NY 2009

New Year 2009 .

May the good Lord bless everyone abundantly!

High End Wines

While world stock markets flirt with meltdown, George Handjinicolaou is happy with one part of his portfolio. It’s not, as you might guess, Lehman Brothers or AIG. Instead, the London-based financial services executive ponders fine wines such as ’99 Haut-Brion and 2000 Mouton-Rothschild. The vintages are housed with 300 other valuable cases in a climate-controlled warehouse, getting tastier – and pricier – by the day.

What began as a hobby, after Mr Handjinicolaou toured the chateaux of Bordeaux in the late 1980s, has developed into a serious investment, representing almost 10 per cent of his portfolio. And a top-performing one at that. When he sold his initial collection in the mid-1990s, he had quadrupled his investment in eight years. “It’s a dollar hedge, it’s an inflation hedge, and it has a low correlation with other assets,” says Mr. Handjinicolaou, 55. “Even better, it’s something I enjoy investing in. Sometimes, I’ll even let myself drink a bottle.”

Will Beck, a partner with a London-based investment firm, says: “More and more money is chasing a finite asset with a fixed supply. It is a non-correlated opportunity in an investment world where that is becoming increasingly attractive. Most markets have proved to be pretty volatile, while fine wine is very resilient.”

As the Dow Jones Industrial Index has proved as reliable as a roulette wheel over the past two years, Mr Beck’s wine investment portfolio is up 46 per cent since inception in autumn 2006. Year-to-date, it is up 4 per cent. The Liv-Ex Fine Wine Index, a benchmark set up by the London International Vintners Exchange that tracks the secondary market for 100 top wines returned 42.2 per cent last year. For the first half of the year, however, it was up 9 per cent.

Mr Beck notes that, over time, fine wines as an asset class return about 15 per cent a year, besting stocks, bonds and real estate. In recessionary times, such as the 1970s, fine wine has outperformed other asset classes, as a kind of financial bomb shelter to which shaken investors retreat.

People are looking for something to invest in, anything other than Wall Street, the financial world is melting down, but it has not been affecting the high-end wine market (focused almost exclusively on first-growth Bordeaux, from the most widely known brands and the best possible vintages).

One of the macro factors on which such wine investment portfolios are capitalizing is burgeoning Chinese, Indian and Russian money, as those countries’ financial elites acquire a taste for fine wine. Also, there is the fact that the funds’ underlying asset, unlike stock certificates, is usually poured down people’s throats. Every time a Moscow oligarch uncorks a ’61 Haut-Brion, he’s restricting global supply.

But as with many investments, it is often a question of access. Products of the great chateaux are parcelled out stingily, often to professional wine brokers with long-standing relationships. While individual investors have little clout, professional wine brokers offer the proper connections to obtain the stuff in the first place. And when it comes time to sell, it is the professionals who are usually able to find buyers at the right price.

As this downturn has worsened, traditional “alternative” assets such as commodities and real estate have been sinking together with the Dow.

Even banked savings don’t seem so safe, as federal bailouts grow and FDIC funds dwindle. This leaves investors with not too many places to keep their money, other than their mattress – and, perhaps, a particularly great case of Mouton Rothschild.

“As every year goes by, the quantity of a wine gets less and less and the quality gets better and better,” says Mr Handjinicolaou, whose only regret is selling his stash of ’89 Haut-Brion that has since become a “legendary” wine, commanding $20,000 a case. “As an investment, it’s a no-brainer.”

Investing in these volatile times

Have you thought of investing in this volatile times?

Well, basically i would recommend these few investment tools.

1. Investing in Oil & Gas

Oil price is hovering around $50-$70 recently. However, one agency has come out and predicted that the oil price will eventually hit $200. And the agency is International Energy Agency(IEA).


