Pope Benedict XVI To Resign on 28 Feb, Cites Health

Pope Benedict XVI (age 85) has announced that he will be resigning on 28 Feb as leader of the world's Catholics.  He will be the first pontiff to resign in nearly 600 years.  Making his announcement in Latin during a meeting of Vatican cardinals, he cited ill health stating that carrying out the duties of the pope required "both strength of mind and body".

The pope was number #5 in Forbes most powerful people list for 2012.  His sudden announcement is almost certain to plunge the entire Catholic world into a crazed speculation on who will most likely be the next pope to succeed him.

James Arthur Rendition of Tulisa's Young - X Factor UK 2012 Audition

James Arthur is the winner of X Factor UK 2012.  This is a video of this audition song where he sang an acoustic version of Tulisa's Young.  In my opinion, his acoustic/rap version is much better than the original version.  (Check out other top ten X Factor audition videos here)

Mentored under Nicole Sherzinger, James Arthur made it against the odds to emerge the winner. During the show, he lost his girlfriend but is now rumoured to be dating Caroline Flack (X Factor host).

If you love this acoustic version of the song, check out this acoustic version of Gangnam Style too.

Nam Cheong - Poised to Breakout?

Have been liquidating many of my stocks and entered into short term trading positions. Nam Cheong is one of those stocks that I entered into. I have a target price of 30 cents for this stock.

From a TA point of view,  the stock also looks like it can move higher. Nam Cheong last closed at 25 cents..  Its IPO price was 21 cents.

Nam Cheong has seen its orders rising and prides itself as the leading builder in Malaysia of OSVs.

Bull Market or Prepare for the Bear?

So stock prices are reaching dizzy heights once more with positive news coming out of the US.  But there are still dark clouds hanging overhead.  The debt ceiling and euro crisis are just some of the larger issues that has not been settled. Heard about the news of Germany intending to bring back its gold from US back to its own country?

The STI is now around 3,291.  That is almost close to the pre-financial crisis levels.  And what good news is there to push the stock market up higher?  Are we in a late bull run or is this going to be start of the bear market soon?.    

Gangnam Style Acoustic Version - Better than the Original?

A talented Singapore singer gives an acoustic spin to Psy's Gangnam Style.  She doesn't speak Korean but this version of the song is really catchy.  Her name is Steph Micayle.

United Engineers Launches Rival Bid for WBL - Another F&N in the making?

United Engineers (UE) is launching a takeover bid for WBL Corporation.  Will this be like another F&N?  UE's last done price was $3.33 while WBL's last done price today was $4.20.  Looking at UE's price chart over the past few months, one wonders whether there might have been some leakage of news.  The share price of around $2.40-$2.50  rose sharply from Nov 2012 onwards to today's current price of $3 over dollars.  There was also a significant spike in volume.

Anyway, UE is looking for more recurring income and thus is looking to use up its war chest of money to buy WBL which has businesses spanning automotive, property and technology.  Considering that UE is mainly involved in property development, they might be interested in spinning off some of these businesses subsequently.  But that is probably anyone's guess.

It looks like the stock price of both UE and WBL is only likely to surge as shareholders await for the bidding price to go up just like the case of F&N.

Ascott REIT Dividends

Ascott REIT has gone cum dividend and will be paying out an advanced distribution or dividends per unit of 0.59 cents to 0.63 cents.  The book closure date is on 5 Feb 2013.  This advance distribution is to account for the private placement of shares.

In addition to the advance distribution, there is its normal distribution with book closure date on 5 Feb 2013 too.  Each unit is entitled to 4.238 cents.

Based on both announcements of the distribution payments, Ascott REIT's dividends should range from 4.828 to 4.868 Singapore cents.  Ascott REIT pays out its dividends on a semi-annual basis.

The yield is roughly around 6.2% if you ignore the dilutive effects of the private placement.  OCBC has a HOLD call on this REIT with a fair value price of $1.36.  Lim & Tan maintains its BUY call on this REIT.

 I sold my entire holdings in Ascott REIT recently.  Ascott REIT's price at closing today was $1.375.