The Straits Times Index gained 3.8% over the week at 2,813.01; Main drivers were a new trade deal and vaccine news; Wall Street dipped on Friday as Treasury and Fed disagree on emergency funds; DBS India to merge with troubled Lakshmi Vilas; Starburst’s bosses under investigation; Penny stocks in play included Oceanus and Blumont; SPH’s shares surge 22% on Friday on restructuring speculation   RCEP and vaccine news provided main backdrop News of the freshly signed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a mega free trade deal backed by China and involving 14 other Asia-Pacific countries including Singapore was one big driver of the local stock market in the early part of the week. The other driver was hope that there might be a viable vaccine soon to combat COVID-19, th

In May 2019, I met Starburst’s Managing and Executive Director Mr Yap Tin Foo. Since Mar 2020, Starburst has been on a roll in winning contracts and I believe it is an opportune time to meet Mr Yap again. Despite Mr Yap’s busy schedule, he agrees to meet me on 1-1 basis to share his company’s business operations and prospects. Below are some of my takeaways from my discussion with him and from its recent results briefing.   Company description Quoting from Starburst’s press release, it is an engineering specialist in a niche industry, and designs, fabricates, installs and maintains anti-ricochet ballistic protection systems for firearm shooting ranges and tactical training mock-ups. The Group’s firearms-training facilities and tactical training mock-ups are utilised by law enfor