West Coast condo site awarded to Cheung Kong-linked firm

[Unregistered]

Wall Street Firms Cut 34,000 Jobs, Most Since 2001 Dot-Com Bust

By Yalman Onaran

March 24 (Bloomberg) -- Wall Street banks hit by mortgage losses and writedowns have cut more than 34,000 jobs in the past nine months, the most since the dot-com boom fizzled in 2001.

Citigroup Inc., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Morgan Stanley are among the firms that have disclosed headcount reductions so far. After the Internet bubble burst, 39,800 jobs were eliminated during the same period; the number climbed to 90,000 in the next two years, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

The collapse of the subprime mortgage market last year and the ensuing credit contraction have saddled the world's largest financial institutions with at least $200 billion of writedowns and losses. Bear Stearns Cos., once the fifth-biggest U.S. securities firm, became the emblem of panic on Wall Street two weeks ago, when it was forced to submit to an emergency takeover backed by the Federal Reserve as clients and lenders deserted the company. More bank losses are likely, according to analysts.

``This crisis is much worse than 2001 and we don't know how long it's going to last,'' said Jo Bennett, a partner at executive search firm Battalia Winston International in New York. Job cuts ``could be more than 100,000 in a few years.''

Securities firms started eliminating positions in mortgage departments as early as last July, when rising delinquencies on home loans to borrowers with poor credit histories led to a decline in the prices of bonds tied to the loans. Between July and December, almost 17,000 jobs were lost, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Shuttered Lenders

Lehman's home-loan unit, BNC Mortgage LLC, employed 1,600 people before the firm closed it down in August. Mortgage lender First Franklin Financial had 2,300 employees when it was acquired by Merrill Lynch & Co. in January 2007. Merrill shuttered the business this month. All told, at least 100 mortgage companies have suspended operations, closed or been sold since the start of 2007.

This year, banks including Lehman, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley have been winnowing out employees in fixed income trading, securitization, asset management and investment banking. Administrative and technology staff have also been let go. So far, Citigroup has eliminated 1.7 percent of its workforce, while Lehman has chopped 18 percent. Morgan Stanley has cut 6.2 percent, and Merrill has eliminated 4.5 percent.

The bursting of what Glenn Reynolds of CreditSights Inc. has called the ``securitization bubble'' is affecting other industries. Lawyers who helped create mortgage-backed bonds, realtors who sold more houses as home ownership in the U.S. rose and mortgage brokers who found new customers as lending standards were relaxed are now looking for work, according to Jeanne Branthover, a managing director at Boyden Global Executive Search in New York.

Black Cars

``This is filtering down to the vendor,'' Branthover said. ``The firms Wall Street was using are also feeling the pain.''

Even the black cars that shuttle bankers and traders home from their Manhattan offices are seeing demand for their services dwindle, and the firms may have to fire some drivers, said Battalia Winston's Bennett.

Bear Stearns, once the biggest U.S. underwriter of mortgage securities, agreed to be acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co. on March 16 after a run on the securities firm left it facing potential bankruptcy. While JPMorgan hasn't said how many Bear Stearns employees may lose their jobs, half of the 14,000 people at the company may be let go, estimates Boyden's Branthover. The two firms have overlapping businesses and JPMorgan, the third-largest U.S. bank by assets, may shut down some Bear Stearns units, she said.

Fed Action

Revenue for Wall Street brokers may decline as much as 30 percent this year, Standard & Poor's said March 21, when it cut the outlook for credit ratings at Lehman and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the biggest U.S. securities firm. While the Federal Reserve's March 16 decision to open a lending facility for brokers may ease cash concerns, ``persisting market turmoil'' may still erode brokers' earnings, S&P said.

Goldman said in January that it may fire 1,500 people to weed out underperformers. On March 18, Chief Financial Officer David Viniar said headcount was unchanged during the first quarter and might grow in the ``low to mid-single digits'' this year, mostly because of hiring outside the U.S.

Some firms haven't fully disclosed their job cuts because they don't want to appear financially weak, according to Battalia Winston's Bennett. ``They're all dribbling people out the door, so the numbers don't show the true extent of the problem yet,'' said Bennett.

Ousted CEOs

Merrill, which didn't announce job reductions last year, said on March 5 that 70 percent of the staff at its First Franklin mortgage unit had been eliminated since July. Merrill is a passive, minority investor in Bloomberg LP, parent of Bloomberg News.

Senior Wall Street executives haven't escaped unscathed. Six chief executive officers, eight presidents or other officers and at least 19 division heads have lost their jobs as a result of the subprime meltdown. Citigroup CEO Charles O. ``Chuck'' Prince, Merrill CEO Stan O'Neal, Bear Stearns CEO James ``Jimmy'' Cayne and UBS AG CEO Peter Wuffli were the highest- ranking casualties.

Compared with the fallout after public markets slammed shut on speculative Internet companies in 2001, more high-level Wall Street executives are losing jobs in the current crisis, according to Gustavo Dolfino, president of New York-based executive search firm Whiterock Group LLC. When the dot-com boom ended, the people who lost jobs were predominantly rank and file, he said.

Human Capital

``Clearly there's a trend to make people pay,'' Dolfino said. ``Firms have also been moving lower-ranked staff from the U.S. to Asia, where they need more hands. Top people don't want to move as easily.''

Boyden's Branthover said she doesn't expect this cycle of job cuts to reach post-2001 levels. One of the lessons the firms learned from that period is that it's costly and difficult to replace human capital lost during times of distress, she said.

``A lot of support staff will be cut because those are easier to replace when the business turns around,'' she said.

The following table shows jobs eliminated by the biggest banks and securities firms since the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in July 2007. The figures are based on company disclosures.


Firm Positions Cut

Citigroup 6,200

Lehman Brothers 4,990

Bank of America 3,650

Morgan Stanley 2,940

Washington Mutual 2,600

Merrill Lynch 2,220

HSBC 1,650

Bear Stearns 1,550

WestLB 1,530

UBS 1,500

Goldman Sachs 1,500*

National City 900

Credit Suisse 820

Royal Bank of Canada 500

Fortis 500

Wells Fargo 500

Wachovia 443

Deutsche Bank 370

JPMorgan Chase 100
_____
TOTAL 34,463

[Unregistered]

China Stocks Drop for First Time in Four Days; Banks Fall

By Zhang Shidong

March 24 (Bloomberg) -- [b]China stocks fell for the first time in four days, led by financial companies, on speculation the government will curb the growth in housing prices.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the nation's biggest listed lender, and China Vanke Co., the No. 1 developer, dropped the most in a week.

