ASTRO

themalaysianinsider.com has reported a restructuring news on Astro:-

Astro set to restructure operations, Khazanah involved

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 — Malaysian tycoon Ananda Krishnan is set to restructure his premier satellite television operator, Astro All Asia Networks, in a RM9 billion transaction that will rank as the region's largest corporate exercise so far this year. Under the proposed corporate deal, Astro's two main shareholders — the Ananda-controlled private investment company Usaha Tegas and Malaysia's state-owned Khazanah Holdings — will acquire the satellite television company's fledgling and still unprofitable international business interests. The planned hive-off of its international business will turn the Malaysian-listed Astro into a clean entity that will house its profitable domestic operations, bankers close to the transaction told The Straits Times.

The corporate restructuring exercise, which could be announced as early day after tomorrow, will also feature a major sweetener for the company' shareholders. The company is set to announce a one-off dividend payment of about RM1 per share, the bankers said, adding that the whole deal will value Astro at around RM9 billion. The planned transaction is set to remove the drag on Astro's share performance, which has been bogged down by problems in its international operations. Speculation that a restructuring is imminent has re-ignited interest in the stock in recent weeks. Astro shares, which have been hovering at just under RM2.80 apiece for much of the year, currently trade at around RM3.50 apiece. A windfall for shareholders is emerging as a hallmark of Ananda's large corporate manoeuvres. When he launched his buyout of his listed mobile telecommunications company, Maxis Communications, in May 2007, he paid sharp premium for the shares held by the public in a deal valued at over RM16 billion. According to bankers involved in the Maxis transaction, government-controlled entities such as Khazanah, Permodalan Nasional, the Muslim pilgrimage fund Tabung Haji and the two national pension funds collectively received just over RM7.5 billion for their holdings in the mobile telco. Under the soon-to-be-announced Astro transaction, Khazanah, the state investment agency modelled along the lines of Singapore's Temasek Holdings, will receive close to RM340 million from the dividend payout, bankers with knowledge of the deal said. Khazanah will also retain its 22 per cent interest in the listed Malaysian entity and control a roughly 33 per cent stake in the private vehicle that will house Astro international business. Ananda's Usaha Tegas and its other affiliates will control the remainder in the yet-to-be-named private entity, the bankers said. Over the past decade, the 71-year-old Ananda — who is ranked as one of South-east Asia's wealthiest tycoons — has emerged as a powerful force in the region's multimedia sector, with Astro and Maxis forming the cornerstones of his new-media empire. Astro, which has invested over RM1 billion to develop its own content for the region's large Malay-language speaking population, beams its services to more than three million households currently. Bankers say the company's customer base could hit 3.5 million in the next three years. But results from its overseas investments have been mixed. Its foray into Indonesia, under a joint venture project with the powerful Lippo Group controlled by the Riady family, has been a disaster. Astro is now caught in a messy legal wrangle with Lippo and has been forced to make provision for losses of just over RM1 billion for its investment in the Indonesian venture. The company has moved into the entertainment and media markets in India, China and other parts of South-east Asia, and bankers estimate that Astro will require investment of over RM1 billion in the next three years to develop these markets. — ST

For those who are interested on Astro, coming Monday may be too late to chase Astro because it's price may JUMP UP upon opening.

I have notice one counter that Investor can buy at cheaper price & still enjoying the potential on Astro.

Will reveal the name after I bought on Monday.

Furious and Anger : MACC

民联巡回全国抗议赵明福命案 促政府设皇委会彻查离奇坠楼

7月18日 上午 11点17分

民联三党昨晚召开最高领袖会议后发表声明，敦促政府设立皇家委员会，彻查雪州行政议员欧阳捍华政治秘书赵明福，在接受雪州反贪污委员会调查期间离奇坠楼身亡的事件。

由国会反对党领袖安华、回教党主席哈迪阿旺和行动党国会领袖林吉祥联署的联合声明说，过去曾发生多宗在执法当局扣留期间毙命的案件，如今赵明福事件成为当局滥权的最新一位受害者。

