Cash Generating Ability of Singapore's Blue Chips...a Snapshot

We have compiled a list of STI Component counters showing their Cash from operations from year 2004-2008. Primarily, it is to compare the trend and consistency of their cash generating ability over the years. Please take note that the compiled charts are taken at face value from Reuters. And when we mean "face value", we mean take it with a pinch of salt ( like how you should treat what SGDividends, Analysts, your stock broker, e.t.c says). Treat us like some noise in the background and really go verify the facts and do your own due diligence..come on..don't be a pig. Pigs get slaugthered unless they can fly away. Anyway, read the comments at one of our post to understand why we say what we just said...... thanks to that nice chap who alerted us on our mistake in that post.....

Also pls note that we did not include the 3 banks, UOB,DBS,OCBC in the document below. This is due to a small voice that told us not to do it and this is a personal issue....don't ask.

So just what exactly is Cash Flow from operations? Cash flow from operations is the cash that a company generates through running its business. It's generally a better measure of a business's profits than earnings because a company can show positive net earnings (on the income statement) and still not be able to pay its debts. It's cash flow that pays the bills. Its the real mc-coy...unless that company is some certain S shares that just pluck digits from thin air..
Cash Flow From Operations 1

If you like this blog, do help SGDividends by adding us as your favourites via this link,THANK YOU!:
                                  

Important: The objective of the articles in this blog is to set you thinking about the company before you invest your hard-earned money. Do not invest solely based on this article. Unlike House or Instituitional Analysts who have to maintain relations with corporations due to investment banking relations, generating commissions,e.t.c, SGDividends say things as it is, factually. Unlike Analyst who have to be "uptight" and "cheem", we make it simplified and cheapskate. -The Vigilante Investor, SGDividends Team

How To Reduce Investment Expenses when doing Dollar Cost Averaging

" The shortest route to top quartile performance is to be in the bottom quartile of expense. " - John Bogle ( Founder of The Vanguard Group)

This post is to do a comparison in relation to investment expenses between Unit Trusts, ETFs through DBSV Cash Upfront and other brokerages and POEMS sharebuilders plan. In relation to sales charges, based on the spreadsheet done below, there is an optimal way to invest, so as to reduce charges or fees, based on the investment amount if one is to follow a monthly dollar cost averaging strategy.

Generally, dollar cost averaging means allocating a fixed amount of money into investments at regular intervals, so as to lower the average cost of the investment, since when share prices go up, less shares are bought and when share prices go down, more shares are bought. The other reasons for dollar cost averaging (DCA)include not having enough funds to buy a pricey blue chip company say, the minimum 1 lot DBS shares and so DCA allows one to slowly accumulate DBS shares. Other reasons includes a person not being savvy enough or having not enough time to monitor the market so as to "generally" time the market to enter.

The reason why we are comparing the said instruments is because these share a common trait, which is, they allow one to so call diversify their portfolios. Well, personally, SGDividends do not use any of this said instruments, that is Unit Trusts, Share Builders Plan or buy any ETFs, but oh well, to each his own.

For those who don't know what POEMs share builders plan is...read below.



Read here about DBS Vickers Cash Upfront Trading Service

Ok so now that we have some background information on what the POEMS share builders plan and the DBS Vickers Cash Upfront Service is....let us compare! Do note that for the share builders plan, we are refering to the scenario where a person buys more than 2 different counters each month....since 2 or less counters is not really diversification....don't you think? Therefore, the handling fees is $10.70 instead of $6.42.

Also, do note that Share Builders Plan only allows one to buy certain Singapore listed shares.

Regarding ETFs, most of them allow one to buy in terms of 100 units or 10 units ( for example, DBS STI ETF 100) instead of a board lot size of 1000 units, so monthly regular DCA of $100 is still possible....

Ok some points to note. It is stated above that between the monthly investment amount of $100 - $700, unit trust is the cheapest. That's misleading ok....in addition to the sales charge above, there is an annual managment fee of generally 1.5%. In fact, SGDividends has been very sweet to the Unit Trust as we took the lowest sales charge of 1.5% among different UTs. Many UTs have sales charges of up to 5%.

ETFs generally have, in addition to the above sales charges, an annual fee of 0.28% - 0.3%. Also, one must pay brokerage fees when one liquidates this investment. Unit Trusts do not charge fees when it is liquidated. Having said that, ETF is still cheaper than Unit Trust.

For Poems ShareBuilder Plan, in addition to the above charges, there are compulsory unaviodable charges of $10.70 for corporate actions per counter. So, lately, with the recent spate of rights issuance by some bluechips company, there has been quite some expenses.......

So well, you decide for yourself which is the way to go...... and do note that expenses is just one single factor when investing as the performance of the underlying instrument through which ever means, Share Builders Plan, DBS Vickers Cash Upfront or Unit Trust..e.t.c is still the most important

If you like this blog, do help SGDividends by adding us as your favourites via this link,THANK YOU!:
                                  

Important: The objective of the articles in this blog is to set you thinking about the company before you invest your hard-earned money. Do not invest solely based on this article. Unlike House or Instituitional Analysts who have to maintain relations with corporations due to investment banking relations, generating commissions,e.t.c, SGDividends say things as it is, factually. Unlike Analyst who have to be "uptight" and "cheem", we make it simplified and cheapskate. -The Vigilante Investor, SGDividends Team

Buy and Hold Strategy For The Long Term...Rethink again

So what does the term buy-and- hold really mean? How long does one hold to consider oneself such an investor? Frankly, its just an academic jargon which is of no use debating over. Life is larger than this. We were reading up on Marc Faber cos he looks abit like Hannibel Lector in the movie and also because he said that it is a myth that stock markets go up generally in the long run. So well.. this guy is a smart guy..having gotten his PHD in economics at age 25 and having so much experience in the money markets of the world.....his comments is at least worth some consideration. Besides, conventional wisdom says that when one is young, start investing in equities as in the long run, equities in general rises. One can see this is by clicking on the charts for the DJIA (Dow Jones Industrial Average Index).

