Posted: 16 August 2010 1814 hrs
SGX Centre
SINGAPORE : Singapore stocks ended softer on Monday after investors turned cautious over the weak US economic outlook.
Traders said news of a slowdown in Japanese economic growth also weighed on the market.
The Japanese government said on Monday the economy grew an annualised 0.4 percent in the June quarter, from a revised 4.4 percent in the previous three months.
The ST index fell 6.46 points to 2,933.51 on a volume of 1,850 million shares.
There were 144 gainers compared to 349 rises by the close of dealings.
With the earnings season drawing to a close, analysts said markets are likely to focus now on economic data.
Shares of property companies fell on concerns that authorities may follow moves by the Hong Kong government to cool property prices in the Chinese territory.
On Friday, the Hong Kong government tightened mortgage lending for bigger flats as their prices headed for historic highs, fuelling asset bubbles.
Among active counters, Singapore Airlines was up 1.91 percent at S$15.98 while Singapore Telecom eased 2.63 percent to S$2.96. - CNA/ch
Monday, August 16, 2010
Markets Hub: Cautious Signals From Retailers
Markets are ending a big week on a cautious note as retail sales data show consumers are still reluctant to spend amid high unemployment and a bleak housing market. That concern was bolstered by earnings from J.C. Penney, which swung to a profit in the second quarter but gave a cautious outlook. A slew of big retailers, including Wal Mart, Lowe's and Home Depot, are set to report next week keeping the spotlight on consumer spending. Paul Vigna and George Stahl discuss.
Apple manager charged with taking kickbacks: reports
By MarketWatch
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- A manager at Apple Inc. was arrested on Friday and charged with accepting more than $1 million in kickbacks from Asian suppliers of iPhone and iPod accessories, weekend media reports say.
Paul Shin Devine, a global supply manager at the Cupertino, Calif., technology giant, /quotes/comstock/15*!aapl/quotes/nls/aapl (AAPL 249.20, +0.10, +0.04%) was charged in a federal grand jury indictment with wire fraud, money laundering and other offenses, the media reports say.
digits: More TV and movies coming to tabletsIf you can't beat 'em, join 'em...that's the tack some cable companies are taking, as more TV watchers go mobile. In efforts to compete with streaming web video services like Hulu and Netflix, Comcast, Verizon, Dish and Time Warner Cable will soon be offering subscribers the ability to watch some TV content on apps for devices like the iPad. Sam Schechner offers details on the Digits show.
The indictment also names Andrew Ang, an employee of an Apple supplier. An agent at the Internal Revenue Service, which jointly investigated the case with the Federal Bureau of investigation, declined to comment on where Ang might be, the media reports said.
Apple also filed a civil suit against Devine in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., charging fraud and violations of the racketeering laws, the media reports said.
According to the court papers, the authorities and Apple charge that Devine gave certain Apple suppliers information with which they could negotiate favorable contracts with Apple. In return, the suppliers paid Devine, the reports say.
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing the civil suit, that Devine began working for Apple in July 2005 with responsibility for managing relationships with suppliers of parts and materials for the iPod music players and related accessories.
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- A manager at Apple Inc. was arrested on Friday and charged with accepting more than $1 million in kickbacks from Asian suppliers of iPhone and iPod accessories, weekend media reports say.
Paul Shin Devine, a global supply manager at the Cupertino, Calif., technology giant, /quotes/comstock/15*!aapl/quotes/nls/aapl (AAPL 249.20, +0.10, +0.04%) was charged in a federal grand jury indictment with wire fraud, money laundering and other offenses, the media reports say.
digits: More TV and movies coming to tabletsIf you can't beat 'em, join 'em...that's the tack some cable companies are taking, as more TV watchers go mobile. In efforts to compete with streaming web video services like Hulu and Netflix, Comcast, Verizon, Dish and Time Warner Cable will soon be offering subscribers the ability to watch some TV content on apps for devices like the iPad. Sam Schechner offers details on the Digits show.
