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Nobel winner Paul Krugman has praised
Gordon Brown [left] for his strong leadership in the current economic crisis.
He didn't say anything about the other guy. The other guy earns more than Brown
[£187,000 or S$480,542]. PM Lee earns S$3.76 MILLION.
GORDON BROWN DEMANDS PETROL PRICE
CUTS
British prime minister Gordon Brown has called for the recent
falls in the price of oil to be passed on to UK consumers. The price of oil has
plummeted - from a high of US$147 a barrel for US light crude this summer to US$77.99
on Friday, Oct 10.
The prime minister said: "I want these price cuts passed onto the consumer, and passed on as
quickly as possible."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7662918.stm
The general view is that oil prices will continue to fall to around
US$60-$70 a barrel. So why did $ingapore raise power rates by 21 per cent?
$HEEP CITY RAISES POWER BILLS BY 21%... DUH!
The nation-builder press, September 30,
2008.
Ten days before PM Gordon Brown
demanded petrol price cuts in the UK, the $heeple of $ingapore were told they
had to pay more to the government's power companies.
WHY?
These power companies have NEVER made
losses before. In previous years, they have been making profits.
2007 Market share of big 4 energy retailers in $ingapore [all are
either government-owned or linked]
$ingapore Power's SP Services Ltd - 37.4%
Seraya Energy Pte Ltd - 18.5
Senoko Energy Supply Pte Ltd - 17.9
Tuas Power Supply Pte Ltd - 14.4
a) $ingapore Power:
http://www.singaporepower.com.sg/
2007/2008 - net profit - S$1,086 million [or S$1.086 BILLION]
2006/2007 - net profit - S$1,067 million [or S$1.067 BILLION]
b) $eraya Energy:
http://www.powerseraya.com/images/stories/pdf/PS_Annual_Report_2007-8_wo_Financials.pdf
2007/2008 - net profit - S$218 million
2006/2007 - net profit - S$168 million
c) $enoko Power*:
http://www.senokopower.com.sg/pdf/Senoko%20Power%20Group%20FY2007-08.pdf
2007/2008 - net profit - S$130 million
2006/2007 - net profit - S$131 million
*Temasek Holdings, a government
company, recently sold $enoko Power to a private group.
d) Tuas Energy
http://www.tuaspower.com.sg/pdf/financial_report/TP_FRY_2007.pdf
2006/2007 - net profit - S$177 million
2005/2006 - net profit - S$104 million
NOT A PEEP
FROM THE $HEEP....
ON OCT 1, $INGAPORE GOVERNMENT BUS
AND TRAIN COMPANIES RAISE FARES AGAIN
Most bus and train journeys except those for children, students
and national servicemen, will see fare increases from October 1 2008. The
Public Transport Council (PTC) has given the green light for an overall fare
rise. Fares for adult bus and train rides will increase by 10 cents across the
board.
For those who use EZ-Link cards, fares on buses and trains will
see an increase of 4 cents per ride. In a news release, the PTC also announced
a new maximum EZ-Link fare-band, with an additional 5-cent increase for
long-distance rides on buses and trains. WHY is there a need for a fare hike NOW?
The Chairman of the PTC is the Far King Gerard Ee.
You can read the mumbo-jumbo press report here. Notice how a
simple matter like fare prices has become more complicated with euphemisms like
"fare adjustments" for fare hike.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/375388/1/.html
ON OCT 2, $INGAPORE GOVERNMENT'S
COMFORTDELGRO BUYS UK TAXI FIRM FOR £800,000
$ingapore bus and taxi operator ComfortDelGro Corp said Oct 2 it
has bought a taxi operator in Britain for £800,000. The purchase by
ComfortDelGro's 51-percent-owned unit CityFleet (UK) will give the $ingapore
firm control of Liverpool-based Merseyside Radio Meter Cabs Ltd, which operates
a radio circuit with a total fleet of 400 licensed taxis. - Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssRailsRoadsPassengers/idUSSGC00231720081002
ComfortDelGro is a government-linked company and one of the
largest taxi operators in the world. Clearly, they are not losing any money but
expanding.
