Technology to fatten Latexx profit margin

By Lynn Omar and Ooi Tee Ching
Published: 2010/05/08
Business Times

LATEXX Partners Bhd (7064) is set to see fatter profit margin next year, after securing a technology to make natural rubber gloves for medical practitioners with hypersensitive skin.

These gloves will be priced more than an ordinary pair of gloves but Latexx declined to say by how much.

Latexx's net profit margin stood at 16 per cent for 2009, which is better than its bigger rival Top Glove Corp Bhd which is below 14 per cent now.

Hartalega Holdings Bhd has the best margin at 24 per cent.
In the last decade, glovemakers produced more synthetic gloves after a small number of the developed world's doctors and nurses complained of their allergy to natural rubber and deemed it unsafe.

Basically, their skin is hypersensitive to the protein residue in natural rubber gloves.

Famous hospitals like the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Shriner's Hospital in the US went to such extent of viewing such allergic reaction as serious threats that they banned natural rubber medical devices and switched to synthetic gloves and catheters.

But the fact remains that natural rubber gloves are more comfortable to wear and far more elastic.

With this MPXX(TM) technology from Budev BV that "washes off' protein content in natural rubber", Latexx chief executive officer (CEO) Low Bok Tek anticipates some hospitals and dental clinics in North America and Europe to switch back to natural rubber gloves.

"When our clients see the MPXX technology logo, they'll know they are using virtually protein-free natural rubber gloves," said Low.

He was speaking to reporters after a briefing for analysts in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Also present were Latexx head of corporate services Dr Liew Lai Lai and Budev CEO Michiel Paping.

"We recently imported the sample machine here to wash off the protein residue from the natural rubber gloves. Our initial estimate is to 'wash' 500 million pieces a year," said Paping.

Latexx is also hopeful of dishing out more dividends to shareholders this year on prospects of robust glove sales. The group declared dividends of 2.5 sen a share for the first quarter of this year.

Read more: Technology to fatten Latexx profit margin http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/laytexx-2/Article/index_html#ixzz0nPEv7b4O

How To Build A Fortune In The Stock Market

How To Build A Fortune In The Stock Market: 5 Questions Every Investor Needs To Ask Of Their Investment Strategy

Posted in stock market
May 08

Every investor’s investment strategy should adequately address the following five questions:


(1) What specific stocks will I buy?
(2) When should I buy these stocks?
(3) How should I buy these stocks?
(4) When should I sell these stocks?
(5) How should I sell these stocks?

In addition, the answers for questions #2, #3, #4, and #5 should vary depending upon the different components of an individual’s stock portfolio. If the answers for questions #2 , #3. #4, and #5 exhibit no variance, then the risk profile for all stocks in the portfolio will be the same, an undesirable trait.

There is a very good reason why people that try to mimic the portfolios of very wealthy successful investors never can achieve nearly the same success as the investors they mimic. The reason is that they can only answer one piece of the above 5-part investment puzzle- the question of what to buy. In fact, I could open up my portfolio to investment novices, show them all the stocks I own now, and out of 1,000 novices, all of them would have an extremely difficult time duplicating my future returns. In fact, it’s entirely plausible that investors would lose significant amounts of money on the very same stocks that would produce my largest gains.

Why?

Again, understanding a complete investment system will determine portfolio returns, not just knowing what to buy.

Why Most Investment Firms’ Strategies Fail to Adequately Address the 5 Questions

The evolution of job titles for investment professionals from broker to financial consultant to financial advisor is ironic, because the original title, for the great majority of employees in this industry, is by far the most accurate. Most financial consultants are nothing more than brokers that broker the money you give to them. They serve as middlemen between you and the money managers hired by the firm, and are so interchangeable with one another that a retail investor’s portfolio returns are not likely to vary significantly from one consultant to another at the same firm.

Back when I worked as a “broker” at a Wall Street firm, I remember hearing a story about a very successful (meaning high-income earner) financial consultant that bought nothing but exchange traded funds (ETFs) for his clients. His rational for doing so was four-fold.

(1) Mutual fund expenses were too high (true);
(2) Expenses on ETFs were low (true);
(3) The overwhelming majority of money managers can’t beat the performance of the major domestic indexes (true); and
(4) Therefore, ETFs were the best way to invest for his client (false).

Global investment firms never train their brokers how to be superior stock pickers. They train them how to be superior salespeople. So in concluding that allocating entire portfolios solely to ETFs was the absolute best possible strategy for his clients, this particular consultant’s logic was erroneous. The consultant drew this conclusion solely based upon his foundation of investment knowledge, one primarily filled with investment sales strategies. In fact, though I was never able confirm this, I heard many anecdotal stories that this particular financial consultant was able to outperform the vast majority of financial consultants at the firm with his “I will only buy ETFs” strategy.

Though I wouldn’t be surprised if this were true, the fact that this particular consultant was able to gather so many clients based on such a faulty strategy was a remarkable statement about the average investor’s knowledge of how to build wealth. To me, as unknowledgeable as financial consultants are about proper wealth building strategies (given their constant diet of investment sales strategies), this proves that the average retail investor, even those with millions of investable assets, are far less knowledgeable.

In conclusion, every retail investor should thus utilize the 5 questions of building wealth to determine if his or her investment strategy is faulty or strong. With any strong investment strategy, all 5 questions will be relevant. Own a faulty investment strategy and most likely, one or more of the 5 questions will be irrelevant. And the faultiness of the strategy no doubt will be manifested in weak returns. To illustrate how the 5 questions of building wealth will “out” any poor investment strategy, let’s take a look at a couple of examples. Let’s start with two different portfolios, one primarily built around ETFs; the other primarily built around Mutual Funds.

(1)What Specific Stocks Should I Buy?

Neither the Mutual Fund or ETF strategy can answer this question, so you don’t even need to ask the final four questions to know that neither of these strategies will help you build wealth.

How about a portfolio that consists of all individual Chinese stocks? This portfolio passes question #1, the question of what specific stocks to buy. Next, if we drill down to see how this portfolio was constructed, the portfolio manager’s answers to questions #2 and #3 – “When were these stocks bought and why?” and “How were these stocks bought and why?” – will reveal whether or not the portfolio was indeed constructed solidly.

Finally the portfolio manager’s answers to questions #4 and #5 – “How will these stocks be sold and why?” and “When will these stocks be sold and why?” will reveal if strategies are in place to lock in profits or minimize potential losses. However, remember the earlier point I made in this article: “the answers for questions #2, #3, #4, and #5 should vary depending upon the different components of an individual’s stock portfolio.” Most likely for a portfolio built on stocks that trade in a frothy, emerging market, there will be little variance in the answers for questions #2, #3, #4 and #5. This lack of variance again would expose the weakness of this investment strategy.

