SINGAPORE - There will be fewer certificates of entitlement (COE) for the next three months starting from February.
The Land Transport Authority said on Thursday (Jan 24) the supply of Category A COEs (cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp) will shrink by 9.1 per cent to 3,300 a month.
Category B (cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp) will have 2.9 per cent fewer certificates at 2,399 a month.
Open category (for all vehicles except motorcycles but which ends up mostly for bigger cars) will have 26.4 per cent fewer COEs at 794 a month.
In all, car buyers and sellers will see their collective supply (including Open) shrink by 9.6 per cent to 6,493 pieces a month. Those buying or selling bigger models will see a bigger shrinkage of 10.1 per cent.
Commercial vehicle buyers and sellers will have 7.6 per cent fewer COEs at 608 per month. And motorcyclists will see a 25.2 per cent plunge in their COE supply to 1,651 pieces a month.
In total, the monthly supply is 12.9 per cent smaller than the November-January quota at 8,752.
Although some motor traders baulk at the prospect of a smaller quota, Mr Ron Lim, head of sales and marketing at Nissan agent Tan Chong Motor, said its impact on car prices may not be significant.
“Category A is now basically back to what it was in the August-October 2018,” he said. “Back then, COE at its lowest was $25,556.
“So, unless buying sentiment picks up strongly, I doubt Cat A COE will see much fluctuation.”
But Mr Lim noted that the impact on those who buy and sell bigger cars may be more significant, as the shrinkage in their pool was “more than expected” – mainly because of the 26.4 per cent plunge in the Open quota.
Even so, “a lot depends on whether demand can be sustained, especially whether Gojek’s buying is over”, he said, referring to the new private-hire firm’s arrival fuelling demand for cars.
“If Gojek buying is over, then again we might not see much fluctuation in Cat B and Open category prices,” Mr Lim added.
The trade is likely to gauge how customers react to news of the reduced quota before adjusting car prices, but Mr Lim said “based on past experience, especially during the Chinese New Year tender period”, most customers will not rush in.
“Fundamental buying sentiment still remains relatively weak,” he noted, adding that it will be this, rather than COE supply numbers, which will have a bigger impact on prices.
Industry observers said Gojek is looking to build up an initial fleet of 2,000 cars. Even if they stagger buying over five or 10 months, it will exert upward pressure on COE premiums.
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Monday, January 21, 2019
LG to supply gesture-reading system for Mercedes-Benz
[SEOUL] LG Electronics Co. is the supplier for a Daimler AG Mercedes-Benz model that will feature a motion-detection system that can read a driver's gestures in order to control some automobile functions, people with knowledge of the matter said.
A camera installed in the car ceiling will read the driver's hand gestures, letting them control tasks such as turning on cruise control and adjusting music volume. Ultimately, LG envisions a system that can perform more complex functions such as shifting gears, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information isn't yet public.
BMW has already deployed a similar system in its 7 Series sedans, using technology from Softkinetic Systems, which was later bought by Sony Corp. LG already has a deal with Mercedes for a camera system that can tell if the driver is drowsy. A Jan. 8 news release by Mercedes-Benz from CES in Las Vegas showcased a new feature called MBUX Interior Assist, which lets occupants of the Mercedes-Benz CLA Coupe control functions with gestures.
The ability to detect pedestrians and read traffic signs has also been deployed by several automakers; such advanced driver assistance systems are building blocks for fully autonomous vehicles that can fundamentally change the way people ride in cars in the future. LG is also working on a driver-assistance system, which it aims to supply to Daimler later this year or in early 2020. Delivery was initially set for later this year, but was being delayed because the South Korean company had trouble acquiring the necessary chips, one of the people said.
Representatives for LG and Daimler declined to comment.
LG is a member of a South Korean conglomerate that's been stepping up efforts to supply auto components, from electronic batteries to digital dashboards. LG competes with Intel Corp.'s Mobileye and Harman, a unit of Samsung Electronics Co., in the driver-assistance market, which is expected to expand to US$67 billion by 2025 according to Grand View Research.
The Seoul-based company is seeking new sources of profit as its mobile phone and consumer electronics sales shrink in saturated markets. LG said earlier this month that its fourth-quarter operating profit fell 80 per cent to 75.3 billion won, compared with the 389 billion won average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg.
A camera installed in the car ceiling will read the driver's hand gestures, letting them control tasks such as turning on cruise control and adjusting music volume. Ultimately, LG envisions a system that can perform more complex functions such as shifting gears, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information isn't yet public.
BMW has already deployed a similar system in its 7 Series sedans, using technology from Softkinetic Systems, which was later bought by Sony Corp. LG already has a deal with Mercedes for a camera system that can tell if the driver is drowsy. A Jan. 8 news release by Mercedes-Benz from CES in Las Vegas showcased a new feature called MBUX Interior Assist, which lets occupants of the Mercedes-Benz CLA Coupe control functions with gestures.
