No changes in our positions

No changes as markets seem to be inching up prior to tonight for Ben bernanke's speech. If he delivers good news (which we hoped), it should push markets to the next level!

Samsung to keep on the race..

A little competition keeps Apple in the game.

Full article here: Samsung Unveils Pen-Equipped Phone To Keep Lead On Apple

Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) unveiled a new version of the pen-equipped Galaxy Note smartphone as it seeks to defend its lead over Apple Inc. (AAPL) amid global patent disputes with the iPhone maker.

The model has a 5.5-inch screen, larger than its predecessor, and runs the latest version ofGoogle Inc. (GOOG)’s Android operating system. The device is loaded with software that recognizes handwriting from a digital pen.

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Visitors try out Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy Note smartphones at the World IT Show 2012 in Seoul, South Korea. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

16:47

Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Vel Hogan, foreman of the jury in the Apple Inc. versus Samsung Electronics Co. patent infringement trial, talks about the trial and jury's verdict. The jury found Samsung infringed Apple's patents and ordered the South Korean company to pay more than $1 billion. Hogan speaks with Emily Chang on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg West." (Source: Bloomberg)

“The Note has evolved from every smartphone that we have launched,” Min Cho, a senior manager for Samsung’s mobile unit, said in an interview at the IFA consumer-electronics fair in Berlin yesterday. “We can address more consumers and more market opportunities because we can provide the capability of smartphones and tablets at the same time.”

Samsung, the world’s top smartphone seller, is offering a variety of Galaxy handsets, with different sizes and features, to attract consumers from narrower choices offered by Apple. The new Galaxy Note may also help to cushion the impact of a potential U.S. sales ban on some of Samsung’s other smartphones. Apple won more than $1 billion in damages Aug. 24 after a jury found the Suwon, South Korea-based company infringed six of seven patents at stake in the trial.

More than 10 million units of the first Galaxy Note were sold in the first nine months, helping Samsung regain the lead in global smartphone sales from Apple this year. The updated digital pen will allow consumers to hover over the screen to preview content and will be available for third-party applications.

Legal Dispute

Apple is seeking a U.S. sales ban on eight models of Samsung. The list includes several devices in the bestselling Galaxy lineup, though not the Note smartphone. Apple’s request for a permanent ban on U.S. sales of some Galaxy devices will be considered at a Dec. 6 court hearing.

Is this a conspiracy theory?

4 years have passed.. now China is to be blamed?

Full article here: China — Not Wall Street — Caused 2008 Crisis: Study

Thought the global financial crisis in 2008 was caused by subprime bonds, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and other Wall Street engineering? Think again.

According to a new study, China, not Wall Street bankers, was responsible for the global crisis and the ensuing recession.

The study from the Erasmus Research Institute of Management says the saving frenzy of the Chinese created the cheap money, which fuelled the U.S. housing bubble and its collapse.

Heleen Mees, writer of the study and assistant economics professor at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, says that exotic mortgage products could hardly have been the cause of the U.S. housing market bubble and the its ultimate collapse.

According to the study, mortgages with those special features — like mortgage-backed securities and CDOs — accounted for less than five percent of the total number of new mortgages from 2000 to 2006.

What Markets Really Think Bernanke Will Say on Friday

This Friday will be pretty interesting to watch out...

Full article here: CNBC

The drum roll to Ben Bernanke’s Friday speech in Jackson Hole is getting louder, and yet there is not much new the Fed chairman is likely to share with markets.

James Keith | Flickr Open | Getty Images Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Bernanke speaks at 10 a.m. ET Friday at the Fed’s annual symposium in Wyoming, and traders are hoping for some new insight into what the Federal Reserve (learn more) is thinking, including whether and when the Fed might take further easing steps.

However, economists and Fed watchers don’t expect Bernanke to say much new, as the Fed continues to weigh incoming economic data ahead of its Sept. 12 meeting.

“I don’t think Bernanke is going to be signaling what the Fed is going to do. lt’s too close and it’s too close a call for him to be signaling anything,” said Bruce Kasman, chief economist at JPMorgan.

Bernanke’s speech follows weeks of speculation about whether the Fed will carry out another round of quantitative easing (learn more), or asset purchases.