Oil-related companies slumped, led by PetroChina -- which slid to the lowest since its mainland debut in November -- after announcing disappointing 2007 earnings and as crude prices declined for a third day.

``Lower oil prices have brought pressure to the not-too- solid earnings of PetroChina,'' said Wu Kan, who manages the equivalent of $41 million at Dazhong Insurance Co. in Shanghai. ``The oil sector doesn't seem to be supported fundamentally now.''

The CSI 300 Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares listed on China's two exchanges, dropped 90.44, or 2.2 percent, to 3,947.39 as of 1:28 p.m. local time, set to snap a three-day, 7.3 percent advance.

The gauge has lost 32 percent since its Oct. 16 peak on concern the government will raise interest rates to tame 11-year high inflation. Last week, the People's Bank of China told lenders to set aside more deposits in reserve for the second time this year after raising interest rates six times in 2007.

Housing Prices

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the nation's biggest listed lender, lost 0.10 yuan, or 1.8 percent, to 5.60. Vanke, the largest publicly traded property developer, dropped 0.55 yuan, or 2.6 percent, to 23.80.

China's government will use ``economic tools'' to prevent growth in housing prices from further accelerating, China Youth Daily reported, citing housing minister Jiang Weixin.

The government will increase the supply of low-cost housing and raise allowances for the poor to help bring prices down, it reported.

PetroChina slumped 0.94 yuan, or 4.4 percent, to 20.10, set for the lowest close since it began trading in Shanghai on Nov. 5. The company's 2007 profit rose 2 percent from a year earlier, trailing analysts' estimates.

China Oilfield Services Ltd., the drilling unit of the nation's third-largest oil producer, lost 1.15 yuan, or 4.6 percent, to 23.89. Sinopec, the country's largest refiner, lost 0.43 yuan or 3.1 percent, to 13.38.

Crude oil declined as much as 1.6 percent to $100.20 a barrel in electronic trading today on concern an economic slowdown in the U.S. will reduce demand. The contract fell 7.6 percent last week.

Taiwan Election

Ports and exporters, particularly those based in the eastern city of Xiamen including Shanghai International Port (Group) Co., gained after Taiwanese elections boosted prospects of improved trade and transportation links with China.

Shanghai Port, the operator of the world's second-busiest container harbor, rose 0.26 yuan, or 3.6 percent, to 7.40. Xiamen Overseas Chinese Electronic Co., an electronic product manufacturer, gained 0.02 yuan, or 0.3 percent, to 7.38.

Kuomintang candidate Ma Ying-jeou won Taiwan's March 22 presidential election on pledges to begin direct flights in two months to China and work toward a common market with the mainland. Taiwan has restricted direct shipping, air and postal links with the mainland since the Kuomintang retreated to the island in 1949 after losing a civil war to the communists.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China's stock exchanges, dropped 2.7 percent to 3,694.26. The Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.8 percent to 1,163.17.

COFCO Property (Group) Co., the property unit of the country's biggest grain trader, plunged 2.66 yuan, or the 10 percent daily limit, to 23.93 after a suspension of five weeks. The company said it plans to buy nine property units from the parent and is studying the asset injection through private equity sales.

[Unregistered]

Fed Weighs Unprecedented Move to Calm Markets
National Public Radio
Monday, 24 March 2008, 8:09 AM U.S. EDT

The Federal Reserve and the central banks of Europe and the U.K. may be considering a radical move to stabilize the financial markets: using taxpayer money to buy back high-risk subprime mortgage-backed securities -- those at the heart of the housing crisis.

The fat cats being bailed out with poor taxpayers money. Encouraging people to make risky bets and then bail them out. Wah what a plan!

But it's still a plan, isn't it?
So it's good right?

[Unregistered]

JPMorgan raises Bear purchase price
Joe Bel Bruno and Stephen Bernard
Business Writers
Associated Press
New York, New York, U.S.
Monday, 24 March 2008, 11:35am U.S. EDT


The Bear Stearns headquarters, center, and the JP Morgan headquarters, right, are shown on Monday, 24 March 2008 in New York. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its offer Monday for Bear Stearns Cos. to $10 per share. - Photo: Mark Lennihan, AP

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its offer Monday for Bear Stearns Cos. to $10 per share from a bargain-basement price of $2 per share, hoping to assuage shareholders of the ailing investment bank.

Bear Stearns shares, which had already been trading above the initial offer price, surged above the new bid.

The move was clearly aimed at diffusing a backlash among Bear Stearns shareholders who felt the original deal undervalued the 85-year-old institution. JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon spent most of the week trying to woo Bear Stearns employees, who collectively own about a third of the company.

"We believe the amended terms are fair to all sides and reflect the value and risks of the Bear Stearns franchise," Dimon said in a statement, "and bring more certainty for our respective shareholders, clients, and the marketplace."

The new deal values Bear Stearns at about $1.19 billion — still a fraction of what the company was worth before its sudden near-collapse earlier this month. It also includes a provision for JPMorgan to buy 95 million new Bear Stearns shares immediately, which gives it a 39.5% stake in the company before shareholders have even voted.

The amended offer was Dimon's attempt to ward off any competition, and quickly move on with the acquisition. The two sides also changed certain guarantees JPMorgan made related to Bear Stearns' positions.

The new agreement also calls for the Federal Reserve — which helped broker the emergency deal to save Bear Stearns from failure — to provide a $30 billion term loan with portfolio assets put up as collateral. Those assets will be held by a newly created company managed by BlackRock Inc.

If any part of the portfolio defaults, JPMorgan will be on the hook to cover the first $1 billion in losses. As the assets are paid off, the Fed will receive principal plus any gains.

The Fed said the action is being taken with the support of the Treasury Department to "bolster market liquidity and promote orderly market functioning."

Alan Schwartz, Bear Stearns' embattled president and chief executive, has been vilified within the company for the past week for selling out too low. The company's 14,000 shareholders — most of whom depended on Bear Stearns' stock as part of their retirement plans — are facing significant job cuts if the deal goes through.

He said the substantial share issuance to JPMorgan "was a necessary condition" to maintaining Bear Stearns' financial stability.

