Thai Stocks For Mid To Long Term Investors

[ray23]

The MAI index did well by me today. set was down 11.63 points and the MAI up by 1.23 points which left me up 5.3% after taking my profit. This is one the things Paul talks about in his approach. Hey what can I say seems to work.

Today saw the EURO hit hard, why because a new government in Hungary said that it was going the way of Greece. Now they are saying they were wrong, coupled with the less then impressive job numbers in the states. The Asian and all Markets were down today. Sounds to me like a knee jerk reaction now the next thing, how long before things get back on track.

No complaints from me did better then I thought I would

[samran]

<!--quoteo(post=3661732:date=2010-06-02 20:24:48:name=khunjake)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (khunjake @ 2010-06-02 20:24:48) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=3661732"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Just be sure to set some stops before the markets crash through the floor later this year! <img src="http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> Long term could also equal a really long loss..<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Ok genius, dont try teach people to suck eggs. On January 6th 1994 the SET reached 1784 well over double where it is now 16 years later. So if there is anyone in this world that knows that long term can equal a really long loss, we already know about it. Say Nasdaq investors, those internet stock investors, whose price peaked 10 years ago, are mere amateurs in the real world of - 'in the long term could also equal long term losses'.

Investors in the SET know in the long term, when things have at least halved over a 16 year period, the future looks bright. That future maybe itself, be long term, but the chances are pretty good.

check out Banpu and their shareprice growth since 2000 till today.

One of the best managed listed companies in Thailand and possibly in Asia. Listed on the SET but with most of its revenues coming from Indonesia and China, with moves into Australia. Very few pan-Asian energy plays such as Banpu.

[ExpatJ]

Posted earlier but I'll post again.

TTA, PSL are both dry bulk cargo shipping companies. And very little of their trade is to do with Thailand.

Being bulk cargoes shipping mostly cement, iron ore, coal, soyabeans and other commodities mostly of non corrosive nature. Very few of their ships even come to Thailand. As coal transport (Australia-China) has been a hot route. Soyabeans from South America to US/Europe etc.

Apart from the above TTA and PSL are very different when it comes to strategy.

TTA has diversified into coal business (taking over UMS) and fertilizer business (took over a company in Vietnam) and into oil drilling. And I guess they'll integrate all their business in the long term. TTA likes to fix its ships on a short term basis meaning their average income/fleet is highly volatile. Lately (after the crisis) they have made some amends, but still relatively short as compared to PSL.

PSL likes to fix its ship on a long term basis (even as much as 3-4 years). They've even fixed their newbuilding ships which has yet to join its fleet. The 2 cement carriers meaning they will have a guaranteed stream of revenue coming for them in the future. They have newbuildings which are going to arrive starting Q3 2010. Have ordered about 18. They've said they'll be hunting for 2nd hand ships on discounted rates. Currently they have about 20ish ships. They'd like to go back to about 50. Same story with TTA more or less on the number of ships.

Looking at the volume of shares being traded at PSL and TTA, TTA has a higher volume owing to the fact that most of its shares are in the market. About 50% of PSL shares are in the hands of a few owners, meaning only 50% left to be traded on the stock exchange.

Whether the stock price would go up/down in the future is a hard question. Both companies have strong fundamentals and are making money. Depends on the SET, BDI as well. BDI is not directly related with dry bulk cargo sector as investors normally think. Its the JE Hyde Index which is more closely related, but its a herd mentality.

As for world new buildings, there have been quite a lot of newbuildings that have been delayed and fleet which are above 20 yrs have been scrapped. Read an article a few months back to this sort but dont know the exact figures.

The problem for TTA, PSL- there will be a huge supply of ships hitting the market this year, big oversupply , which is likely to push prices down for these companies..I have found TTA to correlate quite closely to BDI and made a nice profit earlier this year as i bought TTA at the beginning of a BDI rally in Jan/Feb - maybe it was coincidence.

[ExpatJ]

For what its worth- a Thai colleague of mine who is a big SET investor has recommended TRUE, target price 5 baht in 3 months (its 2.9 baht now). I normally dont buy based on random recommendations, but i know this guy knows what he is doing ...I bought 1 million bahts worth yesterday. Lets see!

[fugitiv07]

ExpatJ:

Yes, TTA's share price and BDI have been closely related.

