Real estate developers to bring forward property launches

Singaporeans can look forward to more property launches. The Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (REDAS) on Thursday announced that its members will be bringing forward property launches.

REDAS added that its efforts are only limited by the land available and hence the long—term solution to a stable market is still adequate supply.

The association celebrated the Lunar New Year, riding on an upbeat mood.

Joining in its Spring Festival was Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and the association shared with him its views on his recent Budget Statement.

Simon Cheong, president, Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore, said: “REDAS was hoping for more cash in our ang pows (red packets) from you, Minister. But when we opened the ang pow, we were disappointed there was not much inside for developers.

“Nonetheless, we are happy with your long—term productivity ang pow, as what is good for Singapore’s economy in the long run must also be good for the Singapore property market. It is what REDAS calls a deferred payment ang pow.”

REDAS said that its members are surprised with the speed with which Singapore’s property market has recovered. But they added that they are prepared to live with the current problems rather than the problems faced by the property market last year.

However, in the interest of a stable property market, REDAS said its members are committed to a fast—track supply to satisfy demand. This would also minimise excessive speculation in the property market.

Mr Cheong said: “Given the unexpected return of an active property market, developers over the next few months would also be actively bidding for more land to position for the future supply.

“As such, REDAS, unlike the situation in the preceding 12 months, is now looking forward to more sites in the confirmed list for developers to replenish their land bank.”

Just last week, the government introduced two more measures to cool the property market and pre—empt a bubble from forming in the private homes sector.

Govt ups 2010 GDP growth forecast to 4.5-6.5 pct vs 3-5 pct

* Economy shrank annualised 2.8 pct q/q s/adj in Q4

* Economists expect c.bank to stand pat on policy in Apr

* Inflation outlook lowered slightly due to rebasing of CPI

By Saeed Azhar and Fabian Ng

SINGAPORE, Feb 19 - Singapore raised its economic growth forecast for this year after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter data, citing a pickup in trade and industrial production and stable financial markets.

The government now expects gross domestic product to grow by 4.5 percent to 6.5 percent in 2010, up from a forecast of 3 percent to 5 percent made only a month ago, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Friday.

The economy shrank 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter on a seasonally adjusted, annualised quarter-on-quarter basis, much better than the initial government estimate of a 6.8 percent contraction made last month.

Economists said the central bank will likely keep its monetary policy unchanged at its next scheduled review in April, citing officials’ concerns about the global economy in the second half of 2010 and benign inflation.

“I don’t think there is an immediate push for them to do anything with monetary policy, given they are still concerned about the second-half outlook,” said Selena Ling, head of treasury research at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp in Singapore.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore sets policy by managing the value of the Singapore dollar <SGD=> against a secret basket of currencies. The current policy calls for a stable currency.

“We expect the MAS to maintain its neutral FX policy in April and to tighten only in October,” said Standard Chartered Bank economist Alvin Liew.

UNCERTAIN OUTLOOK

The government said its upgrade from the earlier 3.0 percent to 5.0 percent GDP growth forecast reflected “increased strength in the near-term growth momentum”. It brings the official forecast in line with private sector estimates.

“The outlook for the second half of the year remains uncertain. Private final demand in the G3 may remain weak, as there are still few indications that non-policy induced private demand is gaining strength,” it said.

Ravi Menon, a permanent secretary at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, told reporters that he was more concerned about private consumption in the United States than sovereign risks in European countries such as Greece and Spain.

Economists expect Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam to announce a number of growth-supporting policies in his 2010/11 budget on Monday.

“Even as the government steps away from the ‘emergency’ mode that the 2009 budget was formulated in, they are likely to retain a ‘better safe than sorry’ stance,” noted Robert Prior-Wandesforde at HSBC in Singapore.

The government raised its 2010 trade growth outlook to a range of 9 percent to 11 percent from an earlier forecast of 7 percent to 9 percent. It expects non-oil domestic exports to rise by 10 percent to 12 percent this year.

