Berkshire surges after joining S&P 500 Index
(NEW YORK) Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway rose the most in nine months after the company’s selection for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index put its stock within reach of money managers with about US$1 trillion in assets.
Jetstar picks Singapore as Asian hub
AFTER a year-long evaluation of four cities across the region, the Jetstar group has chosen Singapore as its Asian hub for both short- haul and long-haul operations.
Multi-sector green flight by CAAS, SIA
THE Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) will be working together to conduct the world’s first multi-sector demonstration green flight, a move to mark CAAS’ entry to the Asia and Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions (Aspire) programme as of Feb 1.
Want speedy airport check-in? Read on
(ATLANTA) Laptop bags that may not require removal of your computer. Luggage concierge services that enable you to check your bags before you arrive at the airport. PDAs to display your mobile boarding pass.
More Xinjiang investment wanted
(BEIJING) China will push for a surge of investment in its restive far-west Xinjiang region, seeking to boost control and ethnic unity there after deadly riots last year.
TSMC posts biggest profit in two years
(TAIPEI) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world’s top contract chipmaker, posted its biggest quarterly net profit in two years yesterday as chip sales grew and its spending on more advanced technology paid off.
China sets up govt body to coordinate energy policy
(BEIJING) China has set up a government agency headed by Premier Wen Jiabao to better coordinate energy policy, as world’s second-largest power consumer faces growing domestic demand and struggles with shortages.
Keppel plans to expand its Tembusu power plant
WITH the market rebound and petrochemical investments once again returning to Jurong Island, a ‘power battle’ is shaping up at the island’s greenfield Tembusu sector.
Olam note issue to raise $250m
COMMODITIES supply chain manager Olam International is issuing S$250 million in 4.07 per cent notes due 2013, the company said yesterday.
CDLHT gains an Australian flavour
CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT) has been garnering appeal among investors in recent months as a proxy for an expected tourism boom in Singapore from the opening of the integrated resorts.
SIA Engg reports 11.1% fall in Q3 earnings
SIA Engineering Co (SIAEC) posted an 11.1 per cent year-on-year drop in net profit to $56 million for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2009.
Creditors approve Jaya restructuring
CREDITORS of Jaya Holdings – which froze repayment of over $300 million of loans six months ago – have agreed to a restructuring which will see the shipbuilder pay only interest charges on its outstanding debt for the next two years.
Starhill’s Q4 DPU up 5.4%
STARHILL Global Real Estate Investment Trust posted a 5.5 per cent increase in income available for distribution to $19.1 million for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2009, from $18.1 million a year ago.
Aberdeen prefers financial debt issues
ABERDEEN Asset Management thinks that Asian credit spreads could tighten by up to 75 basis points in the near term, and now favours financial debt issues and certain corporate high-yields.
Mary Chia enters hotel business
LIFESTYLE and wellness provider Mary Chia Holdings Ltd has entered into a joint venture to develop a heritage hotel in Singapore.
China Hu An Cable launches mainboard IPO
CHINA Hu An Cable Holdings Ltd, an integrated wire and cable manufacturer, has launched its initial public offering (IPO) for a Singapore Exchange mainboard listing.
Company Briefs
SURFACE Mount Technology (Holdings) expects to report operating loss for the third quarter and the nine months of FY2010.
In search of those elusive Q4 numbers
SOME large firms have given a whole new meaning to seeking safety in numbers this earnings season.
US, other nations’ bank reforms faulty: IIF
GLOBAL reform efforts aimed at better regulation of banks and other financial institutions could be thwarted if national solutions such as those proposed by US President Barack Obama and other national leaders are pursued, the Washington- based Institute of International Finance (IIF) said yesterday.
Sarkozy ticks off US and China, calls for new global monetary system
(DAVOS, Switzerland) France wants to use its presidency of the Group of 20 (G-20) next year to create a new international monetary system, President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday, adding that he believed the dollar should no longer be the primary reserve currency in the global economy.
Templeton sees place for Indonesia among BRICs
(JAKARTA) Indonesia may be ready to join the BRIC group of major emerging nations, according to Templeton Asset Management Ltd.
A splendid reunion with old friends
COMFORT food – we all know what that means. It is the food we grew up with, the food we have become familiar with after eating it for so many years – eg Hokkien mee or wantan mee.
Unnecessarily complex
THERE’S some grey in the hair now and way too many lines on his face but at 54, Mel Gibson still makes a pretty believable action hero – talking tough, shooting straight and beating up the bad guys.
Nobody’s perfect – but everyone’s fine
HE’S played cool cops and deadly mafia dons, angry boxers and psychopathic cab drivers, and even an anal retentive ex-CIA agent – all to memorable effect.
Lacklustre actress mars intriguing story
NOTHING makes one more grateful for a peaceful life than a voyeuristic story of seduction and betrayal laced with generous doses of drugs, sex and emotional drama.
Imagine, what a fabulous ride
LADIES and gentlemen, boy and girls – at least those of age – step right up for the cinematic circus of the year, a fabulous ride through the Imaginarium of iconoclast director Terry Gilliam.