反贪会成为削弱民联工具

声明指出，反贪污委员会持续不断调查和威胁民联领袖，却不曾对国阵领袖滥权与贪污的投报进行任何调查。这证明了这个新成立并操作6个月的反贪会，其实是国阵政府用来削弱民联的工具。

声明表示，人民已对反贪污委员会及其他政府机构失去信心，因此民联将展开全国巡回讲座，继续对抗这些残忍作风和滥权机构。

下周在槟甲隆轮流办讲座

安华也指出，民联将会在全国各地主办讲座，向人民解说赵明福坠楼事件，以反对政府单位滥权。

他披露，民联将于下周二（21日）在槟城举行讲座，随后周三（22日）在马六甲及周四（23日）在吉隆坡举行。

安华表示，民联领袖将在下周一早上10点前往赵明福于马六甲阿罗牙也住家凭吊，并呼吁公众在当天到丧府一同凭吊及追思赵明福。

宣布整顿民联组织和架构

另一方面，安华在会议后也宣布，为了加强民联的组织，民联将重整旗下多个组织的架构，包括国会党鞭、民联秘书处、州协调理事会与民联宣传组等。今后的民联最高领袖会议，也将会纳入三党的青年团、妇女组及宣传主任三个臂膀。

安华表示，民联将整顿各州的三党协调秘书处，以便强化现有的机制。

“我们也议决，各党的选举委员会必须讨论任何必要的策略，（以便应对选举）。”

他说，民联秘书处也必须加强通讯，并且加强本身的网站与媒体机制，确保把资讯传达给人们。

LION Group - What is needed for real transformation !

Lion Corp, Lion Div up in active trade

The Edge:KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of Lion Corporation and Lion Diversified rose in early trade on news of a possible merger between the two companies to consolidate the steel operations.

At 9.26am, Lion Corp and Lion Diversified rose 1.5 sen each to 45.5 sen and 55 sen each. Lion Corp saw 8.1 million shares done and Lion Diversified 6.38 million units transacted.

The FBM KLCI fell 4.13 points to 1,068.56. Turnover was 76.06 million shares valued at RM34.84 million.

The Edge weekly reported that the shareholding structure of the Lion group had undergone some major changes over the last few months.

Lion Diversified now holds a 59% stake in Lion Corp, which is the holding company for various listed Lion companies. The Edge reported the development could see a merger of Lion Diversified and Lion Corp to consolidate their steel operations.

THE REAL TRANSFORMATION NEEDED BY LION GROUP IS A RESTRUCTURING EXERCISE THAT BRINGING IN A WORLD CLASS LEADING STEEL MILL AS STRATEGIC PARTNER.

THAN IT WILL BE A REAL LION. NOT A CAT!

(Picture: Penang Ferry )

Do You Have Time to Get Back in the Black?

The past couple of years have proven tough for most retirement accounts. Diversification provided some respite, but, overall, most portfolios got mauled.

In recent months, the stock market has rebounded, but most of our nest eggs have still lost a lot of money since the market topped out in 2007. And all of us have lost a lot of time.

Alas, there's no such thing as a risk-free approach to rebuilding your nest egg. Super safe may feel nice, but it pays no returns over time. A few of us are in a position to live off a super-safe approach, but most of us are trying to figure out how to get back on track.

Figuring out how to deal with your retirement portfolio depends on where you are in your life. Time is perhaps the most important element in building or rebuilding a portfolio. That's one reason we're breaking down this nest-egg analysis into age groupings, aiming to give people some ideas that suit their current situation.

Under 40

If you are under 40, count yourself lucky. Two things are working in your favor. First, time -- if you have enough of it -- can heal wounds. The stock market will eventually recover and grow. Second, by saving early -- which you should definitely be doing -- you get the benefit of compounding, wherein early gains are built upon.

You also want to take a long view of the investment arena. A lot of growth in coming years is expected to come from overseas, especially in emerging markets. Tim Medley of Medley & Brown Financial Advisers in Ridgeland, Miss., says clients should have at least 35% of their stock holdings in non-U.S. stock funds.

