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News Update!

 

Pictures From The Earthquake And Tsunamis Across The Pacific

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/pictures-earthquake-2011-3?op=1#ixzz1GI60lvlx

 

huge quake just hit japan.  take care to those who are in japan now.  

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/11/us-japan-quake-idUSTRE72A0SS20110311

(Reuters) - A massive 8.9 magnitude quake hit northeast Japan Friday, causing many injuries, fires and a four-meter (13-ft) tsunami along parts of the country's coastline, NHK television and witnesses reported.

There were several strong aftershocks and a warning of a 10-meter tsunami following the quake, which also caused buildings to shake violently in the capital Tokyo.

TV pictures showed a vast wall of water carrying buildings and debris across a large swathe of coastal farmland.

Public broadcaster NHK showed flames and black smoke billowing from a building in Odaiba, a Tokyo suburb, and bullet trains to the north of the country were halted.

Black smoke was also pouring out of an industrial area in Yokohama's Isogo area. TV footage showed boats, cars and trucks floating in water after a small tsunami hit the town of Kamaichi in northern Japan. An overpass, location unknown, appeared to have collapsed into the water.

Kyodo news agency said there were reports of fires in the city of Sendai in the northeast.

" The building shook for what seemed a long time and many people in the newsroom grabbed their helmets and some got under

their desks," Reuters correspondent Linda Sieg said in Tokyo.

" It was probably the worst I have felt since I came to Japan more than 20 years ago."

Passengers on a subway line in Tokyo screamed and grabbed other passengers' hands. The shaking was so bad it was hard to stand, said Reuters reporter Mariko Katsumura.

Hundreds of office workers and shoppers spilled into Hitotsugi street, a shopping street in Akasaka in downtown Tokyo.

Household goods ranging from toilet paper to clingfilm were flung into the street from outdoor shelves in front of a drugstore.

Crowds gathered in front of televisions in a shop next to the drugstore for details. After the shaking from the first quake subsided, crowds were watching and pointing to construction cranes on an office building up the street with voices saying, " They're still shaking!," " Are they going to fall?"

Asagi Machida, 27, a web designer in Tokyo, sprinted from a coffee shop when the quake hit.

" The images from the New Zealand earthquake are still fresh in my mind so I was really scared. I couldn't believe such a big earthquake was happening in Tokyo."

 

 

Singapore shares took lead from regional bourses, with the STI losing 17.5pts (-0.6%) to 3,075.4, led by conglomerates and financial counters. In the broader market, losers led gainers 297 to 137 on light volume, with 1bn shares worth S$1bn changing hands for the session. We do not rule out the possibility of a potential bloodshed in the local market this morning, in view of uncertainties in the MENA region as well as on weak economic data from US and China.

Corporate News...

Cambridge Industrial Trust plans to raise S$56.7m through a 1-for-8 rights issue to partially finance its acquisition of two properties in Clementi Loop. The issue price for each right share will be S$0.429.

Global Logistics Properties will replace SMRT as an STI constituent on March 21. We could see some interest in the stock today. Conversely, there could be some selling pressures on SMRT. We have an Underperform recommendation with TP of S$2.10 for SMRT.

Goodpack Limited. Continue to see strong demand in natural and synthetic rubber from robust tyre production industry. Price has fallen by 12.8% since our previous note. See value re-emerging. Upgrade to Neutral from Underperform. TP S$2.19.

Keppel Group has secured new contracts totaling S$170m for two fast track projects, comprising of a Pipe Laying Vessel for Saipem and a FSO vessel conversion for Bumi Armada. We currently have an Outperform recommendation with target price of S$15.00.

Swiber. In less than 24 hours, Swiber had announced two contracts close to US$160m in total. We still anticipate more contract wins from Indonesia and India in the near-term and stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings as the key catalysts. Maintain Outperform, TP S$1.01.

Trades of the Day...

Fundamentally:
China Animal Healthcare (CAL SP S$0.31 Buy TP S$0.52) - We believe CAL’s investment merits lie in i) strong industry traction ii) sound market expansion strategy and iii) attractive valuations. Maintain Buy, TP S$0.52.