Agreed, there have been alot of new buildings which are due this and next year. Some shipping companies who've had to deal with a tight money supply and have failed to provide subsequent installments of the newbuildings, therefore And there have been quite a few dockyards that have gone bankrupt as well. I read a paper a few months ago on the staggering number of delays of newbuildings meaning there is still a short time window. Also take into consideration the accelerated scrapping of ships.

TTA and PSL operate ships of sizes of around 30,000 dwt. The real crisis that has come is in ship sizes of about 50,000 dwt.

My take is that these 2 shares will be moving sideways and continue to pay nominal dividends to their shareholders.

[ray23]

Well I gained a bit today pretty much flat, but that is better then I was expecting with all the fuss going on across the world. I took a good profit, so I expect things will slow for me for a while.

The idea was to share this experience with other people who had not invested before and learn from others that are active investors. So I don't think I will post everyday now unless there is something very unusual going on.

I'm at 5/34% positive now lets see where I'm at the end of the week

[humbug]

i mentioned tta on my last post

tta breaks even from my understanding at around 3000 bdi, someone else could kindly say what psl bdi break even price is to compare the 2 , tta has diversified as i and a few others have mentioned, how this affects the break even target along the bdi index is currently unknown as those tdiversified ransactions have been recent, pre-crisis many new ships in asia were ordered, and now coming on line so this is another heavy weight around the bdi index.

true, sounds short-medium term speculation so good luck hope it makes a tidy profit, not too sure personally i would look longterm as true every now and again will have to sell large blocks of shares at discounts to institutions to help pay back the huge debts it currently maintains, share price dilution longterm on true is a major threat and certainly a major disadvantage to longterm investors on that stock,

[Abrak]

The MAI index did well by me today. set was down 11.63 points and the MAI up by 1.23 points which left me up 5.3% after taking my profit. This is one the things Paul talks about in his approach. Hey what can I say seems to work.

Calling the MAI an 'index' is really a triumph of optimism. I mean I believe the total market cap. of all listed companies is about US$300m. If it rose 1.23 points its value rose by about US$1.5m. Which is in the real world about as much as BP earns in an hour.

[Abrak]

For what its worth- a Thai colleague of mine who is a big SET investor has recommended TRUE, target price 5 baht in 3 months (its 2.9 baht now). I normally dont buy based on random recommendations, but i know this guy knows what he is doing ...I bought 1 million bahts worth yesterday. Lets see!

Did you know on the first day of listing True (then TA) closed at Bt196/share. So the good news, is that whether your tip is right or wrong, you wont lose much relative to anyone else.

P.S. one of the owners is just finishing a US$13m villa opposite mine, so someone must be making money. (Mine of course looks like his maids quarters.)

[Abrak]

true, sounds short-medium term speculation so good luck hope it makes a tidy profit, not too sure personally i would look longterm as true every now and again will have to sell large blocks of shares at discounts to institutions to help pay back the huge debts it currently maintains, share price dilution longterm on true is a major threat and certainly a major disadvantage to longterm investors on that stock,

The really neat thing about True is that (1) it doesnt actually have any assets (their contracts are BTO) 2) loans are subject to payment by the local banks of the equipment suppliers and 3) it actually never pays back in full. So while your underlying comment is correct,under the rule of the game and if you look at the way they repaid KFW, the debt equity swaps while diluting the shareholder actually create shareholder value. Shareholder value is actually destroyed at the front end of deals not the back end.

[ray23]

The MAI index did well by me today. set was down 11.63 points and the MAI up by 1.23 points which left me up 5.3% after taking my profit. This is one the things Paul talks about in his approach. Hey what can I say seems to work.

Calling the MAI an 'index' is really a triumph of optimism. I mean I believe the total market cap. of all listed companies is about US$300m. If it rose 1.23 points its value rose by about US$1.5m. Which is in the real world about as much as BP earns in an hour.

True enough but that being said you got where you have the money to work. I'm not in you guys league. But, I'm working to get there

[ExpatJ]

true, sounds short-medium term speculation so good luck hope it makes a tidy profit, not too sure personally i would look longterm as true every now and again will have to sell large blocks of shares at discounts to institutions to help pay back the huge debts it currently maintains, share price dilution longterm on true is a major threat and certainly a major disadvantage to longterm investors on that stock,

The really neat thing about True is that (1) it doesnt actually have any assets (their contracts are BTO) 2) loans are subject to payment by the local banks of the equipment suppliers and 3) it actually never pays back in full. So while your underlying comment is correct,under the rule of the game and if you look at the way they repaid KFW, the debt equity swaps while diluting the shareholder actually create shareholder value. Shareholder value is actually destroyed at the front end of deals not the back end.

