Posts Tagged ‘ghost month’

Google Adsense + Stock Investment Gains = ASUS EEE pc netbook

Will you feel good if you bought something like a desired gadget out from your passive income? Like not taking it from your main source of income like from your salary if you’re an employee or sales if you own a business? Definitely, your  answer might be a big YES! Why not? Did I say, Google Adsense and Stock Investments in the title? I would like to share this experience of mine for you to be inspired (maybe, it helps).  lol

Because of blogging thru Google Adsense, I was able to buy my new ASUS EEE 1000HE netbook! I used my first google adsense earnings and my profits from what I gained in my Stock Investments. These are all from my passive incomes. What do I mean by this? Instead of using my basic salary to buy my desired gadget, or saving it in the bank, a portion of it or like all of it was invested in the stock market! Come to the point, that I see a signal in profit-taking, I sold my shares of course at a gain and the proceeds (just the gain), I used it to buy what I want. So, my basic salary is remained untouched but instead, it generated interest and is used to buy those needs and wants of mine. Whew! At least, because of the very basic knowledge in investing, I learn how to value money. It’s money generating another money!

What’s the role of Google Adsense then?

Last month, I received my first Google Adsense earnings and this is from my blogging stuff.  I was able to treat my friends for some sumptuous meal! It pays to really celebrate when these boon things in life come! For good luck and more to come, actually! A portion of it, I used to add it to buy my new ASUS EEE 1000HE netbook. So I did use all my passive income sources to buy it. Google Adsense and Stock Investment gains for the netbook.

How to have a PASSIVE Income?

For now, I will say:

1. Go blogging thru Google Adsense.
2. Stock Investments thru profits.

Although, there are lots of ways to earn passive income thru blogging aside for Google Adsense, you may use your site to give paid reviews on products and services, internet marketing, and etc.

Don’t know how to start with Stock Investing?  Please read the articles and visit my site link: Get Started. Or you may jump in for Stock Trading Online.

Today’s Stock Buzz- August 21, 2009

Investors secure gains ahead of weekend

SHARE PRICES closed lower on Thursday after investors booked profits ahead of the long weekend, analysts said.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped by 1.47% or 40.71 points to 2,720.18, while the all shares index shed 1.2% or 21.34 points to 1,744.29.

A total of 3.58 billion shares worth P4.25 billion were traded. Net foreign buying totaled P332 million.

Decliners led advancers 71 to 32, while 55 shares did not move.

“The trading week is shorter so it was already expected that investors [would not be] as aggressive,” 2TradeAsia.com said.

“Investors were also checking for ’momentum progression’ that was absent during the past trading days.”

The online brokerage noted there wasn’t enough buying momentum that would have encouraged investors to enter the market. In the past five trading sessions, for instance, the market rose only once and the gain was not even significant.

The composite index managed to gain 29 points on Wednesday on bargain hunting but this failed to prevent the PSEi from sliding. The index lost 4.77% week-on-week.

Jun B. Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said investors also remain “sensitive” to market declines after experiencing a “big scare” last year when the market shed almost half of its value.

“[Yesterday] was also the first day of the ghost month. So traditional thinkers tried to avoid the market ahead of the long holiday, especially since Wall Street continues to be volatile,” he said.

Investors, Mr. Calaycay said, will monitor how the US market will do during the break before charting their next moves.

Wall Street closed higher on Wednesday after crude prices for September delivery jumped by 4.7% or $3.23 to close at $72.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This was after the US government’s weekly inventory showed that crude oil supplies fell last week.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose by 0.66% or 61.22 points to 9,279.16 after investors scooped up oil-related firms on anticipation that demand for crude would rise.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 0.69% or 6.79 points to 996.46, while the Nasdaq composite index rallied by 0.68% or 13.32 points to 1,969.24.

At home, however, mining and oil stocks led the losers, retreating by 2.33% or 190.54 points to 7,985.75.

Industrial stocks fell by 2.26% or 91.30 points to 3,944.18, while the service sector slid by 1.25% or 17.76 points to 1,397.08.

The property sector tumbled by 1.23% or 12.03 points to 964.72, while holding companies shed 0.87% or 13.33 points to 1,518.44.

Financial firms lost 0.1% or 0.64 point to 592.84.

Manila Electric Co. shed 5.31% or P11 to P196, while Lopez-led holding company Benpres Holdings Corp. dropped 5.26% or 20 centavos to settle at P3.60.

