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iShares MSCI Singapore Index Fund (ETF)

  • World's Biggest Rig Developer Posts a Massive Drop in Income

    By Sarfaraz Khan - May 9, 2013 | Tickers: EWS, KPELY.PK, RDS-A

    Keppel Corp (NASDAQOTH: KPELY.PK), the world’s largest builder of offshore oil rigs has reported a significant slide in earnings, but this shouldn’t come as a surprise as management has been giving warning signals to shareholders. The company also operates in property and infrastructure segments, but its bread and butter mainly relies on developing offshore rigs for oil majors such as Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A). Keppel is one more »

  • Fraser & Neave Finally Fully Valued as Deal Closes

    By Peter Pham - February 6, 2013 | Tickers: EEME, EEMS, EWS, THD

    Thailand’s richest man Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi is all set to become even richer. The drama surrounding the acquisition of the Singapore’s property and drinks conglomerate Fraser & Neave finally came to an end when Charoen’s rival bidder, a consortium of investors led by the son of the famed Indonesia based billionaire Mochtar Riady decided to drop out. Stephen Riady and his firm Overseas Union Group decided not to raise more »

  • Pemex Keppel Deal Signals Potential Change

    By Peter Pham - January 15, 2013 | Tickers: XOM, GLNG, EWW, EWS, PBR, UMX, SLB

    The world’s biggest offshore oil rig developer, Singapore based Keppel Corp has secured contracts worth $420 million to construct two KFELS B class jackup rigs for Pemex. The construction work is expected to be completed within two years, and delivery will take place in Q1-2015. Excluding the current order, Keppel already has 18 such rigs in its pipeline while it has constructed 36 such rigs in the last ten more »

  • This Dollar Is Not Falling

    By Peter Pham - October 1, 2012 | Tickers: FXE, EWS, UUP

    The world’s major central banks, along with the Federal Reserve have all announced some form of open-ended QE in a coordinated attempt to keep the world financial markets from imploding.  Aside from the fire hose the Fed is bringing we have all of these events as well:

    1. The ECB’s new OMT program, essentially unlimited bond buying which will create unlimited moral hazard, regardless of the protestations of Mario more »

  • Singapore: Pushing Communication Innovation

    By Peter Pham - October 1, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, CMGE, EWS, MSFT

    Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is working together with Singapore based telecommunication companies and one of its largest mobile operators StarHub, with assistance from the government’s Institute for Infocomm Research, to develop and introduce ‘super wi-fi’ in the country. This new technology uses the unused TV spectrum, i.e. lower radio signals than the traditional wi-fi, to transmit information over larger distances at greater speeds. Singapore, next to South Korea, is more »

  • These Tigers Leap Over the BRIC Wall

    By Mike Richardson - September 6, 2012 | Tickers: BKF, EWH, EWS, EWY, EWT

    It is no secret that 75% of the money to be made resides outside the US borders.  Emerging markets have been considered the ultimate investing playground for those with the stomach for a gut-wrenching roller coaster ride.  For much of the last decade, the focus has been on a group of nations that Goldman Sachs Economist Jim O'Neil first called the "BRIC's." This quartet, comprised of Brazil, Russia more »

  • The Water Shortage Investors Must Know About

    By Peter Pham - August 28, 2012 | Tickers: XOM, EWM, EWS, RDS-B, RDS-A

    As the time draws nearer for the next round of elections to occur in Malaysia, which have to take place by June 30th, 2013 and the current Barisan Nasional ruling coalition in its weakest position in over 40 years, the level of potential mayhem in the economy is very likely to rise.  Sitting Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has been steadily making sweeping changes to the structure of Malaysia more »

  • Low Margin Sales Hurting Boeing

    By Peter Pham - August 15, 2012 | Tickers: XOM, GE, EWS, SPY, BA

    Boeing (NYSE: BA) expects that around 34,000 new planes will be purchased worldwide in the next two decades, and out of that one-third will land in the Asia Pacific region and the remaining in Europe and North America. It is also projecting a 5% increase in air traffic and a 5.2% increase in cargo traffic over the next two decades. Demand for airplanes will also be boosted as more »

  • Banking on Asia's Growth

    By Peter Pham - July 10, 2012 | Tickers: BCS, ASEA, GS, EWM, EWS

    Last week I began a rundown of the iShares MSCI Singapore ETF (NYSEMKT: EWS), highlighting three of the principle holdings of the fund to acquaint investors with one of the most important centers for growth in the coming years, as well as one of the most important financial centers in the world.  