UP, UP AND AWAAAAAAAY
$INGAPORE GOVERNMENT GETS BIGGER PAY
CHECK JANUARY 1, 2008
Here's their latest salaries:
President - $3,870,000 (21.43% up from
the current $3,187,100) $3.87 MILLION
Prime Minister - $3,760,000 (21.64% up
from the current $3,091,200) $3.76 MILLION
Ministers/Snr Perm Sects - $1,940,000
(21.74% up from the current $1,593,500) $1.94 MILLION
AOs at SR9 grade [senior civil servants] - $398,000 (3.65% up from
the current $384,000)
Member of Parliaments - $225,000 (4.02%
up from the current $216,300)
What good is it to pay civil servants such high salaries? See
below.
$HEEPLE GET REALITY CHECK
The nation-builder press, September 16,
2008.
"High inflation eating into wage gains... Workers ended up
seeing their real wages shrink by 4 per cent on average, compared to the same
period last year."
The nation-builder press, September 30,
2008.
"Electricity bills will go up about 21 per cent tomorrow [Oct
1], the highest one-time increase in about seven years, according to the Energy
Market Authority. Those living in three-room Housing Board flats, for example,
will see their average monthly power bills rise by $14, while five-roomers will
pay $23 more a month."
The nation-builder press, October 7,
2008.
"From January, if you have a SingTel land line at home - over
90 per cent of households do - you will have to pay $10 more per year... for
each line. Local call charges will go up, too. Based on current usage, this
works out to an additional $1.50 a month... per telephone line."
FRUSTRATED?
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THE PROPHET? WE'D SETTLE
FOR THE PROFIT!
The nation-builder press,
October 6, 2008.
"When Dr Tony Tan, executive director of $ingapore's biggest
sovereign wealth fund [GIC], warned in July [2008!!!] that the world might
plunge into its worst recession in 30 years, many shrugged off his remarks as
too gloomy. Three months later, Dr Tan's prophecy of doom is becoming a reality
as the credit crisis ravages US and European banks and takes a toll on the global
economy."
- Nation-builder press, Oct 6, 2008.
"By any objective measure,
that's hindsight - the view from where the sun never shines."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, Oct 6, 2008.
Here's a short list of stories that ran on the internet as well as
on the BigO website since August 2007. The whole list is too long to run here.
Judgment Week On Wall Street:
The Junk Credit Crisis (Aug 14, 2007)
http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/MWwallstreet.html
As commentator Mike Whitney observes: "We are now in the
first phase of Greenspan's Depression. The stock market is headed for the
doldrums and the economy will quickly follow. Many more mortgage lenders, hedge
funds and investment banks will be carried out feet first." But what else
will happen after the stock market bloodbath on August 3? And why is it
happening?
Stock Market Brush Fire: Will
There Be A Run On The Banks? (Aug 17, 2007)
http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/MWstock.html
By now, an estimated US$326 billion has been pumped into the
world's banking system to prevent its collapse. But banks, equities, hedge
funds, insurance companies and pension funds are all waiting in line to suffer
major losses if the free fall doesn't stop. Commentator Mike Whitney looks at
the exploding bubble.
The Predicted Financial Storm
Has Arrived (Sept 7, 2007)
http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/GKstorm.html
It was the IMF who noted earlier that the world's financial
structure was getting too complicated, obscuring risks. Now the financial
crisis is a reality. The problem is - there is no authority with power to
regulate and tame the beast. Commentary by Gabriel Kolko.
Are The Banks In Trouble? (Sept 11, 2007)
http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/MWbanks.html
Money is never free. Neither is spending without cost. Every dollar borrowed to buy a home is debt created. When the Fed accelerated "easy money" it was not just extending "credit" to a larger number of Americans. It was also creating debt at an incredible rate. Now banks are stuck holding toxic/bad debt. Not all will remain standing. Some banks will fail. Who to blame for the current financial crisis and impending recession? Mike Whitney offers the view from ring side. It's all green.
R.I.P. American Economy (Sept 18, 2007)
http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/PCReconomy.html
America is more broke than it realises, observes former Reagan
administration Treasury Assistant Secretary, Paul Craig Roberts. It now has a
US$800 billion trade deficit with nearly every nation in the world.
US Banks Brace For Storm
Surge As Dollar And Credit System Reel (Sept 21, 2007)
http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/MWreel.html
On September 18, the US Fed cut interest rates to send markets
shooting back into the black. But it's really just a shot of heroin for credit
junkies. As economic commentator Mike Whitney predicts, the rot inside the
world's banking system will reveal itself in the coming months.