Benpres unit First Philippine Holdings Corp. slipped by 3.52% or P1.50 to P41, while Andrew Tan-led property company Megaworld Corp. was down by 3.12% or four centavos to P1.24.

Philex Mining Corp. declined by 2.43% or 25 centavos to P10, while index heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. dipped by 1.63% or P40 to P2,405.

Ty-led Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. shed 1.33% or 50 centavos to P37, while Lopez-led Energy Development Corp. lost 1.14% or five centavos to P4.30.

Ayala Land, Inc. did not move at P9.70, while the Bank of the Philippine Islands stayed at P43.50.

Entry Credit: http://www.bworldonline.com

TAKE PROFITS!- Absolutetraders.com

“Take profits” is what stock mavericks of absolutetraders.com is recommending! Although the PSEi is on a short correction mode, there is a positive way that it will be bullish on the next days to come!

The nearest level of resistance for PSEi is at 2890. The MACD (below) indicates a short sell for traders. Weeeh!

So, if you find a perfect time to sell you shares, go on before the final day of the ghost month will change your portfolios.

Rule: Buy low, Sell high!

Links:

www.absolutetraders.com

Happy Trading! – Bullish Trader

Today’s Stock Buzz- August 18, 2009

Prices tumble after investors cash in gains

SHARE PRICES closed 2.77% lower yesterday, hurt by weak US sentiment and investors cashing in ahead of the part of the lunar calendar that the Chinese consider unlucky, dealers said.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 78.83 points to 2,771.18, its lowest level in three weeks, while the all shares index gave up 43 points or 2.38% to 1,763.98.

Turnover reached 3.94 billion shares worth P3.23 billion, with 114 issues down, 16 up and 24 unchanged.

“US consumer confidence was weak, and while Japan’s economy improved, there was still a negative spin to it,” Jose Vistan of AB Capital Securities told Dow Jones Newswires.

He expects further consolidation with the start on Aug. 20 of the so-called Chinese “ghost” month that is usually a slow period for Philippine equities.

Jasper M. Jimenez of BDO Securities said profit taking was evident in the huge discrepancy between losers and gainers.

“That’s [a reflection of] the sentiment now. Some investors were already expecting this last week but the market continued to be resilient,” he said.

He also pointed out that the fall in Wall Street stocks on Friday contributed to yesterday’s turnout. “It was also partly a reaction to the performance of the US market last Friday,” he pointed out.

US stocks closed lower on Friday on a report that consumer confidence fell in August. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 76.79 points to 9,321.40.

Eunika B. Maloles of 2TradeAsia.com said the market’s fall yesterday was expected especially since the mining and oil sector had a steep climb last week.

“There was broad-based profit taking and correction in all sectors led by mining since its run-up was steep last week, she said.

Mr. Jimenez said the bourse may remain at its current levels, with no fresh leads to perk up trading and with August historically a slow time for the market.

“I don’t expect the bourse to move up significantly. The market bias is really negative,” he said.

Ms. Maloles also expects lukewarm participation among investors this week due to the absence of leads and a shorter trading week.

The market will be closed on Friday in observance of martial law-era hero Benigno S. Aquino, Jr.’s death anniversary.

Ms. Maloles, however, noted that the bourse’s steep fall yesterday may prompt a rally within the week.

“The decline yesterday was pretty sharp, so we could expect a rally the next few days… We need this correction though to further push up the market in the medium term,” she said.

Mining and oil companies had the sharpest fall, tumbling 3.52% or 293.69 points to 8,055.42 followed by industrial firms, which dropped by 3.14% or 131.36 to 4,055.46.

Property shares lost 3.02% or 29.96 points to finish at 961.49, while service companies declined by 2.98% or 43.65 points to 1,421.70.

Holding firms dipped by 2.31% or 35.80 to 1,514.73, while financial stocks slipped by 1.82% or 11.06 or 598.23.

Ayala Corp. lost P7.50 or 2.4% to finish at P300, while units Bank of the Philippine Islands and Ayala Land, Inc. finished 50 and 20 centavos lower, respectively, at P45.50 and P9.40.

The country’s largest bank, Sy-led Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc. shed 1.43% or 50 centavos to P34.50, while SM Investments Corp.’s shares dipped by 2.31% or P7.50 to P317.50.

Index heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. lost P75 or 2.95% to end at P2,470.

