What I Learnt about growing business from Anthony Robbins

These are a few points I learnt from life and wealth coach Anthony Robbins about growing my business. They are:

Always ADD VALUE to customers.

Should strive to get, NOT satisfied customers, but RAVING fans, who will not only keep coming back to you, but also promote your business to others.

How can we achieve this is by understanding Human Needs, which are:

• CERTAINTY
• UNCERTAINTY / VARIETY
• SIGNIFICANCE
• LOVE / CONNECTION
• GROWTH
• CONTRIBUTION

If we can satisfy 3 of the 6 needs above, we will get the customers we want!

Anthony Robbins Total Success in Singapore in May 2015

How to Minimize Investment Returns

 

 

It’s been an easy matter for Berkshire and other owners of American equities to prosper over the

years. Between December 31, 1899 and December 31, 1999, to give a really long-term example, the Dow

rose from 66 to 11,497. (Guess what annual growth rate is required to produce this result; the surprising

answer is at the end of this section.) This huge rise came about for a simple reason: Over the century

American businesses did extraordinarily well and investors rode the wave of their prosperity. Businesses

continue to do well. But now shareholders, through a series of self-inflicted wounds, are in a major way

cutting the returns they will realize from their investments.

The explanation of how this is happening begins with a fundamental truth: With unimportant

exceptions, such as bankruptcies in which some of a company’s losses are borne by creditors, the most that

owners in aggregate can earn between now and Judgment Day is what their businesses in aggregate earn.

True, by buying and selling that is clever or lucky, investor A may take more than his share of the pie at the

expense of investor B. And, yes, all investors feel richer when stocks soar. But an owner can exit only by

having someone take his place. If one investor sells high, another must buy high. For owners as a whole,

there is simply no magic – no shower of money from outer space – that will enable them to extract wealth

from their companies beyond that created by the companies themselves.

Indeed, owners must earn less than their businesses earn because of “frictional” costs. And that’s

my point: These costs are now being incurred in amounts that will cause shareholders to earn far less than

they historically have.

To understand how this toll has ballooned, imagine for a moment that all American corporations

are, and always will be, owned by a single family. We’ll call them the Gotrocks. After paying taxes on

dividends, this family – generation after generation – becomes richer by the aggregate amount earned by its

companies. Today that amount is about $700 billion annually. Naturally, the family spends some of these

dollars. But the portion it saves steadily compounds for its benefit. In the Gotrocks household everyone

grows wealthier at the same pace, and all is harmonious.

But let’s now assume that a few fast-talking Helpers approach the family and persuade each of its

members to try to outsmart his relatives by buying certain of their holdings and selling them certain others.

The Helpers – for a fee, of course – obligingly agree to handle these transactions. The Gotrocks still own

all of corporate America; the trades just rearrange who owns what. So the family’s annual gain in wealth

diminishes, equaling the earnings of American business minus commissions paid. The more that family

members trade, the smaller their share of the pie and the larger the slice received by the Helpers. This fact

is not lost upon these broker-Helpers: Activity is their friend and, in a wide variety of ways, they urge it on.

After a while, most of the family members realize that they are not doing so well at this new “beatmy-

brother” game. Enter another set of Helpers. These newcomers explain to each member of the

Gotrocks clan that by himself he’ll never outsmart the rest of the family. The suggested cure: “Hire a

manager – yes, us – and get the job done professionally.” These manager-Helpers continue to use the

broker-Helpers to execute trades; the managers may even increase their activity so as to permit the brokers

to prosper still more. Overall, a bigger slice of the pie now goes to the two classes of Helpers.

The family’s disappointment grows. Each of its members is now employing professionals. Yet

overall, the group’s finances have taken a turn for the worse. The solution? More help, of course.

It arrives in the form of financial planners and institutional consultants, who weigh in to advise the

Gotrocks on selecting manager-Helpers. The befuddled family welcomes this assistance. By now its

members know they can pick neither the right stocks nor the right stock-pickers. Why, one might ask,

should they expect success in picking the right consultant? But this question does not occur to the

Gotrocks, and the consultant-Helpers certainly don’t suggest it to them.