Agree that the underlying stats for TRUE are weak, scarily so- but i suspect my friend knows something that i dont know. He said hold for 2-3 months; but ill be happy to sell for a few hundred US$ in profit if i can sell

in the coming week (s).

[Abrak]

i disagree with abraks analysis on shipping when saying there are less ships around, my understanding pre-crisis, many more ships were ordered and now in operation in asia, even though less investment around now, that wasnt the case pre-crisis, so shipping rates are being kept at around 3000 for this reason, tta breaks even at anything over 3000 for the bdi index, and for this reason tta has expanded into resources buying a petoleum distributer in phillipines and a coal mining distributer listed on the set called ums, long term tta for me is the better stock compared to psl, but that again this is what personnel decisions are for, it is such an individual decision making process the stock market that all of us can disagree on many issues and be right or wrong.

the dividend issue, well i think most brokers have dividend tables going back a few years so you can compare increases year on year, see when they usually pay etc, and work out by studying those tables which stocks are on a upward bias for dividends etc

Actually if you properly read my post, I made no underlying comments on the company's fundamentals, merely questioned its accounting practices as being too 'opaque'.

Half the ships twice the assets.

depreciation 3-15 years

capitalisation of on-going costs

An unusually low tax charge

Twice as many subsidiaries (many off-shore) as they have ships

Generating 20% of profit by increasing your assumption of the future value of scrap metal on your ships.

It all sounds like garbage to me. You should perhaps better ask why they are listed in Thailand? If you can fathom their accounts go for it. But it looks like smoke and mirrors to me.

[Abrak]

Well I gained a bit today pretty much flat, but that is better then I was expecting with all the fuss going on across the world. I took a good profit, so I expect things will slow for me for a while.

The idea was to share this experience with other people who had not invested before and learn from others that are active investors. So I don't think I will post everyday now unless there is something very unusual going on.

I'm at 5/34% positive now lets see where I'm at the end of the week

Ray,

I notice that you dont object to criticism and you are trying to find your way, so here are a couple of observations (especially bearing mind your long/medium approach.)

Personally I think it is a complete waste of your time counting your daily losses and gains. If the Dow falls 2% Thailand is likely to fall but it is unlikely you will be able to predict the Dow. You mentioned one of your stocks was up 87%, I suspect another might be down 20%. My view is that you will do better to analyse those stock movements, rather than the market as a whole. And probably, after a while you will pick more winners than losers.

You also mentioned that Thailand was exporting a lot, so maybe you should buy shipping companies. Ultimately with investing it is difficult to make money based on current events. You need to look back say six months and work out that exports will 'rebound' and then buy on that basis. In fact I personally believe that current events are 'overstated' in current prices often. I, for instance, am now selling down exporters because export growth will tail off going forward once 'restocking' is completed over the next quarter.

[ray23]

Again I appreciate your comments, I was posting everyday to try to get something going with Thai stocks subject, no need now it worked.

Shipping far to complicated for a novice

Thanks

[ray23]

Just to add a little more insight, I'm not watching the stocks daily because I'm concerned about. I'm retired my hobby is motorcycle touring, this is not the best time of year for that. Most of you guys this is all old hat. To me brand spanking new and it gives me something to do. Its all very interesting to me.

I realize that It's next year not this day that matters.

From here I have learned how to do five year search's that points out to me why Paul picked the stocks in the model portfolio. I have also reviewed Kelive's model portfolio. A little beyond my reach right now.

I have ordered the book on charting. Sometimes I don't have a clue what the more experienced people are talking about. None the less it's interesting and points out things I need to learn. So I get benefit from input positive or negative.

Thanks everyone

[Abrak]

Just to add a little more insight, I'm not watching the stocks daily because I'm concerned about. I'm retired my hobby is motorcycle touring, this is not the best time of year for that. Most of you guys this is all old hat. To me brand spanking new and it gives me something to do. Its all very interesting to me.

I realize that It's next year not this day that matters.

From here I have learned how to do five year search's that points out to me why Paul picked the stocks in the model portfolio. I have also reviewed Kelive's model portfolio. A little beyond my reach right now.