 

Swiber Holdings: Expecting more wins in the market

Summary: Swiber yesterday announced that it has secured a US$34m contract from an undisclosed international major oil company in South East Asia to carry out transportation, installation and subsea works. It later also announced another US$125m contract for the engineering, procurement, transportation and installation of subsea pipelines. The group expects the demand for offshore EPCIC work to be high and is “anticipating more contracts to be awarded in the market”. With these recent wins, we estimate that Swiber’s order book currently stands at about US$839m. Given the group’s still upbeat outlook and upside potential of 16%, we maintain our BUY rating and fair value estimate of S$0.94. Risks include lower-than-expected contract wins, unforeseen circumstances that disrupt project execution and potentially higher dilution with the reset of the conversion price of the group’s convertible bonds. (Low Pei Han)

United Envirotech: Tapping on China’s growing water industry

Summary: United Envirotech Ltd (UEL), one of the leading membrane-based waste-water treatment companies listed on the SGX, is well positioned to tap on China’s growing water industry, given its good track record there. The Chinese government, after spending some RMB365.5b over the past five years, intends to spend another RMB4t over the next 10 years to fix the country’s chronic water shortages. Separately, we think that the recent move by Clean Water Investment (CWI) – an unit of CDH China Management – to acquire SGX-listed peer Sinomem Technology Limited (STL, Not Rated) for S$351m further underlines the growth prospect of the China waste-water market. Applying the same 12.5x valuation that CWI is paying for STL to UEL’s FY11F EPS, this would translate to a price of around S$0.47. However, as UEL has slightly better quality waste-water treatment assets in its portfolio, we think that our DCF-based fair value of S$0.65 (14.4x FY11F) is justified. Maintain BUY. (Carey Wong)

For more information on the above, visit www.ocbcresearch.comfor detailed report.

NEWS HEADLINES

- According to reports from wire agencies, the price range for the Hutchison Port Holdings Trust has gone from a minimum of US$0.91 and a maximum of US$1.08 to a new minimum of US$0.99 and a maximum of US$1.03.

- Crude palm oil futures has come under pressure amid news of higher production and forecasts that prices will ease.

- Kyodo-Allied Industries plans to move into the China property development market through a S$600m reverse takeover deal.

- Keppel Shipyard - a unit of Keppel Corp's Keppel Offshore & Marine - has secured two new contracts worth S$170m in total.

- Global Logistic Properties will replace transport group SMRT Corp as a constituent of the Straits Times Index on 21 Mar, following a half-yearly review.

- Heeton Holdings, KSH Holdings, TEE International, and Zap Piling have teamed up to buy the freehold MacPherson Green site via a collective sale for S$105m.

- XinRen Aluminum Holdings plans to exercise its option to acquire two smelting plants totalling 275,000 tonnes in capacity.

- The Straits Trading Company Ltd said that it is considering the possibility of seeking a secondary listing of its ordinary shares on the main market of Bursa Malaysia.

 

Market overpricing risk of high oil price in SIA and CD in the short-term US stocks tumbled on higher jobless claims (actual 397k, consensus 376k), a downgrade of Spain’s credit rating by Moody’s and a surprise USD7.3bil February trade deficit from China due to a weaker-than-expected import (actual 19.4%, consensus 32.3%) and an even worse-than-expected export (actual +2.4%, consensus 26.2%) figure.

Oil price still managed to par early session losses on continued Middle East concerns with Brent crude for April delivery finishing at USD115.43pbl. For the local bourse, we expect stocks to start the session weaker and choppy trading beyond that. Look for the STI to test 3040 in the current session. The current rally in oil price had led to a sell down for companies whereby fuel and/or oil are an important input material.

We think investors have, for the moment, overpriced the risk of high oil prices for SIA (Buy, TP: $17.3) and Comfort Delgro (Buy, TP: $1.86). SIA’s current share price implies a jet fuel price of USD150pbl when it is currently trading at USD131pbl. This is even before taking into account the 3 times increase in fuel surcharges since December last year that will help offset some of the cost increase.

