Posts by Stephanie Irvin
MAS, SPF to block website access to unlicensed trading platforms Octa and XM from Jun 20
[SINGAPORE] The websites of unlicensed trading platforms Octa and XM will be blocked for Singapore residents with effect from Jun 20, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Police Force in a joint statement on Friday (Jun 6). “Consumers with active accounts with Octa and XM will not be able to access…
Read MoreCordlife collection rates still under pre-incident levels, but resumed Singapore operations are ‘encouraging’
[SINGAPORE] Cordlife said that the full resumption of its Singapore operations is an “encouraging step” in restoring client confidence and regaining operational momentum, even though collection rates have not recovered to average levels from before a storage lapse in December 2023. The cord blood bank resumed operations earlier this year after the Ministry of Health…
Read MoreIndonesia sovereign wealth fund interested in Grab-GoTo deal: Bloomberg
[SINGAPORE] Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara is considering a stake in the Grab acquisition of GoTo for US$7 billion, reported Bloomberg. The sovereign wealth fund is said to be in preliminary discussions with GoTo to acquire a minority stake in the combined entity. The Indonesian government owning a slice of the Grab-GoTo entity could assuage…
Read MoreGold rises as weak US data offsets optimism from Trump-Xi call
GOLD rose on Friday and was set for weekly gains, as a spate of weak US economic data outweighed optimism from President Donald Trump’s call with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, while investors awaited US payroll data. Spot gold was up 0.3 per cent at US$3,362.89 an ounce, as of 0152 GMT. Bullion is up 2.3 per cent…
Read MoreUS Treasury says Bank of Japan should continue to tighten policy
[TOKYO] The Bank of Japan should continue to proceed with monetary tightening, which would support a “normalisation of the yen’s weakness” and rebalancing of bilateral trade, the US Treasury Department said on Thursday. “BOJ policy tightening should continue to proceed in response to domestic economic fundamentals including growth and inflation, supporting a normalisation of the…
Read MoreHSBC chair Tucker to return to Asia insurer AIA after overseeing bank overhaul
HSBC Holdings’ high-profile chairman Mark Tucker will return to the insurance sector as chair of Hong Kong-based AIA Group, after having presided over top management changes and navigated Sino-US tensions at the Asia-focused lender. Tucker will depart HSBC by Sep 30 and will step into the role of AIA chairman on Oct 1, the two…
Read MoreBroadcom gives tepid forecast, missing loftiest expectations
BROADCOM, a chip supplier to companies like Alphabet and Apple, gave a lackluster revenue forecast for the current quarter, suggesting that the AI spending frenzy isn’t as strong as some investors anticipated. Sales will be about US$15.8 billion in the fiscal third quarter, which ends Aug 3, the company said in a statement on Thursday.…
Read MoreOCBC seeks to delist Great Eastern with new offer at $30.15 per share
[SINGAPORE] OCBC has made a S$0.9 billion conditional exit offer at $30.15 per share for the 6.28 per cent stake in Great Eastern it does not own, in a bid to delist the insurer. The offer, which OCBC said on Friday (Jun 6) was made “at the request of Great Eastern”, will resolve the latter’s 11-month…
Read MoreTrafigura flags trading headwinds as payouts outstrip profit
TRAFIGURA Group warned that market volatility may not translate to opportunities for its traders, as the commodity giant reported first-half results that showed its dividend payments exceeded net profit. US President Donald Trump’s trade war in the last couple of months has ignited sharp price swings and market dislocations — typically conditions that commodity traders…
Read MoreTrump-Musk row slams Tesla shares, US$150 billion in market value wiped out
TESLA shares went into free-fall on Thursday as President Donald Trump publicly feuded with the electric vehicle maker’s billionaire CEO Elon Musk, his self-proclaimed “First Buddy.” Investors watched the unfolding drama with growing worry about what the fracas could mean for Musk’s business empire. The carmaker’s shares ended the day down 14 per cent, wiping…
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