Do to interior decoration, some touch up to improve like the showroom design.Originally Posted by SIA
YES - Not enough CPF Minimum Sum...sigh.
YES - Need to get higher loan for Condo. Not worth it.
NO - I can get good rental yield. Shiok man.
NO - Other reason.
Do to interior decoration, some touch up to improve like the showroom design.
Re: The Quartz @ Buangkok (99LH By Guocoland)
Pse.. it is to do Interior Design work lah.
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 good time to buy now in US....all going to pull out to put money there. US will rise.
actually how much to budget for ID?? I was thinking it shouldnt cost more than 25K for everything including funiture.
Agree. But it depend on ur existing status, eg upgrader or first time buyer.
Upgrader may want to keep certain things like LCD TV, Fridge, washing machine etc, so 25k should be enough. First time buyers should need more.
Lets talk about the quartz..
Consumer Confidence in U.S. Fell More Than Forecast
By Bob Willis
March 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer confidence fell more than forecast in March as Americans' outlook on the economy dropped to the lowest level since Richard Nixon was in the White House.
The Conference Board's confidence index fell to 64.5, a five-year low, from a revised 76.4 in February, the New York- based research group said today. A separate report showed home prices in January fell by the most on record.
Declining stock and property values have also unnerved Americans, heightening concern spending will falter. Without consumers, which account for more than two-thirds of the economy, the slowdown triggered by the collapse in housing and credit markets is likely to deepen in coming months.
``Consumers are decidedly negative, suggesting a pullback in consumer spending and an economy in recession,'' Ethan Harris, chief U.S. economist at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in New York, said before the report.
The Conference Board's gauge of expectations for the next six months slumped to 47.9, the lowest since December 1973, when the Watergate scandal rocked the Nixon administration and an embargo by a group of Arab oil exports was in effect, the report showed.
Stock prices extended declines following the report and Treasury securities maintained gains. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 0.4 percent at 1,345.0 at 10:05 a.m. in New York. The yield on the 10-year note fell to 3.49 percent from 3.56 percent late yesterday.
Forecasts
Economists forecast the Conference Board's measure would fall to 73.5 from a previously reported 75, according to the median of 61 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from 65 to 76.
Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell in January by the most on record, a sign the housing recession is deepening, a private survey also showed today. The S&P/Case- Shiller home-price index dropped 10.7 percent from January 2007, after a 9 percent decrease in December. The gauge has fallen for 13 consecutive months.
The measure of present conditions declined to 89.2 in March from 104 the prior month.
The share of consumers who said jobs are plentiful dropped to 18.8 percent from 21.5 percent last month. Those saying jobs are hard to get increased to 25.1 percent from 23.4 percent.
Lowest Ever
The proportion of people who expect their incomes to rise over the next six months fell to 14.9 percent, the lowest since record keeping began in 1967, from 18 percent. The share expecting more jobs dropped to 7.7 percent from 8.9 percent.
Federal Reserve policy makers have lowered the benchmark interest rates and pumped money into the banking system to try to make it cheaper and easier for Americans to borrow and spend.
The central bank earlier this month carried out its first emergency weekend action in almost three decades and became the lender of last resort to the biggest dealers in government bonds. Two days later, it reduced the target interest rate by three-quarters of a point and acknowledged risks had increased.
``Growth in consumer spending has slowed and labor markets have softened,'' the Fed said after it cut the key rate to 2.25 percent. ``The outlook for economic activity has weakened further.''
`Serious Medicine'
The cuts ``are definitely serious medicine for the economy which is very sick,'' Michael Jackson, chief executive officer of AutoNation Inc., the largest publicly traded U.S. car dealer, said in a March 19 interview with Bloomberg Television. ``The consumer is under extreme stress.''
The number of Americans collecting jobless benefits swelled this month to the highest in more than three years as automakers, construction companies and financial firms fired workers. The economy lost 63,000 jobs in February, the most in five years, according to figures from the Labor Department.
More homes are also being foreclosed as the drop in values leaves owners owing more than a property is worth.
For those still in their homes, falling prices lead to a loss of wealth that makes Americans less inclined or able to borrow to finance spending.
What's more, regular gasoline rose to a record $3.28 a gallon on average last week and crude oil reached a record above $111 a barrel.
Spending is already taking a hit. Retail sales fell 0.6 percent in February, the Commerce Department reported last week, the second decline in three months.
Consumer spending may grow at an annual rate of 0.5 percent this quarter, the slowest pace since the 1991 recession, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed this month by Bloomberg News.
More and more economists are forecasting a recession. Martin Feldstein, the Harvard economics professor who heads the research group that determines when downturns begin, said this month that a contraction had already begun.
Thks for ur posting. But we are still confident that TQ price will still climb up.
So save ur energy and do other things more meaningful..
i dun understand why would people kept posting news articules on this forum?
this is not news group ><
i'm more keen to know things related to TQ than other things =x
miss TQ.... hope to move in asap
Agree. U buyer of TQ.. Which stack? me stack 14.
I belived most of the TQ owners are buying to stay as it is mass condo. I think they will buy within their mean. And Singaporean are very kaisu and rich enough to buy such property, so why worry about up or down. Buy and stay and enjoy...why worry??? be happy!!!
Me too..I miss TQ..but think will go see the construction half year later...every month visit, construction can't see much..
Those who keep posting negative remarks are those whom did not buy earlier but wish to buy, and now price raise can't bear to buy..wait,wait..then regret why din buy earlier (I understand how this feels, but can't help it..if opportunity knocks, u don't take up..have to wait for another cycle..but if really like, then buy, its for own stay, why bother whether you pay more or less than others)..
