As central banks tighten, investors should be as selective in Singapore as anywhere else
Widening net interest margins as interest rates rise is only half the story for DBS, OCBC and UOB; slower growth could mean higher provisions, capped dividends
INFLATION was a big market theme this past week, with global investors and Singapore’s economic policymakers behaving in unexpected ways.
First, there was the strange market reaction to economic data in the United States that suggested inflation is not abating fast enough to forestall a fourth consecutive 75-basis-point hike in the US federal funds rate next month.
The US consumer price index for September showed headline inflation running at 8.2 per cent – versus 8.3 per cent in August, and 8.5 per cent in July. Excluding the volatile energy and food segments, the US CPI for September was up 6.6 per cent over the previous 12 months, compared with 6.3 per cent in August and 5.9 per cent in July.
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