How you see the market ?

Loud cars and loud lifestyles are often the key reason for the downfall of people who made illicit money. Look at the Singapore Land Authority guy’s case. It’s the same in Italy – read how they catch tax evaders.


Bloomberg ----  Police fanned out across Milan in late January halting more than 350 vehicles, mostly luxury SUVs and Porsches.

At checkpoints, including one adjacent to the fashionable Corso Como, the police got the driver’s license and registration, which they passed on to the national tax agency. The tax authorities will use the data to check if the cars’ owners had declared enough income -- and of course paid the right amount of income taxes -- to justify their lifestyles.
It was at least the fifth raid targeting wealthy Italians since a Dec. 30 sweep at the posh Cortina d’Ampezzo ski resort, where 251 high-end cars were stopped, including Ferrari and Lamborghini supercars, Bloomberg Businessweek reports in its Feb. 13 issue. Rome, Portofino on the Italian Riviera and Florence have also been targeted.
“I’ve been stopped three times in the last few weeks by authorities because I’m driving a luxury SUV,” says Andrea, a Range Rover owner and entrepreneur in Italy's wealthy northeast. “It seems like the McCarthy era in America. You’re guilty by suspicion.”
The 43-year-old, who declined to give his last name for fear of attracting the attention of Italy’s tax agency, now plans to sell the SUV he bought last May. He expects to get at most 40,000 euros ($52,400) for a car that cost him more than 100,000 euros. “Dealers are full of luxury cars. No one wants to buy them now,” the businessman said.

Dear Peter and Shark, Sorry for the late reply. I have been busy handling the property transaction. Please don't call me a guru. There are more people in this forum smarter than me. That's why they called me 'nuts' I am not a long-term investor. I am a believer of marco environment having a bigger say than the fundamentals of a Company itself. Whenever, there is a crisis, I ask myself how long the crisis would last and whether any companies would benefit from this crisis. End of the day, companies are not built in a day and will not die in a day if they are properly managed. Master the financials and learn to understand facts, not opinions. Take for instance, do you really believe some Chinese companies can have 30% net profit margins? I have been to several China tours last year and real business owners I spoke to said that they would be very happy to have single-digit net profit margins. Coming back to this market. I believe this market rally is due primarily to liquidity. US Fed has already said that they will keep interest rates low for another 2 years. This means fund managers, investors can borrow money to play the stock market. Fundamental-wise, nothing has improved. But will this liquidity dry up? Yes,. it may if something drastic happen. Example, Italy goes bust. But do remember, 2012 has 2 very important events -- Elections in US and the transfer of leadership in China. Both big countries would want to do their best to make sure that everything is good this year. I have made my money in these 2 months and paid for a pretty size apartment in full cash (Profit from the market). Rent for the apartment is around SGD 3000 per month. My yield is around 3.8%-4.5%. Hence, I decided to take profit first and wait for the next cycle. It will come and when it does, I have bullets prepared. Regarding stock purchases, I am not very good in giving advice. I would prefer you do your own homework and ask the forummers. If you read my postings, you will know I prefer certain stocks who have displayed good earning track records with dividends. Respect Mr Market and learn to read his mood. Cheers!

As at the close of trading on 17 Feb 2012, the STI looks quite certain to form a Golden Cross over the next few trading days.
Below is a definition of the Golden Cross -
“The Golden Cross represents a major shift from the bears to the bulls. It triggers when the 50-day average breaks above the 200-day average. Conversely, the Death Cross restores bear power when the 50-day falls back beneath the 200-day. The 200-day average becomes major resistance after the 50-day average drops below it, and major support after breaking above it. When price gets trapped between the 50-day and 200-day averages, it can whipsaw repeatedly between their price extremes. This pinball action marks a zone of opportunity for swing trades.” –
From:  www.tradingday.com/c/tatuto/movingaveragecrossovers.html

Here comes another potential disruptor: The Iran oil cutoff being a cause for spike in  oil prices

Done deal, finally! But Greece is not going to be the same again, with all those austerity measures it might just be a half-dead patient for many years.
 

---

BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers approved on Tuesday a second bailout for debt-laden Greece that will resolve Athens' immediate repayment needs but seems unlikely to revive the nation's shattered economy.

 After a marathon 12 hours of talks through the night, euro zone officials said ministers had agreed measures to cut Greece's debt to around 121 percent of gross domestic product by  2020,  close to their original target of 120, after negotiators for private bondholders offered to accept a bigger loss to help plug the funding gap.

Agreement on a 130-billion-euro rescue package with strict conditions attached will   help draw a line under months of uncertainty that has shaken the currency bloc, and avert an imminent bankruptcy.
 
 "The financial volume (of the Greek package) is 130 billion euros and debt-to-GDP (will be) 121 percent. Now it's down to work on the statement," one official involved in the negotiations told Reuters. Another confirmed the two figures.

U.S. stocks erased a week’s worth of losses, surging after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled the central bank is committed to a policy that’s helped stocks rally for three years.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 160.90 points, or 1.2%, to 13,241.63, gathering momentum throughout the day to more than recoup its 152-point loss, or 1.2%, last week — its worst week of the year.