Singapore 2010 brief outlook

Should history repeats itself, Singapore's stock market will undergo a major correction around June 2010 - 16 months after crisis began.  That is according to DBS Bank's analysts, who have noted that after the last two major recessions, the initial stock market rallies that followed lasted exactly 16 months each.

Mr Timothy Wong, managing director and head of group research at DBS, expects a bullish first quarter 2010, in which the Straits Times Index (STI) will hit about 3,080 points. But somewhere in the middle of the year, the markets will experience a sharp pullback.  If there is no major correction of 20 per cent or more in the first half of the year, there will "probably" be one in the second half.

The STI will likely rally again after the correction to finish the year at about 3,500 points for 2010, that is the likely indicator.....
Stocks in the services sector, including transportation, hospitality and high-end properties, which will be boosted by the opening of the integrated resorts in singapore this year.

Oil price has risen above US$80 per barrel and will more likely see those in the oil and gas sector businesses reaping some benefits.

The mood in the market now is optimistic rather than euphoric, but on the flip side, markets could be shaken by a sudden surge in inflation which already showing some sign.

MAS Singapore may return to the pre- recession stance of gradual Singdollar appreciation only in its following meeting in October, when inflation has picked up more significantly. A more expensive Singdollar helps to mitigate inflation here as it offsets the higher prices of imported goods.

As economic growth gathers steam and inflation returns, most of the other central banks in Asia will also start to raise rates this year.

For the property sector, the SIN Government is keeping a watchful eye on runaway prices in these sectors.

But high-end home prices will jump by 10 per cent to 15 per cent, due to more limited supply, the integrated resorts drawing in investors, and spillover demand from Hong Kong, where luxury home prices have skyrocketed. Similarly, luxury items will see some boost in demands in China,Hong Kong as well Singapore. Maybe getting into luxury car importer business is one good choice for some keen entrepreneur..

Life is an Integrity

The future may be made up of many factors but where it truly lies is in the hearts and minds of men. Your dedication should not be confined for your own gain, but unleashes your passion for our beloved country as well as for the integrity and humanity of mankind. ~ Li Ka Shing

When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion. ~ Abraham Lincoln

You must consider the bottom line, but make it INTEGRITY before profits. ~ Denis Waitley

To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and INTEGRITY. ~ Douglas Adams

Goodness is the only investment that never fails. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense. (Hurting yourself is not a sin - just stupid.) ~ Robert A. Heinlein

I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves - such an ethical basis I call more proper for a herd of swine. The ideals which have lighted me on my way and time after time given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. ~ Albert Einstein

If moral behavior were simply following rules, we could program a computer to be moral. ~ Samuel P. Ginder

It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit. ~ Noël Coward

It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare. ~ Mark Twain

Six essential qualities that are the key to success: Sincerity, personal integrity, humility, courtesy, wisdom, charity. ~ William Menninger

To speak ill of others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves. ~ Will Durant

Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself. ~ William Faulkner

Live so that your friends can defend you but never have to. ~ Arnold H. Glasow

When you choose the lesser of two evils, always remember that it is still an evil. ~ Max Lerner

It is easier to find a score of men wise enough to discover the truth than to find one intrepid enough, in the face of opposition, to stand up for it. ~ A.A. Hodge

To reach a great height a person needs to have great wisdom and sacrifice..

It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright or an empty vessel makes a lot of "bang"…….

Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value. ~ Albert Einstein

Fight over patents - Nokia

Nokia fired another salvo in its patent-infringement battle with Apple. Early Jan2010, it filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission alleging that Apple's products infringed multiple Nokia patents. The infringements relate to user-interface, camera, antenna and power management technologies that Apple uses in its products. Apple declined to comment on Nokia's filing with the ITC.
Nokia first sued Apple in October claiming that the iPhone infringed 10 Nokia patents like GSM and Wi-Fi. Apple countersued claiming that Nokia was infringing on 13 patents pertaining to the iPhone.
The legal wrangles point to the keen competition in the smartphone segment where every handset maker is trying to make devices as cool and sexy as the iPhone.  How long will the faze of iPhone going to last with the technology consumers after having flooded the market for almost two years and with more Telcos bringing it into the region, seems like it is going to continue selling for a while until some maker like Sony, Google, HTC fight hard to bring in one good "iPhone equal".
Analysts fault Nokia for being slow to unveil slim touchscreen phones in the last two years when all its competitors were doing so.
However, do not discount Nokia. Of the four billion mobile phones in circulation today, one billion of them are from Nokia.
It has the widest range of cellphones, from the simple candy bar entry level phone to the sophisticated N900 running Linux. It is also active in areas where its competitors are almost absent.
In India and in developing countries in Africa, Nokia's handsets there help farmers and villagers get weather updates, the price of rice and learn English through the use of SMS.
It has rolled out Nokia Money for people in these countries to help them transfer funds or pay bills and suppliers using SMS. These efforts are not cool or sexy but they are much needed by people in developing countries who cannot afford smartphones or newfangled apps.