The Manila Electric Co., on the other hand, shed 3.59% or P8 to close at P215. — AFP and Don Gil K. Carreon

Entry Credit: http://www.bworldonline.com

Today’s Stock Buzz- August 17, 2009

Mixed trading expected on lack of catalysts

THE LOCAL market is expected to continue trading within its current range as some investors might book profits due to lack of catalysts.

Analysts, however, said select issues might trim the market’s losses or help it close higher.

“For [this] week, the market is expected to take a breather on lack of catalysts as the central bank has already hinted there will be no rate movement when they meet on [Thursday],” DBP-Daiwa Securities, Inc. said.

The brokerage said this, along with a shortened trading week, would make investors wary of entering the market or allowing their investments to stay long in equities.

There will be no trading on Friday, which is a holiday to commemorate the death anniversary of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr.

Selling, DBP-Daiwa Securities noted, had become evident since last week, with foreign investors posting a net selling of P1.15 billion, reversing the P707 billion in net buying the previous week.

“[They] have started taking advantage of the market’s recent rallies [as an opportunity to book their gains],” it said.

DBP-Daiwa Securities also pointed out that as far as seasonal factors are concerned, August has never been on the side of investors since historical data during the past 21 years showed the market declining during this “ghost” month.

With activity expected to slow down this week, Prince Anthony A. Yeung of AB Capital Securities, Inc. said buying would likely be focused on “select stocks with specific plays,” especially now that it remains to be seen whether the US market’s main indices could post new highs.

The US market closed lower on Friday after reports showed that consumer confidence slipped during the early part of the month. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 0.82% or 76.79 points to 9,321.40.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dipped by 0.85% or 8.64 points to 1,004.09, while the Nasdaq composite index shed 1.19% or 23.83 points to 1,985.52.

Despite some investors booking their gains last week, the Philippine Stock Exchange index managed to close 2.41% higher week-on-week to settle at 2,850.01.

For this week, however, Mr. Yeung said: “On the local front, there also would not be much catalyst for the local market to move higher [especially] since the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will most probably leave interest rates unchanged.”

The Monetary Board of the central bank is meeting this Thursday to revisit key rates.

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and Philex Mining Corp., which pushed up the index, might remain the focus of investors, however.

Meralco and Philex Mining are being rumored to be the subject of a bidding war by two of the Philippines’ most influential businessmen: San Miguel Corp. President Ramon S. Ang and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan.

“It seems that the market [would find it hard to go beyond] the 2,900 level [although] it would [be able to] find some support at 2,800. This will most probably be the narrow range that the market would move within this week,” Mr. Yeung said.

Nonetheless, DBP-Daiwa Securities said it welcomes the anticipated correction since the market needs to take a breather after an increase of 17.11% since the start of the second half.

“Should the market correct this week, we recommend that investors buy on the dip since the upward trend of the index has remained intact while the global economy slowly shows signs of improvement,” DBP-Daiwa Securities said.

Entry Credit: http://www.bworldonline.com

Today’s Stock Buzz- August 15, 2009

Stocks down on profit-taking

Philippine stocks fell on Friday as investors cashed in on gains made a day earlier when shares soared following the US Federal Reserve’s upbeat assessment of the US economy.

Concerns over a bigger budget deficit in 2010 also triggered a selloff, analysts said.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index or PSEi lost 0.21%, or 6.05 points, to 2,850.01, while the all-shares index slipped 0.27% to 1,806.98. A total of 3.4 billion shares worth P2.69 billion changed hands. Decliners led advancers 55 to 46, while 57 shares did not move.

“The slight slide in the share prices today was brought about by profit-taking by investors following the recent market advance, [especially after Fed announced that the US, the world’s biggest economy, is stabilizing],” Grace C. Cerdenia, chief operating officer of online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia.com, said.

The Fed said Thursday that US economic activity was leveling out, allowing rates to remain at near zero for an “extended period.” That drove a rally in Asian markets that day, including the Philippines.

Ms. Cerdenia said investors unloaded their portfolios after economic managers raised the target budget shortfall to P233.4 billion for next year from P208.4 billion, as part of the government’s economic pump-priming efforts.

Justino B. Calaycay, Jr., analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp., said investors bracing themselves for a slump in share prices during the traditional “ghost” month of August contributed to the price pullback.

Since investors normally stay on the sidelines in August, news pointing to a global economic recovery won’t help, he said.

“There is already a general consensus that we are not going into a recession, and this was already factored in by the investors,” Mr. Calaycay said.

