SINGAPORE (Dec 14): Recent moves by China, Malaysia and Indonesia to stem capital outflows from each of their respective country is a timely reminder that the free flow of capital across borders should not be taken for granted, says UOB Kay Hian.

And although no country in the region ha...

Strategy: Are foreign capital controls any good for Singapore's local developers?

SINGAPORE (July 27): Credit Suisse is “negative” on the office REIT segment amid the decline in office rents.

It expects news flow on office REITs could continue to deteriorate as the year approaches 2016.

The research house maintains its “underperform” rating for Suntec REIT ...

Office REIT gets a ‘negative’ from Credit Suisse amid rent decline

SINAGAPORE (July 23): Nine China-linked Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) listed on Singapore Exchange average total returns of 5.3% in the year to date, according to a market update on SGX’s My Gateway portal.

Of the nine, the five best performers are Starhill Global REIT, Mapletre...

China-linked REITs average total returns of 5% year to date: SGX

SINGAPORE (April 10): Oil prices will enter into a “semi-permanent lower range” of US$50 to US$70 a barrel for the next three years and could follow a W-shaped path within this band, making it harder for oil companies to plan investments and budgets, according to CIMB.

“Oil price volati...

Oil prices to hover at US$50-US$70 for next three years: CIMB

SINGAPORE (April 8): China's water treatment sector, which has been consolidating since 2010, has room for more mergers and acquisitions as it is still highly fragmented, with the market leader having only a 4% share, says Maybank Kim Eng.

The top 10 water companies in China, led by Bei...

SGX water firms to gain as China's water treatment sector consolidates: Maybank

SINGAPORE (March 27): There is room to ease some property cooling measures in Singapore this year now that home prices, property speculation and interest from foreigners have come off and interest rates are starting to rise, says Maybank Kim Eng.

"Four key metrics for the government – h...

Some property cooling measures may be tweaked this year: Maybank Kim Eng

SINGAPORE (March 26): Visitor-arrivals to Singapore from Indonesia, the city-state's biggest source of tourists, are likely to decline significantly this year, further dampening prospects for the hospitality industry, which is already at risk of ending up with more hotel rooms than the market nee...

Fewer tourists from Indonesia will further dampen hospitality scene: DBS Vickers

SINGAPORE (March 26): More Singapore-listed property developers may choose to delist as they struggle to sell completed homes amid an increasingly tough housing market, says Maybank Kim Eng.

Popular Holdings and Keppel Land received takeover offers from their controlling shareholders in...

More Singapore developers may be taken private: Maybank Kim Eng

SINGAPORE (March 25): Dry bulk freight rates could pick up in 2H2015 but it will still be a while before the dry bulk shipping industry gets back on its feet, according to Goldman Sachs analyst Ronald Keung.

"We see slowing iron ore imports into China as the single biggest reason for we...

Weakness in dry bulk shipping to last a couple more years: Goldman Sachs

SINGAPORE (March 10): Profit margins for Singapore telcos' broadband business should start picking up as competition is becoming "more rational" with Internet service providers no longer banking on price to grab market share, according to OCBC Investment Research.

"Instead, more are sta...

Telcos' broadband business seen improving but rate hikes may erode appeal: OCBC

SINGAPORE (March 10): Expect more earnings downgrades for Singapore-listed offshore and marine companies as oil majors are still cutting spending despite the recent rebound in oil prices, says Maybank Kim Eng.

"Oil's recent bounce did not trigger an equivalent rebound in stock prices. T...

Expect more earnings cuts for offshore and marine firms: Maybank Kim Eng

SINGAPORE (March 5): Property developers in Singapore will likely have to incur more impairment charges this year as home prices continue to fall, although the impact on their shares may be limited as the expected write-downs have already been priced in, according to Deutsche Bank.

"As ...

More write-downs for Singapore developers expected in 2015: Deutsche Bank 

SINGAPORE (Feb 24): Competition in Singapore's mobile market is benign, and the current three operators see little need to "disrupt the market", although things could change as the industry regulator is looking at issuing a forth mobile licence, according to Deutsche Bank.

"Singapore’s ...

Singapore telcos have little need to 'disrupt the market', says Deutsche Bank

SINGAPORE (Feb 23): Loan growth for the three Singapore banks is expected to be tepid this year, after having increased 5.8% in 2014 following four years of double-digit expansion, says Maybank Kim Eng.

"We expect housing loan demand to stay listless this year, weighed down by a still-s...

Singapore banks' 2015 loan growth seen tepid, says Maybank Kim Eng

Panama's former security minister Jose Raul Mulino on Sunday stormed to victory in a presidential poll dominated by his old boss, the popular ex-leader Ricardo Martinelli, who buttressed his campaign despite being holed up in Nicaragua's embassy.

Panama's Mulino wins presidency with support from convicted former leader

Moneylending is a high-margin, high-risk business. Margins can easily go up to 50% or more, depending on the clientele. However, the risk is extremely high, especially for non-bank firms.

Frankly Speaking: Apex Equity’s moneylending business under scrutiny

The case for a European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate cut in June is getting stronger as services inflation is finally starting to ease, ECB chief economist Philip Lane told Spanish newspaper El Confidencial on Monday.

ECB rate cut case getting stronger, says chief economist

Robusta coffee prices have climbed to the highest in 45 years, according to the International Coffee Organisation (ICO), as a supply crunch intensifies for the variety used in espresso blends and instant drinks.

Coffee variety priciest in 45 years in blow to instant brews

Analysts have raised their earnings forecasts and target prices (TPs) for plastic packaging maker SLP Resources Bhd, after the group's latest financial results beat their expectations due to improved product mix and higher output.

