Evening Bamboo Insight: 15 Aug 2014

August 15, 2014 Leave a comment

Evening Bamboo Insight: 15 Aug 2014

Macro

  1. Second-term presidents cost America 40 lost years; Leaders nearing the end of their time in office lose the ability to influence other actors by offering future rewards

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/74dacab2-1e3e-11e4-ab52-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3A3IK1v5P

  1. Unwary yield hunters risk liquidity trap; Sell early to avoid rush for high-yield exit as Fed QE ends

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1ba98a44-1d69-11e4-8b03-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3A3IK1v5P

  1. Making Sense of Junk Bonds’ Funk

http://online.wsj.com/articles/ahead-of-the-tape-making-sense-of-junk-bonds-funk-1407786210

  1. Welcome to the World of ‘Pension Smoothing’; New Bill Extends Provision That Allows Firms to Delay Making Pension Contributions

http://online.wsj.com/articles/welcome-to-the-world-of-pension-smoothing-1407800119

  1. Easy money cannot be new norm: MAS’ Menon

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/top-stories/easy-money-cannot-be-new-norm-mas-menon-20140812

  1. Erdogan: Turkey’s ‘big master’ with eye on history; Erdogan climbed from a humble youth in Istanbul to become one of the most significant but controversial leaders in the Islamic world.

http://www.afp.com/en/news/erdogan-turkeys-big-master-eye-history

  1. Another risk of market crash? Warning bells ringing

http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2014/08/11/Another-risk-of-market-crash-RBI-governor-Raghuram-Rajan-is-concerned-investors-may-leave-emerging-m/

Asia Pacific

  1. (Asean) – ASEAN moves on to final phase of implementation of Economic Community Blueprint

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2014-08/10/c_133546148.htm

  1. (China) – ISIS plans to take holy war to Xinjiang

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20140810000163&cid=1101

  1. (China) – Southern Beauty forced to sell amid anti-corruption policy

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20140811000030&cid=1206

  1. (China) – China issues emergency order to freeze new cement, glass

http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/08/08/china-industry-overcapacity-idINL4N0QE3DH20140808

  1. (Thai) – Tos Chirathivat, Central Group: a balancing act in Bangkok

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/3b6cac74-141a-11e4-b46f-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3A3IK1v5P

  1. (Spore) – No influx of European wealth for Singapore

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/83f369ea-2051-11e4-890a-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3A3IK1v5P

  1. (India) – The new Indian government will launch its eagerly awaited $10bn divestment plan for state companies with the sale next month of 5 per cent of Steel Authority of India (Sail), the country’s biggest steel group by volume

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e3e92cf4-2051-11e4-890a-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3A3IK1v5P

  1. (India) – Where Are Foreigners Parking Their Portfolios in India? Non-Indian investors have long been the important swing voters of the stock market. Though they only own around 20% of the overall market their billions represent bonus money

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2014/08/11/where-are-foreigners-parking-their-portfolios-in-india/?mod=WSJAsia_hpp_LEFTTopStories

  1. (Isia/Korea) – Hallyu boom aids Korean companies in Indonesia

http://news.asiaone.com/print/news/asia/hallyu-boom-aids-korean-companies-indonesia

  1. (Thai) – Former Thai PM returns home as legal threat lingers

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/11/us-thailand-politics-idUSKBN0GB0PX20140811

  1. (China) – How China’s Trying to Boost Its Economy: ‘Qualitative Easing’

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/08/11/how-chinas-trying-to-boost-its-economy-qualitative-easing/

  1. (Spore/Msia) – Crossing Link to Singapore From Malaysia May Cost You $20 More Due to Spat

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/crossing-link-singapore-malaysia-may-cost-20-due-spat/

  1. (Isia) – Heeding Concerns of the Spread of ISIS Across Indonesia

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/heeding-concerns-spread-isis-across-indonesia/

