Singtel once again finds itself unwittingly being thrust into the spotlight. Late last month, the telco’s Australian subsidiary, Optus, reported that hackers had accessed and stolen the personal information of around 9.8 million customers, or around a third of Australia’s population. There are widespread implications for Optus’ massive data breach. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has commented that Optus should pay for replacement passports, while states in the country have asked the telco to pick up the tab for the issuance of new driver’s licences. To make matters worse, two major law firms in Australia are investigating a possible class action lawsuit against Optus to claim compensation for people affected by this breach. The Sydney Morning Herald has estimated that the tota

Bitcoin's value rebounded on Thursday after dropping to a low not seen since July 2 minutes following the release of September's inflation reading that came in well above expectations. Bitcoin was changing hands at $19,407 Thursday afternoon, up 1.35% in the last 24 hours. Shortly after the inflation release, bitcoin had plunged to $18,195, according to crypto indexer, CF Benchmarks. Year-over-year inflation for last month was 8.2% for September, according to the government's U.S. Consumer Index Price (CPI), higher than Wall Street’s consensus expectations for 8.1%. Excluding food and energy, the core inflation rose 6.6% from a year ago, marking the highest level since 1982. The data show that inflation is proving more difficult to tame despite multiple Federal Reserve interest rate h

For shareholders of both Keppel Corporation Limited (SGX: BN4) and Sembcorp Marine Limited (SGX: S51), or SMM, the wait is finally over. On 27 October, both companies hammered out a revised deal to simplify the transaction structure for a proposed merger of SMM with Keppel’s Offshore and Marine (O&M) division. It was exactly six months since a proposed combination was announced by the two offshore oil rig giants, and more than 15 months since the idea of a potential combination was mooted. By amending the transaction, the approval and consent requirements have also decreased and the plan is to reduce the time to completion by up to two months. Assuming all goes well, the revised merger is projected to be consummated by either December this year o

As the world reopens and economies sputter back to life, many companies are also seeing improved prospects. Investors who have endured a tough two years can now rejoice. Blue-chip stocks are no different, with many enjoying healthy tailwinds that look set to lift revenue, net profits and free cash flow. The good news is that some of these names may even raise their dividends in line with their improved results. We profile three such blue-chip names that could spring a pleasant surprise for investors in the upcoming earnings season. DBS Group (SGX: D05) Singapore’s largest bank has been a bastion of strength over the last two years. The lender had ended 2021 with a record S$6.8 billion in net profit as it wrote back provisions and chalked up a healthy surge in fee i

Stocks Close Out Losing Week, Month and Quarter Major stock benchmarks declined more than 1% Friday as investors considered consumer-spending figures and the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge. OPEC+ to Weigh Production Cut to Bolster Oil Prices The group is considering an output reduction of 1 million barrels a day, its biggest cut since the pandemic began, as the economic slowdown hurts demand. Japan Large Manufacturers' Sentiment Weakens Sentiment among Japan's large manufacturers deteriorated in the three months to September, the third straight quarter it has worsened, amid lingering concerns over supply shortages. U.K.'s Central Banker Faces Inflation, a Financial Crisis and His Own Government Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey intervened in bond markets to avert market turmo

A famous investor is warning his clients that a financial "superbubble" is getting ready to burst — and that the "epic finale" to this saga is gonna suck. As Jeremy Grantham, the founder of the prominent GMO asset management firm, argued in an announcement to investors this week, there's ample writing on the wall to suggest that not only is the stock market in a "superbubble," but that its burst is imminent.There have only been three previous superbubbles in modern finance, Grantham noted — "bear market rally" events that followed the financial crashes of 1929, 1973, and 2000. Those events were all characterized by freakouts over low stock values followed by a wave of "crazy investor behavior," and according to the famed investor, such a pattern is visible now after this summer's well-docu

The S&P 500 slumped Friday, as a stronger-than-expected monthly jobs report muted recent hopes of a Fed pivot, and shifted investor focus to the prospect of another jumbo-sized rate hike next month. The S&P 500 fell 2.9%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.2%, or 669 points, and the Nasdaq slipped 3.7%. The U.S. economy created 263,000 jobs last month, above the 250,000 economists’ had expected, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 3.5% as fewer than expected people entered the labor market. Wage growth of 0.3% was in line with forecasts, but slowed to 5% from 5.2% in 12 months through September. While this is a “welcome development for the Fed,” according to Jefferies, it won’t provide a ”justification for slowing from the rec

The global economy faces not one but four key uncertainties including a downturn next year, according to Singapore central bank chief Ravi Menon, in a signal that policy makers will be in firefighting mode for longer.He listed severity of the downturn, inflation’s trajectory in the medium term, impact of geopolitics on markets and climate risk on portfolios as the main risks to the global outlook.The key question is how deep and prolonged will the downturn be, Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said in a speech at the SuperReturn Asia conference of private equity and venture capital enthusiasts. That depends on how high and persistent inflation is, in which case central banks have no choice but to tighten more and for longer than markets are predicting, he add

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed during early Asian trade on Monday as a weaker dollar and supply concerns ahead of the European Union embargo on Russian oil in December offset fears of a global recession that could dampen fuel demand.Brent crude futures rose $1.15, or 1.3%, to $92.50 a barrel by 0049 GMT after settling up 0.5% on Friday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $86.16 a barrel, up $1.05, or 1.2%. The front-month contract expires on Tuesday.Investing.com★★★★★ 4.5785K RatingsInstallOil prices climb on weak dollar, supply concernsOil prices climb on weak dollar, supply concernsReuters | Sep 18, 2022 09:10PM ET Be the first to commentOil prices climb on weak dollar, supply concernsBy Florence TanSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed during early Asian tr

A risk-off mood across global financial markets amid persistent economic turmoil deterred prospective hedge funders from starting up new firms in the second quarter. The estimated number of new hedge fund launches slid to only 80 in Q2, down sharply from 185 in the first quarter of the year, according to fresh data from indexation and analysis firm Hedge Fund Research. The latest figure also reflects the fewest new funds launched since the fourth quarter of 2008, during the Global Financial Crisis. Financiers scaled back the opening of new hedge funds even as performance as a whole held up during the period compared to the broader markets. From the start of this year to the end of August, the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index – a global index of the world’s largest hedge funds – fell just