The indictment also names Andrew Ang, an employee of an Apple supplier. An agent at the Internal Revenue Service, which jointly investigated the case with the Federal Bureau of investigation, declined to comment on where Ang might be, the media reports said.
Apple also filed a civil suit against Devine in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., charging fraud and violations of the racketeering laws, the media reports said.
According to the court papers, the authorities and Apple charge that Devine gave certain Apple suppliers information with which they could negotiate favorable contracts with Apple. In return, the suppliers paid Devine, the reports say.
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing the civil suit, that Devine began working for Apple in July 2005 with responsibility for managing relationships with suppliers of parts and materials for the iPod music players and related accessories.
Asian Stocks Fall to Three-Week Low as Yen Gains on Japan GDP
Most Asian stocks fell while the yen strengthened after Japan’s economy expanded more slowly than economists had estimated, curbing demand for higher-yielding assets. Copper futures rallied.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.1 percent to 117.77 as of 3 p.m. in Tokyo, paring losses that sent the gauge to a three-week low as Chinese shares climbed a second day. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.2 percent, while those for the Euro Stoxx 50 Index added 0.3 percent. The yen advanced against all of its 16 major counterparts while the won and ringgit weakened. Copper gained after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended invest in raw materials.
Japan’s gross domestic product expanded at an annualized 0.4 percent rate in the three months to June 30, the Cabinet Office said today, lower than all economist estimates gathered by Bloomberg News. National Strategy Minister Satoshi Arai said the government needs to work with the central bank to tackle gains in the yen that risk derailing Japan’s export-led recovery.
“The outlook for economies worldwide is getting worse,” said Masanobu Ishikawa, general manager of foreign exchange at Tokyo Forex & Ueda Harlow Ltd., Japan’s largest currency broker. “Equities are sliding, with risk aversion prevailing and the yen and the dollar being bought.”
About five stocks declined for every four that advanced in the MSCI Asia Pacific, which earlier touched the lowest since July 22. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 0.6 percent and South Korea’s Kospi index slipped 0.2 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.9 percent, the most this month, as higher commodity-freight rates boosted shipping companies and rising power demand drove energy producers higher.
Sony, BHP
Sony Corp., which gets 22 percent of sales in the U.S., sank 3 percent, while Honda Motor Co., which generates more than 80 percent of its revenue abroad, retreated 0.9 percent in Tokyo. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, dropped 1.3 percent.
“Risk sentiment is weakening on increasing concerns about global growth,” said Kazumasa Yamaoka, a senior analyst at investment advisory company GCI Capital Co. in Tokyo.
Hong Kong developer shares declined after the city tightened mortgage lending rules and said it would boost land supply to cool land prices. Sino Land Co., the worst performer on the Hang Seng Property Index this month, lost 1.7 percent. Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., Hong Kong’s biggest developer, plunged 4 percent.
China Cosco Holdings Co., the world’s largest operator of dry-bulk ships, jumped by the 10 percent daily limit as the Baltic Dry Index gained for a seventh day. China Shenhua Energy Co., the nation’s largest coal producer, rose 3.8 percent as the company stepped up output amid increasing power consumption.
‘Soft Landing’
“There’s a low possibility that China’s economy will have a double-dip and a soft landing is very likely,” said Dai Ming, a fund manager at Shanghai Kingsun Investment Management & Consulting Co. “That’ll provide support for a continuing stocks rebound.”
Health-care stocks jumped, led by Hualan Biological Engineering Inc.’s 6.2 percent advance, on speculation the government will boost industry spending.
Zhongjin Gold Corp., the second-largest bullion producer, advanced 1.5 percent as prices for the precious metal increased for a third day. Gold for immediate delivery added 0.3 percent to $1,219.60 an ounce.
