STI closed at around 3210 points by the end of October 2013. Although it seems that STI had gained some ground this month as the US government shutdown issue had been deferred further, it is really a bad month for retail investors in Singapore. This is because of the meltdown of the penny stock segment of the market, mainly due to the trading curbs imposed by broking firms on the now infamous trio of designated counters. Chaos were witnessed by me personally at the cashier of a broking house, where investors have to queue to place cash upfront in order to buy those designated stocks. Contra losses were aplenty, with punters trying their luck again at these speculative counters even after their designated status were lifted. It had been an eye opening experience for me indeed as a full-time investor.

For this month, I have attended the following AGMs/EGMs/briefings - VARD ......