18

The Gotrocks, now supporting three classes of expensive Helpers, find that their results get worse,

and they sink into despair. But just as hope seems lost, a fourth group – we’ll call them the hyper-Helpers

– appears. These friendly folk explain to the Gotrocks that their unsatisfactory results are occurring

because the existing Helpers – brokers, managers, consultants – are not sufficiently motivated and are

simply going through the motions. “What,” the new Helpers ask, “can you expect from such a bunch of

zombies?”

The new arrivals offer a breathtakingly simple solution: Pay more money. Brimming with selfconfidence,

the hyper-Helpers assert that huge contingent payments – in addition to stiff fixed fees – are

what each family member must fork over in order to really outmaneuver his relatives.

The more observant members of the family see that some of the hyper-Helpers are really just

manager-Helpers wearing new uniforms, bearing sewn-on sexy names like HEDGE FUND or PRIVATE

EQUITY. The new Helpers, however, assure the Gotrocks that this change of clothing is all-important,

bestowing on its wearers magical powers similar to those acquired by mild-mannered Clark Kent when he

changed into his Superman costume. Calmed by this explanation, the family decides to pay up.

And that’s where we are today: A record portion of the earnings that would go in their entirety to

owners – if they all just stayed in their rocking chairs – is now going to a swelling army of Helpers.

Particularly expensive is the recent pandemic of profit arrangements under which Helpers receive large

portions of the winnings when they are smart or lucky, and leave family members with all of the losses –

and large fixed fees to boot – when the Helpers are dumb or unlucky (or occasionally crooked).

A sufficient number of arrangements like this – heads, the Helper takes much of the winnings;

tails, the Gotrocks lose and pay dearly for the privilege of doing so – may make it more accurate to call the

family the Hadrocks. Today, in fact, the family’s frictional costs of all sorts may well amount to 20% of

the earnings of American business. In other words, the burden of paying Helpers may cause American

equity investors, overall, to earn only 80% or so of what they would earn if they just sat still and listened to

no one.

Long ago, Sir Isaac Newton gave us three laws of motion, which were the work of genius. But Sir

Isaac’s talents didn’t extend to investing: He lost a bundle in the South Sea Bubble, explaining later, “I can

calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men.” If he had not been traumatized by this

loss, Sir Isaac might well have gone on to discover the Fourth Law of Motion: For investors as a whole,

returns decrease as motion increases.
(Extracted from 2005 Letter to Shareholders by Warren Buffett) 

Top 10 Affiliate Marketing Tips

Marketers with successful affiliate marketing programs know that the affiliate channel is a cost-effective way to drive incremental revenue. But as with any marketing strategy, if you don’t consistently apply best practices to your tactical efforts, you’re likely to have disappointing results. Here are ten things you should focus on to improve the performance of your affiliate marketing program:

1. Optimized Data Feed: The easiest way to get increased distribution is to have the most robust, complete, up to date product catalog possible. This makes your products immediately available to publishers and across comparison shopping engines. It’s also the thing we hear most often from publishers as being the most critical piece to working successfully with advertisers.
2. Effective Creative: Publishers, also known as affiliates, spend time and money promoting your products or services, so you need to make sure you provide effective creative to help them sell your products. Effective creative has consistent brand messaging and a consistent look and feel every place the consumer interacts with it in the buyor- try conversion funnel, from the banner on a publisher’s site to your landing page to your shopping cart or lead form. Effective creative also has a clear and highly visible call to action and a compelling offer (see #3 below).
3. Competitive Offers: Are your offers in line with your vertical or industry? Take a look at what your competitors are offering for similar products or services and evaluate whether or not your margins allow you to provide a comparable or better offer. The trend of offering free expedited shipping proved successful for online retailers during the 2009 holiday shopping season and is continuing to be popular with consumers in 2010.
4. Deep Linking: It’s well known that that deep linking (linking directly from your offer on a publisher’s site to the landing page where the product or service can be ordered) converts better than linking to your home page. The fewer pages a consumer has to click to before reaching the item, the more likely that shopper will complete the purchase. An easy way for online retailers to provide publishers with their complete and up-to-date product catalogs is through the use of data feeds, which a comprehensive affiliate marketing solutions provider can set you up with (see #1 above).
5. Optimized Landing Pages: Your publishers can drive quality traffic for you all day every day, but if your landing pages aren’t optimized, then your conversion rate will suffer. Make sure that there’s visual consistency between your ads and landing pages, that your copy resonates with your target audience and that you follow through on the promise of your ad by making it clear what shoppers need to do next to get the special offer.
6. Pay-Per-Click (PPC)/Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Search publishers in the affiliate channel can complement your existing investment in PPC by filling in the gaps in your current search strategy whether that is managed through in-house program or through a search agency. These specialized publishers are able to elevate your ranking on the search engine results page where you may be outranked by your competition. In addition, if you’re not using paid and/or natural search campaigns to test the effectiveness of your ad copy, you’re essentially just guessing at what works.
7. Simple Checkout Process: Streamline your checkout process to reduce the steps required to purchase a product. To prevent shopping cart abandonment, list shipping charges early in the checkout process and include thumbnail images of items next to their descriptions to provide a visual reminder for customers returning to their carts from previous visits.
8. Incentives: Top-performing publishers drive the majority of your revenue and expect to be compensated accordingly. So don’t let them down by offering the standard commission you give to all your publishers. By offering special incentives that you tie to a specific product or to a volume or time-based goal, you’re letting your best publishers know that you’ll reward them for achieving the results you need.
9. Communication: Lack of communication with your publishers is the cause of many failed relationships. Make it a priority to communicate frequently and clearly with your publishers using the methods they prefer. Many publishers rely on email or instant messaging, but there may be times when they’d appreciate it if you picked up the phone or visited in person — this especially applies to your top revenue-producing publishers.
10. Quality Online Presence: When was the last time you looked critically at your Web site? If it takes forever to load, has confusing navigation or amateurish graphic design, then consumers are likely to perceive your products and services negatively. Invest in a graphic designer or user interaction designer (or a talented intern) who is skilled at presenting information from a consumer’s point of view rather than from a corporate perspective.