In terms of risk, emerging-markets funds are more volatile than overseas funds that focus on developed economies like Japan or Western Europe. That volatility is emblematic of the risk in this cohort of funds. But as a younger investor, you want to have a bit more risk exposure, since greater risk tends to translate into greater returns over the long term.

Also, given your long-term outlook, the drop in share prices is an opportunity. Great long-term investors, such as Warren Buffett, believe that U.S. stock prices are still a relative bargain, even after the recent bounce-back in the major averages.

'For younger people, the best place to be is in well-selected stock mutual funds,' Mr. Medley says. He thinks some people, especially younger investors, have 'overlearned' the lesson of 2008 and therefore are shying away from the stock market too much. Among the fund families he prefers are Dodge & Cox, Oakmark and Primecap.

40 to 55

Once you enter this age range, you are starting to move from the aggressive stance of your youth to something a bit more measured. At the same time, you are entering a very important savings period since you likely are at the height of your earning power.

This is a time to invest as much as you can in your 401(k) while developing other ways to sock away money. It also is important to avoid two mistakes that have become common among investors in this cohort in the wake of the downturn.

'First, people have reacted [to the market downturn] by reducing the amount of money they're saving and investing,' says Mark Bonhard, an investment adviser with Dawson Wealth Management in Cleveland. 'Second, they've started changing their strategy without good reason. All that does is lock in the losses and prevent a chance to recover.'

In order to boost savings during this critical time, Mr. Medley encourages clients in this age range to set up automatic savings plans that direct a portion of their paychecks into an investment account at a firm like Charles Schwab or Fidelity Investments, where it can be invested in stock mutual funds.

'People need to save money outside of their retirement account,' says Mr. Medley. 'And as elementary as it may seem, an automatic plan works well for most people.'

55 and Over
As you get closer to your retirement years, you want to hold onto the capital you've built up over time. Trouble is, a lot of that capital has gone away in the market downdraft of the past two years.

'What's important in this case is recognizing where you are right now and not trying to think about where you were in 2007,' says Tommy Williams of Williams Financial Advisers in Shreveport, La. 'Job one is perhaps more philosophical and emotional than it is analytical.'

According to recent surveys, retirement security is first and foremost on the minds of people in this group.

One strategy is to consider the minimum amount of income you require on an annual basis and then see if there's a low-cost annuity that promises to pay at least that amount for life.

Such a strategy means you are eschewing future stock-market gains, but you have the security of knowing that your income is set for as long as you are around to spend it.

'Annuities can play a very strong role, because a lot of them carry guaranteed income,' says Mr. Bonhard. 'Having those guarantees makes it easier to take a little additional risk with the rest of your assets. But you do pay something to get those guarantees, and you have to watch that closely.'

Given the stock market's still relatively low level and, for some folks, a need to rebuild a broken portfolio, some advisers recommend tweaking your portfolio mix to have a bit more stock-market exposure via low-cost stock-index mutual funds.

Portfolio choices, especially among retirees, should be made from a stance of prudence and common sense.

'Having enough is more important than having more,' says Mr. Bonhard. 'If you've reached enough, you don't want to be gambling for more.'

He cautions that you should purchase annuities only from companies with a strong financial position and solid credit ratings.

DAVE KANSAS

(Picture: Hindu Temple, Penang)

投資策略要因年齡而異

事

實已經證明﹐過去幾年對大部分退休帳戶來說都是艱難的。多樣化投資提供了一些緩解﹐但是總的來說﹐大部分投資組合都受到了打擊。

近幾個月來﹐股市出現反彈﹐但自2007年股市見頂以來我們大部分儲蓄仍損失慘重。而且我們所有人都損失了很多的時間。

Chris Gash

哎呀﹐世上沒有毫無風險就能重建儲蓄的方法。超級安全或許感覺不錯﹐但是隨著時間的過去卻沒有分文的回報。我們中有很少一些人可以靠超級安全的方法過活﹐但大部分人仍在努力弄清如何才能重回正軌。

