Happens in the UK too.
[T]he question, as petrol prices begin to rise, is whether they have risen faster in response to the rising oil price than they fell when the oil price was falling.
It seems pretty clear that they did, because last summer it took about a 20% fall in the oil price before there was any significant decline in the petrol price.
Interesting that Warren Buffett has accidentally and unintentionally diagnosed what is holding S’poreans back.
“In the great majority of cases the lack of performance exceeding or even matching an unmanaged index in no way reflects lack of either intellectual capacity or integrity,” he wrote in 1965. “I think it is much more the product of: (1) group decisions — my perhaps jaundiced view is that it is close to impossible for outstanding investment management to come from a group of any size with all parties really participating in decisions; (2) a desire to conform to the policies and the portfolios of other large well-regarded organisations; (3) an institutional framework whereby average is ‘safe’ and the personal rewards for independent action are in no way commensurate with the general risk attached to such action; (4) an adherence to certain diversification practices which are irrational; and finally and importantly, (5) inertia.” (Latest annual report)
When the anti-PAP cybernuts rant against the PAP administration (including GIC and Temasek), they should remember one thing: the PAP administration and the cybernuts (and S’poreans in general) are all kia su.
This is what is holding us back.
If anything the cyberbuts are even more KS than most S’poreans. Most post anonymously. They would claim fear of the PAP administration. More likely they are pi seh to show how stupid and nutty they really are. They are not as brave as Roy, New Citizen H3 and Chia Yong Yong.
They may be extremely stupid but they are brave to parade their stupidity in public.
But let’s celebrate those who are brave and intelligent. People like Alex Au, Richard Wan, TRE’s techie Andrew, Affin Sha, Terry Xu, P Ravi, Siow Kum Hong, Baema and Martyn See. Though I do wish that Alex would stop wanting to take on the judiciary, and Martyn stop filing police reports.
During the Spring Festival, we had more evidence of how a scholar, army general and ex-Temasek MD is failing to refloat NOL which he steered onto the rocks. He had to sell the crown jewels to try to refloat NOL No need to remind readers that SMRT is run by a scholar and a retired SAF general. NOL today, the MRT ststem tomorrow.
Contrast NOL’s financial performance withwhat’s happening at Maersk Line.
NOL
NOL has suffered three straight years of pre-tax losses in challenging industry conditions.
The buyer, Tokyo-listed Kintetsu World Express (KWE), has said it will keep APL Logistics’ headquarters in Singapore.
“In an increasingly competitive liner shipping sector, NOL believes that it is imperative to strive to have the most cost-competitive position, and the strongest financial position in order to have a better chance to thrive,” NOL said yesterday.
“Accordingly, NOL has decided to dispose of its logistics business and focus on improving its core liner shipping business.”
Mr Ng Yat Chung, NOL’s group president and chief executive, said: “The transaction will also strengthen our balance sheet and unlock value for our shareholders.”
NOL, which posted its fourth-quarter results last Friday, said operational cost efficiencies helped narrow its net losses to US$85.1 million from losses of US$137 million a year earlier.
– See more at: http://business.asiaone.com/news/nol-sells-logistics-business-16-billion#sthash.6NXQ5TVu.dpuf
Even our constructive, nation-building media was forced to show how desperate the CEO had become: he sold the crown jewels, cannabalising NOL
The move sees NOL selling the only profitable part of its business. APL Logistics posted a 5 per cent jump in fourth-quarter revenue to US$458 million and core Ebitda of US$20 million, while APL, NOL’s container shipping business, posted losses.
NOL said the purchase price represents a 15 times multiple to the APL Logistics group’s reported core Ebitda, a measure of profit, for the full year of 2014.
Since August last year, NOL has been mulling over a sale of APL Logistics and undertook a competitive bidding process.
– See more at: http://business.asiaone.com/news/nol-sells-logistics-business-16-billion#sthash.6NXQ5TVu.dpuf
Maersk Line
Maersk Line, the world’s biggest container shipping line, continued its strong performance by boosting net profit to $2.3bn last year from $1.5bn in 2013.
Seen as a bellwether for global trade as it transports 15 per cent of all seaborne freight, Maersk Line said it expected container demand to grow 3-5 per cent this year, well below the pre-crisis levels of more than 10 per cent but in line with 4 per cent growth last year.
“We basically don’t expect a lot of change. The low oil price should give some changes in patterns,” said Mr Andersen, pointing to growth in Asia-US and Asia-Europe trade but declines in north-south routes to Africa and Latin America.
Maersk Line expects to post a higher underlying profit this year than in 2014. The conglomerate as a whole said it expected an underlying profit this year of slightly below $4bn, compared with $4.1bn in 2014.