The ability to detect pedestrians and read traffic signs has also been deployed by several automakers; such advanced driver assistance systems are building blocks for fully autonomous vehicles that can fundamentally change the way people ride in cars in the future. LG is also working on a driver-assistance system, which it aims to supply to Daimler later this year or in early 2020. Delivery was initially set for later this year, but was being delayed because the South Korean company had trouble acquiring the necessary chips, one of the people said.
Representatives for LG and Daimler declined to comment.
LG is a member of a South Korean conglomerate that's been stepping up efforts to supply auto components, from electronic batteries to digital dashboards. LG competes with Intel Corp.'s Mobileye and Harman, a unit of Samsung Electronics Co., in the driver-assistance market, which is expected to expand to US$67 billion by 2025 according to Grand View Research.
The Seoul-based company is seeking new sources of profit as its mobile phone and consumer electronics sales shrink in saturated markets. LG said earlier this month that its fourth-quarter operating profit fell 80 per cent to 75.3 billion won, compared with the 389 billion won average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg.
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Parc Esta
Project Name Parc Esta
Type Apartment / Condo
Address 828 Sims Avenue
Site Area 376,712
PROJECT INFO
PROJECT : PARC ESTA
DEVELOPER : MCL LAND
LOCATION : SIMS AVENUE AND CHANGI ROAD
DISTRICT : 14
TENURE : 99 YEARS LEASEHOLD
TOP : -
SITE AREA : 376,712 SQFT
UNIT MIX : 1399 UNITS
Developer MCL Land
Development Parc Esta
TOP Est 2023
Tenure 99 Years
No. Of Units 1399 Units
Type Apartment / Condo
Address 828 Sims Avenue
Site Area 376,712
PROJECT INFO
PROJECT : PARC ESTA
DEVELOPER : MCL LAND
LOCATION : SIMS AVENUE AND CHANGI ROAD
DISTRICT : 14
TENURE : 99 YEARS LEASEHOLD
TOP : -
SITE AREA : 376,712 SQFT
UNIT MIX : 1399 UNITS
Developer MCL Land
Development Parc Esta
TOP Est 2023
Tenure 99 Years
No. Of Units 1399 Units
Saturday, January 5, 2019
A stretched Mercedes SUV is just what the Chinese market ordered
The Mercedes GLC-Class L is joining the growing list of long-wheelbase SUVs that will be offered in the Chinese market. The extended SUV stretches almost five inches longer than its standard counterpart. Its size and the extra space provided by that size is the only thing different with the GLC-Class L. Everything else is identical to the normal length GLC-Class, right down to its exterior looks and interior layout. The Mercedes GLC-Class L debuts at the Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition in November.
It’s like looking at the standard model with a little extra length. There are no changes to the front end of the extended-wheelbase version of the compact SUV. That’s not necessarily a bad thing because even if the GLC-Class is a few years old, the long-wheelbase version still comes with a fresh and modern look. The chrome front grille is still there. The sporty intakes are still there. Even the thin lip spoiler makes an appearance on the GLC-Class L. You’ll notice, too, that the panels are cut the same way compared to the standard GLC.
The obvious takeaway is that the GLC L is longer than the standard GLC. Take it by the numbers, and that length stretches to 187.6 inches (15.63 feet). That’s almost five inches longer than the standard GLC, which boasts a length of 183 inches (15.25 feet). The stretched SUV also sits on a stretched wheelbase that reaches 117.04 inches (9.75 feet), almost four inches longer than the 113.1-inch (9.42 feet) wheelbase of the standard GLC Class. You’ll notice the difference in size between the two models when you see the rear doors of the GLC-Class L. They’re significantly longer than the ones found on the standard GLC-Class.
The Mercedes GLC-Class L also measures 74.7 inches (6.23 feet) wide and 64.8 inches (5.4 feet) high. For reference, GLC-Class L is almost an inch wider but is just as tall as the standard GLC.
Outside of the extra space, the interior of the Mercedes GLC-Class L is also a carbon copy of the standard GLC. Mercedes didn’t elaborate on the standard features — that’s likely coming when the long-wheelbase SUV debuts next month — but expect the model to include dual-zone automatic climate control, an infotainment system with a seven-inch display screen, Bluetooth, HD Radio, and a couple of USB ports. A lineup of buttons in the center stack, the touchpad controller mounted in between the front seats, and the controls on the steering wheel are all used in their respective functions to control the SUV’s interior systems.
Other possible optional bits and pieces include a cabin fragrance system, a cabin air purification system, navigation, satellite radio, a Wi-Fi hotspot, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and a 14-speaker Burmester premium surround sound system.
