SINGAPORE – Singapore companies and the banking sector are less vulnerable to financial risks and potential shocks now than they were at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The vulnerability of Singapore companies came down from an elevated level a year ago as their earnings improved, enabling them to build up cash buffers and better service their debt, the Monetary Authority […]

BEIJING (REUTERS) – China’s property downturn is expected to continue into the first half of 2022, with home prices and sales falling as tight credit policies and a looming property tax dampen demand, a Reuters poll showed. The property sector, a key driver of growth in the world’s second-largest economy, has slowed sharply in recent months, with sentiment shaken by […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – PSA International has agreed to acquire BDP International, a United States-based company providing supply chain, transportation and logistics solutions, both companies said on Wednesday (Dec 1). The port operator will acquire privately-held BDP International from New York-based private equity firm Greenbriar Equity Group LP, subject to formal approvals by the relevant authorities and other customary […]

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – A growing cohort of smaller companies that survived the cold depths of the Covid-19 pandemic say now they’re in danger because the economy is too hot. Mattress sellers, flooring manufacturers and makers of clean energy equipment are warning that stretched supply chains and runaway freight bills have pushed them to the brink of ruin. Unlike global […]

BENGALURU (REUTERS) – United States retailers’ online sales likely slowed this Cyber Monday (Nov 29), as fewer discounts and limited choices due to global supply-chain disruptions deterred shoppers, but other data points suggested American consumers are in pretty good health. Retailers had also spread out promotional deals across more weeks to protect profit margins from surging supply chain costs and […]

BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) – China’s factory activity improved in November as the impact of a power crunch subsided and more working days in the month helped to boost output. The official manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) rose to 50.1, the first time in three months it exceed the 50 mark that signals an expansion in production. The non-manufacturing gauge, which measures […]

RALEIGH (REUTERS) – US shoppers spent slightly less online during Black Friday (Nov 26) this year, with many venturing back to physical stores despite coronavirus fears, tight supplies and retailers’ efforts to encourage earlier holiday purchases. For the first time ever, online spending during Black Friday – traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the year – fell, reversing the growth […]

LONDON (REUTERS) – Oil prices rose after the United States-coordinated release of emergency petroleum stocks was announced on Tuesday (Nov 23), as the volume of extra petroleum offered to the market proved smaller than traders anticipated. The US will make available 50 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), with deliveries beginning in the middle of next month and […]

SINGAPORE – Fixed asset investment (FAI) commitments in Singapore rose to $3.7 billion in the July to September period this year, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Economic Survey released on Wednesday (Nov 24). The commitments, garnered by the Economic Development Board, are up from $3.6 billion in the previous quarter and $2.07 billion for the same period […]

WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG, REUTERS) – Traders are pricing in a ramp-up in tapering bond purchases by the US Federal Reserve and the potential for a June liftoff on rate hikes after President Joe Biden selected Jerome Powell to serve another four years as the central bank’s chair. Futures on the federal funds rate, which track short-term interest rate expectations, have fully […]