Although just a rough guide, the 5 questions should provide you a quick way to establish the intelligence and strength of your current investment strategy.

J.S. Kim is the founder and managing director of SmartKnowledgeU

http://stock-market.amoblog.com/how-to-build-a-fortune-in-the-stock-market-5-questions-every-investor-needs-to-ask-of-their-investment-strategy.html

Comparative analysis of Glove companies (9.5.2010)

Comparative analysis of Glove companies (9.5.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=thG2gqUrXjSrcpL3LAlPbRg&output=html

The whole sector has been re-priced since last year.  The average PE for the sector is around 15.

Topglove trades at a slight premium.  It is debt free and has net cash.  It should continue to generate a lot of free cash flows in years to come.

Hartalega has done extremely well.  It enjoys the biggest profit margin amongst the glove companies.  This is due to its use of automation to increase productivity.  It has overtaken the other more established companies and ranks 3rd in the earnings table.

Latexx has made a remarkable turnaround.  It has good earnings and should continue to grow.  Due to its smaller size, its growth is anticipated to be the fastest amongst all the glove companies.

Supermax is the most indebted of all the glove companies.  Given the better glove business environment, perhaps, its management may surprise the investors in the next year or two.  Meantime, its not as attractive as the above three companies in term of fundamentals.

Kossan has been disappointing.  Kossan continues to carry a lot of debt despite having been a long player in the market when many other players have benefited from the strong revenue and margin growths to pare down their borrowings.  Its profit margin is below the average of the industry.

Adventa gets good press.  However, when comparing its fundamentals with its peers, it is not such an attractive stock.  Its dividend payout is the highest in the industry compared to the industry average of nearer 20%.  Moreover, its PE is the highest among the glove companies, but this does not appear to reflect its growth potential.

Rubberex is a disappointment and stood up quite apart from the fast moving players in this industry.

There are also significant risks in this industry, best summarised here:


Solid earnings growth as supplanted by 

• capacity expansion, and
• positive newsflow

should lead to further expansion in PE multiples.

Key risks include

• a sudden surge in latex price,
• energy input costs or
• an unfavourable ringgit/US$ foregin exchange rate movement.

A quick look at Latexx (8.5.2010)

A quick look at Latexx (8.5.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tMGIE1j8l7f8e27I8inQUig&output=html

A quick look at Kossan (8.5.2010)

A quick look at Kossan (8.5.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=ttaoTf7WwIlRuWyNhWEz7xg&output=html

A quick look at Adventa (8.5.2010)

A quick look at Adventa (8.5.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tpg78jjich_9vs6GZN8r5KA&output=html

A quick look at Hartalega (8.5.2010)

A quick look at Hartalega (8.5.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tT2IXHGPpvc86Obf9tr25aQ&output=html

A quick look at Top Glove (8.5.2010)

A quick look at Top Glove (8.5.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tZlHVEhyDcVlmKxE5_V4reQ&output=html

A quick look at CSC Steel (7.5.2010)

A quick look at CSC Steel (7.5.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tdSgsmFJYX6roa6GAAjnlBg&output=html

A quick look at Pintaras Jaya (7.5.2010)

A quick look at Pintaras Jaya (7.5.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tuEWCudGrYd-gYKpjeFknvg&output=html

A quick look at Guinness (7.5.2010)

A quick look at Guinness (7.5.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tP_TV-Arxg9uwwrvWyZ_kvw&output=html


Guinness Anchor 3Q net profit up 42.5% to RM46.5m
Written by Surin Murugiah
Friday, 07 May 2010


KUALA LUMPUR: GUINNESS ANCHOR BHD []'s net profit for the third quarter ended March 31, 2010 rose 42.5% to RM46.46 million from RM32.6 million a year earlier, on the back of a 17.8% increase in revenue to RM370.82 million.

Earnings per share rose to 15.38 sen from 10.79 sen a year ago.

Managing director Charles Ireland said on Friday, May 7 the sales and profit increase was partly due to the later timing of the Chinese New Year celebrations, a traditional driver of sales of the malt liquor market.

Ireland said GAB's third quarter performance had further extended its position as Malaysia's market leader in the MLM, adding that as of end of FY09 ended June 30, GAB recorded eight successive years of volume, revenue and profit growth.

"I am happy to report that GAB is on track to meet our targeted full year results for FY10 ending June 2010," he said.

http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/business-news/165628-guinness-anchor-3q-net-profit-up-425-to-rm465m.html

OSK expects 50 Jewels to shine

OSK expects 50 Jewels to shine
By Goh Thean Eu
Published: 2010/05/07

OSK Research Sdn Bhd, a unit of OSK Investment Bank Bhd, expects companies that made it to its top 50 Malaysian small-cap list, dubbed "50 Jewels", to register between 5 per cent and 15 per cent growth in earnings this year, driven by their strong fundamentals, as well as a recovery in the economy.

The research house also expects companies in the Top 10 list, which are made up of the 10 best small- cap companies from the 50 Jewels, to post between 8 per cent and 15 per cent earnings growth.

This year, 19 new companies have made it to the 50 Jewels list, including Notion Vtec, Zhulian, Sunway Group, EP Manufacturing, Glomac, AEON Credit and Southern Steel.

"In this edition, we continue to feature 50 of Bursa Malaysia's top small-cap companies, but unlike the previous editions, we have raised the market capitalisation threshold to RM1.5 billion from RM1 billion.


"This is to maintain coverage depth and breadth and to ensure that the better small-cap companies are represented," said OSK Research head Chris Eng in a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Companies which made it to the 50 Jewels list in 2009 have performed commendably, with 32 of them having posted absolute returns of 50 to 375 per cent, outperforming the benchmark index.

Its top-10 picks for 2009 also posted absolute share price returns of 52 to 347 per cent. Mudajaya, its top construction pick for 2009, rallied 347 per cent.

Meanwhile, the research house expects the local stock market to continue to be volatile over the next three months, mainly due to one of the following factors -

• global bull factor, 
• global bear factor, 
• local bull factor and
• local bear factor.  :-))

"We expect things to stabilise sometime in the third quarter, and then the company's fundamentals and economic fundamentals will drive the market," explained Eng.

In its recent research report, OSK Research targeted the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KL Composite Index to hit 1,465 points by year-end. It also placed a fair value of 1,580 points on the index in 2011.

Read more: OSK expects 50 Jewels to shine 

Speculative Excesses Drove Huge U.S. Market Rout

Speculative Excesses Drove Huge U.S. Market Rout: NuWave
By REUTERS
Published: May 6, 2010


Filed at 7:11 p.m. ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thursday's sharp sell-off in U.S. stocks was sparked by nothing more than too many traders betting on energy, equity and metals markets going higher that then popped in a cascade of stop-loss selling, a hedge fund manager said.

