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The Reflection of your Values, do you do Charity?



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May 17 2008
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This weekend will be quite a happy one for most of the employees because Monday is a holiday – Wesak Day. There’s a saying which roughly translates to “On Monday staffs work like a worm but on Friday the staffs work like a dragon” – meaning your staffs are most unproductive on Monday and vice-versa on Friday. In the world of stocks investing and option trading, Friday holds a special place in the hearts of investors simply because it is the last trading day of the week. For the simple reason that risks increases along the time, people normally reluctant to hold their shares during weekend hence the extra volatility. Of course long-term investors such as Warren Buffett would disagree.

AAPL profitAnyway, I closed one of my profitable positions yesterday – AAPL May 155 Call Option which I opened on 17th Apr 2008. Remember that day, the day which saw Google Inc. jumped after the great earnings announcement, thanks to international revenue that contributed 51% for the first time? Immediately thereafter most of the technology stocks followed Google’s tail and one of them was Apple Inc (Nasdaq: AAPL, stock). In short, the profit was 240 percent within about one-month thus I can’t complain much, can I? The last five trading days saw the stock traded between the resistance of $192 and the support of $184. Above $192 and you know the stock is trying to reach the $200 again but if it dives below $184, get ready with lots of Put Option.

AAPL profit stock chartHaving said that I’m still holding a small amount of AAPL JUL 165 Call Options contracts courtesy of the recent earnings. As you can see below, my May 120 Put expired with zero values which I used to hedge against my AAPL Jul 165 Call. How I wish this stock could breach the $200 level and show its muscle again. Now, let’s talk about two natural disasters that hit Myanmar and China recently. Everyone knows how disturbing it was to have such cruel punishments from Mother Nature. Parents lost their beloved children and kids lost their parents. Life was not the same anymore to these unfortunate victims.

AAPL pending profitBelieve it or not, eight out of 10 of my friends did not realize the importance of “charity”. We can debate until the cows come home but the fact is, not many people are aware of the concept to give freely in terms of charity. Just ask any of your friends and chances are most of them are not “willing” to part away with their little treasure (money) unless they’re rewarded first. It’s puzzling to hear people asking why they should donate when they’ve been working so damn hard for it. Gosh! Can you believe how selfish our societies have become? Charitable donations are a direct reflection of your values and it goes a long way to help those unfortunate ones. Don’t just do it for the sake of your religion alone but expand your horizon to other people as well.

I’ve to admit I didn’t donate much in terms of hard-cash during the 2004 tsunami that saw hundreds of thousands of people died in Indonesia alone. On the other hand, I managed to convince scores of my friends to donate in other way – foods. There’re reasons for doing so. First I do not trust the money will leave the hands of Malaysian authorities to the victims. Second I do not trust the money will leave the hands of Indonesian authorities to the unfortunate victims. Call me whatever you like but past donations had proven how creative certain corrupt officials were in doing magic to the monies donated. It’s not that these creatures cannot do the same with instant-noodles, rice, sugar, mineral water, salt etc but at least these consumable products are less liquidable compared to hard-cash.

China EarthquakeChina EarthquakeChina EarthquakeIf you watch the charitable show “live” from Hong Kong today, your jaw would probably drop to the floor on how generous Hongkies are when come to charity. Organizations were donating HK$10 million, HK$5 million and so on and I believe the figures could breach HK$100 million easily. Whether you believe in karma or simply because you believe you need to give something back to the societies, it’s never too late to start doing charity. Don’t think of the returns but give willingly and you shall see the rewards. If you’re still not convinced and to start the ball-rolling, what if I were to tell you that you can claim tax-deduction from your charitable payment? Now you’re smiling.

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Comments

Thanks to the blog owner. What a blog! nice idea.

I agree doing charity has it rewards. I always put aside a small percentage of my gains for charity purpose. That way, it motivates me to earn even more so that I can help more people.

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