弄清楚如何處理自己的退休投資組合﹐這要取決於你的人生階段。在建立或重建投資組合時﹐時間或許是最重要的一個因素。這也正是本文按不同年齡段進行儲蓄分析的原因之一﹐旨在讓人們明白符合自己當前狀況的一些點子。

不到40歲

如果你不到40歲﹐你就算幸運的。你有兩項優勢。首先﹐如果你有足夠時間的話﹐時間能治療傷痛。股市最終將復甦並實現增長。其次﹐通過早早的攢錢（你現在應該正在這樣做）﹐你會獲得“滾雪球”式的好處﹐早期的收益就是建立在這個基礎上的。

你還應該長遠地看待投資地點。預計未來幾年的很多增長將來自海外﹐特別是新興市場。密西西比州Medley & Brown Financial Advisers的麥德利(Tim Medley)說﹐客戶應該至少有35%的股票資產投在非美國股票基金上。

說到風險﹐新興市場基金比專注於日本或西歐這類發達經濟體的海外基金的波動性更大。這種波動性代表了這類基金中存在的風險。不過﹐作為一名較年輕的投資者﹐你應該擁有多一些的風險敞口﹐原因是長遠來看﹐更大的風險往往意味著更高的回報。

此外﹐鑒於你長線投資的戰略﹐股價的下跌是一個機會。像巴菲特(Warren Buffett)這樣出色的長線投資者認為﹐即使是在最近主要股指反彈之後﹐美國股價仍相對較低。

麥德利說﹐對於較年輕的人來說﹐最佳的投資目標是精選的股票共同基金。他認為﹐一些人（特別是較年輕的投資者）因2008年的教訓而矯枉過正﹐遠遠避開了股市。他看好的基金包括Dodge & Cox, Oakmark和Primecap。

40-55歲

一旦進入這個年齡段﹐你就開始從年輕時代的激進立場轉向更為深思熟慮的立場。與此同時﹐由於你很可能正處於賺錢的巔峰狀態﹐這個年齡段也是一個非常重要的攢錢期。

在這個時期﹐你應該盡可能多地投資401(k)退休計劃﹐同時開發其他投資的途徑。你還要避免這個年齡段的投資者在經濟低迷時期常犯的兩類錯誤。

克利夫蘭Dawson Wealth Management投資顧問伯恩哈德(Mark Bonhard)說﹐首先﹐人們通過減少儲蓄額和投資額對市場的低迷做出了反應。其次﹐他們開始在沒有充分理由的情況下改變策略。所有這些都鎖定了損失﹐阻止了復甦的機會。

為了在這樣的關鍵時期提高存款額﹐麥德利鼓勵這個年齡段的客戶設置自動存款計劃﹐直接將部分工資轉到嘉信理財(Charles Schwab)或富達投資(Fidelity Investments)等機構的投資賬戶中﹐從中可以投資股票共同基金。

麥德利說﹐人們需要在他們的退休賬戶之外另行存錢。自動計劃實際上也很簡單﹐適合於大多數人。

55歲以上

隨著你距退休年齡越來越近﹐你希望這些年來積攢的資金能夠保值。問題是﹐其中的許多資金在過去兩年市場的下行中都已經損失了。

路易斯安那州Williams Financial Advisers的威廉姆斯(Tommy Williams)說﹐在這種情況下重要的是認清你目前的狀況﹐不要再去想你2007年時的情況。一開始可能更為達觀和情緒化﹐而不是具備分析性。

最近的調查顯示﹐這部分人首先關注的是退休安全。

一個策略是﹐想想你每年所需的最低收入是多少﹐然後看看有沒有低成本的年金﹐可以承諾終生支付至少這個數目。

這樣一種策略意味著你在遠離未來的股市收益﹐但你得到了保障﹐知道只要你還活著﹐就能有一筆固定的收入。

伯恩哈德說﹐年金可以扮演非常重要的角色﹐因為許多年金都會保障收入。有了這些保障﹐你其他的資產多冒點風險就更容易。但你得有所付出才能獲得這些保障﹐而且必須密切關注。

