Happy Lunar New Year

Dear Fellow Investors,

According to Feng Shui masters, the year of the Earth Dog is supposed to be good for so called fire industries including technology, utilities and the Internet.

My take: We still must do our detailed research. As Peter Lynch said “Investing in companies without performing proper research is like playing stud poker without looking at our cards.”

As a follow up from last week’s letter

From, CNBC:

Two weeks after markets freaked out, the worst appears to be over for now.  

The gut-wrenching tug of war between rising interest rates and falling stock prices seems to be taking a rest, and strategists say the worst of the February correction may be over for now.

  Stocks closed out their fifth day of gains, with the S&P 500 just 4.9 percent away from its all-time high.

The KLSE was not much affected by the world wide stock market panic as it is difficult for bear raiders to short sell shares in the Malaysian market as the bulk of quality shares are held by institutions who will not sell in a panic.

A bear raid was initiated in the US markets by the fear of higher interest rates and a bearish CPI number.  CPI or consumer price inflation is a highly manipulated number by the US government.  Professionals do not focus on it.

The media whipped up the fear and retailers panicked.  There were margin calls and forced selling.  The panic spread around the world.

As calm returned, short sellers around the world were forced to quickly cover and we experienced a V recovery. A short seller faces unlimited risk and can quickly go bankrupt should the market go up.  Cover means to close the position.  

I expect the markets to be quiet next week with the CNY, so continue to focus   on quality.

Dolly and I leave for Adelaide Monday for a week break. Investment questions, you may email me for administrative issues please call our customer service @ 2783 0300.     

Invest well and grow your wealth

Bill

Exotic fish from the KLCC Aquaria

A friend from Canada visited me last week. I took him to the KLCC Aquaria and he was impressed. I was surprised to see they have upgraded their facilities with new animals and exhibits. They even have background music with jungle sounds. A visit would be a good CNY present for your family.