Comfort Delgro’s current price implies a West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price of USD130pbl when it’s currently trading at USD103pbl. Traders can consider a trading buy-on-weakness these 2 stocks if oil price rests at current levels in the short-term.SIA shares can trade up towards their near-term resistance at $14.2-14.5.

Spot coal price should be underpinned by bad weather in Australia. Based on news report, a huge band of monsoon rain hanging over a coastal area south of Cairns has prompted flash flood warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology in Queensland State. The bad weather in Australia will continue to limit supplies from there. We expect thermal coal spot price to stay high at US$110-130/t.

The higher price benefits both the coking and thermal coal players, especially the coking coal players due the larger exports of coking coal from Australia. Indonesian coal miners should benefit. In Singapore, Straits Asia (Hold, TP: $2.3) comes to mind. Swiber announced a Notice of Award from a leading O& G operator in South Asia worth approximately USD125mil. Work will commence in 4Q 2011 and is expected to be completed by 2Q 2012. The contract win brings FY11 YTD order wins to USD209mil. This contract win does not change our forecast number that has factored in FY11 order wins of USD450mil. Maintain Hold and TP of $0.83.

Cambridge Industrial Trust is proposing an acquisition of three properties for an aggregate purchase consideration of SGD116.8mil on a sale-and-leaseback basis to respective vendors. A Rights Issue will be offered on a 1- for-8 basis at a price of S$0.429 per Rights Unit. This is a 15.0%  discount to yesterday closing price of S$0.505 per unit and a 13.7% discount to TERP of S$0.497. The trust manager has undertaken to subscribe for its rights entitlement. The rights will be fully underwritten and is renounceable. The acquisition will provide a pro forma DPU accretion and pro forma distribution yield of 10.1% for existing units.

Other merits of the acquisition

1) increasing the size of the Portfolio thus generating economies of scale

2) improving Portfolio and tenant trade sector diversification

3) lengthened the weighted average lease expiry and lease expiry profile. Current TP of $0.58 and recommendation under review.

 

 

Singapore shares ended lower yesterday, defying regional trends. The local STI fell 10.9pts (-0.4%) to 3,092.9, led by declines in financial and oil & gas counters. In the broader market, big caps were in play albeit on light volume. 1.1bn shares worth S$1.3bn changed hands for the session. Losers slightly led gainers 229 to 224. The local market could end lower by mid-day, as escalating tensions in Libya could spark concerns on its impact on the global economic recovery.

Corporate News...

Cosco Corporation. Our recent yard visit to Qidong confirmed that international customers are generally satisfied with Cosco’s work quality and have been adding job scopes. We believe Cosco is the next best Chinese yard (after Dalian Shipbuilding) that could benefit from the offshore boom as Singapore yards get booked out. Maintain Outperform and target price of S$2.85.

OUE. We recently met Mr Stephen Riady, Chairman of OUE, who again dispelled tals of the group venturing into low-cost housing in China. The market may have misrepresented his positive views on the Chinese market. Operationally, the group has not disappointed. Maintain Outperform with target price of S$3.87.

Tiger Airways plans to introduce a cadet pilot program. We see this as a positive move as it will provide a sustainable supply of pilots. However, lower target price to S$1.43 from S$1.64 in view of temporary oil price risks. Maintain Underperform.

Passion Holdings. Decorative Arts Holdings announced a voluntary conditional cash offer at 26 Scts/share, a 23.8% premium to Passion’s previous close prior to its trading halt. Passion has lifted its trading halt. Prices should move up to close the premium gap this morning.

PNE Micron Holdings announced an RTO of Khardorm Investments and Super Ace Investment for a consideration of 2.6bn shares at S$0.085 each. PNE Micron jumped 100% yesterday to S$0.07.

 

NEWS HEADLINES

- Singapore’s economy is now expected to grow at a higher 5.7% and witness a sharper price inflation of 4% this year, according to a poll by the MAS.

- Seasoned industrial property developers may have to brace themselves for more competition ahead as new players such as Oxley Holdings and Qingdao Construction enter the fray.

- A partnership involving F& N, Heineken and Asia Pacific Breweries is selling its stake in Hong Kong-listed Kingway Brewery Holdings for S$205m.