The Era Of Global Financial
Instability (Sept 25, 2007)
http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/MWglobal.html
The recent interest rate cuts show that the US Federal Reserve is
planning to balance the current account deficit on the backs of the American
middle class. As a result, it will be harder to get credit, and consumer
spending will shrivel. Prices at the supermarket and gas pump will rise
immediately; probably within the next few months if not weeks. As commentator
Mike Whitney says, "The people must take over control of their own
currency again. The Federal Reserve must be abolished."
It's Time For The Banks To
Face The Hangman (Oct 19, 2007)
http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/MWhang.html
Nobody listened when Warren Buffet warned that financial
derivatives would be a "weapon of mass destruction". In the end
someone has to pay off the bad debt. Productivity and real economic growth
which takes time has been replaced in the new economic order by the bubble
economy's overnight profit mantra: THINK ESCALATING PROPERTY AND SHARE PRICES.
Then say "gambling". Whatever happened to the "Protestant work
ethic"? Mike Whitney suggests it's time for U.S. banks to bite the bullet
and reform the system.
Housing Flameout: California
Falls Into The Sea (Oct 22, 2007)
http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/MWcali.html
After one of the longest spending sprees, U.S. banks currently
hold record amounts of mortgage-related assets on their books. If the housing
market were to go into a deep recession resulting in massive mortgage defaults,
the U.S. banking system could sustain huge losses similar to what the Japanese
banks experienced in the 1990s. Widespread bankruptcies and a long period of no
growth may be waiting to happen, writes Mike Whitney.
And the above articles are
just from 2007.
GIC
TO BUY MORE BANKS
"If there are other banks of the quality of the two that we
bought into, with the promise and the capabilities and inherent capabilities to
recover, we have got the liquidity to meet it, to make such an investment,''
Lee Kuan Yew, 84, said in a Bloomberg Television interview late yesterday.
"We will not rule it out.''
- Bloomberg, APRIL 30,
2008. Lee is $ingapore's former prime minister and the prophet of Temasek.
LATEST: $INGAPORE ALLOWS
STAKE IN MERRILL LYNCH TO BE DILUTED
$ingapore government company Temasek Holdings didn't participate
in a US$10 billion stock offering by Bank of America, allowing a dilution of
the stake it will own in the bank after a takeover deal with Merrill Lynch.
Temasek was aware of the deal but didn't buy any shares, a person familiar with
the matter told Dow Jones Newswires Oct 8, 2008.
Temasek's decision follows steep declines in shares of financial
firms. Temasek has invested about US$6 billion in Merrill Lynch since December,
making it the largest single investor, with a 14 per cent stake. It's unclear
how much of Bank of America Temasek will own post-acquisition, but Tuesday's
share offering will reduce the stake by about 10 per cent.
The recent drop in Bank of America's share price indicates the
Merrill Lynch investment has begun to suffer. Bank of America's all-stock deal
in September to buy Merrill Lynch for US$44 billion, valuing the firm at US$29
a share and above Temasek's cost of US$24 a share. [Some commentators too quickly said this was profit for Temasek.]
But Bank of America's shares have since fallen to US$23.77 as of
Tuesday's close, down from $33.74 before the offer was announced on Sept 15. That means Temasek will be paid with
shares now worth 30 per cent less.
Some 40 per cent of Temasek's S$185 billion (US$126 billion) was
invested in the financial services sector as of March 31, 2008. - Dow Jones
http://nachrichten.finanztreff.de/
Last December and in January
2008, the $ingapore government through the GIC and Temasek
Holdings spent US$24 BILLION buying
shares in US and European banks and financial institutions. The value of
these investments have all fallen sharply.
The money used was $ingaporeans' savings.
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$INGAPOREANS, CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT YOU'VE BEEN MISSING
Note: Those who are sensitive and easily offended please do not click on
the link.
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JBJ R.I.P. 1926-2008
I met him many times at the Kerala Restaurant, Jalan Ibrahim,
Johor Bahru, and chatted with him about his Workers Party. He was a man worth
his salt. His steadfastness and righteousness was there for all to see. It is a
shame that we do not have anyone, and I repeat anyone, on both sides of the
border to match him.
He was a very approachable person and talked to anyone who
acknowledged him. A simple man, with his trade mark side-burns, collared
T-shirts and short pants and sandals… popped into Johor Bahru very often for
his thosai and air suam.