10 Reasons Why The Reign Of The Dollar As The World Reserve Currency Is About To Come To An End

theeconomiccollapseblog.com
MARCH 26, 2012

The U.S. dollar has probably been the closest thing to a true global currency that the world has ever seen. For decades, the use of the U.S. dollar has been absolutely dominant in international trade. This has had tremendous benefits for the U.S. financial system and for U.S. consumers, and it has given the U.S. government tremendous power and influence around the globe. Today, more than 60 percent of all foreign currency reserves in the world are in U.S. dollars. But there are big changes on the horizon. The mainstream media in the United States has been strangely silent about this, but some of the biggest economies on earth have been making agreements with each other to move away from using the U.S. dollar in international trade. There are also some oil producing nations which have begun selling oil in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, which is a major threat to the petrodollar system which has been in place for nearly four decades. And big international institutions such as the UN and the IMF have even been issuing official reports about the need to move away form the U.S. dollar and toward a new global reserve currency. So the reign of the U.S. dollar as the world reserve currency is definitely being threatened, and the coming shift in international trade is going to have massive implications for the U.S. economy.

A lot of this is being fueled by China. China has the second largest economy on the face of the earth, and the size of the Chinese economy is projected to pass the size of the U.S. economy by 2016. In fact, one economist is even projecting that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the U.S. economy by the year 2040.

So China is sitting there and wondering why the U.S. dollar should continue to be so preeminent if the Chinese economy is about to become the number one economy on the planet.

Over the past few years, China and other emerging powers such as Russia have been been quietly making agreements to move away from the U.S. dollar in international trade. The supremacy of the U.S. dollar is not nearly as solid as most Americans believe that it is.

As the U.S. economy continues to fade, it is going to be really hard to argue that the U.S. dollar should continue to function as the primary reserve currency of the world. Things are rapidly changing, and most Americans have no idea where these trends are taking us.

The following are 10 reasons why the reign of the dollar as the world reserve currency is about to come to an end....

#1 China And Japan Are Dumping the U.S. Dollar In Bilateral Trade

A few months ago, the second largest economy on earth (China) and the third largest economy on earth (Japan) struck a deal which will promote the use of their own currencies (rather than the U.S. dollar) when trading with each other. This was an incredibly important agreement that was virtually totally ignored by the U.S. media. The following is from a BBC report about that agreement....

China and Japan have unveiled plans to promote direct exchange of their currencies in a bid to cut costs for companies and boost bilateral trade.

The deal will allow firms to convert the Chinese and Japanese currencies directly into each other.

Currently businesses in both countries need to buy US dollars before converting them into the desired currency, adding extra costs.