Taken from the book below......

" The average life expectancy of a multinational corporation-Fortune 500 or its equivalent-is between 40 and 50 years. This figure is based on most surveys of corporate births and deaths. A full one-third of the companies listed in the 1970 Fortune 500, for instance, had vanished by 1983-acquired, merged, or broken to pieces. Human beings have learned to survive, on aver-age, for 75 years or more, but there are very few companies that are that old and flourishing. "

And this research is based on Fortune 500 companies which are considered blue chips and therefore relatively considered less risky than those mid-cap or small- cap stocks. Its quite scary to think whats the average lifespan for mid-cap or small cap stocks then.....10-30 years? Therefore, it is imperative that one researches the stocks thoroughly before buying, instead of just buying many different stocks after a surface read-up on the company, in the guise of the oft-used word of "diversification".

Serves to remind one also to allocate at least 2-3 times a year to rebalance and relook at ones portfolio. Anyway, the authors also did a study on why some select few companies were able to grow beyond the lifespan of a normal company and one of the common factors is the financial prudence of the company management and board.

It terribly irks SGDividends when we receive glossy, thick annual reports every year! Save the money and trees..dudes!

Important: The objective of the articles in this blog is to set you thinking about the company before you invest your hard-earned money. Do not invest solely based on this article. Unlike House or Instituitional Analysts who have to maintain relations with corporations due to investment banking relations, generating commissions,e.t.c, SGDividends say things as it is, factually. Unlike Analyst who have to be "uptight" and "cheem", we make it simplified and cheapskate. -The Vigilante Investor, SGDividends Team

Mortgage Rate Guarantees

Close to half of Canadian home buyers wait less than 30 days before their home’s closing date to secure a mortgage rate, according to a recent Angus Reid poll.

The poll, commissioned by ING Direct, found that 40% of Canadian mortgage holders waited only 30 days or less in advance of the home’s closing, while another 27% waited nearly two months.


According to ING Direct, this last minute behaviour indicates that many Canadians are not taking advantage of the savings inherent in securing rate guarantees which are available as early as 90 to 120 days before a home closes.

Analysis shows that those who used the full rate guarantee period of 120 days, saved 0.18% on average or about a $1,800 over five years. These savings are based on a $200,000 mortgage with a 25 year amortization, five year fixed term at 6.96% (average posted five year fixed rate over last 10 years) and paid monthly.

According to Martin Beaudry, vice president of lending at ING Direct, not taking advantage of the full period available, is a missed opportunity. “Securing a rate guarantee, even before you start looking for a new home or your existing mortgage comes up for renewal, is a quick and simple way to save your money on mortgage interest payments over the long term. In fact, it’s the reason we’ve made guaranteeing an early rate at ING Direct that much easier via the rate hold, which essentially allows someone to hold a great rate without having to provide the information required during a more traditional pre-approval process.”

The rate hold, introduced by ING Direct this month, allows home buyers to quickly and simply hold a great rate for up to 120 days. For fixed rates this means protecting a low rate today against any increases that may occur over that time. For variable rates, it holds the best spread from ING Direct Prime, so if the spread changes and the rate increases as a result, Canadians are still protected. The service is the first of its kind in Canada, ING Direct says.

Taking full advantage of a rate guarantee period makes financial sense for both new home buyers and those with existing mortgages. In fact, those with existing mortgages are the ones who could benefit most from a rate hold.

The survey found that of the 64% of Canadians whose mortgages have come up for renewal, over one quarter (27%) indicated they let their mortgage automatically renew. Not negotiating a better rate than what is offered in a renewal letter by the current lender, or looking to alternate lenders for the best rate available in the market, means Canadians could be missing out on the opportunity to get a better rate

The survey found that Quebeckers were the worst offenders, being most likely to let their mortgages auto renew (36%) and apply for a mortgage 30 days or less before their home’s closing date (52%).

Seven Ways to Damage Your Credit Score

As mortgage professionals, we feel it is of the utmost importance to inform our customers as to the significance of their credit standing and how it affects their capacity to obtain a mortgage and, even worst, affects the cost of borrowing, especially in these uncertain economic times. Making some of the following mistakes can ensure that lenders will put on a hazmat suit to handle your credit report.


Remember the good old days, way back in 2007, when the streets were paved with Credit-Gold as far as the eye could see and credit cards rained from the sky? Even the creditdestitute were treated like kings by credit card companies and courted with lavish offers of unlimited credit.

Here, in the future, the world has changed. And woe betides those who ask for loans with glaring blemishes on their credit reports. An unpaid collection is apt to be regarded like a cockroach in the consommé.

What affects your credit score and in what proportion?

The Seven Pitfalls to Avoid

1. Close credit card accounts
2. Let credit cards collect dust
3. Run up high balances
4. Apply for new credit repeatedly
5. Don’t pay fine on non-credit-card bills
6. Ignore mistakes on your credit report
7. Make late payments or skip them all together

SO, WHAT TO DO?

1. Close credit card accounts

If you intend to close some credit card accounts, remember that only recently opened accounts should be considered for closing. Length of credit history is an important component of the credit score; therefore, it’s not a good idea to cancel a source that has been long-held since payment history can have positive implications for your credit rating.

2. Do not let credit cards collect dust

It is suggested that people use their cards periodically. Burying cards in the backyard or hoarding them in a shoebox in case of an emergency may also backfire. Consumers encounter two pitfalls if a creditor closes an account for non-use: The available credit is pared down and that account no longer contributes to their credit history.

3. Run up high balances

If using too little credit sends up red flags to lenders, using Loading up on high-interest credit cards isn’t a good idea even if the reward programs are attractive. Lenders want to see people use credit just right -- not too much, not too little.

It can be damaging to cardholders who run up a high balance every month on one card and then pay it off each month. Scoring systems do not take those payments into account. Restrict the amount and sources of your credit. Remember, credit is about a convenient payment method, so make sure it fits your needs. It should never be used as money you don’t have.