A proprietary index that NuWave Investment Management LLC uses to gauge risk about 10 days ago posted its highest reading ever -- greater even than fall of 2008, said Troy Buckner, managing principal and co-founder at the Morristown, New Jersey-based hedge fund.

NuWave pared its exposure to only 40 percent of normal levels, mildly counter to the risk trade in general, he said.

"We were expecting a significant correction to most of the markets," Buckner said. "While we wouldn't claim to know the day, we recognize that periods like this generate our worst-risk profiles historically."

A wave of selling on Thursday knocked U.S. stocks down as much as 9 percent, pushed the euro to an almost 14 month-low and gold prices climbed to close to record highs.

NuWave gave a presentation about tail risk at Morgan Stanley in late April to an audience of about 120 investors. The presentation outlined the hedge fund's concerns that markets were leaning too heavily in one direction.

Buckner said while traders and others will point to any number of triggers or catalysts, such as Greece's debt woes or a fat thumb, as causing Thursday's rout, which included the Dow's biggest intraday point drop ever, he disagreed.

"I'll be surprised if that's the case. There's heavy pressure and uniformly excess positioning on the speculative side across multiple sectors, including equities as probably the worst," said Buckner, who also cited metals and energy.

After hitting lows produced by the worst financial crisis in 70 years, stocks jumped about 80 percent, copper prices nearly tripled and crude oil rose 250 percent driven by direction bets placed by speculators, Buckner said.

"Multiple sectors were exposed to these excesses," he said. "By our measurement these are greater speculative imbalances than even the fall of 2008."

NuWave has a special perspective on the market as it holds long-short and market-neutral positions, and as a commodity trading advisor, operates managed futures, Buckner said.

"From our perspective I think it's not surprising to us that there are massive corrections in store, and from today's action we didn't sense there was anything other than a cascade of speculative positions triggering stop losses."

(Reporting by Herbert Lash)

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/05/06/business/business-us-markets-rout-nuwave.html?_r=1&src=busln

Panic sends Dow to worst ever drop

Panic sends Dow to worst ever drop
MARINE LAOUCHEZ
May 7, 2010 - 8:49AM
AFP

Panic selling swept US markets on Thursday as the Dow Jones plunged a record of almost 1000 points before recouping more than half those losses.

It was unclear whether the sudden sell-off, the Dow's biggest ever intra-day drop, was the result of fears over the Greek debt crisis, a mistaken trade or technical error.

The crash began shortly before 2.25pm local time, when in a white-knuckle 20 minutes America's top 30 firms saw their share prices dive 998.5 points, almost nine per cent, wiping out billions in market value.

The drop eclipsed even the crashes seen when markets reopened after September 11, 2001 and in the wake of the Lehman Brothers collapse.

The Dow later recovered, closing nearly four per cent down, but spooked traders were left wondering whether a technical glitch had caused the blue-chip index to erode three months of solid gains.

Rumours swirled that a Citigroup trader had mistakenly sold 16 billion rather than 16 million stocks in Procter and Gamble shares, forcing the Dow down.

Shares in the consumer goods giant lost more than seven US dollars, falling in a similar pattern to the Dow, trading at a low of 55 US dollars a share.

"At this point, we have no evidence that Citi was involved in any erroneous transaction," said company spokesman Stephen Cohen.

A spokesperson for the New York Stock Exchange said the cause was still not known.

"We don't know, right now we're looking into it," said Christian Braakman, "it's all speculation."

But after three days in which stocks have suffered triple-digit intra-day losses because of concern about Greece's debt crisis, it was clear that the sell-off was real for some investors.

At the close, the Dow had recovered to 10,520.32, down 347.80 (3.20 per cent), while the Nasdaq was down 82.65 points (3.44 per cent) at 2,319.64. The Standard & Poors 500 Index was down 37.72 points (3.24 per cent) to 1,128.15.

Images of rioting as the Greek parliament passed unpopular austerity measures did little to ease market panic.

The parliament approved billions of euros of spending cuts pledged in exchange for a 110 billion euros ($A155 billion) EU-IMF bailout just one day after three bank workers died in a firebomb attack during a huge protest.

On Thursday, police charged to scatter hundreds of youths at the tail-end of a new protest outside parliament that drew more than 10,000 people.

In Lisbon, European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet battled to reassure financial markets that Greece's debt crisis would not end in default, but could not prevent the euro from falling to a 14-month low against the dollar.

Pleas for patience from the White House also had little impact.

The White House said that reforms in Greece were "important" but would take time and that the US Treasury was monitoring the situation.

"The president has heard regularly from his economic team," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, adding that President Barack Obama's top economic officials were closely communicating with their European counterparts.

© 2010 AFP

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-business/panic-sends-dow-to-worst-ever-drop-20100507-uhgu.html

Volatilities in other markets when the DOW plunged almost 1000 points

Offshore overnight

In one of the most dizzying half-hours in stock market history, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged almost 1000 points amid worries about European debt.

The Dow managed to recover two-thirds of its losses before the end of Thursday's Wall Street session, but all major indices closed sharply lower on a day that recalled the market turmoil of the 2008 financial crisis.

There were reports that a technical glitch hastened the selling.

Even so emotions ran high, with traders concerned that Greece's economic problems will hurt other European countries and ultimately, the US recovery.

Only 173 stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange while 3002 fell.

Volume came to an extremely heavy 2.57 billion shares.

When markets settled, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen 347.80 points, or 3.20 per cent, to 10,520.32 points.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed down 37.72 points, or 3.24 per cent, at 1128.15 points.

The Nasdaq composite closed down 82.65 points, or 3.44 per cent, at 2319.64 points.

European stock markets lost ground on Thursday as remarks on the Greek crisis by the head of the European Central Bank failed to reassure anxious investors.

ECB head Jean-Claude Trichet ruled out a Greek debt default and insisted that the problems besetting Greece were different from those faced by Spain and Portugal.

The London FTSE 100 closed down 80.94 points, or 1.52 per cent at 5260.99 points.

The German DAX 30 closed down 50.19 points, or 0.84 per cent, at 5908.26 points.

The French CAC 40 index closed down 79.92 points, or 2.20 per cent, at 3,556.11 points.

Commodities

Oil prices dropped to levels not seen since February on Thursday, as the stock market posted huge losses.

The benchmark crude oil for June delivery contract fell $US2.86 to settle at $US77.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil hit $US73.71 on February 16 and has lost almost $US10 a barrel since Monday.

Crude was lower at noon and the price slide picked up speed as the stock market tumbled and Investors flew to safer havens in gold and bonds.

Europe's debt problems got much of the blame for the drop in stocks and commodities. The ongoing crisis also has undermined the euro and strengthened the US dollar.

Commodities priced in US dollars, such as oil, become more expensive for investors holding euros as the US dollar rises.

In London, Brent crude gave up $US2.78 to settle at $US79.83 on the ICE futures exchange.