- PNE Micron Holdings announced plans for a S$225.54m reverse takeover deal, which will see an Indonesian developer-cum-manager of resort villas and hotels list on the SGX.

- Passion Holdings has received a S$101.4m privatisation offer from an investment holding firm managed by a unit of Citigroup’s alternative investment practice.

- Yanlord Land Group said that it is launching a US dollar bond offering and has appointed three banks as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners for the proposed offering.

- In their third fuel surcharge hike in recent months, SIA and subsidiary SilkAir will be charging more for tickets issued on or after 17 Mar due to rising jet fuel prices.

- Qian Feng Fabric Tech has secured the rights to sell apparel and other products under the Goodyear brand in China and Singapore.

- Stamford Tyres Corporation’s net profit grew 25.6% YoY to S$3m for 3QFY11.

- TTJ Holdings posted a net profit of S$4.9m for 1HFY11, more than double that of S$2.28m a year ago.

 

Maintain preference for rigbuilders vs. shipbuilders. Reiterate BUY on KepCorp, SembMarine and Cosco Corp. DBS Research reiterates our preference for rigbuilders vs. shipbuilders. We expect the strong momentum in order flows for rigbuilders since 4Q2010 to be sustained, anchored by fleet renewal cycle and greater E& P spending. This will lead to increased earnings visibility, and EBIT margins are also expected to normalize around mid-teens. Shipbuilding could be
challenging beyond 2012 on weaker order flows and possible margin compression. Maintain BUY on KepCorp (TP S$14.63), SembMarine (TP S$6.63) and Cosco Corp (TP S$3.16). Technically, Cosco shares’ near-term support is at current level $2, with resistance at $2.10 - $2.15.

Speakers at the 2011 Palm Oil Conference mostly indicated that near term palm oil prices will be strong, followed by softening in 2H11. Reasons for the expectation of strong prices ranged from late-stage El-Nino impact on palm oil supply, Indonesian export tax, extension of US biodiesel tax credit, acreage shift away from oilseeds, global demand shifts and strong crude oil prices. Arguments for lower prices in 2H11 ranged from lower demand from China to lack of political will
to increase RFS requirement after 2012 given the large US budget deficit. We continue to expect near term price strength, followed by lower CPO prices in 2H11. We are reviewing FY11- 13F numbers of RM 2,750, RM2,590 and RM2,610 respectively with a slight upside bias. For SGX listed CPO stock, top picks are IndoAgri and Wilmar.

SIA announced that it is raising its fuel surcharges for the 3rd time since Dec 10, which applies to both SIA and Silkair flights. The new fuel surcharges represent a US$2-US$26 increase per sector, depending on the distance and class of travel. The new fuel surcharges apply for tickets issued on or after Mar 17th. This increase in fuel surcharges will help to relieve some but not all of the increase in costs for SIA. We are currently reviewing our SIA numbers and are looking to cut FY11 earnings forecasts to factor in higher jet fuel costs. We still see SIA as a BUY. Though earnings will slow but it will still be at a fairly profitable level for SIA. SIA also has S$5bn in net cash, which we believe the company will either pay out or buy something value accretive with. Technically, the SIA shares can rebound to $14.20-$14.50 in the near-term with support at $13.70.

Qian Feng Fabric Tech, a knitted fabrics manufacturer, has secured the exclusive rights to sell apparel and other products under the Goodyear brand in China and Singapore until Dec 31, 2015. The company plans to invest RMB200m in brand management over the next five years, which will be funded internally, and possibly by bank borrowings and share placement. This year, it plans to have 10 specialty stores and about 30 franchise stores, one of which will be the first. Goodyear lifestyle flagship store in China. Within three years, the company plans to increase the number of specialty stores to 300, with a focus on second and third tier cities.

Passion Holdings has received a $101.4m privatisation offer from an investment holding firm managed by a unit of Citigroup's alternative investment practice. The offer price of  26cts represents a 23.8% premium over last closing price. In property news, Grand Tower at Moulmein Rise near Novena MRT station has been put up for collective sale with an indicative guide price of $92m or about $1,430psf. Based on this price, the break even cost for a new project could be around $2,000 psf. Recent transactions at nearby L'VIV have been at between $2,043 psf and $2,133 psf, while at the 99- year leasehold Soleil@ Sinaran, deals have been at $1,634- 1,743 psf.

