The Bull is Dead...

Friendship - Christian The Lion (Part II - The Final Farewell)

Friendship - Christian The Lion

In 1969, two friends, Ace Berg and John Rendall, saw a lion cub for sale in Harrods Department store. Cramped and lonely in a small cage, they decided to bring it home. A local vicar allowed them to exercise the cub, now named Christian, in the church grounds.

When they brought Christian home he weighed  only 35 pound. A year later the little cub had grown and he weighed 185 pounds. The only thing they could do was to reintroduce him to Africa, which they managed to do. A year later they wanted to visit Christian but were told that he was the head of his own pride and as such was completely wild and would not remember them. Undauntedly, they went anyway

And the rest you will have to watch for yourself...

Correction Next Week — If Dow Breaks This Number: Strategist

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, jumped on Friday. What does the rise mean for the markets going forward? Brent Wilsey, president of Wilsey Asset Management, and Alan Valdes, vice president of Kabrik Trading, shared their best investment ideas.

Dollar's Rise Could Lead to 5-10% Correction: Gartman

Reuters | 21 Jan 2010 | 06:48 AM ET

Given the fact that the dollar has become so strong — which not enough people are paying attention to — and the tendency for stock prices to fall as a result of the dollar's strength, investors must be very careful, Dennis Gartman, founder of The Gartman Letter, warned Thursday.

Gartman said he expects a market correction because all of the good new is already priced into stocks.

The Edge (14th Jan 2010)

Financial One offers 20% stake in Chailese unit
Thursday, 14 January 2010

© 2010 - The Edge Singapore

Ezra posts 93% rise in net profit to $25.5m for 1Q
Thursday, 14 January 2010

© 2010 - The Edge Singapore

AusGroup unit wins integrated services contract worth $6.5m per year
Thursday, 14 January 2010

© 2010 - The Edge Singapore

Oceanus to Buy 2 Companies, Spin Off Restaurant Unit

Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Oceanus Group Ltd., the world’s largest operator of abalone farms, plans to buy two companies this year to expand its food business and sell shares of its restaurant unit as early as 2012.

Oceanus may buy a Taiwan food-packager by mid-2010 and an Australian company later in the year to boost its supply of wild abalones, Chairman Ng Cher Yew said. Ah Yat Tian Xia, its chain of restaurants, will sell shares in Taiwan or Hong Kong, he said. Oceanus stock rose by the daily limit in Taipei.

The company is expanding to ride on China’s growing consumer market as the central bank estimates the economy will grow 9 percent this year.

China Begins Stimulus Exit

Chinese policy makers will likely raise interest rates and allow the yuan to appreciate this year

China January 8, 2010, 8:50AM EST

(Bloomberg) — China's move to raise the cost of three-month bills will probably lead to the nation's first interest-rate increase in almost three years by September, a survey of economists showed.

The People's Bank of China will lift the benchmark one-year lending rate to 5.85 percent by year-end from 5.31 percent now, according to the median estimate of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News today. The survey was after the central bank yesterday sold the bills at a higher interest rate for the first time in 19 weeks.

Premier Wen Jiabao's government may keep the increase in borrowing costs this year to less than 1 percentage point because it wants to ensure a sustained economic rebound. Policy makers need to support "relatively fast" growth while managing inflation expectations, the central bank said in a statement this week after an annual work meeting.

The Capricorn Effect

Are we experiencing the much talked about Capricorn effect with the market surging in the first few trading days of January?

What is the Capricorn effect?

Basically, the Capricorn or January effect refers to the tendency for stock prices to rise in the month of January. This is mainly due to the result of investors opting to sell their stocks before the year-end in order to claim capital loss for tax purposes. This happens in countries such as the United States where individuals are taxed for capital gains. Once the tax year passes, they will reinvest their money in the stock market again causing price to go up. Other than this, the Capricorn effect is also attributed to individuals investing their year-end bonuses in stocks in January.