Astro: No Traction,Traders win!

Sure-ah?

You must be nuts to sell your Astro shares after being the minority to get it at the IPO.

So, who are these sellers swarming around the cesspool of falling prices?

As I have speculated in an earlier post, it could be the offeror, Ananda as he has the liberty to crunch the ringgit gains as the authorities have,as usual, for reasons better known to them,gave him moolah to play. He is laughing all the way to Moolahland,thanks to Malaysia Boleh!

The rest are just maggot traders with ravenous appetite,possibly selling 'empty' to feed off weak sellers and the dying corpse of the newly listed Astro counter.

Since there is no let up of selling, as if in a torrential monsoon storm, let us sit back and watch the wayang until there is traction.

For those who bought in at RM 3.00 and below, cough out the cash and take up the stock.

Tomorrow is another day and the sun will certainly shine so says Annie.

No Country for Old Man

Woe,betide!

If you are a pensioner,and you want to buy a property at this advanced age;what are the options that are open to you in Malaysia?

First, most banks will shut the door in your face.

"Go away,no banking facilities for old folks".

Absolute no respect for silver haired, senior citizens!

If you are not yet 65, some banks may want to poke fun at you.

They offer you a loan perhaps at a lower support level and then they drive the stake through your purse and then your heart. Pay back all before your 65th birthday.

Wahloi! Macam mana?

Nasty! Nasty!

Then there is this one bank that is more longgar.

Can wan! you got guarantor...ah? Must be working one...ah...okey dokey?

Also susah, here because old folks do not have a guarantor who is also working one,lor....

So, apa macam.

Pay cash for your house or mortgage if you are already having a property.

If not, don't bother,..lah!

Alvin and The MCA President

Has a role model

In the storm of the current sex-blog controversy involving two Malaysians, one more character has been dragged into the picture.

The MCA president, no less.

Alvin Tan, the male member of the controversial blog lovers has now informed the whole wide world that the current sitting president of MCA is his role model.

What a laugh! Especially with an impending election on the horizon.

It makes one to squirm in one's chair. You may just fell off.....

What is the world coming to, padre?

Where are the Cornerstone Buyers,Mr Astro?

No let up in selling?

If you look at the trading yesterday,the pattern is that the sellers are mostly spooked retailers or possibly day traders/margin traders and short-sellers.

For the day traders, any day traders, they have taken home the booty.

No big buyers in sight really though there were a small number of  lot buyings of 1000 but far in between.

The question to be asked is where are the big players.

With such a big fall to almost 7.6% from its  IPO price, where are the cornerstone buyers of beleaguered Astro? 

Twiddling their thumbs in anguish?

Where is Permodalan Nasional Berhad,Great Eastern Life Insurance,Universities Superannuation Scheme.Standard Pacific Capital, Corston-Smith Asset Management and Nomura Asset Management? They are currently holding a huge chink of 430 million shares and losing value pretty fast at this rate.

Also, what about bumiputra trust agencies and individuals,especially those who got the portion from MITI?

Aren't they all strategising to move in to buy more?

Isn't an equalizer formula favourable now? Or are we playing limbo rock now, how low will Astro go?

They must have known something the open market doesn't?

They will buy in but I guess at a more agreeable price.

We will see how the market  performs today, to see whether they is a price traction level or a rebound.

Not Every Nation is Kind

Spurn in Canada

It rather shocking and sad that Canada has spurned Petronas’s bid to take over Progress Energy Resources Corporation. The reason for the nay is that the bid will not benefit the Canadian nation.

In spite of Petronas’s pledge to help spur Canada's nascent liquefied natural gas export industry by building an LNG export facility on the country's Pacific coast, the government was unmoved.

However, Petronas has 30 days to make an appeal to the rejection.

What I am trying to impress here is that we have squandered God-given resources in Malaysia just to take on less economical ventures in far off areas. 

I do understand President and CEO  Shamsul’s concern that it is about time that dividends to the government be capped so that development funds can be made for new acquisitions abroad as our own wells are really drying out. 

Malaysia will be a net import gasoline nation the way we we are recklessly spending in luxuriant disregard for tomorrow!

The future is somber.

Cooking Astro's Goose

Bringing Astro down!

Astro was cooked almost to cinder in the afternoon session.

As for its fundamentals, they, however, remain intact.

After first falling 19 sen, it was chipped down ( more like chopped down) further by small lots trading to end down a stupefying 32 sen at RM2.77.

Chopping down Astro to Size

UOB Kay Hian Malaysia Research said there were several entry barriers for competitors seeking to compete against Astro.

In its report issued ahead of its IPO last Friday, the research house said Astro had exclusive rights to broadcast via satellites (DTH) until 2017, which essentially prohibited any competition from using the same technology to broadcast TV programmes.

The research house further pointed out Astro's large variety of exclusive popular international content also prohibited competitors from broadcasting those programmes in Malaysia.

"Its 68 Astro-created TV channels, with more than 40,000 hours of in-house produced content for the local audience, makes it difficult for a newcomer to penetrate the local content segment.

"The heavy capex that is needed to build a broadcast network acts as a deterrent to would-be competitors. This includes the need to set up terrestrial broadcasting network, operating centre and satellite transponder space.

"A long gestation period is needed to set up an entire broadcasting system before commercialisation can even begin. This gives Astro a significant head-start over any new entrant," said UOB Kay Hian Research.

However, the research house said excessive bidding for exclusive content may result in cost overrun. This includes bidding for the popular English/Barclay's Premier League (EPL/BPL) as well as bidding for content that will boost its premium position in the pay TV market.

Another factor it said were competitive pressures. Already broadcasting variations of what was available on Astro, Telekom Malaysia (TM) could be a force to be reckoned with in the IPTV segment in the future.

Other risks were that the younger generation was increasingly turning to the internet for entertainment, such as YouTube, which could threaten Astro's viewership as well as advertisement revenues.

Anyway, Astro is oversold and may need a traction price point for a good rebound.

Will that happen tomorrow?