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Monday 30 April 2012

Gold at $2,000 - The Bet.


On 16 April, 2008, Charles Oliver, senior portfolio manager of Sprott Gold and Precious Minerals Fund made a bet at one of his first meetings with Sprott clients. Gold was trading just over $920 an ounce, and he told them it was going to $2,000 in the next four years and that if he was wrong, he would shave the hair off  his head.

 Well, he got close, but a bet is a bet, so on April 16, 2012 his hair was shaved on BNN. (7 minutes video)
Footnote: After losing his hair, Charles Oliver is still convinced that gold will hit $2,000 an ounce in 2012.

Joke - Life After Marriage


Daniel and Jenny, young couple, got married and went happily on their honeymoon. 

When they got back, Jenny immediately 'phoned her mother and her mother obviously asked, 'How was the honeymoon, dearest?'


'Oh, Ma,' she replied, 'the honeymoon was wonderful. So romantic...'Funny Clean JokesThen Jenny burst out crying. 'But, Ma, as soon as we returned home Daniel started using the most ghastly language... saying things I've never heard before! I mean, all these awful 4-letter words! You've got to come get me and take me home.... Please Ma.'
'Calm down, Jenny!,' said her mother, 'Tell me, what could be so awful? What 4-letter words?'
Still sobbing, Jenny whispered, 'Oh, Ma...words like dust, wash, cook, and iron.'


Sunday 29 April 2012

Joke - John The Chicken Farmer

John was in the fertilized egg business.

He had several hundred young layers (hens), called ‘pullets,' and ten roosters to fertilize the eggs.

He kept records, and any rooster not performing went into the soup pot and was replaced.

This took a lot of time, so he bought some tiny bells and attached them to his roosters.

Saturday 28 April 2012

Joke - The farmer and The Jogger


The Jogger and the Farmer

John, a jogger, is running down a country road and is startled when a horse yells at him, 'Hey-come over here buddy.'
John is stunned but still runs over to the fence where the horse is standing and asks, 'Were you talking to me?'
The horse replies, 'Sure was, man I've got a problem. I won the Kentucky Derby a few years ago and this farmer bought me and now all I do is pull a plough and I'm sick of it. Why don't you run up to the house and offer him $10,000 to buy me. I'll make you some money because I can still run.'Farmer hillbilly jokes
John thought to himself, 'Wow, a talking horse.' Dollar signs started appearing in his head. So he runs to the house and the old rancher is sitting on the porch.
John tells the farmer, 'Hey man I'll give you $10,000 for that old broken down nag you've got in the field.'
The farmer replies, 'Son you can't believe anything that horse says. He's never even been to Kentucky.'

Friday 27 April 2012

Orchard Parade Holdings (O10.SI)

Orchard Parade Holdings hospitality portfolio includes the 388-room Orchard Parade Hotel, 210-room Albert Court Village Hotel and the Central Square Village Residences with 127 serviced residences. OPH Investment portfolio includes Tanglin Shopping Mall, OPH Podium Block and Albert Cout Commercial units with a total lettable area of  7,108 square metres. OPH Development portfolio includes Floridian (own 60% of 336 units in JV with Wing Tai), euHabitat (own 20% of 750 units in JV with Far East Organisation), 7 and 11 Bassein Road (own 30%) and Land Parcel 825 at Robinson Road (own 20%). It also owned the Plaza Atrium which is under development into serviced apartments Malaysia.


OPH is also a substantial shareholder of Yeo Hiap Seng with 49.51%. Effectively, OPH owns 284.24 million shares of the 574.12 million outstanding shares of Yeo Hiap Seng.


The company announced its 1Q2012 results on 27 April 2012.


FY2011 EPS is 34 cents.
1Q2012 NAV is $3.16
1Q2012 EPS is 12 cents.
Outstanding shares: 363.31 million.
Shares go ex-dividend on 9 May 2012. Dividend is 9 cents a share.


The Group had clarified on both 14 July 2011 as well as recently on 5 March 2012 that it was in preliminary discussions with Far East Organization over the possible injection of some assets held by the Group into a Real Estate Investment Trust (“the Transaction”). It should be noted that there is no certainty that the Transaction will be carried out.


Current price is $1.74
Chart looks neutral.

(note: Orchard Parade Holdings changed its name to Far East Orchard with effect from 31 Jul 2012. Symbol O10.SI remains the same. Will update when 2Q results are out)

Chart forOrchard Parade Holdings Ltd. (O10.SI)

Joke - Mouse Calibration


MOUSE CALIBRATION

You should actually do this every year.  Even more often if you spend a lot of time on the computer. This is recommended by Kim Komando (the computer guru) in one of her recent emails.

I was shocked to see how well this works, and how far off mine was!