US markets were marginally lower as the ongoing Middle East unrests continue to cap optimism. WTI Oil price dipped modestly after data showed that stockpiles at Cushing, the delivery point for West Texas Intermediate (WTI), rose to the highest level in 2004. But the unrest at Libya continued to underpin oil price with Brent crude rebounding after Qaddafi carried out strikes on oil facilities. The concern is that the current situation at Libya could drag on into a civil war.

 

SHANGHAI, March 10 (Reuters) - China's central bank revived its open market operations as a tool to drain cash from the financial system this week, potentially lowering the need to turn to more blunt tools such as raising banks' required reserves in the near term.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) drained a net 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) from the market this week, its first weekly drain in four months, as it stepped up bill sales and bond repurchase agreements after keeping them at extremely low levels for several months. [CN/MMT] [ID:nTOE729029]
The PBOC managed to drain cash this week despite the fact that a whopping 205 billion yuan in bills were maturing, signalling its resolve to return to its open market operations for at least some of its efforts to manage liquidity, rather than relying on reserve requirement ratios (RRR).
" The refocus of using PBOC bills is definitely a signal. Perhaps they want to use the bills as a liquidity mopping tool again, and give RRR or the lending/deposit rate a bit of a breather," said Wee-Khoon Chong, a rates strategist at Societe Generale in Hong Kong.
" I don't think the tightening is over yet, but perhaps not at as aggressive a pace as seen since late 2010."
The central bank has raised interest rates three times and required reserves five times since October, as it seeks to curb credit growth to help keep inflation from running out of control. [ID:nTOE71H069]
At the same time, it effectively put its open market operations into hibernation for the winter, giving up on the use of bills and repos to drain cash from the system, in part due to a wide divergence between the auction rates on its bills and secondary market yields that made it hard to attract demand.
WAVE OF CASH COMING
So far this year the PBOC has allowed over 800 billion yuan to flow back into the financial system via maturing bills and repos, more than the 720 billion yuan its two RRR hikes so far this year are estimated to have taken out of circulation.
The PBOC's renewed resolve to drain cash in the open market operations (OMOs) comes ahead of a wave of liquidity that is set to flow back into the economy through maturing bills in the coming weeks.
Another 421 billion yuan in bills and repos are due to mature by the end of this month, and close to 500 billion yuan in bills are set to mature in April, putting heavy pressure on the PBOC to keep up lest it allows that cash to re-enter the economy.
" It has no choice but to rely on OMOs in addition to RRR," said Frances Cheung, senior fixed-income strategist with Credit Agricole in Hong Kong.
But Cheung said she thought that open-market operations would only be used in addition to further hikes in required reserves, and that another hike in the RRR could come as soon as this month, in part because the central bank has to pay higher yields on its bills than for the reserves banks hold with it.
" They should be using a combination of tools," she said.
The cost of draining cash through open market operations went up further on Thursday, as the PBOC was forced to raise the yield on its three-month bills in order to attract demand for the 32 billion yuan it had on auction -- the biggest sale of that tenor since October.
The bills were auctioned at a yield of 2.7944 percent, unexpectedly rising 16 basis points from the last sale. The PBOC also conducted 72 billion yuan in repurchase agreements on Thursday, contributing to the net drain for the week.
The rise in the three-month yield may be another sign that further interest rate rises could be on the way, said SocGen's Chong.
" The hike in the three-month PBOC bill yield gives a clear signal that a (rate) hike is coming soon, as they normally go together," he said. " We'll see a less aggressive tightening pace, but still hiking." ($1=6.56 Yuan) (Additional reporting by Emma Ashburn in Hong Kong Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

 

If any of you are keen of subscribing to free daily brokerage reports, please email me at tplim1975@gmail.com.