Analysts raise SLP Resources earnings forecasts, TPs after strong 1Q performance

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar and Raja Permaisuri Agong Raja Zarith Sofiah arrived in Singapore on Monday for a two-day state visit to the republic.

King, Queen arrive in Singapore for maiden state visit

A Chinese programme providing state guarantees to developer bonds will be put to the test this week, when payments come due from one of the most indebted builders.

Country Garden deadlines the first big test of bond guarantees

Maybank Investment Bank (Maybank IB) on Monday began coverage of SAM Engineering & Equipment (M) Bhd with a counter-consensus ‘buy’ call, betting on the cyclical recovery of aerospace and semiconductor sectors.

Maybank IB joins coverage of SAM Engineering with counter-consensus ‘buy’ call

President Xi Jinping has arrived in France to begin talks aimed at stabilising China’s relationship with Europe, as he tries to perform damage limitation on trade ties with the key bloc.

Xi begins Europe tour in Paris as Macron seeks to reset ties

On May 1, Leow Thang Fong took over as CEO of South Malaysia Industries Bhd (SMI).

Frankly Speaking: SMI has some explaining to do

The FBM KLCI’s uptrend has been relentless since mid-April as accumulation on blue chips&nbsp;by both local institutions and foreign funds continues, according to Rakuten Trade.

Banks, construction to be in focus as FBM KLCI could test 1,600 soon, says Rakuten Trade 

Foreign buying of Malaysian equities surged 3.6 times to RM1.06 billion last week from RM292.2 million the prior week, as they net bought every day of the week.

Foreign buying of local equities surged to RM1.06b last week, says MIDF

BMI, a Fitch Solutions company, said Malaysia's deepwater explorations are expected to accelerate as more investments are directed towards under-explored areas.

BMI: Deepwater exploration in Malaysia gathers momentum

Shares of Fraser &amp; Neave Holdings Bhd (F&amp;N) surged to their highest in five years as better-than-expected results buoyed investors' optimism while analysts maintained their calls following a briefing.

F&N surges to five-year high

Phillip Capital has initiated coverage on T7 Global Bhd with a “buy” rating at 53 sen and a target price of 68 sen.

Phillip Capital starts coverage on T7 Global, target price 68 sen 

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has updated its Investor Alert List.

In an alert last Thursday, the commission said the following persons/entities were added to the list:

SC adds six entities to Investor Alert List, four being potential clones

Across much of the developed world, one of the most dependable drivers of economic growth is faltering.

For decades, the rapid inflow of migrants helped countries including Canada, Australia and the UK stave off the demographic drag from aging populations and falling birth rates.

Global housing shortages are crushing immigration-fuelled growth

Maybank Investment Bank (Maybank IB) on Monday began coverage of SAM Engineering &amp; Equipment (M) Bhd with a counter-consensus ‘buy’ call, betting on the cyclical recovery of aerospace and semiconductor sectors.

EQT AB agreed to buy technology consultant Perficient Inc in a deal valued at about US$3 billion (RM14.22 billion) including debt.

EQT to buy tech consultant Perficient in US$3b deal

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be having an online meeting with tech giant Google on Monday.

Without disclosing more details on the issues to be discussed, he said Malaysia has continued to receive interests from foreign investors.

Anwar scheduled to have online meeting with Google on Monday

President Xi Jinping has arrived in France to begin talks aimed at stabilising China’s relationship with Europe, as he tries to perform damage limitation on trade ties with the key bloc.

Asian stocks rose on Monday on renewed bets that the Federal Reserve (Fed) would likely ease rates this year, while the yen weakened after a strong surge last week from Tokyo's suspected currency intervention.

Asia shares rally on Fed cut bets; yen pares gains

Australia’s housing rental value hit a fresh record in April with some cities seeing renewed growth momentum, a troubling sign for the Reserve Bank that’s likely to leave borrowing costs at a 12-year high this week to stave off price pressures.

Australia’s housing rent hits record high in headache for central bank

The new chief executive of Brooks Running said the running shoe maker owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway&nbsp;views China and Europe as growth areas for a business that generates most revenue in the US.

Berkshire's Brooks Running CEO sees China, Europe as growth areas

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump accused Democratic rival President Joe Biden of running a "Gestapo administration" in a private address to donors in which he also attacked prosecutors involved in his criminal indictments, according to a recording heard by US media outlets.

Trump accuses Biden of running 'Gestapo administration'

Global petrol demand growth could halve in 2024, squeezing second-half refinery margins, analysts said, driven by a shift to electric cars in China and the US and a return to normal consumption after last year's bounce following Covid-19.

Gasoline demand growth to slow this year on EV growth in China, US

Qantas Airways Ltd will pay a A$100 million (RM313.78 million) penalty and compensate passengers for selling tickets on thousands of flights it had already decided to cancel, as chief executive officer Vanessa Hudson continues costly repairs to the airline’s battered reputation.

Qantas settles ‘ghost flight’ lawsuit as cleanup costs mount

Oil futures edged up on Monday after Saudi Arabia hiked June crude prices for most regions and as the prospect of a Gaza ceasefire deal appeared slim, renewing fears the Israel-Hamas conflict could still widen in the key oil producing region.

Oil nudges higher after Saudi Arabia hikes prices

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar and Raja Permaisuri Agong Raja Zarith Sofiah arrived in Singapore on Monday for a two-day state visit to the republic.

A Chinese programme providing state guarantees to developer bonds will be put to the test this week, when payments come due from one of the most indebted builders.

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