Philip Chua Business Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Monetary’

(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

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…

PRIVATE sector economists expect Singapore to grow even faster next year, as more signs emerge that the economy is returning to normal.
Growth is tipped to hit 5.5 per cent next year after a 2 per cent contraction this year – based on the median expectations of 20 economists, released yesterday by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
This is better than the 4.5 per cent growth they predicted… more

This week sees a particularly busy calendar in the UK, featuring the Chancellor’s Pre-Budget Report (PBR) and the latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. We look for Bank Rate to remain on hold at 0.5% while the MPC continues with its £200bn programme of asset purchases. The PBR, meanwhile, will…

FINANCE Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam yesterday said the government will use every tool at its disposal ‘in a calibrated fashion’ to prevent boom and bust in the property market. One day after the Monetary Authority of Singapore served notice of further action to cool the housing market if needed, in the face of growing speculation risks, Mr Tharman spoke about the need to manage the property cy… more

(SINGAPORE) Gold surged to a new record yesterday, crossing the US$1,090 level for the first time, a day after the International Monetary Fund announced a massive sale of the metal to India.
The precious metal touched US$1091.1 an ounce by late afternoon – up 2.8 per cent from US$1061.50 a day ago.
Analysts said a weaker dollar could push prices to US$1,100 an ounce.
Indeed, traders say gold is… more

FIRST, the good news. Singapore’s economy has moved beyond the initial post-crisis bounce of growth and will continue to expand as genuine demand begins to stabilise around the world.
But Singaporeans must prepare for a ’slower and steadier’ pace of expansion next year than they are used to, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) yesterday.

Even though Asian economies have recovered stro… more

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upgraded its growth outlook for Singapore for the second time this month while leaving forecasts for other Asian nations unchanged.
It now tips that Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP) this year will be minus 1.7 per cent, up from an initial forecast of of minus 3.3 per cent.
Growth for next year was also raised – from 4.1 per cent to 4.3 per cent – w… more

Recent GDP surge may taper off; slow, uneven recovery on the cards
(SINGAPORE) Services will fuel growth next year as the economy settles to a more gradual pace following two euphoric quarters, says the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

With only modest recovery in end demand in sight, manufacturing is expected to rebound at a moderate pace. The services, meanwhile, will pick up the slack and dr… more

(SINGAPORE) Amid uncertain domestic and international economic conditions, the Monetary Authority of Singapore yesterday retained its neutral policy stance and left the width of its undisclosed Sing-dollar trading bands unchanged.
The news drove the local currency to a four-day low against the greenback, after it had chalked up significant gains in the past week.
Explaining its decision, MAS said … more