MYR on Tongkat ALee

1.00 SGD = 2.94857 MYR

i found surprisingly it may be cheaper to change in SG. Happened to me a few times.
And of course that was before the demise of the MYR.

Problem is bringing all the Ringgits across!

Breakin the law ler

High volume today

Very rare do i see such heavy volume with Accordia. Most oft thinly traded counter. Something good coming?

Last time it hit 7mil was June 2015

This post has been edited by prophetjul: Jan 29 2016, 05:28 PM

As big American hedge funds begin their speculative attack on China Yuan and the Hong Kong dollar, another group of short-sellers have slipped into Southeast Asia, targeting Singapore, the region's financial hub. These short-sellers have Singapore stocks in their sights as the market struggles to find its footing after being hit hard by the commodity rout. The SGX saw its total short selling surge from 3.2 billion Singapore dollars (US$2.24 billion) in December to 5.6 billion Singapore dollars in January, representing 25 percent of total volume, the highest since data became available, Credit Suisse said in a note Tuesday. Short-selling refers to borrowing shares to sell in hopes of buying them back at a lower price later.

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After Soros reveals he is shorting Asia, big American hedge funds descend upon the region

That comes as the exchange is also facing headwinds from a concentration of listings in hard-hit sectors, including commodities, oil services and shipping as well as a hit from China's economic slowdown. Out of a total 776 listings at the end of December, the SGX had 63 listings in the basic materials sector, 40 in oil and gas and 267 classified as industrials. That compares with 26 healthcare listings and 59 technology listings. After the rout since the start of the year, the Straits Times Index is down nearly 12 percent year-to-date.

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25% of Singapore's stock market volume is now shorting

Among the stocks with the highest percentage of volume related to short-selling were agri-businesses Wilmar and Golden-Agri Resources and oil-rig-builders SembCorp Industries and Keppel Corp., Credit Suisse said. It comes at the time Singapore's financial market is already facing difficulty competing, particularly due to its relatively small size. The Singapore exchange's market capitalization, Southeast Asia's biggest, was at 904.77 billion Singapore dollars (US$632.26 billion) at the end of December, compared with Hong Kong's HKEx at 24.425 trillion Hong Kong dollars (US$3.13 trillion) at the end of December.

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Singapore's stocks have fallen 12% last month, speculators seek to crash it further

At the same time, the daily average turnover has been shrinking, with December's 774 million Singapore dollars' worth of average daily volume down 22 percent from the year-earlier month. The small size makes it tough for Singapore to attract institutional investors to its market. "One of the challenges for the Singapore market is that sometimes the criticism there is that there are not (enough) companies to invest in," Daryl Liew, head of portfolio management at asset manager Reyl Singapore, said at an SGX-CNBC summit last week in Singapore.

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Weakness revealed as Singapore's exports went down 7.2% in December

"We tend to invest only in companies with a minimum $1 billion market cap. Obviously there are some that we can put in there, but there are certain limitations to what we can actually allocate money to," he said. Another criticism comes from a perceived focus on stodgier industries, such as commodities and shipbuilding. "Where the market is a little bit weak at the moment is in growth stories, credible structural growth stories that you can invest in over a three-to-five-year time frame," Conrad Werner, head of equity research for Singapore at Macquarie, said at the panel. "They are there, selectively, but as a block, for example, I would like to see the technology sector represented within the index, which we don't have."

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Hong Kong monetary chief: short-sellers will not win, we defeated them in 1997 and we will again

In Hong Kong, the territory's monetary chief warned that speculators are wasting their time trying to short the Hong Kong dollar. But now instead of the currency they are moving into one of Hong Kong's weak spots, the property market. Hong Kong's property slump has begin to worry investors. Home prices have slumped almost 10 percent since September and monthly sales in January fell to the lowest since at least 1991, according to Centaline Property Agency Ltd. "The danger is that when sentiment turns negative, it's very hard to turn things around," Michael Spencer, Deutsche Bank AG's Hong Kong-based Asian chief economist, said. Real estate developer made up a vital component in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

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Speculators diverted their attention, from currency to targeting Hong Kong's property stocks, who are now at their weakest since 1991

Norman Chan, the monetary chief, reminded speculators that Hong Kong government used its sizable foreign-exchange reserves to aggressively buy the stock market and ultimately defeated them back in 1997, saying Hong Kong is in a much stronger position to defend itself from a similar attack. He points to foreign reserves at HK$422 billion, 5.2 times higher than the HK$67.6 billion in 1997. This, he says, means the same strategies in 1997 to short sell the Hong Kong dollar to try to push the interest rate up and benefit from falling stock markets would be less effective and too expensive.