To re-calibrate your mouse, click and hold on the capital G below, then drag it toward the small g.If it doesn't work immediately, you might want to clean your mouse, as the calibration is off.
G Holy Shit!!! You'll believe anything

I'M SURE YOU WILL ALSO RECOMMEND THIS TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS ONCE YOU SEE HOW MUCH SMOOTHER AND BETTER THE MOUSE WORKS AFTER BEING CALIBRATED! AMAZING!

Thursday 26 April 2012

Recipe - Stir Fry Shredded Turnip

This root vegetable has natural sweetness. Commonly used raw as an ingredient in "rojak" (mixed vegetable salad), the turnip is also very versatile. The cooked version of the turnip is an essential ingredient in some of Singapore favourite foods such as "popiah" (vegetable wrap), soon kueh (dumpling) and the peranakan "kueh pie tee" (crunchy dough cup with turnip filling).




Ingredients

turnip
Turnip 1 (about 500 grams)
carrot 1
Shitake mushrooms 2 (diced)
dried shrimps 3 tbs
garlic 3 cloves (chopped finely)
light soya sauce 3 tbs
pepper powder
cooking oil 2 tbs


Method:

shredded turnip
Peeled the turnip. Cut into smaller portions and shred them.
Peel and shred (or grate) the carrot.

Now the ingredients are ready for stir fry.

Heat the oil in pan or wok.
When the oil hot, in goes the garlic, dried shrimps and mushrooms.
Stir fry until fragrant and add the shredded turnips.
Add the light soya sauce and saute for about 3 minutes.
When the turnip changes colour, they are about cook.
Add the shredded carrots and pepper and stir the mixture thoroughly for another minute.
The dish is ready to be served.

 




A nice video on how to cook shredded turnip and then used it as a filling for the soon kueh or chai kueh.




Country ETF - China (NYSE:FXI)

The fund generally invests at least 90% of assets in securities of the underlying index and in depositary receipts representing securities of the underlying index. The index consists of 25 of the largest and most liquid Chinese companies, and is designed to represent the performance of the largest companies in the Chinese equity market that are available to international investors.


Stock holdings: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hl?s=FXI+Holdings


Chart foriShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund (FXI)

Joke - Why I Cannot Lose Weight


Recipe - Pickled Green Chillies

I love to eat the pickled green chillies. They are typically served together with fried rice, hor fun (fried flat noodles) and dried wonton noodles. Yesterday at the market, when I saw a packet of 10 large green chillies for sale at 50 cents, I quickly picked it up. It was a bargain because normally I can get only 5 pieces for 50 cents.


I am noting down the price because inflation in Singapore is now running at 5% this year. Down the road, I can look back at my posting and see how the price has changed.


There are many ways to pickle the chillies.


In this recipe, I use one portion of water to one portion of rice vinegar.


Clean the chillies and cut them into 1 cm portions. Put them in a bottle  and fill the bottle with the vinegar and water.


Wednesday 25 April 2012

Country ETF - Hongkong (NYSE:EWH)

The fund invests at least 80% of its assets in the securities of the underlying index or in DRs representing securities in the underlying index. The underlying index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited.


Stock holdings: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hl?s=EWH+Holdings

Chart foriShares MSCI Hong Kong Index (EWH)

Joke - Improve Your Sex Life


A wife had been trying unsuccessfully to persuade her husband to join her in a 30-minute evening walk.

One evening after reading an article called "Improve Your Sex Life", she presented her new argument.

She told her hubby that, according to what she read, if he just walked 30 minutes a day it would improve his sex life.

Hubby asked, "Who do I know that lives 30 minutes away"?

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Pictures - Empty Nest Syndrome

The nest of family love is like a nest of birds. When it is the right time to fly, the young will fly away, as is the way of life.

Enjoy this 3 minute video which explains the meaning of empty nest.


Robins: 4 Eggs, 4 Weeks from Fred Margulies on Vimeo.

Country ETF - Philippines (NYSE:EPHE)

The fund generally invests at least 80% of assets in securities of the underlying index and in depositary receipts representing securities of the underlying index. The underlying index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index designed to measure the performance of the Philippine equity markets. 


Stock holdings: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hl?s=EPHE+Holdings

Can you see a bull running ?

Chart foriShares MSCI Philippines Invstb Mkt Idx (EPHE)

Monday 23 April 2012

Great Panther Silver (AMEX: GPL, TSX: GPR)

Great Panther Silver is a silver mining company with properties in Mexico at various stages of exploration, development and production.  It has 4 properties in Mexico. The 4 properties are Guanajuato Mine, San Ignacio, Santa Rosa and Topia Mine.


