Posts

Wolf Money(world market review 2-9 May 2022)

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  National Galley Singapore  Former Supreme Court  Historical Corridor   Market Summary 2-9 May 2022 đŸ‡ē🇸 đŸ‡ē🇸 đŸ‡ē🇸 đŸ‡ē🇸 đŸ‡ē🇸 - US announced sharpest rate hike in 22 years, raise rates by 50 bps, starts balance sheet reduction June 1  - US trade deficit surged to record high in March to US$109.8bn, up by 22.3% + US nonfarm added 428,000 jobs in April, unemployment rate held steady at 3.6%, wages continued to climb  - US worker productivity fell at steepest pace since 1947 in Q1, nonfarm productivity plunged 7.5% annualised rate  - US stock fell on Friday to close out tumultuous week, Dow drops for 6th straight week , S&P suffers longest weekly losing streak since 2011 + US 10-year real yield is back in positively territory, signalling end to negative real rates  - US can’t rule out 75 bps rate hikes: Fed’s Barkin  + US private payrolls rose by 247,000 jobs in April, below expected: ADP - US major banks including JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citibank raised prime rate to 4% after Fed move

Wolf Money(Cash, Federal Reserve and Me)

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  (May SSB) (June SSB) In my April month end update,I mention about yield on cash is likely gain strength over the course of next 12 months. Singapore Saving Bond(SSB) just announced the June issue. The front end of the yield curve had spiked. First year interest on SSB is at 1.43% vs 0.86% of last month issue. An increase of 66% from last month issue. It is a big increase. To put it in simple explanation, a 10k May SSB will yield $86 p.a vs June issue of $143 p.a. The amount will be huge if you add another zero to the vested amount. As risk free rate spike, better days are ahead for saver. SSB can be an useful tool for people looking to park their short term capital with higher interest return compare to commercial bank FD rates. Best of all, one is not subject to liquidity risk or capital loss as redemption can be done at par within 1 month notice with very low credit risk(Singapore Ah Gong AAA rated).  The Federal Reserve hiked rate 0.5% yesterday to try slow the march of inflation.

Wolf Bargain(Finding peace in Asylum)

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  Coffee and I are inseparable duo. I need at least 2 cups of cuppa daily to give me enough fuel for thought for the rest of the day. Coffee is my elixir of life,  awakening my senses, opening up my morning to a whole new world. Unproven research had shown 2-4 cups of coffee a day help improve youthfulness and lower the risk of heart disease. I always enjoy a nice cup of coffee with some quiet reading. I am fortunate to be living in an area where new coffee joints are popping out like mushrooms.  (Barista, Julian doing his magic) Asylum Coffeehouse is a small coffee joint located at the junction of Petain Road along Jalan Besar. I am told it had been in operation for a year. The concept of the cafe is Minimalist Scandinavian. Fixtures of the cafe were kept at a minimum, the owner want the patrons to enjoy the quiet sanctuary with good coffee as the main focus. I like the layout of the cafe with the iconic La Maazocco coffee machine as the centre piece of the cafe. The cafe is running o

Wolf Money(25-30 April 2022)

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  Chua Mia Tee Singapore 1931 Bird Singing Contest circa 1979 Gift of Times Publishing Limited  Collection of Singapore Heritage Board Market Summary 25-30 April 2022 đŸ‡ē🇸 đŸ‡ē🇸 đŸ‡ē🇸 đŸ‡ē🇸 đŸ‡ē🇸  - US economy fell 1.4% annual pace in Q1, poorest quarterly performance since recession triggered by pandemic - US dollar index fell from 20-year highs, Wall street slides to deepest daily losses since 2020  + Powell likely to slow pace of interest-rate increases after front-loading policy with half-point hike next wk  n June: Bloomberg + US consumers spending rose 1.1% in March, more than expected amid strong demand for services  + US Consumer Sentiment Index up 9.8% on mthly basis to 65.2 in April  - US trade deficit in goods widened to record high in March amid broad surge in imports  - Americans’ unfavourable views of China hit new high: Pew Research - Biden seeks powers to use Russian oligarchs’ assets for Ukraine  - Chevron posted highest quarterly profit in 10 years, vowed more natural gas

Wolf Money(portfolio update end April 2022) Long post!

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Lone Wolf Fund(LWF) Portfolio as at end of April   1.) Cash  2.) Singapore Medical Group(SMG) *Stocks are not rank in accordance to capital invested .  *Just for sharing. Not an inducement to buy or sell . Commentary   Straits Times Index in face of multiple challenges was surprisingly resilient. Index was down marginally in April. Nasdaq was down more than 17% ytd . A bloodbath was lashed out among the tech stocks in April. LWF had a quiet April. Cash yield was at 0.08% per month. I was pretty bearish since March after Fed changed their dovish view on interest rate policy. There is market talk of a bigger 0.75% jump in interest rate in May.😮I am expecting Fed fund rate to hit 2% by end of the year if the stock market can withstand that kind of increase without the pain. Given all the negative vibes coming out from me, I did contemplate whether to share my view on a particular company last month but withholding it at the very last min. Now I have decided,I am taking a chance on it. Th

Wolf Money(world market review 18-24 April 2022)

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  Lim Tze Peng Singapore 1923 Ice Kachang/dessert stall circa 1980s-1990s Gift of Mr & Mrs Koh Seow Chuan Collection Collection of Singapore Art Museum  Market Summary 18-24 April 2022 đŸ‡ē🇸 đŸ‡ē🇸 đŸ‡ē🇸 đŸ‡ē🇸 đŸ‡ē🇸  - US 50 bps increase of key interest rates will be considered for May meeting  - US Services PMI Business Activity Index at 54.7 in April at 3-mth low  + US jobless claims decreased by 2000 to 184,000, fewest since 1970 - US existing home sales fell 2.7% from Feb to seasonally adjusted rate of 5.77m as mortgage rates, home prices rise  - US crude inventories decrease by 8m barrels to 413.7m in week ending 15 April  - US to add another 17 Chinese firms to list that could face delisting  - US imposed new sanctions on Russian bank, oligarchs, virtual currency mining company  - Yellen: caution needed on complete energy ban on Russia - ExxonMobil may completely withdraw from Russia this summer: Reuters  - Meta meets issues with payment-to-merchant WhatsApp feature in Brazil due t

Wolf Money(book recommendation and extra!!)

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  Just two weeks ago, I had reviewed “ The deals of Warren Buffett Vol. 1 ” by Glen Arnold. Here I am back again for Vol. 2 The making of a Billionaire. The second instalment mention Mr. Buffett blockbuster deals. One particular deal which stood the test of time was Buffett purchased of GEICO. GEICO is currently the second largest auto insurer in US. GEICO was far cry from the strong company we known of today. There was a period in the company history where it was facing bankruptcy. During the early 70s, GEICO was underwriting auto insurance which subjected the company to huge exposure of drivers with poor driving record due to company executives opting for growth at all cost. The critical trend that cause profit to drop substantially was the changing of company policy to remove occupational restriction which resulted in customers with poorer accident statistics been roped in as customers. As underwriting standard fall, claims went up substantially which cause the company to suffer a 1