My first encounter with him was in the late '80s at the Kerala
outlet and I was sort of mesmerized to start a conversation with him. However,
the many repeated encounters somewhat thawed my anxiety and thereafter we were
familiar to each other. He would always address me, "Hello, young
man", and I would call him "Sir" and our conversation would
usually center on the political happenings of our countries.
Can I equate him with Karpal? No, he was a few notches above him.
Can I equate him with D R Seenivasagam? Yes, he was as fearless as DRS, a
fighter at that.
I also had the misfortune to meet up with him after the demise of
his wife - and that was the only time he was at his lowest. His eyes welled
with tears as he spoke to me of his only love. He really felt bad for her and
regretted that he did not do enough for her. It was a moment that has stood
memorably for me thus far.
He advised me repeatedly to stop my smoking habit. He told me that
LKY was an incorrigible smoker during the '60s and eventually became a
non-smoker. I will never forget his fatherly advice tho' I still puff away.
I feel privileged to have befriended a LEGEND who was a simpleton
fighting for the masses. And he never expected any returns. May his soul rest
in peace. - BR [from the RastamanJB blog]
The writer is a Malaysian.
In his later years, JBJ, a Singaporean, spent much of his weekends
in the city of Johor Bahru, Malaysia. He was made a bankrupt and could not
stand for political elections. He also lost his licence to practice law for
much of his later life. Although politically and legally castrated, he never
lost his gonads.
$ingaporeans should not try to emulate this man. His life is a
roadmap for all who dare oppose $ingapore's monolithic PAP. The best option is
to MIGRATE. Thousands leave $heep city every year to be replaced by replicants - newly-minted citizens.
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To print a copy of the poster, click here: http://www.bigozine2.com/bigOextra/speechless.html
PREMATURE EJACULATION
The nation-builder press
Jan 21, 2008.
In January, GIC chief
investment officer Ng Kok Seng thought it was a good buy. But by Sept 24, he
said: "We were surprised by the onset and magnitude of the market turmoil
starting in July last year. What seemed like a contained problem of
delinquencies in US sub-prime mortgages quickly spread to other segments of the
credit markets." Doesn't he read widely?
UBS TO CHOP ANOTHER 1,900
JOBS
To all ex-UBS employees, welcome to $ingapore. The first lesson is
the men at the top NEVER get the chop.
Oct 1: UBS AG, the European bank with the biggest losses from the credit crisis, plans to eliminate about
1,900 jobs in its investment banking, equities, and fixed income units, two
people with knowledge of the matter said.
The bank may announce the plans at Thursday's [Oct 2] shareholder
meeting, according to the people, who declined to be identified because they
weren't authorized to discuss the cuts, which would amount to about 10 per cent
of the total investment banking staff. The cuts add to the 7,000 already
announced by Zurich-based UBS.
The bank's share price has dropped 59 per cent so far this year,
paring its market value to about 56-billion Swiss francs. UBS has taken
writedowns and credit losses of US$44.2-billion since the credit crisis began
last year, more than any other European bank. - Bloomberg/ Reuters
UBS' RICH CLIENTS FLEE
http://www.financialpost.com/reports/credit-crunch/story.html?id=718456
$ingapore's government has so far spent US$24 BILLION of $ingaporeans'
money on US and European banks and financial institutions. The government has
said the investments are for the long term. Strongman Lee Kuan Yew has said the
returns to investment will take 30 years to materialise. This is in 2038.
Need a sheep while you wait? *&#@ sigh...
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PREMATURE EJACULATION
GIC chief investment officer Ng Kok Seng said: "We were
surprised by the onset and magnitude of the market turmoil starting in July
last year. What seemed like a contained problem of delinquencies in US
sub-prime mortgages quickly spread to other segments of the credit
markets." Doesn't he read widely?
On Sept 18, 2008, the $ingapore government's
GIC said it will explore investing in Morgan Stanley if it is approached.
"GIC explores all opportunities when approached," said Jennifer
Lewis, a spokeswoman for the $ingapore sovereign wealth fund.
We have no idea why GIC did not buy a stake in
Morgan Stanley. $ingapore has spent US$24 BILLION on banks and financial
companies early in 2008.
