I joined the Money section of The Straits Times in May 2000. Back then, the personal finance sector, made up of banks, insurers and broking houses, was like a sleepy giant. Each party operated in its own silo and cross-selling was uncommon. But my timing couldn’t have been better because, fortunately for me, the party [...]

dubious practices, financial products, financial scandals, insurance, investments, lesson, losses, Scams, Singapore Hide

THE growth rate of Singapore’s economy will not return to levels seen before the recent economic downturn any time soon, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday. In his speech at a bursary award ceremony at Townsville Primary School, PM Lee said that while Singapore is emerging from the downturn, he does not expect gross [...]

growth, Singapore, stock market Hide

JUST as Santa checks his list twice to find out who has been naughty or nice, BT has gone through news from 2009′s financial torrent to sieve major events that have shaped the local market – for better or worse. The effects of rights issues, rule changes, accounting scandals and other events will linger. So [...]

housing, Interest rates, investments, Risk Management, stock market Hide

HOME buyers are being advised to pause a moment before leaping into the purchase of that dream apartment. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) yesterday cited two scenarios in which the resurgent private property sector may not stay quite so rosy. The central bank also flagged possible fresh measures to cool the sector, on top [...]

bubble, housing, investments, Risk Management, Singapore Hide

CENTRAL Provident Fund members have been warned they face fines of up to $10,000 if they take part in a scam that has just come to light. The CPF Board issued the stern warning after a report in The Straits Times on Thursday exposing a practice adopted by unscrupulous financial advisers who plunder members’ CPF [...]

investments, Scams, Singapore Hide

Writer examines how both tenures perform in rising and falling markets as well as in collective sales. By Nicholas Mak, Fri, Dec 04, 2009, The Business Times THE question of whether to own freehold or leasehold property seems a perennial one, with pros and cons shifting with market cycles and new trends. Here, we examine [...]

Singapore Hide

By REUTERS November 9, 2009 SINGAPORE — The Singapore central bank warned Monday that more measures could be needed to curb the risk of speculation in the country’s property market, which has been bolstered by low borrowing costs. The comments underscored a growing concern among policy makers in Asia, who are worried about the possibility [...]

housing, Singapore Hide

By GENEVIEVE CUA The failure of Lehman Brothers gave structured products a bad name but wealthy investors are warming to derivative-based solutions again. But events of the past year have left their mark on such products as structures are now simpler and tenors shorter. Barclays Capital’s head of investor solutions Philippe El-Asmar says issuance in [...]

investment banks, Singapore, structured products Hide

SINGAPOREANS generally have not planned well for their retirement, according to a survey by global bank HSBC. The majority of Singaporeans polled in the survey – aged between 30 and 70 – said that they saved only $100 to $200 a month for their retirement. This works out to a total of less than $100,000 [...]

elderly, retirement, Singapore Hide