5. Don't pay fines on non-credit-card bills

Other business relationships that don't normally report your good payments can turn around and bite you if you decide not to pay as agreed. A lot of service providers don't report positive information. But the minute you do something wrong, they can outsource that debt to a collection agency who will report it.

Even if you never go over the limit on your credit card, being one day late on a bill can affect your credit rating. By the way, experts recommend not spending more than 35 per cent of your allowable credit limit.

6. Ignore mistakes on your report

Say what you will about credit bureaus, they do make it easy to dispute inaccuracies on your credit report. In order to dispute something on a credit report, one must, of course,check one's credit report. It's easier than it's ever been as consumers have unfettered access to their own credit information.

Unlike other issues that affect credit scores, mistakes sometimes can be remedied easily and quickly, so it's worthwhile to keep tabs on your report. By law, credit reporting agencies must provide your Consumer Disclosure report, which differs from the credit report lenders use, if ordered via mail or fax.

7. Make late payments or skip them entirely

It seems almost too obvious, but it bears stating that paying late and missing payments altogether are stellar ways to ensure that your credit score will scrape the bottom of the barrel.

If you experience cash flow problems or a downfall in your family economic situation for some time, don’t hide, it’s the worst thing you can do. Instead, call organizations that have loaned you money. Explain the situation and tell them you want to work out a repayment plan. Remember, always pay something.

The further back in time the mistakes are, the less impact they have on your credit score. Obviously, the fewer mistakes consumers make the better for their score.

We hope this information will prove helpful; should you have any further
questions, do not hesitate to call your Mortgage Specialist; he will be happy to
help you. And remember, you always play safer when you build savings; this is,
without a doubt, the best way to have a good night’s sleep.

Why Tempted SGDividends Are Not Investing into US Equities....

Aww man...we like Krafts and General Electric. Why? Do you know that Krafts are the brandowners of Oreo Cookies? Their financial ratios are not outstanding but they did a restructuring just 2-3 years ago which makes sense and we have the gut feeling that Irene B. Rosenfeld is a good leader.( we don't really like it that she is both chairman and CEO though...). How about General Electric?General Electric are beseiged by their GE Capital..but their other divisions are going damn strong. Just click on the links of key developments for GE under Reuters, compare with other companies you think are big and you will understand. But we are not investing in these, neither are we intending to do so( unless something interesting happens). Among many reasons such as the exchange rate risks, the lack of a homeground advantage as Singaporean investors, we just found another reason to not invest in US equities. (If you are trader, yeah think US market is for you...its damn volatile . Investing and Trading are different)

This reason is not new actually..think we read it in a book initially and it makes sense to us. It suggests that the US stock market will not be able to see as good a returns as the past due to the mandatory withdrawal of US citizens of their 401Ks at age 70.5years. Just in case, as a Singaporean and you are not familiar with 401Ks, its like a retirement account, similar to our Singapore Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) which was incepted somewhere in year 2001. Below is a summary timeline of 401Ks..

Let's look at the current population pyramid of US as of year 2009. ( taken from their Censeus Bureaus....don't play play and who says Geography is useless, we will punch you..see how useful it is!)It should be noted that the inception of 401Ks was around year 1978. That means that as of current year 2009, about 31 years have passed, enough time for US citizens to have amassed a large amount of equities or mutual funds and other securities in their 401Ks. Add to that, as can be seen from the population pyramid above, the baby boombers are coming of age. At around 6-10 years time, the currently 60-64 age group would have to begin mandatory withdrawals, which means selling of US securities. Wouldn't this add to the downward pressure on stock market prices?See the fattening of the population pyramid downwards.

Just a minor additional point. The US government temporary suspended the mandatory withdrawal of 401Ks for year 2009 and thereby effectively postponing such withdrawals to a later date, giving the explanation that forced withdrawals in such current environments would cause a realised loss for retirees. That makes sense. But another additional reason, in our opinion, is that it would cause additional downward pressure on US stock prices. Duh.....

So great, all this, baby boomers, postponed mandatory withdrawals should just add to the relatively sub-par performance of the US stock market in the future...don't you think?

Updated in response to the first comment.

A random search brought up this chart by the US Census Bureau. This is showing data in year 2000 and 2002. Let us focus on year 2002.

As can be seen below the amount of stocks and mutual funds US persons are holding are USD20,665. The amount in 401K is USD21,450. So, the amount of 401K is not insignificant. Granted, not all 401K are in stocks....

Important: The objective of the articles in this blog is to set you thinking about the company before you invest your hard-earned money. Do not invest solely based on this article. Unlike House or Instituitional Analysts who have to maintain relations with corporations due to investment banking relations, generating commissions,e.t.c, SGDividends say things as it is, factually. Unlike Analyst who have to be "uptight" and "cheem", we make it simplified and cheapskate. -The Vigilante Investor, SGDividends Team

An invisible tax...Cash is crap!

With the yet again recent move by the US Feds to increase the money supply by buying up mortgage backed securities..we vomited when we heard that news. The US is in a big mess...it seems they are operating in an environment where every action they take is a struggle between politics and pure economics logic. Don't get us wrong...we think what the Feds are doing are logical from a public administration standpoint, but it is disastrous from an economics point. Anyway, SGDividends is ultra bearish on the US dollar and thats our personal opinion. It just makes perfect sense.

In layman speak, the above chart is basically showing how fast and furious the US Feds have been buying securities ( mortage-backed,treasuries, e.t.c). When the US Feds buy securities, they use US dollars to pay for it, therefore, effectively increasing the money supply into the system. Don't you think the spike is kinda scary?

To understand what gibberish we are talking about, one needs to understand the purchasing power of cash . It refers to the amount of real goods and services that a person can buy with say $1 fiat money. Therefore, its not correct to measure whether one has become wealtheir by looking at one's bank account, its more important to see how much goods and services one can buy. See the second chart above.

