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Global Overview The market will continue to be challenging and it is tough to make a judgment call at this juncture. News and headlines rather than fundamentals will continue to drive markets and as such, volatility will continue into 2012 largely driven by the lack of clarity with regards to the Eurozone debt crisis, the US debt problem compounded by slowing growth in the US economy. There is no quick fix or immediate resolution to these issues as the problems plaguing developed economies are deep rooted fundamental issues such as mounting debt, low growth and high unemployment. In the case of the European Union, the fragmented economic and political governance of their common monetary union is working against them as leaders struggle to find an equitable solution to giving aid to highly indebted countries in the South of Europe such as Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal, without overburdening financially stronger countries such as Germany and France. And for the US, their economy has...

Today, gold is becoming an ever important asset class in the world. Banks nationwide is offering investors the opportunity to invest in gold, whether it is for capital preservation or capital gain. How well you diversify without investing in gold? This is the question being asked by those already investing in gold, and most of them already making profit out of it. But, is it really so different? Is it really a must have asset class? History of Gold Gold has been used for numerous monetary functions long long time ago, especially in China. Ancient people used gold as a form of currency and storage of wealth. By using gold as a medium to which paper currency was pegged, most modern international monetary systems were created since then. What drives up Gold price? The modern gold rush scenario happened since 2008 global financial crisis, driven by extremely low deposits rate on cash, very volatile equity markets and surging inflation . Negative real value of money is the key factor why m...

Ignoring the volatile and not-so-positive market currently, Public Mutual Bhd launched 3 funds in a row on 6th Sept 2011 to fill investors appetite. They were PB Asia Emerging Growth Fund , PB Bond Fund , and PB Sukuk Fund . Here, we will be only highlighting the equity fund. PB Asia Emerging Growth Fund seeks to achieve capital growth over the medium to long-term period by primarily investing in the securities of emerging small to medium-sized companies in domestic and regional markets. The fund generally maintains equity exposures within a range of 70% to 98% against its NAV. The balance of the fund's NAV may be invested in domestic and foreign fixed income securities and money market instruments. Investment Strategy Generally, companies with reasonable earnings growth prospect are selected. In identifying such companies, the fund relies on fundamental research where financial health, industry prospects, management quality and past track record of the companies are considered. A...

Indeed, there is a insightful write-up by RHB Research today on the US housing market. People are still very curious about the US housing market, but yet to have the courage to BUY . Herd mentality? And, why US housing market is catching the attention of the world? Oh, thanks to Rich Dad Poor Dad , and the world famous property tycoon, Donald Trump . In fact, I am wondering how did Donald fares these few years? That's why Donald had teamed up with Robert Kiyosaki to publish a book last year? People stop buying property because they're buying books nowadays? A Double-Dip in the US Housing Market? ... by RHB Research (30 March 2011) US home prices, as measured by the S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas, declined by 0.2% mom in January vs -0.4% in December, and dipped for the 7th straight month to the lowest since April 2009. Year-on-year, home prices in 20 major cities fell by a larger magnitude of 3.1% in January, the 4th consecutive month of decline ...

As usual, another episodes of tension in the Middle East pushes global oil prices higher, and surpassing $100 per barrel this time. We did seen this kind of scenario before in the Middle East during 1973-74, 1979, and the Iraq war in 1990. Are there any different this time? Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi By Credit Suisse ,  We believe the rise in oil prices is manageable . Each 10% rise in oil prices only takes about 0.1% off global GDP and 0.2% off US growth. With Western wage growth muted, central banks are unlikely to raise rates on account of oil alone. Our analysts see oil prices below $100 pb this year, supported by the following reason which differs from previous oil crisis:- There is enough spare capacity in the global oil market to deal with supply-side disruptions as long as they are not too extreme The energy intensity of global GDP has fallen by around 40% over the past 40 years There is unlikely to be the same inflationary follow-through as in the 1970s Oil producer...

Forget about supply and demand issue of commodity, everyone knows the main mover now is Emerging Market, especially China. As long as US economy not yet recovered, China was expected to continue its great appetite to consume commodities globally. Not for its consumptions, but mainly because of China's currency management. China, already the largest creditor of US by holding USD which was slipping with a series of quantitative easing programs, would definitely forced China to diversify its holding elsewhere. However, China would hand-picking according to its own local demand. As such, Finance Malaysia forecasts those commodities which were used heavily in construction , infrastructure , production will continue to perform in 2011.   Top pick #1: Palladium One in four goods manufactured today either contain platinum group metals or the platinum group metals play a major role during their manufacturing process. Palladium was used in many electronics including computers, mobile phones,...

Do you discounted the possibilities of asset bubbles in Emerging Market ? Even though our governments, including China, saying that asset bubbles is under-controlled for almost one year now, yet, investors are not comfortable with the record breaking prices. Investors are encountering high prices in properties, commodities, resources, and of course, shares market in emerging markets. People are investing, buying, spending, and borrowing to an extent that would caused asset bubbles in various sectors. Return , the only thing in mind...   Meanwhile, investors are chasing for returns to beat the market at large, and to avoid being left behind. This " Kiasu " behavior are only pouring oils on fire. Yet, returns is the only thing in mind, and those "kiasu" investors are winning the game to date. For those who does not participate in the game were blaming them for causing the high property prices, undermining their affordability to own a house.   When did the...