Links

Some useful links:

SGX- when you can find the annual reports and announcement by listed companies.

http://www.sgx.com/wps/portal/sgxweb/home/!ut/p/c5/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gjR0cTDwNnA0v_MANzA89Qf6fg4LAww0BXY30_j_zcVP2CbEdFAMCfkeo!/dl3/d3/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/

Stock brokers:

PHILIP POEMS
http://www.poems.com.sg/

CMC markets- Contracts For Difference.---other than stocks, you can also trade commodities like oil, soyabeans, gold and silver, etc.
http://www.cmcmarkets.com.sg/


Baltic Dry index:

http://www.investmenttools.com/futures/bdi_baltic_dry_index.htm#bdi

Tracks freight rates...an indicator of world trade...low rates = low demand. Reliable as it is not a manipulated figure.

4 Reasons to Favor The Baltic Dry Index

Of course, there are other reasons to favor the Baltic Dry Index over other leading indicators, including:

No room for speculation. The index is not tradable, which means the only people booking cargo ships are those with actual cargo to ship. That makes the Baltic Dry Index, as economist Howard Simons put it, “totally devoid of speculative content.”

Not subject to revisions. Unlike almost every other piece of economic data, the Baltic Dry Index is not revised on a monthly or quarterly basis. The price is the price. And it’s completely reliable.

An inability to be manipulated. Governments, both here and abroad, love to “massage” economic data, especially inflation figures. Obviously, it’s difficult to base investment decisions off incomplete or “mostly” accurate data. But because of the way the Baltic Dry Index is measured, that’s simply not possible. Again, the price is the price. And it’s completely reliable.

Real-time, daily updates. We all know markets shift fast. And in turn, we need indicators able to reflect those sudden movements. At best, we only get weekly updates for other leading indicators. And all are backward looking. The Baltic Dry Index represents the only indicator with “real-time” updates. And such frequency dramatically increases its relevancy and value.

In light of the above, it doesn’t take a market maven to predict what direction the index’s been heading lately – practically straight down. Here’s the thing. The Baltic Dry Index started plummeting in early June, before the global equity markets went into a tailspin, proving its predictive abilities.

So if you’re looking for a clear indication of a market bottom, forget about any other leading indicator or popular convention. Just look for the Baltic Dry Index to start trending noticeably higher.

"Dennis Ng"

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