Mickey Mouse stocks

Goh Eng Yeow wrote an article in ST about the Mickey Mouse stocks in the SGX a few days ago. To him this is not desirable and not the norm. I think it is disgraceful in away, a joke. How can a main board stock be worthless or be worth less than 1c? Please don’t laugh, this is serious business, maybe a very sophisticated strategy of great minds, too deep and complex for ordinary beans to figure out, like toxic bonds and derivatives, for a main board stock to be value at less than 1c. Is this is a new game designed by intelligent gamers for daft investors?
 
On the other hand SGX is reducing the board lot of 1000 shares to 100 shares. Would they go further to reduce them to unit share to increase liquidity? They have also reduced the bid value to 0.1c to induce liquidity. Now, is it funny, is it strange, fishy?
 
How did the dominance of penny stocks in the main board come about and remain so for so long? Was it by design or by fluke? This thing did not happen over night. It has been like that for several years. And by reducing the board lot size and bid value to less than Mickey Mouse, what are the likely effects? More Mickey Mouse business?
 
My guess is that Mickey Mouse stocks are desirable and intended to some quarters. I may be wrong, but I am only guessing. The question is why? Who benefits from Mickey Mouse stocks and Mickey Mouse bid sizes and bid values? Knowing the answer will explain why Mickey Mouse stocks are desirable and allowed to exist in the main board. What? Small investors are the beneficiaries to Mickey Mouse stocks? Try again.

PS. Is this the stock market version of cheap foreign workers is good for the market? We have a Sesdaq for cheap and high risk stocks. There is no place for super penny stocks in the main board to cheapen the stock market aka Sungei Road bazaar. The main board must be a place for quality stocks.

Kopi Level - Green

Lease Buy Back Scheme (LBS)

With the LBS now the hot topic for discussion, Boon Wan has wisely entered the fray to warn the oldies who took the scheme and ended with a lot of cash to be careful. ‘I urge our seniors to exercise prudence and caution.’ Said Boon Wan. He did not recap on the oldies visiting Batam story but instead spoke about the numerous foreign property investment schemes being peddled in the market.
 
And I thought I had a better idea. Or someone, some concerned and do gooders, would say the best thing is to retain the cash in the CPF accounts or make the oldies buy a compulsory annuity scheme with the cash from the LBS. Well, I thought I was being smart, but I was late. This was what Boon Wan suggested.
‘The best advice I can offer, is to use the substantial cash proceeds to voluntarily top-up you and your spouse’s Retirement Accounts. That will be a sure way to ensure that you can both enjoy a steady income each month in your golden years.’
 
There is a slight difference from what I had in mind. I was thinking of another compulsory scheme ala CPF minimum sum scheme. I am very concern for the welfare of the daft and irresponsible oldies. I would want to help them, not to lose their money because of their foolishness. I need to protect them. Boon Wan was talking about a voluntary top up scheme. At least he was kinder by allowing the oldies the right to choose. I am the kindest of all, but of the extreme kind, and am suggesting to make the retention of the cash by compulsion, no choice. They said you need to be cruel to be kind. I subscribe to that.
 
Now, which is the kinder scheme, voluntary or compulsory? Keeping the money in the CPF is definitely a good thing. The money will not fly away. Only slight drawback, the oldies may die before touching it.

Kopi Level - Green

Brighter prospect for cleaners

Some years ago this guy came to me for advice on his career path. He was going to take up the job as a cleaner and he wanted to know if there was any prospect in this job. Yes I called it a job, not a profession and I could not really see any prospect in the job except to become a supervisor if the company was big enough. I had a bit of difficulty explaining to him about a dead end job or a job with dim prospect.
 
Today I could be more optimistic and could tell him to take up the cleaner job. The prospect is brighter. A new law will be introduced to pay cleaners a minimum salary of $1,000. Four figures you know. And the prospect of $1,600 as a supervisor. Cleaners will also be sent for training to improve their skills and probably higher salaries. There will be a career path for them. 



From a HR point of view I would like to develop an organisational structure for the cleaner profession for the big companies. Organise them like the army with section leaders, platoon commanders etc etc. If big enough, can even have a cleaner general at the top of the pile.
 
Things are changing. Poly grads, interested in becoming cleaners? Just kidding. Poly grads prospects are even better. Could look forward to join the Admin Service or maybe become a politician and a MP or minister.

Kopi Level - Green

The govt must stay out of the people’s lives

The govt is elected by the people to look after national matters. They must not arrogate themselves to mess around with the people’s lives and their personal matters like child bearing or how to spend their life savings, how to retire.
 
What the govt can do is to formulate policies which they think are good and offer them to the people. The people shall decide what is good for them. What is good for A may not be good for B. What is good for the govt may be bad for the people. Everyone is different and has different priorities, values and beliefs. Leave the people to decide how to live their lives, and leave the people’s money alone.
 
Keep your hands off the people’s money! Nobody is asking the govt to nanny them or to help to mess up their lives. Just because 3 persons went to see the MP for help does not mean everyone is asking the MP for help. Stay off.
 
Which idiot in govt is claiming that the people are asking the govt to meddle and interfere with their private lives? Kee chiu please.

Kopi Level - Blue. Thank you.

CPF backed by solid assets

I am just looking at the reasonings given recently that the people have no fear as their CPFs are backed by solid assets of the state. We have land, we have properties, we can also print money, solid like hell. Even if we lose all our CPF money in bad investments, the govt can always find other money to put back or repay the people’s CPF savings. I am not saying that our CPF money has been lost or gambled away. Our CPF money is in SGS bonds, very safe.
 
This issue crops up because of the reasonings used to assuage the people that they have nothing to worry about. The govt is not broke and have a lot of assets to back up the CPF savings in the reserves, land and properties in the whole island in fact.
 
So, is the reasoning or logic acceptable? Hypothetically, if a rogue govt and their talented investment managers were to lose the bulk of the reserves/CPF money in the future, they can say, don’t worry, we have a lot of assets that we can sell, liquidate to put back into the CPF, is this assuring?
 
Money lost is money lost. Taking money from somewhere to cover up the hole means somewhere else has a big hole that needs covering up. If the loss is big, the hole would be just as big. Some big assets must be sold from the pool. This cannot be acceptable.
 
The reserves/CPF money being managed when lost is lost and digging out money from other pockets cannot be acceptable and not comforting. The money must come from somewhere and when everything is accountable and linked, ultimately the people must pay for it somehow. Yes, the govt has a lot of money, reserves and assets, many times more than the CPF savings. So?
 
It is just like the public transport system. If it loses money, or more money needed for capital expenditure, or more fines for delays and breakdowns, eventually the commuters will have to pay for them.

Kopi Level - Blue. Thank you.