(SINGAPORE) The accountancy sector is set for a shake-up, if plans to consolidate the 500 small and medium practices here over a two-year period materialise.

(SINGAPORE) It looks like everyone wants a piece of the casino action when it opens.

THE Singapore Exchange (SGX) and three other regional exchanges have hired NYSE Technologies to set up an Asean e-trading link.

TEXCHEM-PACK Holdings (S) yesterday said its Malaysian parent company and key shareholder is offering 13.5 Singapore cents a share to take the Singapore-listed plastic packaging products maker private.

HAVING been burnt by the sell-off of the past two weeks, traders and investors alike quite understandably opted for caution and safety first yesterday. They still, however, managed to alternate between short-selling and covering throughout the session, which meant that there was a fair degree of volatility present, no doubt a deterrent to most punters who opted to stay away.

BANK lending in Japan suffered its biggest fall in more than four years during January, underlining the continuing weak state of the world's second largest economy and of Japanese corporate investment in particular, the Bank of Japan said yesterday.

(MUMBAI) While rising government debt is a growing concern in Europe and the United States, Asia's economies remain remarkably resilient, even buoyant, underscoring how economic might is shifting from West to East.

THE effective tax rate for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry is likely to increase, given factors such as the global financial crisis, government pressure, changing market dynamics and healthcare reforms, says a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

IN ITS quest to be a comprehensive cancer centre, the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (NCIS), will treat both adult and child patients, carry out research on cancers that afflict Singaporeans as well as train doctors and healthcare professionals.

WHO in their right mind would leave a top banking job for the treacherous world of television production?

HOMEGROWN bakery chain PrimaDeli is eyeing a bigger share of the consumer pie with a new concept store targeted at affluent, urban consumers.

(TOKYO) Japan Airlines, after declaring bankruptcy last month, has decided to keep its current tie-up with American Airlines and end talks to defect to Delta Air Lines, local media reported yesterday.

(BANGKOK) Thai Airways International's board approved a plan to acquire 15 new aircraft over three years to replace aging planes, chairman Ampon Kittiampon said.

DRY bulk demand will be strong this year. But the dry bulk shipping market remains uncertain due to over-supply, which is likely to worsen in the second half as deliveries of new vessels increase, Norden Singapore's managing director Peter Borup said yesterday.

(VALENCIA) Lack of wind postponed the start yesterday of the first race of the 33rd America's Cup, pitting defending Swiss champions Alinghi against US side Oracle in a best-of-three series.

WARY of cheaper Chinese products flooding the region following the implementation of the China-Asean free trade agreement on Jan 1, Malaysian Chinese businesses have called on the government to support a cap on Chinese exports.

(KUALA LUMPUR) Islamic banks are expected to move more deeply into riskier, equity-based financing as they seek alternatives to controversial debt mechanisms like the tawarruq, a prominent Syariah scholar said yesterday.

(JAKARTA) Indonesia raised 8.033 trillion rupiah (S$1.2 billion) from the sale of a three-year retail sukuk, a finance ministry official said yesterday, more than double the indicative target of three trillion rupiah.

(TAIPEI) Taiwan needs to seal a free trade agreement with China to ensure the island can compete with regional rivals in global markets, according to the island's official who is leading the talks.

(BEIJING) Police in central China have shut down a hacker training company that taught thousands of people how to launch cyber attacks and provided them with spy software, media reports said yesterday.

(MUMBAI) India's drive to sell a record 250 billion rupees (S$7.6 billion) of shares in state-owned companies to plug a deficit in government revenue may fall short after foreign investors shunned the year's biggest offering amid a stock market slump.

(MUMBAI) Indian insurance companies may increase investments in the nation's stocks by 24 per cent to a record US$21 billion next fiscal year as premium collections rise, according to India's largest private insurers.

(SYDNEY) The dream of turning Australia's tropical north into a major food bowl to replace drought-stricken southern farmlands and feed a future Asia has been shattered by a new report released yesterday.

(CANBERRA) Australia tightened its migration rules yesterday in favour of English speakers and professionals, saying that the country has been attracting too many hairdressers and cooks and too few doctors and engineers.

(TOKYO) Kirin Holdings Co, Japan's largest beverage company, ended talks to buy Suntory Holdings Ltd that would have created the world's fifth-biggest foodmaker after baulking at a US$10 billion asking price.

(NEW YORK) Small businesses are becoming the Achilles heel of the US recovery by limiting growth and job creation.

INCREASED risk aversion triggered by fiscal fears in Europe - and, as a consequence, a stronger US dollar - has led to widespread redemptions from emerging market equity funds.

MALAYSIA'S economic goalposts have shifted. Last week, the administration of Prime Minister Najib Razak unveiled its Government Transformation Programme Roadmap and its appraisal of the economy was sobering.

KERALA, India's most globalised state, is in trouble. Unlike the rest of the country, the southern state's economy is based on the remittances sent by expatriate workers and on exports of cash crops.

FOR many devout Mormons, Utah's capital city is important mainly as a setting for the jewel that really matters: Temple Square at the city's centre.

(NEW YORK) Borrowers looking to make energy upgrades in their homes that will lower utility bills, along with their environmental impact, may soon find additional options available to them.