Philip Chua Business Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Singapore’

(SINGAPORE) Gold prices continued to head south yesterday, with some analysts predicting more selling pressure in the coming weeks.
The yellow metal retreated after the US dollar rebounded against the euro, while firmer oil prices offered little help as investors turned cautious on bullion after it failed to sustain recent gains.
Gold dropped below a psychological level of US$1,100 an ounce as unc… more

(SINGAPORE) DEVELOPERS will be bringing forward their property launches over the next few months to satisfy strong demand from homebuyers, said Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (Redas) president Simon Cheong yesterday.
But Mr Cheong, who was speaking at Redas’ spring festival lunch, warned that many developers are now facing depleting land banks following brisk home sales in recent… more

WHO would you trust more? A fireman, or a real estate agent?
Thought so.
So did 760 Singapore residents who took part in an online poll conducted by Reader’s Digest magazine on the most trusted professionals in the country.
Conducted last October, the poll gave them two lists of 55 individuals and 40 professions and asked them to rate their trustworthiness on a scale of one to 10.
The results show… more

LAWS to give the authorities more bite when it comes to loan sharks and their accomplices came into effect yesterday, ahead of the opening of Singapore’s first casino, in a move lauded by MPs and counsellors as timely.
The changes to the Moneylenders Act also come in the wake of a rising tide of illegal moneylending activities in recent years.
Latest figures released by the police showed that ther… more

DBS GROUP Holdings is Singapore’s top bank brand, according to a survey of the world’s 500 leading banking names.
The Brand Finance Banking 500 report, which measures strength, risk profile and growth potential to calculate brand value, claimed DBS eclipses rivals United Overseas Bank (UOB) and OCBC Bank.
It put DBS’ brand value at US$1.52 billion (S$2.1 billion) last year – a 12 per cent hike fro… more

THE opening of Singapore’s first integrated resort (IR) – expected to be on or just before Chinese New Year – will kick off a new chapter in the history of Singapore’s tourism industry and, indeed, of its economy.
While this is worth celebrating, it is also to be hoped that everything has been done to ensure that the casino operations, especially, adhere to the regulations laid down by the Casino … more

SINGAPORE stocks gained yesterday as hopes of the European Union (EU) stepping in to rescue debt-ridden Greece lifted the gloom for some Asian markets.
The Singapore market posted gains for a second straight session, with investors rummaging for bargains among stocks that had been sold down last week on fears over piling European sovereign debt.
The Straits Times Index capped yesterday’s trading s… more

(SINGAPORE) The government’s 2009 budget deficit is likely to be smaller than projected, leaving room for a substantial fiscal package this year, economists say.
While initial estimates last year were for an $8.7 billion deficit, or 3.5 per cent of GDP, Citi economist Kit Wei Zheng said in a report yesterday that a milder recession than feared means operating revenue is likely to come in above pro… more

MANUFACTURING output increased by 14.4 per cent last month on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis.

And excluding the volatile biomedical manufacturing cluster, output increased by 23.9 per cent.

The electronics cluster saw the biggest jump with a 57.3 per cent increase in output last month (y-o-y).
The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) attributed this to higher demand, coupled with the low b… more

LABOUR chief Lim Swee Say yesterday threw the labour movement’s weight behind the Government’s goal to increase productivity.
Productivity gains are the best way to drive wages up, he told more than 500 unionists and employers at a conference on managing manpower challenges this year.
He spoke during a dialogue at the Singapore Tripartism Forum, when he was asked why a minimum wage was not put in … more