Nokia is still a force to be reckoned with but its window of opportunity is small and it must move fast.

Is it the right IPhone rival ?

I thought it was time out for Apple's Iphone "monopoly" in the cellphone market capitalisation and was quite happy to hear that Google's is out to challenge the almighty Iphone. Sad to read today's paper that Google's first attempt at retail has encountered a speed bump.

Scores of buyers of its first 'own brand' smartphone, the Nexus One, seem to have experienced 3G connection problems.

The much-hyped phone is sold directly through its website at google.com/phone. Google started selling it just four days ago to consumers in the United States, Britain, Singapore and Hong Kong. Already, some eager users gotten their hands on it have been posting their problems on the Google Mobile Help Forum.

Their complaints centre on the phone constantly switching between 3G and the slower EDGE (Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution) networks, resulting in tardy responses when they surf the Internet. Voice and SMS functions are unaffected.

At press time, Google had yet to reply to these complaints.
Google's touchscreen phone, touted as a rival to Apple's iPhone, is made by Google's manufacturing partner, Taiwan's HTC. It seems that HTC is clueless about the cause of the 3G connection issues. Technology publication nexus404.com reported that one user had contacted HTC about the problem but was referred to US mobile network operator T-Mobile instead. Although the phone is sold by Google on its Web store, HTC provides customer support in Singapore from its care centre.

The phone - which costs US$577.31 (S$807) and comes with a 12-month warranty - was not sent to local telcos for testing, but Google had given an assurance that the handsets would work here in Singapore.

I think the way Google launches it product fail in its marketing effort in making the "right note" to buyers and either they are rushing in time to soft launch or not looking more seriously in the advertisement and proper retailer backup support with proper media promotion on it's handset, already showed sign of poor product marketing tactic and this may lead to users losing confidence when snag appears, although such could be easily rectified with less uproar if handle in proper professional manner.
Wake up Google ! Get the right partner and not HTC ( Hard to Connect ) perhaps.... :)

Will money bring Happiness ?

Extract from ST paper By Irene Tham
Are Singaporeans happier when they have lots more money?

A study shows that people who have a university or postgraduate qualification and earn $5,000 or more a month are the happiest.  Is this really the case ?
However, they are also dissatisfied with their achievements and enjoy life the least, compared with those who are less well-off.
Indeed, it is the Singaporeans earning less than $2,000 a month who enjoy life the most, concluded the three academics behind the study.
Senior lecturer Tambyah Siok Kuan, associate professor Tan Soo Jiuan and professorial fellow Kau Ah Keng - all from the National University of Singapore Business School - presented their findings in a book, The Wellbeing Of Singaporeans, which came out recently.
The survey in 2006 polled more than 1,000 people, aged 20 to 69.
They were posed questions such as whether they enjoy life, how happy they are, and how much they feel they are accomplishing what they want in life.
It could hold quite some weight that some may live in a million-dollar homes but if they owe the bank a lot of money, you are not going to enjoy life very much. Conversely, some who lives in an HDB flat may be able to enjoy life more as they are less committed financially and able to spend within their means and what they earned.
According to Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Indranee Rajah in the report, the ability to enjoy life and the feeling of achievement ultimately bring about happiness.
'It all boils down to expectations. Happy people can field the pressure and strike a balance between competitiveness and complacency,' she added.
The fear of not being able to sustain the high life 'can be a source of strain or unhappiness', she noted.

Psychotherapist Stephen Lew, 30, from the Positive Psychology Centre, said happiness is a state of mind.
'Happy people know and use their strengths. Naturally, they are better able to enjoy life, which leads to happiness,' he said.

Sonja Lyubomirsky in her 2007 book, The How Of Happiness says 40 per cent of a person's happiness is within his control, said psychologist and University of California professor of psychology. The rest is genetically determined, she claimed.

Maybe we should start an internal survey in your workplace and find out what leads to joy in the hectic workplace and is challenges and achieving goals providing you the fighting spirit to hang on to tough work place, eg. in Shipyard as compare to downtown office life in Orchard road