It lowered its 2010 inflation forecast to 2 percent to 3 percent from the previous 2.5 percent 3.5 percent due to a rebasing of the consumer price index.

For the whole of 2009, Singapore’s gross domestic product shrank by 2 percent following a revised 1.4 percent rise in 2008.

SINGAPORE: The future is promising for Singaporeans, but challenges such as increasing productivity and raising skills across the board need to be tackled in the next five years, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said.

Mr Lee made the assessment at the Tanjong Pagar GRC’s Lunar New Year dinner.

The Minister Mentor also said he expects Singapore’s economy to grow between four and six per cent this year.

Speaking to residents in his constituency, Mr Lee said Singapore has done well in the last five years. The island state has a growing economy, increasing real incomes, better homes which are rising in value, and citizens are generally better off.

To take advantage of the economic opportunities and make up for low birth rates, Singapore had to increase its immigration. There were also more foreigners working in Singapore on Work Permits, S—passes and Employment Passes. These foreign workers contribute to the country’s economic growth.

Mr Lee noted that in the past few months, the government has taken further steps to widen the differentiation between citizens and Permanent Residents, and to slow down the inflow of foreigners.

However, he said Singaporeans must recognise that without foreign workers in the construction, manufacturing and service industries, many projects, such as the integrated resorts (IRs), could not have been possible.

“These two IRs have increased jobs available, and will bring a huge number of tourists and give a boost to our economy,” the Minister Mentor said.

“Foreign workers also built housing and infrastructure projects like public transport, schools and hospitals all over Singapore. Without them, these projects could not have proceeded and our economy would slow down, to the detriment of Singaporeans.”

Mr Lee explained that if Singapore wants to slow down the intake of foreign workers and yet continue to prosper, local workers must increase their productivity.

“Let me explain what happens when we make progress. HDB prices go up, private home (prices) go up, all asset prices go up. Everybody finds he owns something more valuable in the house, his shares are worth more and he can live a good life,” said Mr Lee. “Of course we have to put up with more crowded trains, more crowded buses, (but) it cannot be helped.

“Let me tell you what happens when we slow down too much. You get the reverse spiral. Low growth, maybe even zero growth. Last year we had minus two per cent. Prices go down, property prices go down, incomes go down, you can’t refurbish your houses, no new SERS, no upgrading and the country goes down.

“So between the two — growth against no growth, I am confident we chose the right decision — growth, whatever the inconveniences or competition for space, buses, MRTs, and even schools. But we always give preference to our own citizens.

“Without growth, Singapore will not be what it is and the key to our growth is a government taking right decisions and labour unions, employers, and the government working together. No other country in the world has got this combination.”

“The same number of Singaporean workers must produce more by getting better training, acquiring higher level of skills, working smarter and making a collective effort as the Japanese do to make their companies succeed.

“If we cannot increase the productivity or the output of our citizens, our economy will slow down. We will have a deflating economy, with a series of knock on effects as prices of all assets, including flats will go down… demand will lessen, pay will fall and so will the number of jobs and promotions.”

Mr Lee added that when this happens, talented Singaporeans will leave for greener pastures, which will lead to Singapore’s decline.

“That is why the government decided in the past five years that it was better to grow the economy and manage the accompanying social pressures rather than slow down the economy. If our neighbours grow and we stagnate, Singapore will face a very different geo—political environment in the future.”

Hence, to do well in the next five years, Mr Lee said that Singaporeans must raise skills across the board, have more enterprise innovation, and restructure the industries.

Every worker also has to be re—skilled, re—trained and re—educated to achieve higher standards of capabilities.

Mr Lee said he believes a three—way partnership that involves the government, unions and employers can achieve this.