The International Energy Agency(IEA), a highly respected international energy agency, in its latest Oil Market Report, predicts that oil prices will soar to $200 a barrel by 2030 due to rising energy demand. IEA agreed that the demand is slowing down this year and next year. What they concern is the supply couldn't keep to the demand in the future. IEA has also estimated that by 2015, as the output of the mature oil fields declines, prices could be back to $100 and on its way up again.

In the long run, rising oil prices are inevitable due to three reasons:-
1)Increasing demand for energy,especially from emerging countries and continued lack of renewable energy investment.
2)Oil is a depleting commodity and therefore scarce.
3)Yes, OPEC,OPEC. Its interest is to see a high and sustainable oil price.


Attached are some screenshot from the video. The agency has provided the rationale on the global demand vs supply down the road in 21 years from 2007 to 2030.

To watch the video, please go to:-
http://money.cnn.com/video/#/video/news/2008/11/12/news-energyfix-111208.cnnmoney

P.S. Investing in Oil & Gas can bring 11-13% per annum



2. Investing in Wine

The underlying principles of wine investment boil down to the laws of supply and demand. On the supply side, there are relatively few investment grade labels, whose production levels remain more or less fixed. On the demand side, there are a growing number of high net worth individuals around the world seeking to own and/or drink these wines. Ergo, the only way to ease the pressure is for prices to go up.

Investment grade wine is also an improving asset. As fine wines mature they become more desirable and therefore more valuable. At the same time, as the wine ages and comes into its drinking window, it begins to be consumed making it even rarer, which in turn adds yet more upward pressure on prices.

In the last 20 years fine wine has also outperformed a number of equity and fixed income indices including the FTSE 100. For long term investors (as opposed to shorter term speculators) a well chosen and balanced wine portfolio should provide annualized returns of 10-12% per annum.

Wine is less volatile than stocks and shares, making it a less risky investment. Moreover it is not highly correlated with the stock market, which makes it attractive to investors looking to diversify a portfolio.

It's also more fun than investing in pork bellies. And if the market does crash, you can at least take solace in drinking up your position.

10 great investment wines

Label	Vintage	Nov 06	Nov 04	Change
Latour	1996	3900	1520	156.6%
Lafleur	1982	22500	9595	134.5%
Mission Haut Brion	1982	6400	2750	132.7%
Lafite	1986	5025	2172	131.4%
Lafite	1996	4200	1825	130.1%
Ausone	2000	9800	4280	129.0%
Latour	1982	9700	4545	113.4%
Lafite	1995	2320	1100	110.9%
Lafleur	1990	10500	5200	101.9%
Margaux	1996	3645	1850	97.0%
Margaux	1986	3479	1800	93.3%

P.S. Investing in wine can bring returns of 12 % per annum or 30% for 2 years.

Both wine and Oil & gas investment are tax free!

FX traders

Forex traders wanted!

Please holla me!

EUR/USD Down!

Good morning! I have been away for some time. Yesterday EUR/USD and GBP/USD went down. US dollar getting stronger!

I will be posting my Part II of Money do grow on trees soon, its all about AgriBiotech : )
And i will also be posting a write up on Fine Wine Investment!!

Money DO grow on trees!!

We always hear our parents say " Money don't grow on trees lah!" , u must work hard to earn money, study hard, go college, get a Degree, graduate and get a JOB, and then work hard to make money !

Sounds familiar?

Well, in actual fact nowadays "Money DO grow on trees!"

Stay tuned for the next post to find out Why money grow on trees now !

Turbulent Markets!!

The financial markets are experiencing sustained turbulence and volatility!!

In addition, the credit markets have witnessed an upheaval of unprecedented proportion. This disruption in the credit markets has affected everyone, including the largest financial
institutions. It has also created a liquidity crunch in the overnight rates that banks use to fund their foreign exchange positions. As a result of this uncertainty, the volatility in short term rates and a desire by banks to hoard cash, the swap rates used to calculate rollovers in the interbank market have become much wider.