 

 

NEWS HEADLINES

- The IPO launch of Hutchison Port Holdings Trust is seeing 'overwhelmingly enthusiastic' response, according to the Chairman of its trustee-manager Mr. Canning Fok.

- To improve the financial management of large public sector projects, those larger than S$500m in value have been subject to staged approvals for concept, design and implementation since June 2010, Second Minister for Finance Lim Hwee Hua said.

- Competition for listings is likely to intensify further for the SGX, with the Taiwan bourse now beefing up its efforts to woo Japanese listings.

- Neptune Orient Lines said its container shipping volumes for the six weeks to 11 Feb rose 5% YoY, helped by higher traffic on the intra-Asia and Asia-Europe routes.

- Mewah International is looking at Indonesia and China as potential sites for expansion as it expects demand for the commodity to outpace supply in the long term.

- Technics Oil & Gas announced that it has won two contracts worth a total of S$13.1m.

- ASJ Holdings said that it has discovered instances of missing and stolen inventory worth S$235k from its warehouse in Senai, Malaysia.

 

Corporate News...

Singapore Property (Maintain Underweight on the residential sector). We visited the preview launch of CDL’s H20 Residences and showflats of Waterfront Isle and Lakefront Residences. While some agents noted returned cheques and a reduction in crowd after the 13 Jan measures, most commented that genuine buyers and long-term investors are still buying and remain upbeat on long-term property price trends.

Nevertheless, we sense increased price resistance, coupled with fears of policy backlash from developers and upcoming supplies through government land sales which should keep prices in check. We continue to like the office sector with KepLand and UOL as our top picks, while CityDev and Allgreen remain our key Underperforms.

Datapulse Technology reported net profit of $4.8m for 2QFY11, up 118% yoy from $2.2m. Despite lower selling prices, the Group’s revenue climbed +99% yoy to $22.2m during the quarter on the back of new product launches and stronger demand for media storage products and services.

Samudera Shipping Line announced that it has entered into a contract to buy a container vessel for US$11m. The vessel, which has a capacity of 1,054 twenty-foot equivalent units, is expected to be delivered at the end of March. The acquisition will be financed through internal resources and bank borrowings. The vessel is currently part of the company's chartered fleet.

 

We maintain our view that STI’s near-term resistance is at 3125, which is the 50% upward retracement level of the index’s 315pt correction during the Jan-Feb period. While the pause in oil price’s rally during the past 2 weeks has been a welcome respite for equities, it still remains to be seen whether this signals a top or is it just a temporary pause with the major rising trend still intact.

In addition, Asian equities, including Singapore, had reacted to the dip in oil price yesterday. S-REITs collectively delivered 11% y-o-y distribution growth in 4Q10. We believe that S-REITs are good inflation hedges given their ability to grow rental income above inflation. S-REITs generally are forecasted to deliver FY10-12F DPU CAGR of 5.5%- 9.2%, which is above inflation. We maintain our view that Hospitality REITs will continue to exhibit the strongest earnings potential (+9.2% FY10-12F CAGR) stemming from expectations of strong tourists arrivals in 2011. CDL HT (BUY, TP S$2.30), with over 82% of its income from its Singapore hotels, remains our pick to leverage on the robust growth from this sector.

In addition, Parkway Life REIT (BUY, TP S$1.90) offers downside protection as higher inflation bodes well for rental reversions going forward. Industrial & Sponsored REITs have potential for further accretive acquisitions. We like Mapletree Logistics Trust (BUY, TP S$1.07), Cache (BUY, TP S$1.11) and Frasers Centrepoint Trust (BUY, TP S$1.74) given their visible pipelines from their respective sponsor, which could be tapped in the medium term. Asia Pacific Breweries said its 50-50 joint venture with Heineken N.V., Heineken-APB China, plans to sell its 21.4% stake in Kingway Brewery Holdings to a potential purchaser for about RMB1.08 bn.