In his Budget speech next Monday, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam is expected to elaborate on how Singapore plans to tackle these issues, which have been highlighted by the Economic Strategies Committee.

singapore stock market ,singapore stock market  news

In his Ultimate Gann Course, David Bowden compares this to Elliott Wave breaking the market down into three sections. While Elliott would describe the pattern as “5 Waves”, being three impulse waves and two corrective waves, Gann would call it three equal sections, with the impulse waves and the sections being labelled the same.

There are a few things to note about this chart. Firstly, the second and third sections are very similar in terms of price, with both being larger than the first section. Also, with the second and third sections being almost equal in price, there is also a relationship in terms of time, with the third section taking four times longer to complete than the third section.

As a sidenote, those students who attended Safety in the Market’s Master Forecasting Summit in September 2009 might like to review the homework I set them on the Euro based on the work we did on the last day of the summit. The homework led you to forecast a major top on the Euro on November 27th. The actual high of the year came one trading day earlier, on November 25. Now to wait for the Dollar/Yen forecast!

But for now, back to the Euro! From the November top, we have seen the Euro decline. I am looking for the Euro to start its next bull campaign towards the end of the first quarter of 2009 and then move on to a strong 2010. But first it needs to make a strong low. Chart 2 below shows the important percentage levels of the 2009 bull market range. The most important level, the 50% milestone, is highlighted in red.

The 50% level is worth watching for two reasons (other than the fact that WD Gann said you could make a fortune trading this one rule alone!).

Firstly, it gives us a potential price support target to watch for, and secondly because it allows us to rate whether the move on the Euro is strong or weak. If the Euro can find support and make a bottom – possibly in mid-March – above the 50% level, it will show it is a stronger market. If it can’t hold the 50% milestone, it will show that it is in a weaker position.

The fact is that every day we all make choices that affect our general level of wealth, and in turn our susceptibility to economic hardship; it’s just that some of us make better choices than others. I’m not just talking about serious financial decisions relating to investments and mortgage repayments either. The habits of wealthy people make a lot of common sense, but as they say common sense isn’t all that common.

The secrets of making the most of your lot in life, financially at least, are outlined here. If they sound obvious, don’t be too surprised. They are.

1. Spend less than what you earn

Do you really need to be told this? Unbelievably, it seems that most of us fail to understand this most fundamental of truths. In the mid eighties average household debt in Australia was about 44% of disposable income. Around 20 years later it’s above 160% and rising. In the US, about 44% of Americans spend more than what they earn in a given financial year. Even a credit crisis has failed to make us see sense.

Squirrels don’t spend a lot of time and energy storing nuts for the fun of it. And just as they are smart enough to plan for the future, so too should you. If you need elaboration on this point, you really are doomed to a life of poverty.

2. Save your money

This flows directly from the first point. But here we aren’t just talking about spending less than you earn, but allowing what you save to build up. I’m not saying you shouldn’t enjoy life and splash out every now and then, just budget for it and ensure that at the end of the day you are slowly growing your piggy bank.

How much you save will be the single biggest factor in determining your long term wealth. Read that sentence again (it’s important). So if you desire great wealth, you better plan to save as much as you can. A good rule of thumb, where possible, is to plan to save at least 10% of your income.

3. Invest

Without going into a long and boring lesson in economic theory, we can still appreciate that a dollar today is worth more than a dollar in the future. That’s because you can invest a dollar and grow it over time.

There are countless ways to invest your money, so let’s just go to the heart of the matter. Regardless of whether you are talking about stocks, property, term deposits or emu farms, there is one underlying rule when it comes to investing. That is: risk = return.

Don’t mistake this for meaning you will get great returns if you take great risks. It means that if you want great returns you must take great risks. And by definition risk is “the possibility of incurring loss or misfortune”. In other words, instead of making a great profit you could suffer a crippling loss. Let’s just say that it is a good idea to understand the risk involved with any investment and consider the worst case scenario. If you can’t take the worst case, don’t do it!

The important thing is that your money is being put to work and is growing over time. If it’s not, it will become less and less valuable due to the effects of inflation.