Silver reserves as at 2012 is 32 million oz.
Projected production for 2012 is 2.5 to 2.75 million oz
Cost of production is estimated at $10.50/oz

Shares outstanding is 142 million.
Current silver price is $28.45 (21 May 2012)
GPL share price is $1.77 (21May 2012)

Company website: http://www.greatpanther.com/English/Home/default.aspx

Company presentation on April 2012:
http://www.greatpanther.com/Theme/GreatPanther/files/Great%20Panther%20Silver%20Limited%20-%20CorporatePresentation%20April%2016,%202012.pdf

Comment
Silver prices have been volatile in recent years. Investing in silver mining shares is a leverage play on the price of silver. When the price of silver goes up, the mining shares go up faster. Conversely, when the price of silver falls, the mining shares go down faster. Even when the price of silver does nothing, the mining shares can keep falling. That is the nature of investing in mining shares.

Having said that, the folks at GPL in the presentation notes pointed out there is pattern in the price movement of silver. I have noted that in an earlier post :
http://thomas-rainbowdiary.blogspot.com/2012/04/silver-interesting-observation.html

The chart of GPL shows that the shares are now in the oversold territory. However the price has yet to find a bottom.

Probably waiting for the aha! moment.

1Q2012 results announced on 14 May 2012
1Q2012 EPS is C$0.03
Cash and cash equivalent as at 31 Mar 2012 is C$40 million



Chart forGreat Panther Silver Ltd (GPL)


Joke - The Wheels of Life




Country ETF - Vietnam (NYSE:VNM)

The fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that comprise the index. It attempts to approximate the investment performance of the index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicates the index.


Stock holdings: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hl?s=VNM+Holdings

Chart forMarket Vectors Vietnam ETF (VNM)


Recipe - Ginseng Chicken Soup

I happen to cook this dish over the weekend. This is a wonderful ginseng chicken soup for restoring the immune system and for rejuvenating the body. When someone at home is feeling tired or worn out or had a strenuous day, then this would be the perfect meal. Taken regularly this will strengthen the immune system and helps to fight fatigue and prevent getting sick.








ginseng
The chicken is cooked slowly in a pot with dried herbs of ginseng, seedless red dates, wolfberries and dioscorea (huai shan or yam root). The slow cooking allows the nutrients to be released. I use chicken thighs for convenience. Chicken breast can also be used preferably with bone on. The chicken bone will add sweetness. The ginseng is sweet and bitter. The other ingredients are sweet.
dates

Recipe (5 servings)
5 chicken thighs (skinless with bone on)
handful of ginseng slices, about 15 pcs (ginseng root is fine)
handful of red dates (seedless), about 10 pcs
handful of wolfberries, about 15 pcs
wolfberries
5 slices of dried dioscorea

The ginseng roots, dates, wolfberries and dioscorea are available at the dried goods section of the supermarket. For ginseng slices, I got mine from Chinese medical shop.

Method:
Blanch the chicken thighs in boiling water for 5 minutes to get rid of the fat and smell.
Boil 1 litre of water in a pot.
Add the chicken, ginseng, dates, dioscorea.
dioscorea
Once the water boils, reduce to low and let the soup simmer for 1 hour.
Add the wolfberries about 15 minutes before the hour.

The ginseng chicken soup is ready to serve.

Here is a 6 minutes video showing how to cook ginseng chicken soup.
This is Korean style.




This ginseng chicken soup uses knorr seasoning.



Sunday 22 April 2012

Country ETF - Malaysia (NYSE:EWM)

This fund will at all times invest at least 90% of its assets in the securities of the underlying index or in DRs representing securities in its underlying index. The underlying index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.


Stock holdings: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hl?s=EWM+Holdings

Chart foriShares MSCI Malaysia Index (EWM)

Joke - Canadian Speed Control

Speed control being used in Canada.
How's this for effective speed control?


















Saturday 21 April 2012

Silver - An Interesting Observation

This is a very interesting observation from the people at Great Panther Silver (AMEX:GPL,TSX:GPL). I will  feature GPL another day.



Joke - Rich Old Man


An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years.

He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%.

The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said,

"Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased you can hear again."

The old  gentleman said, "Oh, I haven't told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I've changed my will five times!"


Friday 20 April 2012

Country ETF - Indonesia (NYSE - IDX)

The fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities that comprise the index. It attempts to approximate the investment performance of the index by investing in a portfolio of securities that generally replicates the index.


Stock holdings: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hl?s=IDX+Holdings




Chart forMarket Vectors Indonesia Index ETF (IDX)


Joke - How To House Train Your Dog

























Recipe - Pan Fried Chicken Thigh

The chicken thigh is probably the most tasty part of the chicken because the thigh muscles are the most active part of the chicken. This is an easy to cook dish but patience is needed to let the chicken thigh cook slowly in the frying pan. Easy because I just need to buy the thighs, rinse and marinade and they are ready for the frying pan. Patience is needed to pan fry the thighs in low heat so that the meat is well cooked and the meat just fall off the bones.

