1 day ago
Why Indonesia’s rupiah hit a record low in January
Analysts widely expect the currency to weaken further in 2026
Business Headlines & Market News
Business Headlines and Stock Market News by Singapore Financial News Publishers
1 day ago
Pickleball, condo BBQs: Singaporeans connect via AI-powered friendship apps amid global trend
Chloe Lim - These apps create opportunities for highly compatible, offline connections in this hyper-digital age
1 day ago
Jollibee’s Highlands Coffee is said to consider US$400 million IPO in Vietnam
The Philippine fast-food operator plans to list its international business in the US
1 day ago
Netflix says Paramount bid 'doesn't pass sniff test' as Warner battle intensifies, FT says
Jan 23 : Netflix co-chief executive Greg Peters said it is on track to win the backing of Warner Bros Discovery shareholders for its $82.7 billion offer for the company's film and television studios, adding that Paramount's rival bid "doesn't pass the sniff test", the Financ ...
1 day ago
Netflix says Paramount bid 'doesn't pass sniff test' as Warner battle intensifies, FT reports
Jan 23 : Netflix co-chief executive Greg Peters said the company is on track to win the backing of Warner Bros Discovery shareholders for its $82.7 billion offer for the company's film and television studios, adding that Paramount's rival bid "doesn't pass the sniff test", t ...
1 day ago
Hong Kong-listed J&T Global Express aims to raise HK$4.7 billion for tech, overseas expansion
The company says that the bonds will have an initial conversion price of HK$14.55 per class B share
1 day ago
Singapore’s core and headline inflation stay at 1.2% in December, in line with forecasts
Paige Lim - This takes core inflation and headline inflation for the whole of 2025 to 0.7 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively
1 day ago
Singapore’s 2025 core inflation averages 0.7%, down from 2.8% in 2024
Paige Lim - December’s core and headline inflation stayed unchanged at 1.2 per cent
1 day ago
Hao Mart and owner sue OG over Good Class Bungalow mortgage, claiming S$57.5 million
Tay Peck Gek - This is the second court case that involves OG and Hao Mart, arising from the lease of the Taste Orchard premises
1 day ago
It doesn’t really matter whether the STI hits 10,000
Kwan Wei Kevin Tan - The analyst chatter around the Straits Times Index (STI) can feel more like an auction than a stock market, with bullish calls on just how high the blue-chip index can go. Maybank Securities’ Thilan Wickramasinghe says in his Jan 12 note that he expects the index to hit 5,600 points, driven by fac ...
1 day ago
Indonesia’s Merdeka Gold is said to hire banks for Hong Kong listing
Deliberations are ongoing, and the size and timing of the deal are still under discussion
1 day ago
Trump doesn’t need to take over Greenland to score a win
Kwan Wei Kevin Tan - “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen,” said Vladimir Lenin, leader of Russia’s 1917 revolution. With US President Donald Trump, however, something is always happening. On Jan 20, the 79-year-old marked one year into his second term with a two-hour ...
1 day ago
Inside Great Eastern’s Universal Life play
Goola Warden - Universal Life (UL) products have long been part of Singapore’s insurance landscape. Over the past 12 to 18 months, their appeal has surged, largely because they are typically priced in US dollars, although GEH also offers an SGD version. Since early 2025, US and local interest rates have gone in ...
1 day ago
STI is ‘far more than just a dividend index’, says FTSE Russell CEO Fiona Bassett
Kwan Wei Kevin Tan and Felicia Tan - Before the Straits Times Index (STI) began reaching new highs, Singapore’s benchmark equity index had earned a reputation for being stable, dividend-driven and, dare we say it, a little boring. This perception likely stems from the type of companies that make up the index. Of the STI’s 30 consti ...
1 day ago
Great Eastern CFO on crises, capital and the long game
Goola Warden - Ronnie Tan, group CFO of Great Eastern Holdings (GEH), has seen the insurance industry change dramatically since joining the life insurer in 2002. “Beyond the technical aspect of implementing IFRS 17, I think one of the biggest achievements I am proud of is being able to navigate Great Eastern thr ...
1 day ago
Winds of change in valuations for life insurance companies
Goola Warden - For financial institutions, capital and capital ratios are important metrics. While Common Equity Tier 1 for banks is based on the ratio of their common equity divided by their risk-weighted assets, life insurers have different ways of calculating risk-based capital (RBC). Great Eastern Holdings ado ...
