12 hours ago
Tighter data control: Vietnam’s race to redesign digital services
Jamille Tran - New rules can benefit businesses that view user consent not only as a compliance issue, but also as a way to provide...
Business Headlines & Market News
Business Headlines and Stock Market News by Singapore Financial News Publishers
12 hours ago
Oil prices rise as Trump puts time limit on Iran stand-off
Feb 20 - Oil prices were higher on Friday as concern of conflict between the U.S. and Iran ratcheted up, with Washington saying Tehran will suffer if it does not agree a deal about its nuclear activity within a matter of days.Brent crude futures rose 21 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $71.87, while U.S. ...
12 hours ago
Oil heads for first weekly gain in three as US-Iran tensions rise
LONDON - Feb 20 : Oil prices hovered near six-month highs on Friday, headed for their first weekly gain in three on growing concerns a conflict may erupt after Washington said Tehran will suffer if it does not agree a deal on its nuclear activity in a matter of days.Brent crude futures edged down 19 ...
12 hours ago
Oil heads for first weekly gain in three as US-Iran tensions brew
Feb 20 - Oil prices rose on Friday, headed for their first weekly gain in three, on growing concerns a conflict may erupt between the U.S. and Iran, after Washington said Tehran will suffer if it does not agree a deal on its nuclear activity in a matter of days.Brent crude futures rose 25 cents, or ...
12 hours ago
The buyback mirage? New SGX data shows why patience pays
Hamza El Khalloufi - Across Singapore’s corporate boardrooms, share buybacks have long been seen as a standard lever of capital allocation. It is a strategy used by everyone from blue-chip banks to mid-cap industrials. But does it actually work for market participants? A comprehensive new study by the research team at ...
12 hours ago
Nippon Steel executive sees China-driven supply glut nearing end
Steel mills in the Asian nation have ramped up exports as a way to offset falling domestic consumption
12 hours ago
Beyond the index: some way to go for most to meet institutional standards
Lee Ooi Keong - Singapore’s equity market delivered its best performance in more than a decade in 2025. The Straits Times Index (STI) returned 22.7%, liquidity improved, and new listings finally exceeded the drought of recent years. My earlier article examined this rebound from a top-down perspective and highligh ...
12 hours ago
UOB’s AI-driven strategy lifts corporate banking revenue by 5%
Felicia Tan - United Overseas Bank (UOB) has recorded tangible gains from its AI deployment, with corporate banking revenue in Singapore rising more than 5% y-o-y in 2024. The bank attributes this growth to its AI-powered portfolio optimisation solution. The solution, which transforms multi-year historical data i ...
12 hours ago
China’s AI trinity: Efficiency, agents and edge
Stella Zhang - In the US-China AI race, the latter has the political will, entrepreneurial foresight and stamina, engineering skills, and a humongous domestic market to take the lead The year 2025 will be remembered for the ascendance of young Chinese innovators to the forefront of the AI world. It began with Deep ...
12 hours ago
Gen Z is rewriting the rules of wealth
Felicia Tan - The generational gap is real. Every generation is routinely criticised by the one before it as less disciplined, more entitled and too keen to break with tradition. George Orwell, author of Animal Farm and 1984, summed it up best: “Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the o ...
12 hours ago
Citi expects Asia investment banking momentum to carry into 2026
Samantha Chiew - Citi expects Asia-Pacific investment banking to remain busy in 2026, driven by a stronger deal pipeline, easing rate pressures and sustained funding demand for digital infrastructure and AI. Citi’s investment banking client revenues in Asia-Pacific in 2025 were the strongest the bank has seen in m ...
13 hours ago
Intense and fast-paced Year of the Horse
Daryl Guppy - The Chinese term for “immediate speed”, 马上 (ma shang), literally means “get up on the horse”. Americans like to think they are unique in their tradition of the cowboy on horseback in the Wild West. They fail to appreciate the decisive role the horse has played in Chinese history. They ne ...
13 hours ago
Australia banks’ record surge offers global haven from AI swings
The spike in banking stocks marks a shift in fortunes from early 2025
13 hours ago
Stocks to watch: SIAEC, Sri Trang Gloves, United Hampshire US Reit
Shikhar Gupta - [SINGAPORE] The following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Friday (Feb 20):
13 hours ago
Sri Trang sinks into red with Q4 loss of 503.8 million baht on production drop due to floods, impairment losses
Shikhar Gupta - The company proposes a dividend payment of 0.50 baht per share
13 hours ago
Nvidia, OpenAI near $30 billion investment in place of unfinished $100 billion deal, FT reports
Feb 19 : Nvidia is close to finalizing a $30 billion investment into OpenAI that will replace the long-term $100 billion commitment agreed upon by the companies last year, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing sources.The deal, which would be part of a new funding round for the artifici ...