#2 The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Plan To Start Using Their Own Currencies When Trading With Each Other

The BRICS continue to flex their muscles. A new agreement will promote the use of their own national currencies when trading with each other rather than the U.S. dollar. The following is from a news source in India....

The five major emerging economies of BRICS -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- are set to inject greater economic momentum into their grouping by signing two pacts for promoting intra-BRICS trade at the fourth summit of their leaders here Thursday.

The two agreements that will enable credit facility in local currency for businesses of BRICS countries will be signed in the presence of the leaders of the five countries, Sudhir Vyas, secretary (economic relations) in the external affairs ministry, told reporters here.

The pacts are expected to scale up intra-BRICS trade which has been growing at the rate of 28 percent over the last few years, but at $230 billion, remains much below the potential of the five economic powerhouses.

#3 The Russia/China Currency Agreement

Russia and China have been using their own national currencies when trading with each other for more than a year now. Leaders from both Russia and China have been strongly advocating for a new global reserve currency for several years, and both nations seem determined to break the power that the U.S. dollar has over international trade.

#4 The Growing Use Of Chinese Currency In Africa

Who do you think is Africa's biggest trading partner?

It isn't the United States.

In 2009, China became Africa's biggest trading partner, and China is now aggressively seeking to expand the use of Chinese currency on that continent.

A report from Africa’s largest bank, Standard Bank, recently stated the following....

“We expect at least $100 billion (about R768 billion) in Sino-African trade – more than the total bilateral trade between China and Africa in 2010 – to be settled in the renminbi by 2015.”

China seems absolutely determined to change the way that international trade is done. At this point, approximately 70,000 Chinese companies are using Chinese currency in cross-border transactions.

#5 The China/United Arab Emirates Deal

China and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to ditch the U.S. dollar and use their own currencies in oil transactions with each other.

The UAE is a fairly small player, but this is definitely a threat to the petrodollar system. What will happen to the petrodollar if other oil producing countries in the Middle East follow suit?

#6 Iran

Iran has been one of the most aggressive nations when it comes to moving away from the U.S. dollar in international trade. For example, it has been reported that India will begin to use gold to buy oil from Iran.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are not likely to go away any time soon, and Iran is likely to continue to do what it can to inflict pain on the United States in the financial world.

#7 The China/Saudi Arabia Relationship

Who imports the most oil from Saudi Arabia?

It is not the United States.

Rather, it is China.

As I wrote about the other day, China imported 1.39 million barrels of oil per day from Saudi Arabia in February, which was a 39 percent increase from one year earlier.

Saudi Arabia and China have teamed up to construct a massive new oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, and leaders from both nations have been working to aggressively expand trade between the two nations.

So how long is Saudi Arabia going to stick with the petrodollar if China is their most important customer?

That is a very important question.

#8 The United Nations Has Been Pushing For A New World Reserve Currency

The United Nations has been issuing reports that openly call for an alternative to the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency of the world.

In particular, one UN report envisions "a new global reserve system" in which the U.S. no longer has dominance....

"A new global reserve system could be created, one that no longer relies on the United States dollar as the single major reserve currency."

#9 The IMF Has Been Pushing For A New World Reserve Currency

The International Monetary Fund has also published a series of reportscalling for the U.S. dollar to be replaced as the reserve currency of the world.

In particular, one IMF paper entitled "Reserve Accumulation and International Monetary Stability" that was published a while back actually proposed that a future global currency be named the "Bancor" and that a future global central bank could be put in charge of issuing it....

"A global currency, bancor, issued by a global central bank (see Supplement 1, section V) would be designed as a stable store of value that is not tied exclusively to the conditions of any particular economy. As trade and finance continue to grow rapidly and global integration increases, the importance of this broader perspective is expected to continue growing."

#10 Most Of The Rest Of The World Hates The United States

Global sentiment toward the United States has dramatically shifted, and this should not be underestimated.

Decades ago, we were one of the most loved nations on earth.

Now we are one of the most hated.

If you doubt this, just do some international traveling.

Even in Europe (where we are supposed to have friends), Americans are treated like dirt. Many American travelers have resorted to wearing Canadian pins so that they will not be treated like garbage while traveling over there.

If the rest of the world still loved us, they would probably be glad to continue using the U.S. dollar. But because we are now so unpopular, that gives other nations even more incentive to dump the dollar in international trade.

