That was precisely the question asked during the 2019 annual general meeting (AGM) for Berkshire Hathaway, a conglomerate controlled by well-known investors Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. The Amaz(ing) debate Earlier this month, Berkshire Hathaway revealed that it bought a stake in online retailing giant Amazon.com. Amazon is far from the traditional “value” stock, with a heady price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 78. The debatable purchase prompted a question from a shareholder during Berkshire Hathaway’s AGM. The shareholder asked: “With the full understanding that Warren had no input on the Amazon purchase, and that, relative to Berkshire, it’s likely a small stake, the investment still caught me off guard. I’m wondering if I should begin to think differently about Berkshire

Building a passive income from blue-chip dividend stocks is a realistic goal for many investors. Doing so could lead to a worthwhile second income, or increased financial freedom in older age. Of course, there is a temptation to lock-in profits made from successful investments. Similarly, spending dividends received, rather than reinvesting them, may also seem like a good idea in the short run. However, sticking with stocks that are delivering high growth and rising dividends could be the best means of producing a sustainable income in the long run. Reinvesting dividends Although it can be tempting to spend dividends received each year in order to supplement a primary income, the impact of reinvesting them could be far more appealing in the long run. In fact, various studies have shown tha

HRnetGroup Ltd (SGX: CHZ) is the largest Asia-based recruitment agency in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan). On Friday, on top of announcing its first-quarter results, the company revealed that it has a 7.85% stake in Hong Kong-listed Bamboos Health Care Holdings Ltd (HKG: 2293). What are some of the exciting aspects of Bamboos that HRnetGroup shareholders should know about? Bamboos who? Bamboos, founded in 2009, provides healthcare staffing solution services to its clients in Hong Kong. Some of the services it offers include ward relief for hospitals and nursing homes, 24-hour private nursing service, and out-patient escorting services. The company has clients such as hospitals, social service organisations, clinics, pharmaceutical companies, and individuals. As of 31 December 201

China’s trade surplus with the rest of the world in April was not nearly as good as some economists had predicted. The surplus was only US$13.8 billion, when they had forecast a modest rise from US$32.6 in March to US$35 billion. The experts weren’t doing any better at predicting China’s export number, either. They had forecast a rise of 2.3%. But China’s exports actually fell 2.7% from a year ago. Surprisingly, imports rose 4% from a year ago, which also wrong-footed economists. They had pencilled in a decline of 3.6%. Who would want to be an economist in these difficult times? It’s hard enough trying to calculate the difference between two big numbers at any time. But amid tricky trade negotiations between the US and China, it is no better than sticking a finger in the air to s

HRnetGroup Ltd (SGX: CHZ) is the largest Asia-based recruitment agency in the Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan, region. On Friday morning, HRnetGroup announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2019, which ended on 31 March. Let’s look at some of the key points from the earnings announcement. 1) Revenue for the reporting quarter fell 2.8% year-on-year to S$104.0 million from S$107.0 million. The fall was mostly due to cautious hiring from HRnetGroup’s clients, especially in Singapore. 2) Gross profit decreased by 2.8% to S$35.4 million. 3) The gross profit margin was stable at 34.1% as the higher margin professional recruitment business contributed more to gross profit this quarter. 4) Other income rose 70.5% to S$11.3 million largely due to a gain of S$1.1 million on disposa

In the last earnings season, around 20 percent of companies reported earnings that fell below RHB’s estimates. Going into 1Q19 and beyond, RHB recommends some quality counters that investors would not have to lose sleep over. Big Names Falling Prey To Earnings Downgrade Among them, Dairy Farm, Genting Singapore and Golden Agri-Resources were some of the big names that missed earnings expectations. Given the moderation of growth in 2019, RHB has downgraded the outlook in its coverage universe. A Sign Of More To Come Prior to 4Q18, downgrades eased during 3Q18. However, as the 4Q18 earnings season progressed, the pace of downgrades started picking up. Since September 2018, the telecom, transport, consumer staples and banking sectors have seen the most downgrades to consensus earnings. RHB:

Here's a look at how Hrnetgroup Ltd (SGX: CHZ) performed in 2018, innovative developments and potential drivers of growth for the future.

Investing in small caps seems like a risky affair. However, do your homework and it can be highly rewarding. In this two part series, we focus on highlighting some of the small cap gems that have remained elusive to the market. These small cap gems have the potential to help your investment portfolio returns turn up a notch. Investors Takeaway: 4 Exciting Small Caps That Are Set For A Year Of Growth  Jumbo Group With earnings bottoming out in FY18, CIMB is confident that Jumbo Group (Jumbo) will grow ahead on stronger profit contributions from its Singapore F&B outlet and more overseas franchised outlets. Four new franchised Jumbo seafood outlets were added in four different cities – Taipei, Taichung, Fuzhou and Bangkok – over the past three quarters. There are now a total of 17

Following the first part of the series where we focus on four of CIMB’s nine quality stock picks, we continue the series with another five quality stocks that are worth investing in. Investors Takeaway: 5 Gems To Invest In If You Are Looking For Quality DBS According to CIMB, DBS is forecasted to grow its earnings in 2019 on the back of a slew of macro tailwind. CIMB notes that DBS will continue to enjoy upside in net interest margin as mortgage board rate loans continue to catch up to SIBOR-pegged loans. Furthermore, with a high CASA deposit base (59 percent), the low funding cost will further support DBS’ net interest margin. Besides growing net interest margin, CIMB also foresee an improvement in market-related fee income. BUY, TP $29.00; Current $25.28 Keppel Corp Keppel Corp h

With the negative momentum from 2018, the STI could remain under pressure despite the strong performance in January 2019, according to RHB. While the valuation and dividend yield of STI makes it compelling for long-term investments, RHB thinks that investors should continue to stay selective in navigating the market in 2019. RHB recommends four investment strategies that focus on stocks with stable earnings, strong balance sheets and sustainable dividends. Investors Takeaway: 4 Investment Strategies To Navigate Singapore’s Stock Market By RHB Rotate Into Defensive Sectors While RHB notes that the markets could move sideways for now, RHB believes that now is not the time to abandon risk assets, especially for long-term investors. RHB highlights that the current sell-off in the market is