I have ordered the book on charting. Sometimes I don't have a clue what the more experienced people are talking about. None the less it's interesting and points out things I need to learn. So I get benefit from input positive or negative.

Thanks everyone

Well put it simply, if you are fascinated by the daily 1-2% move in your portfolio, then you are easily amused. As I say, the more interesting questions are why did one stock go up 87%? Did you just sell it because it went up 87% or for a reason. You should probably be more interested in the volume of your stock than the value. For instance you will see that say 8 out of 10 stocks peak on their highest volume (that's a guess by the way.) Have you analysed 1Q results. Very simply compare them to 4Q. Take 1Q multiply by 4 and see what PE that puts it on? What are the P/BVs? Why do you think one of your stocks is performing badly? It might well be telling you something.

What your entire stock portfolio is doing each day will tell you precisely nothing.

You should also consider how many stocks you hold. Do not hold too many. Especially when starting. It is a good discipline to only invest in a new stock when you sell an old one. Although Marc Faber clearly disagrees.

[fugitiv07]

Opinions on IVL, CCET.

IVL has taken over an Italian company that makes some kind of petrochemical making IVL the largest producer of a certain type of petrochemical. IPO a few months back was at 10 baht. They were in the SET earlier under a different name (IRP). What do you guys think about this stock? Trading at 17.50 currently.

CCET producers of electronic items. Jumped quite a bit yesterday from 3.04 to 3.24.

[ray23]

Yes easily amused. I'll do the project you suggested. The 87% recommended by my adviser. it sits today in my buy account no replacement recommended yet. I think he feels as Midas has posted that things may just go sideways. He won't recommend anything he hasn't done good research on.

Doing the projects that I see recommended here allows me to learn, I really don't sit and stare at the screen all day.

Edited June 9, 2010 by ray23

[ray23]

True came up in the thread I noticed this today, don't know how or if it will influence things.

Business » Telecommunications

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

True faces down CAT over 3G cancellation threat

* Published: 9/06/2010 at 12:00 AM

* Newspaper section: Business

True Move, the country's third-largest mobile operator, has shrugged off threats by CAT Telecom to immediately halt its pilot of 3G services due to the alleged unapproved installation of 3G base stations.

The concession holder wants to negotiate with CAT to settle the dispute, but said it would take the matter to arbitration if resolution is impossible, said True Corp chief executive Suphachai Chearavanont.

CAT has told TrueMove to cease its 3G trial service on the state telecom enterprise's 850 Megahertz spectrum, saying the company had breached its concession agreement.

The state enterprise said the trial must be postponed as all equipment used for the venture must first be transferred to CAT under TrueMove's build-transfer-operate agreement.

CAT warned TrueMove that it would take "further measures" if the operator continued with the trial or marketing its WiFi-plus-3G packages.

Under the concession agreement, CAT granted True Move permission to install 656 base stations - 543 in Bangkok and surrounding provinces, 22 in Chiang Mai, 42 in Chon Buri, 35 in Phuket and 35 in Maha Sarakham. But the state enterprise has accused TrueMove of starting the process to install another 750 base stations which have not currently been approved.

Mr Suphachai said he believed the installation of the additional base stations was within the scope of the agreement.

"I think the dispute is just a misunderstanding," he said. "The additional installation is simply an ongoing issue that need to be clarified."

Shutting down the additional base stations would not benefit consumers. "The more cell sites offered, the greater the benefits to customers," he said.

Mr Supachai also denied that the company was marketing the trial service as TrueMove 3G-plus-WiFi without referring to CAT, which the state agency described as indirect commercial marketing. The packages are a free service offering that was bundled as a part of its 3G service.

True Move is on the verge of starting its own investigation into whether it violated the agreement, he said.

About the author

columnist

Writer: Srisamorn Phoosuphanusorn

Position: Business Reporter

[Abrak]

true, sounds short-medium term speculation so good luck hope it makes a tidy profit, not too sure personally i would look longterm as true every now and again will have to sell large blocks of shares at discounts to institutions to help pay back the huge debts it currently maintains, share price dilution longterm on true is a major threat and certainly a major disadvantage to longterm investors on that stock,

The really neat thing about True is that (1) it doesnt actually have any assets (their contracts are BTO) 2) loans are subject to payment by the local banks of the equipment suppliers and 3) it actually never pays back in full. So while your underlying comment is correct,under the rule of the game and if you look at the way they repaid KFW, the debt equity swaps while diluting the shareholder actually create shareholder value. Shareholder value is actually destroyed at the front end of deals not the back end.

