Sunday, March 24, 2013

"Record U.S. stocks at lowest valuation since 1980"

S&P 500 is trading at 15.4 times profit

"Even though U.S. stocks more than doubled during the four-year bull market, individual investors' aversion to equities has left companies in the S&P 500 cheaper than at any record high since 1980.

The S&P 500 rose to an all-time closing high of 1,563.23 March 14, up more than 130% from its 2009 lows.

The index trades at 15.4 times reported profit, below the average 19.9 reached in bull markets since 1962, according to data compiled by Bloomberg."

Although individuals have added almost $20 billion to U.S. stock funds so far this year, the amount is just 3.5% of the withdrawals since 2007 and compares with $44 billion placed with fixed-income managers in 2013, according to the Investment Company Institute.

For bulls, the absence of private buyers shows that there is plenty of money to keep the rally going.

Bears contend that the pessimism means the rally is too dependent on Federal Reserve stimulus and will fizzle once central bank support ebbs."

Full article here http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20130324/REG/303249997

I am still buying stocks - ETFs to be exact, as I hope will never ever be lured again to individual stocks - but I am fearful so I am buying bonds as well and I never bought bonds before as I'd thought stocks were a better investment. The Great Recession proved me wrong and the lesson was costly.

 

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Cyprus' savers forced to take deposit haircut

I was just wondering when this would happen and which country will be the first one to do this. Are the American savers going to have the same fate? How else will the US federal government going to pay off the trillions of debt.

'THEFT, PURE AND SIMPLE'

In a radical departure from previous aid packages - and one that gave rise to incredulity and anger across the country - euro zone finance ministers forced Cyprus' savers to pay up to 10 percent of their deposits to raise almost 6 billion euros.

Parliament was due to meet on Sunday to vote on the measure, and approval was far from assured.

The decision prompted a run on cashpoints, most of which were depleted by mid afternoon, and co-operative credit societies closed to prevent angry savers withdrawing deposits.

The deposit levy - set at 9.9 percent on bank deposits exceeding 100,000 euros and 6.7 percent on anything below that - will take place on Tuesday after a bank holiday on Monday.

To guard against capital flight, Cyprus took immediate steps to prevent electronic money transfers over the weekend.

At one cashpoint in the capital Nicosia, a pensioner couple said they had visited several automatic teller machines without success. "We are trying to pull as much as we can," one told Reuters, reaching for a wallet containing four debit cards.

"I'm extremely angry. I worked years and years to get it together and now I am losing it on the say-so of the Dutch and the Germans," said British-Cypriot Andy Georgiou, 54, who returned to Cyprus in mid-2012 with his savings.

"They call Sicily the island of the mafia. It's not Sicily, it's Cyprus. This is theft, pure and simple," said a pensioner.

The levy breaks a euro zone taboo by hitting depositors.

from http://ca.news.yahoo.com/savers-forced-bear-costs-cyprus-bailout-051941784.html

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Sold City

I had only 10 shares, bought in August 2009, more like an experiment as I seemed to have missed on the banks shares revival.
Buffett had bought Wells Fargo, I decided to be a contrarian and go for the unloved City.

I should have not, Wells Fargo increased 32% in comparison with 16% for City.



Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Ally's interest rates before and after the purchase by RBC

Before
After




No comments! Time to get my money out and move it to ING Direct, that offers (still) 1.35%.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

From Olympus Pacific Minerals to Besra (but changing the name won't make a difference! )



Bought the stock at an average price of of $0.60 (in 2006 and 2009) and now the share is $0.18.

Toronto, 20  November 2012:  Besra  is the new name for Olympus Pacific Minerals. After twenty years operating as Olympus Pacific Minerals Inc it is time for a change. Why a SE Asia based gold mining company should be named after a mountain in Greece is one of those strange “it just ended up that way” kind of anomalies.  With a bold and bright expansion plan ahead of it, the company felt it was the right  time to adopt a new name. An appropriate name, one that refers to the region in which the company operates and the traits to which it aspires. Besra is that name.
Continuing the explanation for the re-brand, Chief Executive Officer John Seton said, “A Besra is a bird of prey indigenous to the regions in SE Asia in which we operate.  A tenacious, fast flying hawk with acute vision;  traits to which we as a company aspire.  We are embarking on a new key stage of our development plan.  We’ve already successfully made the shift from exploration to producer which, for many companies, has proved difficult – but we’ve done it. Our two operating gold mines in Vietnam are continuing to deliver ounces, we’re increasing throughput and achieving higher recovery rates. Which means cashflow.”
“So now we’re committed to bringing our big goldfield project in East Malaysia online and become a truly significant gold producer.  Besra is the company that will do that. We’ve got a great team, we’ve got great projects and we’re about to take flight.  Bau in East Malaysia  is going to be a game changer for us. We believe Besra is truly an exciting opportunity for investors looking for undervalued growth companies in the gold sector.“
W: besra.com

http://www.besra.com/besra-takes-flight-a-new-direction-for-olympus-pacific-minerals/

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Free Coffee at McDonald's, again!


I wish they did not squander my money (I am a shareholder, minuscule but nevertheless a shareholder).
The free coffee should be only for customers who can produce a Starbucks card, or Tim Hortons or other coffee chain. They are the people who need to become McDonald's customers, not those who like freebies.
I am not a coffee drinker but I went to a McDonald's to have a free coffee, a case in point!