Select industrial, as well as mining and oil issues, pulled down share prices, with the Manila Electric Co. weighing down on the market with an 8.61% loss.

Industrial stocks lost 2.59%, or 111.46 points, to 4,186.82, while mining and oil tumbled by 2.72% or 233.14 points.

GMA Network, Inc., Philex Mining Corp., First Gen Corp., class “A” shares of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co., Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc., Aboitiz Power Corp., and Globe Telecommunications Co. all pulled down the PSEi.

On the other hand, International Terminal Container Services Inc., which advanced by 6.49%, led upward movers among index stocks.

Other PSEi stocks that gained on Friday were Ayala Corp, Ayala Land, Inc., SM Prime Holdings, Manila Water Co., Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc., Robinsons Land Corp., Jollibee Foods Corp., and SM Investments Corp.

Entry Credit: http://www.bworldonline.com

What is Ghost Month?

If you’re new to the world of Stock Market, you might be hearing the term “ghost month” by the investors/traders circle. Well, we visited some sites on how they view the Ghost Month as it influences business market for many. Read below:

* This years Ghost month starts on August and ends September.

The Ghost Festival is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday, which is celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 14th night of the seventh lunar month.

In Chinese tradition, the seventh month in the Chinese calendar is called the Ghost Month, in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower world to visit earth. The Ghost Festival is the climax of a series of the Ghost Month celebrations. Traditionally, ancestor worshiping was an important part of the festivals, with activities including preparing ritualistic offering food, and burning hell money and bags containing cloth to please the visiting ghosts and spirits of the ancestors, as well as other deities. A very solemn festival of ancestor worshiping, the festival nevertheless represents a connection between the ancestors and the descendants, the living and the dead, earth and heaven, as well as body and soul.

So why does this matter to you? Well ghost month is embedded in the chinese tradition where you’re not supposed to spend unnecessarily during the ghost month. this really does happen every lunar ghost month of the year, as some foreign (Asian) funds do not like to make investments at this time. Stock trading is considered an unnecessary expense what this means for traders is less liquidity. If there’s nobody there to really buy up a stock then there’s really no way for stocks to go but sideways or even…. DOWN

Credit to: http://financemanila.net

*Bearish mood to persist as ‘ghost month’ rolls in

TRADING AT the stock market this week would still be influenced by crude prices and the performance of US stocks, analysts said, but consolidation is also expected during this “ghost month.”

“The outlook for the market remains bearish for the long and medium term,” said Jose L. Vistan of AB Capital Securities, Inc. “Short-term view looks cautiously positive as the near-term rally seems to be on shaky legs.”

He added that although last week’s rally might continue this week, the market still lacks the solid fundamentals to make it snap out of its downtrend.

The composite index last week made a surprising gain of 2.8% or 71.49 points to 2,584.21 as local investors focused on crude prices on Friday, ignoring the drop in US stocks.

Credit to: http://www.bworldonline.com

* Ask advice with any old timer in stock market and he’ll tell you to stay away from stocks during the Chinese ghost month. Indeed, the table below shows that stocks tended to perform poorly during this period (12 out of the last 19 years), registering an average loss of 4.1 percent.

PHISIX Performance during the Hungry Ghost Months (1987 – 2005)

*Source: Technistock, Philequity Research

Double whammy

This year is a double whammy of sorts because of the occurrence of a double ghost month. The Chinese lunar calendar (as the name implies) follows the cyclical movement of the moon. Therefore, in the Chinese calendar, a year has a total of 354 days or 11 to 12 days shorter than the solar year. To balance the lunar and solar calendars, a leap lunar month is added every three years. And this year, the leap month occurs in the seventh month with the regular seventh month from July 25 to August 23 and a leap seventh month from August 24 to September 21.

So far, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) is up 3.9 percent since the ghost month started last July 25. Will it stay up or will the jinx of the ghost month finally haunt it in the end? Only time will tell.

Trading simulation

Heeding the old advice of staying out of the stock market during the ghost months should have earned investors more money in their pockets. A simulation below shows that if one peso was invested in the PSEi in 1987 and a strategy of selling before the ghost month and buying it back afterwards was employed, the investment would now be worth P15.10 (or an annual compounded rate of 14.8 percent). Meanwhile, a simple buy-and-hold strategy would have resulted to only P5.01 (or an annual compounded rate of 8.6 percent).