13 hours ago
Nvidia close to investing $30 billion in OpenAI's mega funding round, source says
Feb 19 : Nvidia is close to finalizing a $30 billion investment in OpenAI, as the chipmaker moves to take a stake in one of its largest customers, a person familiar with the matter said.The investment is part of a fundraising round in which OpenAI is seeking more than $100 billion, the person said. ...
13 hours ago
China’s drone exports to Russia use a new route through Thailand
Chinese-made technology is routinely found on the battlefield in Ukraine
13 hours ago
Should you buy US stocks on a weaker greenback? How to invest if converting from Singdollar
Chloe Lim - Other considerations may be at play, experts say
13 hours ago
Want to load up on US stocks with a weaker greenback? Here’s what investors need to consider
Chloe Lim - Other considerations may be at play, experts say
13 hours ago
United Hampshire US Reit declares 12.1% higher H2 DPU of US$0.023
Deon Loke - Revenue was down 0.3% at US$36.2 million for the half year
13 hours ago
HSBC cuts 10% of US debt capital markets team amid overhaul
The bank is set to report earnings on Wednesday
13 hours ago
Uni-Asia focuses on disciplined execution and seizing opportunities in Japan real estate
Lin Daoyi - Despite Japan’s overall population decline, continued urbanisation is driving demand for real estate growth in Japanese metropolises, according to a report by LaSalle Investment Management, an independent subsidiary of JLL. In its Insights Strategy Analysis (ISA) Outlook 2026, the real estate ...
13 hours ago
United Hampshire US REIT reports 8.1% y-o-y higher DPU of 4.39 US cents for FY2025
Teo Zheng Long - United Hampshire US REIT (SGX: ODBU ) (UHREIT) has reported a higher distribution per unit (DPU) of 4.39 US cents for FY2025 ended Dec 31,2025, which represent an 8.1% y-o-y increase. For 2HFY2025, DPU was up by 12.1% y-o-y to 2.30 US cents. UHREIT’s distributable income for FY2025 came in 5.7% y- ...
13 hours ago
Japan's core inflation slows to 2-year low, complicates BOJ rate-hike timing
TOKYO, Feb 20 : Japan's annual core consumer inflation hit 2.0 per cent in January, marking the slowest pace in two years, data showed on Friday, suggesting weakening cost-push pressure that could complicate the central bank's decision on how soon to raise interest rates.The year-on-year i ...
14 hours ago
ByteDance building out artificial intelligence team in US
The company has also been ramping up its science-focused efforts
14 hours ago
ECB fines JPMorgan’s European arm 12.2 million euros for misreporting capital requirements
[FRANKFURT] The European Central Bank fined JPMorgan’s European arm 12.18 million euros (S$18.2 million) for misreporting capital requirements after it wrongly calculated...
14 hours ago
Amazon dethrones Walmart as world’s biggest company by sales
The two companies compete head-to-head for shoppers’ US dollars
15 hours ago
Who calls the shots in OCBC’s corridors of power?
Therese Soh - Its new group CEO Tan Teck Long must balance what minority shareholders want with the interests of one of Asia’s wealthiest clans
15 hours ago
The dating game: Why a CapitaLand-Mapletree merger could turn into a marriage of inconvenience
Jude Chan - A union of the two Temasek stalwarts would essentially bring together two different souls who have little cultural DNA in common
15 hours ago
More young investors turn to AI for stock picks, but experts warn of risks in volatile market
Koh Kim Xuan - While artificial intelligence can assist in planning investment strategies, limited human financial literacy could harm investment returns
15 hours ago
Most Meta staff to get 5% less in equity rewards as Zuckerberg cuts costs for AI spending, FT reports
Feb 19 : Meta reduced its annual distribution of stock options by about 5 per cent for most of its staff, as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg ploughs billions of dollars into artificial intelligence build out, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
15 hours ago
Meta cuts stock awards by 5% for most employees to fund AI goals, FT reports
Feb 19 : Meta reduced its annual distribution of stock options by about 5 per cent for most of its staff, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg ploughs billions of dollars into its artificial intelligence goals, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.The Facebook parent did not immediately respond to a request f ...
15 hours ago
Meta cuts stock awards by 5% for most employees to fund AI goals: Report
Meta reduced its annual distribution of stock options by about 5 per cent for most of its staff, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg ploughs billions of dollars into its artificial intelligence goals, the Financial Times reported on Thursday (Feb 19).The Facebook parent did not immediately respond to a request f ...