“The wilting global economy is bringing investors back to the gold market,” said Park Hyun Seon, a Seoul-based trader with Eugene Investment & Futures Co.
Intervention Prospects
The yen traded at 109.83 per euro in Tokyo from 109.92 in New York on Aug. 13. The dollar was at $1.2792 per euro from $1.2754 in New York when it reached $1.2750, the strongest since July 22. The greenback fell to 85.86 yen from 86.20 last week. It touched 84.73 yen on Aug. 11, the weakest since July 1995.
“There is a chance the yen will reach an all-time high and stay at that level for the time being,” Eisuke Sakakibara, formerly Japan’s top currency official, said yesterday on the Fuji television network. The yen peaked at 79.75 per dollar in April 1995.
Lawmakers from Japan’s ruling party last week urged Prime Minister Naoto Kan to consider intervening in the currency market, and for the Bank of Japan to “engage in large-scale monetary easing.”
“Speculation about possible policy action in Japan will make it difficult to test further upside of the yen for now,” said Tomohiro Nishida, a Tokyo-based foreign-currency dealer at Chuo Mitsui Trust & Banking Co.
The yen typically strengthens in times of financial and economic turmoil because Japan’s trade surplus frees the nation from dependence on overseas capital.
Copper Gains
U.S. retail sales rose in July by less than economists had forecast and core consumer prices grew at a rate that matched the smallest year-over-year gain in 44 years, government reports showed on Aug. 13. The ZEW Center for European Economic Research’s index of German investor and analyst expectations fell for a fourth month, a survey of economists showed ahead of tomorrow’s data.
South Korea’s won dropped 0.3 percent to 1,187.30 per dollar and Malaysia’s ringgit fell 0.3 percent to 3.1790. Overseas investors trimmed their holdings of Korean shares for a fourth day. The Bank of Korea last week held off from adding to July’s interest-rate increase, citing concern about slowing growth in the leading economies of the world.
“Weakness in Japan, a major pillar of the world economy, is quickening demand for safer assets,” said Yun Se Min, a currency dealer at Busan Bank in Seoul. “That may mean more demand for U.S. dollars and less for the Korean won.”
Copper for three-month delivery advanced as much as 1.3 percent to $7,250.25 per metric ton in London. Goldman Sachs said demand from emerging markets and limited growth in supplies will help to support raw-materials prices.
The bank reiterated an “overweight” recommendation on commodities, analysts led by Allison Nathan and Jeffrey Currie wrote in a report, recommending crude oil, gold, copper, zinc and platinum.
To contact the reporter for this story: Rocky Swift in Tokyo at rswift5@bloomberg.net; Ron Harui in Singapore at rharui@bloomberg.net.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.1 percent to 117.77 as of 3 p.m. in Tokyo, paring losses that sent the gauge to a three-week low as Chinese shares climbed a second day. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.2 percent, while those for the Euro Stoxx 50 Index added 0.3 percent. The yen advanced against all of its 16 major counterparts while the won and ringgit weakened. Copper gained after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended invest in raw materials.
Japan’s gross domestic product expanded at an annualized 0.4 percent rate in the three months to June 30, the Cabinet Office said today, lower than all economist estimates gathered by Bloomberg News. National Strategy Minister Satoshi Arai said the government needs to work with the central bank to tackle gains in the yen that risk derailing Japan’s export-led recovery.
“The outlook for economies worldwide is getting worse,” said Masanobu Ishikawa, general manager of foreign exchange at Tokyo Forex & Ueda Harlow Ltd., Japan’s largest currency broker. “Equities are sliding, with risk aversion prevailing and the yen and the dollar being bought.”
About five stocks declined for every four that advanced in the MSCI Asia Pacific, which earlier touched the lowest since July 22. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 0.6 percent and South Korea’s Kospi index slipped 0.2 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.9 percent, the most this month, as higher commodity-freight rates boosted shipping companies and rising power demand drove energy producers higher.
