Sad.... but true.
Had picked up on oil bottoming at $61 a couple of months ago. Expected it to get to $80 by Jan 08. However, have been surprised by the pace and extent of its price movement. Nearly $74 yesterday, with no end in sight. As a result, haven't remained invested in it, made scraps here and there, but nothing much to shout about.
I realise that I always get fazed by its volatility. My biggest fear is to buy at the top, and then get clobbered. In hindsight, had I stayed invested in oil continuously over the last 2 months, I'd be up close to $20K with just 2 contracts. Kicking myself - I saw the opportunity, but didn't capitalise on it.
Now, I see a rally developing in Gold (up $12.5 this week) - of course, even though I commented on it a while ago, I haven't done anything about it. Need to get a grip, and get a plan going.
Showing posts with label Rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rant. Show all posts
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
This stinks!
So I roll up - bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to put through my first CFD trade. Get the computer going, log into my account.... and find that I can't see any shares listed. That's Stink#1.
So I call IG Markets, and am told that "My Shares" will be activated in 10 minutes. Sure enough, that happens. The next thing I know, I get an email from IGM saying that unless I make 4 trades a month, I'll have to pay $38 for access to ASX prices. Not only is that wierd, coming AFTER I've signed up, its also stoopid since everyone else (and I mean Tricom) gives me free data - even on a demo account! That's Stink#2.
I think - OK, we'll try to work with that - let's get our orders in. Which leads me to Stink #3 - and this one smells. I could not place a single order!! LHG trading @ $3.16, I try to place a Buy @$3.01 with a SL @ $2.95 - I could almost hear Carol Beer saying "Computer says No". ZFX trading @ $16.33, I try to place a Sell @ $17.15 and, again, I get "Computer says No".
Fed up, I went about my day - and for the last 2 hours have been comparing Marketech's platform with Tricom's. I now think Tricom's is vastly superior to both IGMs and Marketech's in terms of breadth of low margin products (such as the NY Gold/Silver mini) offered; but most importantly at least I can put an order through, even if its outside market hours! Methinx a switch to Tricom is on the cards. Now, does IGM have a "cancellation fee" policy? That would really piss me off.
So I call IG Markets, and am told that "My Shares" will be activated in 10 minutes. Sure enough, that happens. The next thing I know, I get an email from IGM saying that unless I make 4 trades a month, I'll have to pay $38 for access to ASX prices. Not only is that wierd, coming AFTER I've signed up, its also stoopid since everyone else (and I mean Tricom) gives me free data - even on a demo account! That's Stink#2.
I think - OK, we'll try to work with that - let's get our orders in. Which leads me to Stink #3 - and this one smells. I could not place a single order!! LHG trading @ $3.16, I try to place a Buy @$3.01 with a SL @ $2.95 - I could almost hear Carol Beer saying "Computer says No". ZFX trading @ $16.33, I try to place a Sell @ $17.15 and, again, I get "Computer says No".
Fed up, I went about my day - and for the last 2 hours have been comparing Marketech's platform with Tricom's. I now think Tricom's is vastly superior to both IGMs and Marketech's in terms of breadth of low margin products (such as the NY Gold/Silver mini) offered; but most importantly at least I can put an order through, even if its outside market hours! Methinx a switch to Tricom is on the cards. Now, does IGM have a "cancellation fee" policy? That would really piss me off.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Problem with Banks
I have always had an aversion to banks. When I was young, in the late 80s and early 90s, banking in India was a nightmare. I actually hated going to the bank, but had to for a variety of reasons - when my parents took me along, and subsequently when I was a student studying away from home. It all changed when the first ATM machine came along. In 1997, I was working in Ahmedabad, and HDFC Bank had just one ATM in the entire city - 5 minutes from my work place. I opened an account there with the specific purpose of avoiding the crowds and officious 'babus' that I had come to loathe. HDFC subsequently proved to be quite the leader in introducing technology to banking, and became my preferred bank - I still bank with them in India.
In 2003, when I came to Australia, my first encounter with a bank here was with CBA in Burwood. I realised that personal banking needn't be a chore. No queues... ever! Fast and efficient staff... fantastic! As a result, it took me awhile to get onto Internet banking (vastly ironic, since I was studying Information Systems!) - I enjoyed immersing myself in the joys of receiving customer service.
That changed when I finished studying, and the 'student' tag was removed from my account. I had to now actually PAY the bank $6 a month (now its $4) to hold my money! Absolutely insane, I thought! For all of India's banks woes, at least they never charged you to hold your money. In fact, every personal transaction account also acts as a Savings account, and pays a decent interest rate.
Since then, banks have returned to become a pet peeve. I refuse to understand why I should be charged fees to have access to my money. What about the old "3-6-3" (borrow at 3%, lend at 6% (thus earning the 3% spread), be on the golf course by 3 pm) mantra? Shouldn't that cover all expenses, including golf clubs? And isn't ensuring access to ATMs, internet and telephone banking covered under the 21st century definition of "customer service"? Shouldn't the banks be spilling their guts to get my business? Since they aren't, am I supposed to feel 'privileged' that someone has condescended to hold my account?
