All in a day's work

This topic is on my mind for a period of time.

Why do people chase after IPO. I can never understand.
Doesn't chasing IPOs almost equates to gambling?

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Extracted from Wikipedia,

Initial Public Offering (IPO), also referred to simply as a "public offering", is when a company issues common stock or shares to the public for the first time. They are often issued by smaller, younger companies seeking capital to expand, but can also be done by large privately-owned companies looking to become publicly traded.

In an IPO, the issuer may obtain the assistance of an underwriting firm, which helps it determine what type of security to issue (common or preferred), best offering price and time to bring it to market.

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I'd like to draw your attention to a few points.

1. First time.

Alright don't bother about First time. The point I'm trying to bring across is that, companies that are listed may not be companies of a rich history of proven growth. Neither are companies listed for the sole purpose to benefit the shareholders, the "outsiders". If nothing is proven, how can you access it's worth?

2. Seeking capital to expand

Is there a common belief that companies that gets itself listed is a good and profitable company? Didn't it occur to anyone that it is the company that NEEDS the capital, our $, to expand NOT that we need the company to grow our wealth. Is the difference clear enough?

Not forgetting the fact that the capital required is by no means a small amount. It is huge. So by linking the above point, a new company needing huge capital influx, doesn't it simply means that the shares that is offered to the public is not cheap, rather it should be valued at it's maximum already?

3. Underwriting fees

Okay! This is the obvious, no companies gets listed for free.

Well, I don't deny that there could be companies that is very stable getting listed, take MASTERCARD for example. I'm obviously not going into this aspect but the ones that no one hear of. Somewhere out there, some group of people decides to list in SGX and the hype starts all over again.

1. Read/Hear the news of a potential company dealing with oil, not heard of, getting listed.
2. Head towards the atm and subscribe for the shares, and hope.
3. If the subscription went through, celebrate. Else,luck's fault.
4. If @ opening it went higher, credit it to one's intelligence.
5. If @ opening it went lower, REMAIN HOPEFUL and wait for a rebound.
6. Lastly, blame the company but yourself.

There are over 500 companies listed on SGX with proven results and records, why one that is new and unheard of.

Chase IPOs? Think again.

Buying into MIIF is buying into fund more than a business. The primary reason for my inital purchase is for Div play at around 10% p.a.

A glance over the 1H2008 report, this is what I've gathered.

1. MIIF disposed off 4 Assets (namely DUET, MAP, MCG and MIC) that generate Distribution Income, Brussels Airport and TanQuid which contribute a inflow of $35 m in the same period last year.

I've asked the management on this issue and what I've been replied is that MIIF is focusing it's assets into the higher growth Asia region and thus acquired InfraVest, HNE and TBC. As stated, the current drop in revenue should not be of a major concern as yet, as the management states that payment from it's new acquistions are in arrears, which should be reflected in the 2H2008 report. We'll see.

2. SDS scheme that is available will dilute the current shareholders' holdings, but the management has replied that not everyone will take up the scheme and should not affect a great deal, but still 'll continue to remain cautious in this aspect in the long term.

3. By declaring a div of 4.25cents for 1H2008, 'm a satisfied man. Within my expectations.

So far, 'm quite alright with the long term prospects of this counter.

I bought this counter for div play! Let's see if the 1st half will disappoint.

I hope not.

'm quite "bored" reading books relating to investing and dug out this book which I bought at a discount some time back. It has been left lying there for like a good 1 year? ha!

This story has a pretty simple buildup yet a very mystical ending, which tries to drive the point to readers, to chase their dreams. A very simple read.

Flash back about 1 year ago, I picked up TA from an old friend of mine and got myself "addicted" to stocks and patterns. I went through charts after charts and entered my 1st trade. Since then, I've yet to stop or drop this "interest" of mine, but in fact ventured into FA and Business Analysis, the simplified version around March 08.

What then is chasing the dreams, for me? Don't fall into the trap which a lot of people is HOPING, the millions that the market holds or the overnight riches from a gap up. If one chases desperately for the material things in life, honestly he might have lived in vain as this world is but temporal and when time is up, we will have to leave everything behind.

So fellow traders/investors, don't just chase the $. It's important to lead a balanced life or rather a fulfilling life. Be contented.

At the end of the day, look at the bigger picture, how much do one actually need? Just a thought. Cheers.

** This book did not change my opinion towards my goals, but I just thought of a sharing it briefly through this entry.

Every working day, the Baltic canvasses brokers around the world and asks how much it would cost to book various cargoes of raw materials on various routes—150,000 tons of iron ore going from Australia to China or 150,000 tons of coal from South Africa to Taiwan. Brokers are also asked to consider variables such as the type and speed of the ship and the length of the voyage.

The answers are melded into the BDI, which appears in shipping publications such as Lloyd's List and on the screens of information vendors such as Reuters and Bloomberg. Because it provides "an assessment of the price of moving the major raw materials by sea," as the Baltic puts it, it provides both a rare window into the highly opaque and diffuse shipping market and an accurate barometer of the volume of global trade.

The BDI is a good leading indicator for economic growth and production. After all, it doesn't deal with container ships carrying finished goods. It deals with the precursors to production: bulk carriers carrying building materials, cement, grain, coal, and iron. Unlike stock and bond markets, the BDI "is totally devoid of speculative content," says Howard Simons, an economist and columnist at TheStreet.com. People don't book freighters unless they have cargo to move.

Because the supply of cargo ships is generally both tight and inelastic—it takes two years to build a new ship, and ships are too expensive to take out of circulation the way airlines park unneeded jets in the Arizona desert—marginal increases in demand can push the index higher quickly. And significant increases in demand can push the index sharply higher.

- Daniel Gross

The index is also seen as a good economic indicator of future economic growth and production, termed a leading economic indicator because it predicts future economic activity.

- Wikipedia

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For sharing purposes for those who might be interested in dry bulk companies.