Gold for June delivery rose $US22.30 to settle at $US1197.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Silver for July delivery fell 1.9 US cents to settle at $US17.515 per fine ounce.

Copper for July delivery settled down 3.45 US cents at $US3.1170 per pound.

AAP, with Chris Zappone BusinessDay

http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/stocks-set-to-plunge-after-us-freefall-20100507-uhc0.html

US stocks plummet, then recover some losses

US stocks plummet, then recover some losses
May 7, 2010 - 6:56AM

US stocks plunged 9 per cent in the last two hours of trading overnight before clawing back some of the losses as the escalating debt crisis in Europe stoked fears a new credit crunch was in the making.

The Dow suffered its biggest ever intraday point drop, which may have been caused by an erroneous trade entered by a person at a big Wall Street bank, multiple market sources said.

Indexes recovered some of their losses heading into the close but equities had erased much of their gains for the year to end down just over 3 percent, the biggest fall since April 2009.

"We did not know what a stock was worth today, and that is a serious problem," said Joe Saluzzi of Themis Trading in New Jersey.

Traders around the world were shaken from their beds and told to start trading amid the plunge as investors sought to stem losses in the rapid market sell-off.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancers on the New York Stock Exchange by more than 17 to 1. Volume soared to it highest level this year by far.

Nasdaq said it was investigating potentially erroneous transactions involving multiple securities executed between 2.40pm and 3pm New York time.

Investors had been on edge throughout the trading day after the European Central Bank did not discuss the outright purchase of European sovereign debt as some had hoped they would to calm markets, but gave verbal support instead to Greece's savings plan, disappointing some investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 347.80 points, or 3.20 per cent, to 10,520.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 37.75 points, or 3.24 per cent, to 1128.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 82.65 points, or 3.44 per cent, to 2319.64.

The sell-off was broad and deep with all 10 of the S&P 500 sectors falling 2 to 4 per cent. The financial sector was the worst hit with a fall of 4.1 per cent.

Selling hit some big cap stocks. Bank of America was the biggest percentage loser on the Dow, falling 7.1 per cent to $US16.28. All 30 component of the Dow closed lower.

An index known as Wall Street's fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index closed up more than 30 per cent at its highest close since May 2009. It had earlier risen as much as 50 per cent.

The mounting fears about a spreading debt crisis in Europe curbed the appetite for risk and put a report of weak US retail sales into sharper relief. Most top retail chains reported worse-than-expected same-store sales for April, sparking concerns about consumer spending, the main engine of the US economy.

That hit shares including warehouse club Costco Wholesale Corp, which fell 3.9 per cent to $US58.03, and apparel maker Gap Inc, which lost 7.2 per cent at $US22.91.

The head of the ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet, said on Thursday that Spain and Portugal were not in the same boat as Greece, but the risk premium that investors demand to hold Portuguese and Spanish government bonds flared to record highs.

Reuters


http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/us-stocks-plummet-then-recover-some-losses-20100507-uh8l.html

'Fat finger' trade forces US stocks dive

'Fat finger' trade forces US stocks dive
May 7, 2010 - 6:30AM

The biggest intraday point drop ever for the Dow Jones Industrial Average may have been caused by an erroneous trade entered by a person at a big Wall Street bank that in turn triggered widespread panic-selling.

At one stage, the Dow was down a whopping 998 points - or 9 per cent - before rebounding but it was still sharply lower for the session as continuing worries about Greece and the so-called sovereign debt contagion ate into investor confidence.

The so-called "fat finger" trade apparently involved an exchange-traded fund that holds shares of some of the biggest and most widely traded stocks, sources said. The trade apparently was put in on the Nasdaq Stock Market, sources said.

But US stocks still ended sharply lower, as continuing worries about the debt crisis in Greece ate into market confidence, prompting a wide-spread sell-off.

US stocks posted their largest percentage drop since April 2009, with all three major indexes ending down more than 3 per cent.

Indexes earlier in the afternoon had plunged even more steeply, before paring losses.

Observers questioned why Procter & Gamble’s stock tumbled precipitously - and some say that could have been behind the massive plunge.

Both Fox News and CNBC reported that a trading error involving P&G stock could have been responsible for part of a dip that dragged the Dow Jones Industrial Average within a hair’s breadth of a 1000-point drop.

The sudden sell-off saw investors desert stocks wholesale.

But P&G’s stock, which had been trading at $US62, suddenly began to crash, falling around 20 per cent at one point for no apparent reason.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 347.80 points, or 3.2 per cent, at 10,520.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was off 37.75 points, or 3.24 per cent, at 1128.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 82.65 points, or 3.44 per cent, at 2319.64.

Several sources said the speculation is that the trade was entered by someone at Citigroup. A Citigroup spokesman said it was investigating the rumour but that the bank currently had no evidence that an erroneous trade had been made.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/fat-finger-trade-forces-us-stocks-dive-20100507-uh91.html

Understanding High Frequency Trading (HFT): Wall Street's Latest Scam

Wall St, New York, USA, 17 August 2009. The new cream-skimming trick in Wall Street's playbook is called High Frequency Trading, or HFT.


It works like this: big trading banks invest in super-computers that can process information at every faster speeds, splitting nano-seconds into smaller and smaller units. These super-computers can process instructions faster than regular computers, and much faster than humans. Next, they place these super-computers in the exchanges themselves. This gives direct access to the exchange, cutting out the latency of connections from remote locations. By trading faster than smaller investors, profits can be constantly churned. 

High Frequency Trading (HFT): Wall Street's Latest Scam

http://bx.businessweek.com/investment-banking/view?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.economywatch.com%2Feconomy-business-and-finance-news%2Fhigh-frequency-trading-hft-wall-streets-latest-scam-18-08.html

A quick look at F & N (6.5.2010)

A quick look at F & N (6.5.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tGDNB7GiYxmXFXxqJEqY49A&output=html

MIDF Research raises F&N target price to RM12

Written by MIDF Research

Friday, 07 May 2010 09:38

KUALA LUMPUR: MIDF Research has upgraded Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N) to a buy with a higher target price of RM12 (from RM10.60) and said the company's 1HFY10 net profit grew 56.4% year-on-year to RM162.9 million, accounting for 69% and 60% of MIDF's and consensus full year numbers.

Excluding the RM10 million charges recognised in 2QFY09 due to the closure of glass plant in Petaling Jaya, MIDF estimated that the earnings growth was about +43% y-o-y. 

The commendable results were mainly due to the higher soft drinks sales, better-than-expected overall profit margin and lower minority interest, it said.

"We are rolling over our valuation into FY11 numbers but with a lower implied PER of 14.5 times as compared with 16 times previously. As such, we are upgrading our call for F&N to buy with a higher target price of RM12 (previously RM10.60), based on 14.5 times FY11 EPS.