考慮到股市仍處於相對低的水平﹐而且一些人還需要重建以前的投資組合﹐因此一些諮詢師建議調整投資組合的成分﹐通過低成本股市指數共同基金來實現更高的股市敞口。

應當從審慎和常識的立場出發來選擇投資組織﹐尤其是退休人員。

伯恩哈德說﹐知足比多多益善更重要﹐如果已經夠了﹐就不應該冒險想再多撈點。

他提醒說﹐只能從財務狀況良好、信用評級可靠的公司購買年金。

DAVE KANSAS

WHY TRY TO TIME THE MKT- MY COMMENT ON 'SHARE INVESTMENT'

FROM SHARE INVESTMENT BLOG ( http://liqua2534.blogspot.com/ )

BAD DAY

Bad Day of me, a tactic used by to speculating is out. Yesterday I have managed select 2 stocks to play. But is did not help me minimise the lose. Accumulated lose is big and next week must settled it. Otherwise, account will be temporary suspend.

Of course, this is not because of KLSE equity market did not stable. Mainly due to I am a speculator and time of buying in is wrong. Holders might not same situation as me. I am facing a riches and funder hit. They trying kick off those speculator like me.Foreign funds instruction of purchase is difference. They giving an order with price range. Normally they buying at price range of 10 cents for penny stocks and 50 cents for heavy weight counter. Example buying from 1.10 to 1.20. So, we can see the price jump up at 5 minutes with high volume with upper trend. After that the price will consolidated at that level.Speculator like me if buying with them will auto kick off when reaching on the due day.

My method is out but benefit to holders. Life is going on and now, this game will become more interesting.

MY COMMENT :-

At a time like this, when the worse is over & we see the economy & stock market starting its recovery,the Buy & Hold may be better strategy for rally will last for 2-3 years.

Why attempt to time the market when we are convince that the world economy will recover by the year end or early next year?

This is a beginning of multi year rally which buy & hold a good undervalue stock should give the investor a handsome rewards.

The only factor now is on how to select a undervalue stock that can offer 100% returns in 1 or 2 years time.

(Picture: Hindu Temple in Penang )

THE MONEY FOLLOW WHERE THE GROWTH IS

I believe in Icap statement that THIS IS A BEGINNING OF A NEW BULL RALLY, NOT BEAR MARKET RALLY.

Now the financial Crisis is finally over, Western Countries has printing new money to rescue their banking institutions, created more & more liquidity in the system with almost ZERO interest.

This money will follow where the GROWTH is, ie ASIA.

This week we witness a SURGE in Asia Equity market & Strong Asian Currency.

A NEW BULL MARKET HAS BEGIN IN ASIA.

THE RALLY WILL BECOME STRONGER ONCE THE FUNDS HAS CONVINCE THE BULL MARKET HAS RETURN & CONFIDENCE RETURN TO MARKET.

BUT BE REMINDED THAT ONLY TAKE POSITION IN GOOD FUNDAMENTAL & UNDER VALUE STOCK, NEVER NEVER BUY INTO BAD APPLE.

(Picture: Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang)

Confident is more important than Gold !

Chinese Premier Wen Jia Bao has commented that ' Confident is more important than Gold', when referring to measures taken to resolve Financial Crisis.

Same goes to Stock Market.

A rally will resume after a pause, if the investor/punter have faith on the stock market. The investing attitude of the investor will determine the direction of the market.

Will you dump your stock if the market go down ? or
You will hold your stock for the 'Value', not the price.

We need not fear a Market Correction or Consolidation, the positive factors that contributed to RALLY such as market liquidity, year end economy recovery still intact.

Every rally will have correction, rally will resume after a pause.

(Picture: Penang Hill, Funicular Rail Way, Penang)

Beware ! Are U trap into rotational PLAY

Rotational play!

It’s good to make money from stock market, all involve in stock market will make money as most of the stocks will go up, whether it’s good fundamental or badly managed losing company.

Judging from the active counters that all are penny stocks, the retail investor must be reminded of the following typical mistake :-

Typical mistake that retail investor make ->

1. Invest in good fundamental BIG CAP stock, take profit after price went up 20%, then wait at sideline.


2. Jump into market again when seeing the stock rally again, use the money to buy 2^nd liner good fundamental stock, take profits after price went up 20%, then wait at sideline.