Space is the biggest difference between the standard GLC-Class and the GLC-Class L. Even though Mercedes didn’t announce the actual numbers, the photos reveal the stark difference in the rear space, particularly in the legroom department. The standard GLC-Class sits five people comfortably, and while the GLC-Class L sits the same number of people, those sitting in the back will have far more space to stretch their legs.
The GLC-Class L’s cargo space has also not been identified. For the record, though, the standard GLC-Class has 17 cubic feet of cargo space when all the seats are upright. Fold the rear seats and that space stretches to a voluminous 56 cubic feet of room.
Whatever the numbers are, the GLC-Class L provides far more comfort for its occupants. That much is certain by virtue of its size.
Just like the Mercedes GLC-Class, the long-wheelbase version of the SUV comes with three different states of tune of the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The GLC 200 L 4Matic’s four-cylinder engine produces 184 horsepower while the GLC 250 L 4Matic’s four-banger engine produces 208 horsepower.
The range-topping GLC 300 L 4Matic’s four-cylinder engine produces 241 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque. In the standard GLC, those numbers are good enough to help the SUV sprint from 0 to 60 mph in around 6.7 seconds.
A 0-to-60-mph sprint is possible in around 6.8 seconds to 7.0 seconds.
A nine-speed 9GTronic automatic transmission comes standard across the entire GLC-Class L range. Likewise, all versions of the long-wheelbase SUV are fitted with Mercedes’ 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. Mercedes didn’t mention the SUV limo’s fuel efficiency ratings. It’s possible, though, that the GLC-Class L’s rating sits somewhere in the same vicinity as the standard model. If that’s the case, look for the GLC Class L to return 22 mpg in the city and 28 mpg at the highway.
The standard Mercedes GLC-Class delivers an impressive ride on most road surfaces, thanks in part to a clinically developed suspension unit that can adjust to road conditions. While the extended-wheelbase version carries a lot of the same genes as the standard GLC-Class, it’s unfair to expect similar driving dynamics, especially when you consider the extra length and subsequent extra weight the GLC-Class L is carrying. Don’t expect a huge drop-off, though. If anything, the GLC-Class L is slightly more of a challenge to drive.
2019 MERCEDES-BENZ GLC-CLASS L PRICING
Those who are interested in buying the Mercedes GLC-Class L will reportedly have to spend an extra RMB10,000 — that converts to around $1,450 — to the price of the standard Mercedes GLC-Class. The base GLC 200 4Matic starts at RMB396,000, which converts to a little over $57,000. Do the math, and you’re looking at a starting price for the G-Class L that adds up to RMB406,000. That’s about $58,520 based on current exchange rates.
Opt for the top-of-the-line GLC 300 4Matic, and it’s starting price of RMB579,000 — converts to about $83,460 — and you’re looking at a total price of RMB 589,000, which computes to just a sniff under $85,000. Obviously, these prices are all but certain to go up in the event you throw in some optional accessories and packages, of which the GLC-Class L presumably has many of.
Mercedes Singapore News
It’s like looking at the standard model with a little extra length. There are no changes to the front end of the extended-wheelbase version of the compact SUV. That’s not necessarily a bad thing because even if the GLC-Class is a few years old, the long-wheelbase version still comes with a fresh and modern look. The chrome front grille is still there. The sporty intakes are still there. Even the thin lip spoiler makes an appearance on the GLC-Class L. You’ll notice, too, that the panels are cut the same way compared to the standard GLC.
The obvious takeaway is that the GLC L is longer than the standard GLC. Take it by the numbers, and that length stretches to 187.6 inches (15.63 feet). That’s almost five inches longer than the standard GLC, which boasts a length of 183 inches (15.25 feet). The stretched SUV also sits on a stretched wheelbase that reaches 117.04 inches (9.75 feet), almost four inches longer than the 113.1-inch (9.42 feet) wheelbase of the standard GLC Class. You’ll notice the difference in size between the two models when you see the rear doors of the GLC-Class L. They’re significantly longer than the ones found on the standard GLC-Class.
The Mercedes GLC-Class L also measures 74.7 inches (6.23 feet) wide and 64.8 inches (5.4 feet) high. For reference, GLC-Class L is almost an inch wider but is just as tall as the standard GLC.
Outside of the extra space, the interior of the Mercedes GLC-Class L is also a carbon copy of the standard GLC. Mercedes didn’t elaborate on the standard features — that’s likely coming when the long-wheelbase SUV debuts next month — but expect the model to include dual-zone automatic climate control, an infotainment system with a seven-inch display screen, Bluetooth, HD Radio, and a couple of USB ports. A lineup of buttons in the center stack, the touchpad controller mounted in between the front seats, and the controls on the steering wheel are all used in their respective functions to control the SUV’s interior systems.
Other possible optional bits and pieces include a cabin fragrance system, a cabin air purification system, navigation, satellite radio, a Wi-Fi hotspot, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and a 14-speaker Burmester premium surround sound system.
