Internationally, Goldman Sachs, Greece along with the rest of the PIGS, and the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland which shut down European airspace were the main focus of this month.
News that Goldman Sachs was facing a criminal probe into its activities with regard to mortgage transactions sent the stock spiralling, losing approximately US$30 (17%) off each share since the news broke. The essence of the story was that Goldman Sachs is accused of failing to notify the investors that Paulson and Co, a hedge fund, helped select mortgages for one of its products, and then bet against it. Paulson and Co has been absolved of any blame in this case. The story is still unravelling. More can be read here.
Greece once again took the focus of investors worldwide, with protests going on in Greece as the unions are against the austerity measures that the government has to introduce in order to receive a bailout from the EU and IMF. The failure of Greece to obtain the bailout has resulted in its debt being downgraded to junk bond status by S&P. In the same day, Spain's debt was downgraded, although not to junk bond status. It was also reported that Spain's unemployment had hit 20%, putting it in the same league as Latvia.
Many jokes were spun about Iceland's volcanic ash eruption. The first country to suffer from the financial crisis in Europe, it yet again became another starter of events. This time, the volcano (don't ask me what's its name, I'm pretty sure even Icelanders are unable to spell it right) spewed ash, forcing a shutdown of European airspace, causing a disaster to airlines worldwide, leaving many stranded. The shutdown of the airspace racked up losses for airlines. The full extent however, is still unable to be determined, as airlines and governments are negotiating on any compensation available.
Locally, news that grabbed the headlines was the opening of the circle line from Tai Seng to Dhoby Ghaut. Although it has not affected me, the feedback thus far was that it has managed to cut short journey times. As the government tries to move away from long distance bus, it would have an effect on SMRT as well as SBS Transit as publicly traded companies.
Housing prices has continued rising (making me look like a fool in the process), and there seems to be no end, with many property owners near the Circle Line trying to cash in on the current property market boom in tandem with the opening of the Circle Line itself.
My portfolio took a huge hit, dropping 2% from the month before. In addition, I sold Transpac Industrial Holdings in order to remain partially in cash, and to take advantage before the dividends were paid out.
First ResourcesFirst Resources had its AGM on the 28th of April. It was my first ever AGM and it was interesting hearing the management comments. Of course there were questions that were posed that seemed out of management control.
The CEO and I had a chat, and he put it across to us that the company's growth, even if they did not have any new plantings or acquisitions, would still be robust. Greenpeace allegations that Golden Agri faced were also a topic. He confidently said that Greenpeace was definitely an issue with plantations, and the main way to resolve it was to talk to them, which in the case of First Resources, they had an open door policy with Greenpeace.
Hearing that was good that the management avoided saying that they would never face the situation, but instead said about what they would do if it happened.
China Telecom
China Telecom reported 1Q results, with net profit down 9% on increased 3G spending. Sales however, rose 3.6%. The results meant analysts expectations. The stock however, has took a tumble over the past two weeks due to broad market factors, as well as it China telecom companies rotational play. However, the story behind China Telecom is still intact, as it added 9.36million subscribers in 1Q, compared to 4.93million subscribers the year before.
Novo Group
Little news came out of Novo Group, besides the selling of the remaining 10million treasury shares. There are no treasury shares remaining in Novo after the sale.
Blue Gem Enterprise
Blue Gem Enterprise has expanded into the Refrigerated Direct Store Delivery Division, and thus is able to diversify into the distribution of dairy products on top of beverages. More news can be found here.
Soilbuild
Soilbuild announce that it has won an industrial site bid at Yishun Ave 6 for $29.3million. It is slated to be for SMEs and supporting businesses of MNCs in Singapore. At the EGM, it also approved of the 2 for 1 stock split on the 25th of May.
YRC Worldwide
YRC results are slated to be at 930ET today. Just before the end of the month, YRC Worldwide's stocks dropped like a rock, without any reasons. More can be found here. However, I did not add to my positions, preferring to remain in cash to explore other opportunities, as well as waiting for the results announcement before deciding.
No comments:
Post a Comment