"Our board of directors believes that the amended terms provide both significantly greater value to our shareholders, many of whom are Bear Stearns employees, and enhanced coverage and certainty for our customers, counterparties, and lenders," he said in a statement.

Bear shares had been much higher than its deal price last week in anticipation of a new buyout agreement. The stock surged on Monday, rising $5.34 to $11.30 after the new agreement was unveiled.

JPMorgan shares also rose, adding $1.79, or 3.7%, to $47.76 in morning trading.

Congrats to those who bought Bear shares at around $3 the last few days.

[Unregistered]

Singapore interest rates likely to fall further
Fed cut and robust Sing$ could push interbank lending rate below 1%
Nicholas Fang
The Straits Times
Monday, 24 March 2008

Singaporeans can expect cheaper mortgages but lower savings and fixed deposit rates in the months to come.

This is after a move by the United States Federal Reserve to slash a key US interest rate last week.

The Fed had cut three-quarters of a point off its federal funds rate, bringing it to 2.25%, to fight a mushrooming credit crisis and a slowing US economy.

Economists in Singapore said the lowering of the Fed funds rate will have a knock- on effect in the Republic.

The Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (Sibor), or the rate at which banks lend to one another, tends to track the Fed rate.

Citigroup economist Kit Wei Zheng said: 'For Singapore rates, the trend is downwards. We expect the Fed to cut its rate to 1% and Singapore should follow with a lag.'



He lowered his forecast for the Sibor, estimating it would fall to as low as 0.75% by the end of the third quarter, down from an earlier estimate of 1%.

A recent report by DBS Group Research also forecast the Sibor would fall, to 0.83% in the second quarter, and remain at that rate through the second half before rising next year.

The three-month Sibor fell to a 12-month low of 1.25% last Monday, before recovering to 1.425% on Thursday, ahead of the Good Friday public holiday.

Mr Kit said Singapore rates were also affected by the Singapore dollar's appreciation against the US currency. He said the Singdollar is most probably at the top end of the secret trade-weighted band within which the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) guides the currency.

'With the Singdollar expected to continue appreciating, MAS will aim to moderate it by flooding the market with liquidity, which will in turn pressure interest rates downwards,' he said.

OCBC economist Selena Ling said another consequence of the strong Singdollar would be a high inflow of foreign capital into the Republic. 'This can also contribute to lower interest rates.'

For consumers, the net result is both good and bad.

Banks recently embarked on a mortgage loan war, with Maybank firing the first salvo last month with an aggressive three-year, fixed-rate package offered at 1.68% for the first year.

DBS Bank and United Overseas Bank (UOB) have also unveiled attractive packages. UOB has one that offers a zero rate in the first year.

And with Sibor-linked home loan package rates likely to head south too, it could be a good time to refinance mortgage loans, experts said.

A DBS spokesman said: 'DBS offers transparent mortgage rates pegged to the Sibor and the CPF Ordinary Account rate, so our rates will move in tandem with market forces.'

But there is also the possibility that savings and fixed deposit rates could slump as interest rates go down.

OCBC's vice-president for group wealth management, Mr Fabian Lum, said the bank would review its deposit rates to keep them in line with prevailing market conditions.

And while the bank has not changed its savings rate recently, it lowered its 12-month fixed deposit rate for amounts between $50,000 and $1 million to 1.2% a year from 1.4% earlier this month.

DBS said that its savings deposit rates had not been adjusted since 2005, but added that its fixed deposit rates are always pegged to the interbank rate and would thus be adjusted accordingly.

CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun said that the low interest rates did not reflect a lack of liquidity on the part of banks. 'The loans-deposit ratio is still very strong, so banks definitely have the money to lend,' he said.

'But I think there is greater caution now, after what has happened in the US with the sub-prime crisis, and people are much more cautious nowadays when it comes to borrowing and lending money.'

Come on, drop it, crash it.
Everyone wants SIBOR to tank to 0.75%.

[Unregistered]

U.S. Financial Crisis Is Over, Analyst Richard Bove Says
Aaron Clark and Jeff Kearns
Bloomberg
Friday, 21 March 2008, 1:26 AM Singapore Time


Bove being interviewed on Bloomberg TV.

The U.S. financial crisis is over and the decline in bank stocks offers a "once in a generation" buying opportunity for investors, according to Richard Bove, the analyst who advised selling financial shares eight months ago before they tumbled.

"The last time an opportunity of this nature existed to buy bank stocks this cheap was in 1990," the Lutz, Florida-based analyst at Punk Ziegel & Co. wrote in a research note. "There will be more negative developments but they will be meaningless."

Bove said the Federal Reserve's rescue of Bear Stearns Cos., the fifth-biggest securities firm, and actions to increase banks' access to capital have been "innovative, dramatic" and "brilliant." The analyst advised clients to sell shares of the biggest U.S. securities firms in July. The Amex Securities Broker/Dealer Index declined 19% in the next four months. His recommendation to buy Citigroup Inc. in November preceded a 29% plunge in shares of the biggest U.S. bank by assets.

A gauge of financial stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 3.8% today for the biggest gain among 10 industries. The group of banks, brokers and insurers has been the worst performer over the past year, falling 28%.

$195 Billion

The Fed cut its benchmark rate this week by 0.75 percentage point to 2.25, the lowest level in more than three years, after $195 billion in worldwide bank losses related to subprime mortgages. The central bank has cut the target rate for overnight lending six times and slashed the discount rate for direct loans to banks 8 times since the middle of August, when the subprime collapse started to infect markets around the world.

"The actions being taken by the Federal Reserve are being mirrored by the Treasury, which now has finally grasped the scope of the problem," Bove wrote.

Citigroup Inc., the largest bank by assets, jumped 6.7% to $21.77 at 1:15 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Bank of America Corp., the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets, gained 3.7% to $39.99. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the world's biggest securities firm by market value, rallied 3% to $171.49.

Bove recommended 18 July 07 that investors sell shares of Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bear Stearns. He also downgraded Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

He then upgraded Citigroup to "buy" on 27 Nov 07, according to Bloomberg data. He raised Goldman to "market perform" on 4 Feb 08, preceding a 14% loss in the shares.

Goldman this week reported first-quarter profit that beat analysts' estimates as asset writedowns and a drop in fixed- income revenue weren't as bad as expected. Its next-biggest rival, Morgan Stanley, reported earnings that fell less than analysts estimated as record equity sales and trading offset writedowns from the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.

