Favourite posts

There are two things that I can keep doing without feeling sick of them. One of them is observing financial markets, as the name of this blog “Market Observer” suggests. The other one is developing software. The next logical and fun thing to do would be to develop software that

This is a continuation of the previous post where I talked about the software I developed for observing stock indices. Stock indices alone are not representative of a country’s stock market as only the big companies with large market capitalization are represented. The vast majority of smaller indi…

When I talk to financial advisors and fund managers, a common advice they give is “Do not time the market” or “Market timing does not work”. They have a financial incentive to persuade their clients that market timing is bad. Buy-side financial advisors/asset managers earn their fees based on

Recently, I received a telegram message about someone losing USD40,000 in a pump-and-dump stock scam. He was not the only victim. I opened up the daily price chart of 2195.HK (Unity Enterprise) to study this pump-and-dump scam in action. The pump in 2195.HK started around the middle

I like to chat with retirees, particularly those who used to work in a job where they need to be a bit of a snake oil salesman. It is after they retire that they can be completely honest about their past. A few years ago, a retired stockbroker revealed to

One day before Singapore’s National Day celebrations on 8 Aug 2022, Hodlnaut threw a bombshell on their customers. The company was going under. Hundreds of millions(estimated $500m) in customer deposits have been frozen. I have been following Hodlnaut closely since last year after I signed on as th…

This crypto startup firm, Uprise, lost 99% of its client funds while shorting Luna during its price crash. Luna crashed 99.98% within 1 week from Thursday, 5 May 2022 to the following Thursday, 12 May 2022. Just 1 week ago, Luna’s market capitalization was USD28 billion. 1 week later,

This week (01Apr2022), the yield curve has inverted in U.S Treasury bond markets. This is big news in financial media. Why is this a significant event? According to experts, the inverted yield curve is one of the best predictors of impending economic recession. However, is it a good predictor

I bought a Russian equity fund more than a week ago when the Russian MOEX stock index crashed over 40% in a single day after Russia invaded Ukraine. What happened last week can best be described by this picture. Money on fireThe fund lost 78% of its value from my

The TerraLuna ecosystem crash this week was devastating to many crypto investors, from the small retail investors to the huge venture capitalists. No matter how smart you are, as long as you are active in financial markets, big losses from time to time are inevitable. Sometimes, one manages to escap…

Charlie Munger is somebody I respect deeply. He is also an elderly man. So, any disagreement with him should be expressed respectfully, especially from younger people like me. The esteemed Mr Munger has called bitcoin “rat poison” and regard cryptocurrencies as venereal disease beneath his contempt…

This news about OCBC bank customers (at least 469) losing their savings from phishing scams sent shivers to many Singaporeans. What caught my attention is that this scam even fooled finance professionals. One of the victims worked in the finance industry, is well-read in bank protocols and regulatio…

In my past blog posts, I reveal some of my stock picks. It is meant to track my own progress and get a better feel of the market, not meant for others to follow. I am not a qualified financial advisor. My worry is that some readers may blindly follow

In recent years, many Singapore retail investors have moved away from our local stock market to overseas markets, especially the U.S stock market. This is a natural development given the wide returns between the two markets since the 2008 financial crisis. The easier and cheaper access to overseas…