Eid Mubarak...

have a safe journey if you are traveling and may you feast sensibly...!

STOCKS PLUNGE...GOLD SOARS!

Several postings back, I shared about the prospects of investing in GOLD. I mentioned about it being the best preserver of value, well this call is still strong now especially under the circumstances the global economy is going thru.

At time of writing, the FBMKL is trading at 1460.19, 36.8 points off - which equals 2.45% down. This is a continuation from yesterday's sell down where the index lost 27.44points or equal to 1.8%....this is also over 100 points off from its highest recorded mark of 1594.74.

Other losing market at this time are KOREA, -6.2%, HANG SENG - 5.54%, NIKKIE - 3.73%

Apparently blood is not only flowing in certain cities in UK because of the riots...but in the BURSAs too!

GOLD prices has been CLIMBING over the last 11 years and it looks to continue this trend. It touched USD1700 (RM5134) an ounce yesterday at the back of growing concerns of the global economic meltdown. With the biggest economy in the world (US) looking frail, ill and "on drips" much like a critical patient in ICU...the fear factor that is abound is causing a value wipe out of USD5.4 TRILLION! Europe is also in sick bay with doctors and nurses keeping watch of the pulse. But it has not been good news so far.

But...there is some pleasant news to most domestic equity investors - in that the MALAYSIAN market has seen the least value lost during this challenging period. This is perhaps due to the fact that most of the global funds managers and investors view Malaysia as offering the best of the worst economic environment and they have actually "flown-into" our shores with the substantial increase in FDI over the last 10months.

More and more investors are seeking "safe homes" for their money. There is just too much pessimism or nervousness associated with the economies and currencies of major nations. And they will continue to seek the GOLDen horizon.

Even the CHINESE government have recently called on all major governments to GO BACK TO more stable currency backing reserves...they meant GOLD!

This call was already BLARED loud and hard many years back when TUN M was our PM. Whether this will help the situation or not is debatable but in any case individual investors must take serious consideration to add GOLD in their portfolio if they have yet to.

Public Mutual declares income distributions for 10 funds

Public Bank’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Public Mutual, declared distributions
totaling more than RM286 million for ten of its funds. The gross distributions
declared for the respective funds for the financial year ending 31 July 2011 are as
follows:

Fund Gross Distribution (sen per unit)
Public Growth Fund 6.00
Public Australia Equity Fund 2.25
Public Optimal Growth Fund 1.75
Public Far-East Property & Resorts Fund 0.50
Public Islamic Opportunities Fund 3.00
Public Islamic Select Enterprises Fund 2.00
Public Bond Fund 5.25
Public Islamic Select Bond Fund 5.00
Public Islamic Income Fund 3.50
PBB MTN Fund 1 4.00

According to Lipper dated 20 July 2011, Public Growth Fund has generated a one-
year return of 24.64% for the period ended 15 July 2011 which is above its
benchmark return of 18.23%. Public Growth Fund is open for EPF Members
Investment Scheme.

Meanwhile, Public Australia Equity Fund which was launched in September 2009,
gives investors the opportunity to capitalise on the long term growth potential of the
Australian market, given the country’s strong position in natural resources and its
diversified services sector. This fund has generated a one-year return of 18.72% for
the same period which is above its benchmark return of 14.67%.

Public Optimal Growth Fund is an equity fund which generated a one-year return of
17.76% for the period ended 15 July 2011. The fund was launched in June 2010 to
provide income and capital growth by investing in stocks which offer attractive
dividend yields and growth stocks in the domestic market.

Public Far-East Property & Resorts Fund on the other hand, focuses its investments
in property, hotel and resorts stocks, and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).
The fund generated a one-year return of 16.28% over the same period which is
above its benchmark return of 14.81%.

Public Islamic Opportunities Fund and Public Islamic Select Enterprises Fund have
generated one-year returns of 11.30% and 26.88% respectively for the period ended
15 July 2011. Public Islamic Select Enterprises Fund is open for EPF Members
Investment Scheme.

On bond funds, Public Bond Fund, Public Islamic Select Bond Fund and Public
Islamic Income Fund, recorded one-year returns of 9.34%, 4.77% and 5.67%,
respectively for the period ended 15 July 2011. Public Bond Fund is an award-
winning fund, having garnered a total of 25 awards to date, while Public Islamic
Income Fund is open for EPF Members Investment Scheme.

PBB MTN Fund 1, on the other hand, is a close-ended wholesale bond fund which
generated a one-year return of 5.46% for the period ended 15 July 2011. The fund
was launched in November 2009 to provide a steady stream of income returns
through investment in subordinated medium-term notes issued by Public Bank
Berhad.

All of the above funds are distributed by Public Mutual unit trust consultants except
for PBB MTN Fund 1, which is distributed via Public Bank branches nationwide.

Public Mutual is Malaysia’s largest private unit trust company with 87 funds under
management. It has over 2.5 million accountholders and as at 30 June 2011, the
total net asset value of the funds managed by the company was RM44.3 billion.