Daily Debrief: What Happened Today

ABS boosts due diligence guidelines for SGX listings

The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) on Friday said that it will raise the standard of its guidelines for due diligence that its member banks should carry out on all companies wanting to list on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

Mundipharma sets up Betadine consumer health hub in Singapore

Mundipharma on Friday unveiled plans to set up a new Betadine facility in Singapore that will have it combine research and development (R&D), manufacturing and distribution as the group moves to expand its presence in the region.

Singapore retailers see 5.1% y-o-y increase in March sales

This beat an earlier consensus estimate from eight economists polled by Bloomberg of 3.6 per cent increase.

Singapore Air closely watching developments at Virgin Australia

Singapore Airlines Ltd said it's "closely" monitoring developments at Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd after fellow shareholder Air New Zealand Ltd said it may sell its stake.

Singapore says helping French with Olympic payment probe

Singapore's anti-corruption agency said Friday it was helping French authorities investigating possible fraud in Japan's Olympic bid after a company based in the city-state was linked to alleged irregularities.

Corporate Earnings

The STI Today

Singapore shares close lower on Friday, flat for the week

WHEN oil plunged below US$30 a barrel in February, the worry that descended on markets was the threat of deflation, which Investopedia defines as "a general decline in prices, often caused by a reduction in the supply of money or credit. . . Declining prices, if they persist, generally create a vicious spiral of negatives such as falling profits, closing factories, shrinking employment and incomes, and increasing defaults on loans by companies and individuals".

Whether or not deflation will really take root in the economy remains to be seen now that oil has rebounded to above US$40 per barrel, but the definition above certainly applies to the local stock market, where the Straits Times Index (STI) on Friday dropped 10.48 points to 2,734.91, though it did manage a four-point gain for the week.