Stupid is As Stupid does

These are classic pictures to testify what Forrest Gump says as 'Stupid is as Stupid Does'.

BN-The Candidates List

The sad thing about choosing someone for a privileged position is making one person happy and making all the rest of the contenders unhappy.

The same thing will happen in the next General election when the list of potential BN candidates will pass from the hands of the state BN chieftain to the PM for consideration. Often times, it is UMNO which will ultimately decide the fate of those of the list even though the component party head honcho have their say at their levels.

After looking at all the candidates and their alternatives,the final say lies with the PM.

What is the scenario when the list of candidates are finally or supposedly firmed up?

There will be happiness in some group when their choice is selected. For other groups, which is the majority though not in concert,their unhappiness will be bitter.

The outcome-the group will either show lukewarm support of the party candidates while the chances of direct and indirect sabotage will start during the week after nomination.

I think UMNO and BN will face this problem because everyone will claim they are winnable candidates based on their own assessment and will feel slighted as their faith on the leadership start to erode.

Genting Singapore and Junket Fever

The Singapore Casino Regulatory Authority (CSA), which showed abhorrence for junkets when the two casinos on the island started, has tempered their stand a wee bit.

They have now licensed two casino junkets, namely, Yu Kiung and Low Chong Aun, to help attract more big gamblers to Genting Singapore (GenS). This set bells ringing and a frenzy of buying on the counter this morning pushed the counter up by 5.8% to RM1.73, after hitting a high of RM1.77.

CRA described the two operators as international market agents who “will on bringing in foreign high rollers to our casinos.”

“We see this positively as the other junket operators will know more about the Singapore government is looking out for, so the process might get easier, “said Carey Wong, an analyst at OCBC Investment Research.

“Another positive thing is the credit risk. Now Genting doesn’t have to extend much credit to the high rollers because the junket operators typically offer own credit.

”Junket operators organise visits to casinos and provide credit to players return for commissions from casino owners.

Wong maintained a buy rating and S$2.02 share price target on GenS.

Nearly 218 million shares were traded today, more than three times the average full-day volume traded over the past 30 days.

The two casinos in Singapore — GenS’s Resorts World Sentosa and Las Vegas Sands’ Marina Bay Sands — are a significant source of tax revenue for the government and a draw for tourists from the region.

The Southeast Asian nation hopes to attract up to 10 per cent more visitors this year, helped by an increase in cruise tourism, Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran said today.

Wong estimated Singapore’s gaming market last year was around S$5.7 billion (RM13.9 billion) and expected this to grow to S$6.7 billion this year due to more gaming tables and slot machines, a boost from the junkets and higher tourist arrivals.

However, Wong said Singapore is unlikely to outpace Macau because of the large number of casinos there and its location on China’s doorstep.

DMG & Partners Securities Pte Ltd, a naysayer, said while the news about the junkets should help drive gambling volumes and lower GenS’s credit risk, the small number of approvals and tighter regulatory restrictions may mute the benefits initially.

There may also be some duplication in the client base between the two junket operators and that of GenS’s existing VIP customer base, it said.

GenS’s Resorts World Sentosa made S$398.8 million in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization.

EBITDA in the fourth quarter, up from S$384.7 million a year earlier. But its EBITDA was lower than the S$426.9 million reported by Marina Bay Sands for the three months ended in December.

Reuters said, “Out of 25 analysts covering Genting Singapore stock, 14 have “buy” or “strong buy” ratings, nine have “hold” and two have “sell” “strong sell”.

So, do you think there is more upside for this crown jewel of Genting Bhd?

Najib: The Lone Crusader

He may not be caped, but Najib is doing one fine Herculean job as a crusader.

It seems nothing is for him these days;and as time moves forward so quickly, the suitable time windows to call for the next GE gets fewer and fewer.

Assuming that he must call the elections by April 2013,it means that he has less than 365 days to dissolve the current Parliament.

Compared to the PR that seems to have leaders at every level, all respected as primus inter pares,BN has too few leaders of calibre.

When Najib comes out strongly in his campaign in some new policy area, programme or even project,none of the BN leaders are capable of following through on them. Perhaps, they do not want to for fear of taking away the thunder from Najib.

I remembered clearly that during Mahathir's reign as head honcho, whatever statement is made is echoed and reinforced by the top echelon leaders from all component parties.

Obviously, these eased during Badawi's time at the helm.

Now, when Najib is at the watch, he is truly on his own. Except for a few leaders who selectively echoes him, all the rest are either not on the same page' or perceiving things in their own way, much in conflict with what was envisioned by Najib. The 1Malaysia concept is a case in point.

