The Finance Arena - Financial Talks from a Singapore Financial Consultant

The Need to Plan! Part 3: The Basic Coverage

Lincoln — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:17:18 +0000

After reading through the posts in a thread on a popular forum in Singapore, I realise that quite a few people are having difficulties in deciding which kind of plan suits them. Maybe I’ll just chip in a little as a simple guide in a financial consultant capacity. A small disclaimer that this is my personal recommendation and may not suit everyone.

Typically for one who has little to no insurance coverage and has just started working, I’ll tend to recommend 3 essential type of product to them. The first would be a term policy which offers high coverage with little premium required. For guys serving NS, I’ll highly recommend the Aviva SAF Group term policy. The reason for this is for a sum assured of $125,000, you just need to pay about $16 per month. However, some years they’ll declare dividends in which they will credit back some cash to you. The drawback of this plan is that you’ll not get anything in return unless in death.

The 2nd product would be a comprehensive Shield plan. The reason for this is to cover your medical expenses should you require treatment. Here I’ll recommend taking up the PruShield A Premier with Extra plan from Prudential as this covers your medical expenses from the 1st dollar to the last if you are warded to either a private or restructured hospital. By taking up this plan, you’ll essentially remove the worry of wondering if you should seek treatment due to cost. For young adults, this will also remove the burden on your parents should you require treatment. The drawback of this plan however is the premiums are much higher in your later years.

The 3rd product would be a Critical Illness plan. This plan would give you immediate cash should you contract the stipulated critical illness. This plan has been around in the market for awhile and many people would have gotten this plan to cover themselves for treatment. However, due to the introduction of the comprehensive shield plan, the strategy to be taken has changed in the sense that one would rely on the shield plan to cover the medical expenses while the payout from a critical illness plan would provide cash for daily living expenses. This approach would allow an individual to have the most chance of recovery as the need to continue working would be removed. The drawback of this plan is the higher premium cost. By taking this basic approach, you will be pretty much covered for any unfortunate events. If after getting these 3 basic plans, you have spare cash, then you can start thinking about saving plans or ILPs to generate wealth and provide higher returns on your hard earned cash.

As mentioned earlier, this is a very simple guide and it may not suit everyone. If you require more advice, you can email or contact me on my mobile and we can discuss further or you can contact your exisiting financial consultant to get more information.

The Need to Plan! Part 3: The Basic Coverage is a post from: The Finance Arena - Financial Talks from a Singapore Financial Consultant

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Microsoft & Yahoo! inks partnership deal

Lincoln — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:50:03 +0000

Microsoft & Yahoo! finally unveiled a 10-year Web search and advertising partnership yesterday after months of negotiations, setting the stage for a joint offensive against Internet giant Google. Under the no-cash deal, Yahoo! will make use Microsoft’s new Bing search engine on its own sites while Yahoo! will become as the exclusive global sales force for the companies’ premium search advertisers. The agreement between the Internet portal and software titan is subjected to a review by US anti-trust regulators and is expected to close in early 2010.

The deal is limited to Internet search and related advertising revenue, leaving the individual company to retain full autonomy over other properties and products such as instant messaging, email and display advertising. Under the agreement, Microsoft will acquire an exclusive 10 year license to Yahoo!’s core search technologies and will be allowed to integrate them into its existing Web search platforms.

Microsoft & Yahoo! inks partnership deal is a post from: The Finance Arena - Financial Talks from a Singapore Financial Consultant

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Porsche Requires More Capital

Lincoln — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:37:43 +0000

Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann has informed Porsche’s owner families of the need to pump in more cash to reduce the company’s debts, which have risen to US$19 billion. Mr Ackermann spoke to Porsche supervisory board chairman Wolfgang Porsche that a simple capital increase from the Porsche and Piech families would not be enough to pay for the carmaker’s financial debts.

Porsche Requires More Capital is a post from: The Finance Arena - Financial Talks from a Singapore Financial Consultant

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Porsche’s CEO to receive €$100 Million payout

Lincoln — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:24:50 +0000

Porsche’s embattled CEO looks set to receive €$100 Million “golden parachute” payout after a takeover by Volkswagen, a press report reported yesterday. Despite numerous refutes by Porsche, several news reports in recent days have reported that after 16 years at the helm of Porsche, during which he has turned the firm around, Wiedeking’s days are ending. Wiedeking had Porsche chalk up a huge heap of debt after his attempt to take control of the much larger Volkswagen, and now Volkswagen has turned the tables by looking to acquire Porsche. Under Volkswagen’s proposals, the Porsche and Piech family owners of both firms would hold 50% in the new company, Spiegel said, with the state of Lower Saxony owning 20% and Qatar between 14.9% – 19.9%.

Porsche’s CEO to receive €$100 Million payout is a post from: The Finance Arena - Financial Talks from a Singapore Financial Consultant

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Clashes in Porsche’s Boardroom?