In addition, I was subjected to a large dose of peanuttage from CBA last month. I was charged 3 x $30 for overdrawing on my limit (cashflow issues that always got sorted out 1 day too late on each occassion) + $25 at the end of the month for a weird fee + $2.something as interest. The strange thing is:
1. the money from the direct debits went to Commsec (i.e. CBA) and Save The Children (a charity I support)
2. I called CBA and was told that after the $90 in fees that went out over the period of a week, I wouldn't get slugged with any further charges or interest... and that's exactly what happened at the end of the month. When I called CBA back, I was told to go look at something in the PDS that apparently covered their a*se.
I've realised after a lot of thought and reading, that banking in Australia is oligopolistic as a result of a unique "Four Pillars" policy which prevents the top 4 banks from merging with one another. As a result, the big banks are inefficient behemoths - if the policy was scrapped, the fear is that as a result of the ensuing mergers jobs would be lost, which is always bad news for politicians. Because of this policy, bankers have their customers over a barrel; and given that Australia is only a 20 million person market spread over a massive continent, none of the big international banks are likely to have a serious crack at it. In this environment, banks collude with each other to screw the individual. You know its true when they stick their name on most of the tall buildings in your city - just to rub it in that they own you.
The situation is unlikely to change in the near future; and the only thing for me to do is to move my banking to where I see the best value (i.e. lowest transaction costs and minimum peanuttage).
Here is the result of a 30 minute study I did just now (criteria: no minimum balance, unlimited Net and ATM trasactions) on various transaction accounts in the market:
BANK -ACCOUNT NAME - LOWEST MAINTENANCE CHARGE (p.m.)
In 2003, when I came to Australia, my first encounter with a bank here was with CBA in Burwood. I realised that personal banking needn't be a chore. No queues... ever! Fast and efficient staff... fantastic! As a result, it took me awhile to get onto Internet banking (vastly ironic, since I was studying Information Systems!) - I enjoyed immersing myself in the joys of receiving customer service.
That changed when I finished studying, and the 'student' tag was removed from my account. I had to now actually PAY the bank $6 a month (now its $4) to hold my money! Absolutely insane, I thought! For all of India's banks woes, at least they never charged you to hold your money. In fact, every personal transaction account also acts as a Savings account, and pays a decent interest rate.
Since then, banks have returned to become a pet peeve. I refuse to understand why I should be charged fees to have access to my money. What about the old "3-6-3" (borrow at 3%, lend at 6% (thus earning the 3% spread), be on the golf course by 3 pm) mantra? Shouldn't that cover all expenses, including golf clubs? And isn't ensuring access to ATMs, internet and telephone banking covered under the 21st century definition of "customer service"? Shouldn't the banks be spilling their guts to get my business? Since they aren't, am I supposed to feel 'privileged' that someone has condescended to hold my account?
In addition, I was subjected to a large dose of peanuttage from CBA last month. I was charged 3 x $30 for overdrawing on my limit (cashflow issues that always got sorted out 1 day too late on each occassion) + $25 at the end of the month for a weird fee + $2.something as interest. The strange thing is:
1. the money from the direct debits went to Commsec (i.e. CBA) and Save The Children (a charity I support)
2. I called CBA and was told that after the $90 in fees that went out over the period of a week, I wouldn't get slugged with any further charges or interest... and that's exactly what happened at the end of the month. When I called CBA back, I was told to go look at something in the PDS that apparently covered their a*se.
I've realised after a lot of thought and reading, that banking in Australia is oligopolistic as a result of a unique "Four Pillars" policy which prevents the top 4 banks from merging with one another. As a result, the big banks are inefficient behemoths - if the policy was scrapped, the fear is that as a result of the ensuing mergers jobs would be lost, which is always bad news for politicians. Because of this policy, bankers have their customers over a barrel; and given that Australia is only a 20 million person market spread over a massive continent, none of the big international banks are likely to have a serious crack at it. In this environment, banks collude with each other to screw the individual. You know its true when they stick their name on most of the tall buildings in your city - just to rub it in that they own you.
The situation is unlikely to change in the near future; and the only thing for me to do is to move my banking to where I see the best value (i.e. lowest transaction costs and minimum peanuttage).
Here is the result of a 30 minute study I did just now (criteria: no minimum balance, unlimited Net and ATM trasactions) on various transaction accounts in the market:
BANK -ACCOUNT NAME - LOWEST MAINTENANCE CHARGE (p.m.)
- NAB - Smart Direct - $3
- CBA - Streamline - $4
- WestPac - Westpac One - $5
- ANZ - ANZ Access Select - $2
- St George - Simply Freedom - $6
- SunCorp - Everyday Banking - $5
- Bank of Queensland - Reverse Charges - $4
- BankWest - Lite Transaction - $2.99
- Bendigo Bank - Ultimate Everyday - $2
- Citibank - Citibank Plus - $5
- AMP Banking - Transact - $8
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