Posts by Stephanie Irvin
Reit ETFs see 40% AUM growth in past year as S-Reits regain appeal
[SINGAPORE] Over the past 12 months, Singapore-listed real estate investment trust (Reit) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seen more than S$300 million in net new inflows, reflecting continued investor demand. The combined assets under management (AUM) of these ETFs have surged by 40 per cent over a year, reaching an all-time high of S$1.2 billion by…
Read MoreMicrosoft to stop using engineers in China for tech support of US military, Hegseth orders review
[SAN FRANCISCO] Microsoft on Friday said it will stop using China-based engineers to provide technical assistance to the US military after a report in investigative journalism outlet ProPublica sparked questions from a US senator and prompted Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to order a two-week review of Pentagon cloud deals. The report detailed Microsoft’s use of…
Read MoreTrump signs stablecoin law as crypto industry aims for mainstream adoption
[WASHINGTON] US President Donald Trump on Friday signed a law to create a regulatory regime for dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies known as stablecoins, a milestone that could pave the way for the digital assets to become an everyday way to make payments and move money. The bill, dubbed the GENIUS Act, passed in the House of Representatives…
Read MoreOil steadies as mixed US economic and tariff news offset new Russia sanctions
[NEW YORK] Crude oil futures were little changed on Friday on mixed US economic and tariff news and worries about oil supplies following the European Union’s latest sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures fell 24 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to settle at US$69.28 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures…
Read MoreUS: Wall Street opens higher as investors weigh data, earnings
Published Fri, Jul 18, 2025 · 09:43 PM [NEW YORK] Wall Street opened higher on Friday (Jul 18), with investors weighing a week of mixed economic signals and earnings reports, while Netflix’s blockbuster profit failed to spark much excitement. At 09.30 am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54.46 points, or 0.13 per cent,…
Read MoreLum Chang Creations’ public offer of 1 million shares 47.3 times oversubscribed
[SINGAPORE] Lum Chang Creations (LCC) has drawn strong investor interest for its initial public offering (IPO), with one million offer shares about 47.3 times oversubscribed by retail investors. By the close of the public offer at noon on Thursday (Jul 17), the urban revitalisation specialist had received 599 valid applications for the offer shares. These…
Read MoreUOB awarded S$17.7m in civil suit against Lippo Marina Collection over inflated housing loans
[SINGAPORE] UOB has been awarded S$17.7 million in claims against Indonesian developer Lippo Marina Collection (LMC) and two property agents, Goh Buck Lim and Ms Aurellia Ho, in a long-running civil suit that began in 2014. The High Court’s assessment of the damages dated Jun 30, 2025, follows a key ruling by the Appellate Division…
Read MoreHSBC disbands team focused on managing geopolitical risks
Published Fri, Jul 18, 2025 · 05:04 PM [LONDON] HSBC Holdings is disbanding a team of staffers that were focused on identifying and managing geopolitical risk even as the possibility of such threats has ratcheted up since US President Donald Trump returned to power. The move will impact fewer than 10 roles across Asia,…
Read MoreECB may wait until December to make final rate cut: survey
[FRANKFURT] The European Central Bank (ECB) can delay its final interest-rate cut until December without investors concluding in the meantime that easing is over, a Bloomberg survey of economists showed. A majority continues to expect the last quarter-point reduction in the deposit rate, to 1.75 per cent, will come in September after a pause next…
Read MoreTrump’s U-turn on Nvidia spurs talk of grand bargain with China
[BEIJING] Only a few years ago, the Biden administration declared export controls a “new strategic asset” to help the US maintain “as large a lead as possible” over China in advanced technology. US President Donald Trump is now upending that approach. In a reversal this week, the White House told chipmaker Nvidia it could soon…
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