Lets share our ID findings if any good ones..
Btw, I intend to see Feng shui too
I'm in unit 17...any from same unit?
Wonder if the afternoon sun will be serious??
Unit 14, any afternoon sun? serious?
don't worry the afternoon sun will be filter off by the glass panel as it will not keep heat like wall. you may open your window a little bit before you go to work or keep it open when you are at home. I belived the heat will go off as there is wind in the open view.
But the wall of the masterbed room will be hot...that worries me..
You staying in which unit??
You guys can talk all you want about the quartz, but the fact is, you place is crap. Location is crap.
You mean not worth considering? I can afford only HDB or TQ. Both about the same. Please advise me.
Go for HDB. It's scarce and give u more room and space.
I AM NEW HERE. WHY IS BANGKOK CONDO DISCUSSED HERE? CAN ANNY KIND SOUL HELP ME. WHICH MORTGAGE PACKAGE IS BEST TO BUY NOW?
Wall Street May Face $460 Billion Credit Losses, Goldman Says
By Zhao Yidi
March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Wall Street banks, brokerages and hedge funds may report $460 billion in credit losses from the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, or almost four times the amount already disclosed, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Profits will continue to wane, other analysts said.
``There is light at the end of the tunnel, but it is still rather dim,'' Goldman analysts including New York-based Andrew Tilton said in a note to investors today. They estimated that residential mortgage losses will account for half the total, and commercial mortgages as much as 20 percent.
Earnings and share prices at U.S. financial institutions tumbled in the past year as fallout from the mortgage crisis spread to other markets. Demand for mortgage-backed securities evaporated, leading to the collapse of Bear Stearns Cos., once that market's largest underwriter, and a Federal Reserve-led bailout by JPMorgan Chase & Co. earlier this month.
Goldman's own share-price estimate was cut 3.7 percent to $210 at Fox-Pitt Kelton Cochran Caronia Waller. The research firm also reduced its profit estimates for the world's biggest securities firm for the rest of this year and all of 2009.
Merrill Lynch & Co. had its 2008 profit estimates cut by 45 percent at JPMorgan on concern the third-largest U.S. securities firm by market value may disclose further writedowns on subprime mortgages. Merrill may report a total of $5 billion in additional losses on collateralized debt obligations, so-called Alt-A mortgages and commercial mortgages, New York-based analyst Kenneth Worthington said.
Bank of America
Bank of America Corp., the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets, was downgraded to ``sell'' from ``neutral'' at Merrill Lynch. The company, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, also had its earnings-per-share estimate lowered to $3.30 from $3.50 in 2008 and to $4.00 from $4.40 in 2009, analysts including New York-based Edward Najarian wrote in a note to clients today.
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-largest U.S. securities firm, had its share-price forecast cut 16 percent to $70 at Fox-Pitt. The brokerage's 2008 and 2009 profit estimates were also reduced.
Goldman said the $460 billion in credit losses it foresees may ``result in a substantial tightening in credit conditions as these institutions pull back on lending to preserve their reduced capital and to maintain statutory capital adequacy ratios.''
Credit-card loans, auto loans, commercial and industrial lending and non-financial corporate bonds make up the rest of the $460 billion in credit losses.
Goldman, which has lost 17 percent this year on the New York Stock Exchange, rose 36 cents to $179.24 in composite trading at 11:50 a.m. Merrill fell $1.13 to $47.25, Lehman declined $2.16 to $44.48 and Bank of America dropped $1.47 to $40.98.
U.S. financial crisis is over, says Richard Bove of Punk Ziegel
Tenzin Pema
Reuters
Friday, 21 March 2008
Bove being interviewed on Bloomberg TV.
The U.S. financial crisis is over but problems facing the economy are not, said Richard Bove, financial analyst with broker Punk Ziegel, adding that this was a "once in a generation" opportunity to buy bank stocks.
"I do, in fact, believe that the crisis is over. There will be more negative developments but they will be meaningless," Bove wrote in a note to clients.
"This comment sounds ridiculous given the conviction on the part of most commentators that the worst is yet to come; the extent of the decline is unknown; and that the length of the decline is similarly unclear," Bove wrote.
The decline in capital markets has created an opportunity for banks to take market share from the brokers, he said.
"An environment has been created that will pump profits into the American banking system," Bove said.
"Investors are so focused on the potential for loan losses and the flawed valuations created by an obscenely invalid accounting rule supported by a soporific SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) that they are missing this fact."
Bove said in the current crisis, the key event was the insolvency of Bear Stearns Cos Inc..
"This event sent so much fear through the markets that action was taken to solve the crisis," Bove wrote.
"The actions taken by the Federal Reserve were innovative, dramatic, and, in my view, brilliant because they went right to the problem," he said.
On Tuesday, the Fed cut interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point, the 6th time in 6 months it has slashed the Fed funds rate target for overnight bank loans, to 2.25%.
The Fed also dusted off a Depression-era rule to let securities firms borrow directly from the Fed through its "discount window."
This decision was announced along with the Fed's promise to underwrite J.P. Morgan Chase & Co's takeover of Bear Stearns for the rock-bottom price of $2 a share.
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.
'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.
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."
"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.
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you 2 idiots, post your news in the general section
administrator, please do something to these news
Why did you mentioned Bangkok? Bangkok is in Thailand.
We are discussing The Quartz condo in Buangkok, Singapore.
Because they want to destroy the forum.
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