Buy "ME" Pleaaassseeeee ...

I have been reading my earliest postings, some are worth reposting again. This was back in October 2005, gawd its nearly 7 years already, many people would have had two failed marriages within that period of time. The long standing argument of whether we want foreign institutions in our market or not is a good issue to debate. It forces us to think rationally whether we "need" them or not.To me, its not that we need them, but it is a reflection of the "openness" of our capital markets. Secondly it is also a reflection of the "number of sizable big growth companies" that are attractive enough for them to consider putting into their portfolio....

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Timely Research Piece On Plantations

HDBS Research:Sector valuation is overpessimistic. Even with lower crude oil prices and the EU debt crisis, we believe plantation stock prices have been unjustifiably sold off despite precarious vegetable oil supply outlook. By end Sep12F quarter, the combined ending stock of palm, soybean and rapeseed oils (as a share of consumption) would have been at its lowest since Sep05. There is no remedy for lack of supply. Looming end to soybean export boom.  We recently examined soybean export data issued by Oil World and found that global inventories are fast depleting, due to South American crop failure earlier this year. Any US crop setback in Sep-Nov12 – if El Nino developed – would exacerbate this situation; as South American...

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The Rain In Spain ....

Just how bad is Spain? Greece is Greece,its still relatively small in the whole scheme of things. Once the spotlight starts to shine on Spain, this will drag in Italy as well. Greece and Spain, and you can add in Portugal, and to a lesser extent Italy, have the same economy type, less export oriented, less high-tech, more rural, services, tourism, produce and crafts. In a significant way, these type of economies will find it extremely hard to export their way out of a financial crisis. Spain at many levels is much more dangerous because the government is high on ego and is still not willing to fully acknowledge just how deep in doo-doo the economy...

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Thought For The Day

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Trial Lawyers Quit FSCO Advisory Committee - Is That A Good Thing?

The Toronto Star reported last week that a group of prominent personal injury lawyers has resigned en masse from an informal legal advisory committee on auto insurance reform in Ontario. The protest action by the trial lawyers was in response to the release by the Ontario Minister of Finance of a report from the Superintendent of Financial Services on recommended changes to the SABS definition of "catastrophic impairment."The contentious nature of the proposals is the Superintendent’s recommendation to preclude allowing the combination of psychological and physical impacts when determining if someone qualifies as having suffered a catastrophic impairment, in constrast to the Ontario Court of Appeal which recently said it combining should be allowed.The lawyers contend that the number...

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Dilbert@FGV Underwriters' Secret Meeting Room

p/s: it should read "upsize" instead of "size up", plus deutsche and jp morgan cannot be termed as lead underwriters together, while we are talking about errors, you probably cannot locate 3 bottles of 98 Chateau Le Pin in Malaysia ...

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Dilbert@FGV Listing

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FGV Listing & A Sobering Overview By Profundo

I may not agree with the way this issue got itself listed, still from a trading perspective, there is a decent opportunity in the first few days. My assessment from the overall demand patterns, it has a very good chance of hitting RM5.40, a good chance of RM5.60, and if the market is crazy even RM6.00. That is not the real market price for FGV, the real price will be after the lockup period is over.IPOStock exchange Bursa MalaysiaListing date 28 June 2012Shares for sale 2,189 millionProposed price  RM 4.55 (€ 1.14)Issuing syndicate CIMB, Maybank, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Morgan StanleyCompanyLand bank 424,995 haFFB production...

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Treatment/Assessment Plan Numbers to Become Mandatory on HCAI Invoices

On November 8, 2011, the Superintendent released a bulletin (A-07/11) outlining changes to the HCAI Guideline to address abusive billing practices including frequent invoices, duplicate invoices, "double dipping" and invoicing for non-approved goods and services .At the time the Superintendent committed to further changes to the Standard Invoice (OCF-21) that would provide that the “Plan Number” on the form would become a mandatory field. This is the unique number generated by the HCAI system when the Treatment and Assessment Plan (OCF-18) or Treatment Confirmtion Form (OCF-23) to which the OCF-21 refers is submitted, and will enable insurers to properly reconcile invoices.These changes have now been made and announced by the Superintendent in a recent bulletin (A-02/12). The updated...

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Thought For The Day

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Insurance News - Thursday, June 20, 2012

New System To Verify Alabama Auto Insurance CoverageAbout 22 percent of Alabama’s drivers don’t have liability insurance, but a new online system could change that starting next year. The system will allow officials who issue license plates to immediately verify the insurance status of the vehicle’s owner. If insurance can’t be verified, proof of insurance will have to be presented before a tag is issued. The new system was necessitated by the passage of the Alabama Mandatory Liability Insurance Law, which State Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, helped sponsor during the 2011 session.read more...The new Alabama system is similar to the Unisured Vehicle Project (UVP) in Ontario. The UVP is an initiative that is led by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario that will provide an electronic...