4. Borrow wisely

Debt isn’t always a bad thing. Most of us will need to borrow money to buy a house and sensibly using borrowed money can enhance our investment returns. What really matters is the level of debt and what we do with the borrowed money.

Debt needs to be repaid at some point and it will cost you interest along the way. The longer your debts are outstanding the more expensive they are, so if your debt is a high proportion of your income it will take you a very long time to repay. Also, the more debt you have the lower the level of your disposable income, because more income will be used to pay the interest.

Of course, if we take the borrowed money and use it to make sensible investments we can make more money than what the loan costs us. Over the long term this has been the case with property and shares, but to my knowledge most people haven’t made good returns on a boat or car, and certainly not on clothes and holidays.

I’m not saying we walk everywhere naked and never take a holiday, but I am saying that borrowing for these things ends up costing you a lot more than simply saving up for them in the first place. Just be patient and budget for the things you want.

5. There’s no such thing as get rich quick

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Anyone who is offering the “opportunity” to make great sums of money with low risk is most usually a fraud. After all, if it were that easy wouldn’t they just do it themselves? So no matter how impressive the sales pitch, no matter how nice the guy’s suit is, if you are being offered massive returns with low risk, just walk away.

6. Be patient

If you can’t get rich quick, you might as well get rich slow. Thankfully this is rather easy, provided you are resolute and patient. Most people argue they don’t have any investments because they can’t afford it, but most of us should be able to save at least $20 week.

At the end of the first year you will have over $1,000 and if you keep saving $20/week and invest your money at 6%pa along the way you will have over $15,000 in 10 years. Because of the effects of compounding, that’s a 50% total return! Granted you won’t be buying a new Porsche with that, and 10 years is a long time, but it’s money that you otherwise wouldn’t have.

Furthermore, if you can save more and get a better return the numbers get even better. If we instead save $50 week and invest this into the share market every year, we will have $53,000 in 10 years and $212,000 after 20 years (based on the past 30 year annualised total return of the Australian market).

Put simply, the longer we wait, the better off we will be. The point is that even average returns and modest savings will do you well if given half the chance. Just be patient.

7. Insure yourself

No matter how clever we are with our financial planning, life can have a way of messing things up. It’s not something you like to dwell on but it is something you should consider. Insuring things like your house, car, income and even your life means that you can meet any financial challenge, no matter what trouble you find yourself in.

Of course while insurance offers great peace of mind, it also costs money. So don’t tick every extras box that comes your way and just cover the basics and shop around. Hopefully you’ll never need it!

So that’s pretty much it. Not rocket science, but many of us ignore these most basic of rules: don’t be one of them. In ten year’s time you’ll thank me.

Home buyers, dominated by HDB upgraders, were responsible for the overcrowding in showflats during that period. The increasing numbers of units appearing on the market and the large number of crowds gathering at property launches stunned most market watchers.

The strong sales of new mass market homes saw the prices of new launches slowly climbing up over the past few months. The transacted prices of new homes increased to between $750 per square foot (psf) and $1,000 psf in November from between $500psf and $700 psf in July 2009.

The number of mass market transactions exceeding the $1,000 psf mark also increased, with 392 transactions last year, compared to 75 in 2008. The highest price recorded for mass market homes were for units in Centro Residences in Ang Mo Kio, at $1,289 psf.

Although mass market private home prices have increased, a large number of developments are also offering a new mixture of products to keep the prices at an affordable level.

The demand for smaller units such as studio type, one room plus study, two bedroom, and two room plus study, within the central area appears to have brought down the mass market sector.

Unlike the mid-tier and high-end segment, mass market homes are typically larger in sizes as buyers frequently purchase them for their own occupancy rather than for investment. Thus, only 10 to 20 percent of units in the mass market development have smaller sizes.

However, more mass market projects are now offering smaller units. For example, 43 percent of Hundred Trees and 59 percent of Optima @ Tanah Merah are allocated to smaller type units. Buyers seem to have had a good response, and good take-up rates have been seen in both projects.

