[singaporean1964]

these durian kid dunno how high is the sky or never saw a tiger ah
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/in...paign=stfb&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR01F9iWtYhVqtsbGTco0wKl_zHsoq4Dee9tFycuTKdaHzV9oEdHrfj74Pw

[p1acebo]

Can someone please paste the entire article.  Not willing to pay to read 160th media.

https://mustsharenews.com/singapore-worl...s-freedom/

[singaporean1964]

i remember many yrs ago
1 young chap also rake up 60k debt in the futures market
he went to raffles hotel
check into a room in the 60th floor
and jump down
his body landed on a car down stairs
the bellboy that was standing next to it fainted

[theold]

i remember many yrs ago
1 young chap also rake up 60k debt in the futures market
he went to raffles hotel
check into a room in the 60th floor
and jump down
his body landed on a car down stairs
the bellboy that was standing next to it fainted

That guy, army officer. 60K only and he jumped?

[Sharexchange]

I bankrupt also never jump. Why they so hard up about money?

[sgbuffett]

i remember many yrs ago
1 young chap also rake up 60k debt in the futures market
he went to raffles hotel
check into a room in the 60th floor
and jump down
his body landed on a car down stairs
the bellboy that was standing next to it fainted

Many young people when they start under estimate the difficulty of trading the market...

Even for myself I knew it was difficult and spend a good period to study but it proved harder than I expected resulting in mixed results.

[Clyde]

SINGAPORE - Two young Singaporeans have become record-holders of sorts after they dabbled in risky and complex investments that bewilder even many adults.

The duo, both 22, traded in the foreign exchange (forex) and futures markets to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars at a time when most of their peers were studying and still receiving monthly allowances from their parents.

What on earth could go wrong? Plenty as it turned out.

Instead of rolling in cash and becoming the envy of their friends, the men are in the limelight for all the wrong reasons with their names added to the roll call of infamy by the Credit Counselling Singapore (CCS) for being the youngest big debtors here.

One used his credit card to bet on the forex market and chalked up a debt of $30,000, while the other chap blew $50,000 when his investment in futures contracts went up in smoke.

But the chap with the higher debt had a get-out clause: His wealthier parents dug into their savings to pay off the debt. That allowed him to escape the strict regime of the CCS debt management programme, which compels debtors to apportion their income for essential expenses and gradually pay off their debts, usually over a few years.

The digital age, with detailed information just a click away, has meant that many youngsters are far more knowledgeable about complex financial processes than their parents.

While forex and futures trades used to be made almost exclusively by banks, corporations and investment funds, online trading platforms that have mushroomed all over the world have made it possible for ordinary folk to play in these high-stake arenas.

Take forex. This used to be for the big boys exclusively due to high amounts that exchanged hands to facilitate payments for goods and services from different countries. But small investors can also muscle in now because, collectively, their investments can add up to hundreds of millions of dollars in the pool when digital trading platforms amass such customers from all over the world.

The situation is the same with futures trading, which involves betting whether prices of commodities like gold or oil go up or down in the near future.

In a way, this is riskier than a forex trade because if you make a bet in the wrong direction, you can lose your entire capital plus more.

Don't fret if this brief explanation still fails to help you understand how these trades work - just go to YouTube, type "forex" or "futures" and you will get a long list of videos from various people who profess to be able to make you an expert after watching their online guides.
Why young people make risky bets

The proliferation of such free investment videos also explains why youngsters know more about complex trading than their parents, who are probably more at ease with traditional stock markets.
More on this topic
Why the young in Singapore don't view 'debt' as a problem
Young adults in S'pore have started retirement planning; not confident on managing debt: Survey

There are four reasons why forex and futures appeal to youngsters more:
1 Smaller bets

Some platforms accept trades that start from $100. Such small amounts appeal to young investors as most do not have deep pockets. Traditional stock markets are out of reach for many because the value of transactions is much higher, especially for blue chips.
2 Ability to trade higher

You may just have $1,000 in your trading account but you can still make a $10,000 trade with the leverage offered by trading platforms.

This is because even if you make a 5 per cent loss, or $500, you still have the means to pay for it. But if you make a $500 gain, it means you have made a 50 per cent gain from your initial sum.

Having a leverage to trade up is probably the most attractive draw for young investors who do not have so much money to play with.
3 Round-the-clock trade

Unlike stock markets with their fixed trading hours, you can make forex and futures trades any time of the day or night. This appeals to youngsters who are studying or working as they can then trade at all hours.
4 The notion - wrong, of course - that it is easy to make money

Most investment videos have an overly optimistic tone; in explaining how the trades work, viewers will get a sense that they are done according to set rules and that it's easy to spot how prices will move next.

The reality is anything but. These trades are highly volatile and prices can swing wildly due to breaking world events that impact global markets. And over-leveraging is the reason why many investors suffer huge losses when such events happen.
Most losers always start by winning

This seems ironic but it is often true that those who end up with huge debts always start by making the big bucks in the beginning.

After all, if your first foray into an investment wipes out all your money, you are unlikely to go back in again.

But the easy wins are usually the reason that causes the downfall, especially when young investors are lulled into thinking that making more money is a piece of cake.

This is how many young people end up in debt, says CCS principal counsellor Lim Cheng Boon, who has been helping people get out of the debt trap for 17 years.

"It is always the same story when it comes gambling or speculating in the financial markets. They always make money in the beginning and so they feel good and start to trade more and more," notes Mr Lim.

"But many of them don't realise that when they start to make bigger bets, all it takes is just one loss and they can go into debt, especially when they have traded more than what they can afford."
More on this topic
Personal debt soars among young S'pore adults during pandemic
More teens in Singapore holding debit cards

The pandemic has apparently driven many young people into making their first investments because they are worried about job prospects and this makes them eager to grow whatever savings they have.

In the old days, investors literally had to walk into coffee shops to get tips on the popular stocks to bet on.

It is far easier to get investment tips these days - young investors are usually members and frequent visitors of the many online forums that have discussions on top picks that have yielded profits.

Mr Lim says: "If you talk to these investors, you will know that they don't look at the Singapore market but the US market. To them, it is more exciting as the market there keeps going up and up."

For some, working from home has given them the freedom to make more trades because they don't need to worry about the prying eyes of bosses or colleagues.

Frankly, if making such trades starts to become more important than work, it is a sign that you have become a gambler and not an investor.

The purpose of investing is to gradually grow your savings so that you will have more freedom to choose a more comfortable lifestyle when you are older.

It can seldom replace the good old-fashioned income from your career and hard work.

As Mr Lim puts it, money that comes easy to you will usually also go away in the same easy manner.
More on this topic
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[RiseofAsia]

Never use borrowed $$$ to do "investment"
Those successful ppl can success mainly due to good luck. Luck is unpredictable.
Many ppl know using EBI model is the route to success. But not everyone can success if you lack of luck.

[SotongOngTee]

i remember many yrs ago
1 young chap also rake up 60k debt in the futures market
he went to raffles hotel
check into a room in the 60th floor
and jump down
his body landed on a car down stairs
the bellboy that was standing next to it fainted

Walaneh......have not noticed Raffles Hotel with 60 floors.

[theold]

Now called Swissôtel.

[starbugs]

If someone as experienced as OK Lim from Hin Leong can make losses from futures until he went bankrupt, most retail investors don't stand a chance. That's what I told one friend who started dabbling in futures and asked for my advice. He just laughed it off and I knew he is a gone case.