(Confronting the Crisis: Tune in all day Thursday and Friday to CNBC for coverage on the Fed at Jackson Hole.)

Update on Yangzijiang

We decided to cut our position in this stock as it reached our cut price and doesn't seem to hold its resistance..

Apple Seeks Ban On Sales Of Eight Samsung Phones In U.S.

Full article here: Bloomberg

Apple Inc. (AAPL) is seeking a U.S. sales ban on eight models of Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) smartphones and the extension of a preliminary ban on a tablet computer after winning a patent trial against the South Korean company.

Apple, which won more than $1 billion Aug. 24 after a jury found Samsung infringed six of seven patents at stake in the trial, named the phones it wants barred in a filing yesterday with U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California. The list includes several devices in the bestselling Galaxy lineup.

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Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy S II smartphones are arranged for a photograph at the company's Galaxy Zone showroom in Seoul, on Oct. 28, 2011. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

5:42

Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Per Lindberg, an analyst at ABG Sundal Collier Partners LLP, discusses the copyright infringement dispute between Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc., and its possible impact on Nokia Oyj. He speaks with Guy Johnson on Bloomberg Television's "The Pulse." (Source: Bloomberg)

1:07

Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Jon Erlichman reports that Apple is seeking a ban on U.S. sales of eight Samsung devices. He speaks on Bloomberg Television's "Bottom Line." (Source: Bloomberg)

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Samsung has used Google Inc.’s Android free operating system to build phones that propelled it to the number one spot in the phone market. Photographer: Chiho Jeong/Bloomberg

Enlarge image

An Apple Inc.iPad 2, left, and a Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer. Cupertino, California-based Apple won a ban on U.S. of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in June that the South Korean company said wouldn’t have a significant impact on its business. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

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The Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy S III smartphone at the company's Galaxy Zone showroom in Seoul. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

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The effect on Samsung’s sales will be negligible because Apple’s list only includes older devices that will account for less than 1.4 percent of the Korean company’s profits next year, said Mark Newman, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein who used to work at Samsung. The impact would be 6.3 percent if Apple manages to broaden a ban to newer devices and block 80 percent of all Samsung phones, he said.

“The older models aren’t selling much now, and the penalty will only be a one-time cost,” Im Jeong Jae, a Seoul-based fund manager at Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management Co., which oversees about $29 billion, said by phone today. “There won’t be big damage to Samsung’s sales and operating profit.”

‘Necessary Measures’

Samsung gained 1.3 percent to 1,195,000 won at the close ofSeoul trading, while the benchmark Kospi index fell 0.1 percent. The stock dropped 7.5 percent yesterday. In German trading today, Apple was little changed, changing hands at the equivalent of $677.42 as of 10:27 a.m. in Frankfurt.

“We will take all necessary measures to ensure the availability of our products in the U.S. market,” Nam Ki Yung, a Seoul-based spokesman for Samsung, said in an e-mailed statement today.

The U.S. verdict’s potential impact on Samsung’s research spending and its plans for new products is negative for the company, Moody’s Investors Service said in a statement today. It won’t immediately affect its credit rating or outlook because the Suwon, South Korea-based company has “a strong diversified business position and substantial financial cushion to absorb the cash damages,” Moody’s said.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, won a ban on U.S. sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in June that the South Korean company said wouldn’t significantly affect its business. Apple, which seeks to make that ban permanent, said in a court filing yesterday that Koh should also bar U.S. sales of a version of the tablet that runs on mobile networks, even though the product wasn’t covered by the Aug. 24 verdict.

Device Ban

Samsung sought to have the ban on the Tab 10.1 lifted on Aug. 26 after the jury found the device didn’t infringe the Apple design patent on which the June 26 court-ordered sales ban was based. The jury instead found that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringed three of Apple’s software patents.

Koh hasn’t ruled on any of the requests. She scheduled a Sept. 20 hearing for arguments on the potential bans, adding that the date may change.

Of the 28 Samsung devices Apple says are infringing, the eight targeted for a U.S. sales ban include the Galaxy Prevail, which was the list’s top seller by units in the U.S. from mid- 2010 to mid-2012, generating revenue of $378 million, according to data submitted by Samsung in a court filing.