Space is the biggest difference between the standard GLC-Class and the GLC-Class L. Even though Mercedes didn’t announce the actual numbers, the photos reveal the stark difference in the rear space, particularly in the legroom department. The standard GLC-Class sits five people comfortably, and while the GLC-Class L sits the same number of people, those sitting in the back will have far more space to stretch their legs.
The GLC-Class L’s cargo space has also not been identified. For the record, though, the standard GLC-Class has 17 cubic feet of cargo space when all the seats are upright. Fold the rear seats and that space stretches to a voluminous 56 cubic feet of room.
Whatever the numbers are, the GLC-Class L provides far more comfort for its occupants. That much is certain by virtue of its size.
Just like the Mercedes GLC-Class, the long-wheelbase version of the SUV comes with three different states of tune of the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. The GLC 200 L 4Matic’s four-cylinder engine produces 184 horsepower while the GLC 250 L 4Matic’s four-banger engine produces 208 horsepower.
The range-topping GLC 300 L 4Matic’s four-cylinder engine produces 241 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque. In the standard GLC, those numbers are good enough to help the SUV sprint from 0 to 60 mph in around 6.7 seconds.
A 0-to-60-mph sprint is possible in around 6.8 seconds to 7.0 seconds.
A nine-speed 9GTronic automatic transmission comes standard across the entire GLC-Class L range. Likewise, all versions of the long-wheelbase SUV are fitted with Mercedes’ 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. Mercedes didn’t mention the SUV limo’s fuel efficiency ratings. It’s possible, though, that the GLC-Class L’s rating sits somewhere in the same vicinity as the standard model. If that’s the case, look for the GLC Class L to return 22 mpg in the city and 28 mpg at the highway.
The standard Mercedes GLC-Class delivers an impressive ride on most road surfaces, thanks in part to a clinically developed suspension unit that can adjust to road conditions. While the extended-wheelbase version carries a lot of the same genes as the standard GLC-Class, it’s unfair to expect similar driving dynamics, especially when you consider the extra length and subsequent extra weight the GLC-Class L is carrying. Don’t expect a huge drop-off, though. If anything, the GLC-Class L is slightly more of a challenge to drive.
2019 MERCEDES-BENZ GLC-CLASS L PRICING
Those who are interested in buying the Mercedes GLC-Class L will reportedly have to spend an extra RMB10,000 — that converts to around $1,450 — to the price of the standard Mercedes GLC-Class. The base GLC 200 4Matic starts at RMB396,000, which converts to a little over $57,000. Do the math, and you’re looking at a starting price for the G-Class L that adds up to RMB406,000. That’s about $58,520 based on current exchange rates.
Opt for the top-of-the-line GLC 300 4Matic, and it’s starting price of RMB579,000 — converts to about $83,460 — and you’re looking at a total price of RMB 589,000, which computes to just a sniff under $85,000. Obviously, these prices are all but certain to go up in the event you throw in some optional accessories and packages, of which the GLC-Class L presumably has many of.
Mercedes Singapore News
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Singapore’s core inflation eased to 1.7% year-on-year in November
Singapore’s core inflation eased to 1.7 per cent year-on-year in November from 1.9 per cent the previous month, according to the latest figures released on Monday (Dec 24).
A sharper fall in private road transport costs, and to a lesser extent, smaller increases in the prices of services, retail items and electricity and gas, more than offset a slower pace of decline in accommodation costs, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in a press release.
Headline inflation fell to 0.3 per cent year-on-year in November, from 0.7 per cent in October.
Lower car prices due to lower Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums and a smaller rise in petrol prices brought about a steeper fall in transport costs, 3.6 per cent in November as compared to the 0.6 per cent decline in October.
Services inflation came in lower at 1.2 per cent in November, from the 1.4 per cent in the previous month.
This reflected a larger decline in telecommunication service fees and a smaller increase in holiday expenses, which outweighed a higher upturn in recreational and cultural services fees.
Overall cost of retail items went up by 1.1 per cent in November, moderating from the 1.3 per cent increase in October.
This mostly reflected lower inflation for telecommunication equipment, clothing and footwear items, household durables and medical products, which more than offset the bigger increase in personal care product prices.
Food inflation remained unchanged at 1.4 per cent, as price increases for non-cooked food items and prepared meals remained largely similar.
Accomodation costs, which declined 2.5 per cent in October, fell by 2.1 per cent in November. This is due to a more gradual fall in housing rentals, as well as a larger increase in housing maintenance and repair costs.
Looking ahead, MAS and MTI said the improving labour market should underpin a faster pace of wage growth in 2018 and 2019, compared to 2017.
“Growth in the unit labour cost for services has picked up recently,” they said. “As domestic demand strengthens further, there could be a greater pass-through of higher import and labour costs to consumer prices.
