Stunner indicator

NEW YORK: Leading US stock indices edged to records on Monday (Apr 29) for the second straight session, gaining on strong consumer data ahead of major earnings reports later in the week. The S&P 500 advanced 3.15 points (0.11 per cent) to 2,943.03, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 15.46 points (0.19 per cent) to 8,161.86. Both are record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 11.06 points (0.04 per cent), rising to 26,554.39. The small rise in stock prices comes a day before the Federal Reserve is due to meet for its latest policy meeting, with markets overwhelmingly expecting the central bank to leave interest rates untouched, something that has contributed to the good mood among investors. With nearly half the companies in the S&P 500 having already reported, companies are reporting earnings that are on average 5.3 per cent above analyst estimates, a figure above the five-year average, said a report from FactSet. The group of mostly solid … [Read more...] about US stock indices edge to records for second straight session

SINGAPORE: In a digital age where transactions, notifications and records have been digitalised, you would think the postman gets it easier. But news of SingPost’s investigations this week after fresh images of mail found in a rubbish bin in Ang Mo Kio went viral and its subsequent update that it has referred the case to the Police have touched a raw nerve. Last year, SingPost fired a postman after he was found to have thrown away returned letters and direct mail at a condominium, and a video of someone confronting the man and claiming he had just thrown a stack of letters into a rubbish bin had gone viral. SingPost too had issued an apology just two weeks ago after receiving a string of complaints regarding undelivered mail from residents. BOARD RESPONSIBILITY These operational lapses have raised questions as to whether the company’s board of directors ought to be held responsible. Are these episodes management failures that could have occurred even with the best … [Read more...] about Commentary: Are SingPost’s lapses indicative of a deeper malaise in the company?

SINGAPORE: There are "some indicators" that Singapore was recently the target of an information warfare campaign by a state seeking to legitimise its actions on the international sphere, said an academic giving evidence to the Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods in a private session on Friday (Mar 16). The committee held two private sessions on Friday to hear oral evidence. These were held in private as they "concerned matters of national security and international relations", it said in its summary of evidence for the third day of proceedings. In one of these sessions, Dr Gulizar Haciyakupoglu - a research fellow at the Centre of Excellence for National Security at S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University - noted how a state tried to influence certain segments of society through news articles and social media, in order to "legitimise" its "actions on an international sphere". The state was not identified in the evidence … [Read more...] about ‘Some indicators’ Singapore was target of information warfare recently, says academic

LONDON: European stock markets had another dire session on Thursday (May 9) as heightened US-China trade tensions before make-or-break talks in Washington had investors rushing for the exits, dealers said. The two-day gathering has taken on huge significance since US President Donald Trump threatened to more than double punitive tariffs on US$200 billion of imports Friday, arguing that Beijing "broke" their previously agreed commitments on trade. Key European stock indices were up to two per cent down at the close, getting no comfort from Wall Street where the Dow Jones index had fallen by another 400 points by the late New York morning. "Stocks have endured a major sell-off... as trade tensions between the US and China have ratcheted up," said CMC Markets analyst David Madden. 'NOT MUCH HOPE' "President Trump claims that China 'broke the deal', and traders have taken that as a sign that the relationship between Washington DC and Beijing is going to get worse. "Trade … [Read more...] about European stock markets tumble as US-China trade tensions heighten

Each January, the SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie) kicks off the watchmaking world ’s calendar. The exhibition usually sets the tone for the rest of the year, so it’s studied closely by the industry as well as by timepiece collectors and aficionados . But typically, around November the previous year, watchmaking companies start issuing pre-SIHH novelties. Like movie trailers building anticipation for the films’ actual theatrical releases, these teasers are meant to whet horological appetites for what’s to come at the fair. For the watch press, the teasers provide useful material for content, especially during the traditionally “quiet” weeks in late December and early January. Those magazine pages and webpages aren’t going to fill themselves, right? And speaking of webpages, here’s what some of the most influential watch blogs and publications are saying about the novelties. AUDEMARS PIGUET With the Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph being an Audemars … [Read more...] about The timepieces debuting at SIHH 2019 that have the industry buzzing