  1. (China) – Li Ka-shing, Wang Jianlin And China’s Falling Home Prices; China’s real estate billionaires have been hedging their bets in recent days by shifting their investments away from the country’s property sector

http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelcole/2014/08/11/li-ka-shing-wang-jianlin-and-chinas-falling-home-prices/print/

  1. (Japan) – Future appears bright for indoor veggie farms; Japan has seen an increasing number of firms starting veg-growing operations in factories, as they can produce pesticide-free veg with a production efficiency up to 100 times of trad farms

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/08/11/business/tech/future-appears-bright-indoor-veggie-farms/

Life

  1. Simplifying the Bull: How Picasso Helps to Teach Apple’s Style: Inside Apple’s Internal Training Program

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/11/technology/-inside-apples-internal-training-program-.html?ref=technology

  1. The Poet, Scientist, Journalist, Boxer Approach To Entrepreneurship

http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/09/the-poet-scientist-journalist-boxer-approach-to-entrepreneurship/

  1. How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips

http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/

  1. The 10 secrets to successful people’s calm

http://qz.com/246278/the-10-secrets-to-successful-peoples-calm/

  1. Civil-service reform: Modernising the mandarins; Tight finances and rising expectations are remaking civil services

http://www.economist.com/news/international/21611149-tight-finances-and-rising-expectations-are-remaking-civil-services-modernising

  1. How to turn every child into a “math person”

http://qz.com/245054/how-to-turn-every-child-into-a-math-person/

  1. The Benefits of Lucid Dreaming; Researchers Decipher Clues From Those With Greater Awareness, Control of Behavior in Dreams

http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-benefits-of-lucid-dreaming-1407772779

  1. Value in Old Guitars: The market for valuable guitars has its ups, downs and idiosyncrasies. But that’s the fun of it

http://blogs.barrons.com/penta/2014/08/11/value-in-old-guitars/?mod=BOLBlog?mod=BOL_hp_highlight_1

  1. Britain’s billionaires who never went to university; These British entrepreneurs shunned university and set up shop instead – earning billions in the process. We chart how they did it

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/fameandfortune/11003122/Britains-billionaires-who-never-went-to-university.html

TMT

  1. 50 Million New Reasons BuzzFeed Wants to Take Its Content Far Beyond Lists; The viral media site will use a $50 million investment to diversify its content, expand its video arm and create an in-house incubator for new technology

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/11/technology/a-move-to-go-beyond-lists-for-content-at-buzzfeed.html?ref=business&_r=0

  1. (Asia/Tech) – Microsoft’s emerging markets problem: Few want to pay for genuine product

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/11/uk-microsoft-emergingmarkets-idUKKBN0GA0UZ20140811

  1. Origami Inspires Rise of Self-Folding Robot

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/08/science/a-self-folding-robot-inspired-by-origami.html?ref=science

  1. (Australia/Tech) – Freelancer ‘feels like eBay in 1997’: CEO

http://www.theage.com.au/business/freelancer-feels-like-ebay-in-1997-ceo-20140811-102lyv.html

  1. (China/Tech) – Alibaba’s land speculation under guise of e-commerce

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20140810000112&cid=1102&MainCatID=0

  1. (India/Tech) – India’s e-retailers gear up for turf war

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d3f71204-1cbc-11e4-b4c7-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3A47Vbtg4

  1. (China/Tech) – Zhongguancun, China’s iconic technology park, is to expand out of the capital under the coordinated development initiative for Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-08/08/c_133543041.htm

  1. The Logic Of Crazy Valuations

http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/10/the-logic-of-crazy-valuations/

  1. (Korea/Asean/Tech) – Samsung Localizes Southeast Asia Strategy; World’s Top Smartphone Maker Uses Apps to Tailor Content, Deals to Individual Countries

http://online.wsj.com/articles/samsung-localizes-southeast-asia-strategy-1407769967

  1. Two Upstarts Plot Each Other’s Demise; Uber and Lyft Also Aim to Supplant Taxi Industry

http://online.wsj.com/articles/two-tech-upstarts-plot-each-others-demise-1407800744

