Singapore Stock Blog

BlackBerry services resume in Saudi Arabia despite ban
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: BlackBerry users in Saudi Arabia say their messaging services went down only briefly on Friday despite a ban, as Arab states battle between security concerns and business interests linked to the smartphone.

Stock index futures dip ahead of payrolls
(Reuters) – Stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&amp;P 500 down 0.21 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.17 percent and Nasdaq100 futures flat at 0725 GMT (3:25 a.m. ET).<p><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/BJzwzlSQZkyIB1j8uWUN-tKk7wg/0/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/BJzwzlSQZkyIB1j8uWUN-tKk7wg/0/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a><br/><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/BJzwzlSQZkyIB1j8uWUN-tKk7wg/1/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/BJzwzlSQZkyIB1j8uWUN-tKk7wg/1/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a></p>

Canada’s Goldcorp to buy Andean for $3.4 billion
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Canada’s Goldcorp Inc agreed to buy Argentina-focused gold miner Andean Resources Ltd for C$3.6 billion ($3.4 billion), trumping a competing offer from rival Eldorado Gold Corp.<p><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/YBprZKslh7fBrGcGcV0y3dVU-FQ/0/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/YBprZKslh7fBrGcGcV0y3dVU-FQ/0/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a><br/><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/YBprZKslh7fBrGcGcV0y3dVU-FQ/1/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/YBprZKslh7fBrGcGcV0y3dVU-FQ/1/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a></p>

Brazil oil firm Petrobras plans $65 billion stock sale
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazilian state oil company Petrobras will sell up to $64.5 billion in new stock — one of the largest in capital markets history — to raise funds for the world’s biggest oil exploration investment plan.<p><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/FZr6d7JTHLTN3WGaIdsAAy7AQWE/0/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/FZr6d7JTHLTN3WGaIdsAAy7AQWE/0/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a><br/><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/FZr6d7JTHLTN3WGaIdsAAy7AQWE/1/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/FZr6d7JTHLTN3WGaIdsAAy7AQWE/1/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a></p>

Service sector spotlight shines on Germany, China
LONDON (Reuters) – Global service sector surveys highlighted a growing divergence in economic recovery on Friday with a pick up in growth in China and Germany but slowdowns in Britain and Spain and an expected deceleration in the United States.<p><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ym7uOvwLNGRR8OaFwF8C4eaOFdU/0/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ym7uOvwLNGRR8OaFwF8C4eaOFdU/0/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a><br/><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ym7uOvwLNGRR8OaFwF8C4eaOFdU/1/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ym7uOvwLNGRR8OaFwF8C4eaOFdU/1/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a></p>

BP oil spill costs hit $8 billion as ends rig probe
LONDON (Reuters) – BP Plc said the cost of dealing with its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had risen to $8 billion as the oil giant prepared to release the findings of an internal probe into the causes of the disaster.<p><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ip6lMnhGrT72PpS36HVzzmpCipk/0/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ip6lMnhGrT72PpS36HVzzmpCipk/0/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a><br/><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ip6lMnhGrT72PpS36HVzzmpCipk/1/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/ip6lMnhGrT72PpS36HVzzmpCipk/1/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a></p>

Payrolls seen falling, private hiring tepid
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. employment likely fell for a third straight month in August as more temporary census jobs ended and cautious businesses scaled back hiring, an outcome that could pressure the Federal Reserve to prop up growth.<p><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/16phjumO3nH3aSh_shtAhXyN-qk/0/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/16phjumO3nH3aSh_shtAhXyN-qk/0/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a><br/><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/16phjumO3nH3aSh_shtAhXyN-qk/1/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/16phjumO3nH3aSh_shtAhXyN-qk/1/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a></p>

Banks admit better disclosure on bonuses needed
LONDON (Reuters) – Banks have acknowledged they need to be more open about the size of their bonus pools and the methodology for paying star bankers after making progress in other areas of reforming pay structures.<p><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/70uZlaTCfxVlqDJUPVWiwA10S10/0/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/70uZlaTCfxVlqDJUPVWiwA10S10/0/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a><br/><a href=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/70uZlaTCfxVlqDJUPVWiwA10S10/1/da”><img src=”http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/70uZlaTCfxVlqDJUPVWiwA10S10/1/di” border=”0″ ismap=”true”></img></a></p>