URA data shows 4,000 units in 70 developments with pre-requisites for sale as at end-Nov (SINGAPORE) The number of private homes sold by developers inched up 4.7 per cent to 593 units in November, up from 566 units in October. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) also revealed monthly property market data of transacted benchmark prices […]
Archive | December 18, 2007
URA awards Boon Lay site to Frasers Centrepoint
THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday awarded a residential site at Boon Lay to Frasers Centrepoint, which put in the higher bid of $205.6 million – or $248 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) – after the tender closed last week with just two bids. The weak response to the 99-year leasehold site […]
Rising population adds to climate woes
Socio-economic factors play big part in global warming THREE-QUARTERS of the problems associated with global warming have to do with socio-economic factors like rising population, and only a quarter has to do with the climate itself, according to Andrew Watkinson, director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in the UK. ‘The population debate […]
NY hotel boom to ease room shortage
But mid-market room rates of US$200-300 still too high for some (NEW YORK) While planning her vacation to New York, Lisa Werness was so horrified by the prices in Manhattan that she chose cheaper lodging in Brooklyn – where she got a room rate of just US$400 a night. ‘Don’t remind me. I’m trying to […]
Wheat price surges above US$10 for first time
(NEW YORK) Wheat rose above US$10 a bushel for the first time, leading other grains and oilseeds higher in a food price spiral that threatens to derail global economic growth. Chicago wheat futures jumped as much as 30 cents, or 3.1 per cent, to US$10.095 a bushel as dry weather threatened crops in Argentina, renewing […]
Minister sees Japan’s economy continuing recovery next year
IN JAPAN JAPAN’S economy is likely to continue growing next year, Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Hiroko Ota suggested yesterday, dismissing growing fears that it could plunge into recession as a result of an expected global slowdown in 2008. But she acknowledged a number of longer-term challenges to the continued growth of the economy. […]
Asia’s growth may slow in ’08
Emerging problems in major economies cloud outlook (SHANGHAI, China) Asia’s dynamic economic growth is expected to slow modestly next year as its biggest economies grapple with emerging problems, from inflation in China to appreciating currencies in India and Japan. The expected slowdown in the US economy – a vital export market – and higher oil […]
World economy smaller than previously estimated
New measure puts GDP in perspective, but world order remains similar (SINGAPORE) The size of the world economy is apparently smaller than previously thought, according to new estimates of GDP from the world’s biggest statistical initiative. But the global economic pecking order remains more or less the same, with the five biggest economies – the […]
US faces risk of slipping into stagflation
Global growth this quarter and next may be slowest in four years: analysts (WASHINGTON) The world economy is facing the risk of both recession and faster inflation. Global growth this quarter and next may be the slowest in four years, while inflation might be the fastest in a decade, say economists at JPMorgan Chase & […]
No takers for many collective sale sites as market cools
Quiet end to record year where $12.5b worth of estates were sold en bloc MOST collective sale sites put up for tender in recent weeks have closed without any bids. About 40 estates have been launched for sale since October, but just eight deals were sealed between October and last month, said property firm CB […]
Inflation fears drag global stock markets down
LONDON – ASIAN and European stocks tumbled yesterday as last week’s strong United States inflation data reduced expectations that the US Federal Reserve would deliver further interest rate cuts soon. Also, in a sign that rising food and agricultural prices may push inflation up globally, US wheat futures surged more than 3 per cent and […]
Global economy facing threat of stagflation
Growth may slow to 4-year low and inflation could hit 10-year high WASHINGTON – THE world economy is facing the risk of stagflation – the double whammy of suffering both recession and faster inflation. Global growth this quarter and next may be the slowest in four years, while inflation might be the fastest in a […]
Greenspan favours govt bailout for home owners
ATLANTA – FORMER United States Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan says he favours using US government money to bail out mortgage borrowers who risk losing their homes because they cannot make payments. Mr Greenspan, speaking on ABC’s This Week programme aired last Sunday, said cash bailouts, while creating a larger budget deficit, had the advantage […]
WALL STREET INSIGHT: Fear of prolonged credit crunch hangs over market
Investors expect to get glimpse of 2008 outlook from earnings reports of 3 major broking houses BY many measures, the global credit crisis is back to its worst levels since August. The prospects for a prolonged credit crunch that limits lending to businesses will be hanging like a black cloud over Wall Street this […]
IMF expects to lower global growth outlook
(ZURICH) The International Monetary Fund will lower its growth outlook as the continued credit crisis hurts the US and European economies, while global imbalances also weigh on growth, its top economist was quoted as saying. ‘Given this background, the numbers will indeed be weaker than in our latest World Economic Outlook,’ IMF chief economist Simon […]
US on recession course: Morgan
(SYDNEY) The US is heading for a recession and the rest of the world would be ‘dead wrong’ to think this will not impact growing Asian economies, Morgan Stanley senior executive Stephen Roach said yesterday. In an interview with Sky News in Australia, Mr Roach said that the US Federal Reserve Bank would ‘most assuredly’ […]
POPULAR DESPITE RENTAL HIKES: Queensway still best place for sports retailers
QUEENSWAY Shopping Centre is rundown and fairly inaccessible, it has none of the frills its rivals have, such as a cinema, and rents have been rising. However, tenants at the well-known sporting goods haunt appear willing to stick with it. Queensway, said Jeans Arcade proprietor Mohamed Yahya, who was echoing what five other retailers in […]
Asking rents at specialist malls rise by up to 30%
Some retailers pay willingly for locale’s reputation, others prefer mix of shops RETAILERS in specialist malls such as Sim Lim Square, Queensway Shopping Centre and United Square have not escaped the tide of rising rentals seen at other malls here. Some tenants have reported demands for rent hikes of up to 30 per cent […]
Ascendas in $144m Viet industrial park deal
DEVELOPER of industrial and business parks Ascendas has teamed up with Vietnam’s state- owned Protrade to jointly develop a US$100 million (S$144 million) industrial park. It will mark Ascendas’ first major development project in Vietnam. The ambitious project involves developing a 500ha industrial park in Binh Duong province which will cater to light and clean […]
New launches to slow till next year
With a still uncertain market, quiet times in property sector may continue till after Chinese New Year THE frantic property market is taking a breather, as buyers adopt a wait-and-see approach. Property launches have been scarce in the past month, and that will continue now that the holiday season is here. If you are one […]
