Like it or not, we should be in a recession by now although the US government has yet to officially admit that we are already in one. We know that it is election year and the Republican government would want to paint as beautiful a picture as possible.

Investors enjoyed a much needed respite on 24 March after returning from the Easter holidays. Spurred by strong gains on Wall Street as well as bargain hunting, the STI rallied by more than 100 points to close higher at 2,927.79.

It was reported that more than 900,000 homes have been reported to being unable to service their monthly mortgages while another 300,000 or so have been late in making mortgage payments.

At times like these - when investors shun the stock market and analysts begin to issue a string of ‘downgrade’ calls - it is rather disheartening to look at the stock screen where a sea of red greets you nearly every morning.

From the manufacture and sale of raw materials such as quarry, ready-mix concrete, pre-cast concrete, cement, granite and steel products, BGM has become a supplier of a comprehensive range of building materials and has contributed tremendously to Singapore’s growth.

We have seen some strong price movement in Jade Technologies recently. The share price rose from $0.08 to $0.22 within seven trading days. However, the share prices of the other penny stocks have yet to move, partly due to poor trading sentiment and fear.

The stock market hates uncertainties, which explains why Asian bourses did not rise in tandem with the US market despite the latter rising for two consecutive days just before the Fed rate cut decision.

Dear readers, Iʼm sure that most of you have been pulling out your hair or pushed to your witʼs end by the recent volatile market. The 2-day drop on 21 and 22 Jan-08 scraped off $36 billion from the Straits Times Index while US$2.4 trillion was wiped out in the global markets.

Great fortune teller? Sorry, Shares Investment is not able to provide you with one, but we are able to provide you with a stock market almanac.

Despite arguments that suggest the US is not yet in a recession, we need to be very, very mindful of issues that can tilt the balance between a recession and continued growth.