And as the Singapore government transforms the country into an attractive satellite island, more investors are now starting to invest in mass market private homes in the region.

For instance, the renovation of the Jurong Lake District contributed to the increase of property transactions in the western part of the country. The expansion of Bedok Town Centre, the rejuvenation of Changi Business Park and Tampines Regional Centre, and the building of the fourth university also increased the developments in the eastern suburbs such as The Gale, Optima @ Tanah Merah, Livia, Oasis @ Elias, Ferraria Park Condominium and Waterfront Waves.
 
As more and more places undergo rejuvenation and expansion, mass market homes will become more attractive in the near future.

If the monthly average of more than 1,400 units sold did not make policymakers sit up, the robust sales certainly caught the attention of everyone.

A few attributed the result to pent-up demand, while the government believed it was due to speculations. In September, it announced measures to “temper the exuberance in the market and pre-empt any speculative bubble from forming.”

Developers were disappointed, assuming the measures were a death knell for the fragile private housing market. As the measures were not aimed at investors, instead for pure speculative plays, the effect was more psychological than real.

It is hard to tell if the measures had really worked. Sales in the succeeding months fell, but they would have fallen anyway, with or without the measures.

Many have forecasted even fewer sales with the coming year-end holiday period. However, November’s figures showed a solid 600 units sold. Considering it was a ’slow’ month, sales received good response despite rising prices.

The actual price increase in Q4 2009 will probably exceed the 7.3 percent estimate last month.

There is no reason why buying will not continue, as it is not the speculators who are buying but the investors, rendering the cooling measures of little impact.

Chinese investors in particular are leading the charge. Many have benefited from the real estate boom in China, and their funds are now flowing into Hong Kong and spilling over to Singapore.

Buying will likely continue unless there are other channels for this massive liquidity. Buying will only falter when authorities start to step in to limit the risks arising from the increased exposure of the banking sector in the property sector.

There are only two possible scenarios for this year: sharp correction or continued healthy growth

You can buy shares through a standard brokerage account and benefit from the dollar’s rise. How much money can you make with a conservative play like this? Well, that depends on how high the dollar soars.

The last time this happened – in 2008 – UUP jumped from $22.79 to $26.50… a gain of 16%. Not bad for an unleveraged investment that you can buy with a click of your mouse on any standard online brokerage account.

But there’s an even better way to capitalize on a rising dollar, and I think you should know about it…

See, while UUP surged 16%, another type of currency play gave traders the chance to line up triple digit gains the last time the dollar rallied, like I predict it will this year.

How is this possible?

Through the $4 trillion Forex market – specifically, by buying the dollar and shorting key emerging market currencies. Take the South African rand, for example…during the dollar rally of 2008, this currency depreciated by 33%. Forex traders who shorted the South African rand in the Forex market were able to pocket gains of 833% (using a reasonable 25:1 leverage).

Similarly, the Mexican peso and the Hungarian forint fell 28% and 34.5% against the dollar that year. That would amount to gains of 700% and 862% in 25:1 leveraged trades.

Of course, this strategy is riskier than buying an unleveraged exchange traded fund like UUP. But with a good risk management strategy, you can easily limit your downside, while benefiting from much higher potential returns.

Minimize Your Risk with Minis

Currency traders have the advantage over commodity or stock traders because they can strictly limit their risk and control their leverage using what’s known as “lots” in the currency market.

As a trader, you have the choice to trade different amounts of currency using standard lots, mini lots or micro lots. Choosing the right type of lot helps you control your leverage – micro-lots use a little leverage, mini-lots use a medium amount of leverage, and standard lots is a LOT of leverage.

Personally, I believe using the medium choice: mini-lots are the best and easiest way to reduce your risk especially when trading exotic currencies.

When you trade mini-lots, you’re actually investing in 10,000 units of a specific currency pair, as opposed to 100,000 units with standard lots. More leverage = more risk, so mini-lots are a safer option for your account.