PM Najib's image as a leader has also been sullied by the numerous times he had to flip-flopped even though lately he seemed to have a more flexible stand on the heritage buildings in Jalan Petaling which are earmarked for destruction to give way to the MRT and the Lynas issue. It is also interesting to note that he will based his winnable list of candidates that are supported by the people.

Alas, time is not on his side.

As much as PM Najib campaigns to win the hearts and minds of the undecided, he is alone in this as the top BN leadership is not 'a first among equal' and as such lacks commitment and thus adopts, at best, a que sera sera attitude.

And it is truly sad that there isn't a single respected leader in the component parties which can be considered a true-blue winnable candidate.

I wonder who will be on Najib's winnable candidate list finally?

Metronic Global- Would You have Sold?

I think it really takes a person in the know to hold on to Metronic Global(Metronic)stocks when it sprung up to life a couple of days back.

Many would have sold once it reached 8 sen.

The very fact that it breached 14.5 sen would have been a good time to sell.

Only the stout-hearted would have held on to this troublesome counter after it has hibernated at the 4 sen level for such a long time. With court cases and bad debts, it is a miracle that some people can fell in love with Metronic.

However, today it hit pay-dirt by climbing up to 29.5 sen by the noon close, upping up by a spectacular 18 sen.

Will Bursa Kl put out a timely query or will this stock be suspended awaiting specific corporate development announcements?

This must definitely be the counter that will fund the coming GE as the Chairman is an UMNO ally and Ghani,the CEO was the blue-eyed boy of Daim in times gone by and supposedly still is.

Daim: His Bleakest Prediction for BN

While not mentioning the strength of BN in Sabah and Sarawak, Daim Zainuddin has now openly predicted the bleakest scenario for Najib in the impending GE.

He expects BN to have an easy victory in only three states — Johor, Malacca and Pahang.

Giving an exclusive interview on the 13th GE with Chinese daily Nanyang Siang Pau that was published today (20 March 2012), Daim counseled that BN must have a suitable leadership line-up if it hopes to recapture Kedah and Selangor from Pakatan Rakyat.

Retaining Perak would be an uphill battle for BN, he mused while in Negri Sembilan where BN rules with a six-seat majority, the state BN must resolve some specific problems.[I am sure there is much bickering here between incumbent Hassan, Rais Yatim and Khairy Jamaluddin].

As for Kelantan and Penang, Daim says BN would be fighting a losing battle in the two Pakatan strongholds.

Describing Najib Razak and his team as “generals without soldiers”, Daim opined that though the prime minister and other key leaders have done enough, their current situation is that of ‘generals without soldiers’.

He asked pointedly, “Where are BN’s soldiers?”

The leaders at division and branch level have yet to show leadership and must be more proactive in engaging the people.

He felt that Najib currently has team members 'who are not on the same page' with him.

He added that in parliamentary elections, depending on a single person such as the prime minister is not going to be enough for success. BN needs a team. As it is, he believes the prime minister has done enough but the problem is that people cannot see his team. He needs to tell the people where his team is.

In parting, the veteran politician advised Najib, in no uncertain terms, 'to cut out the deadwood'.

In retrsopect, it was Daim who correctly predicted that the BN will lose its two thirds in Parliament as well as cede the state governments of Penang, Selangor and Kedah to the opposition in 2008. Annoyingly for BN, his predictions came true.

Will Najib trust Daim’s prediction this time around?

OSK Predicts

Yes, these analysts can move mountains.

Look at Metronic Global.

All that was written was a simple chartist's impression of the stock and that it has accumulated sufficient volume or criticial mass to move forward. Then it shot up one hundred percent, fro m4 to 8 sen.

Lately it was chased by punters who pushed it to 14.5% thinking that it has some super news. Then a reply came from the company that a majority shareholder has been approached by a party to purchase some of his shares. That quelled the speculative frnezy a little bit.

So, let us look what has OSK IB's researchers have recommended this time around.

The first counter to look at is that Japanese sleeper, TASCO.

After moving up from the RM1.70's level to RM1.90; this logistics company has now vaulted itself beyond the RM2.00 mark. The only corporate news is that they have leased some land near the Tanjong Pelepas Port in Pulai, Johor. Today it is trading at RM2.02 and RM2.03 level.

OSK has predicted that it will move up to RM2.30 as its next target.

The other counter is YTL Corp.

This counter is a really heavy-weight counter in terms of the number of shares floating all around because of the share exchange with shareholders of YTL Cement.While it went up for a day on Thursday beyond RM1.80; by Friday last, 16 March, it tumbled back to RM1.70 and below. Today, it is trading at about RM1.76-RM1.77.

OSK has projected that its next price level will be RM2.10.

So, do you believe in the analysts at OSK and take a position or just ignore it as price postulation and nothing more?