Agree that the underlying stats for TRUE are weak, scarily so- but i suspect my friend knows something that i dont know. He said hold for 2-3 months; but ill be happy to sell for a few hundred US$ in profit if i can sell

in the coming week (s).

Not saying it is a bad tip. Actually I would definitely be more on the buy side.

But my biggest problem is the screw their lenders (which is fine) but they tend to screw their shareholders too.

In fact the only people I have ever met who have made money out of True are their major shareholders. (Incidentally all their names begin with Supa...). Anyway your investment is worth more than Oranges. They invested US$550m and sold for Bt4 (total).

[ExpatJ]

Just to add a little more insight, I'm not watching the stocks daily because I'm concerned about. I'm retired my hobby is motorcycle touring, this is not the best time of year for that. Most of you guys this is all old hat. To me brand spanking new and it gives me something to do. Its all very interesting to me.

I realize that It's next year not this day that matters.

From here I have learned how to do five year search's that points out to me why Paul picked the stocks in the model portfolio. I have also reviewed Kelive's model portfolio. A little beyond my reach right now.

I have ordered the book on charting. Sometimes I don't have a clue what the more experienced people are talking about. None the less it's interesting and points out things I need to learn. So I get benefit from input positive or negative.

Thanks everyone

Well put it simply, if you are fascinated by the daily 1-2% move in your portfolio, then you are easily amused. As I say, the more interesting questions are why did one stock go up 87%? Did you just sell it because it went up 87% or for a reason. You should probably be more interested in the volume of your stock than the value. For instance you will see that say 8 out of 10 stocks peak on their highest volume (that's a guess by the way.) Have you analysed 1Q results. Very simply compare them to 4Q. Take 1Q multiply by 4 and see what PE that puts it on? What are the P/BVs? Why do you think one of your stocks is performing badly? It might well be telling you something.

What your entire stock portfolio is doing each day will tell you precisely nothing.

You should also consider how many stocks you hold. Do not hold too many. Especially when starting. It is a good discipline to only invest in a new stock when you sell an old one. Although Marc Faber clearly disagrees.

Abrak

I think you are little harsh on Ray- its very common- especially for new stock traders- to want to check their portfolio on a daily or even more regular basis. I use charts, so if after my chart analysis in the evening it indicates 'sell/buy' for one of my stocks then i do need to check its price regularly throughout the day to see if the analysis is correct and then to call my broker.

[ray23]

ABRAK is OK, he has just forgot what it's like to be a kid in a candy store

It's good of him to take the time to give suggestions, that's important. I can see what is happening, the why is what I need to learn. actually he has been very helpful.

I'm still scratching my head on the formula. First thing I had to do to was learn what the PE and PBV were

I used one stock PV 8858400 x 4 2.97 Stocks currently at 2.90 I'm not sure what that tells me though?

I used the stock chart I noticed a symbol that was titled (I) That seemed to correspond with the number from the formula. Is it the same thing?

I hold nine stocks six are in the positive, three are lagging but not by much. So far the Thaistocks model portfolio has performed well.

Seeing what you guy do tells me one thing for sure I have a lot to learn and the best decision I made so far was joining Paul's group, For a newbie to enter into this without knowledge or access to it, is nuts.

The second good one keeping my exposure down through the learning period. If I lost every satang I have working at the moment it would be less then a 100k. That won't hurt me. So I will stay with my plan 15K a month it will build slowly.

To be honest I don't see how you can lose everything except not to look and pay attention.

I did notice when the PV was up so was the PE.

I will stay with Thaistocks and renew next year. It is going to be a very long time to develop what is second nature to you guys. That's OK

[ExpatJ]

Ray- yes its well worth reading up yourself- im sure in a few months you will be managing your own portfolio fully.

One unexpected thing happened to my SC stock 2 weeks ago, i checked my portfolio and saw that trading in its shares had been suspended (never a good sign!). Turns out it was associated with Thaksin but trading was resumed a few days later.

[ray23]

Ended the week at 6.42 % up no complaints here

Book should be here next week then maybe I will understand the charts. I'm looking forward to that.