The offer represents an estimated premium of 72% over the book value, resulting in a gain of approximately S$76m. APB's share of the gain from disposal will be approximately S$38m (50% stake). Ho Bee Investment is committing around $820m in a new office project at one-north, Buona Vista. The Grade A development, when fully occupied, could contribute to a fourfold increase in the firm's recurring income. Revenue from property investment for FY Dec 10 was $25.3m. City Developments yesterday emerged as the top bidder for a 99-year-leasehold hotel site at Robertson Quay, putting in a bid of $127.8m or $938 psf ppr. CDL was one of nine participants in the tender for the site. Its bid was just 0.5% higher than the second highest bid of $127.1m or $933 psf ppr.

A HDB site at Clementi Avenue 4 offered for sale under the design, build and sell scheme (DBSS) drew 11 bids at the close of the tender yesterday - the highest number of bids received since the scheme was introduced in 2006. The top bid came from EL Development - the property development unit of construction company Evan Lim & Co - which offered $224m or $271 psf ppr. Based on the top bid of $271 psf ppr, the break-even cost of the new project on this site will be about $490-$530 psf. Four-room flats could be launched at around $590,000, while five-room flats could go for around $720,000. A record land price per unit has been set for a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) transaction. A bungalow at Cluny Road has been sold for $33m or about $2,038 psf on the freehold land area of about 16,200 sq ft. The buyer is said to be the
executive chairman of Midas Holdings. Given the limited stock of GCB in Singapore, the market expects prices to trend higher.

In China, more cities and regions will raise minimum wages this year, as labour shortages spread inland. The government is targeting an increase in minimum wages of 13% a year through 2015, according to the 12th Five-Year Plan that starts this year. US markets rebounded strongly following a modest pullback in oil price and Bank of America said its home-loan business is in recovery mode. Brent crude futures for April delivery dipped to USD113pbl as OPEC members considered increasing production. Meanwhile, a White House statement revealed that both US President Barack Obama and UK PM David Cameron agree that Qaddafi must step down “as quickly as possible”, and are reviewing with NATO allies about the possible responses to the violence there.

 

10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell

 

• Heavy fighting persists in Libya today, with a major oil refinery recently shut down. There are rumors that some in Qaddafi's inner circle have fled the country in a private jet. Check out what those private jets look like >

• Portugal had a successful debt auction this morning, in which it sold €1 billion in bonds due in 2013. The yield on those bonds was 5.993%, over a point higher than a similar auction just a few months ago. Don't miss: The 18 countries most likely to default >

• The latest round of stress tests from Europe may already have been undermined by a lack of hard rules around Tier 1 capital ratios. European regulators aim to allow each country to decide its rules around what is Tier 1 capital for its banking sector. Are these the next shoes to drop in Europe >

• 9 men, 7 in London and 2 in Iceland, have been arrested in morning raids in connection with the collapse of the Icelandic bank Kaupthing. Included in the arrest are Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz, two UK serial entrepreneurs connected to Kaupthing.

• Two major tech players reported weaker than expected earnings yesterday. Finisar reported weaker than expected demand for optical networks in China and its stock tanked over 30% in after hours trading. Texas Instruments missed earnings on weak demand. Here are 15 stocks investors are shorting like crazy >

• E.ON, the German energy company, saw its profits fall 31% in 2010, with expectations they will fall a further 16% in 2011. Earnings growth is expected to return in 2012.

• AIG's jet leasing division intends to buy 33 Boeing 737's and 100 Airbus SAS planes in a purchase valued at $11.8 billion. It is the first buy the division, International Lease Finance Corp, has made since 2007. Don't miss: The 10 largest homes in America >

• Wholesale inventories and sales data is released at 10:00 AM ET. It is expected to show growth in both inventories and sales for the month of January. 

• Dubai stocks rebounded today, rising 2.1%, after falling in recent days due to the unrest in the region. Stocks in Dubai had fallen to the lowest level, compared to assets, of any shares in the world as a result of the unrest in the Middle East. Here are the 11 countries at risk of becoming the next Egypt >

• Bonus: Katy Perry has just landed another endorsement deal, this time with the beauty care appliance brand ghd.