To print a copy of the poster, click here: http://www.bigozine2.com/bigOextra/speechless.html
$INGAPORE GIC EARNS LESS THAN 5 CENTS FOR EVERY DOLLAR* FOR PAST
20 YEARS
The $ingapore government finally offered its
first report after 27 years on the goings on of its Government of $ingapore Investment
Corporation or GIC. The report seems to suggest it earns less than 5 cents for
every dollar it invests. And that this covers the past 20 years. Not great.
Guess what they are now saying?
"Looking ahead we see a more challenging
investment environment than what we have experienced since GIC's formation in
1981," Group Chief Investment Officer Ng Kok Song said in the $ingapore
state investor's first annual report released Sept 23, 2008.
The figures cover the past 20 years to March
2008. Recent purchases include big stakes in Swiss bank UBS and Citigroup. UBS
shares have fallen about 59 per cent since GIC paid 11 billion Swiss francs
(S$14 billion) for its initial 9-per-cent stake in the Swiss banking giant last
December. Meanwhile, Citigroup's shares have dropped 26 per cent since GIC
spent US$6.9 billion (S$9.7 billion) for a 4-per-cent stake in the US bank in
January 2008.
If they could only earn less than 5 cents
during the "good years" think what they will do with your money in
today's market? It's probably better to have a smaller GIC and return the
excess funds to $ingaporeans.
The GIC is shaping to be another sacred cow.
Where's our cow killer?
%&@# sigh...
* This is based on GIC's claim of 4.5 per cent
of real returns from a portfolio of US$100 BILLION.
The nation-builder press, September 24, 2008.
FUN MANAGERS
In the nation-builder press report Sept 24,
2008, the writer reported: "Fund managers such as Mr Ng Kok Hoi, APS Asset
Management's chief investment officer noted that GIC's real returns were
'respectable' for a fund of its size and portfolio composition".
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Money/Story/STIStory_281608.html
The writer was probably referring to Mr Wong
Kok Hoi of APS. Mr Wong was a former employee of GIC.
Mr Wong Kok Hoi is Managing Director & Chief Investment Officer of APS Asset Management. He has 21 years of investment experience. Wong previously worked in the Government of $ingapore Investment Corporation [GIC], Citicorp (4 years as CIO of Cititrust Tokyo) and the Monetary Authority of $ingapore.
ADULT $HEEPFINDER SERVICE
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BLOG HEADS
The nation-builder press, September 12,
2008.
The nation-builder press, September 12,
2008.
This group has the former TNUC Income CEO, among others, behind
it. Their leaders have also written for the nation-builder press, the
propaganda media. When the $ingapore government said it's now ok to demonstrate
at Speaker's Corner, they obeyed.
"MANUFACTURED DISSENT."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror Of Opinion, Sept 12, 2008.
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Time to move on?
BANK OF AMERICA BUYOUT CAN'T QUITE
SAVE TEMASEK
At first glance, it looked as if the shotgun marriage of Merrill
Lynch & Co. with Bank of America Corp. had bailed out Temasek Holdings, who
had poured nearly US$6 billion into the investment bank this year, only to
watch the value of its stake evaporate.
The $ingapore government-controlled entity is Merrill's largest
shareholder with a 7.5 per cent stake. Temasek put US$5 billion into Merrill at
US$48 a share [NOTE: A bargain?] between December and February, but a reset payment for losses on the original
investment and additional US$900 million poured in last month ended up
averaging out the sovereign wealth fund's buy-in price to only US$23.11 a
share, based on Bloomberg calculations from exchange filings.
At Bank of America's orginal estimate of US$29 a share, Temasek
would have ended up making US$1.5 billion on its investment. Unfortunately, the
markets haven't been kind to the stocks of either Bank of America or Merrill. At the end of the day, Bank of America was
down US$7.19 or 21.3 per cent to close US$26.55, while Merrill Lynch only
gained a penny at close, ending the day at US$17.06 a share, leaving Temasek's
investment still well into the loss column. - George White
http://www.thedeal.com/dealscape/2008/09/bofa_buyout_cant_quite_save_te.php
The BoA offer is an all-stock deal. So the value depends on the
stock's value/price. Keep up to date with Merrill Lynch's and BoA's stock price
here:
http://uk.ask.com/web?q=US:merrill+lynch+stock+price&o=350&l=dir&siteid=&dm=lang
Strongman Lee Kuan Yew thinks it will take 30 years, in 2038 to
make money on $ingapore's "long-term investments". Hug a sheep while
you wait...
%&@# sigh...
ADULT $HEEPFINDER SERVICE
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