Posts by Mark Darwin
China banks raise mortgage rates for the first time since 2021
CHINESE banks raised new mortgage costs for the first time in three years, as narrowing margins are dragged down by a persistent property slump and slowdown in the world’s No 2 economy. The average mortgage rate for buyers’ first homes in 42 big cities inched up to 3.08 per cent in November from a record…
Read MoreJapan brokerages boost pay, perks for retirement-age staff
JAPAN’S biggest securities firms are raising pay and benefits for workers who reach retirement age, highlighting the urgency to retain talent in one of the world’s fastest-ageing countries. Workers who reach 60 or above typically face a steep drop in their salary when they are re-employed, and diminished roles such as creating documents. Now, they…
Read MoreChina’s LGFVs raise record dim sum debt as domestic curbs bite
CHINESE local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) are selling an unprecedented amount of offshore yuan bonds, skirting attempts made by Beijing to reduce their debt sales. LGFVs have raised 163.6 billion yuan (S$30.6 billion) via so-called dim sum notes this year, the most since Bloomberg began compiling relevant data in 1993. The average coupon has risen…
Read MoreYeo Hiap Seng lays off 25 employees as Oatly shuts its Singapore plant
YEO Hiap Seng will be laying off 25 employees as a result of Oatly’s decision to cease its manufacturing operations in Singapore. On Thursday (Dec 19), the beverage manufacturer said a total of 41 employees were directly involved in Oatly’s manufacturing operations. It noted that it has placed 16 employees in other roles within…
Read MoreMicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor wants more ‘intelligent leverage’
MICROSTRATEGY co-founder and chairman Michael Saylor says the dot-com-era software maker turned leveraged Bitcoin proxy plans to focus more on fixed-income securities for raising capital to buy the cryptocurrency, once its current fundraising programme is exhausted. Saylor stated the preference in a Bloomberg Television interview when asked about how he expects to fund future cryptocurrency…
Read MoreMicron drops after sluggish PC, phone demand hurts forecast
MICRON Technology, the largest US maker of computer memory chips, tumbled in late trading after its revenue forecast missed projections by about US$1 billion, hurt by sluggish demand for smartphones and personal computers (PC). Sales will be roughly US$7.9 billion in the fiscal second quarter, which runs to February, the company said on Wednesday (Dec…
Read MoreChina firms seeking second listings seen boosting Hong Kong deal volume
HONG Kong’s dealmakers are betting on mainland-traded Chinese companies’ second listings to boost share-sale volumes next year, building on a pickup in recent months. Such listings could help lift Hong Kong’s initial public offering volumes to about US$15 billion in 2025, according to a forecast by KPMG, compared to US$10.5 billion so far this year.…
Read MoreCiti and Maybank Securities collaborate to offer global securities lending to Singapore retail investors
This collaboration marks the introduction of Citi Securities Lending Access in Asia CITI and Maybank Securities announced on Wednesday (Dec 18) that they will be working to facilitate the lending of retail clients’ global equity holdings together using Citi’s platform. From this venture, clients of Maybank Securities will be able to earn a portion of…
Read MoreBoeing says it has resumed 767, 777 wide-body production
BOEING said late on Tuesday it has resumed production of all airplane programmes that had been halted by a machinists’ strike in the Pacific North-west. The planemaker confirmed last week it restarted production of its best-selling 737 MAX jetliner in early December – about a month after the end of a seven-week strike by 33,000…
Read MoreSTI continues losing streak; falls 0.5% on Wednesday
THE Straits Times Index (STI) continued the losing streak on Wednesday (Dec 18), while regional indices had mixed results. The STI was down 0.5 per cent or 20.31 points at 3,779.62. Across the broader market, advancers outnumbered decliners 258 to 224, after 783.4 million shares worth S$905 million changed hands. The trio of local banks…
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