A bit on the history of money so that one can have a firmer grasp on why we say the USD dollar is crumbling and appreciate the situation better. ( Anyway, who says history is a useless subject in school...we will punch you . Its has helped many people make serious money.. )

Fiat money ( the paper money) used to be backed by Gold. So simply , USD$1 is backed by 2 pieces of Gold held in the Central Bank. By doing this, there was a system in place that imposed discipline on the government and prevented them from printing too much money. Think about it, one's money then was actually backed up by something REAL and PRECIOUS. In 1971, the US government abandoned the above system, which means money can be printed wantonly as it is no longer backed up my ANYTHING. Doesn't it make you wary of that lousy piece of "Legal Tender" paper. When the US government increases money, its actually an invisible tax on especially those people who do not receive that money. Its similar to a company stock. When the board of directors issue shares to their employees or insiders, it is dilutive and those shareholders not receiving these shares actually now owns a smaller percentage of the company.

Ok that was just some rant. Think the only money we will keep now is the money in our EZ link cards and Minimum $500 dollars in our POSB bank for daily liquidity needs. Cash is crap..buy assets. Ok so we wrote an article about 1-2 months back regarding Gold...since its a hedge against inflation...well we are still not buying into Gold though....just don't feel like it.

Important: The objective of the articles in this blog is to set you thinking about the company before you invest your hard-earned money. Do not invest solely based on this article. Unlike House or Instituitional Analysts who have to maintain relations with corporations due to investment banking relations, generating commissions,e.t.c, SGDividends say things as it is, factually. Unlike Analyst who have to be "uptight" and "cheem", we make it simplified and cheapskate. -The Vigilante Investor, SGDividends Team

Housing Market Up 8.6%

Canada's housing industry showed signs of life in February after several months of declines, with resales rising 8.6% from January thanks to lower mortgage rates and prices, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported Monday.

Despite February's gains, sales are still down 31% year over year, as are prices, which have fallen 9.2% in the past 12 months, CREA said.

Still, atotal of 28,669 homes changed hands in February on a seasonally adjusted basis via the industry group's Multiple Listing Service. It is the first month-to-month uptick in home-resale activity since September 2008.

"Typically, the spring market we're moving into generates more activity, and this year there are the benefits from historically low mortgage rates and improved affordability in most markets," said CREA president Calvin Lindberg.

CREA cautioned that listings remain high, although the number is trending lower, with 65,060 units listed for sale in February, down 10.9% from the same month a year ago.

"The housing supply is expected to continue easing, but it will take time before it realigns with lower demand," said CREA chief economist Gregory Klump.

"Economic uncertainty is keeping home buyers in a cautious mood, so homes are taking longer to sell than in recent years. Lower sales activity at the higher end of the price spectrum will keep the national MLS residential average price under downward pressure."

The national average price for home sales via the MLS was $281,972. Canada Mortgage rates, meanwhile, are near historic lows. On Friday, for instance, TD Canada Trust lowered its seven-year fixed mortgage rate by 0.2 points to 6.8%.

CREA said February's 9.2% annualized price decline is smaller than year-over-year drops posted in the past four months and is the first time the pace of decline decelerated since turning negative in July 2008.

"The report does offer some hope that the decline in Canadian home prices may have stabilized somewhat in February after appearing to have accelerated in the latter months of 2008," said TD Securities economics strategist Millan Mulraine.

"Not surprisingly, the biggest decline in prices were in Calgary (down 10.8% year over year), Greater Vancouver (down 13%), and Windsor (down 15.7%). However, prices in Toronto (down 5.4%) were also lower, while prices in Montreal (up 2.2%) and Quebec City (up 9.3%) continue to rise, albeit at a more modest clip," Mr. Mulraine said.

FHA Loan information

I have consolidated all of my new FHA Loan Posts, VA Loan Posts, and other Jumbo Loan posts and updates into our main blog, vandykmortgage.blogspot.com. This will make it easier to keep track of all the new loan program changes as they come down the pike.

For the best uses of FHA loans, VA Loans, Conforming Loans, VA Jumbo Loans, FHA Jumbo Loans, and Conforming Jumbo loans check back with us often. I will update often on new ways to utilize these Government Jumbo Loan programs to achieve your goals and satisfy your needs.

Many people have found that a VA Jumbo Home loan or FHA Jumbo Home Loan is the best solution to their home purchase or Home Refinance needs. Still, many more are unaware that the modernization of these programs can now help millions into safe, secure, and affordable financing.

Working with an experienced VA Direct Lender or FHA Direct Lender such as Brian Skaar and VanDyk Mortgage has it benefits. We have been doing Government loans (FHA & VA) since 1987. We aren't learning the programs, we are making them work for you.

Our FHA Home Loans are available up to $729,750 (depending on county) and our VA home Loans are available up to $1,094,650 (depending on county). The current cap on Conforming Jumbo loans, both Fannie Mae Jumbo (High Balance) or Freddie Mac (Super Conforming) is $729,750, the newly restored loan limits for 2009. Please visit http://www.vandykfunding.com/ to see the limits for your county.

If you would like to Purchase or Refinance your home with a VA loan, the new 2009 VA loan limits go as high as $1,094,625 in some counties. To find out the loan limit for your county, click here. VA Loans can refinance your non VA loan into a safe, secure, and affordable VA home loan. Even up to $1,094,650. We can even leave your existing second mortgage in place with out regard to the total Combined Loan to Value (case by case basis, call for details).
VA Jumbo Loan amounts are those from $417,001 up to $1,094,650. (depending on county).

FHA Loans can also offer refinance options for your non FHA loan into a safe, secure, and affordable FHA home loan, even up to $729,750. We can even leave your existing second mortgage in place with out regard to the total Combined Loan to Value (case by case basis, call for details). FHA Jumbo Loan amounts are those from $417,001 up to $729,750 (depending on county).

