Posts by Mark Darwin
Volvo Cars sales fall 10% in March as fully electric sales dive
[STOCKHOLM] Volvo Cars sold 70,737 cars in March, down 10 per cent from a year earlier as sales of fully electric cars tumbled, the Sweden-based company said on Wednesday (Apr 2), sending its shares down. Volvo Cars, which is majority-owned by China’s Geely, said in a statement sales in Europe were down 9 per cent…
Read MoreMaybank initiates coverage on Centurion with ‘buy’ call with construction boom in Singapore expected
[SINGAPORE] Maybank on Friday (Mar 28) initiated coverage of Centurion with a “buy” call, on optimism over the tighter supply of worker dormitory beds in Singapore and strong construction demand. It also set a price target of S$1.45 – 19.8 per cent or S$0.24 above its latest closing price of S$1.21 on Apr 1. Maybank…
Read MoreSAC Capital lifts Soilbuild target price on strong order book, maintains its ‘buy’ call
[SINGAPORE] SAC Capital hiked Soilbuild Construction’s target price to S$1.10 and maintained its “buy” call. The target price represents an upside of 37.5 per cent from the counter’s last trading price of S$0.80 as at 3.12 pm on Wednesday (Apr 2). Shares of Soilbuild were trading 1.9 per cent or S$0.015 higher at the time. …
Read MoreAnalysts raise gold price forecasts after spot prices hit fresh record
[SINGAPORE] Gold’s record-breaking rally is not over yet, especially amid looming recession risks and central bank demand, said analysts. After spot gold hit a fresh record of US$3,249 per ounce on Tuesday (Apr 1), both BMI and State Street Global Advisors have raised their gold price forecasts. “Gold remains boosted by escalating trade uncertainties, heightened…
Read MoreHere are the 5 top-performing Singapore stocks in Q1 – DBS, UOB and OCBC are not among them
[SINGAPORE] The Straits Times Index (STI) achieved multiple highs in the first quarter of 2025, driven by factors such as investors flocking to safe havens and fresh records hit by the banks. The index briefly crossed 4,000 for the first time on Mar 28, reaching an all-time high of 4,005.18 points. In Q1 2025, the…
Read MoreBank of Japan’s Ueda says US tariffs could have big impact on global trade
Ahead of the latest levies, Japan’s authorities have been rushing to prepare for potential impacts [TOKYO] Bank of Japan (BOJ) governor Kazuo Ueda said US tariffs could have a significant impact on trade activity in affected nations, although for now the overall picture of the policies remains unclear ahead of an official announcement later in…
Read MoreBYD enjoys yet another blockbuster quarter as Tesla flounders
[HONG KONG] China’s BYD enjoyed a strong start to 2025, with sales up 58 per cent in the first quarter versus the same period of last year. The nation’s best-selling auto brand delivered 371,419 passenger vehicles in March, bringing the total for the first three months of the year to 986,098 units, data released on…
Read MoreHard data shows US economy is solid, but there is fear around tariffs: Federal Reserve’s Goolsbee
CHICAGO Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee on Tuesday said while the “hard” data show the underlying US economy is solid, the labour market strong, and inflation down from its peak in 2022, the imposition of a broad new set of tariffs under President Donald Trump could lead to renewed inflation or an economic slowdown.…
Read MoreChina ready to buy more goods from India as US tariffs loom
[NEW DELHI] China is willing to buy more Indian products to balance trade, Beijing’s Ambassador Xu Feihong said just ahead of a US tariff announcement expected to hit the south Asian neighbours. “We are willing to work with the Indian side to strengthen practical cooperation in trade and other areas, and to import more Indian…
Read MoreTrump to weigh plans for TikTok sale at meeting on Wednesday
[WASHINGTON] US President Donald Trump will meet on Wednesday (Apr 2) to consider a proposal for divesting TikTok’s US operations from Chinese parent company ByteDance, just days ahead of a deadline for a sale of the popular social media app, according to sources familiar with the matter. The administration is considering a deal that would…
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