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China: We will use all means to defend the stability of our currency

In China, the People's Bank of China launched a two-pronged attack on short-sellers by mopping up the currency overseas and choking supply of yuan from the mainland. The assault pushed the offshore rate to a premium that week, before it swung the other way again. "Bears are not giving up on shorting the yuan simply because of the PBOC's attacks, and they are preparing to return to the game," said Kenix Lai, a foreign-exchange analyst at Bank of East Asia Ltd. in Hong Kong. "There will be a very intense confrontation between short-sellers and China in the near term. While the market strongly believes there's room for further declines, the central bank will try its best to keep the yuan stable."

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Japan moves towards negative interest rates, indirectly helping speculators in their battle against China

Speculators who short Asia were helped by Japan last week. Thanks to the Bank of Japan's surprise move to a negative interest rates on a portion of bank reserves, the Japanese yen has renewed its downward spiral. This move by the world's third largest economy effectively put Japan in a currency war with its Asian neighbors. With the market already view the yuan as overvalued as seen in accelerating foreign currency outflows, the move to weaken yen just adds to the yuan's perceived overvaluation.


http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/02/short-selle...ock-market.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/201...-to-25-year-low
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hong-kong...tate-2016-02-01

Accordia!

There's write up on the SG banks in a recent Edge mag and it went through some details of loans to O n G companies which the banks have classed as Non performing already. Quite big amounts.

IMO opinion the boat won't be leaving anytime soon.

The excesses of the global market is only slowly clearing it self. The deflationary pressures is still very strong. You can see it in the global numbers of big global companies and nations. This morning it was reported S Korea, who is the biggest exporter to China that the exports are slowing.

i would still keep my major gun powder dry at this stage


http://www.straitstimes.com/business/econo...china-woes-hurt

This post has been edited by prophetjul: Mar 1 2016, 08:47 AM

Are investors starting to not care about China?

Seema Mody | @SeemaCNBC


The news out of China, bad or good, just doesn't seem to have as much bite anymore.

Sure, downbeat Chinese economic data on the first day of trading in 2016 ignited a global market sell-off. But as the year has worn on, the impact is diminishing.

Tuesday's disappointing manufacturing data showing activity at Chinese factories in February contracted and was at the lowest level since November 2011 didn't translate into higher stock market volatility or investor angst. In fact, U.S. markets surged as traders' focus turned elsewhere.

Read More› Activity at China factories slows again

Similarly, news to start the week that China's central bank was cutting reserve requirements failed to generate a rally, as monetary easing otherwise might.

So is the U.S. starting to decouple from China? Are investors less concerned about China's slowdown?

The answer is complex.



Market pros care immensely about China's economy but less about the moves in the Shanghai composite, which is seen as erratic and volatile and more about the country's management of its currency.


Indeed, near-term stability in the Chinese currency and improved communication from the central bank has allowed U.S. investors to worry less about the China story.


The recent communication from the People's Bank of China seems to have assuaged fears of a yuan devaluation. At the G-20 meeting in Shanghai, PBOC Gov. Zhou Xiaochuan tried to instill confidence among fellow policymakers and world leaders that China would not embark on another currency devaluation to support its economy.

Those comments got the nod of U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew who post-G-20 said that the risk of a devaluation has been "greatly, greatly reduced."

Read More› China central bank cuts reserve requirement ratio


"Markets are willing to look on the bright side and give authorities the benefit," said Richard Kelly, head of global securities at TD Securities.


