Miss Universe 2012 Beauties And Psy

Here they are in LA, competing to be the belle of them all.

Enjoy.

The Two on the Left are Vavavoom!

Not far away, Psy, the Korean wonder , was also in concert, creating a crescendo with his cowboy moves.

Look at Those Moves!

Gangnam style- in LA!

Moses Lee Almost Missed the Wedding Dinner

Camaraderie

He came late because he forgot.

He was in Puchong having a great session of mahjong.

When I phoned him, he was shocked beyond belief.

However, after much cajoling form Derek and Catherine,Moses braved up and came.

I told him," Moses, this is once in a forever."

And he did not disappoint the bride and groom either as well as his god-daughter, Dr. Karen.

The Star of the Night

Here he is in his come-as-you-are attire.

Do You Believe? Would You Believe?

Administering Angels and the Lord?

I also do not believe these are doctored.

In such moments, the Lord and angels do appear.

I got it in the email.

" AN INCREDIBLE PICTURE

The attached is a picture originally forwarded by a
Sister Angeline Lau, RGS in Melaka-Johor Diocese.
Hence I believe it is unlikely to be 'doctored'

Her message:-

"Hi one and all, this is a picture that one of my volunteer whom I
know personally has forwarded........... Click on the attachment.
Happened last month in Sabah. a friend of the deceased took the picture of the fatal accident.

He was shocked to see the Presence.....in the picture."
      
      What a picture. How not to believe
      Do  you see the presence of the spiritual entity at the hour of death? Simply Incredible."

Another Dimension Heralding the After-world

Look at these incredible pictures and appreciate...

And believe!

Two Weddings

It was one week of weddings too many.

Romance

The week saw me attending two weddings.

On Saturday, I attended my nephew William's wedding with Jo An and yesterday that of a close friend's son Daryl Teh with Guat Ai.  Daryl is the only son of Derek and Catherine, my varsity mates

For William's I had to attend the tea-drinking ceremony with Brother Gee Tan and sis-in-law at Putra Heights and well as partake the lunch buffet.

While the first occasion dinner went Italian with a band and singer providing entertainment, the latter was just a usual Chinese affair without much fun fare and the normal yumsengs.

Food for both occasion did not live up to expectations though the ambiance at Caio in Kampong Pandan for William's do was splendid with fountains, dancing and all. Daryl's do at Grand Dorsett was more stately.

Relatives sang to the band and they even invited a international competition singer to sing Whitney Houston's  classic, " I will Always Love You" at William's do.

A Milestone Event

The Skpe video relay from Holland transporting images of Robert, William's brother  and Grace and baby K Jim to wish the weeding couple al lthe best was a delightful departure from most weddings.

Well, I hope there would not be too many weddings in the near future because it drains one financially.

Astro-Barely There

Sad Loser

Astro is a counter that failed the litmus test of a good viable counter for an IPO.

It was shot dead on listing.

Except for a lot of  200,000 units traded in the early moments of trading, the morning session trading for Astro is definitively retail-driven and none in a hurry to collect the stocks.

There seems to be no strength in the moving up for this counter though it hesitatingly moved up by 3 sen to RM 2.90 after scaling RM 2.92 at a certain short stretch.

If it moved up too fast, sellers will come out of the wood-work. The most fearsome will be day-traders who will move the price up to sell and then push it down to buy to cancel out trading positions of the day.

So for those intending to get into Astro, expect no surprises but organic growth in price in the short term until huge volume indicators come  onto the radar.

Bad IPO Offering

We will await how the afternoon session fare.

Three Degrees of A Likely Implosion

A Clear and Present Danger

Now that the Annual General Assembly of UMNO is over, what is there in the minds of the returning delegates?

Did they receive a clear  message or was it garbled mis-communication or worse, disinformation being leased onto them?

Or did they know better?

While PM and President Najib's message rang clear as the peals of a bell, did the delegates shut out their minds because of reasons better known to them?

How mush did the Deepak or Bala or even Musa's so-called un-timely in the midst of the convention, contentious revelations put paid to strategies and good intentions?

As far as the debate went, it was definitely not in the same groove as what Najib was coming from. Some spoke at cross-purpose but mostly went for opposition bashing.

To my mind there are three degrees of implosion that may likely arise if UMNO fail to sold one critical issue-

Exuberance and Optimism

 the candidature factor.

Will the old guards willingly go as they have mostly over-stayed? If they have clout, a lot to hide or a lot to lose, they will not budged to let in new blood to take their place.