"We believe the downside is fairly limited, cushioned by the 5.1% net dividend yield," it said.


http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/business-news/165574-midf-research-raises-fan-target-price-to-rm12-.html




Related:
FY09/10 Half Year Results Briefing
7 May 2010

http://announcements.bursamalaysia.com/EDMS/edmsweb.nsf/all/1E4DE9BCD0574BC54825771B0032A5DB/$File/Half%20year%20results%207%20May%202010%20-%20FNHB%20(final).pdf

News you could use: Stocks are Crashing.

Stocks are crashing, so you turn on the television to catch the latest market news.

The Stock Market is on sale. Huge banners reading: "SALE! 50% OFF!"

Then the anchorman announces brightly, "Stocks became more atractive yet again today, as the Stock Market dropped another 2.5% on heavy volume - the fourth day in a row that stocks have gotten cheaper. Tech investors fared even better, as leading companies like ABC lost nearly 5% on the day, making them even more affordable. That comes on top of the good news of the past year, in which stocks have already lost 50%, putting them at bargain levels not seen in years. And some prominent analysts are optimistic that prices may drop still further in the weeks and months to come."


Read more here:

News you could use

"Falling stock prices would be fabulous news for any investor with a very long horizon."

A quick look at Yee Lee (5.5.2010)

A quick look at Yee Lee (5.5.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=t110lp_dYviKliqIsIUOsLw&output=html

You Don’t Need Perfect Batting Average

You Don’t Need Perfect Batting Average: In order to significantly outperform the market, investors need not generate near perfect results. 


Hammering home the idea that a few good stocks a decade can make an investment career, Lynch had this to say about Buffett:


"Warren states that twelve investments decisions in his forty year career have made all the difference."


Related:

Lessons Learned From Investing Genius Peter Lynch

Benjamin Graham
"To achieve satisfactory investment results is easier than most people realise; to achieve superior results is harder than it looks."

A quick look at 3A Resources (5.5.2010)

A quick look at 3A Resources (5.5.2010)
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tcpHxcoccuKHRFO8To1fewQ&output=html

Indonesia finance minister named a managing director of the World Bank Group

Indonesia finance minister quits


JAKARTA, May 5 — Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a key reformer in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, is leaving office in what could be a major blow to a crackdown on graft and tax evasion.

Indrawati, 47, was named a managing director of the World Bank Group, a sign of the growing clout of emerging economies. But the move also reflects increasing pressure on her at home from politicians opposed to her clean-up campaign.

“It’s a good move for her, but not good for Indonesia,” said Nick Cashmore, head of CLSA in Indonesia.

“She’s leaving earlier than expected, not doing the full five years. It shows that all these undercurrents are gathering pace.”

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has congratulated Indrawati on the move, indicating he is willing to let her go, but investors will be watching who he appoints as her replacement for a signal on where the reform programme is headed.

Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa will temporarily take charge of the finance portfolio until Indrawati’s replacement is appointed, presidential spokesman Julian Pasha told Reuters on Wednesday. Indrawati is to take up the World Bank post on June 1.

Rajasa is better known for his political skills, unlike Indrawati, who has a doctorate in economics and was an executive director at the International Monetary Fund before joining government.

Investors have been big buyers of Indonesian assets in the past 18 months, largely attracted by its pace of reform and liberalisation and the prospect of a surge in demand for its vast natural resources as the global economy recovers.

Local financial markets fell after the announcement of Indrawati’s move, but analysts said the weakening in the rupiah to 9,090 per dollar from 9,030 and a 3 percent drop in the stock market reflected broader investor concerns about emerging markets and risk related to the euro zone.

“The market will definitely react negatively to her departure,” said Destry Damayanti, an economist at Mandiri Sekuritas in Jakarta.

“Hopefully it is a short-lived one, but it all depends on who replaces her. That is the main concern for now, her replacement. What is needed is someone who is a professional, someone who is not politically biased.”

NO CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR

Likely candidates include: Anggito Abimanyu, the head of the ministry’s Fiscal Policy Agency; Chatib Basri, an academic and special adviser to the finance minister; Raden Pardede, an economist and former head of the state asset management company; and Agus Martowardojo, president director of Indonesia’s largest lendor Bank Mandiri.

The change at the finance ministry comes at a time when the country is still without a governor for Bank Indonesia, the central bank. Darmin Nasution, the senior deputy governor, has been acting governor since mid-2009.

“With Sri Mulyani’s strong and credible reform credentials, her departure is likely to be seen negatively by the market, not to mention that Indonesia has not had a BI Governor in almost a year,” Citibank economist Johanna Chua said in a research note.

“Thus, vacancies in two of the most important economic posts will raise some concerns about the credibility of macro policies and the pace of reforms. Nonetheless, we think despite her departure, Indonesia’s track record of prudent fiscal policies will likely remain intact.”

Indrawati and Vice President Boediono, who was earlier the central bank governor, were regarded as Yudhoyono’s top reformers, taking a tough public stance against corrupt politicians, officials and businessmen in a country that ranks among the most corrupt in the world.

Their reforms, for example in the tax and customs offices, led to improvements in revenue collection but much more remains to be done to clean up the civil service, including the police and judiciary.

Indrawati raised salaries at revenue departments, fired corrupt officials, and introduced more transparent work practices including open plan offices and computerised records.

She has sent sent investigators from the anti-corruption commission on surprise raids, including to the customs department, to check whether officials had cash stashed away.

However, tax evasion remains a serious problem. In a country with a population of about 240 million, there are only 16 million registered tax payers.

Wilmar: Asia’s next Cargill in China?

Wilmar: Asia’s next Cargill in China?


KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 — Singapore-listed Wilmar is shaping up to become the Asian version of agribusiness giant Cargill, with an expanding network of farms, food processors and shipping companies.

And it’s showing its muscle where it matters most — in China.

Wilmar’s integrated China operations account for 44.7 per cent of its US$10.3 billion (RM32.79 billion) assets, allowing it to weather recent volatile food prices and now a likely yuan policy change.

The company had the most to gain when Beijing in April slapped import curbs on Argentine soyoil — a commodity that competes with Wilmar’s domestically crushed oilseeds in China and imported palm oil.

This resilience has spurred investors to clamour for Wilmar to revisit a shelved IPO for its China business, possibly this year, four years after the powerful Kuok family merged Wilmar and Malaysia-based Kuok Group to create the US$32 billion firm.

“I believe they will revisit the IPO. It’s anybody’s guess when it happens, but Wilmar has rightly tapped into the fact that agriculture is super-hot in China,” said Michael Greenall, an analyst with BNP Paribas.

“With the super-charged growth in China’s economy, higher incomes and rural-to-urban migration contributing to stronger demand in all the sectors it’s invested in, Wilmar will act.”