That's an important attitude switch, given the impact previous Chinese actions have had on U.S. markets, with the fall in China's markets in the second half of 2015 sending the U.S. into a tailspin.

Data from Kensho reveal that on days when Chinese stocks fell 4 percent or more in 2015, the S&P 500 on average lost 1 percent in the following trading session as a big move in the Shanghai composite would spark fear among traders in the U.S.


However this year, wild swings in the Chinese equity market haven't warranted the same outsized reaction in U.S. stocks. In fact, while Chinese stocks have remained just as volatile in 2016, the response in U.S. equities has been less pronounced — averaging a 0.6 percent drop.

Read More› South Korea's FinMin says China will manage soft landing


Experts say it's a combination of markets becoming immune to weak Chinese data and bad news being seen as good news for stocks.


"Soft economic data out of China increases the likelihood of further stimulus from the Chinese central bank," said Sameer Samana, global quantitative strategist at Wells Fargo. "It may actually lead the Federal Reserve to be on hold this year as well."

In the past, Fed Chair Janet Yellen has referenced China and international developments as headwinds for the U.S. economy.

"The risk of stronger Fed hikes have diminished and the PBOC is doing all it can to prevent a stronger collapse in markets," said Simon Quijano-Evans, Commerzbank's head of emerging markets research.


The question is whether this will last. A growing number of economists in Beijing say the effectiveness of China's monetary policy will continue to be questioned if the country's economic data do not start to improve. A lack of evidence of China's economy turning around by the end of this year could result in investors losing faith in China's central bank and its monetary tools.

That "could be the reasons global markets didn't cheer China's (reserve rate requirement) cut announced" Monday, Samana said .

A number of skeptics are already questioning the credibility of European and Japanese policymakers as both places deal with tepid economic growth despite the aggressive measures (including negative interest rates) being used by their central banks.


Absence of a rebound in China's economy will likely fuel currency devaluation concerns.

At some point China may have to allow its currency to gradually depreciate, according to NSBO Bank. Wall street currency analysts on average are betting on a 7 percent drop in the yuan from current levels by year-end.

"Not a one-off devaluation like the one in August. More of a slow, measured, weakening," NSBO's Chinese research analyst Duncan Wrigley said of a possible devaluation scenario

In the meantime, China watchers will look to the the National People's Congress meeting this weekend where high-ranking officials will discuss Chinese laws, regulations and policies.

NSBO's head of research, Oliver Barron, said markets have been looking for changes to China's securities laws regarding the initial public offering regulation process. Any shift will have to get the approval of the NPC. The congress will also approve China's five-year plan for 2016-2020.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal, parent of CNBC, is a minority investor in Kensho.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/01/are-investo...bout-china.html

China, the CANARY in the mine?

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Official and Caixin factory activity gauges slow again in Feb, underlining need for RRR move

Twin gauges of Chinese factory activity revealed slowing growth in February, underpinning the case for more monetary stimulus a day after the country's central bank moved to improve liquidity conditions.
Output from large factories contracted for the seventh straight month in February, a government survey revealed on Tuesday. The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 49.0, below Reuters forecasts for 49.3 and January's reading of 49.4.

A number below 50 points indicates a decline in factory activity, while one above suggests expansion.

But Chinese government data has long been taken with a pinch of salt so when it comes to assessing the state of factories, investors tend to gravitate towards a private gauge that tracks smaller and medium sized firms, known as the Caixin manufacturing PMI.

Released 45 minutes following the official report, February's Caixin reading edged down to a five-month low of 48.0, versus 48.4 in January.

"Companies that reported lower output generally cited weak market conditions and reduced intakes of new work. Furthermore, total new business declined for the eighth month in a row, albeit at a modest pace that was similar to January," Caixin said in a statement, adding that the decline in production was the quickest seen since September.

Asian equity markets were mixed following both surveys, while the Australian dollar—widely considered a proxy for China plays—dipped as much as 0.4 percent to $0.7105 U.S. cents.

The weak PMI results were partly due to seasonal effects. Much of the country was closed for the week-long Lunar New Year holidays last month and some analysts believe markets should wait until March to get a more precise picture of Chinese production.

