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?

The 13th GE- Reading Entrails and Tea-leaves

There were many who predicted that the aftermath of the 13 General Elections may be a hung Parliament.

The soothsayer Daim who predicted the outcome of the 12th General Elections quite correctly, is reading entrails and tea-leaves these days. As he fleshes out the issues facing the BN, he also saw the foreboding shadow of a hung Parliament. This is certainly not good for PM Najib.

Today, even PM Najib spoke about it. The thought has certainly crossed his mind.

In the short time window before him before April 2013 when he will be compelled to call the GE, he is doing his level best to win over the hearts of the people. He is good in optics and his hand-outs certainly can do the trick.

As a political observer, I see worrying concerns in the BN camp.

Trouble is Najib is not having a good team in UMNO; and certainly not in the albatrosses-slung-on-their necks MCA, Gerakan, SUPP,PPP and MIC component parties. Every time he advances, they drag him back like a full blown parachute!

To make matters worse, the global economy continues to be uncertain with the people suffering from inflation woes that seems to get worse every month.

The question on everyone's lips is this?

Is real fear coming over the BN camp?

Daim-Not So Quiet These Days

Wah, this man has really got many things to say these days.

When he was walking in the corridors of power, he was known as Quiet Daim; saying things as briefly as possible, fearful of being misquoted.

When asked about the stock market then, he said ‘buy’ and there was a flurry of frenzy buying. When the market could not sustained and fell, he replied he was being misquoted. What he actually said and meant was ‘Bye-bye’ to the market.

After speculating on the odds for the BN government to win more seats as well as to regain its two-third majority in Parliament and some state governments in the forthcoming General elections, he has popped up again to talk about mundane topics such as houses, jobs, schools, inflation and prices of goods.

On housing, he says the prices of residential properties in Malaysia are too high, and far beyond the people's ability to afford them, urging the government to expedite control measures and stop irresponsible, greedy developers.

He pointed out that the comments of real estate industry players that the country’s property prices were lower than some neighbouring countries were misleading.

On claims by developers and real estate agents that there was no property bubble in Malaysia and prices here were lower than in countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong, Daim said, "of course, they are earning more than us".

He said Singaporeans on average, were earning higher than the average Malaysians, and Hong Kong had limited land whereas land is plentiful in Malaysia.

On the steep hike in property prices in the last two years, he said "they are going up like crazy".

He said the government's relaxation on the real property gain tax in the past and the central bank's relaxation on lending policies and guidelines on housing loans had given rise to too much speculative activities in the industry.

He said the high-end properties were beyond the reach of Malaysians.

Even foreign buyers were being put off, he said, adding that only the mid-range properties were still doing well.

He advised the government to be clear that the people wanted affordable housing which can increase in value over the years.

The people also wanted a job, with a pay that was able to meet their needs, he said.

Next come good schools and reasonable prices of goods, he added.

"If the government takes care of the people's needs, they would not consider changing the government," he said.

Daim also agreed with the implementation of the minimum wage policy but said that productivity must be raised in tandem. At the same time, the government must control inflation, he added.

Pointing out that a person who earns RM3,000 a month will find it hard to survive in Kuala Lumpur nowadays, he felt that the minimum wage should be set at RM1,200 a month.

My Comments:

There are many people earning below this amount and they are hard-pressed to survive in KL, JB and in Selangor. Rents are high, food is expensive and tolls can really be a nuisance on the pocket-book.

Can the government really come up with some ad-hoc and long-term solutions?

For pensioners and the retirees, are there going to be some Malaysian bonds and sukuk funds for subscription soon as the banks are still fleecing them right now with the low interest regime?

My Son-Earning his Keep

Well, today 19 March is indeed a milestone day for my son.

Today, he starts to earn his keep and no longer will be fully dependent on me.

He is now an inn-keeper of sorts, working in a boutique hotel in SS2,about a half-hour walk from our home.

Pay is okay at above RM1,500 for an 8-hour stint with a day of leave every fortnight. For those who want to increase their take-home pay, they can work on the day of leave on over-time.

The down-side is the grave-yard shift from 12 midnight to 8 the next morning.

Work was not difficult, he recounted of his first work day. There was another guy working with him and together they see to the needs of the hotel guests. An Indonesian maid does all the house-keeping and cleaning.

To make himself useful on his first day, he repaired the hotel's broken-down computer by re-wiring the power unit and stopped the computer from over-clocking.

He also had to check out some guests in the morning.

Room rates starts from RM60 for a single-bed room to a two queen-size bed room costing RM138.00 nightly. Check out time is 3 pm.

There is also a dress code. His shirt must be white and his long pants black. He must also wear black shoes.

I do not know when his probation will end though; as he is still feeling around the new job.

Haunting Nostalgia of the Early 70s

If you were undergraduate in the early 1970s, you would have sang these songs and danced to them on campus or in the discos.

They were great songs and music and we can swear by our fondness for them each time they come on over the FM radio.

Some of us may associate someone in time past by these songs or have danced in your bell-bottoms with loved ones in courting.

My favourites were Neil Diamond's Shilo and Girl You will be a Woman Soon; The Hollies', Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress and Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water.

Enjoy!