Apple’s List

Apple’s list includes the Galaxy S II Epic 4G, ranked by Samsung as the third-best seller by units in the U.S. among the disputed products; the Galaxy S 4G, the fourth-best; and the Galaxy S II T-Mobile, the eighth-best during the past two years.

The other devices include the Galaxy S Showcase, the S II AT&T, the S II Skyrocket and the Droid Charge. Some of the models began selling in the U.S. more than a year ago.

Of the $1.05 billion in damages awarded against Samsung, the eight phones accounted for $461 million. Combined sales of the models totaled 9.1 million units from mid-2010 to mid-2012.

The U.S. accounted for about 12 percent of Samsung’s smartphone sales in the second quarter, according to SK Securities Co. The company’s biggest market in the first half was western Europe at about 23 percent, followed by the Asia- Pacific region at 22 percent and China at 16 percent, according to HMC Investment Securities Co. in Seoul.

The latest Galaxy S III phone wasn’t targeted by Apple in the trial and isn’t on the proposed ban list. That exclusion is “a positive for Samsung,” Newman said.

Fear Is Creeping Back Into Equity Markets

Full article here: Fear Is Creeping Back Into Equity Markets 

Are equity investors getting worried? Are they turning bearish after weeks of optimism?

Yes, they are, indicates the latest movement in the Volatility Index also known as the “fear index,” which measures investor sentiment and their expectations of stock market volatility.

Bryce Duffy | Stone | Getty Images

The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s Volatility Index [VIX  16.35  ---  UNCH    ] , better known as the VIX, has risen over 20 percent from a low hit on August 17.  It jumped 13 percent last week alone, suggesting fear is creeping back among investors.

Analysts say a rise in the VIX, which is a good indicator of risk appetite, points to a likely correction in equity markets.

“Historically, when you get the VIX at these levels there is usually a pull-back of around 10-15 percent (in stock markets),” Steven Brice, Chief Investment Strategist at Standard Chartered Wealth Management Group told CNBC Asia’s“Squawk Box” on Tuesday.

Fidelity: Asian Credit : Views Across The Spectrum

Full article below: Fidelity: Asian Credit : Views Across The Spectrum

Asian credit has seen strong demand so far this year as investors continue to look beyond the traditional safe havens for more attractive risk-adjusted returns. Bryan Collins, portfolio manager of the FF Asian High Yield Fund, the FF Asian Bond Fund and the FF China RMB Bond Fund, shares his latest market outlook.

As the Asian markets continue to develop, more opportunities are becoming available for investors.
The FF China RMB Bond, FF Asian Bond and FF Asian High Yield Funds each offer unique risk/return profiles giving investors the ability to blend and tailor risks to suit their individual needs.
In light of current market conditions, investors who seek margins of relative safety should consider
higher quality investment grade corporate debt given reasonable yield levels and the predictability
that stems from good credit quality. This is an especially important consideration when investing in
burgeoning markets such as Dim Sum or offshore RMB bonds, where investors would be welladvised to seek better structural protection as market standards are still developing. For this very
reason, our China RMB Bond Fund, along with our Asian Bond Fund, maintains a core focus on
higher quality investment grade bonds. For investors with a higher risk appetite, Asian high yield
bonds still offer attractive levels of regular income, however the asset class is subject to higher
volatility from the market’s risk-on risk-off tendencies. Nevertheless, periods of higher volatility
generally prove to be attractive entry opportunities into high yield for more seasoned investors. 

Lackluster performance today..

Not much action today, volume wasn't that decent across most of the stocks and it was trading in a narrow band. Even for the new IPO - Far East HTrust wasn't performing that well but it did close higher than its IPO price of $0.93. Our positions remained the same as previous and looking at Europe and US markets at the moment, it seems pretty optimistic and we will see how things go from here! 

What does Apple's win tell us?

Are we going to see less competition since Apple managed to beat Samsung? 

Full article here: Apple's $1B patent verdict could corner market

SAN JOSE, Calif. - It was the $1 billion question Saturday: What does Apple Inc.'s victory in an epic patent dispute over its fiercest rival mean for the U.S. smartphone industry?