"Anytime during the first quarter, we tend to overlook these figures....It's hard to interpret from one single data point how China's economy is doing," Ken Wong, Asia equity portfolio specialist at Eastspring Investments, told CNBC.

But a look at the breakdown of Caixin's survey still revealed cause for concern, pointed out Pu Yonghao, partner and chief investment officer at Fountainhead Partners, which has around $600 million assets under management.

Sharp falls in new orders and the employment index were especially worrisome, he said, with manufacturers shedding jobs at the fastest pace in seven years.

This is part of a larger employment issue that is becoming apparent as the economy stalls. Beijing said on Monday that 1.8 million coal and steel workers will be laid off from state-owned enterprises as the government addressed over-supply in those areas. The job cuts will now put those workers in competition with other unemployed Chinese for private-sector roles.

"China's economy is going to continue struggling. Aside from boosting real-estate demand in tier-one cities, authorities are going to find it difficult to manage this downward trend," Pu said.

147518478FL00007_Chinese_En
Feng Li | Getty Images
Twin gauges of Chinese factory activity revealed slowing growth in February, underpinning the case for more monetary stimulus a day after the country's central bank moved to improve liquidity conditions.
Output from large factories contracted for the seventh straight month in February, a government survey revealed on Tuesday. The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 49.0, below Reuters forecasts for 49.3 and January's reading of 49.4.

A number below 50 points indicates a decline in factory activity, while one above suggests expansion.

But Chinese government data has long been taken with a pinch of salt so when it comes to assessing the state of factories, investors tend to gravitate towards a private gauge that tracks smaller and medium sized firms, known as the Caixin manufacturing PMI.

Released 45 minutes following the official report, February's Caixin reading edged down to a five-month low of 48.0, versus 48.4 in January.

"Companies that reported lower output generally cited weak market conditions and reduced intakes of new work. Furthermore, total new business declined for the eighth month in a row, albeit at a modest pace that was similar to January," Caixin said in a statement, adding that the decline in production was the quickest seen since September.

Asian equity markets were mixed following both surveys, while the Australian dollar—widely considered a proxy for China plays—dipped as much as 0.4 percent to $0.7105 U.S. cents.

Henry Paulson
Hank Paulson: China needs to let companies fail
The weak PMI results were partly due to seasonal effects. Much of the country was closed for the week-long Lunar New Year holidays last month and some analysts believe markets should wait until March to get a more precise picture of Chinese production.

"Anytime during the first quarter, we tend to overlook these figures....It's hard to interpret from one single data point how China's economy is doing," Ken Wong, Asia equity portfolio specialist at Eastspring Investments, told CNBC.

But a look at the breakdown of Caixin's survey still revealed cause for concern, pointed out Pu Yonghao, partner and chief investment officer at Fountainhead Partners, which has around $600 million assets under management.

Sharp falls in new orders and the employment index were especially worrisome, he said, with manufacturers shedding jobs at the fastest pace in seven years.

This is part of a larger employment issue that is becoming apparent as the economy stalls. Beijing said on Monday that 1.8 million coal and steel workers will be laid off from state-owned enterprises as the government addressed over-supply in those areas. The job cuts will now put those workers in competition with other unemployed Chinese for private-sector roles.

"China's economy is going to continue struggling. Aside from boosting real-estate demand in tier-one cities, authorities are going to find it difficult to manage this downward trend," Pu said.


Both sets of data will likely reinforce the rationale for the central bank's fresh stimulus moves.

Late on Monday, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) cut its reserve ratio requirement for banks by 50 basis points to 17 percent, with analysts expecting the cut to release an additional $100 billion in liquidity. Monday's RRR cut, the fifth in a year, was aimed at driving lending and consumption as Beijing experiences its slowest pace of economic growth in more than 20 years.

Secondary industry, or manufacturing, is no longer the nation's primary economic engine, but it still makes up 40 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). For the first time, services now account for more than half of the economy at 50.5 percent of GDP, according to official 2015 data.
Separate data out on Tuesday showed China's official services PMI fell to 52.7 in February, from 53.5 a month earlier.

