(BLOOMBERG) – I am not a fan of bold pronunciations about spending, like: Never buy a boat! Stop drinking lattes! Don’t buy a new car! They seem designed more to attract attention than impart wisdom. I prefer rational guidelines that help consumers make better spending decisions. No, you do not need to be a millionaire or […]

(BLOOMBERG) After nosediving from March through May as lockdowns devastated US household spending, consumer prices rebounded in the following four months. Some fear this is the start of a resurgence of inflation. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s survey of consumer inflation expectations shows a jump from 2.4 per cent to 3 per cent […]

(BLOOMBERG) – The Covid-19 pandemic has crushed the economy, sent joblessness soaring and killed over a million people worldwide. But there are a few ways in which it may prompt society to improve, and one is remote work. Though it was initially necessary to keep employees from getting sick, remote work promises to make people […]

Shares in Goldman Sachs rose 1.1 per cent in the first 15 minutes of trade in New York as analysts said the raft of settlements with regulators and prosecutors in the United States and across the world, including Singapore, was long-anticipated on Wall Street. The magnitude of the penalties was also in line with expectations, […]

PALO ALTO • At Tesla’s ballyhooed Battery Day event in September, chief executive Elon Musk set himself an ambitious target: to produce a US$25,000 (S$33,900) electric car in three years. Hitting that sticker price – about US$13,000 cheaper than the least expensive model today – is seen as critical in delivering a true, mass-market product. […]

The settlement by Goldman Sachs for its involvement in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) saga shows the robustness of Singapore’s legal and regulatory framework, observers noted. They said it also highlights the Singapore authorities’ acumen to penalise the bank for lack of good corporate governance while keeping its access to the market open to deal […]

FRANKFURT • German sportswear company Adidas plans to sell its Reebok division, Germany’s Manager Magazin has reported, as the group seeks to put an end to its ill-fated investment in the US-focused brand. Adidas chief executive Kasper Rorsted plans to complete the sale by March next year, the magazine said, without citing where it obtained […]

Goldman Sachs Singapore will pay US$122 million (S$165 million) to the Singapore Government for its role in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) bond offerings corruption scandal. The penalty is believed to be the largest imposed on a financial institution here, and will be paid by Goldman’s local unit to the Singapore Government’s Consolidated Fund. The […]

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) – When she ran a company that sold American clothing labels in China, textile heiress Veronica Chou was a globe-trotting executive who made headlines for her socialite lifestyle and lavish 2012 wedding in Hong Kong. Now, she’s trying to clean up the fashion industry. A member of the US$2.7 billion (S$3.7 billion) […]

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – PayPal Holdings is exploring acquisitions of cryptocurrency companies including Bitcoin custodian BitGo, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that would expand its embrace of digital coins. PayPal has been holding talks with BitGo, a company that helps investors store Bitcoin securely, and could reach a deal within weeks, […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Rents of retail space in Singapore’s central region dropped 4.5 per cent from the previous three months in the third quarter of 2020, after declining 3.5 per cent in the previous quarter. However, the latest data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (Oct 23) also showed that […]

SINGAPORE – Private home prices in Singapore rose 0.8 per cent in the third quarter from the previous three months, defying a Covid-19 recession, according to final data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (Oct 23). The 0.8 per cent gain in the third quarter of 2020 was unchanged from URA’s flash estimate […]

FRANKFURT (REUTERS) – German sportswear company Adidas is planning to sell its Reebok division, Germany’s manager magazin reported on Thursday (Oct 22), as the group seeks to put an end to its ill-fated investment in the US-focused brand. Adidas chief executive Kasper Rorsted plans to complete the sale by March 2021, the magazine said, without […]

SINGAPORE – Singapore should guard itself against nativist tendencies that can harm its potential to boost economic growth and the prosperity of its people, said Mr S. Iswaran, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations. He said in spite of the coronavirus-induced recession, the Republic should continue to persevere with its strategy […]

LONDON (REUTERS) – Over half the small and medium-sized companies which together provide jobs for two-thirds of European workers fear for their survival in the coming 12 months, according to a survey released by management consultancy McKinsey on Thursday (Oct 22). The survey was conducted in August, before the current acceleration in new coronavirus cases […]

TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) – Ripple Labs has formed a shortlist of countries to move to should the blockchain payment services company leave the US amid a lack of regulatory clarity there, its top executive said. Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, the UK and the United Arab Emirates are potential destinations, chief executive officer Brad Garlinghouse said in an […]

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) – Alibaba Group Holding has agreed to subscribe to more than a fifth of Ant Group’s imminent initial public offering, propping up its part-owned fintech giant’s potentially US$35 billion (S$48 billion) debut. Asia’s largest corporation will buy 730 million of about 1.67 billion Shanghai-listed A shares as part of a placement to […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Suntec Reit)’s distribution per unit (DPU) fell 21.9 per cent to 1.848 cents for its third quarter ended Sept 30, from 2.365 cents a year ago. This came as distributable income from operations dropped 12.6 per cent year on year to $52.2 million, from $59.7 […]

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) – Macau casino operators are expected to post a combined loss of more than US$800 million (S$1.08 billion) in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the quarter ended Sept 30, according to a Bloomberg survey of analyst estimates. Each of the six operators, which start reporting earnings in the […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT) is selling its 4.5-star hotel Novotel Brisbane in Australia for A$67.9 million (S$66.4 million) to an independent third-party buyer, ADFA Brisbane, its managers said on Wednesday (Oct 21). The sale price is 6.9 per cent higher than the original purchase price of A$63.5 million on Feb […]