The Business Times

MAS proposes enhanced safeguards for prospecting, marketing financial products Financial representatives will also need to provide customers with additional time to consider whether to make a purchase, and limit the use…

Condo resale prices rise again in March; volumes up 53.9%: SRX, 99.co Year on year, resale prices in all regions rose, with the OCR, RCR and CCR increasing 11%, 9.4% and 4.1% respectively.

Wealthtechs chase the ‘sandwich rich’ with curated products, tailored services Not your average Joe investor: If you have earned S$300,000 in the preceding 12 months or have over S$1 million in assets, platforms such as…

First Republic Bank deposits tumble more than US$100 billion as it explores options The bank plans to slash expenses by cutting executive compensation, paring back office space, and laying off nearly 20-25% of employees.

Distressed property listings jump in Q1 as bankruptcies rise The number of bankruptcy applications rose quarter on quarter by 5.6% to 959 in Q1 2023.

Dubai plot of sand sells for 125 million dirhams in luxury island record The buyer, who does not live in the United Arab Emirates, is planning to build a family vacation home on the property.

MAS launches S$8m scheme to co-fund salaries, tuition of poly students and graduates in financial sector Under the Polytechnic Talent for Finance scheme, MAS will co-fund internships, apprenticeships and sponsorships for…

Link Hotel in Tiong Bahru goes into receivership, put up for sale Link Holdings on Apr 3 disclosed that it had failed to make an outstanding payment of S$31 million on a S$50 million loan granted by DBS, which then deman…

Over US$68 billion withdrawn from Credit Suisse ahead of UBS takeover 61.2 billion Swiss francs (S$91.7 billion) were withdrawn in just the first quarter alone.

#BTOpinion: Having a constant pipeline beats a start-stop strategy for housing developers While many developers are cautious in buying housing sites, constantly replenishing land bank can be a viable strategy.

Funds raised by Singapore’s early-stage emerging tech startups down 28% in 2022 Despite the challenges of fundraising and talent gaps, Singapore is still expected to produce a “steady pipeline” of emerging tech startups.

Singapore headline, core inflation dial back in March as expected By expenditure division, food inflation marks the largest jump, up 7.7% on the year in March.

Manulife US Reit’s manager should invite MAS to act as “special scrutineer” of its strategic review With constantly shifting market trends, Manulife US Reit won’t be the last Reit to land in trouble - MAS should set out…

Loss-making residential resale deals hit five-year low In the five biggest loss-making exits of Q1 2023, losses ranged from S$250,000 to S$1.31 million in quantum terms, and from 17% to 43% in percentage terms.

Asia insurers look to asset diversification, new product designs to weather higher interest rates Insurers are trying to get more inflation-protected assets, which may result in a continued shift into private credit and…

Hospitality S-Reits still have room to grow as Chinese travellers return Chinese travellers would be the “long-awaited last piece of the travel puzzle”, say analysts, adding that "Chinese travel demand recovery will be f…

Crypto firm Zipmex’s investor pulls plug on US$100 million bailout It is another blow to Singapore-based crypto exchange Zipmex’s 70,000 customer-creditors, who were holding out for a full return of their crypto assets s…

Apple’s 4.15% savings account marks golden age of cash With yields on savings products that high, the thinking goes, why risk losing money in the stock market?

#BTLifestyle: End of tedium? How AI impacts the creative sector At a reading, over 30% of an audience thought that two of four AI-generated scripts “could be” or “are most likely” written by humans.

Hotels: CDL’s inconvenient sustainability challenge "CDL would rather spend its energies competing with itself, in areas such as whether its buildings' energy efficiency improved from last year." Chief sustainability off…

Should I stay, or should I go? Dissecting comfort-zone inertia and the price of loyalty If you’ve been working for years at one place - at a fairly senior role but perhaps not feeling too appreciated - you may find the d…

#BTOpinion: Does indefinite suspension of a stock help or hurt shareholders? A trading suspension is a good way for companies to avoid a plunge in their share prices as they iron out problems, but it can leave investors…

Upskilling for robots Just like human workers, robots are also "upskilling", as they take on new tasks including inspecting oil storage tanks and detecting liquid spillages in malls and alerting operators.

Why the global economy is becoming ever more confusing The post-pandemic economy is like the Mona Lisa. Each time you look, you see something different.

#BTLifestyle: Paving the way to greener wardrobes Louis Vuitton’s 2022 ski collection includes pillow bags lined and padded with Econyl, which is made from ocean and landfill waste.

Your e-mail does not constitute my emergency Most of what's in your inbox is less urgent than it appears - an immediate response may actually be a worse outcome.

#BTLifestyle: The fairytale life of Horacio Pagani With pluck and help from an idol, Pagani has created some of the most desirable cars on the planet, enriching himself and customers along the way.

Alphabet CEO’s pay soars to US$226 million on huge stock award The pay package, boosted by a triennial stock grant, makes Sundar Pichai one of the world’s highest-paid corporate leaders.

#BTLifestyle: Bidding frenzy expected at sale of world’s largest private jewellery collection Welcome to “The World of Heidi Horten”, the largest and most valuable private jewellery collection ever to come to auction, wi…