“However, the extent of overall price increases will be capped by greater market competition in several consumer segments, such as telecommunications, electricity and retail.”
However, external sources of inflation have increased in recent quarters, they added.
“Notwithstanding recent volatility, global oil prices have come in higher on a year-on-year basis, and inflation for non-oil imports has also picked up.”
MAS expects the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to rise modestly in the months ahead.
The rate is expected to come in within the forecast range of 1.5–2 per cent this year and 1.5–2.5 per cent in 2019. Meanwhile, CPI-All Items inflation is projected to be about 0.5 per cent this year, before picking up to 1 per cent to 2 per cent next year.
A sharper fall in private road transport costs, and to a lesser extent, smaller increases in the prices of services, retail items and electricity and gas, more than offset a slower pace of decline in accommodation costs, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in a press release.
Headline inflation fell to 0.3 per cent year-on-year in November, from 0.7 per cent in October.
Lower car prices due to lower Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums and a smaller rise in petrol prices brought about a steeper fall in transport costs, 3.6 per cent in November as compared to the 0.6 per cent decline in October.
Services inflation came in lower at 1.2 per cent in November, from the 1.4 per cent in the previous month.
This reflected a larger decline in telecommunication service fees and a smaller increase in holiday expenses, which outweighed a higher upturn in recreational and cultural services fees.
Overall cost of retail items went up by 1.1 per cent in November, moderating from the 1.3 per cent increase in October.
This mostly reflected lower inflation for telecommunication equipment, clothing and footwear items, household durables and medical products, which more than offset the bigger increase in personal care product prices.
Food inflation remained unchanged at 1.4 per cent, as price increases for non-cooked food items and prepared meals remained largely similar.
Accomodation costs, which declined 2.5 per cent in October, fell by 2.1 per cent in November. This is due to a more gradual fall in housing rentals, as well as a larger increase in housing maintenance and repair costs.
Looking ahead, MAS and MTI said the improving labour market should underpin a faster pace of wage growth in 2018 and 2019, compared to 2017.
“Growth in the unit labour cost for services has picked up recently,” they said. “As domestic demand strengthens further, there could be a greater pass-through of higher import and labour costs to consumer prices.
“However, the extent of overall price increases will be capped by greater market competition in several consumer segments, such as telecommunications, electricity and retail.”
However, external sources of inflation have increased in recent quarters, they added.
“Notwithstanding recent volatility, global oil prices have come in higher on a year-on-year basis, and inflation for non-oil imports has also picked up.”
MAS expects the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to rise modestly in the months ahead.
The rate is expected to come in within the forecast range of 1.5–2 per cent this year and 1.5–2.5 per cent in 2019. Meanwhile, CPI-All Items inflation is projected to be about 0.5 per cent this year, before picking up to 1 per cent to 2 per cent next year.
The Worst Christmas Eve For The Stock Market EVER – The Dow Has Now Fallen More Than 5000 Points From The Peak
This is definitely not the gift that investors wanted for Christmas. On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 653 points as panic swept through Wall Street like wildfire. That represented a 2.9 percent daily decline, and that made it the worst Christmas Eve for the Dow ever recorded. Incredibly, the previous record had lasted for exactly 100 years. Normally the day before Christmas is a very, very quiet day on Wall Street, but right now there are no “normal” days for the financial markets. If you go back to early October, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time record high of 26,951.81, and on Monday the Dow closed at just 21,792.20. That means that the Dow has now plummeted more than 5,000 points in less than three months, and that is a major milestone.
The S&P 500 also crossed a major milestone on Monday when it entered bear market territory…
The term on Wall Street is synonymous with serious, long-lasting declines in stock markets. In numeric terms, a bear market is a 20 percent or more drop from a recent peak.
The S&P 500 hit that milestone on Monday, dropping 20 percent from its 52-week high. Markets have stumbled through what is usually one of their best months of the year, with indexes on track for their worst December performances since the Great Depression in 1931.
What this means is that the longest bull market in all of U.S. history is officially dead.
And there is still about a week left in the month. If things continue to unravel, this could ultimately turn out to be the worst December that the stock market has ever experienced.
Now that a bear market has begun, it is likely to stick around for a while. Just consider these numbers…
Since World War II, bear markets on average have fallen 30.4 percent and have lasted 13 months, according to analysis at Goldman Sachs and CNBC. When that milestone has been hit, it took stocks an average of 21.9 months to recover.
Of course all of the “experts” consulted by the mainstream media are going to assume that there will eventually be a recovery.
But could it be possible that this is the beginning of the “big crash” from which we will never recover?