3. Market rally again after short consolidation, jump into market again & use all the money to invest again in PENNY stocks, this time do not care whether it’s good stock or loss making company, so long as the price look CHEAP.

WHEN MARKET EVETUALLY GO TRO CORRECTION, ALL STOCK PRICE COME DOWN, THOSE WHO HOLDING THE PENNY STOCK & NOT WELLING TO LET GO, WILL END UP HOLDING USELESS COUNTER, SUFFERED HUGE LOSES & EXIT FROM THE STOCK MARKET.

(Picture: Penang Hill, Georgetown, Penang)

股神：大有機會增中國投資

(明報)5月4日 星期一 05:05

【明報專訊】在股價下跌的陰霾下，著名投資公司巴郡周六在奧馬哈召開年度股東大會，股神巴菲特及拍檔芒格接受股東提問。巴菲特表示，認可奧巴馬 連串救市行動。他對巴郡未來充滿信心，指喪失AAA評級並不影響巴郡業務。巴菲特亦為投資比亞迪 辯護，稱未來「大有機會增加在中國的投資」。

但願買入更多比亞迪股權

巴菲特（Warren Buffett）及巴郡副主席芒格（Charlie Munger）周末在5小時內回答股東連串提問。一名來自中國的股東問及巴郡會否在中國有更多投資計劃，巴菲特說﹕「中國是個大市場，將來或者有機會買入 更多業務。若可以，我們可能早已買入比亞迪超過10％股權了，但他們只願賣給我們這麼多。只要中國有顯著的貿易盈餘，人民幣資產便會繼續累積。」芒格則說 ﹕「我對中國處理自己（經濟）事務的手法，只有欣賞。」他讚揚中國的金融政策，表示中國將是其他國家難以匹敵。

讚中國金融政策「他國難敵」

有股東質疑巴郡入股比亞迪的決定，指投資比亞迪並非「價值投資」，而是「創業基金投資」，要求解釋。一手促成巴郡入股的芒格稱，比亞迪前途光明，他說﹕「這是家小公司，但雄心壯志。」

巴菲特亦在會上談到奧巴馬的救市行動，「整體來說，他所實行的行動我是讚賞的」。但他補充，因為經濟經歷了「金融颶風」，沒人應期待完美。他表示自 己無法預測經濟及市場要多快才有改善。有股東問他對華府出手救AIG的做法，會否令納稅人付出沉重代價時，巴菲特則指付出代價的會是持有大量國債的中國。 「納稅人並沒有付出分毫。有中國官員曾說擔心美國 國債的回報，我想他是有道理的。所有海外美元 合約的持有者，回報將會減少，這是一大問題。」

「美救AIG 中國付代價」

雖然巴郡股價自去年9月起便下跌了超過30％，但巴菲特對巴郡持有的銀行股卻表示樂觀。華府對19間金融機構進行壓力測試，預料周四（7日）便有結 果。但巴菲特對壓力測試毫不在乎，並唱好巴郡持有的富國銀行，稱它為「棒極」的銀行。問道壓力測試會否令他更了解巴郡持有的銀行股份時，他說﹕「我相信我 對他們的未來知道得比那些匆匆來望一眼的人多。若可以，我想買下整間富國和US Bancorp。」

懶理壓力測試 「幹勁」評估銀行

他稱，壓力測試可能有點像清單檢查的模式，但他自己則以銀行的「幹勁」（dynamism）及吸引存款能力來作評估。他以可口可樂 為例，「若你只看可口可樂的資產表，資產表一點也不會告訴你可口可樂是什麼。關乎的是產品。」巴郡持有最多股份的公司是可口可樂，其次便是富國銀行。

今次股東大會有破紀錄3.5萬人出席，大批人在會場外購買巴郡旗下公司的產品。但《華爾街日報 》引述股東會常客稱，今年的掌聲並不如往年熱烈。答問大會結束時，巴菲特的姪孫突然向女友求婚，對方答應，令答問大會在歡樂氣氛下結束。