So what will happen if the reign of the U.S. dollar as the world reserve currency comes to an end?

Well, some of the potential effects were described in a recent article by Michael Payne....

"The demise of the dollar will also bring radical changes to the American lifestyle. When this economic tsunami hits America, it will make the 2008 recession and its aftermath look like no more than a slight bump in the road. It will bring very undesirable changes to the American lifestyle through massive inflation, high interest rates on mortgages and cars, and substantial increases in the cost of food, clothing and gasoline; it will have a detrimental effect on every aspect of our lives."

Most Americans don't realize how low the price of gasoline in the United States is compared to much of the rest of the world.

There are areas in Europe where they pay about twice what we do for gasoline. Yes, taxes have a lot to do with that, but the fact that the U.S. dollar is used for almost all oil transactions also plays a significant role.

Today, America consumes nearly a quarter of the world's oil. Our entire economy is based upon our ability to cheaply transport goods and services over vast distances.

So what happens if the price of gasoline doubles or triples from where it is at now?

In addition, if the reign of the U.S. dollar as global reserve currency ends, the U.S. government is going to have a much harder time financing its debt.

Right now, there is a huge demand for U.S. dollars and for U.S. government debt since countries around the world have to keep huge reserves of U.S. currency lying around for the sake of international trade.

But what if that all changed?

What if the appetite for U.S. dollars and U.S. debt dried up dramatically?

That is something to think about.

At the moment, the global financial system is centered on the United States.

But that will not always be the case.

The things talked about in this article will not happen overnight, but it is important to note that these changes are picking up steam.

Under the right conditions, a shift in momentum can become a landslide or an avalanche.

Clearly, the conditions are right for a significant move away from the U.S. dollar in international trade.

So when will this major shift occur?

Only time will tell.

Original source

Executive director Greg Smith quits in open letter in the New York Times

NO MORALITY, NO INTEGRITY... NO FUTURE? THE FULL RESIGNATION LETTER
Today is my last day at Goldman Sachs. After almost 12 years at the firm — first as a summer intern while at Stanford, then in New York for 10 years, and now in London — I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.

