Stock under-valuations no guarantee of solid returns

Rarely, would the recommendations be of "strong sell", "sell", "neutral" or "fully valued". However, there are a few who are more probing and daring with their advice.

When I first went into the market, I was truly excited about "upside gains" and I was badly burnt.

I learnt that analysts' reports tend to rely on past earnings rather than prospective performance. As Warren Buffett said: if the past is a way to prosperity, all the librarians should be rich by now.

Prospectively, the analysts' estimations are guesswork of little substance and they tend to be aggressive.

With the world economy currently in a state of havoc, plus our unsettled local politics, I would not dare to state that the situation has now reached the bottom or that recovery is in sight.

I also would not dare to list companies with their guessed "upside gains" on a table.

However, neither would I state that the market is bottomless since there will always be a recovery and I believe in equity.

Timing truly is the key. One has to ask whether the situations on all fronts are stable now.

I would say otherwise, as one can read them from your press reports daily. The way to invest in Thai equity is just to gauge when Thailand and the rest of the world shall return to a state of normalcy - then go slowly, as cautioned by one and only one broker in that article.

Songdej Praditsmanont

Bangkok

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Justice system working where politics has failed

Pornpimol Kanchanalak's latest "Tell it as it is" column - "Are these the penultimate days of Thailand's gloom?" (Opinion, July 10) - is a brilliant piece of thinking and writing. Depressing, to be sure, but often the raw truth can be.

She wrote, in part: "Reconciliation is impossible if all parties insist on itemising every difference."

 I would offer the opinion that reconciliation is impossible, in any case, because to do so is to betray Thailand. To compromise with the current government, its cronies, and its puppet-master is to betray Thailand by destroying the rule of law and further degrading social and economic justice and fairness.

Thus, the courts seem to be the only means of removing those who see Thailand and Thais as something to exploit for personal benefit from positions of power.

We have seen a good start lately and one hopes that the process will continue, resulting in full and adequate punishment of the miscreants.

JH

Bangkok

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World Heritage status a boon to regional tourism

I think most people will be pleased that Preah Vihear Temple has finally been now listed as a World Heritage site and that hopefully may put an end to the recent disputes among certain groups in Thailand. I also believe that the new status will bring tremendous interest to the temple and hence benefit both Thailand's and Cambodia's tourism. Such a boost is badly needed now in view of the current hard times.

George Town in Penang, and the Straits of Malacca, also in neighbouring Malaysia, were also newly dubbed World Heritage sites.

This is also good news, as it will certainly generate more publicity and interest in this region.

The most important issue now is for all governments and agencies concerned to strictly ensure that sustainable development prevails in the upkeep of these new star attractions. Otherwise, they might face similar problems to those of existing sites in the region that have been overdeveloped and harmed by uncontrolled tourism activities.

They should instead follow the guidelines of the World Heritage Committee to prevent this from happening.

Jaffee Yee

Chiang Rai

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Further cost-cutting measures for frugal diners

Re: "A call to put a cork in bottle-opening fees", Letters, July 11.

Three cheers for John Shepherd for taking a stand against the high price of alcohol in restaurants and for opting to "enjoy his wine at home" before the meal.

Maybe he'll decide to have his dinner at home too, for surely that must be cheaper than eating in a restaurant.

Sunida

Bangkok