Making most of hobbies
BY day, S M Yuen is the go-to guy if you want to smoothen out your wrinkles, rejuvenate your skin or solve any other beauty issues you may have at his aesthetics clinic in Ang Mo Kio.
Food to go, lifestyle to follow
AT 25, Nicholas Lin has energy, enthusiasm and talent to burn – and the confidence that comes with success at an early age.
Cashing in on the passion for art
THROUGHOUT her life, Leslie Goh has been able to translate her innate creative streak into several successful careers: She has been a copywriter at a prestigious advertising agency, a fashion buyer, and a designer for her store Scandal, the appropriately named, envelope-pushing 1980s boutique.
Interest in gems to trade in jewellery
IT started with an interest in gemstones and collecting them, a hobby which took K K Lim and his wife to many countries, from Myanmar to the United States, Cambodia to Japan and Hong Kong for about 30 years.
A labour of love for his people
TURKMENISTAN, a totalitarian country in Central Asia, brings to mind Soviet days with a planned economy, repression and a one-party Communist state.
Restaging out-of-Box plays
FOR a theatre company which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, one would expect a ‘retrospective’ of its iconic plays.
SAM makes engaging start to new year
IT may sound like an oxymoron but Classic Contemporary is the title of the latest contemporary art show at the Singapore Art Museum.
Met finds artworks aren’t restored fast
(NEW YORK) After a museumgoer’s trip and fall opened a rip in The Actor, a century-old Picasso painting, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art last week, officials there assured the public that – nightmarish as accidents are at a place entrusted with protecting priceless art – conservators would be able to fix the work quickly, in time for a major Picasso show in April.
Around Town
ETERNITY by Fuchsia Lane – Celebrating Art in Fashion and Weddings is a three-week long exhibition that will showcase a series of eight art-inspired gowns by local designer Vivienne Lin in collaboration with three local artists, Justin Lee, Susan Ong and Adeline Yeo.
Blues is music for our times
ALTHOUGH Timbre Music has brought in acts spanning a broad variety of genres, blues will always be close to the heart of its chief creative officer, Danny Loong.
When old school just isn’t good enough
BIOWARE’S space opera Mass Effect 2, which hit stores this week, is without doubt the action role-playing game (RPG) of the moment, but it’s hardly the sole occupant of the genre.
Adria to take a two-year break
EL Bulli will soon be shut, but the king is not abdicating his throne just yet.
The many flavours of jazz
JAZZ is one of the more diverse musical genres, and this week’s round-up – which ranges from straight-ahead to fusion – shows off the breadth of styles that lies beneath the blanket category.
CRR hike likely as India’s food price index jumps
(NEW DELHI) India’s annual food price inflation accelerated for the first time in four weeks, with the central bank looking set to tighten its policy today to prevent it spilling over to the broader economy.
Satyam ex-chiefs get US pauper status
(NEW YORK) Ramalinga Raju, who resigned as chairman of Satyam Computer Services Ltd after saying that he overstated the company’s assets by US$1 billion, was granted pauper status in US litigation brought by investors.
Roadmap outlines tough journey ahead for Malaysia
FOR once, Kuala Lumpur told it like it was and the reality that the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Roadmap, launched yesterday by Prime Minister Najib Razak, laid out was sobering.
Najib banks on ‘target specific’ delivery tack
IN the face of plunging private investments and stagnant economic growth, Prime Minister Najib Razak is banking on a new ‘target specific’ delivery approach to win over Malaysians and investors.
Asset prices hit by supply overhang
A SUPPLY overhang in the transport industry is depressing asset prices, even as global economies begin to show signs of recovery.
Asian cruise body appoints board of directors
FOR the first time, the Asia Cruise Association (which acts for the industry in Asia) has appointed a board of directors in its push to expand the regional cruise tourism industry.
STI stages rebound after 6-day sell-off
AFTER losing more than 200 points in a six-day sell-off, the Straits Times Index – aided no doubt by heavy doses of short-covering – yesterday regained 51.42 points to 2,757.68 in line with a 1.6 per cent bounce in Hong Kong that came despite an indifferent day for China’s stock market.
SMEs resilient, some find new markets despite downturn
DESPITE the global recession, Singapore SMEs have proved to be resilient.
Roche to set up 100m Swiss franc research hub here
A 100 million Swiss franc (S$134 million) medical research hub will be set up in Singapore soon as part of an alliance between Swiss healthcare firm Roche and several leading scientific and medical institutions.
HDB to turn Punggol into eco-town
THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) has identified Punggol as Singapore’s first eco-town, and the area is set to become a ‘living laboratory’ for ideas and technologies promoting sustainable development.
54 units at Holland Residences sold
THE home buying buzz continues at showflats. Allgreen Properties is said to have sold 54 units at its Holland Residences condo at Taman Warna released this week.
Mohd Sultan Rd office site up for sale
THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will be launching a transitional office site at Mohamed Sultan Road for sale in around two weeks’ time, after a developer committed to pay at least $9.33 million for it.