Sony, BHP
Sony Corp., which gets 22 percent of sales in the U.S., sank 3 percent, while Honda Motor Co., which generates more than 80 percent of its revenue abroad, retreated 0.9 percent in Tokyo. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, dropped 1.3 percent.
“Risk sentiment is weakening on increasing concerns about global growth,” said Kazumasa Yamaoka, a senior analyst at investment advisory company GCI Capital Co. in Tokyo.
Hong Kong developer shares declined after the city tightened mortgage lending rules and said it would boost land supply to cool land prices. Sino Land Co., the worst performer on the Hang Seng Property Index this month, lost 1.7 percent. Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., Hong Kong’s biggest developer, plunged 4 percent.
China Cosco Holdings Co., the world’s largest operator of dry-bulk ships, jumped by the 10 percent daily limit as the Baltic Dry Index gained for a seventh day. China Shenhua Energy Co., the nation’s largest coal producer, rose 3.8 percent as the company stepped up output amid increasing power consumption.
‘Soft Landing’
“There’s a low possibility that China’s economy will have a double-dip and a soft landing is very likely,” said Dai Ming, a fund manager at Shanghai Kingsun Investment Management & Consulting Co. “That’ll provide support for a continuing stocks rebound.”
Health-care stocks jumped, led by Hualan Biological Engineering Inc.’s 6.2 percent advance, on speculation the government will boost industry spending.
Zhongjin Gold Corp., the second-largest bullion producer, advanced 1.5 percent as prices for the precious metal increased for a third day. Gold for immediate delivery added 0.3 percent to $1,219.60 an ounce.
“The wilting global economy is bringing investors back to the gold market,” said Park Hyun Seon, a Seoul-based trader with Eugene Investment & Futures Co.
Intervention Prospects
The yen traded at 109.83 per euro in Tokyo from 109.92 in New York on Aug. 13. The dollar was at $1.2792 per euro from $1.2754 in New York when it reached $1.2750, the strongest since July 22. The greenback fell to 85.86 yen from 86.20 last week. It touched 84.73 yen on Aug. 11, the weakest since July 1995.
“There is a chance the yen will reach an all-time high and stay at that level for the time being,” Eisuke Sakakibara, formerly Japan’s top currency official, said yesterday on the Fuji television network. The yen peaked at 79.75 per dollar in April 1995.
Lawmakers from Japan’s ruling party last week urged Prime Minister Naoto Kan to consider intervening in the currency market, and for the Bank of Japan to “engage in large-scale monetary easing.”
“Speculation about possible policy action in Japan will make it difficult to test further upside of the yen for now,” said Tomohiro Nishida, a Tokyo-based foreign-currency dealer at Chuo Mitsui Trust & Banking Co.
The yen typically strengthens in times of financial and economic turmoil because Japan’s trade surplus frees the nation from dependence on overseas capital.
Copper Gains
U.S. retail sales rose in July by less than economists had forecast and core consumer prices grew at a rate that matched the smallest year-over-year gain in 44 years, government reports showed on Aug. 13. The ZEW Center for European Economic Research’s index of German investor and analyst expectations fell for a fourth month, a survey of economists showed ahead of tomorrow’s data.
South Korea’s won dropped 0.3 percent to 1,187.30 per dollar and Malaysia’s ringgit fell 0.3 percent to 3.1790. Overseas investors trimmed their holdings of Korean shares for a fourth day. The Bank of Korea last week held off from adding to July’s interest-rate increase, citing concern about slowing growth in the leading economies of the world.
“Weakness in Japan, a major pillar of the world economy, is quickening demand for safer assets,” said Yun Se Min, a currency dealer at Busan Bank in Seoul. “That may mean more demand for U.S. dollars and less for the Korean won.”
Copper for three-month delivery advanced as much as 1.3 percent to $7,250.25 per metric ton in London. Goldman Sachs said demand from emerging markets and limited growth in supplies will help to support raw-materials prices.