Analysts from Wall Street to Hong Kong debated whether a jury's decision that Samsung Electronics Co. ripped off Apple technology would help Apple corner the U.S. smartphone market over Android rivals, or amount to one more step in a protracted legal battle over smartphone technology.

Many analysts said the decision could spell danger for competitors who, like Samsung, use Google Inc.'s Android operating system to power their cellphones.

"I am sure this is going to put a damper on Android's growth," New York-based Isi Group analyst Brian Marshall said, "It hurts the franchise."

Sometimes it's best not doing anything at all?

There's a lot of debate on whether QE3 should happen or not. Knowing the fact that there were two rounds of QE that has been done over the past 4 years and it was done on the basis that the whole economy is on the verge of collapse. 

If the feds decided that QE3 wouldn't happen or adopt a wait-and-watch approach, should we all be glad that the economy cycle is coming back to normal? Or we want more liquidity into the economy but eventually causing hyper inflation (which is pretty obvious in many countries) and spinning out of control? 

Full article here: Why Markets Should Cheer QE3 Is Not Coming Soon

Global equity markets are taking a hit from fading expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will act again in coming months to boost growth – but maybe investors should be cheering at this prospect, say some analysts.

Comstock | Getty Images

They argue that another round of monetary stimulus, widely expected in the form of quantitative easing (QE) by the Fed, would signal dire straits for the U.S. economy and so, the absence of such a move should be taken as a positive sign by investors.

“Any form of QE is a last resort: an admission that other monetary tools are not working. No QE suggests there is no panic,” said Peter Esho, Chief Market Analyst at City Index in Sydney. “So the fact that they (the Fed policymakers) are not pushing ahead with QE is positive and the market tends to forget that.”

Quantitative easing, the buying of government securities to inject capital into financial markets, is seen by economists as an unconventional monetary policy tool used by central banks to boost growth when conventional monetary policy has become ineffective.

Apple wins.. (again)

Sometimes I really wonder this patent thing is actually killing creativity or killing competition? Once again, Apple scored another goal against Samsung and the price to pay is .. $1.05 billion! 

Full article here: Apple Wins $1 Billion as Jury Finds Samsung Violated Patents

Getty Images

Apple scored a sweeping legal victory over Samsung Electronics on Friday as a U.S. jury found the Korean company had copied critical features of the hugely popular iPhone and iPad and awarded the U.S. company $1.05 billion in damages.

As for the countersuit, the jury found Appledid not violate any of Samsung's wireless standards or feature patents.

Shares of Apple [AAPL  663.222    0.592  (+0.09%)   ], which this week became the biggest company by market value in history, hit an all-time high of $675 in after-hours trading. Click here for the latest after-hours quote.

The verdict, which came much sooner than expected, could lead to an outright ban on sales of key Samsung products and will likely solidify Apple's dominance of the exploding mobile computing market.

STI's performance on Friday

Late post but better than never, our positions remained the same for the Singapore market and volume was once again pretty low in Singapore but the gap down was very minimal. 

Looking at Genting - possible breakout this coming Monday and hitting our target price! CNMC has been trending up and we believe that it will hit our target price pretty soon if market conditions are still favorable! 

Have a great weekend! 

Singapore inflation falls...

Even though inflation in Singapore has fallen to 4% in July but it doesn't seem like I'm paying lesser in Singapore though..

Full article here: Singapore Inflation Slows Sharply in July 

Singapore's consumer price index rose 4.0 percent in July from a year earlier, the slowest gain in nearly two years, as housing and transport costs rose at a slower pace.

William Cho | Flickr | Getty Images

July's inflation number was below the 4.4 percent median forecast of 11 economists polled by Reuters as well as June's 5.3 percent.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) core inflation measure rose 2.4 percent year-on-year and was 0.2 month-on-month, compared with June when core inflation rose 2.7 percent year-on-year and was flat month-on-month.    

Core inflation excludes the cost of accommodation and private road transport, which are strongly influenced by government policy, and is the figure the MAS pays more attention to when deciding monetary policy.

IEV Holdings Ltd

One counter that we have a position on is IEV Holdings. Pretty interesting where we open a position midday after noticing some trends and fitting into our model. 

