Sis aquacharly, could you expound on this further pls.? What platform do you use to directly trade foreign stocks? I hope you could give an insight on how we can do it independently from international banks/brokerages.
HELENCONS, we use Charles Schwab. Contact them thru email, they will gladly send you printed info. And schedule you for a meeting with their representative ELisa, when she swings by the
Phils. You go to HK to open your account and sign the docs. Directly managing your stock portfolio is very satisfying... Tatamarin ka na kung minsan mag work coz the returns are good. Hubby and I trade almOst every night - kanya kanyang portfolio, hehe. Kesa going out drinking or watching ewan ewan movies, como we have insomnia too -- ok na ito. Starts at 930 basta no DST, like now, tapos na DST; and by 930 kidscare off to bed na.

HSBC didn't work out ok for us, before.
Oi interested ako dyan hehe
Paano ang set up sa ganyan? Papa rent sa individual or businesses
(corporate)? Monthly? Paano ma sure na isoli rin nila yun equipment? Paano kung nasira nila?
Well, we rent out heavy equipment (trucks, payloaders, transit mixers, etc); so we have a separate corporation for that. Monthly, but there is a minimum no. Of months -- depends; corporate clients, client pays for transfer and insurance costs, our operator/driver's wages, etc. Big deposit. You gotta choose clients & project sites well. (we will not rent out where lol may risk sunugin ng NPA/MILF our equipment; or put our employees' lives at risk) There are ways to guarantee payment, but mahaba na
to explain here.
Like any business, may challenges of course, negosyo nga. That is what management is all about. Ang unang bantayan mo yung employee mo. Yun una kinocorrupt ng client mo --- ang palusutin yung
billing hours na iba. Oh well, there are ways naman to kahon them para hindi ganun ka easy lokohin ka. But they will try, lol.
Are you referring to UITFs?
Real properties - Which do you think is better (for a possible rental property):[/u] buying & renovating foreclosed houses, buying & building houses or building houses on owned vacant
Bridge Financing - is this like Bank's client lending money to another bank's client? 
I don't go into UITFs now. SDAs, yes. Plus I like trading stocks directly on NYSE, much much better returns.

REAL PROPERTIES: LOCATION is my priority factor considered. If you are abroad, best you do not get properties that require to be worked on pa. Messy. Minor repars are fine though.
BRIDGE FINANCING - yes. The banks do this really. But wll, masyado na silang sigursta.... OPM na, lol: Other People's Money. but this is done for what banks deem are very risk worthy clients; and clients invited to join in the financing are chosen too.