The bank reiterated an “overweight” recommendation on commodities, analysts led by Allison Nathan and Jeffrey Currie wrote in a report, recommending crude oil, gold, copper, zinc and platinum.
To contact the reporter for this story: Rocky Swift in Tokyo at rswift5@bloomberg.net; Ron Harui in Singapore at rharui@bloomberg.net.
Genting Singapore +8.2%; Hard to repeat 2Q10: Goldman Sachs
Written by The Edge
Monday, 16 August 2010 15:41
Genting Singapore (G13.SG) +8.2% at $1.58, extending Friday’s 14.1% rally, as players remain hopeful of earnings prospects, market share in Singapore after gaming group returned to profitability in 2Q10 with $396.5 million earnings, triggering slew of broker upgrades last week, says Dow Jones.
Volume less than half of Friday’s 682.8 million shares but still robust, making Genting most active stock in Singapore. Orderbook quotes suggest shares may test $1.60. While most analysts bullish, some still cautious, noting strong performance in 2Q10 unlikely to be repeated.
Monday, 16 August 2010 15:41
Genting Singapore (G13.SG) +8.2% at $1.58, extending Friday’s 14.1% rally, as players remain hopeful of earnings prospects, market share in Singapore after gaming group returned to profitability in 2Q10 with $396.5 million earnings, triggering slew of broker upgrades last week, says Dow Jones.
Volume less than half of Friday’s 682.8 million shares but still robust, making Genting most active stock in Singapore. Orderbook quotes suggest shares may test $1.60. While most analysts bullish, some still cautious, noting strong performance in 2Q10 unlikely to be repeated.
DBS Hong Kong CEO Yip to leave, succeeded by Paredes: Update
Written by Bloomberg
Monday, 16 August 2010 16:11
DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia’s biggest bank, said Sebastian Paredes will succeed Amy Yip as chief executive officer of its Hong Kong unit, as it seeks to boost profit from its second-largest market after Singapore.
Yip will retire at the end of the year and Paredes’s appointment is effective Sept. 13, subject to regulatory approvals, DBS said in statement today to the Singapore stock exchange. Paredes was president director of P.T. Bank Danamon from 2005 until early this year, and spent 20 years at Citigroup Inc. before that, DBS said.
Monday, 16 August 2010 16:11
DBS Group Holdings, Southeast Asia’s biggest bank, said Sebastian Paredes will succeed Amy Yip as chief executive officer of its Hong Kong unit, as it seeks to boost profit from its second-largest market after Singapore.
Yip will retire at the end of the year and Paredes’s appointment is effective Sept. 13, subject to regulatory approvals, DBS said in statement today to the Singapore stock exchange. Paredes was president director of P.T. Bank Danamon from 2005 until early this year, and spent 20 years at Citigroup Inc. before that, DBS said.
Singapore exports likely +20% on-year in July: Poll
Written by The Edge
Monday, 16 August 2010 16:14
Singapore’s July non-oil exports likely +20% on-year vs +28.7% June; pace easing on faltering global economy, according to median estimate of six analysts in Dow Jones poll.
On month, July exports likely to decline 2.7% in seasonally adjusted terms, after having shrunk 0.1% in both May and June.
“We are looking for a third consecutive month of sequential contraction in July with one difference — a deeper contraction compared to May and June,” Standard Chartered Bank economist Alvin Liew writes in note.
Liew adds, weaker exports “performance should be driven by a marked moderation in pharmaceutical exports. That said, the volatile pharmaceutical could still swing either way”.
Data due tomorrow 1:00 p.m.
Monday, 16 August 2010 16:14
Singapore’s July non-oil exports likely +20% on-year vs +28.7% June; pace easing on faltering global economy, according to median estimate of six analysts in Dow Jones poll.
On month, July exports likely to decline 2.7% in seasonally adjusted terms, after having shrunk 0.1% in both May and June.
