The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
| Posted: 28 Dec 2012 06:32 PM PST Leadership 2.0 Authors: Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves Publisher: TalentSmart This is a book as well as "a programme" to sharpen 22 core and adaptive leadership skills. There is a portion that come with a scoreboard for self-assessment. Core skills are those that help get one into positions, while adaptive skills are those that set great leaders apart. Identifying, building your skills and enjoying exemplary performance in the pursuit of important objectives will be dealed with by the authors who also wrote Emotional Intelligence 2.0. Debt: The first 5,000 years Author: David Graeber Publisher: Melville House Anthropologist David Graeber gives a fascinating account of the credit systems to buy and sell goods before the invention of coins and notes. It is in this era that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors, with the indebted becoming slaves. Kings and churches intervene and that was how churches became land owners. He also deals with how the present credit crisis will impact the future economy. Business Plans for Dummies Authors: Paul Tiffany, Steven Peterson and Colin Barrow Publisher: Wiley & Sons Whether you are a novice or an entrepreneur, a solid business plan will get you where you want to go. Revised for today's rocky economic climate, this edition of UK's bestselling business plan guide provides a road map of some crucial topics. Charting your course, getting to know your competitors and sorting out the financials are among some of the topics covered. It also covers the latest consumer trends, the magic of having an adaptive spirit and other business tips. |
| Posted: 28 Dec 2012 06:31 PM PST THE year 2012 was defined by derisking, a cautious outlook and wealth preservation. Boring stocks ruled. Dividends were in. Speculative stocks ran out of favour. The trend in the second half of the year was clear cut. Penny stocks either meandered in lacklustre trading or were hammered into oblivion. Meanwhile, the banks, telcos and real estate investment trust (REITs) started picking up steam. The result of this? A 9.2% return for the FBM KLCI. The skew towards dividend-yielding stocks saw many of the consumer-based, telco and REIT stocks heavily outperforming the FBM KLCI. Not surprisingly, the Finance Index was up some 11.5% as of Dec 26. DiGi.com Bhd was the star of the telco stocks, gaining 38.3% on a year to date basis. Meanwhile, Maxis Bhd, Axiata Group Bhd and Telekom Malaysia Bhd also outperformed Bursa by bearing returns of 21.5%, 28.8% and 19.8%. While REITS did well, with Pavilion REIT recording returns of some 24%, property counters were equally impressive. This was seen in the FBM KLCI property index which gained 4.57% on a year to date basis. The biggest property gainer was KLCC Property Holdings Bhd, which saw its share price skyrocket some 98.7% to close Dec 26 at RM6.26. The rush for yield and safety was obvious in the appreciation of consumer stocks such as Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, AEON Co (M) Bhd and Guinness Anchor Bhd that ran up 46.4%, 98.5%, 77.6%%, and 22.4% respectively. Food themes were also beginning to emerge on selective food companies with good branding and a growing chain. Furthermore, with rising incomes and a larger middle income class segment, the recession proof food industry was starting to showcase some stirring growth prospects. Berjaya Food Bhd was up 64.7% while Oldtown Bhd was up an impressive 85%. While the early part of the year saw a huge appetite for the ACE market counters with personalities such as Datuk Raymond Chan emerging, the aggressive plays eventually died down as investors ultimately picked fundamentals and safe havens on the backdrop of a still recovering European economy. The plays on Metronic Global Bhd, Naim Indah Corp Bhd, Harvest Court Industries Bhd and Ariantec Global Bhd eventually died down. The dark cloud on the impending 13th General Election was a huge factor in casting a pall on the local bourse, with foreign participation continuing to be muted. Retail participation peaked in the January to February period to about a daily average of RM2.3bil, before dwindling to one of its lowest levels of RM500mil as of early December. Local institutions continued to be the major proponent of the market throughout the year, although the daily average trade also dwindled from the RM2.5bil mark in February to about RM1.5bil as of end December. The overhang of liquidity in Asia remained uncomfortably high at current level. MIDF estimates that some US$51bil of foreign liquidity had moved into the seven Asian markets of Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Korea and Thailand this year until Dec 14. As of the week of Dec 14, Malaysia recorded a strong surplus of US$222.1milweek, the sixth biggest this year. Thus, for the year until Dec 14, the cumulative net inflow of foreign funds into Malaysian equity surged to RM13.4bil. This is more than seven times the amount of RM1.9bil recorded for the entire 2011. "Since Jan 2010, cumulative net purchase of Bursa-listed shares by foreigners stayed above the RM30bil mark at RM30.5bil," said MIDF Research. For the year, new and old stocks found their way into the country's benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index. On Dec 24, Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGVH) and Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd, which raised RM9.9bil and RM4.5bil in two of Asia's biggest initial public offerings this year, joined the index. Meanwhile, the region's biggest low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd, and Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MMHE) were kicked out. Stocks that are included in the FTSE Bursa Malaysia will typically have a higher following as large investors who want exposure to Malaysia will want their portfolios to mirror the index. Share prices of both AirAsia and MMHE have received blows and are down 30% and 22.3% respectively. The listing of the three biggest IPOs in 2012, which consisted of FGVH, Astro and Integrated Healthcare Bhd (IHH) did play its part in heightening the equity capital market scene. However returns wise, it has yet to perform. Apart from IHH, which delivered returns of 10.03%, both FGVH and Astro were still trading below IPO levels, and were down 13.96% and 2.3% respectively. Related Stories: |
| Looking forward to a kinder, gentler and cleaner society Posted: 28 Dec 2012 06:28 PM PST First the good news - we have survived the end of the world apocalypse. With the spirit of the holiday season and the new year upon us, this is supposed to be a good week for all. Unfortunately, not for me. I was driving home from work when a white Myvi rudely cut me off from the left side (emergency lane) of the street. Is that incident reflective of our society's depreciating road etiquette? Of course, many would have come across this kind of situation. To be honest, this is not my first time. Besides the inconsiderate action of the other driver which could have led to an accident, the driver subsequently threw a small red plastic bag out of the car window which landed on the middle of the street. The scene of people littering may sound minor to many, but since our country is embracing green technology and promoting a greener environment, such actions do not bode well with the country's aspirations. On the current environmental movement, often we come across the local authorities and individuals promoting the benefits of recycling. We are encouraged to recycle. Although attempts to educate and to encourage people to be responsible with their waste have been vigorous, few practice it. In terms of technology and a better waste management system, there is room for improvement. Nevertheless, technology is not the main solution to the problem. While technological advancements have led to tremendous changes in the world - it is seen as a catalyst for economic growth - technology is expensive and the level of effectiveness, when it comes to waste management, is uncertain. For me, human behaviour represents a far more cost-effective solution when it comes to deal with the environment. The best way to describe our attitude today is that we do not care what happens to our garbage once the garbage man takes it away. Once it is out of sight, it is out of mind. As reported previously, our drains are clogged with rubbish and this is one of the main reasons for floods. Almost RM828mil are spent on flood mitigation programmes and clearing clogged drains. Japan has a regulated waste management policy. Everyone is responsible for their own waste. A Japanese friend once told me that she has no reason not to practise it. Prevention is better than cure. And cheaper too. So how can we apply the same spirit of civic mindedness in our society? |
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