Forex and IPOs

The PSEi is up again today, taking the cue from Wall Street's positive trade today (NOV 28). Both BDO and JFC are up by a couple of pesos, but still way below my initial buy price. SPH and T's trading volume used to be in the 1Million range, but now it's just in the several hundreds.

I have to say, that with all my excitement with that SPH IPO, I was a bit burned by the fact that it listed below the offer price, just when I was expecting it to be at least at par value on the listing date. Oh well. you win some, you lose some. I intend to hold on to it for six months to a year anyway, so hopefully next year would be better for the entire market, and that the US sub prime woes would blow over already.

I was browsing through Inquirer.net just now, and I saw this write-up about upcoming IPOs by early 2008. First Metro Investment Corp announced that Cebu Pacific, and three other companies which refused to be disclosed at the moment, are looking at offering shares to the public to raise funds for some expansion projects.

Well, I'm not too hot about Cebu Pacific, but let's see. Maybe the prospectus would look promising once the IPO application has been approved and endorsed by the PSE.

I also saw this article about Shell's possible IPO by early 2008 as well, but according to the article, the IPO is still subject to the results of the study regarding the expansion. I do hope that they push through with it though, since I've had a short stint there before, and I saw that Shell has a good solid background. Plus, I doubt if they're closing down anytime soon.

On another note, I saw this article in the Inquirer.net which gives a forecast of a forex of Php38 to a dollar by year 2008. For someone who unfortunately hoarded dollars when it was still in the 51 to 56 range, this is really depressing news. Last time I spoke to my Sunlife Agent, she said that their Fund Managers even gave a forecast of 39 to 43 to a dollar by end of 2007, and the next two years would still see a weak USD. I'm honestly at a loss as to what I'm supposed to do with my dollars. Sell it now while the forex is still in the 40s range? Or hold on to it with the hopes that it'll hit the 50s range again? SIGH.

Moving Forward

I recently read this mail from someone which had an article about how your salary should be quadruple your age.

I have to say that I had mixed feelings after reading the article. Part of me feels that I could do more with my life and be like that person, and share the same success story. The other part of me just feels depressed since looking at my current position and salary, I doubt if I'll quadruple anything anytime soon.

I've dabbled in several money-generating projects before, but I had to let go of it since my new post would require that I travel overseas, and it would be a real challenge to step out of the office to work on the projects.

Since then, the most I've done is invest in Mutual Funds and the Stock Market just to earn a bit more on top of the regular paycheck. Both investment tools involve certain risks since the principal will never be assured, unlike Time Deposits or Savings Accounts. But then again, they say that the greater the risk, the greater the returns. So I'm roadtesting these two for now to see if the returns are really worth it ;)

With the market correction right now, as well as the problems in the US, I don't even know what the outlook is for 2008. I read this article in Inquirer.net that PSEi might surpass the 4000points index by year end, perhaps as high as 4200points. My Sunlife agent also told me that there is a possibility that this might happen since most fund managers would be gearing up their portfolio for next year. Also, people might start with the bargain hunting already since it's always the best time to buy stocks when the market's low, with the hopes of selling them at a profit later on ;)

For now, I'm just waiting for the Sunlife VUL Equity NAV to hit 1.8 or 1.9, then I'll shift my investments. Yesterday it hit 1.99 already, but since the PSEi gained 5points today, I'm not sure how it will impact the Equity NAV. I guess I'd have to wait and see at this point. But if the index will hit 4000points by yearend, I gotta be ready to move and all that.

For Stock Trading, I plan to buy and hold for 6months to a year, since I don't have the appetite for day trading just yet. Some of the people here in the office dabble in day trading, but I find it too tedious so I'll stick to the long-term route instead. For now at least, since I'm still reading up on Fundamental and Technical Analysis of the stock market. I've also joined this forum which has several threads dedicated to stock trading, from IPOs and Top Picks to the Online Broker which they belong to.

Close Encounter with the Four Legged Kind

We finally caught the not-so-little-furry-friend who lurks in our kitchen.

Today started out as a pretty normal morning. I went to the kitchen to check up on something, and I got so shocked with this HUGE rodent that's stuck on the sticky board which we left near the drainage hole. I screamed my head off, and the rodent also screamed back in its own way (READ: squeal/ shriek).

I immediately rushed back up to our room and woke up my tubby since it was the first time that I ever encountered a rodent that huge, and so ALIVE for that matter. I was rather used to the ones that are dead or smaller ones that fall in the trashcan, but nothing that's the size of a kitten. What a damn sight.

I sprayed some Raid on its face to make it dizzy, and to make it stop squealing also since it's so unnerving to listen to its tiny shrieks. Then I folded up the sticky board on top on it, and placed it inside a shoe box. My tubby said that we should leave it outside the apartment by the road, but I told him that we had to make sure that it's DEAD already since it would be such a risk if it gets out and returns to the apartment to destroy our stuff.

My tubby was looking for a rock to smash its head with, but Vic suggested that Seth's sheer weight would do the trick, so I asked my tubby to step on it right away. The first attempt made a slight crunching sound, but when I checked it out, it was still squirming a bit, so I asked Seth to step on it again -- with his heel.

I think that did the trick since nothing would survive that kind of pressure on the head, unless it was Supermouse or something like that.

But I have to say, that was such a UNIQUE way to start a day.

RIGHT. ;)

Design-A-Bangle

I finally got to attend this Design-A-Bangle Workshop last Oct 27 in Coffee Experience along Emerald Avenue (Ortigas). I've been wanting to attend the other workshops before, but I always get the mail announcement a few days after the schedule itself. So when i finally got a mail mid-week, I immediately signed up for it to book a slot for myself.

The workshop was done by Em Mariano, and we learned the basics of how to dress up a bare bangle with beads, as well as touch up on what's going to be the popular colors or themes for 2008. He also gave us tips on how to personalize our creations, and where to buy the raw materials for the accessories. And what I really find nice about the workshop was the fact that he kept on encouraging the participants to find their own niche, and to become entrepreneurs with something as simple as beads.

We started with wrapping the bangle in shiny and colorful 1 inch ribbons, after which, we started wiring in the beads onto the bangle with our own pliers. It was really fun since I've always wanted to learn how to manipulate the wires to make intricate designs out of them, and I finally gave it a shot during the workshop. I would've wanted to use nicer looking beads, or to go for symmetry for a more popular or commercialized look, but Em kept on reminding us to work towards something unique and edgy.

I'll drop by Quiapo soon so I could pick up some materials to work with. And I really do hope that I could score a deal which would earn me a few bucks. ;)