sad.. now cannot go taobao buys good already..

Higher cost of borrowing in Malaysia by foreign banks, says report
Published: 15 January 2016 10:21 AM

Several foreign banks have increased their base rates last week caused by a shortage of ringgit and US dollars. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, January 15, 2016.
A shortage of ringgit and US dollars following the decline in the Malaysian currency's value over the past year has forced some foreign banks to raise their cost of borrowing.

The Business Times in Singapore reported that OCBC Bank (Malaysia) and United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) (UOB) both increased their base rates last week.

UOB told the business daily that the base rate was raised last Friday by 11 basis points, from 3.89% to 4%. It's base lending rate (BLR) has also gone up from 6.85% to 6.96%.

Meanwhile, OCBC took similar steps immediately after the new year, increasing its base rate from 3.92% to 3.99%, and its BLR from 6.85% to 6.92%.
The moves were made despite Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) maintaining the key overnight policy rate (OPR) at 3.25%, so as not to add further pressure to businesses and individuals struggling with loan repayments.

Analysts say the liquidity crunch in the country is due to the shortage of ringgit and US dollars. The Business Times reports that the ringgit is currently trading at 4.42 to the US dollar, having declined by about 30% since late 2014.

An independent interest-rate and foreign-exchange strategist Suresh Ramanathan told the Business Times that due to the liquidity squeeze, large-scale wholesale deposits are being taken out by companies and converted to foreign-currency deposits to pay back loans or to cover foreign-exchange losses.

He added that many corporations would not have thought of having to hedge their US dollar borrowings at the 4.5-to-5 level and so have to resort to such moves.

According to the Business Times, the BNM website, as at last Friday, had listed Maybank as offering the lowest base rate of 3.20% with Public Bank next at 3.6% and Ambank at 4.0%.

Meanwhile, another foreign bank, HSBC Bank Malaysia, denied earlier reports that it would also raise its base rate from today. – January 15, 2016.

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysi...h.X798Jnr2.dpuf

Hong Kong Dollar Headed for Biggest Weekly Decline Since 2003
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/201...line-since-2003

HKD (aka strong like steel) can't hold on any longer

O shite.......interest rates climbing. Just what the rakyat needs. More financial PAIN!

Now we only got 2 choices, one is rate BLR rate, two is let RM floating drop to RM 6 = 1 or infinity. It depends on us.   

M awaiting it to break 4.46
Having said tat b prepare for disappointment

Low fuel price should translate into cheaper charges for transportation. Has anybody seen cheaper flight tickets around, whether from budget carriers, or from full-service carriers ?

LATER RATE HIKES?

The Fed raised U.S. policy rates for the first time in nearly a decade in December, and signaled they expect four rate hikes this year.

Traders are doubtful. They see the Fed raising rates only once this year, and not until June, based on trading in short-term interest-rate futures.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-...y-idUSKCN0UT1MO

Stay clear of Malaysia, US fund manager tells investors - See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysi...h.CyltxyhW.dpuf

These things are not instantaneous.. crude oil may drop, but jet fuel is a different beast altogether.

The thinking that when prices drop, 'more profit for me' is very true.

As for benefits to the world when China slowsdown and devalues the RMB, I am really doubtful that it takes time for the effects to trickle through. When times do turn around later on, I would say that it is a combination of actions around that world that caused the turnaround, and not because of the Chinese slowdown.

One can always argue that it's because of the structural reforms in China that brought about the slowdown, and such reforms are good for everybody at the end of the day, it's really unfathomable for one to visualize this.

Pretty sure my cooking oil is not from crude oil source.

So, for investors waiting for China to come back will never see this happening because the numbers coming out from China will never improve anymore. Why ? Because the numbers that we see coming out from China are actually numbers based on the manufacturing activities, which have long dominated China's performance. Investors worldwide will be misled.

And then, if China moves on into a service-led economy, prices of commodities will NEVER go back up again because China will never need to import too much of such commodities anymore. Perhaps another lower-cost country will take-up the slack to be the world's factory, but till now, I don't see any country that has the capability to replace China as a world consumer of commodities.

If the above is the new reality, then Australia and other EM countries which depended a lot upon commodity pricings will be in big trouble.

Labour cost in China is no longer cheap, labour cost in 2nd and 3rd tier cities are higher than kv at current exchange rate. Unless pboc and cpc continue to support their glc, chinese export is hardly profitable.

USD/MYR closed @ 4.4565 on 29/9 which was the lowest in 2015 -v- Brent Oil @ USD48.23 on 29/9
Right now USD/MYR is trading @ 4.40 on 15/1 -v- Brent Oil @ USD29.24
For d past 3.5 mths, Brent Oil have tumbled close to 39.3% -v- USD/MYR have appreciated close to 1.2%
Can v presume USD/MYR have found the support level @ 4.40 +/- assuming no 'invisible hand bts'?

vietnam?

If u monitor closely on daily basis (preferably full time), the rate is most attractive around noon time 

A 'visible' target would be one day after the Budget Revision Day, January 29th., Friday. Otherwise, you gotta watch closely everyday and quickly convert when the RM suddenly strengthens.

Guessed I am not the type who will just sit down and say we are doomed,....I prefer to say there is always a way out,... We just have to find it !!

The world is in a global recession, Roberts wrote. This terrible cocktail means investors should now be thinking about getting a "return of capital, not return on capital."
http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/12/investing/...l?iid=obnetwork

The word "magic" is a taboo in this thread, despite on many occasions the direction of RM defies fundamentals and economic theories

Soon you will be bombarded with "after-event analysis" to explain why RM defy gravity