No wonder shares are going up. The crisis is already over.

[Unregistered]

'Big Rally' for Stocks to Continue, Jim Rogers Says
Carol Massar and Eric Martin
Bloomberg
Thursday, 20 March 2008


Jim Rogers, investor and chairman of Beeland Interests Inc.

U.S. stocks, which surged the most in five years yesterday, will likely continue their rally this year because the "out of control" Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates to save investment banks from collapse, investor Jim Rogers said.

The Fed's support is "why we're having a big rally, but that's not going to solve the problem," Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings and co-founder of the Quantum Hedge Fund with George Soros, said during an interview with Bloomberg Television from Singapore. "The system is terribly corroded."

The central bank is helping securities firms while delaying and deepening a bear market and recession, said Rogers, who is betting against financial shares. The Fed cut its benchmark for overnight lending between banks yesterday, continuing the most aggressive series of reductions since the rate became an explicit policy target in the late 1980s.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 4.2% yesterday, the most since October 2002. The index this week dropped as much as 19.7% from its October record, nearing the 20% threshold of a bear market, following $195 billion in bank losses from the collapse of the subprime-mortgage market.

No 'Bullets Left'

"What are they going to do when it's down 30% or 40% or 50%?" Rogers said. "They're not going to have any bullets left. They're not going to be able to solve the problems at that point."

Rogers, who predicted the start of the commodities rally in 1999, traveled the world by motorcycle and car in the 1990s researching investment ideas for his books, which include "Adventure Capitalist" and "Hot Commodities."

Rogers said he continues to short Citigroup Inc., Fannie Mae and investment banks via an exchange-traded fund tracking financial firms and increased his bearish bet last week. Short selling is the sale of borrowed stock in the hope of profiting by repurchasing the securities later at a lower price.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Financials Index, which surged 8.5% yesterday for the steepest advance since March 2000, closed at a five-year low on 17 March 08.

Taiwan stocks are attractive, Rogers said. The nation's Taiex stock index has slumped 3.8% this year, trailing only Brazil and Argentina as the best-performing stock market among the world's 20 largest, according to Bloomberg data.

Halfway Through

Rogers, whose commodities index has climbed more than fivefold since its inception in 1998, said raw materials are about halfway through their rally.

He also said the dollar, which has declined 15% against the euro in the past year, is likely to weaken further. The Fed should stop cutting rates, which would end that decline, Rogers said.

The Fed's mandate is "to keep a sound currency, not to prop up Wall Street," said Rogers. He recommended selling the dollar in a 15 Nov 07 interview. The currency has fallen about 6.6% against the euro since then.

Hello Jim Rogers supporters, Jim has asked you to buy equities now. Do it now! Don't wait.

[Unregistered]

February existing home sales rise
Chris Reiter
Reuters
Monday, 24 March 2008, 10:30am U.S. EDT


A man looks around a home up for sale in Stockton, California 2 February 2008. - Photo: Kimberly White, Reuters

The pace of existing home sales in the United States rose in February to a 5.03 million-unit annual rate while prices took a record fall, the National Association of Realtors said in a report on Monday that painted a mixed picture for the housing market.

While February broke a six-month streak of decreasing home sales, it also saw an 8.2% decline in median home prices from a year ago. That drop to $195,900 was the sharpest since the trade group began keeping records in 1968.

Economists polled by Reuters were expecting home resales to fall to a 4.85 million-unit pace from the 4.89 million-unit rate for January, which remained unrevised.

The U.S. dollar rose and U.S. Treasury prices extended their drop to session lows after the stronger-than-expected data.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the home price decline probably spurred sales in some regions.

"Falling prices increase affordability but at the same time there is a psychological element of buyers who are sitting on the fence while prices drop," he said.

The inventory of homes for sale fell 3% to 4.03 million units at the end of February, which represents a 9.6 months' supply at the current sales pace.

Only the West saw sales decrease, with sales down 1.1%, while the other regions saw sales rise. Home sales were up 11.3% in the Northeast, 2.5% in the Midwest and 2.1% in the South.

Home sale has increased. Start buying now.

[AFP]

STI closes 3.64% higher
Agence France-Presse
Singapore
Monday, 24 March 2008

Singapore share prices closed 3.64% higher on Monday on bargain hunting after the market's recent sharp losses amid fears of a recession in the United States, dealers said.

The Straits Times Index jumped 102.88 points to 2,927.79 on volume of 1.22 billion Singapore shares worth 1.49 billion Singapore dollars.

Rising issues overwhelmed decliners 518 to 160 with 992 issues unchanged.

'Barring unexpected nasty shocks from the US, the local market should renew its recovery past 3,000 to 3,100 (points), which is a modest target,' said Mr Najeeb Jarhom, head of research for retail investors at Amfraser Securities.

Investors took their cue from Wall Street's performance before it closing for a public holiday on Friday, as the Dow jumped 260 points on bargain-hunting and a milder-than-expected drop in a regional manufacturing report.

The Singapore market was also closed on Friday for a public holiday.

Mr Jarhom said the 3,000-point mark should not be a strong resistance level 'if the coming reporting season for first quarter 2008 and fiscal year ending March contains pleasant earnings surprises from blue chip companies'.

But caution may continue to cap market gains, given uncertainties on how deep the US recession would be and how significantly it would pull down the global economy, he said.

Banking shares led gainers, with DBS Group rising 90 cents to 18.00, United Overseas Bank up 58 cents at 18.72 dollars and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp gaining 11 cents to 7.86 dollars.

Property heavyweights were also higher, with CapitaLand up 42 cents at 6.10 dollars, City Developments up 69 cents at 10.44 dollars and Keppel Land rising 26 cents to 5.34 dollars.

Among blue chips, Singapore Airlines rose 54 cents to 15.02 dollars, Singapore Telecommunications up four cents at 3.39 dollars and Singapore Exchange finished 50 cents higher at 6.90 dollars.

[Unregistered]

Come on, drop it, crash it.
Everyone wants SIBOR to tank to 0.75%.

Then what will happen to the sour grapes' fixed deposits they placed in the bank?

The sour grapes already don't own properties and are very sour.

Then they invested in shares and the stock market crashed by 30%, which made them more sour.

On top of that, property prices are not correcting and in fact still inching up, which makes them even more sour.

Now the miserable interest rate in the bank is going to go lower?