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This Will Be A Great Concert

When Liu Chia Chiang meets Li Zhong Shen. I was not brought up on Mandarin popular music, if anything, I am more a Canto-pop kind of guy. However, if you examine the musical landscape of Mandarin music, no greater giants can you find other than the two names mentioned, from the 70s right up to the 90s. Naturally I prefer Li Zhong Shen, his lyrics already kills me most of the time and the melodies are superb as well.Leslie Loh the producer has this to say when I asked him to elaborate why this concert is unmissable:1） this is winnie ho's latest concert, and her only major concert in 2012, fresh from her sensational solo album! like her or not,...

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Buffett's Most Realiable Indicator ... Not For Us

Buffett has said before that the total market cap vs. GNP is one of his preferred valuation metrics. The current reading of 89% is still above his preferred buying range (70-80%), but well off the highs we've seen in the last 15 years. Buffett has previously explained his thinking behind the indicator:"For me, the message of that chart is this: If the percentage relationship falls to the 70% or 80% area, buying stocks is likely to work very well for you. If the ratio approaches 200%-as it did in 1999 and a part of 2000- you are playing with fire."So stocks aren't cheap, but they're also not terribly expensive based on this measure. If the recent...

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IHH, This One Is Fairer

Malaysia is the third-most-active venue for the IPOs globally this year after Felda's offering, up from 20th place at this time last year. IPOs on the Bursa Malaysia have raised $3.45 billion already, according to data provider Dealogic. A successful offering by IHH will only further strengthen Malaysia's standing in the global IPO market this year.Despite the resounding 'success' of FGV, the book building among foreign institutions have been naturally disappointing. Many got less than 1% of what they actually bidded for. Both these big IPOs went for the cornerstone strategy, which requires pricing it well since they will be locking up for 6...

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Thought For The Day (Week, Month, Year ...)

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Peut-etre Le Best Breadmaker In The Country ....

Pardon my attempt at basic French, went for a nice and easy Saturday morning hunt for the bread maker that has been given rave reviews by some of my friends. So it is with guarded expectations and muted anticipation that me and my special friend went searching for this little gem. We were not disappointed.Its a tiny place but from what I know, they already have established a solid reputation and is supplying excellent breads to many restaurants and luxury hotels. We tried two of their four most popular breads for sandwiches, very good to excellent. A warning, their portions are generous to a tee.The story goes that Tommy went backpacking to France...

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You Say That You Love Me ......

Found an exquisite poem, probably in Turkish, author unknown.KorkuyorumI am AfraidYağmuru seviyorum diyorsun, yağmur yağınca şemsiyeni açıyorsun... Güneşi seviyorum diyorsun, güneş açınca gölgeye kaçıyorsun... Rüzgarı seviyorum diyorsun, rüzgar çıkınca pencereni kapatıyorsun... İşte,bunun için korkuyorum; Beni de sevdiğini söylüyorsun...You say that you love rain, but you open your umbrella when it rains... You say that you love the sun, but you find a shadow spot when the sun shines... You say that you love the wind, But you close your windows when wind blows... This is why I am afraid; You say that you love me too...

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Social Media - The World Is Never The Same Anymore

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Finally, Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine

Been particular every time I go to a so called Vietnamese food place because having spent 11 years in Sydney, I have had authentic, very good Vietnamese fare there. I think more than half a million "refugees/immigrants/boat people" came to Australia in the 70s. Most of them choosing Sydney, so much so that there were two large suburbs with a substantial concentration of Vietnamese Australians. Namely, Marrickville and Cabramatta (though we refer to it as Vietnamatta).Have heard good reviews of this place called Vietnam House @ Genting before, never tried it, and now its apparently under renovation. Finally made my way to Vietnam House @ One...

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My Working Environment ....

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Colour Me Blue

There is black and whitebut we know no one can be completely unblemished or the other extremeKnowingly or unknowingly, we take on shades of greySome start from white while some tries to lighten from the dark side Politics and business, you cannot have one without the otherWe all can be different shades of greybut there is a difference when you knowingly keep adding black to the mixWe all can be shades of greybut there is a difference when we keep trying to move towards white The really sad part about my country is when grey is the colour of choiceand I see no outcry when there is injustice and unfairnessGrey silences us allGrey locks up our...

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