Lincoln — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:50:58 +0000

Porsche chief Wendelin Wiedeking is preparing himself for 1 of his toughest board meetings on Thursday, when the debt-laden sports car maker’s fate could take a decisive turn. An EGM of the Porsche supervisory board is to review an offer by the state-owned Qatar Investment Authority for a stake in the company along with Volkswagen stock options owned by Porsche. Volkswagen, at the same time, has made a counter-offer to acquire almost 1/2 of the shares in Porsche, where Wiedeking, the current CEO, could be left standing by the side of the road. Porsche and Volkswagen, both holding their own supervisory board meeting on the same day in Porsche’s hometown of Stuttgart, want to establish an integrated auto group. The question is who will be behind the wheel. Qatar and creditor banks are keen meanwhile for Porsche and Volkswagen to end their epic boardroom battle.

Clashes in Porsche’s Boardroom? is a post from: The Finance Arena - Financial Talks from a Singapore Financial Consultant

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Indonesia attacks shocks expats, investors after years of peace

Lincoln — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:44:52 +0000

The bombs that ripped through the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels last Friday were apparently assembled in a guest room by Islamic radicals who then walked among businessmen and diplomats before detonating their devices. Out of the 16 men who were at a Marriott breakfast table for a briefing organised by consulting firm Castle Asia, 4 were killed, including a New Zealander and 3 Australians, and the rest were wounded.

“This particular bombing has struck a bit harder than the other ones, because things had seemed to be going so well in Indonesia in the last few years,” stated Australian sports consultant Geoffrey Gold, who was friends with several men at the meeting, describing the mayhem at the 2 hotels which left at least 8 dead and 55 injured as “shocking”.

Indonesia attacks shocks expats, investors after years of peace is a post from: The Finance Arena - Financial Talks from a Singapore Financial Consultant

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Michael Jackson’s death ignites business windfall

Lincoln — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:33:59 +0000

Michael Jackson’s death has ignited a windfall for business ventures of all sizes, ranging from t-shirt salesmen to billion-dollar entertainment companies. Within hours of the King of Pop’s death, hawkers emerged with t-shirts commemorating the icon while Hollywood tour groups scrambled to include the mansion where Jackson died on their sightseeing itineraries. At the upper end of the scale, AEG Live, the promoters of Jackson’s 50-date set of London comeback concerts are confident of turning potentially catastrophic losses into healthy profits, with AEG Live chief executive Randy Phillips telling reporters that many fans would seek to hold onto their tickets as a unique souvenir in lieu of a refund, meaning the company could turn a profit. AEG Live also had an insurance policy worth US$17 million if it was found that Jackson’s death was accidental.

Additionally, sales of the King of Pop’s music have skyrocketed in the 10 days after his death, annexing the music charts in United States and Britain. Michael Jackson’s albums occupied 9 of the top 10 spots on the Top Pop Catalog Album chart released by Billboard on Wednesday. Jackson’s album “Number Ones” was number one on sales of 108,000 copies during the week that ended on June 28, followed by “The Essential Michael Jackson” and “Thriller” on sales of 102,000 and 101,000 respectively. Billboard also stated that Jackson’s solo albums sold 415,000 copies this past week, compared to sales of just 10,000 copies in the week that ended June 21. British music retailer HMV also reported an 80-fold increase in demand for Jackson’s music “almost overnight”, the highest one-day rise in sales seen for any artists, including Elvis Presley and John Lennon.

Michael Jackson’s death ignites business windfall is a post from: The Finance Arena - Financial Talks from a Singapore Financial Consultant

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US private sector slashed 473,000 jobs in June

Lincoln — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:33:37 +0000

The US private sector slashed 473,000 jobs in June, a survey by payrolls firm ADP showed yesterday, emphasising ongoing weakness in the labour market despite signs the economy is stabilising. The June job eliminations were worse than the 395,000 expected by most analysts but lower than 485,000 in May, which was revised from the previous 532,000 figure.

US private sector slashed 473,000 jobs in June is a post from: The Finance Arena - Financial Talks from a Singapore Financial Consultant

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Lloyds cuts another 2,100 jobs

Lincoln — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:31:47 +0000

Lloyds Banking Group, a British state-controlled bank has slashed a further 2,100 jobs yesterday as it seek to streamline operations and recover from the global financial crisis and the costly takeover of rival HBOS. A spokesman reported “Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) is announcing today a number of organisational changes within its group operations and wholesale divisions. These changes follow careful and detailed reviews by the group and will result in the bringing together of a number of functions. Following these changes, up to approximately 2,100 roles will be affected over the next three years. This number is mitigated by the creation of approximately 350 new roles in the wholesale division.” Lloyds, which is 43% owned by the British government after a huge bailout, has now cut about 7,000 jobs following its creation in January, when Lloyds TSB bought rival lender HBOS in a government-brokered deal.

Lloyds cuts another 2,100 jobs is a post from: The Finance Arena - Financial Talks from a Singapore Financial Consultant

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UBS looking at raising capital

Lincoln — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:47:36 +0000

UBS AG, the Swiss bank who is one of the world’s worst affected major banks in the global financial crisis, announced yesterday that it is expecting a 2nd quarter net loss and is planning to raise about US$3.48 billion of equity capital. UBS stated that it is offering about 293.3 million new shares at a price of 13.00 Swiss francs per share. UBS’s efforts to strengthen its capital base is welcomed by the Swiss government.

UBS looking at raising capital is a post from: The Finance Arena - Financial Talks from a Singapore Financial Consultant

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