Philip Chua Business Blog

Posts Tagged ‘asia’

The government said Tuesday that foreign demand for U.S. Treasury securities fell by the largest amount on record in December with China reducing its holdings by $34.2 billion.







China – United States Treasury security – People’s Republic of China – Asia – United States

AMID the general optimism over equities in Asia and the emerging markets, strategists at Barclays Wealth have sounded a note of caution over valuations in Asia. This runs counter to the consensus view that Asian growth is set to outstrip that of developed economies – a point that isn’t in dispute – and that market weakness is a buying opportunity.

Says Aaron Gurwitz, Barclays Wealth managing di… more

STOCKS barely changed last week, with our portfolios edging up 0.4 per cent on average. The median gain was 0.2 per cent.

The lowest forward PE portfolio is the biggest gainer, advancing by 1.7 per cent. Two stocks contributed the bulk of the gain: China Fishery and Hong Leong Asia. The former popped 19.2 per cent while, the latter added 12.2 per cent.

Hong Leong Asia also helped lift the valu… more

EQUITY weightings of private clients’ portfolios are expected to remain elevated relative to bonds going into 2010, in a sign of continuing optimism over global growth and, in particular, growth in Asia and the emerging markets.
Strategists are less upbeat on fixed income assets, citing a backdrop of possible interest rate rises as part of central banks’ exit strategies.
So far, there are a number… more

EVEN as a government-led panel prepares a blueprint for new ways to grow the economy, a think-tank has outlined what Singapore needs to do to remain competitive and relevant in the global marketplace.
Chief among the recommendations of the Asia Competitiveness Institute (ACI) is that businesses must address declining labour productivity levels by going beyond just getting workers to go for trainin… more

STOCKS here started the holiday-shortened week on a bullish note yesterday, propelled by major contract wins at some firms and renewed optimism for the economic recovery boosting banks and commodities-related stocks.

The Straits Times Index (STI) finished 36.34 points or 1.3 per cent higher at 2,797.88, the highest closing level since Aug 14 last year.

Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific yesterday, othe… more

THIS year, for the first time, more than half of the world’s foreign investments will flow into emerging markets. Before, industrialised nations received most of the investments.
Asia in particular, the first continent to recover from the global financial crisis, is set to benefit. Despite the crisis, India and China will grow this year by more than 6 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively, while t… more

President Obama’s trip to Asia is one part introduction, one part diplomatic dialogue and eight parts competitive economics. Whatever agreements are met with leaders of Japan, and South Korean or communiqués are issued from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference (APEC) in Singapore, it is the visit to Beijing that matters….

58% of respondents expect to spend more on research and development in next 12 months
MOST business leaders in the Asia-Pacific believe it will take two to three years for the global economy to recover fully.
In the meantime, many are gearing up for future growth and plan to spend more on research and development in the next 12 months.
These findings come from a survey conducted jointly by Pricewa… more

SINGAPORE may be buzzing amid the arrival of top global leaders for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit but nothing, it seems, can stir the local stock market – and others around the region – from a decidedly lacklustre patch.
Blue-chip stocks around the region stayed trapped within a tight trading range throughout the trading session yesterday.
Even the ailing greenback’s renewed weaknes… more