My First Home Scheme Malaysia

Last week, Malaysia Government unveiled the My First Home Scheme in an effort to help 35-years old earning less than RM3,000 a month to own their first house. While this scheme would definitely help to increase home ownership, serious pitfalls lurks behind.

The Scheme might encourage young peopple to buy houses when they're not finacially ready, explosing the economy to undesirabe debt & the dire consequences that come with it. The recent US-led financial crisis and other property bubble  busts have clearly hightlighted the danger of high leverage. Instead of promoting a house ownership scheme, it's more prudent to have a housing policy of ensuring that everyone who need a place to stay has a place to stay.


Suggestion:-
If Government implement 50% on property capital gain, this will control property price effectively.

Parkson Holdings Bhd - Collaboration

It has entered into an exclusivity agreement with PT Tozy Bintang Sentosa Group for an exclusive 90-day period to negotiate and establish the proposed collaboration for the development and expansion of Parkson Department Stores into Indonesia.


Comments:-
This agreement sounds very important for Parkson to achieve higher growth rate in future. You can start monitor and acquire more Parkson share if you have long term investment mindset.

Malaysia Business News : Motor Inusrance Premium will be gradually increase...

Last Friday, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) assistant governor Abu Hassan Alshari Yahaya announced that the central bank will gradually increase motor insurance premiums starting from 2012 until 2015. The premium adjustments will only apply to the bodily injury portion of motor insurance, which will be de-tariffed and liberalized in 2016.

Bionas - Murabahah Investment Programme

Bionas eyes GBP500m London listing


Bionas Group is looking at raising up to GBP500m from the proposed listing of its subsidiary Bionas Fuel (UK) Ltd on London’s Alternative Investment Market by mid 2011. The Malaysia-based company plants jatropha fruits and produces jatropha additives to make biodiesel. The IPO proceeds will mainly be used to expand its jatropha plantings in Africa. The fruit is not edible, unlike conventional vegetable oils used for biodiesel, and thus does not face the food versus fuel dilemma. Barclays will be handling the IPO.
 (Source : Business Times)

Comments:-
Is this company a good investment?
From Bionas website ( http://www.bionasmalaysia.com/investment.html) , this company provides murabahah investment programme.

Retail Programme :-
< 100 acres

1 unit (minimum) : A 1/4 acres land plot - Purchase Price : RM 3000.00
(500 seedlings and 10 liters fertilizer + farming cost)
(grace period of 1 year)

Purchase Price : RM 3000.00
First Year Deferred Payment : RM 300.00
Second Year Deferred Payment : RM 450.00
Third Year Deferred Payment : RM 750.00
Fourth Year Deferred & Final Payment : RM 3,750.00
Selling Price/Payment to Participant : RM 5,250.00

Profit Margin : 75%


Is this a ponzi scheme?
If no, this could be a good investment, which provides 15% Annual Compound Return of Capital.

I would like to get more feedback from those invested in this programme.

Thanks!

US economy accelerated in Q4 2010

The US economy accelerated in the 4Q of 2010 as consumer spending climbed by the most in more than four years. GDP grew at a 3.2% annual rate, Commerce Department figures showed, falling short of the 3.5% median forecast of 85 economists surveyed because of a slowdown in inventories. Excluding stockpiles, the economy rose at a 7.1% pace, the most since 1984.

Special_Situations Forecast 2011 : Sees Good Times for U.S.

Our Forecast:-
1) US Economy will grow between 3.5-4.5% this year and the stock market will gain 15%.
2) Unemployment will fall into the 7.5% range.
3) Restore US Confidence in the resiliency of the American Economy.


In Asia -
"The Auto Market is picking up..."
"The restaurant industry is picking up..."
"The cruise lines are full..."
"AirAsia - Airplanes are more or less full..."

In Malaysia -
"In 2010, Government targets for World 1st Class Infrastructure.... "
"Salary Increment rebounce..."
"Commodities price UP UP UP..."
"Milo Price UP UP UP, NESTLE Stock Price UP UP UP..."

In Singapore -
"Resort World Sentosa, Universal Studio - HOSEI HOSEI ..... Buay Tahan..."

What's happen?


Strategy-
- Long Position in US, Short ASEAN Market, Long Position in China/HK.

A Successful Hedge Fund Manager : Jim Simons

Profile :
James Harris "Jim" Simons (born 1938) is an American hedge fund manager, mathematician, and philanthropist.
In 1982, Simons founded Renaissance Technologies, a private investment firm based in New York with over $15 billion under management; Simons is still at the helm, as CEO, of what is now one of the world's most successful hedge funds. Simons is estimated to be worth about $8.5 billion.
Simons lives with his wife in Manhattan and Long Island, and is the father of three.

Simons shuns the limelight and rarely gives interviews, citing Benjamin the Donkey in Animal Farm for explanation: "God gave me a tail to keep off the flies. But I'd rather have had no tail and no flies."[4] On October 10, 2009, Simons announced he would retire on January 1, 2010 but remain at Renaissance as nonexecutive chairman.

Renaissance Technologies
For more than two decades, Simons' Renaissance Technologies' hedge funds, which trade in markets around the world, have employed mathematical models to analyze and execute trades, many automated. Renaissance uses computer-based models to predict price changes in easily-traded financial instruments. These models are based on analyzing as much data as can be gathered, then looking for non-random movements to make predictions.
Renaissance employs many specialists with non-financial backgrounds, including mathematicians, physicists and statisticians. The firm's latest fund is the Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund (RIEF).[8] RIEF has historically trailed the firm's more well-known Medallion fund, a separate fund that only contains the personal money of the firm's executives.

"It's startling to see such a highly successful mathematician achieve success in another field," says Edward Witten, professor of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, and considered by many of his peers to be the most accomplished theoretical physicist alive... (Gregory Zuckerman, "Heard on the Street", Wall Street Journal, July 1, 2005).

In 2006 Simons was named Financial Engineer of the Year by the International Association of Financial Engineers. In 2007 he was estimated to have personally earned $2.8 billion,[10] $1.7 billion in 2006,[11] $1.5 billion in 2005, (the largest compensation among hedge fund managers that year) and $670 million in 2004.
Observers have been wondering how Renaissance's in-house Medallion Fund has managed to continue to outperform the stock market handily while funds open to outside investors have performed miserably. The violation could be related to the Nova Fund, a hedge fund that had very high returns which was mysteriously subsumed by the internal Medallion Fund.


(Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/ )