Without a doubt, the elements for a perfect storm have been coming together for a long time. We are witnessing great political shaking, our relationships with both Russia and China are rapidly deteriorating, a trade war has begun, social decay is spreading through our society like cancer, and the crust of our planet is becoming increasingly unstable. Now we can add economic and financial instability to the mix, and a scenario is emerging that is eerily similar to what I have been warning about for a very long time.
Even before the markets crashed on Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had scheduled an emergency call with the “Plunge Protection Team”. The following comes from Reuters…
The Treasury said Mnuchin will convene a call on Monday with the president’s Working Group on Financial Markets, which includes Washington’s main stewards of the U.S. financial system and is sometimes referred to as the “Plunge Protection Team.”
The group, which was also convened in 2009 during the latter stage of the financial crisis, includes officials from the Federal Reserve as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission.
But instead of calming the markets, many were concerned that this would actually accelerate the panic on Wall Street…
“Panic feeds panic, and this looks like panic in the administration,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. “Suggesting you might know something that no one else is worried about creates more unease.”
And without a doubt, what we witnessed on Monday was sheer panic.
Consumer lending has already been tightening up over the past couple of months, and the chaos on Wall Street is almost certainly going to cause financial institutions to become even tighter with their money.
As credit conditions tighten, economic activity will slow down, and that will make the coming recession even more inevitable.
There is one more key data point that I would like to share with you all today. Since 1960, there have only been 13 years when the stock market has declined for the year. As Joe Zidle has noted, most of the time those declines occur “before or during a recession”…
“I think there’s a massive gap between sentiment and fundamentals” for the market, Blackstone investment strategist Joe Zidle said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“If the market closes down for the year, which looks likely … it will only be the 13th time that we’ve seen a full year decline since 1960,” Zidle said. Of those 13 full year declines in the past 58 years, seven occurred before or during a recession.
Now that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen more than 5000 points, I think that we can safely say that this is a stock market crash.
But how bad will this stock market crash ultimately turn out to be?
If the Federal Reserve had rushed in with emergency measures at the first signs of trouble, they probably could have stabilized things. But the longer they wait, the harder it is going to be to stop the process that has been set in motion.
The Bubble of All Bubbles is starting to burst, and unless we see dramatic central bank intervention soon it is likely that an unprecedented financial nightmare is ahead.
I hope that you are able to rest and relax with family and friends this time of the year, because it looks like what is ahead in 2019 is going to be extremely painful.
Zac Property Singapore
The S&P 500 also crossed a major milestone on Monday when it entered bear market territory…
The term on Wall Street is synonymous with serious, long-lasting declines in stock markets. In numeric terms, a bear market is a 20 percent or more drop from a recent peak.
The S&P 500 hit that milestone on Monday, dropping 20 percent from its 52-week high. Markets have stumbled through what is usually one of their best months of the year, with indexes on track for their worst December performances since the Great Depression in 1931.
What this means is that the longest bull market in all of U.S. history is officially dead.
And there is still about a week left in the month. If things continue to unravel, this could ultimately turn out to be the worst December that the stock market has ever experienced.
Now that a bear market has begun, it is likely to stick around for a while. Just consider these numbers…
Since World War II, bear markets on average have fallen 30.4 percent and have lasted 13 months, according to analysis at Goldman Sachs and CNBC. When that milestone has been hit, it took stocks an average of 21.9 months to recover.
Of course all of the “experts” consulted by the mainstream media are going to assume that there will eventually be a recovery.
But could it be possible that this is the beginning of the “big crash” from which we will never recover?
Without a doubt, the elements for a perfect storm have been coming together for a long time. We are witnessing great political shaking, our relationships with both Russia and China are rapidly deteriorating, a trade war has begun, social decay is spreading through our society like cancer, and the crust of our planet is becoming increasingly unstable. Now we can add economic and financial instability to the mix, and a scenario is emerging that is eerily similar to what I have been warning about for a very long time.
Even before the markets crashed on Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had scheduled an emergency call with the “Plunge Protection Team”. The following comes from Reuters…
The Treasury said Mnuchin will convene a call on Monday with the president’s Working Group on Financial Markets, which includes Washington’s main stewards of the U.S. financial system and is sometimes referred to as the “Plunge Protection Team.”
The group, which was also convened in 2009 during the latter stage of the financial crisis, includes officials from the Federal Reserve as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission.
But instead of calming the markets, many were concerned that this would actually accelerate the panic on Wall Street…
“Panic feeds panic, and this looks like panic in the administration,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. “Suggesting you might know something that no one else is worried about creates more unease.”
And without a doubt, what we witnessed on Monday was sheer panic.
Consumer lending has already been tightening up over the past couple of months, and the chaos on Wall Street is almost certainly going to cause financial institutions to become even tighter with their money.
As credit conditions tighten, economic activity will slow down, and that will make the coming recession even more inevitable.
