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.

The story behind $SUN and some analysis

Suntrust Home Developers, Inc. (SUN) is run by Andrew Tan, which, as many of you already know, also runs AGI, MEG, ELI, and GERI.

There's a rumor circulating that SUN could be used as a backdoor for Travellers International Group (a joint venture between AGI and Genting Hong Kong, owners of Resorts World Manila and are also set to build the new Resorts World Bayshore).

Does this make any sense? My personal opinion: YES, it does. IPO is expensive, maintaining a listed company is also expensive, so it's a win win if Andrew Tan already owns a listed company that can be converted into a more profitable venture.

Conglomerates are now thinking of merging their property units, it's also possible that AGI is also thinking of merging its own property units MEG, ELI and GERI. Since SUN only has a small portfolio, it may be excluded from the merger.

If you look at SUN's history, however, you'll notice that it has a shady background before it became the SUN we know today. Before SUN changed its name in 2002, it was the controversial BW Resources (Symbol: BW). In 1999, its share price skyrocketed from P2 to P107 (5K% increase) when a rumor spread that Stanly Ho, a bigtime Macau casino operator, was investing in BW to build a Casino in the Philippines.  Stanly Ho even made an appearance in the Philippines which further contributed to an increase in BW's share price.

The deal never went through and BW's share price plunged. According to PSE's investigation, it was stock manipulation through wash sales in which the buyer and the seller are the same to deceive investors that the stock is active and profitable. Allegedly, cronyism played a major role in this scandal. Dante Tan (Major shareholder of BW) and JV Ejercito were business partners and friends.

Today, the motive may be more legitimate, and the deal may more likely push through but who really knows? No one yet. As of writing, AGI is neither confirming nor denying it. Its latest disclosure is vague, stating that Traveller's Group is looking at both debt and equity market for its financing.

However, there's another twist to the story. Remember Stanly Ho? He still owns a chunk of overvalued shares in BW Resources which is now SUN. It is also possible that this is just a way out for him, jacking the price up for profit or just to get his investment back. Again, who knows! Either way, SUN's share price would go up.

CAVEAT! Just a personal opinion, there's no guarantee in this analysis. Agree or disagree? Share it in the comment section below :)


Source 1, Source 2, Photo from archian, Special thanks to my mentor

How to top-up your investment in FAMI using Metrobank Direct

If you already have a Metrobank Direct account, it's never easier to add more money in your FAMI investments (SALEF, SALFIF, SALBF, SALMF):

This tutorial assumes you already have your FAMI and Metrobank Direct accounts, if you don't have it yet, please enroll first.

click the image for larger view

Steps to top-up any FAMI investment:

1. Login to your Metrobank Direct Account.

2. Go to "Pay Bills" Section

3. Select "First Metro Save & Learn ..." of your choice

4. Enter your Account No and left-pad it with zeroes to make it an 8 digit number. E.g. if your account number is 12345, you should put 00012345 in the Account No.

5. Enter the same number in the Reference No. field.

6. Input your phone number where you can be contacted should there be issues encountered.

7. Enter the amount of money you want to add to your investment. Minimum of P1000 is required.

8. Click the Continue button.

9. Review the summary and confirm your action.

That's it! Wait a few days to get your confirmation receipt.

Note that if you're already enrolled to one of the FAMI investment products e.g. Save and Learn Fixed-Income fund, you can add to any product of your choice (SALEF, SALFIF, SALBF, SALMF)

Top Stock Picks this April 2013 [Philippines]

Some of my previous picks last March 2013 already appreciated significantly. Today, I give another list of stocks which I believe have great potential.

First a disclaimer: What I'll write below is just my personal opinion. The state of market right now is very unpredictable, plus May is just around the corner (there is a saying "Sell in May and walk away!") so take these recommendations with utmost caution and analysts say we're still due for a major correction, but nobody knows for sure what will happen, so might as well put some of my money in my picks:


CPG
Century Properties already released its financials and at P2.04 per share, its P/E is at 10.7. I believe the stock is undervalued and may reward greatly if you hold it long term. The company is expected to earn P3B by 2015. I believe CPG is one of the "rising companies" of the Philippines.

EDC
If you can get this below P6.4 per share then I believe it's a good deal. Its sell down due to Bacman problem may be overly done, and at a technical point of view, the upside is great. But personally, I don't like the management of EDC, FGEN, LPZ and related companies... if you know what I mean.

AEV
Among the blue chips / companies in the PSE index, Aboitiz Equity Ventures has one of the lowest P/E of 12.5 at its current price of 54.3. One thing to note with Aboitiz companies is they are not very popular, I think they should do more PR and commercials for people to notice and invest in them.

VLL
Vista Land released its financials and its P/E is very low which means it's a very good deal. Warning though: This April, VLL's stock price already increased from P5.4 to P6.07 but even at P6.07 the P/E is 11.8, still relatively low so there's still opportunity to buy.



My strategy in this kind of market (very unpredictable) is to have 50% cash, and the other 50% I do averaging on my picks. E.g. buy 10% of my picks now, then if the price goes down significantly buy another 10% and so on. Maybe I'll allocate if stock prices go down in May or if there's a big correction.

I just hold what I have 'til maybe end of the year or next.