The upcoming second-echelon  incumbents in entrenched positions-will they wait for another term  just move up or are in dire desperation to assume higher posts. If so, what if the higher incumbents do not budge? Sabotage or leave the party or go independent?

Lastly, fresh young blood from the next level, vitally important for party renaissance,  who are overly ambitious to move up. Will they relent patiently and take their time-slots for ascension?

Failure to resolve the above issues will negate any good intention of the leaders and may cause implosions and explosions.

Can UMNO contain these as the window of the election date closes in?

Some are already speculating that the date of dissolution of Parliament will be a day after Chap Goh Mei in 2013.

Astro-Waiting for Godot?

Any Further Push?

Numerous research houses are singing songs backing Astro as a top performer. But for holders of this dreadful stock, it has been one bitter rite. Perhaps, a rite of passage not to ever dabbled in Malaysian IPOs with its twists and turns particularly the Astro IPO.

Jeez, even cornerstone buyers can sell on Day 1.

Stupido!!

Imagine a company laden with debts more than its assets apparently, being foisted upon the Malaysian public just to get fresh new blood for its bleeding financials.

Astro's third quarter results is slated to be released on Dec 5. Will its price sprint?

So far, in spite of the slight push-up last week to RM 2.88, it has gone under water again. This is equivalent to about 4.3% below its IPO price of RM 3.00.

Standing firm behind Credit Suisse's outperform call on Astro, head of Malaysian equities at Credit Suisse Stephen Hagger says he is confident in the company due to its growing subscriber base, coupled with its increasing average revenue per subscriber, coming primarily from the adoption of high definition (HD) programme packages.

“Its subscriber base is still growing across all ethnic groups, particularly among the Malays, who love Astro's in-house productions.

As such, the company offers unique exposure to consumer spending that is both halaland discretionary, in a rapid growing population,” he says.

In Credit Suisse's report released on Tuesday, it expects Astro to grow its subscriber base as well as average revenue per user (arpu). Its arpu has grown steadily to RM 92 in the first half of 2013 from RM 89 in 2012, compared to RM 82 in 2010 when it was delisted.

“We believe Astro is a potential beneficiary of Malaysia's attractive demographics, a young and growing population, whereby a growing economy is driving income growth. Malay households, which account for 60% of Astro's subscribers have the highest income growth within the Malaysian population,” it says.

It says HD, PVR (personal video recorder), premium content and Internet protocol television (IPTV) services are potential arpu drivers for Astro in the longer term.

“There's also an opportunity for Astro to tap prepaid revenues via its NJOI offering, which doesn't incur any subscriber acquisition cost. Yet, NJOI could see long-term potential revenue upside if users buy prepaid content,” it says.

The investment bank had also set a discounted cash flow-based target price of RM3.50, implying a 21.9% potential upside.

“While financial year 2013 to 2014 earnings are dampened by significant cost related to a box swap, we expect profitability to rebound in financial year 2015, when the bulk of Astro's subscriber homes will be equipped with an HD box,” it says.

Hagger says while investors should take note of its upcoming quarterly results, short-term earnings are way less important than the long-term prospects of the company, in particular looking at subscriber and arpu growth which will provide a guide to the long-term value of this company.

“Despite its extremely strong cash-flow, I don't see Astro as a dividend yield stock quite yet, until such a time that the board feel comfortable with gearing and capital expenditure levels and crucially articulates a dividend policy. The dividend yield will however come and it will attract a new group of investors,” he says.

On the recent sell-down in Astro shares, Hagger says there were probably a number of factors responsible for this. One of which was a possible margin call on approved bumiputra investors under the International Trade and Industry Ministry portion.

“The process of the allocation is not transparent, but it is possible that a significant number of shares went to individuals, who may then have been hit by margin calls, sending the stock into a downward spiral. However, looking at the recent stability of share price, it seems that most of these weak holders have been cleared out,” he says.

Credit Suisses also notes that despite the sell-down, senior management comprising the CEO, COO, chief commercial officer and also the chief innovation officer, all bought Astro shares after the listing.

Currently, Astro commands a 99% pay-TV market share and 12% share of the broader communications industry in Malaysia as of financial year 2012. Its three million subscriber base translate into a household penetration rate of close to 50%, relatively lower compared to India's 80% and Singapore's 70%, which still represents a growth potential in the local market.

Looks like we may have to wait to 2015 to see some nest eggs.