[Unregistered]

Then what will happen to the sour grapes' fixed deposits they placed in the bank?

The sour grapes already don't own properties and are very sour.

Then they invested in shares and the stock market crashed by 30%, which made them more sour.

On top of that, property prices are not correcting and in fact still inching up, which makes them even more sour.

Now the miserable interest rate in the bank is going to go lower?

Err ... dunno man ... dun ask me ... I'm just repeating what they said ...

... they keep saying "... crash crash crash" ... so I repeat "SIBOR crash crash crash" to make them happy ...

[Unregistered]

Industry players expect more homeowners to refinance their mortgage loans

By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 24 March 2008 1849 hrs


SINGAPORE: Industry watchers expect more home owners to consider refinancing their mortgage loans as interest rates look set to dip further.

In fact, mortgage and financial planning firm SingCapital has seen a three-fold jump in enquiries in the last two months.

Property agents are also getting a crash course in mortgage planning, including answering questions about refinancing of home loans.

This occurs when homeowners seek out more favourable loan packages from other lenders.

Industry players said it's the right time to refinance, which could save a huge amount in interest payments.

Alfred Chia, CEO of SingCapital, said: “Just from last year itself, interest rate could be as high as four per cent, compared to current rates where the average is about 2.5 per cent per annum. There's a big difference over there. Based on what we can see, interest rates will continue to fall, till the next six months."

Market watchers expect interest rates to fall a further half a percentage point in the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate or SIBOR by September.

It's partly linked to the recent cuts in US interest rates to contain the fallout from the sub-prime crisis.

SingCapital said it receives about 60 enquiries on refinancing each month.

Among these, seven in ten are private property owners.

Banks have also been enticing more customers with Maybank, Standard Chartered Bank and DBS among the most aggressive in the home loans market.

Mr Chia added: "There're some packages currently that offer 2.88 fixed for three years with a cash back of one percent. If it's a refinancing case, the one percent cash back would be given to the owners one month after the loans is disbursed.

“So if you add this interest rate, minus the cash rebates, the cumulative rate is only seven over percent, on average every year it's about 2.5 or 2.6 per cent interest.

“And it gives you the stability to plan for other finances, knowing that your monthly instalment for the house is going to be fixed at that price for the next three years.

Even though this may look like a good time to consider refinancing mortgage loans, industry players said home owners should assess the different packages based on their individual needs.

They should also be aware of the potential risks arising from the US sub-prime crisis and inflation. - CNA/vm

"Crash crash crash"
This one is for real.

[Unregistered]

Barton Biggs Expects 1,000-Point Gain in Dow Average
Brian Sullivan and Michael Patterson
Bloomberg
Friday, 14 March 2008

The decline in U.S. stocks is "way overdone" and the Dow Jones Industrial Average may rally 1,000 points, investor Barton Biggs said.

"We're in a financial panic," Biggs said during a telephone interview with Bloomberg Television from New York. "We're setting up for a really big rally. I don't mean 300 or 400 points on the Dow, I mean 1,000 points on the Dow. I don't know if we're going to get it next week or the week after. But this thing has gotten crazy and is overdone."

Biggs, a former Morgan Stanley strategist who now runs the $1.5 billion hedge fund Traxis Partners LLC, said stock markets from Germany to Hong Kong may bottom out soon after tumbling this year. Biggs's prediction in March 2007 that U.S. stocks were near a low preceded a 16% rally in the Dow average during the next four months. His forecast that the Dow would climb as much as 19% in 2007 overshot its actual gain by almost 13 percentage points.

"We're at a really crucial point," Biggs said. "This is a time to be buying stocks around the world and not to be selling them."

The Dow average has tumbled 16% to 11,951.09 since reaching a record in October after the subprime-mortgage market's collapse caused $195 billion in asset writedowns and credit losses at global financial firms including Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. A 1,000-point gain in the Dow from today's close would amount to an 8.4% rise.

U.S. stocks plunged today for the third time this week, sending the Dow average down 1.6%, after Bear Stearns Cos. required a bailout from the Federal Reserve and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to avoid collapse.

"Yeah, it's scary. It's always scary at bottoms. But I don't believe the economy is collapsing," Biggs said. "This is not the end of the world."

Crash you head lah.
Barton Biggs says the big one (big surge that is) is coming.

[AFP]

JPMorgan hikes offer for Bear Stearns to over US$1 billion
Agence France-Presse
New York, New York, U.S.
Monday, 24 March 2008, 4:50PM U.S. EDT


The JPMorgan Chase building in New York City. JPMorgan Chase hiked its offer Monday for Bear Stearns to US$10 per share, or over US$1 billion, quintupling a fire-sale price agreed a week earlier for the distressed investment bank. - Photo: Chris Honcho, AFP

JPMorgan Chase hiked its offer Monday for Bear Stearns to US$10 per share, or over US$1 billion, quintupling a fire-sale price agreed a week earlier for the distressed investment bank.

JPMorgan Chase's increased offer comes after some Bear Stearns shareholders had angrily criticized an initial offer for the Wall Street bank and brokerage which valued it at a paltry US$2 per share or US$236 million.

The new offer dramatically hiked the price announced March 9 in a deal approved by the Federal Reserve to avert a feared collapse of Bear Stearns which had faced a cash crunch due to soured mortgage investments.

Some analysts had pointed out that Bear Stearns' corporate headquarters in New York alone, aside from its other business assets, was worth around one billion dollars.

The boards of directors of both banks approved the amended agreement -- which is five times the value of the original offer -- according to a joint statement issued shortly after the stock market opened for trading.

In a separate statement, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said it would now provide slightly less financing to underpin the deal, amounting to US$29 billion instead of an originally planned US$30 billion.

Under the plan, the Fed will release US$29 billion in taxpayer funds to help support the takeover in return for US$30 billion worth of Bear Stearns assets, including ailing mortgage-backed securities.

The portfolio of distressed Bear Stearns' assets will be managed by BlackRock Financial Management on behalf of the Fed which will accrue any gains from the portfolio.

JPMorgan Chase has agreed to bear the first one billion dollars in losses associated with the portfolio if its value declines.

"We believe the amended terms are fair to all sides and reflect the value and risks of the Bear Stearns franchise," said Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase's chairman and chief executive.

The new deal was announced as fears mounted that a significant number of Bear Stearns shareholders, including the bank's employees, would seek to block a deal valuing the bank at just two dollars a share.