Company name: IEV Holdings Ltd
Company code: IEVH.SI
About: IEV Holdings Limited (IEV) offers a range of integrated engineering solutions (IES) to support the offshore oil and gas industry in the Asia Pacific region. The Company provides engineering services to companies in the offshore oil and gas sector, such as offshore platform operators and engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) contractors. It has operations in Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam and sales and representative agreements with its agents in Europe, United States, India and China to promote and market its MGC products and services. The Company’s IES is categorized into six main divisions: jacket and pipeline installation solutions (JPIS), structural integrity solutions (SIS), inspection, repair and maintenance solutions (IRMS), life extension solutions (LES), decommissioning solutions (DS) and rigless well intervention solutions (RWIS). In March 2012, it incorporated IEV Energy Investment Pte. Limited in Singapore.

Possible good entry price: $0.565

Target price: $0.62

Cut price for us: $0.51 

Estimated holding time: 1 month or less

Looking at its chart today, we manage to see that it has broken its 50d MA and stayed above today. Resistance was met at $0.585 and retracted to close at $0.57. Looking at its movement currently, it seems to have consolidated for more than a week and today it broke out but hit the resistance that could be seen 2 weeks back. Will we be expecting that it would be hitting $0.585 again and not break out from there? Hard to determine that while we look at the current European and US markets which is down close to 0.8% - 1% at the moment, we still think there's a good chance to hit our target price! 

Your thoughts? 

More and more glitches from automated trading

Here's another incident from automated trading - this time is from Citigroup. 

Full article here: Citigroup Slams Nasdaq's Facebook Compensation Plan 

Citigroup slammed Nasdaq OMX Group's plan to compensate firms harmed byFacebook's botched market debut to the tune of $62 million, saying in a regulatory filing the exchange should be liable for hundreds of millions more, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Getty Images

Citi [C  30.31    -0.18  (-0.59%)   ] said Nasdaq's[NDAQ.O  23.02    -0.17  (-0.73%)   ] actions in the May 18 initial public offering amounted to "gross negligence," in the letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which had not yet been made public.    

Citi's market-making arm, Automated Trading Desk, lost around $20 million in the May 18 IPO, a source told Reuters in May. That is just a sliver of the upwards of $500 million that market-making firms - which facilitate trades, backing them with their own capital - and brokers lost in the $16 billion IPO.    

Liabilities at U.S. exchanges, which have some regulatory duties, are capped in most instances. Nasdaq's cap in most instances is $3 million a month.    

Fed Signals Readiness To Ease Without U.S. Growth Pickup

Are we going to expect more monetary easing from the feds? We will probably know soon..

Full article here: Fed Signals Readiness To Ease Without U.S. Growth Pickup

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

U.S. stocks reversed losses yesterday and gold rose to a 16-week high on expectations of further easing by the central bank.

Federal Reserve policy makers signaled readiness to boost record stimulus unless they are convinced the economy is poised to rebound. Recent signs of strength may not be enough to satisfy them.

Many members of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee said further action would probably be needed “fairly soon” without evidence of “substantial and sustainable” improvement in the recovery, according to minutes of the July 31-Aug. 1 meeting released yesterday in Washington.

“The burden of proof is to see a sustained pickup in growth and I don’t think we’re going to get that,” said Eric Green, a former economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York who is now global head of rates and foreign exchange research at TD Securities Inc. in New York.

U.S. stocks reversed losses yesterday and gold rose to a 16-week high on expectations of further easing by the central bank. Attention now turns to Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s Aug. 31 speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he may clarify his thinking on the need for stimulus in view of recent reports showing gains in retail sales and housing.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding

As I was mentioning in the afternoon, we have a position in this stock since yesterday but didn't had the chance to do some analysis on this. 

Company name: Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) Ltd

Company code: YAZG.SI

About: Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) Ltd. is an investment holding company. It is engaged in the agency service for shipbuilding and related activities. It operates in two segments: Shipbuilding segment and Investment segment. The principal activities of shipbuilding segment are that of shipbuilding, ship breaking, offshore marine equipment construction, and ship design. On March 1, 2011, it acquired 40% interest in Jiangsu Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding Co., Ltd, which subsequently increased its interest to 60%. On April 10, 2011, the Company acquired 54.47% interest in Jiangsu Runzhou Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. On July 29, 2011, it acquired 60% interest in CS Marine Technology Pte. Ltd. On August 24, 2011, the Company acquired 31.5% interest in Wuxi Runyuan Technology Micro-finance Co., Ltd. On December 5, 2011, the Company acquired Jiangsu Huayuan Metal Processing Co., Ltd. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company acquired 15 hectares of land to expand its yard-New Yangzi Yard.

