Federal reserves

SINGAPORE: Demand for new private homes in August fell by some 27 per cent from July, with the sharpest decline seen in the mass market segment. According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), 1,421 units of new homes were sold in August. Including executive condominiums (EC), a total of 1,539 units changed hands in August - the lowest sales figure so far this year. The fall in August followed a strong rebound in July. Showflats were not as busy in August, as some home buyers stayed away during the Hungry Ghost festival. It's traditionally a lull period for property sales, with developers launching fewer projects. Developers placed 1,118 units of new homes for sale in August. 835 units of mass market homes were sold in August, down 45 per cent from July. Director of Chris International, Chris Koh, said: "There has always been a demand for suburban projects; a lot depends on whether there are new launches for buyers to choose from. Historically, the second and … [Read more...] about Sales of new private homes down 27% in August

SINGAPORE: The government is reviewing the Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) setting process, and how the SIBOR can be 'more fundamentally strengthened'. Senior Minister of State for Education and Information, Communications and the Arts Lawrence Wong said this in Parliament on Monday, on behalf of Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who is also Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Mr Wong was replying to a question by Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC, Dr Lily Neo. He said there is a case for stronger governance or supervision over the setting of these rates. This comes as the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) has been hit by a scandal in which traders from many banks rigged rates to maximise profits. More recently, US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke called LIBOR 'structurally flawed'. Mr Wong said the SIBOR shares a similar history as LIBOR - as the rates are price discovery mechanisms for lending and borrowing … [Read more...] about Government reviewing SIBOR setting process

REUTERS: U.S. grocery delivery app Instacart is considering going public through a direct listing, concerned that it could leave money on the table through a traditional initial public offering (IPO), according to people familiar with the matter. The move would make Instacart the latest company to snub an IPO, for decades the primary path to a stock market debut, because it risks pricing its offering too low compared to where its shares end up trading. In a direct listing, companies go public without raising money through a stock sale. Shares of newly listed U.S. companies that went public through an IPO ended trading up 36.2per cent on average on their first day last year, compared to 17.2per cent in 2019, according to data firm Dealogic. Investment bankers say they often struggle to price in the impact of huge investor demand for popular consumer names, such as home-sharing start-up Airbnb Inc and food delivery app DoorDash Inc, given the limited initial stock float of … [Read more...] about Exclusive: Instacart mulls direct listing in snub to IPOs – sources

Kindly Share This Story: Oil prices jumped higher Thursday after OPEC+ countries allowed crude production to rise only slightly, while US stocks unwound over concerns about rising inflation despite the Federal Reserve’s attempt to allay fears. After a videoconference lasting less than three hours, the OPEC groups of oil producers and its allies decided to extend output cuts enacted at the pandemic’s outset into April, while the production boost they did approve amounted to only a third of what observers had predicted. Oil prices surged more than five percent by the end of the meeting, reaching levels not since early January 2020, before dialing back slightly. “Today’s decision is clearly a positive outcome for oil prices,” said analyst Fawad Razaqzada at Thinkmarkets. “With (coronavirus) vaccinations well underway across important regions of the world, travel demand should keep prices supported for the next few months,” he added. Inflation … [Read more...] about OPEC+ deal boosts oil prices as inflation fears dog stocks

(Photo by Kena Betancur / AFP) NEW YORK – Wall Street plunged into the red on Thursday, with all three major stock indices closing lower after investors were disappointed by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s response to inflation fears. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was the biggest loser, falling 2.1 percent to end at 12,723.47, off the lowest point of the session. The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.1 percent to close at 30,924.14, while the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.3 percent to 3,768.47. Shares were choppy but mostly higher all day, but headed south shortly after Powell’s speech, despite the central bank chair saying price increases are not an immediate concern and again pledging to keep the benchmark interest rate low for the foreseeable future. Apparently markets wanted more, and the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes spiked to 1.55 percent, the highest this week and near the peak of the past year  — a red flag for inflation pressures — … [Read more...] about Wall Street closes lower, battered by price concerns