Many employees faced losing significant sums on their investments in the bank if the deal had gone through at just two dollars a share. Bear Stearns shares were trading at well over US$100 last year, but plummeted sharply as its financial woes increased in recent months.

Its stock closed up 89% at US$11.25 in the wake of the new deal. JPMorgan Chase's stock ended up 1% at US$46.55 amid wider market gains.

The Standard and Poor's rating agency said it was upgrading some of its ratings on Bear Stearns due to a more lucrative deal being brokered.

"We expect the acquisition by JPMorgan to be completed under the revised terms in mid-May," Standard and Poor's said, adding that the improved deal benefits Bear Stearns' creditors.

Under the revised terms, each share of Bear Stearns common stock would be exchanged for 0.21753 shares of JPMorgan Chase common stock, up from 0.05473 shares as had originally been proposed last Sunday.

All the members of Bear Stearns board have indicated that they intend to vote their shares in favor of the revised takeover.

The US central bank approved the original takeover terms last Sunday when the deal was first announced following a week in which it was feared that Bear Stearns was close to collapsing.

Bear Steans' finances almost evaporated just over a week ago after rival banks stopped trading with it, fearing it was on the verge of collapse due to mounting losses on mortgage investments and related credit woes.

Dimon said he hoped the new deal would give more "certainty" to both banks shareholders and the financial markets. He also expressed hope that the deal would be closed promptly.

[Unregistered]

All these are done by US con men.

[Reuters]

Stocks soar on revised Bear offer, home sales
Ellis Mnyandu
Reuters
Monday, 24 March 2008, 5:47 PM U.S. EDT


Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange 17 March 2008. - Photo: Brendan McDermid, Reuters

U.S. stocks jumped on Monday after a raised buyout offer for Bear Stearns Cos Inc suggested that financial stocks may have reached bottom, especially in light of fresh data that fueled hopes for a turnaround in housing.

Stocks rang up big gains for a second straight session after JPMorgan Chase & Co lifted its offer for Bear Stearns to US$10 a share from US$2, helping alleviate concerns that other investment banking shares could tumble.

JPMorgan's move also relieved worry that a prolonged fight with disgruntled shareholders could have derailed the deal.

Financial stocks also got a boost from an article in the Barron's newspaper suggesting that downtrodden bank stocks could rebound by 10% to 20% by year end. Bear Stearns shares, which at their session high were more than doubled their Thursday's closing price, ended up 76.1%.

Citigroup, the largest U.S. bank by assets, was among financial sector standouts in the S&P 500, with its shares up 3.5%, while shares of American Express Co, a credit card and travel services company, led the Dow's financials with a 3.1% gain.

A surprising increase in sales of pre-owned homes last month fueled optimism that the worst of the housing slump may have passed. That ignited a rally in home building shares.

"More write-downs are expected in the financial space, but people are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel and they suspect that it's not an oncoming train," said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Equity Markets in Jersey City, New Jersey. "At US$2 a share for Bear Stearns, the question was: 'What were the rest of the financials worth?"'

Just before the close, investors also got some more encouraging news when the U.S. Justice Department approved the proposed $4.22 billion purchase of XM Satellite Radio by rival Sirius Satellite Radio. The deal still needs approval from the Federal Communications Commission, which is expected to follow the Justice Department's lead.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 187.32 points, or 1.52%, to finish at 12,548.64. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ended up 20.37 points, or 1.53%, at 1,349.88. The Nasdaq Composite Index shot up 68.64 points, or 3.04%, to close at 2,326.75.

Roaring Back From Easter Break

Monday's gains, coming after a three-day Easter weekend, helped Wall Street notch its first back-to-back advance for March and its biggest 2-day jump in almost 4 months.

The S&P 500 achieved its highest close for the month, and with this advance, the benchmark index trimmed its drop from its October record closing high to a decline of 13.1%.

The Nasdaq capped its biggest two-day advance since March 2003.

A rally in the shares of the tech sector's four horsemen -- Apple Inc, Research In Motion Inc, Google Inc and Amazon.com Inc -- also helped carry the Nasdaq to its highest level for March so far.

Technology shares' advance was driven in part by brokers' positive comments on semiconductor companies.

Bear Stearns shares rose to US$11.25 on the New York Stock Exchange, where they hit a session high of US$13.80 -- more than double their closing price of US$6.39 on Thursday, before the Easter break. Those of Citigroup finished at US$23.29. Shares of American Express climbed to US$47.41.

Those of JPMorgan, the No. 3 U.S. bank by assets, ended up 1.3% at US$46.55 on the NYSE.

Home builders rallied after a report from the National Association of Realtors showed a surprising jump in the February pace of existing home sales in the United States. The Dow Jones home builder index shot up 5.3%.

Shares of Toll Brothers, a luxury home builder, gained 4.7% to close at US$24.18.

Tiffany Sparkles And Techs Shine, Too

Retailers also surged after upscale jeweler Tiffany & Co posted an unexpectedly high quarterly profit and forecast robust growth in markets outside the United States and Japan. The S&P retail index was up 3.6%.

Tiffany shares jumped 10.5% to US$42.65 on the NYSE.

Lehman raised its rating on Analog Devices Inc, whose stock jumped 4% to US$29.47. Lehman also increased its recommendations on Fairchild Semiconductor International, Intersil Corp and Microsemi Corp to "overweight" from "equal weight."

Fairchild shares shot up 6.4% to US$11.83 on the NYSE, while on the Nasdaq, Intersil climbed 4.4% to US$26.49 and Microsemi advanced 3.4% to US$23.66.

Shares of Apple Inc, maker of the iPod, climbed 4.7% to US$139.53. The stock was the Nasdaq's top gainer.

Web search company Google's shares closed up 6.2% at US$460.56, while BlackBerry maker RIM's tock gained 6.6% to US$111.83 in Nasdaq trading. Web retailer Amazon.com shares rose 3.8% at US$75.95.

Trading was extremely light on the New York Stock Exchange, with about 1.57 billion shares changing hands, well below last year's estimated daily average of roughly 1.90 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.32 billion shares traded, above last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by about 4 to 1 and on the Nasdaq, by almost 3 to 1.

[Unregistered]

"Ready for a rally" - UBS Investment Research
"Sectors under the most pressure also rebound the most": UBS
Next Insight
Singapore
Thursday, 20 March 2008

Joining a small but growing chorus of bulls, UBS issued a report yesterday (19 March 2008) saying “there is reason for optimism in global equity markets.”

