Moody’s to Downgrade 21 Spanish Banks: Report
Source: AFP Moody’s is set to significantly downgrade 21 Spanish banks within a week, following a cut of credit ratings on Italian banks, the Spanish economic daily Expansion said on Wednesday. “Sources in the Spanish financial sector are convinced that the agency will lower in a significant manner the ratings of numerous institutions,” said the...
European Stock Futures Decline amid Concern over Greece
Source: Bloomberg European stocks retreated, extending the Stoxx Europe 600 Index’s lowest level this year, amid deepening speculation Greece will have to leave the euro currency bloc. Banks declined after Greece’s central bank chief said citizens had withdrawn as much as EUR700 million (US$891 million) since the May 6 elections. BHP Billiton Ltd lost 2.7...
China’s Hong Kong Home-buying Influx Wanes, Midland Says
Source: Bloomberg Mainland Chinese investors accounted for a smaller percentage of Hong Kong’s new home sales for a second quarter as the nation’s banks tightened lending while local buyers returned to the market, Midland Holdings Ltd said. Mainland purchasers made up 36.8 per cent of all new home sales by value in the first...
Singapore Airlines’ Load Factor Down to 68.5 Per cent in April
by Ernie B. Calucag Singapore Airlines (SIA) filled lesser space on its planes in April, as load factor for passengers and cargo went down to 68.5 per cent for the month, lower than the 69.6 per cent in March but slightly higher than the 68 per cent in April last year. The passenger load factor...
China Foreign Investment Falls 0.7 Per cent in Sixth Monthly Drop
Source: Bloomberg Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China fell for a sixth month in April, the longest stretch of declines since the global financial crisis, amid renewed turmoil in financial markets. Inbound investment dropped 0.7 per cent from a year earlier to US$8.4 billion, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday in Beijing. That compares with...
Eurozone Narrowly Avoids Recession in First Quarter
Source: AFP The eurozone logged zero growth in the first three months of the year, the EU said Tuesday, narrowly avoiding recession after a 0.3-per cent contraction in the last quarter of 2011. The estimate from the bloc’s statistics agency Eurostat surprised analysts who had predicted a 0.2-per cent decline in economic output across the...
Software Piracy Costs Record US$63.4 billion in 2011: Study
Source: AFP Software piracy cost the industry a record US$63.4 billion globally in 2011 with emerging economies listed as the main culprits, an annual study said Tuesday. This was up nearly 8 per cent from the previous record of US$58.8 billion in 2010, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) said in the study. In Asia-Pacific, which...
As Funds Flee, India’s Pain is Southeast Asia’s Gain
Source: Reuters Southeast Asian nations are swallowing an outflow of money from India, as foreign investors lose patience with its policy paralysis and slowing growth and aim instead for more promising emerging markets such as Indonesia. Corruption scandals and high inflation have added to India’s woes, which have seen growth slow to a three-year low...
Obama Says JPMorgan Loss Shows Need for Wall Street Reform
Source: Reuters President Barack Obama said on Monday the huge trading loss at JPMorgan Chase & Co illustrated the need for Wall Street reform and warned that the same kind of error at a less stable bank may have required government intervention. “JPMorgan is one of the best managed banks there is. Jamie Dimon, the...
Facebook Raises IPO Range, Targets US$12.1 billion: Source
Source: Reuters Facebook Inc has raised the price range on its initial public offering to US$34 to US$38 a share in response to strong demand, a source familiar with the situation said, giving the No.1 social network a valuation exceeding US$100 billion. At the mid-point of US$36, Facebook would raise US$12.1 billion by selling 337.4...
New Private Home Sales Hit Record High in April
by Ernie B. Calucag Private home sales in Singapore reached a record high of 2,487 units (excluding executive condos) in April, up 3.9 per cent from the preceding month’s 2,393 units and 37.8 per cent from 1,805 units sold in April last year. Including ECs, which are a public-private housing hybrid, developers sold 2,660 homes...
Trade Minister Teo to Explore Opportunities for Singapore SMEs during China Visit
by Jared Heng Minister of State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck will help pave the way for Singapore’s small and medium enterprises that are exploring opportunities in the Central China region during his upcoming visit to the East Asian country. During the trip, Mr Teo will meet Chinese officials and key business leaders...
