FAMI Website has been hacked!

As of the moment, if you go to fami.com.ph, you'll see a different page. The FAMI website has been hacked by an entity who calls itself "The Dark Vortex" or spelled as "TH3_D@RK_V0RT3X". The motive is not known behind this attack; it's probably just for show.

Screenshot of the hacked FAMI Website

The question is, why is FAMI website still down up to now? It should be easy to take the site back and restart the server. The extent of damage is still uncertain, hopefully it's just the website that is hacked and not the accounts and critical data.



Here's the text that is displayed on the hacked website:

@=================================================================@


W@IT 

H@CK1NG TH3 W3BS1T3 

========================================================== 

H@CK1NG C0MPl3T3 

UPL0@D1NG D3F@CE 

========================================================== 

==========H3LL0 @DM1N========= 

TH3_D@RK_V0RT3X W@S H3R3 

W3BS1T3 IS H@CK3D 
F33L TH3 P0W3R 0F BD H@CK3RS 
TH1S IS 0NLY TH3 S7@R7 

I @M @ MUSLIM. I L0V3 MY MUSLIM BR0TH3RS. 
FR33 @LL MUSL1MS 
0R ELS3.............................. 
I @M C0M1NG T0 M@K3 JUST1C3 

@S F0R TH3 @DM1N. D0N'7 CRY. I W1LL B3 B@CK S00N. & Y0U W1LL W3LC0M3 M3 V3RY W3LL 
Y0U ST33PED IN TH3 WR0NG H0US3 
~~~~~FR0M~~~~~ 
~~~~~TH3_D@RK_V0RT3X~~~~~ 

@LL MUSLIM H@CK3RS ===== ===== @LL H@CK3RS 0F JUST1C3 ===== ===== Muslim Cyber Army 

~~~~~GR33TZ T0~~~~~ 
TH3_D@RK_V0RT3X 
@LL L33T H@CK3RS ===== @LL B@NGL@D3SH1 H@CK3RS ===== Muslim Cyber Army 
BANGLADESH ZINDABAD /

GR33T1NGS T0====== ALL HACKERS OF JUSTICE ======= UND3RW0RLD CYB3R @TT@CK3R ======= My Beloved DARKK HEX |


[Update 5/29/2013 2PM] FAMI site is back to normal.

SDA for Individual Investors to be Phased-Out Before the Year Ends

To those who don't know, Special Deposit Accounts (SDA) is an investment option from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) which aimed to mop excess liquidity in the Philippines. There was a time (I think 2009) when the interest rate was high ~4.5%. Imagine having a low-risk investment with a return of ~4%. This was very enticing to investors, it was certainly better than bank deposits, even time deposits, and was competitive to bond investments.

Now, BSP may want the money out of its system. There's a rumor that SDA will be phased out. Seems there's now too much money parked in SDA (P1.859 trillion as of May 3), and it's not beneficial for the economy anymore. It started with BSP cutting the rates down, from 4+%, down to 3.5%, when it didn't work, it further cut the rates down until it reached the rate we have today which is a mere 2% (gross).

Seems there's some truth to the rumor. New memorandum 2013-021 from BSP implicates that banks can no longer offer SDA to individual investors. SDA is now exclusive to funds in trust and UITFS are allowed to park.

The order also states that by end of July, 30% of current placements should be withdrawn from SDA and the rest should be removed by November 30, 2013.

So if you're an individual and you have placement in SDA, I would suggest that you already look for alternatives. In my earlier post, I recommended BPI Maxi Saver, but you are not limited to that. There's also Bond UITF's and Bond/Fixed-Income Mutual Funds (MF) that offers lower volatility and risk but have moderate returns.

`

Source:
Philstar

My Top Stock Pick(s) for May 2013 [Philippines]

The main stock I picked in my last entry, which is CPG, has already increased in value. For those who are looking for new opportunities, below may be worth noting.

FGEN

At 21.95, First Gen Corporation's PE is 9.8. Like in my previous entry, I personally don't like Lopez companies, but at the moment, it may be an opportunity that's too good to pass. If you buy it below 22.6, it may be a good deal.

Among LPZ, FGEN and EDC, FGEN may be the best bet for now. For the companies I researched in the month of May, only FGEN stood among the rest.


Disclaimer: Before buying or taking any recommendations, please do your own research. You should be convinced with the stock you'll be buying. Above recommendations are my personal opinion only.

Why I won't buy $AUB shares at IPO price

This could've been the first time I'll participate in an IPO, I was psyched to buy Asia United Bank shares when I heard the news the it was oversubscribed in international market.

But upon checking its financials, it has a net income of P1.4B in 2012 and will have 328M shares, that makes it a P/E of around 22 at its IPO price of P95/share which is very high, meaning it's overpriced, and there will be a great expectation for its growth for the price to be justified. One of the factors that may help in its growth is that Asia United Bank now a unibank. Last Feb 2013, its application for universal banking license was approved, which means additional earnings can be made not just from banking alone but from being an investment house.

Anyway, personally, I won't participate in its IPO. My fundamental analysis doesn't allow me to, and I'll stick to my decision. Sure, the share price can go up with pure hype even if it's not justified, but I'll pass. There will be more opportunities to grab. PBB and EW IPO were much justified; among the three, AUB has the highest P/E at IPO, EW has the lowest.