Call the Government Loan Experts at VanDyk Mortgage today at 866-900-2342.
http://www.vandykfunding.com/ VanDyk Mortgage has been making FHA & VA loans since 1987. We are a HUD recognized Full Eagle FHA DE underwriter and FHA Direct Lender.

VanDyk Mortgage is also a Proud VA Direct Lender. Go with the Government Loan Pros, go with VanDyk. Visit us at http://www.vandykfunding.com/ or call Brian Skaar direct at 760-752-4480 for help with your VA or FHA loan. We are your VA Jumbo Direct Lender and FHA Jumbo Direct Lender and we offer FHA, FHA Jumbo, FHA Manual Underwrite, FHA Jumbo Streamline refinance, FHA Jumbo Purchase, FHA Streamline, VA, VA Streamline, VA Jumbo purchase, VA Jumbo Refinance, VA Cashout refinance, FHA Rehab 203K, VA, Conforming & Jumbo Loans.

We serve the following areas for VA, FHA and Conventional loans: California,Southern California, Northern California, Washington, Texas, Georgia, Florida, San Diego, San Marcos, CA, WA, GA, FL, MO, MI, TX, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista, Escondido, Fallbrook, Bonsall, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange County, Irvine, Corona, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Seattle, Washington, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Lynnwood, Olympia, Tacoma, Puyallup, Buckley, Auburn, Kent, Federal Way, Seatac, San Francisco, San Jose, Carson, Gardena, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Inglewood, Ladera Heights, View Park, Windsor Hills, Baldwin Hills, Fox Hills, Culver City, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Santa Monica, Brentwood, Calabasas, Encino, Oakland, Bel Air Estates, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance, Sacramento, Stockton, Bakersfield, Fresno, San Marcos, San Diego, Rancho Bernardo, Carlsbad, Escondido, Poway, Oceanside, Vista, Encinitas, Carmel Valley, Scripps, Tierra Santa, El Cajon, La Jolla, Chula Vista, National City, San Ysidro, Santee, Eastlake, Ramona, Long Beach, Artesia, La Palma, Cerritos, Compton, Lynwood, Bellflower, Temecula, Murrieta, Southern California, Northern California, Washington, Everett, Lynnwood, Tacoma, Kent, Federal Way, Auburn, Renton, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Whittier, Santa Fe Springs, Downey, Irvine, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange County.

VanDyk Mortgage is your FHA Lender & VA Lender of choice.

VA Loans - Converting your Present home into a rental

VA Loans - Converting your Present home into a rental home and buying a new primary home.

Many loan programs have limitations on qualification when converting an existing primary residence into a Rental when purchasing a new primary home. Some of the restrictions include:

• Must qualify for both mortgages with current income, with no credit for new Rent Income.
• Increased Asset Reserve requirements (6-12 months PITI reserves for both properties)

VanDyk Mortgage allows you to Purchase a new Home with a VA Loan (for eligible Vets & Active Duty Service Members), convert your current primary residence into a Rental, and use the new Rental Income to help you qualify.

***No additional reserve requirements.

***Qualify with a new Rental income on converted residence.

This opens the doors for thousands of Veterans to Reinvest in the US Housing market.

If you would like to Purchase a home with a VA loan the new 2009 VA loan limits go as high as $1,094,625 in some counties. To find out the loan limit for your county, click here. Call the Government Loan Experts at VanDyk Mortgage today at 866-900-2342. www.vandykfunding.com

VanDyk Mortgage has been making FHA & VA loans since 1987. We are a HUD recognized Full Eagle FHA DE underwriter and FHA Direct Lender.

VanDyk Mortgage is also a Proud VA Direct Lender.

Go with the Government Loan Pros, go with VanDyk. Visit us at http://www.vandykfunding.com/ or call Brian Skaar direct at 760-752-4480 for help with your VA or FHA loan. We offer FHA, FHA Jumbo, FHA Manual Underwrite, FHA Jumbo Streamline refinance, FHA Jumbo Purchase, FHA Streamline, VA, VA Streamline, VA Jumbo purchase, VA Jumbo Refinance, VA Cashout refinance, FHA Rehab 203K, VA, Conforming & Jumbo Loans.

We serve the following areas for VA, FHA and Conventional loans: California,Southern California, Northern California, Washington, Texas, Georgia, Florida, San Diego, San Marcos, CA, WA, GA, FL, MO, MI, TX, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista, Escondido, Fallbrook, Bonsall, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange County, Irvine, Corona, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Seattle, Washington, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Lynnwood, Olympia, Tacoma, Puyallup, Buckley, Auburn, Kent, Federal Way, Seatac, San Francisco, San Jose, Carson, Gardena, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Inglewood, Ladera Heights, View Park, Windsor Hills, Baldwin Hills, Fox Hills, Culver City, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Santa Monica, Brentwood, Calabasas, Encino, Bel Air Estates, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance, San Marcos, San Diego, Rancho Bernardo, Carlsbad, Escondido, Poway, Oceanside, Vista, Encinitas, Carmel Valley, Scripps, Tierra Santa, El Cajon, La Jolla, Chula Vista, National City, San Ysidro, Santee, Eastlake, Ramona, Long Beach, Artesia, La Palma, Cerritos, Compton, Lynwood, Bellflower, Temecula, Murrieta, Southern California, Northern California, Washington, Everett, Lynnwood, Tacoma, Kent, Federal Way, Auburn, Renton, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Whittier, Santa Fe Springs, Downey, Irvine, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange County.

VanDyk Mortgage is your FHA Lender & VA Lender of choice.

90% no MI - Investment property purchase - California

90% no MI - Investment property purchase loan - California Just 10% down payment.

Yes, 10% down, no MI. This is for real. In our last post on our innovative new
"Fannie Foreclosure Mover Loan" I forgot to mention that this program is available to Investors! Investors can purchase select homes owned by Fannie Mae with just 10% down.
Even in California, Florida, and other Declining markets. Even better, the Fico Minimums are reasonable, 660 for loans under $417K. This program even allows ficos down to 580 with 20% downpayment. This is a great loan product for Non Owner Occupied purchases.