A Hypothetical

At the risk of getting a little bit technical, let’s look at a hypothetical situation…

Imagine that you have a $25,000 account and that you want to buy the dollar and short the Mexican peso (or buy the USD/MXN pair). You’re looking to earn a 4% gain, with an equal maximum loss.

If you use a standard lot, you will be risking more than 15% of your capital on that one trade.

Sure you have the opportunity for more gains with that added leverage, but you’re also risking a huge chunk of your account. If the trade goes against you, you won’t be able to bounce quickly from the loss.

On the other hand, if you trade two mini lots, you will risk just 3% of your total capital on that trade. But you still can double your money, using 25:1 leverage.
For currency traders, it’s the best of both worlds.

Regardless if you win or lose on the trade, you can ensure you have plenty of cash left in your account to trade with. And at the same time you can target far higher returns than you could ever achieve through a pro-dollar fund like UUP.

There is no doubt in my mind that mini-lots, combined with exotic currencies offer the most predictable, risk-controlled way to play this dollar rally.

By employing this strategy, you can enjoy all the benefits that the professional traders enjoy, with less capital at risk. You will also be able to trade without the anxiety and distractions that come with large swings in the currency market.

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday identified three areas of priority for the government: restructuring the economy, addressing the population shortfall and updating the political system.

In a wide—ranging speech to the annual Singapore Perspective Conference organised by the Institute of Policy Studies, Mr Lee said Singapore’s economic policies must enable the country’s economy to perform to its limits and help Singaporeans thrive in the new world.

He said the Economic Strategies Committee will publish its recommendations next week and the government will respond to them in the Budget.

On the population shortfall, Mr Lee said Singapore’s birth rates are not improving despite the government’s best efforts.

Last year, there were about 170 fewer live births than in 2008.

This would mean that the total fertility rate would have gone down further.

PM Lee stressed that while the decline could have been due to the global economic downturn, it was still a grave trend. If left unchecked, Singapore will face not just an ageing, but a shrinking population.

Therefore, he said the government needs to encourage Singaporeans to start families with parenthood benefits and other incentives.

However, he added that the country must also top up the population and talent pool with immigration in a measured and calibrated manner.

Turning to the subject of updating the political system, Mr Lee said that while having a sound system is essential, that in itself is not enough to produce political stability and good governance.

He said that the nation is still dependent on having the right people in charge and an able and committed team coming forward to lead the country.

The Prime Minister said a key task for his predecessors and himself has always been to identify promising people to form the next team.

He said good progress has been made in this area but he does not have a complete next team lined up in Cabinet yet.

He is confident that by the next general election, the People’s Action Party (PAP) will field a team which will consist the core of the next generation leadership.

Mr Lee also stressed that leadership renewal will be a major issue in the next general election.

The definition of a Gen Y is someone born between 1980 and 1995. But for most people Gen Y is just a euphemism for layabout, bludger or timewaster. And it helps to explain the alternative reference of ‘Gen ID’ - which means ‘Generation I Deserve’.

Let’s be honest, the name calling is appropriate. I’m sure you’ve talked incessantly about lazy youths or young adults - they won’t buy house, they want to go overseas, they won’t put money in the bank, and on it goes.

And then they quit a perfectly good, well paying job, just because it didn’t ‘engage’ them - whatever that means.

But fear not, the Gen Y offspring aren’t completely useless and ignorant of investing. In fact, you may be quite surprised at how good some of them are at saving…

You see, a survey from bullion company Gold de Royale came through to my inbox recently. The survey looked at their client’s investments habits.

The most interesting detail was the age of the customer buying bullion. A whopping 32% of gold bullion purchases were made by those classed as Gen Y!

But hang on, that can’t be right! This is the generation that thrives on credit, still lives at home on the Bank of Mum & Dad, and believes that a loan for $20k for that ‘must have’ 12 month trip overseas is an asset rather than a debt?