There is one more key data point that I would like to share with you all today. Since 1960, there have only been 13 years when the stock market has declined for the year. As Joe Zidle has noted, most of the time those declines occur “before or during a recession”…
“I think there’s a massive gap between sentiment and fundamentals” for the market, Blackstone investment strategist Joe Zidle said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“If the market closes down for the year, which looks likely … it will only be the 13th time that we’ve seen a full year decline since 1960,” Zidle said. Of those 13 full year declines in the past 58 years, seven occurred before or during a recession.
Now that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen more than 5000 points, I think that we can safely say that this is a stock market crash.
But how bad will this stock market crash ultimately turn out to be?
If the Federal Reserve had rushed in with emergency measures at the first signs of trouble, they probably could have stabilized things. But the longer they wait, the harder it is going to be to stop the process that has been set in motion.
The Bubble of All Bubbles is starting to burst, and unless we see dramatic central bank intervention soon it is likely that an unprecedented financial nightmare is ahead.
I hope that you are able to rest and relax with family and friends this time of the year, because it looks like what is ahead in 2019 is going to be extremely painful.
Zac Property Singapore
"the worst is yet to come next year"
When talking heads on mainstream news networks are using phrases such as “the worst is yet to come next year”, that is a clear indication that a new financial crisis has arrived. And that is an extremely bold statement to make considering that this is already the worst quarter for the stock market in 10 years, this is the worst December for stock prices since 1931, and we just experienced the worst Christmas Eve that Wall Street has ever seen. So when Mark Jolley made the following statement during a recent guest appearance on CNBC, it definitely raised some eyebrows…
“I would love to be more optimistic but i just don’t see too many positives out there. I think the worst is yet to come next year, we’re still in the first half of a global equity bear market with more to come next year,” Mark Jolley, global strategist at CCB International Securities, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
At this point last year, nobody on Wall Street was talking like this.
In fact, nobody was talking like this even four or five months ago.
But after three extremely painful months the outlook has completely changed, and a lot of market participants are really starting to freak out.
And this is not just happening in the United States. The truth is that most most markets around the world started to fall well before U.S. markets did, and at this point almost all of the big global indexes are in a bear market…
Bear markets — typically defined as 20 percent or more off a recent peak — are threatening investors worldwide. In the U.S., the Nasdaq Composite closed in a bear market on Friday and the S&P 500 entered one on Monday. Globally, Germany’s DAX, China’s Shanghai Composite and Japan’s Nikkei have also entered bear market levels.
This is the first global bear market that we have seen in a decade, and if central banks are going to try to stop the bleeding they will need to move very quickly.
But the Federal Reserve has already indicated that they do not plan to intervene. In fact, they just told everyone that they plan to keep raising interest rates.
That is completely insane, but since they aren’t accountable to us they can literally do whatever they want.
So if the central banks don’t step in, who is going to come riding to the rescue?
Individual national governments could try to stimulate economic activity by spending more money, but most of them are already drowning in debt.
Just look at the mess that the U.S. government has created. Since the beginning of the last financial crisis, we have been adding more than a trillion dollars a year to the national debt. And over the last 12 months our debt problems have actually accelerated. Between December 25th, 2017 and December 25th, 2018 we added almost 1.4 trillion dollars to the national debt. The following comes from CNS News…
The federal government has added another $1,370,760,684,441.54 to the debt since last December 25, according to numbers published by the U.S. Treasury.
On Dec. 25, 2017, the federal debt was 20,492,874,492,282.58, according to the Treasury.
According to the latest numbers published by the Treasury, which show where the debt stood on Dec. 20, 2018, the federal debt was $21,863,635,176,724.12.
So the reality of the matter is that there is simply no room for more “stimulus spending”, because we have already been spending money like drunken sailors that think that they are likely to die tomorrow.
Right now the government is shut down as President Trump and Chuck Schumer square off over 5 billion dollars in border wall funding. But nobody on Capitol Hill is even talking much about the 1.37 trillion dollars that we just added to the national debt, and that is really what everybody should be focusing on.
We are literally committing national suicide. No matter what happens with border wall funding, the U.S. will continue to steamroll toward financial oblivion unless something is done about this horrific debt that we are accumulating.
As I wrap up this article, I would like to share something that Austin Murphy wrote that really struck a chord with me. Over the course of a 33 year career in journalism, Murphy interviewed five presidents and wrote thousands of articles for Sports Illustrated. But now he is delivering packages for Amazon…
Let’s face it, when you’re a college-educated 57-year-old slinging parcels for a living, something in your life has not gone according to plan. That said, my moments of chagrin are far outnumbered by the upsides of the job, which include windfall connections with grateful strangers. There’s a certain novelty, after decades at a legacy media company—Time Inc.—in playing for the team that’s winning big, that’s not considered a dinosaur, even if that team is paying me $17 an hour (plus OT!). It’s been healthy for me, a fair-haired Anglo-Saxon with a Roman numeral in my name (John Austin Murphy III), to be a minority in my workplace, and in some of the neighborhoods where I deliver. As Amazon reaches maximum ubiquity in our lives (“Alexa, play Led Zeppelin”), as online shopping turns malls into mausoleums, it’s been illuminating to see exactly how a package makes the final leg of its journey.