    Since this week the West was rocked by the fraud perpetrated by Barclays (NYSE: BCS) over the fixing more »

  • Singapore’s Real Estate Reveals Structural Fault

    By Peter Pham - July 10, 2012 | Tickers: EWS, SGF

    Residential property prices in Singapore fell in the 1st quarter of 2012, with the high-end market losing 0.9%.  Supply is high due to the miasma in Europe and the fact that property rose in value since 2006 by more than 50%, a clear case of over-investment due to loose monetary policy (i.e. lowering interest rates to the zero-bound to manage the Singapore Dollar’s appreciation versus the more »

  • U.S. Bluff Called with Last Minute Exemption

    By Peter Pham - July 6, 2012 | Tickers: EWS, SGF

    There was something eerily odd about the silence leading up to the potential sanctions that were due to be levied by the U.S. on both China and Singapore.  Here was a potential development that if the U.S. went through with, it would have caused unprecedented chaos in the markets.  For that reason I don’t think anyone took the whole charade very seriously.  I’ve written extensively about more »

  • It Never Rains but it Singapores

    By Peter Pham - July 5, 2012 | Tickers: DBSDY.PK, EPP, EWS, KPELY.PK, SGAPY.PK

    With all of the uncertainty emanating from the U.S. and Europe over their budgetary and fiscal crises that seem to go on without end, it has become a convenient but not really popular investment thesis to say that capital is moving East and that’s where you should put your money.  But, while that statement makes some sense, and being here in Southeast Asia, I was one of the more »

  • The Financial Road to Singapore

    By Peter Pham - June 27, 2012 | Tickers: ASEA, HYG, LQD, EWS

    Looking over the financial landscape today it is obvious that we are entering a phase of capital flight from the West towards the East.  It has been my contention that there are a number of recipients of this wealth transfer but the main ones at this point in time look to be Japan and Singapore.  I’ve covered what I think it happening in Japan right now previously, but suffice more »

  • Greece’s Election Results and the Singapore Dollar

    By Peter Pham - June 21, 2012 | Tickers: FXE, EWS, NKY, SPY

    Sunday’s elections in Greece resulted in what has been described as the best possible outcome for the Euro.  The pro-bailout, pro-Euro New Democracy party pulled out a narrow victory over SYRIZA, while PASOK secured enough potential MPs to allow a tenuous coalition government to be formed that will re-open negotiations with the Troika on new bailout terms.  The election results weren’t certified before there were murmurs out of more »

  • Sanctions Lift Implies Attack on Asian Banks

    By Peter Pham - June 18, 2012 | Tickers: EWS, SLV, GLD | Editor's Choice

    On June 11th the U.S. State Department granted waivers for impending financial sanctions for seven countries who had not previously gone far enough in curbing their use of Iranian oil to be included in the first round of exemptions, which included Japan and many countries on the periphery of Europe.  This latest group: Malaysia, Taiwan, Turkey, India, Sri Lanka, South Korea and South Africa, are now no longer more »

  • ASEAN Building Social Infrastructure, Not Just Roads

    By Peter Pham - June 18, 2012 | Tickers: FB, GOOG, EWM, EWS, LNKD

    I’ve covered in the past the growing physical integration that ASEAN has prioritized to pave the way for the Asian Economic Community (AEC) due to become official in 2015.  But, what has not been covered is the growing role that social media will play in enhancing the physical movement of goods and people. Since ideas are as important as things, ASEAN recently revealed plans to make use of social more »

  • Malaysia’s Palm Oil IPO Reveals Global Trends

    By Peter Pham - June 15, 2012 | Tickers: EWM, EWS

    With the debacle that was the Facebook IPO the IPO market which was already somnambulant in 2012 has turned positively comatose.  The uncertainty in the global markets has even reached the Asia-Pacific region with the proposed $3 billion F1 IPO on Singapore’s exchange put on hold.  In Hong Kong year over year IPO volume through May is off 85%.  Excluding Facebook, U.S. IPOs are off 53% and globally more »

  • Singapore’s Push for Transformative Ideas

    By Peter Pham - June 11, 2012 | Tickers: EWS, MSFT, QCOM, SI, BA

    A report by the OECD has found that the largest economies in Asia now outspend the U.S. on science and technology research and development.  This trend will only increase throughout the decade.  China’s spending on R&D has risen by 25% per year since 2009, which is the main driver of these costs.  Last fall Singapore’s Prime Minister made it clear that he wants the country to more »

  • ASEAN and Looming Currency Wars

    By Peter Pham - April 30, 2012 | Tickers: RMB, EWM, EWS, JGBS

    Among the many things that were on the table at the recently finished ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh was an expansion of the Chiang Mai Initiative fund of foreign exchange reserves to defend against currency speculation of any one member.  China, Japan and Korea are also contributors to this fund.  Together they make up the ASEAN+3 bloc.  The thirteen member group has proposed expanding the size of the fund more »

  • The Future of ASEAN

    By Peter Pham - April 19, 2012 | Tickers: ASEA, FXI, EWS, THD, VNM

    Now that the 20th annual ASEAN Summit is passed and the diplomats have all gone home I thought it would be a good time to look at the current state of things in Southeast Asia.  ASEAN is moving rapidly towards the Asian Economic Community (AEC), which they desire to be in place by 2015.  The AEC will be an inter-regional free trade zone as well as having strong integration more »