1 day ago
ASL Marine’s turnaround comes with an uncomfortable safety footnote
Frankie Ho - After a once-in-a-generation pandemic boom, Asia’s maritime services industry has entered a more sober and disciplined phase. Ship chartering remains above pre-Covid norms but is off the euphoric highs of 2021–2022. Tankers have outperformed, with Western sanctions reshaping oil trade flows and ...
1 day ago
Stanchart says 2026 ‘very, very different’ following multi-year liquidity peak
Felicia Tan - As the world emerges from a multi-year peak in global liquidity in 2025, this year could shape up to be a “very, very different” year with the reversal of some of those capital flows. “The flood of liquidity that we saw globally and in Asia, I think, is going to start to turn,” says Eric Rob ...
1 day ago
Why are fintechs riding high?
Nirgunan Tiruchelvam - Investors may remember Catch Me if You Can, the 2002 movie that stars Leonardo DiCaprio. The heart-throb plays Frank Abagnale, a con artist who swindled his victims of over US$2.5 million in the 1960s. Abagnale was a teenager with immense charm and confidence. At 18 years old, he stood over 6 feet ( ...
1 day ago
Bank of Japan keeps rates steady, raises growth and inflation forecasts
The central bank vowed to raise rates if economic and price developments move in line with its projections
1 day ago
Freeport says it’s on track to restart Indonesia copper mine after deadly mudslide
The company has already restarted two unaffected areas of the mine since the incident in September
1 day ago
Go ahead and resent boomers but for the right reasons
Allison Schrager - There is a natural human tendency to assume that your generation has it harder than everyone else. Even by those standards, however, baby boomers (and some older millennials) are on the receiving end of an extraordinary amount of resentment. You could fill a good-sized library with all the books dev ...
1 day ago
Are central banks enabling unsustainable government deficits?
Raghuram G. Rajan - Japan, the US and other countries with sovereign debt at or above total GDP need to shrink their fiscal deficits to keep their debts from growing to terrifying levels. The problem is particularly concerning when a country faces higher real interest rates, since fiscal deficits rise further when the ...
1 day ago
Why audit and accounting failures are often cultural and what we can do about it
Gabriela Figueiredo Dias - When major audit or accounting failures make headlines, the first instinct is to look for the individual at fault. Who made the wrong call? Who crossed the line? Who failed to speak up? Individual accountability matters. But experience tells us it rarely explains the full story. Across Asia and glob ...
1 day ago
History marches past Davos
Mariana Mazzucato - As the World Economic Forum (WEF) convenes in Davos under the banner “A Spirit of Dialogue”, the US has seized control of Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, installing what President Donald Trump calls an “indefinite” American administration of the country’s petroleum reserves, while blackm ...
1 day ago
UOB soars 4.8% as OCBC jumps 3.4%; new peaks drive STI to all-time high
Shikhar Gupta - This comes as analysts raise their target prices for the two lenders
1 day ago
UOB soars 5% as OCBC jumps 3.4%; record highs drive STI to all-time peak
Shikhar Gupta - This comes as analysts raise their target prices for both lenders
1 day ago
UOB soars 5% and OCBC jumps 3.4%; new peaks drive STI to all-time high
Shikhar Gupta - This comes as analysts raise their target prices for both UOB and OCBC
1 day ago
UOB soars 4%, OCBC jumps 3% to new records, driving STI to all-time high
Shikhar Gupta - The STI rises 1.2% as UOB and OCBC shares surge
1 day ago
UOB soars 4%, hitting record alongside OCBC; STI up 1.1% to new peak
Shikhar Gupta - Both shares and the index hit all-time highs
1 day ago
UOB soars 3.6% to hit record as OCBC also hits a high; STI jumps 1%
Shikhar Gupta - OCBC and UOB shares climb 2.7% and 3.1%, respectively
1 day ago
UOB soars 3.6%, hitting record alongside OCBC; STI up 1% to new peak
Shikhar Gupta - Both shares and the index hit all-time highs
1 day ago
China’s 5% growth defies the headlines
Daryl Guppy - China’s GDP figures, released on Jan 19, showed annual growth of 5% for 2025. Some Western media were quick to strike a downbeat tone, leading with headlines that fixated on the December quarter falling short of analysts’ expectations rather than the broader picture. For these news groups, the t ...
1 day ago
Bank of Singapore prefers Asia ex-Japan equities, neutral on US
Kwan Wei Kevin Tan - Ask investors which country’s stock market they want to park their capital into and they will probably point to the US. In 2025, the country’s flagship S&P 500 index recorded 17.9% in total returns. A large part of those gains came from big tech giants like Nvidia and Google parent company A ...