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After interviewing Amber Chia, the Malaysia born international supermodel, this is the second episode. For those who missed the interview, please read " Interviewing International Supermodel Amber Chia " dated 11 April 2011. In conjunction with this, Finance Malaysia Blog continue to highlight some of those successful Malaysian. We strive to bring out the hidden success story of Malaysian, and we are proud to present to you Catwalk guru - Benjamin Toong. Some profile of Benjamin Toong: Founder of Runway Productions Crowned as the catwalk guru of Malaysia in year 2010 3 years experience in runway training, fashion stylist and runway choreographers Fashion stylist for local and international fashion magazines Judge and Professional Runway Trainer for Ford model Supermodel of the world Malaysia 2009 Official stylist of Jiayu Astro CH304 Co-founder of AmberChia Academy The Interview In Malaysia, many people perceived that modelling is of western culture. Can you tell us HOW and...

The results of the President's economic policies are becoming plain to see. The economy is mired in stagnation; inflation is picking up; and new unemployment claims are surging. The national debt is reaching catastrophic levels. The Fed is printing money to finance purchases of new debt (they bought 80 percent of the newly financed deficits for the past eight months). The most absurd economic policies in American history are bearing fruit. The economy is a total mess. Obama often speaks of "the race to the bottom." Now we know what he means. The American economic engine, once the envy of the world, is now a joke, and a bad one at that. Obama's policies have strangled the private sector and broken the finances of the federal government. So what is Obama doing now? He's beginning his re-election campaign. Wonder what part of this record he plans to defend?

On Wednesday 4/27, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made a public statement that effectively said the following: we're done buying bonds, but we don't expect interest rates to drastically change. With low interest rates comes the possibility/probability of inflation -- with this inflationary expectation, it's no surprise that commodities prices ascended. AGQ, an ETF with a bullish stance on the value of silver, saw a single day gain of over 13.5% on 4/27. GLD, a similar ETF linked positively to the value of gold, saw a more tempered (but still positive) gain of ~2% on Wednesday the 27th. The value of these instruments (and their underlying commodities) should be interesting to follow in the coming months, especially as QE2 comes to a close at the end of the second quarter.

On 25th April 2011, CIMB-Principle Asset Management Berhad launched the first Asia-Pacific fund for this year. The fund will invest in dividend-yielding stocks from the Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) region. To brings out the "dynamism" of the fund, a " color-changing dragon " was used. For sure, the company must has placed a lot of hard work to come out with the idea and I think it is a successful example which could attracts the attention of prospective investors. "Investors are generally back to being bullish. After 2 very good years, valuations have recovered and Asia Pacific ex-Japan markets are up. Looking ahead, slower economic recovery of the developed markets will shift investors' appetite to Asia Pacific and this positive outlook will spur further stable investments. We are confident that markets will perform positively and this Fund will satisfy investors' revived sentiments and lingering concerns", said CEO of CIMB-Principal.  Investment objec...

Last year 2010, Malaysia property market recorded the BEST year ever. Will it be another record breaking year in 2011? Many economist and property analysts opine that this year, the property market will appreciates by another 10-15% . So, should we wait some more? Recently, many of my friends keeps on asking the same bold questions. Should I buy house now? Or, should I wait some more? But, when is the property downturn? Modern Design: Swimming pool in the house. Good questions though, but if you ask me when is the property downturn, I really do not know. As a rule of thumb, I will rely on the stock market to give me the indication. Commonly, property market will take a blow one year after the crashing of stock market. Example, the 2008 financial crisis gave us a good timing to invest in property market. For those who buy house during that time, you should know what I am talking about and smile. So what? How about now? Before answering your question, I would like to throw you back a qu...

Yeah... Our long lost friends are here again. These friends are in the limelight again, conquering the lists of most active counters lately. Punters are trading happily because of their relatively cheap price, higher volatility, and most importantly less coverage by analysts. Normally, investment banks did not cover ACE counters due to their not-so-clear business model, hence very hard for them to project their earnings and setting fair value. No estimated fair value means punters can set the "fair" ground themselves. Most Active Counters in Bursa Malaysia on 21st April 2011 You Jump... I Jump Of course, some of those ACE counters are there for certain reason, but many of them are there without any material announcement. For example, Tricubes is very active due to its participation in ETP, by investing RM50mil to develop the 1Malaysia email project. But then, why Omedia, IE, Viztel, TDEX also featured in the most active list today? Don't we have better companies to tra...

It is interesting to see folks saying that if the Greeks restructure their debt (meaning a partial default on their debt) that a financial Armageddon will soon follow. Since restructuring or some type of default is inevitable for Greece, I guess there must be a financial Armageddon in our future. Last week the IMF suggested that the Greeks must restructure within 12 months and now more voices have been added saying essentially the same. What those who worry about the coming Armageddon don't seem to get is that "restructuring" or a "partial default" is inevitable for Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Italy, and Spain. Indeed, one should add Germany and France to that list since their governments and banks have backstopped the former countries with bailouts in the past 24 months. What is wrong with a default or partial default by Greece? Nothing. Those who have made bad loans to Greece should lose money. Is there any reason that they should be insulated from their b...