Common Sense Trading - A Blue Jeans Approach to Philippine Stock Market Trading

The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance is the reason why my attention is on ETH (Php44,440 as of this writing). Microsoft, Telus, JPMorgan, Intel, UBS, BP among others are part of the launch members.   The purpose of the organization is to team up and figure out how to use ETH for business.  By "use ETH for business" I'm not referring to those companies investing in ETH or any crypto asset but rather, using the blockchain to improve internal processes. The security of a decentralized network opens up new possibilities for companies that use databases.  I would imagine that it will be of high value to businesses that share databases with third parties or even allow third parties to update the database.  A database covering a network of suppliers for instance or if the company itself is within a network of suppliers, would offer a higher level of trustworthiness if it were running on a blockchain like ETH.  While unrelated to this post, just as an FYI, I'm l...

So, this has been said many times already.  Even then, blockchain is still in the early days and how the decentralized network will change the world still sounds like sci-fi to the general population. Having done some basic research on it, I think it will change the world significantly.  I'm not just talking about the crypto currency craze (a bandwagon which I have been unable to avoid joining). Ethereum's (arguably the #2 crypto currency) method of utilizing the blockchain is making a lot of companies excited. I'm posting this here for posterity. And, for the record:  BTC on coins.ph is at Php601,406 and ETH is at Php44,440.  Also for the record, I'm long on both.

"What comes up, must go down" is not a too comforting thing to hear and yet it is happening. to the PSEi.   The index fell by 1.27% as reported by  The Philippine Daily Inquirer here . News of good GDP was ignored in the face of news reports that overseas remittances fell to five month low.  Philippine Star reported that: " Money sent home by OFWs fell by 8.3 percent year-on-year to $2.2 billion in September, the central bak reported." The article further stated that: " The countries that registered the biggest declines in cash remittances in September were Saudi Arabia, followed by Kuwait, Qatar and Australia."   "The BSP noted that reports that a number of global correspondent banks have closed their service facilities on money service business might have “partly” affected remittances flows during the month."

I awoke to notifications of another 5% jump in the price of bitcoin on the international market.  I checked coins.ph and saw a buy price above Php400,000!  Just a few days ago, I was able to covert some pesos at a rate just above Php300,000.00.  I share in the sentiment that we will end the year somewhere around the Php500,000.00.  My simple understanding of Bitcoin is that it is at a point where it is being "born" and its true purpose and value is emerging.  Around the world, it is being used as a safe haven for value/assets.  The initial plan to have Bitcoin focus on transactions seems to have changed. The people behind Bitcoin now want it to be like gold.  Current events illustrate this perfectly.  Just a yesterday, I read about (and heard on the news) political instability in Zimbabwe.  A decades long dictator, Mr. Mugabe, was placed under house arrest.  Notably, that Bicoin's price in Zimbabwe is soaring . Due to difficulty in f...

Inquirer reported here that the Philippines' GDP was better than expected. The Philippines Statistics office noted that the main drivers for growth were:  Manufacturing, Trade, and Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities. The official press release from the PSO can be viewed here .

I was wondering about the Philippine Mining industry. I came across this article.  It seems that our mining industry is profiting from a shortage in Nickel.  Indonesia seems to have passed a law that limits the exports in favor of domestic use.  Looks like they are building up some of their industries.   What strikes me is that it is a very artificial increase in demand of Philippine sourced Nickel.  If Indonesia changes its mind what will happen?  Rumors of that have already been spreading and some Philippine Mining stocks have been going down. This makes me feel that mining stocks are still rather risky purchases.  I think its a good idea to buy in small quantities whenever the price dips for reasons such as this.  While the risk is high, so will the returns when the time is right. click here for the full article.

As I imagine the point of view of a fresh College graduate in the Philippines, call centers do not exactly seem like a prestigious choice for work.  It's really about the salary.  Work is hard, hours are tough and it's hard to call it fulfilling.  But there are hordes of Filipinos signing up and taking home a lot more money than they could before.  Notably, Filipinos turn out to be really good at customer service thanks to our general politeness and fluency in the kind of English Americans use - something that matters since most clients are American.  It turns out there's a practical side to our obsession with American movies, television and music.  We can answer their phones.  While that's not glamorous, it's a humongous part of the Philippines' recent economic renaissance. I'm all for a common sense approach so this may seem like a simplistic analysis. With more than just a mob of young Filipinos getting what is arguably excellent pay for local sta...