Wilmar’s proposed China listing would have raised as much as US$3.5 billion on the Hong Kong stock exchange, at the lower end of the range of China-based food companies.

Wilmar, which has been dubbed by analysts as the “China proxy”, currently trades at 18 times its 2010 earnings, richer than rival China Agri Industries’ 14 times but cheaper than 22 times at China Foods.

Wilmar’s shares have gained more than 8 per cent this year, outperforming a 2.5 per cent rise on Singapore’s benchmark index, while other plantation firms such as Malaysia’s Sime Darby, IOI Group and Indonesia’s Astra Agro Lestari are trading lower.

Margins in Wilmar’s main business sectors — oilseeds and grains, palm and laurics and consumer food products — certainly have room to grow as the world’s most populous country and third-largest economy keeps to its target of 8 per cent annual growth.

YUAN BOOST?

An immediate margin boost may come from a yuan policy shift that could make imported soybeans cheaper for Wilmar — a top importer that dominates a fifth of China’s 94 million tonnes of soy processing capacity.

It also buffers Wilmar from negative margins arising from weak livestock feed demand for soymeal, as the food processor can channel soyoil into its cooking oil business that controls 45 per cent of China’s market.

In contrast, the influx of cheap soy imports may further weigh on smaller crushers that have tiny integrated downstream operations. Some have none to speak of.

Soyoil accounts for a quarter of China’s 6.4 million tonnes of edible oil imports, and Wilmar makes up the rest with palm oil from its estates in Southeast Asia, taking a larger market share than Sime and IOI.

Analysts say a Wilmar IPO will bring all these factors into play.


“Wilmar is one of its kind. They are not only selling to China but they also know the supply side (because) they have estates in Malaysian and Indonesia,” said Ivy Ng, an analyst with Malaysia’s CIMB Investment Bank.

“If you look at China Agri, they don’t have any estates, they buy palm, process and sell.”

Wilmar’s plantation landbank of 570,000 hectares is just 41 per cent planted, and analysts say the planting will rise in tandem with China’s growing appetite for edible oils and palm oil getting cheaper if Beijing lets its currency appreciate.

The scale of its operations — 130 processors and plants in China — allows Wilmar to manage the fluctuations in soybeans and palm oil and preserve earnings.

A 10 per cent change in the price of palm oil only affects the company’s 2010 earnings by 2 per cent, Goldman Sachs said in a note. Other analysts say such a swing affects earnings of purer plantation plays such as Astra Agro Lestari by 13 per cent.

TURNING TO RICE AND WHEAT

The major risk to Wilmar’s growth is that it will eventually come up against regulations stipulating that foreign firms cannot own new soy processors and those with a soy market share of more than 15 per cent will not get approval to expand capacity.

But analysts are still pricing in an upside to Wilmar’s share price, which surged 130 per cent in 2009. The Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S survey of 19 analysts has an average target price for Wilmar of S$7.80 (RM18.13) — a 13 per cent gain from its current level.

Much of the optimism lies with Wilmar’s aggressive move into China’s highly fragmented rice and wheat milling sectors, which are the world’s largest, and also produce noodles and pastries.

“They have been investing a lot in rice and flour in China, which can become very big,” Nomura analyst Tanuj Shori said.

“The biggest entry barrier is scale. The bigger you are, the easier it is to achieve higher profitability.”

China Agri leads with a 2 per cent market share in both sectors, but Wilmar can take top position as it can build mills at its existing manufacturing bases where it can share overheads and logistics, reducing costs and boosting margins, analysts say.

Backed by a balance sheet of US$23.5 billion, Wilmar can fund its rice and wheat expansion through its US$1 billion capex. China Agri plans to spend US$1.1 billion this year.

And Wilmar can channel wheat and rice products to its existing edible oil customers — noodle manufacturers Tingyi and Want Want.

“We believe Wilmar is capable of adding 4 million tonnes,” said Hwang-DBS analyst Ben Santoso, basing that on five 400,000 tonne capacity plants for both rice and flour.

“Compared to its last published capacity of 890,000 tonnes, it’s an extraordinary expansion.” — Reuters

Inflation may check Singapore bank profits

Inflation may check Singapore bank profits
May 05, 2010


SINGAPORE, May 5 — Singapore banks are mostly set to post double-digit rises in quarterly earnings as loans grew and bad debts declined, but rising inflationary pressures are raising medium-term concerns that higher rates may squeeze margins.

The city-state’s banks are benefiting from a strong recovery in the domestic economy, which is projected to expand as much as 9 per cent this year, its best annual performance since 2004. Singapore’s economy shrank 2 per cent last year.

But inflation — which is expected to hit a two-year high in the fourth quarter — is also posing a risk to short-term interest rates, which hit rock bottom during the financial crisis as Asian economies battled the global financial crisis.

“The main risk is an interest rate risk — a sharp repricing of the short-end of the curve which would result in a narrowing of net interest margins,” said Peter Elston, a strategist at Aberdeen Asset Management Asia.

“That repricing of the short end would be the result of a sudden change in inflationary expectations,” said Elston. Aberdeen owns OCBC and UOB in Singapore and Public Bank in Malaysia.

Analysts are bullish about bank earnings as strong capital markets and higher trading in currencies and bonds have helped lift results at global banks that are recovering from the credit crisis.

“The market will be looking for evidence of revenue recovery and that the earnings uplift from lower loan impairments is now largely a foregone conclusion,” Natasha Midgley, an analyst at Standard Chartered, said in a note. “In light of recent newsflow, we see scope for revenue-driven earnings’ upgrades.”

NEW STRATEGY

Banks will also benefit from a strong recovery in investor demand for mutual funds and insurance products, boosting fee income.

Analysts are also looking for clues from DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta on the progress he has made in implementing his new strategy that aims to widen the Singapore bank’s reach in Asia.

JPMorgan’s Harsh Wardhan Modi said Gupta has made a promising start, but he would like to see more progress in improving DBS’s Hong Kong business and gaining bigger market share in the segment serving small-and-medium enterprises as Asian economies recover.

In Malaysia, where most analysts do not provide quarterly forecasts, Macquarie Research expects banks will report on average a 43 per cent growth in net profit for Jan-March from a year ago, amid lower bad-debt charges.

Maybank’s earnings are set to outperform this year after its last financial year was marred by big writeoffs linked to acquisitions in Indonesia and Pakistan. — Reuters

US stocks dive as Greek crisis takes toll

US stocks dive as Greek crisis takes toll
May 5, 2010 - 6:35AM

Overseas markets in crash mode
The DJIA was down by 2.0 per cent, and the S&P500 down by 2.4 per cent after heavy selling on

Investors dumped US stocks in Wall Street's worst session in three months on the fear that even with a bailout for Greece, Europe's debt crisis could spread to other weak euro zone countries.

