Buffett on Cash

Warren Buffett on CNBC back in 2009:"The one thing I will tell you is the worst investment you can have is cash. Everybody is talking about cash being king and all that sort of thing...Cash is going to become worth less over time. But good businesses are going to become worth more over time. And you don't want to pay too much for them so you have to have some discipline about what you pay. But the thing to do is find a good business and stick with it."That's certainly no invitation to speculate on stocks but does help make the point that...

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The Market Missed This Or Under Appreciated The Multiplier Effects

When I did my weekly Murasaki Masterclasses, many were not able to pinpoint what I regarded was a most important development over the past week. Below was a decent blurb from Arab research: The Star reported that SapuraKencana Petroleum, Hibiscus Petroleum, Sona Petroleum, CLIQ Energy and Coastal Energy are interested to bid for US-based Murphy Oil Corp’s proposed sale of a 30% stake in its Malaysian oil & gas assets, which could be worth US$2bil-US$3bil (RM6.6bil-RM9.9bil). The indicative market value translates to up to 3.3x the US$898mil...

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Retirement Epidemic

We live in an instant gratification society. The house, the car, and annual vacation take precedence over contributions to retirement and savings accounts. It therefore comes as no surprise to me that Americans spend more time on planning for vacation than they do on planning for retirement. Given the choice of spending or saving, Americans in large part choose, “spend now, save later.” Or in other words, Americans choose to drink $10...

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What If Property Prices Don't Rise

There is a place where property prices do not really rise, and the economy is a very strong juggernaut in the global sphere. GERMANY! Can you imagine your spending power, can you imagine how much more money and options you have. Let's look at the benefits, which the Germans have been enjoying:a) you do not have to put 1/3 of your earnings towards a fixed asset, which may also prompt many to over speculate, over leverage - in terms of houses as a savings and appreciating asset to hold onto, one can easily put a lot more into EPF (maybe 30% of earnings)b)...

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It’s not end of the world at the Fragile Five

Despite all the doom and gloom surrounding capital-hungry Fragile Five countries, real money managers have not abandoned the ship at all. Aberdeen Asset Management has overweight equity positions in Indonesia, India, Turkey and Brazil — that’s already 4 of the five countries that have come under market pressure because of their funding deficits.  The fund is also positive on Thailand and the Philippines. Devan Kaloo, head of global emerging markets at Aberdeen, says these economies have well-run companies that are well positioned to adjust...

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