Instinct

Instinct is a gift from God. It is a natural inborn tendency to behave and act in a certain way without training or reasoning. Birds can fly by instinct; fish can swim by instinct.

Termites are blind. Yet millions of them can co-ordinate their efforts to build their nest which has a system much like our air-conditioned room.

In a dark cave where wires are strung, bats can maneuver their flying without touching these wires.

A swift can easily identify its own nest which lies among thousands of them, all looking alike.

Certain kinds of water beetles can stay underwater for more than an hour because they have the ability to grasp a bubble of air for use then they submerge. Man uses the oxygen tank strapped to his body.

Wasps and hornets are able to convert wood to paper to build their nests.

Homing pigeons and migrating birds know their ways by sensing the earth’s magnetic field.

Man has light bulbs. Fireflies and many kinds of fish also have their own lights.

Man tills the soil and tends livestock for food. Ants make compost form leaves and with their droppings, they can grow fungi for food. Some ants keep aphids (kind of small insects) as their livestock.

A humming bird beats its wings up to 75 times a second for 25 hours when migrating.

Penguins can spend months at sea in total darkness without getting lost.

The above are just some of the amazing wonders of our world. Do these wonders happen by chance or do we really have a Creator?

Can we use instinct to trade or invest in the stock market? We do not have this inborn ability. If everyone can trade profitably, who is to be the loser? The stock market is a zero-sum game. This means for someone to win, someone must lose.

Our skill and ability do not come by instinct. Our limps are not willing servants until they are trained and disciplined.

Fortunately, we are endowed with the most amazing wonder of the world. This is the human brain. With it, we have the faculty of speech, learning, thought and reasoning. With it, we can learn from plants and all living creatures and yet control them. With it, we are the master of the world.

But, can we control the market? To control is impossible; to benefit from it, yes we can.

The Tortoise beat the Hare

The Hare was boasting about his ability to jump and run when he was challenged by a tortoise to a race.

“Oh you! I can actually dance around you and still beat you with my hands down.” He said to the Tortoise.

“Keep your boastings to yourself until you have beaten me,” replied the Tortoise. And so the race was arranged.

On the agreed day and time they met for the race. As soon as the race started, the Hare shot out to the front and quickly sped off. After awhile, the Hare said to himself: “Hey! What’s the hurry? I better check where the Tortoise is.” So he slowed down to check. As soon as he slowed down, he heard a voice. “I am here, right in front of you.”

The Hare was shocked. “How can it be,” he murmured to himself. A sense of urgency came over him and he quickly raced past the Tortoise. Then he slowed down to check again. As soon as he did that, he saw the Tortoise right in front of him again. “You are slow; if you don’t speed up, you’ll lose the race.” He heard the Tortoise said.

The Hare got the shock of his life. Quickly he sped off once more. That time he really raced with all his strength and speed. At the finishing line he was panting for breath but the Tortoise was there already.

Beaten in disgrace, he hung down his head and walked away in tears.

How did the Tortoise do that? What was the strategy?

Well folks, be careful, no matter how fast or good you are, you can be beaten or played out by someone smarter than you.

All About Money

Gary Wollin is a financial analyst and investment advisor. He has ample experience in the stock market. He is entertaining and motivational as well. He said:

One day, while Chicken Little was walking in the woods, an acorn fell and hit him on his head.

“Goodness gracious me!” said Chicken Little, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling. I must go warn everyone.”

We see this all the time. The stock market goes straight up for eight or nine months, and if there are 2 or 3 down days in a row, there is hand-wringing and the moaning all over the place.

Who are these people that panic at the first sign of a downturn or with the slightest bit of profit taking?

The first group are people who get in the near the top and are now worried that their small losses will turn into big losses. Also, people who haven’t invested in the stock market are in this same box. For many, many years they were wrong to not have invested, but now that the market has declined very slightly for a few days they would like the point out how smart they are and how dumb everyone else is.

Short–sellers are the next group. Short selling is selling a security that the seller does not own but is committed to repurchasing eventually. It is used to take advantage of an expected decline in the security’s price.

The press comes next. You have heard this before: “bad news sells newspapers.”

The 24–hour television news stations must make every tiny move in a stock or in the stock market seem like a momentous occasion. Imagine hearing such a stupid statement as “this is the largest stock market decline since last week.”

The slimiest are the politicians whose party is out of power. They try to make themselves look good by making the other guys look bad. It does not matter which group you belong to or who is in power or out of power at the moment.

An out of power politician must find the cloud in every silver lining.

So, how can you protect yourself? What should you do to keep out of “the sky is falling” trap?

The most important thing that you can do is to be clear about your long-term financial goals and objectives. Yes, in the very short run, many circumstances can affect the value of your portfolio. In a well-diversified portfolio, these declines will be relatively small and short lived.

Twenty years from now, it will not have mattered who was shot during the past twenty years or who was in power or who went to jail or to war. Simply ask yourself, “how will three dollar a gallon gasoline affect my retirement twenty years from now?”

Don’t worry about tales of imminent doom and gloom. Don’t listen to, and certainly, don’t act upon rumors and scare stories. And, most of all, don’t spread these stories yourself.

IDR; Budget 2008 and more

This website is a "Must-Visit". Click here for it.

Budget 2008 is indeed an election budget. What I really like is that all dividends will be tax-exempted. This will benefit all and sundry. Those in the high income group and those who never claim back the tax deducted from their dividends are the ones to benefit most.
Stamp duties for properties transferred to one's spouse are also exempted. It would be much more commendable if this is extended to the children as well.
Overall, the budget is an excellent one; in fact, the best I know of, so far.
Three cheers to that.

Ranhill strikes oil?

Ranhill closed high at 3.10 with an intraday high of 3.12. Volume traded was 331,182 lots which was above moderate. I expect better things to come for Ranhill. As usual, you buy, sell or hold at your own risk.