The sell-off echoed a wave of fear that gripped financial markets as investors fretted the crisis in Europe could derail the global economic recovery. A gauge of investor fear jumped more than 18 per cent.

What you need to know
The SPI was off 104 points at 4630
The Australian dollar was buying 90.89 US cents
The Reuters Jefferies CRB index fell 2.34%

Big exporters to Europe including technology and industrial companies tumbled, with Hewlett-Packard off 3.9 per cent to $US50.64 and Caterpillar down 4.6 per cent to $US66.70.

"It looks like we've got some profit-taking on early-cycle exporters, companies with a big global presence over in Europe," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Basic materials shares tumbled as the euro hit a one-year low against the US dollar. The Reuters-Jefferies commodity index and the S&P materials index both posted their worst day since early February, sliding 2.3 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 225.06 points, or 2.02 per cent, to 10,926.77. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 28.66 points, or 2.38 per cent, to 1173.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 74.49 points, or 2.98 per cent, to 2424.25.

The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, finished up 18.1 per cent at 23.84 points, its highest closing level in three months.

Airline shares were hard hit, with the Arca Airline Index shedding 5.39 per cent after a recent run-up.

Despite the S&P 500's steep fall, the benchmark did not break major technical support except for a short-term bottom at 1181 on the S&P 500, the intraday low hit last week.

"For initial support most people are watching the 50-day moving average, which is at 1168," said John Schlitz, chief US market technician at Instinet in New York.

Encouraging US economic data on manufacturing and housing failed to provide a floor to the market. Reports showed new orders received by US factories in March unexpectedly increased and pending home sales rose to a five-month high.

On the upside, better-than expected earnings from drug makers Merck & Co Inc and Pfizer Inc boosted those shares by about 2 per cent each.

About 12 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, more than last year's estimated daily average of 9.65 billion.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a ratio of about 6 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about 29 stocks fell for every five that rose.

Reuters

http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/us-stocks-dive-as-greek-crisis-takes-toll-20100505-u7o3.html

The depressing lessons of history, ignored: it is the market cannot be left to regulate itself.

The depressing lessons of history, ignored
MARK CROSBY
May 5, 2010

If experience has taught us anything, it is the market cannot be left to regulate itself.

ONE might think that as an economist I would have great faith in markets and market systems. But in my view the most important part of my training as an economist was aimed at working out under what conditions markets fail - and what to do about them.

Most economists are in agreement that markets, if left alone, will not work very well. Natural monopolies and pollution problems require regulation or perhaps public provision to help the market along. Most economists, myself included, regard financial markets as subject to important forms of market failure. Banks have a bad history of failing, and creating significant problems for the wider economy when they do, and so regulation to strengthen that industry is an important part of an economy's legal infrastructure.

Even in the US this view of the importance of regulating finance was dominant after the Great Depression. During the Depression thousands of banks failed, prolonging and deepening the downturn. While most of the world economy was in recovery from the Great Depression in 1933, the number of bank failures in the US that year extended it there for several more years.

Subsequent changes to financial systems meant that banks and finance were very stable until the deregulation in many economies that began in the early 1980s. Much of this deregulation was a good thing, promoting more competition for example, but in some cases deregulation went too far. The first post-Depression failure in the US occurred shortly after financial market deregulation had begun, with widespread problems and failures in the savings and loan sector.

There have also been problems with particular financial products related to deregulation. In the mid-1980s, many banks in Australia offered their customers ''cheap'' Swiss franc loans. At a time when interest rates in Australia were well into double digits, farmers and many small-business customers were encouraged to borrow overseas at lower rates in francs.

Economic theory would suggest that higher interest rates in Australia tend to predict a weakening Australian dollar. In this case theory was right and a halving of the value of the Aussie in the space of a year resulted in a doubling of the principal outstanding for borrowers in $A terms. This could have bankrupted many, but legal cases against the banks resulted in the banks wearing large losses, rather than their customers.

The key issue in the lawsuits was the fact customers were not properly advised of the risks involved in taking out a foreign-currency loan.

Around this time, Bankers Trust in the US was being sued by four of its customers over losses related to derivatives products.

One was Proctor&Gamble, whose chairman at the time said: ''There is a notion that end-users of derivatives must be held accountable for what they buy. We agree completely, but only if the terms and risks are fully and accurately disclosed. The issue here is Bankers Trust's selling practices.'' In the end all four suits against Bankers Trust were settled out of court and it was forced to write off more than $100 million in derivatives payments owed to it.

The Swiss loan episode and other problems in the mortgage market in Australia in the early 1990s led to stronger regulation regarding protection of customers purchasing financial products - borrowers are required to acknowledge that they understand the terms of their mortgages. As a result, mortgages in Australia tend to be quite simple and Australian banks have not been in difficulties such as those now faced by Goldman Sachs due to the creation and promotion of overly complicated derivative products.

The US has pursued further deregulation since the 1980s. Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve was famous for arguing that the market would resolve potential problems. In a sense Greenspan was right, but the cost of the market solution has been enormous. The lack of regulation in the US mortgage market led to foreclosures and the housing meltdown.

The lack of customer protections has enabled financial firms to sell more and more complicated products to customers. The sophistication of these products has caught out not only customers, but even many sophisticated financial market players, such as the ratings agencies.

Goldman Sachs has claimed to a US Senate committee that it is only a ''market maker'', creating liquidity and prices for financial market products. The problem with that is that Goldman is the creator of the product - it is very easy to make money if an institution that is trusted creates a dodgy product to sell to unsuspecting customers and sets up a side scheme that makes money when the dodgy product fails. This is not market-making but making a market that is designed to fail.

The US in particular needs much more consumer-friendly legislation. Proposed changes to Australian regulations in the area of superannuation that more strongly protect consumers are to be encouraged. It is all very well to make a market, but some markets ought not to be made in the first place.

Mark Crosby is associate professor and associate dean, international, at the Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne.

Source: The Age

http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-depressing-lessons-of-history-ignored-20100504-u7b7.html

The risks of buying into IPOs

Wednesday May 5, 2010

The risks of buying into IPOs
Personal Investing - By Ooi Kok Hwa


Investors may not necessarily make quick gains from share offerings

AS our economic outlook is getting more promising, there are growing interests from companies to list on Bursa Malaysia.

However, despite the higher number of initial public offerings (IPOs) and bigger, broad trading volumes lately, we noticed that the general public’s buying interest, especially of retail investors, in recent IPOs remains low.

If we were to scrutinise IPO prospectuses, we will seldom come across one that states the main purpose of the company seeking to go public is to share its profits with the investors. Instead, most companies would want the investors to share the risks involved in running the companies.

Hence, more often than not, the first few sections of the prospectuses will highlight all the risks involved in buying into those IPOs.