But what about the Gen Xers and Baby Boomers? Only 5% of Gen X’s looked to precious metals for an alternative investment, whereas the Baby Boomers lead the way with 60% of the near retirees wanting bullion as an investment.

Even so, the mainstream media image is still Gen Y is useless with their money.

But the fact is, they’re not. And I’ll explain more in a moment.

Firstly, you need to remember that no other generation has had credit thrown at them, like the Gen Yer’s have.

I bet you spent years saving for you first car, with every single cent - or penny - safely tucked away in a jar or under the bed. You knew that if you wanted wheels, you had to work hard and save for it.

But, when a Gen Yer was finally ready for a car, his or her bank manager had already sent a letter to them congratulating them on their eighteenth birthday and advising them they could get a loan for a car - even if they only had a part time job.

And don’t forget that at any University open days, there are bank leaflets for prospective students on special ‘University Credit Cards’. Sure these cards have a low limit, but before the students are enrolled credit has been thrust into their hands.

So while they have been dubbed ‘Generation Debt’, amazingly ‘only’ 56% of Gen Y’s over 18 have a credit card.

I mentioned before that the Gen Yer’s might be better at investing than you first realised. While you’ve looked at property prices, and possibly wondered how your kids will ever afford their own home, this generation, have looked for alternatives instead.

A hefty chunk of Gen Y have share portfolios. Many older investors have been frightened off the stock market, but Gen Y has used this crisis as a chance to become financially ’savvy’.

A large majority of ‘Generation Me’ have taken this market carnage as a sign they need to learn more about investing. In fact, 65% of Gen Y rate ‘Saving & Investing’ as their main concern. In true Gen Y style, they even have Facebook groups dedicated to sharing tips on how to save more money.

And even though retirement is nearly 40 years away for this lot, many are contributing more of their salary to superannuation.

So if you have the strong desire to kick your Gen Y off the Xbox, Playstation or Wii and move them out of their bedroom while they’re at work, do it. You might just find a large stash of bullion under their bed!

But the good news to come from the market down turn, has shown Gen Y that boom times don’t last forever and that they’ll look for other investment opportunities, instead of bricks & mortar.

SINGAPORE : Singapore’s economy may be picking up, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said Singapore is not expecting the recovery to be very vibrant and strong.

And he cautioned Singaporeans against getting too carried away with the recent economic recovery.

Mr Lee said: “There is a fine balance; you want people to feel that they can make things better, but at the same time, do not assume that all the problems have passed.”

Mr Lee was speaking to reporters after taking part in the Lunar New Year light—up ceremony in Chinatown on Saturday.

On the buoyant property market, he said that Singaporeans cannot assume it will continue going up.

He added that the government is confident that things are under control.

And as to whether Singapore will achieve 3 or 4 per cent economic growth this year, Mr Lee said it will depend on how well things turn out.

Mr Lee also revealed that Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam will release the Economic Strategies Committee report on February 1

Markets from New York to Tokyo reacted with barely-restrained panic to Obama’s drive to limit the size of the largest banks and introduce measures to curb “excessive” risk taking.

“Never again will the American taxpayer be held hostage by a bank that is too big to fail,” vowed Obama, flanked by former Federal Reserve chief Paul Volcker who advised the president on the rules.

He promised to “protect” taxpayers by preventing banks or financial institutions from owning, investing in or sponsoring hedge fund or private equity funds.

Wall Street gave an immediate thumbs down to the plans as US stocks plunged, with the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 200 points or two percent in Thursday trading.

The news then sent shockwaves though Asian stock markets with the region’s financial centers suffering heavy losses in Friday trading. European exchanges later opened under pressure.

Obama’s measures would effectively force financial firms to choose between lucrative proprietary activities — trading in stocks and sometimes risky financial instruments for their own benefit — and traditional activities, like making loans and collecting deposits.