Bush Plans Statement Tomorrow to `Assure' Nation

President George W. Bush will address the nation tomorrow to tell Americans they should remain "confident'' amid falling stock markets and a worldwide credit crisis, administration spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

The president wants to "assure'' the country that TreasurySecretary Henry Paulson and other administration officials are making "every effort to stabilize our financial system,'' Perino said.

Mamma Mia Comng to TOWN

Mamma Mia the Musical is finally coming to town.

"Timeless songs such as Dancing Queen, I Have a Dream, Voulez-Vous, and Take a Chance on Me, are ingeniously woven into an enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship. On the eve of her wedding, a daughter's quest to discover the identity of her father brings 3 men from her mother's past back to the Greek island paradise they last visited 20 years ago. "

I remember watching this musical in Adelaide years back, it was one of those new year's eve with a really good and entertaining performance that one could not resist watching.

Better not miss this musical in Malaysia!

Money, money , money....

Hmmm, I wonder why they do not have this musical done at KL Convention Centre instead of Istana Budaya, the last time i was at IB, the conditions were quite pathetic!
Maybe they have improve on it this time around...


Check out the link on Mamma Mia commercials

http://www.mamma-mia.com/video.asp?sec=show

Trading the Non Farm Payroll

(click to enlarge)

Trading the NFP is one of those exciting days in Forex. As you can see, there is BIG movement after the announcement of the NFP news on Friday.

NON FARM PAYROLL

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: SEPTEMBER 2008 Nonfarm payroll employment declined by 159,000 in September, and the unemployment rate held at 6.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Sta-tistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Employment continued to fall in construction, manufacturing, and retail trade, while mining and health care continued to add jobs.

Non Farm Payroll

What is the Non Farm Payroll (NFP)?

Of all the world monthly economic reports, the monthly U.S. Non Farm Report (NFP) is the most highly anticipated and has the most dramatic impact on the currency market.

The report, which is released on the first Friday of each month and states the previous month's numbers, provides detailed industry data on employment, hours and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls. These numbers are the best way to gauge the current state of the US market as well as the direction that the economy is heading.

What's more, the employment numbers provided by the report are used by the Fed to shape their interest rate policies. The health of the U.S. economy and interest rates translate to the strength or weakness of the U.S. dollar.

What is Wealth?

What is Wealth? How can one define Wealth?

1 million? 2 million? or 1 billion? in your account...

Well, for me Wealth is achieving time freedom through financial freedom.

I can be free.I can live and work anywhere in the world. I can be independent from routine and not answer to anybody.

Ask yourself this, How many days can you survive ( eat, drink and play) if you stop working tomorrow?

10 days? 30 days? 300 days?

For me the answer would be FOREVER! Yes, forever. Through financial freedom, one can have more time freedom and one can choose to pursue one's Passion in life- eg. Travel around the world.. dot dot dot

Sleepy already.. To be continued

Laughter is the best medicine!

During this financial crisis or some may say Meltdown, its good to reduce your streeeessss meter to ZERO!

How to do that?

Just drop by Actors Studio and watch GamarJobat. This hilarious "shut up comedy" from Japan stars a highly-acclaimed physical comedy duo who will perform a silent comedy that absolutely transcends anything you think you know about clowning, magic and mime!

Just search "GamarJobat" on Youtube and you will know what i mean!

Well, needless to say, i laugh my ass off during the show (watched it on their opening show, 30.09.08) and plan to watch it again!

Who wants in???

Financial Bailout Sparks Mixed Reactions

Mixed reactions surfaced following the passage of a $700 billion financial rescue plan Friday in Washington, D.C. Proponents of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act claim that the measure, which allows the Bush Administration to buy up to $700 billion in mortgage-backed securities, will bring stability to financial institutions and unfreeze credit markets. However, those opposed claim that the measure will only serve to harm taxpayers and have negative long-term effects on the U.S. economy.

Does US need a bailout??