[humbug]

ray, maybe you invested in sst or sst-w1, or cwt and cwt-w1, jmart, etc those stocks have seen great rises recently to attain the 89% gain, i stupidly sold out of sst-w1 at a 6% gain thinking thats ok and since seeing it rise on another 50%, i then moved those profits into cgd-w1 only to see it go sideways, it is why i just cannot rely on short term trading, too many unforseeables and my decision making can never concentrate daily to acheive maximum affect,. i try it now and again, and never truely been that successful, medium term holds i have been successful and can judge better a decision on price execution and exit, everyone is different , and for those who can concentrate daily i am sure they can reap the rewards

[humbug]

expatj, yes sc is a fantastic company, has some great projects, makes some great year on year profits and pays good dividends, just the downside is the political overtures by these facists in power, i suppose thats life, a shame as its certainly one of the better well run property frims out there, with a share price greatly lagging due to politics but also very possibly the share price will continue to lag even with bumper profits.

abrak, i cant remember if true pays a dividend, but i seem to recall the last re-arrangment of debts on true with using shares and dilution affects to pay back debts, i cant remember all the dynamics, i am not agreat watcher of true info, but i do recall that almost all were predicting another tumble in the share price in the futture due as a result of another round of debt restructering and as you have pointed out a corporation who have little time or care for retail investors when it comes to share prices, i seem to recall that true share prices always have a great run with the run up to academy fantasia and during the show also

[ray23]

I thought this was interesting my Portfolio, didn't decline it gained.

Asian Stocks Fall for a Second Week on U.S. Jobs, Euro Concerns

Share Business ExchangeTwitterFacebook| Email | Print | A A A

By Masaki Kondo

June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell for a second week after a U.S. jobs report missed economist estimates and concern grew that Europe’s crisis of government debt is spreading.

LG Electronics Inc., which counts North America as its biggest market, slumped 11 percent in Seoul this week after a government report showed U.S. employers hired fewer workers in May than forecast. Nintendo Co., a Japanese game maker that gets 34 percent of its sales in Europe, retreated 8.1 percent after the euro weakened. Mitsui & Co., which holds a stake in an oil field operated by BP Plc where an oil spill is unfolding, tumbled 9.5 percent in Tokyo on concern earnings will suffer.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slid 0.9 percent to 112.44 this week. The gauge plunged 3.3 percent on June 7, its steepest drop since March 30, 2009, after a Hungarian government official said the country’s economy was in a “very grave situation.”

“What I’m afraid of is that the volatility of the euro can trigger turmoil in the financial markets, prompting investors to reduce risk assets including stocks,” said Akio Yoshino, chief economist in Tokyo at Societe Generale Asset Management (Japan) Inc., which manages the equivalent of $18 billion.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled 2 percent this week even as a government report showed Japan’s gross domestic product rose at an annualized 5 percent rate in the three months ended March 31, faster than the 4.2 percent projected by economists.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 1.3 percent in Sydney, as gains in oil and copper prices lifted mining companies. The statistics bureau reported on June 10 that the jobless rate fell to 5.2 percent in May from 5.4 percent from the previous month.

U.S. Jobs

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has slumped about 13 percent from its high this year on April 15 amid growing concern European countries in addition to Greece will struggle to curb their budget deficits or repay debt. The decline has dragged the average price of companies in the gauge to 14.4 times estimated earnings, compared with 20.1 times at the beginning of this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Companies relying on demand in the U.S. dropped after Labor Department figures on June 4 showed the country’s private payrolls rose by 41,000, trailing the 180,000 gain projected by economists. LG Electronics Inc., South Korea’s No. 2 electronics maker, lost 11 percent to 94,600 won. James Hardie Industries SE, the biggest seller of home siding in the U.S., slumped 8.6 percent to A$6.9 in Sydney.

The euro sank to an eight-year low against the yen this week, depreciating to as low as 108.08 on June 7. A weaker euro reduces the value of European income at Japanese companies.

‘Grave Situation’

Nintendo, the maker of the Wii video-game machine, fell 8.1 percent to 24,480 yen. Sony Corp., which makes the rival PlayStation 3 player, declined 7.2 percent to 2,571 yen. Honda Motor Co., a carmaker that gets 81 percent of its revenue outside Japan, slipped 7.8 percent to 2,606 yen.

Peter Szijjarto, a spokesman for the Hungarian Prime Minister, said on June 4 that the nation’s economy is in a “very grave situation” and that it was “no exaggeration” to talk about a default. State Secretary Mihaly Varga said the next day that comments about a possible default were “unfortunate.”