For loans over $417,000 up to the current 2009 county loan limit for your area the limit is just 85% ltv or 15% down payment with a 660 Fico.

Please remember you have to fully document your income and have adequate liquid assets for reserves (6 months of payments).

We now offer 95% financing in California with no MI on select homes

We now offer 95% financing in California with no MI on select homes
When you purchase a Fannie Mae Owned Foreclosure Property, you may be eligible for our new
Fannie Foreclosure Mover Loan. This new loan allows you to finance up to 95% of the Purchase price with ZERO Mortgage Insurance (MI).

Loan amounts up to $417K are eligible up to 95%.

This is even available in California with these terms.

There are no Declining Market restrictions on this loan program.

We also offer these for the High Balance or Conforming Jumbo Loan sizes up to 90% of the purchase price of the home. This would help homebuyers looking at Fannie Mae properties in Los Angeles with loans up to $729,750, San Jose up to $729,750, San Francisco up to $729,750, San Diego up to $697,500. For more details on the higher 2009 loan limits just released, click here.

Call today: 760-752-4480 - Brian Skaar - VanDyk Mortgage - Direct Lenders - Direct Savings.

We offer this program in all of our loan markets: California, San Diego, San Marcos, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista, Escondido, Fallbrook, Bonsall, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange County, Irvine, Corona, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Seattle, Washington, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Lynnwood, Olympia, Tacoma, Puyallup, Buckley, Auburn, Kent, Federal Way, Seatac, San Francisco, San Jose, Carson, Gardena, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Inglewood, Ladera Heights, View Park, Windsor Hills, Baldwin Hills, Fox Hills, Culver City, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Santa Monica, Brentwood, Calabasas, Encino, Bel Air Estates, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance, San Marcos, San Diego, Rancho Bernardo, Carlsbad, Escondido, Poway, Oceanside, Vista, Encinitas, Carmel Valley, Scripps, Tierra Santa, El Cajon, La Jolla, Chula Vista, National City, San Ysidro, Santee, Eastlake, Ramona, Long Beach, Artesia, La Palma, Cerritos, Compton, Lynwood, Bellflower, Temecula, Murrieta, Southern California, Northern California, Washington, Everett, Lynnwood, Tacoma, Kent, Federal Way, Auburn, Renton, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Whittier, Santa Fe Springs, Downey, Irvine, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange County.

Good News: We now allow you to have up to 10 financed Properties!

Good News: New Rules for those with Multiple financed properties - We now allow you to have up to 10 financed Properties! You can get new financing on your Primary Home, Second Home or Investment property now.

For many Real Estate Investors, the past couple of years have been difficult. Especially due to the GSE's rule that you can only have 4 financed properties maximum.

I must now repeat the Good News: We now allow you to have up to 10 financed Properties!

We have some new changes with our loan programs this month that may be able to help you out with this situation. The new rules allow you to own up to 10 financed properties (no limit on total properties, just financed properties). There are some additional guideline hoops to jump through to qualify.

If the property being financed is your primary home, we have no limit on the total number of properties financed.

Fico score - must be 720+ mid score.

All of these loans must be Full Income Documentation. No exceptions.

You do need to have 6 months of PITI payments in liquid/cash reserves for all financed properties. For example if you have 3 properties with a monthly PITI of $2000 each, you would need to have 6 months x $2000 x 3 properties or $36,000 in cash/liquid reserves.

For help with this loan or other Multiple property loan scenarios, give me a call at 866-900-2342 toll free, ask for Brian Skaar. Or apply via our website at www.vandykfunding.com.
These loans are available up to the 2009 Loan limits for your area. Check out the new 2009 loan limits here.

We offer financing in many states including: California, Texas, Georgia, Florida, & many more.
VanDyk Mortgage is a Direct Lender offering conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, & Jumbo loans.

Canada housing starts fall 12.3 percent

Canadian housing starts fell by a greater-than-expected 12.3 percent in February on declines from the single and multiple dwellings sectors, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said on Monday.

New home construction dropped to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 134,600 units from 153,500 units in January, CMHC said.

The number of starts in February was below the consensus expectations of analysts who had called for 145,000 starts.

Urban single family home construction declined 11 percent to 44,500 units last month from 50,000 units in January. New construction of multiple dwellings, such as condos, fell 17.5 percent to an annual rate of 63,300 units.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 26,800 units in February.

Revised 2009 FHA Loan Limits now available

With the recent Stimulus bill passed in Congress & the Senate were provisions to return the FHA Loan Limits back to the higher levels of 2008. These higher loan limits are available immediately with VanDyk Mortgage for our FHA Jumbo Purchase Loans, FHA Jumbo Refinance loans, FHA Jumbo Streamline Refinance loans, and FHA Cash out Refinance Loans.

The revised 2009 FHA loan limits return the high end to $729,750 in higher cost counties such as Los Angeles, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Orange County, and more. San Diego County returns to a max 2009 FHA Loan Limit of $697,500.

Some of the big banks are not offering these revised loan limits yet, but VanDyk Mortgage is offering the revised 2009 Loan Limits effective immediately.

Click here to access the revised 2009 FHA Loan limits for your county.

VanDyk Mortgage has been making FHA loans since 1987. We are a HUD recognized Full Eagle FHA DE underwriter and FHA Direct Lender. VanDyk Mortgage is also a Proud VA Direct Lender. Go with the Government Loan Pros, go with VanDyk. Visit us at http://www.vandykfunding.com/ or call Brian Skaar at 760-752-4480 for help with your FHA loan.We offer FHA, FHA Jumbo, FHA Manual Underwrite, FHA Jumbo Streamline refinance, FHA Jumbo Purchase, FHA Streamline, VA, VA Streamline, VA Jumbo purchase, VA Jumbo Refinance, VA Cashout refinance, FHA Rehab 203K, VA, Conforming & Jumbo Loans.

