Daily Debrief: Christmas Eve Edition

Singapore's manufacturing output falls 5.5% in November

Singapore's manufacturing output declined 5.5 per cent year-on-year in November, dragged down by a weaker transport engineering cluster and a fall in electronics output.

Police report lodged on potentially irregular transactions at Singapore River Explorer

Information directory firm Global Yellow Pages Limited said that it has lodged a report with the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force in relation to potentially irregular transactions in its subsidiary, Singapore River Explorer.

Raizen, Wilmar plan venture to be Brazil's top sugar exporter

Raizen Energia SA and Wilmar International Ltd plan to establish a sugar venture in Brazil to rival the partnership between Cargill Inc and Copersucar SA, the nation's leading exporter this year.

Hot stock: Interplex Holdings' shares surge after takeover offer

Shares in Singapore-listed Interplex Holdings surged over 11 per cent at the start of trading on Thursday after a takeover offer from Baring Private Equity Asia.

Beatles end streaming boycott in time for Christmas

The Fab Four's full catalogue will be available on all major services including leader Spotify, removing the most glaring musical absence from the booming sector of streaming that allows unlimited on-demand music online.

Holiday shoppers love the gift that's never returned

As the holiday shopping season comes to a close, procrastinators still have one fail-safe option: gift cards.

US Christmas lights use more energy than entire countries

Bright lights strung on American trees, rooftops and lawns account for 6.63 billion kilowatt hours of electricity consumption every year, according to a recent blog post by the Center for Global Development. That's more than the national electricity consumption of many developing countries.

Austrian radio jockey punished for playing 'Last Christmas' 24 times

An Austrian radio station has punished one of its moderators after he locked himself in the studio only to play the song' Last Christmas', a cult hit from the 1980s by British band Wham!, 24 times in a row.

The STI Today

Singapore shares close 0.5 per cent higher on Thursday

Singapore stocks closed 0.5 per cent higher on Thursday, with the Straits Times Index (STI) gaining 13.97 points to 2,877.62 at the end of a shortened trading session.

Wishing all readers of The Business Times a Merry Christmas. The Daily Debrief will return on Dec 28, Monday.