It noted that US monetary and fiscal policy response has been aggressive and more is likely on the way.

”Coupled with attractive valuations, low interest rates, and reasonable earnings growth, we believe prospects for a more sustainable rally in equities appear good.”



UBS has an overweight rating on the US, neutral on Global Emerging Markets and Japan, and underweight on Europe and UK.

Referring to the all the angst currently, UBS said there is a silver lining.

While fundamental pressures on the US economy stemming from the decline in house prices persist, the policy reaction to financial market turmoil has become increasingly aggressive, particularly from the Federal Reserve.

The uncertainty that has depressed overall equity market valuations is likely to dissipate, leading to a more sustainable rally than has appeared probable in recent months. “Thus, we are getting ready for a shift in markets to a more positive assessment of near term prospects based on the policy response we’ve seen so far and what may yet be coming.”

In deciding how to position oneself for the rally, UBS noted that the historical pattern of a market rebound suggests that the sectors that have been under the most pressure also rebound the most.

“Therefore, we have lifted our allocation to Financials and Consumer Discretionary.”

Looking back over previous market sell-offs (-10% from 12-month peak) that were followed by a sharp rebound (greater than 10% in three months), UBS found that the sectors that led markets lower also tend to lead in the recovery.

“This is an intuitive result insofar as a rebound in markets is probably driven by a change in fundamental expectations that allows the most impaired sectors to recover, while short-covering in bombed out sectors also reverses course.”

UBS added: “We believe that markets are poised for a broad recovery in valuations driven by a decline in risk premiums. These moves are likely to benefit the whole market.”


STI's 52-week range: 2,756-3,906





UBS Investment Research
Global Equity Strategy
Jeffrey Palma, William Darwin and Jennifer Delaney
Wednesday, 19 March 2008

Ready for a rally
- Finding the silver lining
Despite higher volatility, largely reflecting financial market stability concerns and expectations for a US recession, there is reason for optimism in global equity markets. Monetary and fiscal policy response has been aggressive and more is likely on the way. Thus, a major source of ‘tail’ risk appears to have been removed. Coupled with attractive valuations, low interest rates, and reasonable earnings growth, we believe prospects for a more sustainable rally in equities appear good.

- Broad market support
Sectors that underperform in a sell-off also tend to recover the most. Thus, we add to positions Financials and Consumer Discretionary. Even so, we believe a decline in risk premiums is likely to provide a boost to market valuations making a broadbased recovery. To reflect this more outlook we trim our defensive exposure (Healthcare and Consumer Staples), which we upgraded in January.

- Regions and stocks
We retain our regional allocations, where we are overweight in the US, neutral in GEM and Japan, and underweight Europe and UK. We are making several changes to our Global Top 40 stock list: Adding: Prudential Financial, News Corp, Barclays, and BNP Paribas. We are removing State Street, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, BAT, and Novartis.

- Lingering challenges
We recognize that a move to become less defensive could still be early given that uncertainty could persist. Details of policy response are still unknown and global growth is still under pressure, which may keep earnings expectations muted.

........
........

Now is the time to buy. Get ready for a rally.

[AP]

Asian Markets Rally on Easing US Worries
Most Asian Markets Rise on US Housing Data, Revised Offer for Bear Stearns, Wall Street Rally
Malcolm Foster
Business Writer
Associated Press
Tuesday, 25 March 2008, 2:06 pm Thailand Time



Most Asian markets rose Tuesday as investors returned from the Easter holiday in a mood to buy, encouraged by upbeat U.S. housing numbers and an overnight rally on Wall Street.

Stocks in Hong Kong and Australia, both of which were closed since Thursday, surged on easing concerns about the global credit crisis that has battered Asian markets since the start of the year.

"I think this is the beginning of a rally," said Francis Lun, a general manager at Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong. "We have gone down low enough and the market is ready for a rebound. Banks will lead the rally."

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index jumped 4.2% to 22,010.91 in afternoon trading, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index soared 3.7% to finish at 5,318.4. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 2.2% to 12,745.2 after ending flat on Monday.

Investors were heartened by a new agreement that will give Bear Stearns Cos. shareholders five times the payout that was set in a JPMorgan Chase & Co. buyout deal a week ago. In the revised offer, JPMorgan raised its offer for Bear Stearns, which has been at the center of the mortgage meltdown, to $10 a share from $2 a share.

"The offer gives the market renewed confidence, indicating that after further assessment, the situation at Bear Stearns may not be as bad as initially thought," said Jamie Spiteri, head of trading at Shaw Stockbroking in Sydney.

There was also optimism about the U.S. housing sector, which has been at the heart of the credit problems. The National Association of Realtors that Monday said sales of existing homes rose 2.9% in February, the first gain since last July.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 187.32, or 1.52%, to 12,548.64 on Monday, after rising more than 260 points on Thursday, the last day of trading before the Easter weekend.

In Australia, banks led the market higher. National Australia Bank, the nation's largest lender, rose 5.1%, while Australia and New Zealand Banking Group added 5.9%.

Still, some analysts warned that the declines in regional markets may not be over.

"It's too early to conclude an end of the prevailing bear market," said Ernie Hon, a strategist at ICEA Securities in Hong Kong.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index was flat in afternoon trading after falling earlier. Taiwan's main index was down 0.8% after surging 4% Monday amid expectations that president-elect Ma Ying-jeou will bring greater economic engagement with China.

[Unregistered]

Sorry sour grapes folk. Think your fervent wish for property market to crash will not materialised. Look at recovery of property counters across the board today.

Do yourself a favour, go out there and buy yourself a nice place this weekend (doesn't need to be a condo, actually a resale HDB is good enough) that you can afford than rather spending all the time wishing bad things to happen to Singapore and its economy. Be happy with what you have and don't be envious of others.

The sad/happy fact is this - Singapore property prices will continue to trend higher albeit at a more gradual and sustainable pace in line with its strong set of fundamentals.

[Unregistered]

Sorry sour grapes folk. Think your fervent wish for property market to crash will not materialised. Look at recovery of property counters across the board today.

Do yourself a favour, go out there and buy yourself a nice place this weekend (doesn't need to be a condo, actually a resale HDB is good enough) that you can afford than rather spending all the time wishing bad things to happen to Singapore and its economy. Be happy with what you have and don't be envious of others.