Chart source: Reuters

This is an interesting counter for today. Even though the Singapore markets is pretty hot today, with Genting gaping out and Wilmar having some movements as well, we do not see any much movement from YZJ apparently. It was pretty range bound trading and couldn't break above $1.03 today. Looking at the charts, it's hitting a 50d MA and we probably need to see if YZJ could break out. 

Possible good entry price: $1.02 - $1.03 (we are actually in at $1.033 average)

Target price: $1.10

Cut price for us: $0.99 

Estimated holding time: 1 months

There's quite a number of actions today, especially on Wilmar, Genting, CNMC which we did cover. Especially for CNMC, the gap up was pretty good and we are on track for that! We will cover another stock that we have also just entered into a position today, which is IEV. 

Your thoughts? 

Is the tide for equities turning for the better?

Interesting read from Fidelity CIO, Dominic Rossi on his views on Equities amidst all the Euro crisis. 

Full article here: Fidelity CIO Perspective - The Tide Is Turning For Equities
The uncertainty associated with the eurozone crisis has weighed heavily on stock markets. Investors have poured into the safe havens of fixed income, pushing yields on US and German bonds to record lows. Yet, as time has progressed and doomsday scenarios have been avoided, equity markets have switched out of panic mode, and grown accustomed to the possibility of a Greek default and Spanish and Italian bailouts. In my view, these risks are now largely factored into valuations. While we are by no means out of the woods yet, there are more reasons to be cautiously optimistic. The tide is beginning to turn for equities and historically when such a turning point is reached markets can move ahead strongly. 


AT A GLANCE 

• Many of the key risks to equity markets have now been priced into valuations.  
• The leadership of markets has become more encouraging with consumer, healthcare and technology sectors at the forefront of recent rallies.  
• At a time when the yields on key government bonds are scarce, investors are beginning to buy equities for the right reasons – income and security.  
• The time has come to stop thinking about selling equities and to start thinking about buying them. 

Watch out for Yangzijiang..

Currently having positions in this, watch out for the review soon!

Faith or no faith?

Normally if you are a major shareholder in the company, you would likely to holding your shares for good or bad times because you have a vested interest and believe in the company. Well maybe in this era that we are in, we are all interested in making quick bucks rather than believing in the company itself. 

Let's look at the most recent and most prolific company - Facebook. Peter Thiel was the first to sell around $400 million worth of shares after the first restrictions barring insider selling were lifted. Is that a vote of no confidence and triggering more to come? 

Full article here: Facebook's director in spotlight after cashing out

Peter Thiel speaks during a news conference on ''nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to economic research and innovative public policies for the 21st century'' at the National Press Club in Washington October 3, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Yuri Gripas

By Alexei Oreskovic

SAN FRANCISCO | Tue Aug 21, 2012 6:58pm EDT

(Reuters) - Peter Thiel was the first investor to take a gamble on Facebook Inc. Now some people are wondering whether, in selling most of his stake, the Facebook board member is signaling to others that it's time to rush for the exits.

Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal who invested in Facebook in 2004, sold roughly $400 million worth of Facebook shares last week as the first restrictions barring insider selling were lifted.

The sales, which were conducted as part of a stock sale plan that Thiel entered into in May, have dealt another blow to Facebook's reputation among some investors in the wake of a rocky debut that has wiped out roughly 50 percent of its market value. And it has raised questions about whether Thiel's move conflicts with his responsibilities as a Facebook director.

"It's a vote of no-confidence from a board member," said Max Wolff, an analyst at Greencrest Capital.

"If he wants to serve primarily as a self-interested investor, that's fine. But then you can't be the on the board. Boards of directors are not made up of people whose primary interests are in their checkbook," said Wolff, who said he believed Thiel should resign from the board.

A spokesman for Thiel declined to comment.