Philip Chua Business Blog

Archive for December, 2009

The stock market zigzagged in a tight range on the last day of the year as weekly unemployment claims fell to the lowest level since July 2008.









Trading day – Business – Investing – Stocks and Bonds – Equities

The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits dropped unexpectedly last week, a sign the job market is healing as the economy slowly recovers.

Jobless claims – Unemployment benefits – Labour economics – Layoff – Insurance

THERE was very little to distinguish yesterday’s session from Tuesday’s – the Straits Times Index (STI) rose, the broad market was mixed, volume was low and dealers who decided not to go on vacation spent the whole day wondering if perhaps they had made the wrong decision.
Other features reminiscent not just of Tuesday but also of previous days included a relatively heavier concentration of effort… more

(SINGAPORE) Food prices have risen consistently over the past few months. And given erratic climatic conditions, they could become even more of a concern going forward.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4 per cent in November from October. The increase was attributed mainly to the higher cost of housing, recreation and other items, and food.

As a result of dearer vegetables, fruits and ric… more

(SINGAPORE) The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is seeking sweeping new powers to seize insurers in distress and to supervise their liquidation to protect policyholders.
It also wants to raise the limits on the compensation offered by the policy owners’ protection fund (PPF) schemes for both life and general insurers, to better protect policy owners.
The PPF schemes were introduced in the In… more

TRADERS should pay more attention when handling large orders to prevent market manipulation, according to the Singapore Exchange (SGX) yesterday.
The bourse operator said trading members and representatives should query clients on orders that may ‘adversely impact the market’.
‘Trading members and trading representatives are free to employ different trading strategies,’ said the SGX in a note post… more

TRADERS were all but wearing Santa Claus suits yesterday as they embraced the Christmas mood and sent the market to a 17-month high.
Funds, too, got in the act by window- dressing blue chips to make the last full trading day before the holiday a festive one. The result was a 17.74-point rise in the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) to 2,841.56.
But it would not be Christmas without the presence … more

The dollar had an excellent week, its best since January. The US currency rose 2% or more against every major currency except the Canadian Dollar; against the loonie it gained only 1.8%. Several factors sent the dollar soaring: end of the year profit taking and position squaring; sovereign debt concerns…

Monetary policy ‘exit strategies’ are almost certain to be one of the dominant themes in 2010. Among the major developed country central banks, the ECB and Federal Reserve have already embarked on such strategies, although the latter continues to mull whether additional purchases of agency debt and MBS will be…

Durable goods orders fell by 0.6% mom in October, and as non-defense aircraft orders jumped by about 50%, the decline ex transportation was actually 1.3% mom. Capital goods orders decreased noticeably, and business investment appears to have been rather weak in the last quarter of 2009. However, given that the…