Sobering Look At Sona Petroleum

Ok, the deal seems to be off. If you look at it, that is possibly the BEST thing that can happen for Sona. The mother shares have been pummelled from 55  sen to be around 44 sen following the proposed deal with Salamander, owing to the sharp falls in oil prices. No deal means back to cash valuation. Why still fall when the deal is off... its good that the deal is off since oil prices has corrected a lot from whence the deal was announced....

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Why Global Investors Keep Looking to United States for Guidance

Thats the first thing you learn when you step into an investment career, but do we know why. I mean, we know its big, but just how big? This map shows clearly why. It dissects out the states of the United States and correspond that to a country with the similar GDP for that state. Its an incredible map as it puts into perspective just how important that entire economy is ... its like over 50 countries .... That may partially explain why most...

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Low Oil Price Providing a $1.3 Trillion Fiscal Stimulus

You cannot just be focused on one side of the equation. Yes, lower oil prices may affect the revenues of oil exporting nations. It may even be a reflection of the oversupplu, maybe brought on by rogue nations milking oil for funds for war and terrorism. It could also be a strategy by OPEC to decapitate shale oil production ventures which needs oil to be safely way above $80 to make it feasible. Whatever it is, lower oil prices will also mean savings for almost all nations, and in actual fact may go a long way to boosting demand and improve savings...

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Dollar Still Firm

The US dollar gained against most of the major foreign currencies last week, but the overall tone, leaving aside the yen, was largely consolidative in nature. The greenback was soft in the first half of the week but recovered in the second half. The Australian and Canadian dollars were the only major currencies that managed to hold onto some of their gains (0.55% and 0.40% respectively). The yen was the weakest of the majors, losing 1.2%, as the panic from the week before died down. Equity markets were mostly higher, with the Nikkei's...

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What is Capitulation?

What is capitulation? CNBC ExplainsTraditionally, the word capitulation describes a surrender between fighting armies. What is capitulation when it's used on Wall Street? What does it signify? We explain.What is capitulation?In simple terms, capitulation is when investors try to get out of the stock market as quickly as possibleand look for less risky investments. It's also described as panic selling. It's usually based on investor fears that stock prices will fall further than they have.Capitulation is usually signaled by a decline in the markets...

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Why Oil Price is Sagging

The respected site oilprice.com did a summary of why oil prices are sagging, but MISSED out one big factor. The strengthening USD over the past few weeks. Three or four months back, the turmoil in Iraq was causing some disruption anticipation to oil supply, which have been eased following the "drones strategy with partners". The USD has rallied over the past few weeks in anticipation of a uptrend in interest rates there, coupled with better recovery in the US compared to other developed counterparts. However, to me the strength...

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Could Malaysia Be the Next "Houston" (oil & gas hub)

Helped along by a stable, transparent, pro-business government, Malaysia has been quietly building itself into an oil and gas hub, and the world’s oil and gas companies -- who increasingly see this country as a natural base for their broader Asian operations -- have noticed.With Singapore now the world’s most expensive city, Jakarta in constant gridlock and Bangkok the center of recurring coup activity, Kuala Lumpur is fast becoming the preferred central location for businesses looking to take advantage of the expected growth in South East Asia.The...

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Realignment in Global Currencies Caused Global Equities to Pause

The worst week for global equities in almost two months finished on a positive note as optimism in the economy’s strength helped counter a procession of concerns from geopolitics to valuations and interest rates. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 1.4 percent for the week, paring declines on the final day with a 0.9 percent rally. The MSCI All-Country World Index dropped 2 percent for the five days, the most since Aug. 1. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies decreased 2.4 percent. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index tumbled 2.8 percent,...

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So What's the Right PE?

You tell me! (Let's not talk about other valuation methods - strictly PE)I remember when I started investing, people (or some books) used to tell - anything that is above 8x PE is considered expensive. That practice is still within some Malaysian VCs, investors where they would even look at prospective PE of 3x - 5x. Is this archaic measurement realistic?Times change, appetite changes as well. However, if one is to look at the global interest rate...

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What Happen to Comodities

I am not so much of a commodity person. For an investor in commodity, I have always believed that the investor has to have a much better macro picture i.e. consumption of steel in the construction industry. Another example, edible oil market i.e. comparison between sunflower vs soy vs palm oil. What are their prices per metric ton. Which are consumed more etc? These are things that I am not able to understand well.Look at the prices of major...

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Warren Buffett Tells You How to Turn $40 Into $10 Million

Warren Buffett is perhaps the greatest investor of all time, and he has a simple solution that could help an individual turn $40 into $10 million. A few years ago, Berkshire Hathaway CEO and Chairman Warren Buffett spoke about one of his favorite companies, Coca-Cola, and how after dividends, stock splits, and patient reinvestment, someone who bought just $40 worth of the company's stock when it went public in 1919 would now have...

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Have We Not Learned

This same thing I have seen over and over again in my life as an investor / stock trader. If you know what I mean, the year 2014 appears to be a speculative year again. People just like the excitement although they do know that what they are doing is a negative sum game. If it is a negative sum game, why bother? Well, if you look at Genting or Genting Malaysia's shares, we can basically understand - there is never a year where Genting will be on...

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