 

The impact would be mild or simply ignore.

lsj840428      ( Date: 09-Mar-2011 19:54) Posted: S'pore inflation to hit 4% in 2011: MAS survey SINGAPORE - Singapore's inflation rate could hit 4 per cent this year, the highest level since 2008 and at the upper end of an official forecast range of 3-4 per cent, according to the central bank's quarterly survey of economic forecasters released on Wednesday. The latest survey showed the Singapore dollar will appreciate to S$1.23 per US dollar by the end of 2011 The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the median estimate of 20 private sector economists also showed inflation could hit 5.4 per cent in the first quarter. Singapore's annual inflation spiked up to 5.5 per cent in January, far higher than analysts' expectations. The MAS survey comes ahead of next month's monetary policy review when many economists expect the central bank will allow further currency appreciation to tame inflation. Singapore, like most other Asian countries, is grappling with higher prices due to the region's strong economic growth, flush liquidity and stronger oil and commodity prices. But the central bank last month was more cautious, saying its view of underlying price pressures had not changed much since its last policy review in October. The latest survey also showed the Singapore dollar will appreciate to S$1.23 per US dollar by the end of 2011, from S$1.28 at the end of 2010. The Singapore dollar is currently trading at around S$1.2685 against the US currency, up about 1 per cent so far this year. The city-state's gross domestic product (GDP) will expand by 5.7 per cent in 2011, down from growth of 14.5 per cent in 2010 when Singapore witnessed the second-fastest economic growth in the world after Qatar. Economists had predicted the economy will grow by 5.1 per cent in the last survey released in December. The 5.7 per cent median estimate is at the upper end of the government's 4-6 per cent growth forecast for 2011. The survey also predicted the economy will grow at a pace of 6 per cent in 2012 and annual inflation will hit 2.8 per cent next year. The MAS Survey of Professional Forecasters provides a summary of forecasts of Singapore's key economic indicators by economists and analysts. The survey is conducted every three months and follows the release of quarterly economic data by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. -- REUTERS

 

S'pore inflation to hit 4% in 2011: MAS survey SINGAPORE - Singapore's inflation rate could hit 4 per cent this year, the highest level since 2008 and at the upper end of an official forecast range of 3-4 per cent, according to the central bank's quarterly survey of economic forecasters released on Wednesday. The latest survey showed the Singapore dollar will appreciate to S$1.23 per US dollar by the end of 2011 The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the median estimate of 20 private sector economists also showed inflation could hit 5.4 per cent in the first quarter. Singapore's annual inflation spiked up to 5.5 per cent in January, far higher than analysts' expectations. The MAS survey comes ahead of next month's monetary policy review when many economists expect the central bank will allow further currency appreciation to tame inflation. Singapore, like most other Asian countries, is grappling with higher prices due to the region's strong economic growth, flush liquidity and stronger oil and commodity prices. But the central bank last month was more cautious, saying its view of underlying price pressures had not changed much since its last policy review in October. The latest survey also showed the Singapore dollar will appreciate to S$1.23 per US dollar by the end of 2011, from S$1.28 at the end of 2010. The Singapore dollar is currently trading at around S$1.2685 against the US currency, up about 1 per cent so far this year. The city-state's gross domestic product (GDP) will expand by 5.7 per cent in 2011, down from growth of 14.5 per cent in 2010 when Singapore witnessed the second-fastest economic growth in the world after Qatar. Economists had predicted the economy will grow by 5.1 per cent in the last survey released in December. The 5.7 per cent median estimate is at the upper end of the government's 4-6 per cent growth forecast for 2011. The survey also predicted the economy will grow at a pace of 6 per cent in 2012 and annual inflation will hit 2.8 per cent next year. The MAS Survey of Professional Forecasters provides a summary of forecasts of Singapore's key economic indicators by economists and analysts. The survey is conducted every three months and follows the release of quarterly economic data by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. -- REUTERS

 

and it drops again !

another sunny day tmr..

goldenpiggy      ( Date: 08-Mar-2011 22:33) Posted: sigh.... rotijai      ( Date: 08-Mar-2011 22:17) Posted: oil price goes up again.. another struggling day tmr..

 

sigh....

rotijai      ( Date: 08-Mar-2011 22:17) Posted: oil price goes up again.. another struggling day tmr..

 

oil price goes up again..

another struggling day tmr..