Try out new ways.....upd 20Oct2008

Date Start: 1Jan2008
NAV = $3,644.43.28 as of date 20Oct2008
Returns to-date (since 1Jan2008) = -27.11%

Benchmark: iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (ETF)
Date Start: 1Jan2008
NAV = $2,926.72 as of date 06Oct2008
Returns to-date (since 1Jan2008) = -39.47%

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===== Extracted from an e-newsletter from CPF =====

Quote (033-2008)

"You know, five years from now, ten years from now, we'll look back on this period and we'll see that you could have made some extraordinary (stock market) buys. That doesn't mean it won't get more extraordinary a week or a month from now. I have no idea what the stock market is going to do next month or six months from now. I do know that the American economy, over a period of time, will do very well, and people who own a piece of it will do well."

===== Warren Buffett, Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway ==========


Extracted from http://www.cnbc.com/id/27116449

Raffles Edu Corp Share Buyback

Raffles Education Corp (REC) bought back 1,548,000 of it own shares on 9Oct2008.
Is this a sign of the company's share being under-valued?

See http://raffleseducation.listedcompany.com/news.html/id/111308

REC's chart:-

Dividend Report 9Oct2008

Stock Name	XD Date	Dividend
Guocoland	24/10/2008	SGD 0.08
Singapura Finance	31/10/2008	SGD 0.08
Jaya Holdings Ltd	31/10/2008	SGD 0.075
K1 Ventures Limited	5/11/2008	SGD 0.05
ASL Marine	28/10/2008	SGD 0.04
British & Malayan Trustees Ltd	30/10/2008	SGD 0.035
Micro-Mechanics	6/11/2008	SGD 0.03
Union Steel Holding Ltd	30/10/2008	SGD 0.03
Guocoleisure Limited	23/10/2008	SGD 0.025
Olam	4/11/2008	SGD 0.025
Datapulse Technology	2/12/2008	SGD 0.02
Eu Yan Sang Int	7/11/2008	SGD 0.02
Boardroom	31/10/2008	SGD 0.019
Sin Ghee Huat	22/10/2008	SGD 0.0185
LongCheer Holding	6/11/2008	SGD 0.018
CH Offshore Ltd	29/10/2008	SGD 0.015
KTL Global	28/10/2008	SGD 0.015
Lum Chang Holdings Ltd	31/10/2008	SGD 0.015
PCI Ltd	10/11/2008	SGD 0.015
Noels Gifts International Ltd	28/10/2008	SGD 0.015
F J Benjamin	13/11/2008	SGD 0.011
Lion Asiapac Ltd	28/10/2008	SGD 0.01
Raffles Education	31/10/2008	SGD 0.01
Spinex Industries Limited	4/11/2008	SGD 0.01
Tai Sin Electric	6/11/2008	SGD 0.01
Tee International	31/10/2008	SGD 0.0095
Chosen Holding Limited	10/11/2008	SGD 0.00875
Portek International Ltd	5/11/2008	SGD 0.00807
Hai Leck Holdings Ltd	13/11/2008	SGD 0.008
C & O Pharm Tech	31/10/2008	SGD 0.007
Ausgroup Limited	31/10/2008	SGD 0.0061
Avi-Tech Electronics Limited	4/11/2008	SGD 0.005
Chuan Huo Holding	10/11/2008	SGD 0.005
Elite KSB Holdings	29/10/2008	SGD 0.005
Lion Teck Chiang Ltd	3/11/2008	SGD 0.005
L.C Development Ltd	3/11/2008	SGD 0.005
Kian Ann Engineering Ltd	7/11/2008	SGD 0.0045
TT International Limited	28/10/2008	SGD 0.002
Aussino Group	11/11/2008	SGD 0.0017
Memstar Technology Ltd	28/10/2008	SGD 0.0002
TPV Technology Limited	10/10/2008	USD 0.0088
Karin Technology	24/10/2008	HKD 0.081
Guangzhou Investment Co Ltd	29/10/2008	HKD 0.026
China Precision Technology Ltd	14/10/2008	CNY 0.08
China Hong Cheng	3/11/2008	CNY 0.03

Try out new ways.....upd 06Oct2008

Date Start: 1Jan2008
NAV = $3,854.28 as of date 06Oct2008
Returns to-date (since 1Jan2008) = -22.91%

Benchmark: iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (ETF)
Date Start: 1Jan2008
NAV = $3,106.02 as of date 06Oct2008
Returns to-date (since 1Jan2008) = -35.88%

$140k loss all because of a wrong tick

Apart from the recent Lehman Brothers Notes (and such) causing the financial tsunami we see in the markets lately, this is one case that I thought to be really unusual.

Dream home chase turns bad
Buyer loses unit & savings after mistake in loan application
By Elysa Chen
October 05, 2008

HE wanted to upgrade from a four-room HDB flat in Hougang to a new condominium unit near the city.

Now Mr Thomas Ng, 49, may end up losing his life savings, all because of a mistake in his loan application.

He wanted to buy a $630,000 one-bedroom studio apartment in the Mackenzie 88 at Mackenzie Road, near Little India, under the Deferred Payment Scheme.

Under this scheme, buyers have to pay the stamp duty and 10 per cent down payment upfront and settle the remaining 90 per cent when their apartments are ready in 2010.

Click here to read more

MMF Update

This is a follow-up to MMF rtn vs Bank deposit rates which I post on a monthly basis.

Remarks: $1,000 parked in MMF would have yielded $8.36 more than savings rates YTD since 1st Jan2008. I am comparing MMF to savings because of their withdrawal flexibility.
Other figures as shown above. Fixed Deposit, on the other hand, is not as flexible when it comes to withdrawal.
Fixed Deposit rates reference: MAS

MMF annualized returns as of 30Sep2008 since 1Jan2008: 1.369% p.a

Feel free to contact waynekohwg@gmail.com / 8288.9005 (mobile) for details and clarifications.