The sad/happy fact is this - Singapore property prices will continue to trend higher albeit at a more gradual and sustainable pace in line with its strong set of fundamentals.

If things are in line with fundamentals, then there is no rush. Whether sour grapes or otherwise, investors can wait and pick the right properties for themselves. There would be some good deals if one is willing to look hard, and there is an off-chance that an overcommitted speculator would sell at a good price.

All in all, take your time and look hard.

[Unregistered]

If things are in line with fundamentals, then there is no rush. Whether sour grapes or otherwise, investors can wait and pick the right properties for themselves. There would be some good deals if one is willing to look hard, and there is an off-chance that an overcommitted speculator would sell at a good price.

All in all, take your time and look hard.

you better be fast.
Stock market so strong these days, once the good deals all snapped up, nobody will sell at the price again anymore.

[Unregistered]

To be successful in property investment, there is no secret. Only one rule need to be remembered: buy during buyer market and sell during seller market...

[Reuters]

HK stocks end 6.43% higher in biggest one-percentage gain in 2 months
Reuters
Hong Kong
Tuesday, 25 March 2008

Asian shares climbed on Tuesday, and the dollar held its gains, after JPMorgan raised its bid for Bear Stearns and US home sales rose unexpectedly, lifting expectations for a recovery in the US housing and credit markets.

Japanese government bond futures retreated, pulling away from last week's five-year highs, after US Treasuries slid on tentative hopes the world's top economy would weather the credit crisis.

Financial stocks, from Seoul's Kookmin Bank, to Australia's Babcock & Brown, rang up big gains after JP Morgan Chase & Co's sweetened offer for Bear Stearns signalled there was more value in financial assets than previously thought.

MSCI's index of shares outside Asia rose 1.9% by 9.50am Singapore time, the third day of gains, although the benchmark is still down around 16% this year.

Stocks on Wall Street rallied on Monday after a long Easter holiday weekend, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 1.5% and the Nasdaq Composite Index gaining 3%.

Better-than-expected US housing data also helped to lift optimism over the economic outlook.

'If there's even a hint that the US housing slump might be coming to an end, and combined with an improved offer for Bear Stearns, it gives people hope that maybe the darkest period is over,' said Mr Hans Kunnen, head of investment markets research at Colonial First State in Sydney. 'But the market is just operating like a yo-yo within a band. I refuse to get carried away.'

Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian share prices closed 2.4% higher on Tuesday due to the overnight rally on Wall Street, dealers said.

The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index closed up 28.93 points at 1,229.95, off a high of 1,234.58.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong stocks surged 6.43% on Tuesday, the biggest one-day percentage gain in two months, tracking Wall Street gains on improved investor confidence after JP Morgan?s raised offer for Bear Stearns.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended at 22,464.52.

The China Enterprises Index of Hong Kong-listed mainland companies, or H shares, finished up 8.22% at 11,727.00.

Shanghai

Chinese stocks ended higher on Tuesday, led by property and airline shares, as the main stock index rebounded from technical support to close almost unchanged after tumbling near a nine-month low in early trade.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which sank 4.49% on Monday, ended Tuesday up 0.09% at 3,629.619 points. It hit an intra-day low of 3,521.528 in the morning, just off last Thursday's nine-month low of 3,516.330.

Rising Shanghai shares outnumbered falling stocks by 639 to 242, but turnover in Shanghai A shares shrank to a thin 77.6 billion yuan ($15.23 billion) from Monday's 88.3 billion yuan.

The index's recovery during the day was its second bounce from near technical support at 3,561, the 50% retracement of its bull run from June 2005; the first bounce occured last week. So many analysts believe that area may be the bottom for the market in the short term at least.

Tokyo

Japan's Nikkei average rose 2.1% on Tuesday as Canon and other exporters climbed with the yen trading well off a near 13-year high posted last week against the dollar, easing some concerns about exporters' earnings outlooks.

Sharp gains in other Asian markets also gave a boost to the Tokyo bourse, where investors continued to pick up recently battered shares.

The benchmark Nikkei ended up 265.13 points at 12,745.22. The Nikkei ended near flat on Monday, snapping a three-day winning streak. The broader Topix index added 1.5% to 1,242.98. The index rose for the fifth straight session.

[The Straits Times]

STI closes higher, above 3,000
The Straits Times
Tuesday, 25 March 2008


SGX Centre 1

Singapore shares ended higher on Tuesday with the benchmark Straits Times Index up 72.40 points or 2.47% to 3,000.19.

[Unregistered]

Wah! HongKong HSI went up 6.43%!!!!!! Can meh?

[Unregistered]

US Home Prices Drop 11.4 Pct. in January
Tuesday March 25, 9:04 am ET


S&P Says Home Prices Fall by Record 11.4 Percent in January

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index shows U.S. home prices fell 11.4 percent in January, its steepest drop since S&P started collecting data in 1987.
The decline reported Tuesday means prices have been growing more slowly or dropping for 19 consecutive months. The index tracks the prices of single-family homes in 10 major metropolitan areas in the U.S.

The broader 20-city composite index is also down, falling 10.7 percent in January from a year ago. That is the first time both indexes dropped by double-digit percentages.

[Unregistered]

west coast will be beautiful going forward ... wow ...

[Unregistered]

US Home Prices Drop 11.4 Pct. in January
Tuesday March 25, 9:04 am ET


S&P Says Home Prices Fall by Record 11.4 Percent in January

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index shows U.S. home prices fell 11.4 percent in January, its steepest drop since S&P started collecting data in 1987.
The decline reported Tuesday means prices have been growing more slowly or dropping for 19 consecutive months. The index tracks the prices of single-family homes in 10 major metropolitan areas in the U.S.

The broader 20-city composite index is also down, falling 10.7 percent in January from a year ago. That is the first time both indexes dropped by double-digit percentages.

wah better to invest in US. soon everyone pulling out of asia to invest in US.

[Unregistered]

wah better to invest in US. soon everyone pulling out of asia to invest in US.

YES GO US GO....SHOW WHO THE BOSS IS.

[Unregistered]

To be successful in property investment, there is no secret. Only one rule need to be remembered: buy during buyer market and sell during seller market...

My goodness ... that's exactly opposite to Warren Buffett's advice.

That's the sure way to lose all your money and turn into a sour grape.