Credit to: http://www.yehey.com/finance

*August is known to be the Chinese ghost month where the perception is that liquidity and the index takes a breather due to the Chinese tradition. However, it has been proven that this phenomenon does not have its usual hold on the market anymore. How will it be this year?

Credit to: http://www.absolutetraders.com

Today’s Stock Buzz- August 13, 2009

Prices tumble after US stocks decline anew

SHARE PRICES succumbed to profit taking yesterday with investors taking their cue from Wall Street, which extended its decline, analysts said.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 1.11% or 32.02 points to 2,828.52, while the all shares index slipped by 1.01% or 18.36 points to 1,794.92.

A total of 4.74 billion shares worth P2.82 billion were traded with net foreign selling summing up to P316 million.

Decliners led advancers 67 to 33, while 65 shares did not move.

“We just tracked the US market. Its almost a hundred-point drop put pressure on our market,” Ivan I. Nario of BDO Securities, Inc. said.

“This could be the start of the long-awaited correction since investors just follow the momentum of [both the overseas and local markets].”

Mr. Nario said the US market is showing some signs of volatility, making investors cautious.

As such, they might sell their positions if they see the prices not going up. After all, Mr. Nario pointed out, the PSEi has broken above the 2,600 and 2,800 levels, which most analysts earlier said would be the best scenarios for equities this year.

“We have been in the overbought level for sometime already, although there is still liquidity in the market that is why there is not much selling pressure,” he said.

Jun B. Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said the inability to break above current resistance levels means investors don’t believe share prices would rise so much.

Investors, he said, could be bracing themselves for slumping prices during the “ghost” month of August.

“But despite that, there is no massive sell-off. The market is just trading within a very narrow band and I think those who have bought in are still holding on to their shares, hoping that after the ghost month, the market will resume its upward move since the general economy is already doing well,” he said.

A gloomy forecast for the US banking industry pulled down financial stocks on Tuesday night. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 1.03% or 96.50 points to 9,241.45.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped by 1.27% or 12.77 points to 994.33, while the Nasdaq composite index tumbled by 1.13% or 22.51 points to 1,969.73.

At home, industrial shares lost 2.32% or 102.54 points to 4,316.99, while holding firms slipped by 1.73% or 26.44 points to 1,501.40.

Mining and oil stocks declined by 1.42% or 123.94 points to 8,546.42, while property shares tumbled by 1.21% or 12.03 points to 975.30.

The service sector dipped by 0.11% or 1.61 points to 1,422.50.

Financial stocks, on the other hand, managed to climb by 0.27% or 1.66 points to 604.68.

Most blue chips closed lower.

Manila Electric Co. declined by 4.76% or P12.50 to P250, while Andrew Tan-led Megaworld Corp. lost 1.47% or two centavos to P1.34.

Sy-led Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc. slipped by 1.44% or 50 centavos to P34, along with Ayala Land, Inc., which fell by 1.05% or 10 centavos to P9.40.

Index heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. lost 0.2% or P5 to P2,480.

Philex Mining Corp. did not move at P10.75, after pushing up share prices the previous day. Likewise, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. stayed at P38.50 per share.

The Bank of the Philippine Islands, on the other hand, added 1.09% or 50 centavos to P46.

Entry Credit: http://www.bworldonline.com

Stock Trading Tips

Once you already got familiarized with the stock market and started doing stock trading, here are some of the useful tips that I learned from my stock trading experience:

Stock Trading Tip No. 1: First of all, I’ve seen a study conducted by ATR-Kim Eng Securities comparing the monthly stock returns on election years as against any other “normal” year. As seen from the graph, the month of August, historically is considered as the “ghost month” in stock trading since it is in this month that registered the lowest yield as against other months whether election year or not. You can also see from the graph that historically, the month of December gives the most yield and so it “may” be good to buy stocks on the month of August when stocks are low and later sell it on December when stocks prices are picking up.

Stock Trading Tip No. 2: Don’t buy in smaller volumes. If you have enough capital to spend in stocks, then try to buy huge volumes of your favorite stocks because if you buy in smaller volumes, then chances are you will incur higher stock trading fees such as broker’s commission, VAT, etc.

Stock Trading Tip No. 3: Transaction costs in buying vs. selling stocks. Each time you make a transaction, whether buying or selling stocks, you will incur transaction fees. Based on the transaction costs that I learned, it is “more expensive” for you to sell stocks than to buying it because selling stocks incurs a much higher transaction costs.

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