Five research proposals get grants worth $50m
THE National Research Foundation (NRF) is awarding $50 million worth of grants under its Competitive Research Programme (CRP) Funding Scheme to five research proposals.
Cut in healthcare subsidies for PRs
THE Ministry of Health (MOH) plans to reduce the current healthcare subsidy for permanent residents (PRs) starting next year as part of its plan to establish sharper subsidy distinction between PRs and Singapore citizens.
GDP may grow 7-7.8%: MasterCard
BOLSTERED by a China-led recovery, Singapore could see a strong economic rebound with a GDP growth of between 7-7.8 per cent, according to MasterCard Worldwide’s economic adviser Yuwa Hedrick-Wong.
MIT MBA students seeing signs of better job prospects
(BOSTON) Students at one of America’s top business schools see evidence that high-technology, start-up and alternative energy companies will hire more actively this year after a difficult 2009 for graduates.
The search for happiness
HAPPINESS. Must it be fleeting? Can we look for it? If we find it, can we sustain it?
The show goes on
WHILE the Sydney Festival 2010 might officially run from Jan 9-30, the merrymaking continues well past the end of January for some of the events.
Want to invest? Take a knowledge test first
(SINGAPORE) Retail punters may have to sit for tests before they can trade that sexy ETF if the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has its way.
HDB doing ‘speculation’ checks, will root it out
(SINGAPORE) The Housing & Development Board (HDB) is checking to see if buyers are using its government-subsidised flats to speculate in the property market – even as resale flat prices hit a new high in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Apple’s iPad launched, may hit S’pore in March
(SINGAPORE) Months of frenzied speculation was finally laid to rest yesterday, when Apple whisked off the cloak to the company’s most eye-catching product since the iPhone three years ago – the iPad tablet computer.
Jetstar eyes ground services licence
(SINGAPORE) The race is heating up for Changi’s third ground services licence now that Jetstar has tossed its hat into the ring, bringing the number of contenders to a total of four.
Obama talks bravely but delivers little
(SINGAPORE) US President Barack Obama’s much- watched speech on Wednesday was carefully calibrated to the political mood in the United States, but also showed the limits of what the government can do to shore up an economy struggling with high unemployment and massive public debt.
MAS to let US$ swap line with Fed expire
(SINGAPORE) The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said that its US$30 billion swap arrangement with the US Federal Reserve will be allowed to expire next Monday as it is no longer needed, another sign that major central banks worldwide believe that the worst of the financial crisis is over.
Singapore sweats away the hours – and productivity
(SINGAPORE) Here’s a world-leading pole position for Singapore that probably explains quite a bit of its dismal productivity record of late.
Fed stance soothes frazzled market nerves
THE US Federal Reserve’s upbeat assessment of the economy and a reconfirmation of its commitment to keep interest rates at their historic lows buoyed a downcast Wall Street on Wednesday.
Three-Minute Digest
RETAIL punters may have to sit for tests before they can trade that sexy ETF if the Monetary Authority of Singapore has its way.
Higher-tech is the way to go in energy
FEARS of a double-dip recession notwithstanding, so far, it has been more up than down as far as investments go for Singapore’s energy and power sector.
Say sorry like you mean it – or face public wrath
WHEN almost every media mention of your institution is accompanied by the nickname ‘vampire squid’, you might think it prudent to learn a little humility. Not, it seems, if your name is Lloyd Blankfein.
The role of taxation in the real economy
SCANNING through the financial press these days, one would not fail to notice the raft of measures that have been proposed globally to rein in the financial services industry.
Obama’s shift to political centre
SHIFTING gears for the second year of his administration and responding to the growing economic discontent among American voters who seemed to be turning against him and the Democrats who now control the White House and Congress
There’s no education in a Chinese school
IT’S known among a small circle of scholars in China as ‘the Qian Xuesen question’.
Brokers’ Take
HEALTHWAY has revealed that the International Financial Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, will be funding US$25 million for its China expansion plans.
Euro slips against US$ on debt concerns
(LONDON) The euro slipped yesterday, hovering near a 6 1/2-month low against the US dollar as investors remained wary on concerns over heavily indebted smaller euro zone countries such as Greece and Portugal.
Toyota recall spreads to Europe and China
(TOKYO) Toyota’s coveted safety record took a major new hit yesterday as a massive recall caused by an accelerator problem grew in the United States and spread to Europe and China for the first time.
Christie’s sees art market rebounding
(LONDON) Christie’s International is confident of the art market recovering after sales declined 24 per cent in 2009.
Swiss will work with US to save UBS tax agreement
(ZURICH) Switzerland will work with the US to save a tax settlement involving UBS after a Swiss court ruling jeopardised the disclosure of data on as many as 4,200 of the bank’s clients.
Geithner gets flak for role in AIG bailout
(WASHINGTON) Democrats and Republicans alike pummelled Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday over his role in the US$180 billion bailout of insurance giant American International Group Inc (AIG).
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