Despite the modest deceleration, the Lunar New Year holiday was seen as positive for the services sector as it boosted holiday spending and domestic tourism, explained Iris Pang, Greater China senior economist at investment bank Natixis.

"We keep our call that the services sector will continue to expand in 2016," Pang said.

—Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/29/china-offic...in-to-come.html

_________________________________________________________

China Feb factory activity shrinks more than expected, layoffs on the rise

Activity in China's manufacturing sector shrank more sharply than expected in February, surveys showed on Tuesday, prompting smaller companies to shed workers at the fastest pace in seven years and suggesting Beijing will have to ramp up stimulus to avoid a deeper economic slowdown.

Some investors had been bracing for weak readings after the central bank unexpectedly eased policy late on Monday, injecting an estimated $100 billion worth of cash into the banking system to cushion the pain of upcoming reforms such as restructuring bloated state enterprises.

The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.0 in February from January's reading of 49.4 and below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction. Economists polled by Reuters had expected only a slight dip to 49.3.

It was the lowest reading since November 2011.

"The PMI came in much weaker than markets expected, hinting that recent easing measures have had limited impact in turning around the weakening manufacturing sector," wrote senior emerging markets economist Zhou Hao at Commerzbank in Singapore.

"We think PBoC will cut policy rates by 25 basis points in the first quarter and lower RRR (banks' reserve requirement ratio) by another 100-150 basis points this year."

The private Caixin/Markit China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which focuses more on small to medium- sized, private firms, showed activity contracted for a 12th straight month. It fell to 48.0, below market expectations of 48.3 and January's reading of 48.4.

Both surveys showed conditions in China's job market were continuing to deteriorate, challenging policymakers who are finalising Beijing's next five-year development plan ahead of the annual parliament meeting starting on March 5.

The Caixin report showed companies shed jobs at the fastest pace since January 2009, when China and other trade-reliant economies were reeling from a near-collapse in global trade following the financial crisis.

Firms that reported lower headcounts cited company downsizing and cost-cutting, and said more workers who were leaving voluntarily were not being replaced. The employment sub-component of the index fell to 46.0 from January's 47.0.

The official PMI survey, which tends to focus on larger, state firms, has shown persistent declines in employment for the last 3-1/2 years.

RELATED COVERAGE
› China Feb factory PMI falls to 48.0, contracts 12th month, layoffs rise: Caixin PMI
To be sure, although Markit adjusts figures for seasonal effects, the timing of the long Lunar New Year holiday can make Chinese data in January and February difficult to interpret. Economic activity slows dramatically around the holiday, which falls on a different date in late winter every year.

Still, the findings in the latest surveys have dashed hopes that a year-long blitz of stimulus measures would start to produce signs of economic stabilization early in 2016.

China's factory sector has been under pressure from weak demand at home and abroad and massive overcapacity in key industries such as steel and coal, diluting the impact of six central bank interest rate cuts and a spate of other support measures since November 2014.

Industrial profits fell 2.3 percent in 2015 after rising 3.3 percent in 2014.

Both surveys on Tuesday showed further contractions in domestic and export orders, suggesting industrial output will remain sluggish in coming months.

In addition, some manufacturers in capital-intensive sectors are struggling with heavy debt loads, which are becoming increasingly difficult to repay as they have to constantly cut prices to win sales. Last year witnessed a rash of bond defaults by steel, cement and chemical firms. Chinese factory gate prices fell for the 47th straight month in January.

The government has made cutting overcapacity in steel and other "old economy" sectors a priority this year, though previous efforts have run into strong resistance locally as big firms are often a key source of tax revenue and employment.

China said on Monday it expects to lay off 1.8 million workers in the coal and steel industries, or about 15 percent of the workforce, but no timeframe was given.

Recent tax changes have also raised concerns that China hopes to export more of its excess industrial capacity abroad, further worsening global gluts of chemical and steel products and effectively exporting deflation abroad.

China's economic growth cooled to 6.9 percent in 2015, the slowest pace in 25 years, and economists see it slowing further to around 6.5 percent this year. Some market watchers believe it is already much weaker than official data suggests.