To put the problem in the simplest terms, the interests of the client continue to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about making money. Goldman Sachs is one of the world’s largest and most important investment banks and it is too integral to global finance to continue to act this way. The firm has veered so far from the place I joined right out of college that I can no longer in good conscience say that I identify with what it stands for.
It might sound surprising to a skeptical public, but culture was always a vital part of Goldman Sachs’s success. It revolved around teamwork, integrity, a spirit of humility, and always doing right by our clients. The culture was the secret sauce that made this place great and allowed us to earn our clients’ trust for 143 years. It wasn’t just about making money; this alone will not sustain a firm for so long. It had something to do with pride and belief in the organization. I am sad to say that I look around today and see virtually no trace of the culture that made me love working for this firm for many years. I no longer have the pride, or the belief.
But this was not always the case. For more than a decade I recruited and mentored candidates through our grueling interview process. I was selected as one of 10 people (out of a firm of more than 30,000) to appear on our recruiting video, which is played on every college campus we visit around the world. In 2006 I managed the summer intern program in sales and trading in New York for the 80 college students who made the cut, out of the thousands who applied.
I knew it was time to leave when I realized I could no longer look students in the eye and tell them what a great place this was to work.
When the history books are written about Goldman Sachs, they may reflect that the current chief executive officer, Lloyd C. Blankfein, and the president, Gary D. Cohn, lost hold of the firm’s culture on their watch. I truly believe that this decline in the firm’s moral fiber represents the single most serious threat to its long-run survival.
Over the course of my career I have had the privilege of advising two of the largest hedge funds on the planet, five of the largest asset managers in the United States, and three of the most prominent sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and Asia. My clients have a total asset base of more than a trillion dollars. I have always taken a lot of pride in advising my clients to do what I believe is right for them, even if it means less money for the firm. This view is becoming increasingly unpopular at Goldman Sachs. Another sign that it was time to leave.
How did we get here? The firm changed the way it thought about leadership. Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence.
What are three quick ways to become a leader? a) Execute on the firm’s “axes,” which is Goldman-speak for persuading your clients to invest in the stocks or other products that we are trying to get rid of because they are not seen as having a lot of potential profit. b) “Hunt Elephants.” In English: get your clients — some of whom are sophisticated, and some of whom aren’t — to trade whatever will bring the biggest profit to Goldman. Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t like selling my clients a product that is wrong for them. c) Find yourself sitting in a seat where your job is to trade any illiquid, opaque product with a three-letter acronym.
Today, many of these leaders display a Goldman Sachs culture quotient of exactly zero percent. I attend derivatives sales meetings where not one single minute is spent asking questions about how we can help clients. It’s purely about how we can make the most possible money off of them. If you were an alien from Mars and sat in on one of these meetings, you would believe that a client’s success or progress was not part of the thought process at all.
It makes me ill how callously people talk about ripping their clients off. Over the last 12 months I have seen five different managing directors refer to their own clients as “muppets,” sometimes over internal e-mail. Even after the S.E.C., Fabulous Fab, Abacus, God’s work, Carl Levin, Vampire Squids? No humility? I mean, come on. Integrity? It is eroding. I don’t know of any illegal behavior, but will people push the envelope and pitch lucrative and complicated products to clients even if they are not the simplest investments or the ones most directly aligned with the client’s goals? Absolutely. Every day, in fact.
It astounds me how little senior management gets a basic truth: If clients don’t trust you they will eventually stop doing business with you. It doesn’t matter how smart you are.
These days, the most common question I get from junior analysts about derivatives is, “How much money did we make off the client?” It bothers me every time I hear it, because it is a clear reflection of what they are observing from their leaders about the way they should behave. Now project 10 years into the future: You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the junior analyst sitting quietly in the corner of the room hearing about “muppets,” “ripping eyeballs out” and “getting paid” doesn’t exactly turn into a model citizen.
When I was a first-year analyst I didn’t know where the bathroom was, or how to tie my shoelaces. I was taught to be concerned with learning the ropes, finding out what a derivative was, understanding finance, getting to know our clients and what motivated them, learning how they defined success and what we could do to help them get there.
My proudest moments in life — getting a full scholarship to go from South Africa to Stanford University, being selected as a Rhodes Scholar national finalist, winning a bronze medal for table tennis at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, known as the Jewish Olympics — have all come through hard work, with no shortcuts. Goldman Sachs today has become too much about shortcuts and not enough about achievement. It just doesn’t feel right to me anymore.
I hope this can be a wake-up call to the board of directors. Make the client the focal point of your business again. Without clients you will not make money. In fact, you will not exist. Weed out the morally bankrupt people, no matter how much money they make for the firm. And get the culture right again, so people want to work here for the right reasons. People who care only about making money will not sustain this firm — or the trust of its clients — for very much longer.

Source: The New York Times

No GST for Precious Metals

On February 17th, the Singapore Government has announced its intention to make Singapore a precious metals trading hub and will remove the 7% GST (goods and services taxes) on physical precious metals. Singapore does not charge capital gains tax so in essence physical precious metals in Singapore are completely tax free.

This GST exemption is scheduled to go into effect on 1 October 2012 and full implementation details of the law will be made known on 1 September. The law is not final until then, however the current definition of investment grade precious metals, as obtained from IRAS website, states that:
Investment-grade gold (in the form of a bar, ingot, coin or wafer) must be in purity of 99.5% and above, with the following characteristics that differentiates it from gold in other forms such as jewellery:

(i) Capable of being traded on the international bullion market;
(ii) Bears a mark/ characteristic accepted as guaranteeing its quality; and
(iii) Trade at a price based on the spot price of the metal it contains.

Investment-grade silver and platinum must be in purity of 99.9% and above and 99% and above respectively, with the same characteristics as investment-grade gold.

Original Source

Rental prices down 20% in Singapore

Feb 21, 2012 - PropertyGuru.com.sg

Singapore has been ranked as the ninth most expensive city to rent in a new report – but evidence from recent weeks suggest rental prices may have already dropped by 20 percent since the start of the year.

One agent told PropertyGuru she had just signed a deal to let a property that was previously priced at S$24,000 per month for just S$19,000 per month. The landlord had previously rejected a S$22,000 offer just a matter of weeks ago.

These examples are not unique – and calls to other agents who specialise in rentals indicate that prices have plunged in the opening weeks of the year. Many are reporting a lack of tenants – especially foreigners – and a certain degree of panic from landlords who are sitting on expensive properties with no prospect of an immediate income.

To continue reading, click PropertyGuru.com.sg