Thursday 19 April 2012

Denison Mines Corporation (AMEX:DNN)

DNN is a uranium mining company with properties in the US, Canada, Zambia and Mongolia. The uranium properties are at various stages of exploration, development and production.

Uranium Properties
Historically, it has produced and sold 4.5 million lbs of uranium.

Country ETF - Germany (NYSE:EWG)

This fund invests at least 80% of its assets in the securities of the underlying index or in DRs representing securities in the underlying index. The underlying index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Stock holdings: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hl?s=EWG+Holdings



Chart foriShares MSCI Germany Index (EWG)

Joke - I am not Kidding

This one is funny.




Joke - These Monkeys Drink Alcohol

In the Caribbean, Vervet Monkeys have developed a taste for alcohol and can regularly be spotted stealing cocktails from humans on the beach. Brilliant wildlife video from BBC animal show 'Weird Nature'.




Wednesday 18 April 2012

Country ETF - Italy (NYSE: EWI)

 It will at all times invest at least 80% of its assets in the securities of the underlying index or in DRs representing securities in its underlying index.


Stock holdings: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hl?s=EWI+Holdings





Chart foriShares MSCI Italy Index (EWI)

Country ETF - France (NYSE: EWQ)

This fund invests at least 80% of its assets in the securities of the underlying index or in DRs representing securities in the underlying index. The underlying index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Paris Stock Exchange.


Stock holdings: 
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hl?s=EWQ+Holdings




Chart foriShares MSCI France Index (EWQ)

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Country ETF - Brazil (NYSE:EWZ)

 The underlying index consists of stocks traded primarily on the BM&FBOVESPA (the Brazilian exchange).
Stock holdings: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hl?s=EWZ+Holdings







Chart foriShares MSCI Brazil Index (EWZ)

Country ETF - Chile (NYSE:ECH)

The underlying index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure broad-based equity market performance in Chile. 


The holdings of the fund can be viewed here: 
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hl?s=ECH+Holdings



Chart foriShares MSCI Chile Investable Mkt Idx (ECH)

Joke - Don't Lie About Your Age



A lady is having a bad day at the roulette tables in 'Vegas.

She's down to her last $50. Exasperated, she exclaims, 'What rotten luck! What in the world should I do now?'

A man standing next to her, trying to calm her down, suggests, 'I don't know... why don't you play your age?'

He walks away.

Moments later, his attention is grabbed by a great commotion at the roulette table. Maybe she won! He rushes back to the table and pushes his way through the crowd.

The lady is lying limp on the floor, with the table operator kneeling over her.

The man is stunned. He asks, 'What happened? Is she all right?'

The operator replies, 'I don't know. She put all her money on 29, and 36 came up, then she just fainted!' 

Sunday 15 April 2012

Joke - How To Get Zero For Exam


    This student got 0% in this exam. Would you have given him 0%?

                 Q1. In which battle did Napoleon die?
      * His last battle.

      Q2. Where was the Declaration of Independence signed?

      * At the bottom of the page

Gold (GLD), Silver (SLV)

Chart forSPDR Gold Shares (GLD)

Chart foriShares Silver Trust (SLV)


S&P 500 (SPY), DJIA (DIA), NASDAQ (QQQ)


Chart forSPDR S&P 500 (SPY)


Chart forSPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA)



Chart forPowerShares QQQ (QQQ)








Straits Times Index


STRAITS TIMES INDEX (^STI)


The STI index has 30 components.







Chart forSTRAITS TIMES INDEX (^STI)

Saturday 14 April 2012

Joke - Priest Retirement Dinner


A priest was being honoured at his retirement dinner after 25 years in the parish.

A leading local politician and member of the congregation was chosen to make the presentation and to give a little speech at the dinner.

Friday 13 April 2012

Recipe - Coleslaw

This is a simple salad made famous by KFC. Somehow cabbage, carrot, and onion makes very good combination. Add mayonnaise and a little bit of sugar and the combination becomes a tasty sensation. It goes very well with grilled or fried chicken.

















Recipe

Maths - 8 Marbles puzzle

Suppose you have 8 marbles and a two-pan balance used to compare the weight of 2 things. All of the marbles weigh the same except for one, which is heavier than all of the others. How can you find the heaviest marble if you are only allowed to weigh the marbles 2 times?

 









Thursday 12 April 2012

Pictures - Kampong Days

Not quite where I used to live, but close enough.
















The first fishing port in Singapore which is now called Sengkang.
I used to buy a whole big stingray for 10 cents during my crabbing days.
Not many people knew how to cook stingrays in those days.













My shopping centre where I went to tailor my working clothes.













A 5 minute video of Singapore in The 1950s



Wednesday 11 April 2012

Joke - Advertisement For Travel To Taj Mahal

A clever advertisement for travel to the Taj Mahal in the city of Agra,India.