We serve the following areas for VA, FHA and Conventional loans: California,Southern California, Northern California, Washington, Texas, Georgia, Florida, San Diego, San Marcos, CA, WA, GA, FL, MO, MI, TX, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista, Escondido, Fallbrook, Bonsall, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange County, Irvine, Corona, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Seattle, Washington, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Lynnwood, Olympia, Tacoma, Puyallup, Buckley, Auburn, Kent, Federal Way, Seatac, San Francisco, San Jose, Carson, Gardena, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Inglewood, Ladera Heights, View Park, Windsor Hills, Baldwin Hills, Fox Hills, Culver City, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Santa Monica, Brentwood, Calabasas, Encino, Bel Air Estates, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance, San Marcos, San Diego, Rancho Bernardo, Carlsbad, Escondido, Poway, Oceanside, Vista, Encinitas, Carmel Valley, Scripps, Tierra Santa, El Cajon, La Jolla, Chula Vista, National City, San Ysidro, Santee, Eastlake, Ramona, Long Beach, Artesia, La Palma, Cerritos, Compton, Lynwood, Bellflower, Temecula, Murrieta, Southern California, Northern California, Washington, Everett, Lynnwood, Tacoma, Kent, Federal Way, Auburn, Renton, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Whittier, Santa Fe Springs, Downey, Irvine, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange County. VanDyk Mortgage is your FHA Lender & VA Lender of choice.

How Low Could the STI Counters Possibly Get...Let's Calculate

Ah...The million dollar question on when the STI's low will be reached, so let us attempt this with some tangible data based on the last 2 recessions, the Asian Financial Crisis ( 97/98) and Sars ( 02/03). Actually, the idea to blog this was from a post from a website called money-and-girls.blogspot.com ( yeah you perverts...you saw it right...girls...) who took the data from another website which we would have definitely acknowledged if we knew.

Below is the data showing the percentage decline from the peak 93/98 high to 97/98 low during the Asian Financial Crisis and from the peak 99/00 high to 02/03 low during the Sars period for the various STI counters.

The above is taken from money-and-girls.blogspot.com

Let's use this percentage data to calculate the possible decline for the various STI counters in this financial crisis...shall we? See below document( The document below was done by SGDividends)

Possible Low

(Please note that those highlighted in blue are those stock counters that were listed during the 2 time periods from boom to bust...and we will only focus on these)

So what can the above tell us?

From the second document, it seems that there could possibly be more downside to go for many of the STI counters if one were to base strictly on history alone, ceteris paribus. The first document highlights something interesting. Notice that for nearly all the Straits Times index counters, their 02/03 lows were higher than their 97/98 lows. However, if one were to compare their 97/98 highs to their 02/03 highs, this pattern does not exist.

Therefore, a lesson learnt is that one should never ever invest when its a boom year cos you might just be stuck for ages and one should always invest in a recessionary or depression-like year as its highly probable that you will still make money even if you had not sold out your stock positions by the next downturn.

But then again, pls be mindful that its not always 100% true that the most recent low will be higher than the previous low as seen by the Nikkei index below from 1984 to current where the low just get lower and lower....poor japanese investors!

Important: The objective of the articles in this blog is to set you thinking about the company before you invest your hard-earned money. Do not invest solely based on this article. Unlike House or Instituitional Analysts who have to maintain relations with corporations due to investment banking relations, generating commissions,e.t.c, SGDividends say things as it is, factually. Unlike Analyst who have to be "uptight" and "cheem", we make it simplified and cheapskate. -The Vigilante Investor, SGDividends Team

How to Invest Using Dogs of the Dow method with SGX shares

Our fellow blogger at www.passivelifeincome.com mentioned to us before about this theory called Dogs of the Dow. It has a weird name and we thought it sounded like a movie show. Anyway, as we read more into it, apparently, some fund managers ( Merill Lynch) have been marketing a fund based on following this dogs of the dow strategy. So let's delve more into it and apply it to Singapore context. As the name implies, this strategy is actually done with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) companies.

So how effective is it? Show me the money..no money no talk! Read on!


What are the steps for the Traditional Dogs of the Dow method?
(This is a summary of what has been written by other people)
Step 1: Fix a date ( usually end of the year but any date is fine). Be disciplined and stick with this date, always.

Step 2: Select the 10 stocks which have the highest dividend yield. Even though it has not been mentioned, we will exclude REITs or TRUSTs simply because, the DJIA does not contain Reits or Trusts, so this is by inference. Since this method was for DJIA stocks which are the largest, so by inference again, this would mainly refer to blue-chips stocks in Singapore context. And this is the STI component stocks ( REITs and TRUSTs are striked out):
Capitaland, CapitamallTrust, City developments, Cosco Corp, DBS, Fraser and Neave, Genting International PLC, Golden Agri-resources, Hong Kong Land Holdings, Jardine Cycle and Carriage, Jardine Matheson Holdings, Jardine Strategic Holdings, Keppel Corp, Keppel Land, Neptune Orient Lines, Noble Group, Olam International, Overseas-Chinese Banking Corp, Sembcorp Industries, Sembcorp Marine, SIA Engineering, Singapore Airlines, Singapore Exchange Limited, Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore Technologies Engineering, Singapore Telecommunications, STARHUB, United Overseas Bank, Wilmar International, Yanlord Land.

Step 3: Allocate your funds equally to the 10 stocks.
Step 4: On the anniversary, sell the 10 stocks to get your funds, add somemore funds if you want to and repeat the steps.

As can be seen in the document above, the Small Dogs of the Dow seem to be doing better! So.....a little refinement.
From Step 2 above, choose 5 stocks among the 10 stocks that have the lowest closing price and allocate your funds equally among these 5 stocks, instead of the 10 stocks.These 5 stocks are the so-called "Small Dogs of the Dow".

So whats the bloody logic?
The logic behind this is that a high dividend yield suggests both that the stock is oversold and that management believes in its companies prospects and is willing to back that up by paying out a relatively high dividend. Investors are thereby hoping to benefit from both above average stock price gains as well as a relatively high quarterly dividend.

