U.S. recession not yet bottoming

The U.S. recession may be easing, but the economy has not hit bottom yet and mounting unemployment looks likely to keep demand sluggish for a while.

JPMorgan Cuts Singapore Market to Underweight

JPMorgan downgrades Singapore market to Underweight (previous rating not available). Says downgrade reflects move up the risk curve given, Singapore market has “defensive bias on a sector composition perspective,” which does not fit well with broker’s “overall backdrop of a call to add risk to portfolios.” Adds Singapore economy entered recession before rest of region, and despite aggressive fiscal spending economy still faces lackluster growth prospects through 2009-2010. Suggests investors lighten their pure Singapore defensive positions in stocks such as land transport, telecom and add to high quality, liquid stocks in property, offshore & marine sectors. Says top picks are DBS (D05.SG), Olam (O32.SG), Keppel Corp. (BN4.SG) and City Developments (C09.SG). STI last +1.2% at 1693.45.

S -chips under greater scrutiny

Auditors are focusing more attention on risky areas, such as cash flow

City turns cadres into real estate agents

A local government in an eastern Chinese city has taken its efforts to prop up the economy to new heights, ordering cadres to act as real estate agents with a quota of selling - or buying - at least one flat each.

Anti-China tensions brewing in Australia

Australia’s Sinophile Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is fighting perceptions he has become a “running dog” for Beijing as anti-China sentiment mounts at home, threatening billions of dollars worth of Chinese investment.

Beijing speaks out, reflecting new confidence

So it has been refreshing and interesting to hear mainland leaders begin uncharacteristically to speak loudly on the hottest international issue of the time, calling ahead of this week’s Group of 20 meeting in London for a redesign of the global financial system.

Casinos blamed for clashes on Hainan

Village rivalry tip of a bigger crime problem

GM, Chrysler Must Revamp Plans to Get More U.S. Aid

General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC must overhaul their recovery plans with deeper concessions to justify further taxpayer aid, and bankruptcy may ultimately be their best chance, an Obama administration official said.

Chinese automakers too small to buy Volvo

Despite their global ambitions, Chinese automakers are still not big enough to take over their troubled foreign rivals, analysts and company officials said.

Famed French vintners plan China vineyard

One of the great names in wine-making, Domaines Barons de Rothschild, said Sunday it plans to develop a vineyard in China to take advantage of growing interest in wine here.

Foreign Strategic Investors Losing Welcome from SOEs

This is very smart, for with the financial crisis, China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs), commercial banks in particular, are no longer big fans of foreign strategic investors, and foreign investors selling off shares of state-owned commercial banks due to crisis in their home countries are likely to find the door closed to them if they attempt to return.

Short-term gains but long term pains likely

Last week’s column raised the likelihood of a play on the major indices because of probable quarter-ending window-dressing. To be honest, the play that did materialise has caught us and many others by surprise, virtually erasing all of the Straits Times Index’s loss for 2009.

Time to widen accountability

The recent slew of corporate fraud and scandals is testing the integrity and reputation of the Singapore securities market.

SGX remains keen on Chinese firms

This despite recent accounting scandals and corporate governance failures at some S-chips

Australia blocks sale of Oz Minerals to China firm

Aust treasurer cites security concerns as reason for rejection

AGM season kicks off

Tough questions are expected on worries over recession, fraud

S-chipped

China plays lose their shine amid allegations of corporate failings

A Buddhist spectacle with political overtones

Pomp, ceremony and a spectacular new “Buddha palace” were the order of the day as 1,300 monks and scholars from around the world gathered in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, yesterday for the state-sponsored Second World Buddhist Forum.

Hu’s slip into slang has nation floundering for its meaning

An odd word choice by the president gets people talking

Is this the start of the decline and the fall of the Ferguson Empire?

But history tells us that when any empire reaches that point of virtual global supremacy, equally total ignominious collapse usually lies never far away. So it seems with United.