It could take a few years for the United States economy to bounce back. This was the prediction from one of Merrill Lynch’s top strategists at the start of its “Rising Stars” conference in Singapore yesterday. Mr Mark Matthews, the firm’s chief Asia strategist, said: “We are looking at a protracted recovery that’s going to take the economy two to three years to unwind from its excessive...
US Economy
Dr Tony Tan, the deputy chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), has clarified that recent comments made on the world facing its worst recession in 30 years is just one of three scenarios GIC is contemplating. It is not the GIC's forecast for the global economy. The other two are an optimistic scenario where there is a recession in the US or globally, with an end to the...
In light of the ongoing sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States, major global agencies have relooked their forecasts for this year. According to the latest World Economic Report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is predicting a 3.7 percent growth in the global economy this year - down from a 4.9 percent expansion in 2007. The IMF has also downgraded its growth projections for Singapore by...
Riding it out involves open and frank cooperation AMERICA'S unfolding financial woes continue to surprise. The impact on Asia has been limited thus far, and some think that Asia's rise is irresistible. But connections in finance, trade and investment can still bring the storm to Asia. Indeed, regional bourses and currencies have already felt shocks. After all, Asia's boom has coincided and benefited...
Former US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the drop in American home prices will probably end “well before” early next year as the number of houses on the market diminishes, aiding an economic rebound. “It will not be until early 2009 that we will be close to having eliminated most of this home inventory,” Mr Greenspan said yesterday. “But it is very likely that home prices will...
US regulators should be more aggressive in dealing with the sub-prime crisis, according to Senator Paul Sarbanes, who is in Singapore for a business talk. Mr Sarbanes, who co-authored the Sarbanes-Oxley Act - hailed as the most far-reaching reforms of American business practices - said some mortgage lending practices should have never been allowed. US investment bank Bear Stearns is the latest...
Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said on Sunday Singapore has got its economic basics right so even in the face of a looming US recession, the country can cope. And it can also depend on the critical growth in China and India. He was speaking in an interview with South Korea's Arirang TV in Seoul. He said Singapore with its good budget, good economy and strong fundamentals can weather a US recession, even...
Asia will continue to attract strong investments this year despite the uncertain global economic outlook, according to some participants at the 9th Annual Investment Management Association Singapore Conference on Tuesday. They expect investment vehicles such as venture funds and private equity to pick up in 2008. Asia has seen a sharp change - from a positive global economic outlook in 2007 to one of...
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has urged Singaporeans to brace themselves for further uncertainties. In his Lunar New Year message, Mr Lee said the "Year of the Rat" begins under challenging circumstances. But he added that there's reason to remain confident because Singapore is in a strong position to weather any storm. Turbulence in the financial markets worldwide has shaken consumer and investor...
The global market panic driving Tuesday’s United States Federal Reserve rate cut is rooted in the still controversial idea that the US economy has slipped into a recession. Many market participants now take it as an article of faith that the US economy is, or will soon be, in a contractionary phase of economic activity. Some even argue that as long as it “feels” like a recession, it is one. But that...