earlier outlook but I will change according every 3 months. 

There was some good news concerning the stocks that I hold. There was a strong rebound in the price of Wilmar although I am still in the red. Biosensors International also benefitted from rumours that it might be potentially taken over. Super Group, my most recent holdings, announced that it will carry out a 1-for-1 bonus issue. It means that the price will become lower XB, and may mean more participation from other retail investors. PetraFoods on the other hand announced a record dividend payout although it was not as much as I had hope it would distribute, considering the gains it made from its divestment. 

Outside the stock market, things are returning to normal. I now need only to take one more module for the next three months before completing my course. After which, I am support to serve the country for 3 weeks for a course!

Well, I will still be accumulating my monies for until after the World Cup at least. 

A brief return

The madness is finally over for the time being. The confluence of work reports, school reports and the examination killed my will to follow the market. After a strong sell off during the Chinese New Year, the Straits Times Index has returned past the 3,000 level. I am still holding on to my cash because my risk appetite is weaker than before. Seeing the stock market plunge 3 weeks ago just re-confirmed my bias that we are in a downtrend, and the more volatile side of the downtrend. Will post more stuff once I get back into the groove.