“We are looking for a third consecutive month of sequential contraction in July with one difference — a deeper contraction compared to May and June,” Standard Chartered Bank economist Alvin Liew writes in note.
Liew adds, weaker exports “performance should be driven by a marked moderation in pharmaceutical exports. That said, the volatile pharmaceutical could still swing either way”.
Data due tomorrow 1:00 p.m.
STI ends 0.2% lower at 2,933.51
Singapore’s Straits Times Index dropped 0.2% to 2,933.51 at the close. Two stocks declined for each that rose on the 30-member gauge. Shares on the measure trade at 14.2 times estimated earnings, compared with about 17.4 times at the beginning of the year, according to Bloomberg data. The following shares were among the most active in the market. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.
Genting Singapore Plc (GENS SP), the owner of one of two casinos in the city-state, surged 8.2% to $1.58, setting a fresh record closing price. The stock advanced 14% on Aug 13 as Credit Suisse Group AG, Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley raised their stock recommendations after the company returned to profit in the second quarter.
Olam International (OLAM SP), a Singapore-based supplier of agricultural commodities, fell 0.8% to $2.54. Union Agriculture Group, a closely held Uruguayan landowner, plans to outbid Olam International for NZ Farming Systems Uruguay to gain control of the South American dairy farmer. Union Agriculture will make an offer of 60 New Zealand cents a share, valuing NZ Farming at NZ$147 million ($140.6 million), Christchurch-based NZ Farming said in a statement posted on the exchange. The offer is 9% higher than the 55 cents-a-share bid announced last month by Olam.
Wilmar International (WIL SP), the world’s biggest palm-oil trader, lost 0.3% to $6.11. The company had its share-price estimate cut to $7.50 from S$8.30 at DBS Vickers Securities while it maintained a ”buy” rating.
Genting Singapore Plc (GENS SP), the owner of one of two casinos in the city-state, surged 8.2% to $1.58, setting a fresh record closing price. The stock advanced 14% on Aug 13 as Credit Suisse Group AG, Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley raised their stock recommendations after the company returned to profit in the second quarter.
Olam International (OLAM SP), a Singapore-based supplier of agricultural commodities, fell 0.8% to $2.54. Union Agriculture Group, a closely held Uruguayan landowner, plans to outbid Olam International for NZ Farming Systems Uruguay to gain control of the South American dairy farmer. Union Agriculture will make an offer of 60 New Zealand cents a share, valuing NZ Farming at NZ$147 million ($140.6 million), Christchurch-based NZ Farming said in a statement posted on the exchange. The offer is 9% higher than the 55 cents-a-share bid announced last month by Olam.
Wilmar International (WIL SP), the world’s biggest palm-oil trader, lost 0.3% to $6.11. The company had its share-price estimate cut to $7.50 from S$8.30 at DBS Vickers Securities while it maintained a ”buy” rating.
NOL carried 18% more cargo in 4 wks to July 23
Written by Thomson Reuters
Monday, 16 August 2010 21:12
Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), the world’s sixth-largest container shipping firm, said on Monday it carried 18% more containers in the four weeks to July 23 compared to a year ago.
NOL said in a statement it shipped the equivalent of 220,200 40-foot containers (FEU) on its vessels in the period, up from 187,400 a year earlier, mainly due to higher shipments on trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe routes.
The average revenue in the period from each container rose to US$3,076 ($4,197), up 39% from a year earlier.
Monday, 16 August 2010 21:12
Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), the world’s sixth-largest container shipping firm, said on Monday it carried 18% more containers in the four weeks to July 23 compared to a year ago.
NOL said in a statement it shipped the equivalent of 220,200 40-foot containers (FEU) on its vessels in the period, up from 187,400 a year earlier, mainly due to higher shipments on trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe routes.
The average revenue in the period from each container rose to US$3,076 ($4,197), up 39% from a year earlier.
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