For the full 2012 fiscal year, the Treasury Department estimates that the deficit will be $1.3 trillion. That would make the fourth straight year of a deficit above $1 trillion. In fiscal 2011, the US government recorded a deficit of $1.3 trillion. The 2010 gap was $1.29 trillion and the 2009 shortfall was a record $1.42 trillion.

The government’s debt ceiling is $16.394 trillion. As of Monday, Treasury held $15.578 trillion in debt subject to the limit, according to a separate report.

Sony’s performance has been dragged down by its television business which has lost money for eight years. The company has been overtaken by more innovative gadget rivals such as Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics.

Sony forecast a 520 billion yen(US$6.4 billion) net loss for the year to end-March 2012. In February it had forecast an annual net loss of 220 billion yen. The additional loss is from write-offs of tax credits in the United States, which the company cannot use because of the losses it has racked up.

Investors will closely monitor a briefing on Thursday by Hirai, who formally took over this month as chief executive from Howard Stringer, for further clues on how Sony plans to revamp its business.

China’s CPI figures in January and February were distorted by the Lunar New Year holiday in late January, when food prices rose sharply. The CPI rose 4.5% in January, before edging down to 3.2% in February due to easing food prices.

The quickening inflation in March may not dissuade Beijing from the view that price pressures in China are in retreat and that support for a slowing economy is the top priority. The average CPI gain in the first two months of this year was 3.85%, which gives a better comparison base for the March figure. March was a relatively cold month in the north so that may have contributed to food CPI being stronger than expected.

A decline in China’s producer price index in March also helps ease concerns about a sharp spike in inflationary pressures in the near future. The producer price index fell 0.3% in March from a year earlier, after a flat reading in February. The median forecast from 15 economists in a Dow Jones Newswires survey was also for a 0.3% decline.

The decline in the PPI was the first since November 2009.

3月份，中国居民消费价格总水平环比上涨0.2%。其中，城市上涨0.2%，农村上涨0.1%；食品价格上涨0.2%，非食品价格上涨0.2%；消费品价格上涨0.3%，服务项目价格持平。

The index, which reflects the daily freight market rates of capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize dry bulk transport vessels, has fallen more than 46 percent this year.

The gauge dropped 0.3 per cent to 931 on 3/Apr, according to the London-based Baltic Exchange. Markets are shut for this week’s first three days in China, the world’s biggest importer of raw materials from coal to soybeans. The exchange will be closed on April 6 and April 9 for Easter.

Vessel bookings slowed because of the holidays, limiting the availability of new cargoes, the exchange said in a report to members this week.

Supramaxes and Handysizes, the two smallest ship types in the index, led declines after demand for the vessels helped to lift the gauge by 25 per cent in March, the most in seven months.

Some of these companies information can be found in Singapore Catalist Stock Exchange Listing hosted in Singapore DIRepublic. Quite useful Singapore investment directory. Hope that Main Board information will also be available there.

While the move has been anticipated by markets since last week’s deal in Washington agreed a cut of only $2.5trillion in the deficit, it’s unclear how markets will react when they open on Monday. The loss of the top-notch rating may cause panic on the markets with traders fearing the world’s biggest economy may be heading back to recession.

In an interview, Warren Buffett told the FOX Business Network that the US is still in triple A rating.

In fact, the US debt default is unlikely. The US owes no money in currency other than the US dollar. The US government can print any amount of currency notes at will to repay its obligations at any one time.

According to Buffett, “I don’t get it. It doesn’t make sense. In Obama, the U.S. is still Triple-A rated and if there were a Quadruple-A I’d give the U.S. that.”

By the way, the US’s debt is still rated AAA by Moody’s and Fitch, the two other largest agencies.

A lot of investment books may teach us how to compute the value of a company based on the sum of all of the earnings we expect to collect from that business over its lifetime. However, this is only based on guesses – something we expect on the business of the company. However, nobody really know the future of anything, not to mentione 10 years, 20 years or 30 years from now. Small changes in the calculation of future earnings will result in big different estimation of the value of a company. As such, valuation of a company only based on current earning and future expected earnings may not be accurate and meaningful!

As an investor looking for value, we may need more methods in valuing a company.

A lot of people are panic and do not dare to buy. Everyone worried about the situation at the moment.

As in Singapore market, bargain are everywhere. A lot of counters are selling less than their NTA. Having said that, it does not guarantee a good return for short term buying. Although value investors enjoy declining markets so that they can accumulate more stocks which fit their valuation criteria. It is always difficult to invest more during this difficult period as most of our existing equity may go down with the trend too.

Nobody can predict the future. No one can escape every market correction. However, during this period of correction time, it may be a good opportunity for us to accumulate more great companies at unbelievable prices.

Anyway, please remember to only invest within your capacity!

The aggregate sum of the consideration approximately S$38,341,0601.With this transaction, assuming that the Proposed Divestment had been completed on 30 June 2010, based on the audited consolidated financial statements of the Group for the financial year ended 30 June 2010, the effect on the NTA per Share as at 30 June 2010 would be 36.35 cents.