YTL and market sell down

The KLCI closed down 15 points or 1.2% today and ended at 1,212.59. The intraday low was minus 19 points which was 1 point below the crucial support level of 1,210.00. Volume was lowly normal of 475,000 shares. What was so different in today's market compared with the other 2 earlier tradings of the week , besides lacklustre? Well, sorry no prize for guessing it right, it is the announcement made by YTL. Yes YTL is Datuk Yong Teck Lee who announced that he and two other MPs from Sabah Progressive Party(SAPP) will table a non-confidence vote towards Badawi in the coming Monday's parliament meeting. Of course the 3 will not create any impact on Monday but what is worrying is the opening of foodgates for further possibility of more MPs leaving BN. The predictions from Tengku Razaleigh and Anwar seems to carry credibility these days. I believe the next few days will be most crucial. If any further jump ships or voice of discontent were to be made public, Badawi's days in office could be reduced further. Our country which for many years touted as having a stable government has to deal with an unfamiliar situation now. Yes, we have dealt with the March 10 sell down earlier with gusto but will YTL starts the catalyst for the second political and stock market tsunami soon? Chart wise, as noted here earlier, if 1,210 - 1,220 are not being saved at all cost, the market is pointing to a sell down soon. (I really hope I am wrong on this) Lets wish we are somewhere else when the tsunami begins to unleash its power...


* Philippines foreign portfolio investment shows net outflows in May of USD158m (April USD49.9m) If Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand are bundled together with Philippines as emerging markets, I am very sure foreign funds would also have done their selling in these countries.

* Shanghai Composite Index shot up more than 5% today at 2,941 . There was speculation that Beijing is on the brink of allowing state-set national fuel prices to rise. A notable gainer is Sinopec which went up 9% today.

* Bank of Korea: Economy of North Korea contracted by 2.3% in 2007 (2006: -1.1%).

* Britain's CPI for May rose 3.3% (April 3%) due to higher food prices and household energy bills (Government's target was 2%). Bank of England signals that a sharp slow down will curb inflation.

* Lehman Brothers: China's foreign reserves grew by USD74.5b in April to a total of USD1.8T. FDI and trade surplus account for only USD24.3b. It suggested the balance of USD50.2b is due to surge in speculators taking positions on the rising Chinese interest rates and an appreciating yuan.

* For our records (TheStarBiz), Nazir Abdul Razak(CIMB) gets an average RM780,000 remuneration per month, Amirsham (former Maybank) RM225,000 per month, Wahid (former Telekom)RM148,000 per month and Khatib (TNB, will get unconfirmed 100% pay rise). According to Khazanah's MD: We have to pay enough, and we have to pay fairly. How much is enough and fair my dear MD? Do we need "maverick" CEO to run government linked companies? Has the return been outstanding for these companies or just enough and fair?