“We might as well think Hungary is in the same situation as Greece,” said Societe Generale’s Yoshino. “I remember Greece’s announcement on its deficit didn’t appear to be a big deal in the media coverage at first.”

Fitch Ratings further fueled concern about Europe after saying June 8 that the U.K. is facing a “formidable” challenge in curtailing its budget shortfalls. In April, Greece, Spain and Portugal had their credit ratings cut by Standard & Poor’s as spending to stimulate their economies swelled budget deficits.

Mitsui Tumbles

Mitsui, Japan’s second-biggest trading company by market value, tumbled 9.5 percent to 1,092, this week’s biggest drop on the Nikkei 225. Through its subsidiary, the company holds a 10 percent stake in the Mississippi Canyon 252 block in the Gulf of Mexico, the location of BP’s leaking well. The worst spill in U.S. history has cost BP $1.25 billion, the company said June 7.

Commodity-linked shares advanced as prices for oil and copper rose. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, climbed 1.9 percent to A$38.58 in Sydney, and Rio Tinto Group, the world’s No. 3 mining company, gained 2.2 percent to A$69.1. Oil jumped 4.8 percent this week before Asian markets closed, while copper gained 2.1 percent.

To contact the reporter for this story: Masaki Kondo in Tokyo at [email protected].

Last Updated: June 11, 2010 17:57 EDT

[ExpatJ]

expatj, yes sc is a fantastic company, has some great projects, makes some great year on year profits and pays good dividends, just the downside is the political overtures by these facists in power, i suppose thats life, a shame as its certainly one of the better well run property frims out there, with a share price greatly lagging due to politics but also very possibly the share price will continue to lag even with bumper profits.

abrak, i cant remember if true pays a dividend, but i seem to recall the last re-arrangment of debts on true with using shares and dilution affects to pay back debts, i cant remember all the dynamics, i am not agreat watcher of true info, but i do recall that almost all were predicting another tumble in the share price in the futture due as a result of another round of debt restructering and as you have pointed out a corporation who have little time or care for retail investors when it comes to share prices, i seem to recall that true share prices always have a great run with the run up to academy fantasia and during the show also

Yes, agree about SC- price is lagging alot- infact its the only 'value' stock (as above to growth stock) in my portfolio- i chose it because it is so under valued (plus has good dividends)- but its stayed pretty much at the same price since i bought 2 months ago.

TRUE hasnt paid dividends for some time..i bought 330,000 shares last week at 2.92 and today it hit 3.12- only a 2 satang increase but that's 6% up and a 66,000 baht profit. Im not sure whether to sell now and take that very good profit or to hold on.....thats the good news.

Bad news is I bought SSF foods last month for the good dividend payment (9% if i recall) but its since dropped 30%!! Slowly creeping up, but i think ill have to hold on for a few months until it breaks even.

[humbug]

expatj, yes sc is a fantastic company, has some great projects, makes some great year on year profits and pays good dividends, just the downside is the political overtures by these facists in power, i suppose thats life, a shame as its certainly one of the better well run property frims out there, with a share price greatly lagging due to politics but also very possibly the share price will continue to lag even with bumper profits.

abrak, i cant remember if true pays a dividend, but i seem to recall the last re-arrangment of debts on true with using shares and dilution affects to pay back debts, i cant remember all the dynamics, i am not agreat watcher of true info, but i do recall that almost all were predicting another tumble in the share price in the futture due as a result of another round of debt restructering and as you have pointed out a corporation who have little time or care for retail investors when it comes to share prices, i seem to recall that true share prices always have a great run with the run up to academy fantasia and during the show also

Yes, agree about SC- price is lagging alot- infact its the only 'value' stock (as above to growth stock) in my portfolio- i chose it because it is so under valued (plus has good dividends)- but its stayed pretty much at the same price since i bought 2 months ago.

TRUE hasnt paid dividends for some time..i bought 330,000 shares last week at 2.92 and today it hit 3.12- only a 2 satang increase but that's 6% up and a 66,000 baht profit. Im not sure whether to sell now and take that very good profit or to hold on.....thats the good news.

Bad news is I bought SSF foods last month for the good dividend payment (9% if i recall) but its since dropped 30%!! Slowly creeping up, but i think ill have to hold on for a few months until it breaks even.

this week was very sideways for me, maybe the silly season is back with the junta government playing games on the market, this is the second time in 4 years thy have tried to purchase thaicom