  1. An App Like Yo Could Turn Out to Be Bigger Than Twitter; It Makes Use of Alerts, the Most Valuable Property in the Media Universe

http://online.wsj.com/articles/yo-this-app-isnt-so-dumb-1407714995

  1. Internet Travel Service Priceline To Ramp Up TV Ad

http://online.wsj.com/articles/pricelines-profit-forecast-disappoints-1407756243

Consumer

  1. How online retailer Novosbed is giving the mattress industry a wake-up call

http://business.financialpost.com/2014/08/09/how-online-retailer-novosbed-is-giving-the-mattress-industry-a-wake-up-call/

  1. (Australia/Consumer/Tech) – Online strategy: Woolworths opens first supermarket without customers

http://www.brw.com.au/p/business/online_strategy_woolworths_opens_GaWvtasFtJaFVEvVF4dxiN

  1. (Consumer/China) – Pret’s private equity owner eyes China expansion

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/95adb964-1666-11e4-8210-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3A47Vbtg4

  1. Playing P&G’s Brand Cleanup: Options investors can use a combination of puts and calls to position themselves for P&G’s divestitures

http://online.barrons.com/news/articles/SB50001424053111904329504580071540333732342

  1. (Consumer/Commodities) – Going bananas: rival bidder threatens Chiquita-Fyffes $1bn inversion deal

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/commodities/11026256/Going-bananas-rival-bidder-threatens-Chiquita-Fyffes-1bn-inversion-deal.html

Investing Process

  1. Teachings from 50 years of investing

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6a0acbb8-2346-11e2-a46b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3A8WRQ5S3

  1. Misunderstanding Buffett

http://advisorperspectives.com/actions/generate_pdf.php

Energy

  1. Kinder Morgan to Consolidate Empire: Gas-Pipeline Company Says Master Limited Partnerships Structure Has Become Too Unwieldy

http://online.wsj.com/articles/kinder-morgan-to-consolidate-in-70-billion-deal-1407704960

  1. Brazil’s Petrobras: Tarred by corruption; An investigation into the state oil company has tarnished political reputations

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6d00da0c-1c7c-11e4-98d8-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3A3IK1v5P

 

Filed under Daily Insight

About bambooinnovator
Kee Koon Boon (“KB”) is the co-founder and director of HERO Investment Management which provides specialized fund management and investment advisory services to the ARCHEA Asia HERO Innovators Fund (www.heroinnovator.com), the only Asian SMID-cap tech-focused fund in the industry. KB is an internationally featured investor rooted in the principles of value investing for over a decade as a fund manager and analyst in the Asian capital markets who started his career at a boutique hedge fund in Singapore where he was with the firm since 2002 and was also part of the core investment committee in significantly outperforming the index in the 10-year-plus-old flagship Asian fund. He was also the portfolio manager for Asia-Pacific equities at Korea’s largest mutual fund company. Prior to setting up the H.E.R.O. Innovators Fund, KB was the Chief Investment Officer & CEO of a Singapore Registered Fund Management Company (RFMC) where he is responsible for listed Asian equity investments. KB had taught accounting at the Singapore Management University (SMU) as a faculty member and also pioneered the 15-week course on Accounting Fraud in Asia as an official module at SMU. KB remains grateful and honored to be invited by Singapore’s financial regulator Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to present to their top management team about implementing a world’s first fact-based forward-looking fraud detection framework to bring about benefits for the capital markets in Singapore and for the public and investment community. KB also served the community in sharing his insights in writing articles about value investing and corporate governance in the media that include Business Times, Straits Times, Jakarta Post, Manual of Ideas, Investopedia, TedXWallStreet. He had also presented in top investment, banking and finance conferences in America, Italy, Sydney, Cape Town, HK, China. He has trained CEOs, entrepreneurs, CFOs, management executives in business strategy & business model innovation in Singapore, HK and China.

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