The initiative, which must be approved by Congress, includes a new proposal to limit the consolidation of the finance sector, placing broader limits on “excessive growth of the market share of liabilities” at the largest financial firms.

Obama blamed banks for sparking the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression with “huge reckless risks in pursuit of quick profits and massive bonuses” in a “binge of irresponsibility.”

“My resolve to reform the system is only strengthened when I see a return to old practices at some of the very firms fighting reform and when I see record profits at some of the very firms claiming that they cannot lend more to small business, cannot keep credit card rates low, and cannot refund taxpayers for the bailout,” the president said.

He vowed to enact the reforms in Congress, even if Wall Street deployed an army of lobbyists to kill them.

“If these folks want a fight, it’s a fight I’m ready to have,” he vowed defiantly.

The announcement was the latest attempt by the White House to harness public rage at Wall Street bonuses and the financial crisis.

David Easthope, analyst with Celent, a research and consulting firm, said the effort could hit the banks in one of their most profitable areas.

Proprietary trading “has been the sweet spot for leading investment banks over the last few years, and executives will be concerned that Washington will be taking away the frosting,” he said.

The Financial Services Roundtable, which represents 100 of the largest integrated financial firms, said the proposal would do little to improve risk management or protect consumers from irresponsible loans and trades.

“The proposal will restrict lending, increase risk, decrease stability in the system, and limit our ability to help create jobs,” said Steve Bartlett, president and chief executive for the Roundtable.

The group represents 100 top financial services firms providing banking, insurance, and investment products and services.

Obama’s first year in office was dominated by efforts to rescue a handful of banks that threatened to topple the US economy after being exposed to massive losses on the subprime mortgage market.

According to Treasury officials, about 205 billion dollars was pumped into 707 banks under the government rescue plans.

Obama has sounded a tougher tone towards banks in recent weeks as he faced widespread voter anger at the massive government bailout, which came as Americans faced surging unemployment, home foreclosures and national debt.

Top Obama economic aide Austan Goolsbee sought to counter criticism that the plan is returning to the Depression-era law creating a wall between investment and commercial banks.

“It’s not returning to Glass-Steagall,” Goolsbee said.

While the act repealed in 1999 forbid underwriting securities or investing in securities by any commercial bank, Goolsbee said, “This is not that. This says a bank cannot own a hedge fund, cannot own a private equity fund or do trading for its own account that is not related to its client business.”

He added that the goal is “to get back to the fundamental nature of the bank, which is serving its clients, rather than investing for its own profit.”

Firstly let’s look at methodology. Basically these fall into four categories. The first is Fundamental and even though I don’t personally use this approach nevertheless it is used by the vast majority of investors - retail and institutional.

The next three are technical. The first are what I would call trend following indicators; the second range trading indicators and the third are what I would call pattern recognition such as Elliott Wave and Gann.

I personally use Elliott and have so for the last 15 years. Perhaps conservative at times but it does not lose you money in my view. If you are going to use technical’s then it is important to have at least a basic understanding of each of the three so you can make an informed decision. No approach is the Holy Grail. Yet I see many would-be successful investors waste effort searching for the easy route to riches. It does not exist. It is like the ‘Long March’ it is one step at a time. But with experience under your belt there are short cuts.

The reason I mention this is that I also see many study one approach, try it and give up as it does not bring the instant riches. And they then spend a fortune studying the next system.

But I also see others who are too mite minded to properly invest in education.

I will also say here that it does not matter which system you use as long as you use it with an applied approach and with discipline. They all work. I would say you could choose any approach and apply it in this way and you will succeed.

The other key point is that you must apply it in a measured way. That is, you try your new found knowledge steadily. Many investors jump in head first after a training seminar. You apply your learning in small easy comfortable steps at first using a small trading kitty.

The sleep test is important here but to mix my metaphors - you must at some point fully immerse yourself after putting your toe in the water.

It reminds me of that old adage ’slowly slowly catchee monkey’.