Investors need to understand that buying into IPOs does not necessarily mean investors can make quick gains. Sometimes, they may need to hold on to those investments for medium to long term.

There are two main types of share offerings:

• public issue and 
• offer for sale.

Public issues involve companies issuing new shares to investors and the money raised will be channelled into reducing companies’ borrowings or used for future expansion.

As for offer for sale of stock, the shares that investors subscribe to are from existing company owners. Therefore, the money raised from the new investors will be channelled to existing owners, which also means the existing owners will have cashed out a portion of their investments in those companies.

The Table shows how the owners of a listed company, Company A, are able to get back their original investment through an IPO. The total shareholders’ funds of RM800mil represent the total original investment cost of Company A’s existing owners.

Let’s assume Company A offers 25% of its shares to the general public (line f) and the type of offering is offer for sale. If the IPO price to book value per share is about four times (line e), the offer for sale of 25% of its outstanding shares will allow the existing owners to recoup all of their initial capital invested in the company (Line g, h and i).


Even though this does not imply that Company A is not able to perform in future, investors need to understand that the remaining 75% of the shares or 1,534 million (0.75 x 2,045 million shares) owned by the existing owners are in effect “free” to them.

If Company A is fundamentally strong with good future prospects, then investors should not be too worried about the existing owners cashing out.

However, if the fundamentals of Company A start to deteriorate, investors need to be extra careful as the remaining 75% of the shares owned by the existing owners are now costless to them. Under such circumstances, every share the existing owners manage to sell into the market, regardless of the price, is extra gain for the owners.

Therefore, the existing owners can afford to sell the shares at any price they wish. However, if the price is below what retail investors had paid, it will mean a loss to them.

● Ooi Kok Hwa is an investment adviser and managing partner of MRR Consulting.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/5/5/business/6190058&sec=business

Another View: Market Makers or Market Gamers?

INVESTMENT BANKING
Another View: Market Makers or Market Gamers?
May 4, 2010, 1:56 PM

Michael Stumm, the chief executive of Oanda, argues that weak requirements on transparency and disclosure have enabled a conflict-of-interest culture to dominate the financial industry.

Now that the securities fraud investigation of Goldman Sachs has reached the Justice Department, the financial industry has hit a new low in public opinion. It’s never been easier to hate the banks.

The leaders of governments around the world have taken note and are using this anger to court favor with voters. Naturally, they’re pushing for greater legislative control over the banking system.

It remains to be seen if Goldman Sachs did knowingly and fraudulently sell junk securities to unsuspecting clients, or if, as Goldman contends, the firm did nothing wrong in the mortgage-related deal and provided proper disclosure. I would argue that the final outcome of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil fraud suit matters little. The fact that an American regulator is questioning the trustworthiness of a sterling Wall Street firm means we’ve already crossed the Rubicon.

There is no doubt that serious changes are coming. They will be expensive and complicated, and they may not even fix the problems they’re intended to solve. And when these changes come, we in the industry will have no one to blame but ourselves. It may be trite to say this now, but it did not have to be this way.

Most of the world’s leading industrialized countries, with the notable exception of Canada and Japan, have come out in support of new fees and taxes for the banking system. One such idea is the “Tobin tax,” which would attach a fee to every financial transaction. Another is set out in a document recently leaked from the International Monetary Fund, which advocates for two new taxes on the banking system. Money from these would pay for a potential future economic crisis.

To our industry’s discredit, some of the largest names in the business have earned reputations for relying on questionable practices to make oversized profits. As President Obama warned in his recent address to Wall Street, if your business model is based on bilking your customers, it is time to change how you do business.

Transparency is the distinction between making a deal or a market, and gaming a deal or a market. A business that shows its customers how things work behind the scenes is able to prove its operations are honest. Transparency ultimately equates to fairness.

There are times when a market maker must take the opposite side of a client’s position to ensure an active market. However, this should be accomplished through technology that automates the process to ensure there is no conscious manipulation to bet against clients. If the firm offering the security holds a position — or if any affiliated entity holds a position — this information must be made available to the prospective buyer. Full disclosure with respect to the underlying securities must also be published.

In the case against Goldman Sachs, the S.E.C. contends the firm deliberately suppressed information about the quality of the underlying securities and did not disclose that the hedge fund firm Paulson & Company was taking a short position. If true, it means Wall Street’s most respected investment bank sold a product to clients at worse odds than if those clients walked into a casino and bet their money on a single spin of a roulette wheel — worse odds because casinos at least acknowledge to their patrons that the odds are stacked in favor of the house.

It is shameful that the investment industry has been reduced to deliberate attempts to prey on the vulnerabilities of investors in order to profit. Gone are the days, it seems, when banks and investment firms operated on principles of adding value to the investment process. Now these firms make the majority of their profits through proprietary, or “prop,” trading, in which in-house traders conduct transactions on behalf of the firm. This is an inherent conflict of interest that has propagated a new operating philosophy based on making money any way possible, even if it means taking advantage of your client.

The weak requirements around transparency and disclosure have enabled this new culture to dominate the industry. But I can tell you firsthand that fairness and profit need not be mutually exclusive. Oanda’s core value is transparency, so we publish open and short positions for each supported currency pair on our foreign-exchange trading platform. These are positions held by actual clients, and having access to this information makes it possible for traders to gauge real market sentiment.

In contrast, those who attempt to profit by gaming the market will obfuscate the truth — or purposely misrepresent facts — to prevent customers from making informed decisions. Too many market makers fall prey to this temptation. They increase their rate of “wins” over clients by hiding information or using technology in what I can only describe as a perverse way.

The investment industry continues to concentrate development efforts more on creating advantages for themselves, rather than committing to an efficient market. There is a technology “arms race” under way on Wall Street, as evidenced by the adoption of high-frequency trading that favors those with the largest information technology budgets. Deals with exchanges that allow for an early look at market prices or the creation of dark pools that hide the trading activity of the large firms have served only to put smaller traders at a disadvantage.

Transparency and fairness for all market participants? Hardly.

Such government moves as extracting new taxes and taking aim at executive bonuses, while undoubtedly proving immensely popular with a jaded public, detract from the main issue. Though it may sound naïve and even a bit simplistic, what is needed is greater transparency to force a change in the way business is conducted. While it is impossible to mandate “fairness” as a business requirement, transparency can be both legislated and measured, and this will do more to level the field than any other administrative requirement.

The current investigation against Goldman Sachs is still in the early stages, but the damage to the industry’s reputation has already taken its toll. I remain optimistic however, that the day is coming when transparency is seen by financial executives as a competitive goal to strive for, rather than something to avoid.

Michael Stumm is the chief executive of the Oanda Corporation, a provider of online foreign currency exchange trading and services and the source of the currency rates used by leading institutions including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and KPMG.

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/another-view-market-makers-or-market-gamers/?ref=business