What does SGDividends think about his logic?
Frankly, we think their logic is a bit logical as we have mentioned before ( in our opinion) that its always better to get some money back in the form of dividends as we wait for capital appreciation, so choosing the beaten down stocks with a high dividend yield makes sense. But then we dislike it as its just too mechanical...like why is this stock beaten down..e.t.c...read our post on DIY investing for our preferred method. Anyway, notice the footnotes, note 3 in the above document taken from http://www.dogsofthedow.com/, it states reliable sources and we are extremely skeptical with such things. Why not tell us which sources are those? My mum is reliable... so is my grandfather..get the drift.... Having said that, its track record sounds good..so we will just shut up for now.

So what are the stocks? Say it and stop beating around the BUSH!Bitch!

Dog of the Dow - Compiled by SGDividends.blogspot.com

Important: The objective of the articles in this blog is to set you thinking about the company before you invest your hard-earned money. Do not invest solely based on this article. Unlike House or Instituitional Analysts who have to maintain relations with corporations due to investment banking relations, generating commissions,e.t.c, SGDividends say things as it is, factually. Unlike Analyst who have to be "uptight" and "cheem", we make it simplified and cheapskate. -The Vigilante Investor, SGDividends Team

Interest rate cuts

The Bank of Canada has cut a key short-term interest rate about as low as it can go in what is becoming a frantic effort to spark recovery from a recession it admits it has misjudged.

The central bank did what virtually every private sector economist advised it to do Tuesday morning, slashing the trend-setting overnight rate to 0.5 per cent into uncharted territory.

But bank governor Mark Carney, who was criticized for being overly rosy in his January economic outlook, now says that even at such unheard-of lows, the stimulus provided by traditional monetary policy is likely not enough.

And he said the bank now sees recovery coming later than it had projected, possibly in early 2010.

‘‘Given the low level of the target for the overnight rate, the bank is refining the approach it would take to provide additional monetary stimulus, if required, through credit and quantitative easing,’’ Carney wrote in a statement.

The central banker does not give examples of specific measures, but BMO deputy chief economist Doug Porter said the bank is considering a process whereby it injects money into the system buy buying up assets such as government bonds, asset-backed commercial paper and even government bonds directly.

‘‘Simply put, the bank is preparing to pull out all the stops to support the economy,’’ he said.

Canada’s major banks appeared ready to play ball with Carney: shortly after the announcement, Royal Bank (TSX:RY), Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO), TD Bank (TSX:TD) and CIBC (TSX:CM) announced that they would cut their prime rates in step with the central bank.

The reference to non-traditional monetary measures confirms that Carney knows he has exhausted interest rate cuts as a means of stimulating the economy out of a deepening and increasingly stubborn recession.

Darcy Briggs of Bissell Investment Management in Calgary said the bank could trim rates to 0.25 per cent — as the U.S. Federal Reserve has done — but ‘‘practically, what would that do?’’

As former Liberal cabinet minister and economist Doug Peters wrote last week: ‘‘Interest rates that count, such as interbank lending rates, mortgage lending rates, bank commercial lending rates, are all unusually high, especially considering that inflation is also very close to zero.’’

The other surprise was that Carney appeared to back off his relatively rosy forecast for the Canadian economy, which envisioned growth returning in the third quarter of this year and rebounding to 3.8 per cent next year.

‘‘The outlook for the global economy has continued to deteriorate since the bank’s January... update, with weaker-than-expected activity in major economies,’’ Carney said Tuesday.

‘‘National accounts data for the fourth quarter of 2008 and other indicators of aggregate demand point to a sharper decline in Canadian economic activity and a larger output gap through the first half of 2009 than projected in January.’’

Carney said potential delays in stabilizing the global financial system, along with low consumer confidence and larger hit on household wealth, ‘‘could mean that the output gap will not begin to close until early 2010.’’

Tuesday’s statement does not officially alter the forecast, but strongly implies that both this year’s 1.2 per cent contraction will be worse and that the recession may last until next year.

Most economic indicators have come in far weaker since January’s much-criticized bank outlook, including Monday’s report that the Canadian economy has shrunk by 3.4 per cent in the last quarter of 2008, far worse than the bank’s negative 2.3 per cent projections.

As well, Canada lost 129,000 jobs in January, a massive amount, which Carney did not know when he made his forecast.

But possibly the most critical factor is that the global economy, especially among industrialized nations, appears to be in free-fall.

The fourth quarter saw GDP fall by 6.2 per cent in the United States, six per cent in the United Kingdom, 5.7 per cent in the Eurozone, 10.3 per cent in Mexico and a massive 12.7 per cent in Japan.

And far from stabilizing, the U.S. financial system is lurching from crisis to crisis. On Monday, the U.S. government said it was adding another $30 billion to the bail-out package for the giant insurance company American International Group Inc. after it reported a staggering US$61.7-billion in quarterly losses.

‘‘Stabilization of the global financial system remains a precondition for the global and Canadian economic recoveries,’’ Carney noted in his statement.

Carney also forecast that inflation will likely be lower than expected this year.

SGDividends Watchlist 1 - Price per Average Free Cash Flow

Below is a list of SGX stocks which are on our watchlists. Column L (the one at the furthest right)shows the Price divided by Average Free Cash Flow per share. The lower this value, the more "value" a share is deemed to be by this valuation method. We have always maintained that this form of valuation is more conservative and better than price/earnings.See link in our step-by-step DIY investing.

Important: The objective of the articles in this blog is to set you thinking about the company before you invest your hard-earned money. Do not invest solely based on this article. Unlike House or Instituitional Analysts who have to maintain relations with corporations due to investment banking relations, generating commissions,e.t.c, SGDividends say things as it is, factually. Unlike Analyst who have to be "uptight" and "cheem", we make it simplified and cheapskate. -The Vigilante Investor, SGDividends Team