Like Murphy, America’s future is going to be far less bright than its past if we don’t get things turned around, and right now there is absolutely no indication that this is going to happen.
Our national problems are multiplying, the conditions for a perfect storm are rapidly coming together, and pessimism is quickly growing all across America.
Mark Jolley believes that “the worst is yet to come next year”, and in the end he may turn out to be exactly correct.
OpenTorque Singapore
“I would love to be more optimistic but i just don’t see too many positives out there. I think the worst is yet to come next year, we’re still in the first half of a global equity bear market with more to come next year,” Mark Jolley, global strategist at CCB International Securities, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
At this point last year, nobody on Wall Street was talking like this.
In fact, nobody was talking like this even four or five months ago.
But after three extremely painful months the outlook has completely changed, and a lot of market participants are really starting to freak out.
And this is not just happening in the United States. The truth is that most most markets around the world started to fall well before U.S. markets did, and at this point almost all of the big global indexes are in a bear market…
Bear markets — typically defined as 20 percent or more off a recent peak — are threatening investors worldwide. In the U.S., the Nasdaq Composite closed in a bear market on Friday and the S&P 500 entered one on Monday. Globally, Germany’s DAX, China’s Shanghai Composite and Japan’s Nikkei have also entered bear market levels.
This is the first global bear market that we have seen in a decade, and if central banks are going to try to stop the bleeding they will need to move very quickly.
But the Federal Reserve has already indicated that they do not plan to intervene. In fact, they just told everyone that they plan to keep raising interest rates.
That is completely insane, but since they aren’t accountable to us they can literally do whatever they want.
So if the central banks don’t step in, who is going to come riding to the rescue?
Individual national governments could try to stimulate economic activity by spending more money, but most of them are already drowning in debt.
Just look at the mess that the U.S. government has created. Since the beginning of the last financial crisis, we have been adding more than a trillion dollars a year to the national debt. And over the last 12 months our debt problems have actually accelerated. Between December 25th, 2017 and December 25th, 2018 we added almost 1.4 trillion dollars to the national debt. The following comes from CNS News…
The federal government has added another $1,370,760,684,441.54 to the debt since last December 25, according to numbers published by the U.S. Treasury.
On Dec. 25, 2017, the federal debt was 20,492,874,492,282.58, according to the Treasury.
According to the latest numbers published by the Treasury, which show where the debt stood on Dec. 20, 2018, the federal debt was $21,863,635,176,724.12.
So the reality of the matter is that there is simply no room for more “stimulus spending”, because we have already been spending money like drunken sailors that think that they are likely to die tomorrow.
Right now the government is shut down as President Trump and Chuck Schumer square off over 5 billion dollars in border wall funding. But nobody on Capitol Hill is even talking much about the 1.37 trillion dollars that we just added to the national debt, and that is really what everybody should be focusing on.
We are literally committing national suicide. No matter what happens with border wall funding, the U.S. will continue to steamroll toward financial oblivion unless something is done about this horrific debt that we are accumulating.
As I wrap up this article, I would like to share something that Austin Murphy wrote that really struck a chord with me. Over the course of a 33 year career in journalism, Murphy interviewed five presidents and wrote thousands of articles for Sports Illustrated. But now he is delivering packages for Amazon…
Let’s face it, when you’re a college-educated 57-year-old slinging parcels for a living, something in your life has not gone according to plan. That said, my moments of chagrin are far outnumbered by the upsides of the job, which include windfall connections with grateful strangers. There’s a certain novelty, after decades at a legacy media company—Time Inc.—in playing for the team that’s winning big, that’s not considered a dinosaur, even if that team is paying me $17 an hour (plus OT!). It’s been healthy for me, a fair-haired Anglo-Saxon with a Roman numeral in my name (John Austin Murphy III), to be a minority in my workplace, and in some of the neighborhoods where I deliver. As Amazon reaches maximum ubiquity in our lives (“Alexa, play Led Zeppelin”), as online shopping turns malls into mausoleums, it’s been illuminating to see exactly how a package makes the final leg of its journey.
Like Murphy, America’s future is going to be far less bright than its past if we don’t get things turned around, and right now there is absolutely no indication that this is going to happen.
Our national problems are multiplying, the conditions for a perfect storm are rapidly coming together, and pessimism is quickly growing all across America.
Mark Jolley believes that “the worst is yet to come next year”, and in the end he may turn out to be exactly correct.
OpenTorque Singapore
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