MESHIO.COM

A fine example on how Nintendo applied the blue ocean strategy. By focusing on their strengths and focusing on their uniqueness in the console-making industry, the console war (Sony’s Playstation and Microsoft’s XBox) suddenly becomes irrelevant to them.

And one can’t help but notice how “the other 2 giants” are more concerned on price cuts to gain market acceptance rather than coming up with differentiation and strategies to position themselves differently.

Nintendo became Japan’s second-biggest company by market capitalisation behind Toyota on Tuesday, underlining how the success of the Wii games console has transformed the fortunes of the Kyoto-based company.

Shares in Nintendo closed up 3.1 per cent to Y59,200 bringing its market value to Y8,390bn ($73.2bn), surpassing Canon’s market cap of Y8,120bn. But the gap between Nintendo and Toyota remains substantial. Toyota’s market capitalisation is Y24,000bn.

“Compared with two to three years ago, Nintendo is a completely different animal,� said Hiroshi Kamide, analyst at KBC securities.

“It has kept beating market expectations with its results and new products like the Wii Balance Board will keep the console fresh as it heads into the holiday season.�

Many analysts feel Nintendo is still not overvalued, in spite of its high share price. The company is known to be conservative in its profit forecasts, and foreign exchange rates in the US and Europe are expected to give its bottom line a boost.

Source: FT.Com

I believe Nintendo has got a way of communicating with the gamers, as they continue to offer new unique ways of experiencing the interactive content. For PS 2 there’s the Eye Toy and super-addictive interactive guitar controller (for rockstar wannabe like me).

But I won’t be joining the ranks of Nintendo Wii owners yet, since my PS2 is still very much under-utilized. The last “Nintendo console” I ever owned was the pocket sized flippable Donkey Kong gamewatch. Maybe it’s time to rekindle the love for an old flame :-D

The well-received Amanah Saham Malaysia is going to add another 500 million new units, making its total units to 5.28 billion. As with the previous launch, to ensure that more people can take advantage of the new units, each applicant is only eligible for 50,000 units.

Permodalan Nasional Bhd’s (PNB) unit trust arm Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB) will launch 500 million new units in Amanah Saham Malaysia (ASM) on July 18 to tap the strong following for the unit trust scheme.

PNB president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said the move to offer the additional units was partly in line with the overwhelming response to the scheme since it was launched seven years ago.

The Star Online

Here’s another fund from Public Mutual Berhad. It’s an Islamic bond fund, which means it’s a Syariah-compliant investment. Debt securities with remaining maturities of seven years means that the securities have a lifespan of seven years, in which during this seven years, income will be derived from the securities in the form of income payouts.

On the PISBF, Teh said it is an Islamic bond fund that seeks to provide annual income through investments in Islamic debt securities which have remaining maturities of seven years and below and Islamic money market instruments.

“The fund may invest in foreign Islamic debt securities in Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, the UK and other approved markets,� he said.

The PISBF will be launched at a NAV of RM1 per unit during the 21-day offer period from July 10 to 30.

The service charge is 0.25% of NAV per unit for the purchase of units of PISBF by investors. Its minimum initial investment is RM1,000 and minimum additional investment is RM100.

The Edge Daily

Depending on the nature of the securities, it could be semi-annually or annually, and the payouts are usually a guaranteed sum. Hence, bonds are usually a favorite instrument amongst the conservative investors, and you should also have it as part of your portfolio to hedge against possible market corrections.

To invest in Public Islamic Select Bond Fund, please contact info@meshio.com

Public Mutual Berhad unveils yet another “Far-East” themed fund, this time in the real estate regime.

Public Bank Bhd’s unit Public Mutual will launch two new funds on July 10, 2007 - the Public Far-East Property & Resorts Fund (PFEPRF).

“Up to 80% of the fund’s net asset value (NAV) can be invested in selected regional markets which include Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand, New Zealand, Indonesia, South Korea and other approved markets,” he said.

During the 21-day initial offer period from July 10 to 30, a promotional service charge of 5.45% of NAV per unit is levied upon the purchase of units of PFEPRF by investors.

To invest in this fund, please contact info@meshio.com

Or deficiency as I would like to call it.

Let’s first look at what market efficiency is.

The degree to which stock prices reflect all available, relevant information.

Investopedia.com

Let’s say for a house, the face value is the price of the land title, the bricks that built it, the glass panes, metals used… Everything total up together, and that is where you get the face value of the house on that piece of land. In a 100% totally efficient market, there’s no market valuation, that means you cannot sell anything at a profit. You sell it as it is. No mark-ups, no margins. Yeah…an area where all salesmen/saleswomen will avoid.

And vice versa, having market inefficiency is where sales people thrive. They know the loopholes, and the way to go around things. And profit is made from within the inefficiencies.

So, you can say that imperfections drives the economy, but of course, not without certain side-effects. A monopoly is a sort of inefficiency, since it does not allow for fair competitions. Speculations, whereby the price is being affected mainly by sentiments is also a from inefficiency. It doesn’t reflect the true value of a particular investment, but just because a few people decides that the price should go up (or down), the price is then reflected.

The more inefficient the market, the higher the margin. You can try asking the bird nest sellers in Miri. The market is so inefficient that if you bring one of the bird nest you bought from Kedai Ah Seng to another bird nest dealer in Kedai Ah Beng, he cannot give you the “market value” of the bird nest you have. Hence, it allowed these bird nest dealer to quote whatever price they want (as long as they make a good profit out of it) and they have no worries about you comparing the prices, since all the bird nest sold are so different in sizes/quality/type/brands. And hence, consumers lose any bargaining chips, since there’s no market value to refer to.

As a conclusion, the market has to be inefficient for us to be able to make profit. So instead of complaining about how certain policies is disadvantageous or how certain Government Acts are dampening the economy, we must realize these one-sided events usually trips the balance of the marketplace, causing an inefficiency in it.

So embrace inefficiencies, and you not just save your breathe complaining about it, you can also thrive in any market conditions.

To protect the interest of Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholders, Warren Buffet would have to silence you for revealing the 2 companies worth $1.9 billion in his shareholdings.

“We show below our common stock investments. With two exceptions, those that had a market value of more than $700 million at the end of 2006 are itemized. We don’t itemize the two securities referred to, which have a market value of $1.9 billion, because we continue to buy them. I could, of course, tell you their names. But then I would have to kill you.
”

Bill Barker at Fool.Com has the full story.