SERVICES SOFTENING?

A growth slowdown in China's services sector last month was also singled out by analysts as a cause for concern.

The official non-manufacturing PMI fell from 53.5 in January to 52.7 in February, still in expansion territory but the weakest reading since late 2008.

The services sector has been taking up an increasing amount of economic slack as manufacturing cools, but analysts have wondered how long it can remain resilient in the face of the prolonged factory slump and increasing unemployment.

With manufacturing in both a cyclical and structural funk, Beijing has been keen to grow the services sector and make consumption a stronger driver of the economy.

"Today’s data suggest that policy makers will take further measures in the upcoming National People’s Congress in order to achieve a GDP growth target of 6.5 to 7 percent in 2016," ANZ economists said in a note.

"A proactive fiscal policy will be needed to support investments and we expect the fiscal deficit could be increased to a range of 3-4 percent in 2016, from 2.3 percent in 2015" in order to boost government spending.

(Reporting By Nathaniel Taplin and Pete Sweeney; Editing by Kim Coghill)

This post has been edited by prophetjul: Mar 2 2016, 09:56 AM

You can keep track of so many counters?

Anyone bought Accordia when it was at 0.50?

How's yr yield so far?

i went in 0.49 to 0.50 recently.

China sends world markets sliding
AFP | London March 08, 2016 Last Updated at 18:49 IST
World stock markets sank deep into the red today, as China released data showing another hefty slump in exports, sparking renewed worries over the nation's powerhouse economy.

China's exports dived more than a quarter on-year in February, new data showed today, while imports were almost 14 per cent off -- far worse than forecast.

"That shocking slide in exports was joined by at similarly weak, if not quite as alarming, drop in imports; combine the two together and it is the kind of ugly reminder of China's spluttering economy investors certainly do not need at the moment," said analyst Connor Campbell at trading firm Spreadex.

In reaction, most Asian markets fell, with investors also cashing in after enjoying their best rally so far this year.

Hong Kong retreated 0.7 per cent and Tokyo dropped 0.8 per cent, but Shanghai reversed initial heavy falls to eke out slender gains.

The gloom spilled over into Europe, with Frankfurt and Paris shedding 1.2 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively, while London lost 0.8 per cent.

"Equity markets (are) in the red again, with disappointing overnight Chinese trade data showing plunging February exports serving to spook investors who are already concerned about the state of global growth," said head of research Mike van Dulken at Accendo Markets.

"The market reaction is in stark contrast to the habitual cheering about bad data implying more stimulus, and the Lunar New Year may explain the big drop."

Mining stocks were the hardest hit sector on demand jitters because China is a leading consumer of most raw materials.

In London, resources giant Anglo American saw its share price tumble 9.3 per cent to 569.70 pence, topping the FTSE 100 fallers' board.

Swiss rival Glencore shed 7.64 per cent to 157.70 pence, Rio Tinto dropped 5.65 per cent to 2,110.50 pence and Antofagasta was down 5.06 per cent at 562.50 pence.

In Paris, the share price of steelmaking titan ArcelorMittal dived almost 5.0 percent to 4.43 euros, while Germany's ThyssenKrupp slid 1.8 percent to 16.88 euros in Frankfurt.

German energy giant RWE saw its shares slide 2.30 per cent to 11.03 euros, after it posted falling annual profits and forecast fresh gloom for 2016.

Europe's energy sector also took a knock from oil prices, which pulled back following healthy gains yesterday -- when Brent crude broke the USD 40-per-barrel barrier for the first time in 2016.

The gloomy Chinese figures are the latest to highlight weakness in the economy, although officials pointed out that they were skewed by the Chinese New Year holiday that saw factories shut down for a week.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/p...30801026_1.html

Which ETF is this?

Lookie at Accordia's run!

waiting for 08/09 type of pull back.

Hans

This time round, it's a managed slowdown by TPTB....keep pumping money into the markets......till...........

08/09 took them by surprise as financial cock up. This time its an economic problem which may usher in a financial crisis.

the handbrakes are on and near worn out. Otherwise Feds would have raise rates without even blinking.