Daily Briefing: China slowdown to hurt Singapore most; Can Noble operate with junk rating?

And Singapore home prices have longest decline in 17 years.

China's economic expansion has been a powerhouse for regional and global growth, boosting other countries' economies with demand for commodities and other imports. Now the reverse is happening - its slowdown is dragging down growth across the region. In Southeast Asia, Singapore could be the worst hit, with a 1 percentage point fall in China's economic growth subtracting 1.4 percentage points from Singapore's. Read more here.

Noble Group Ltd.’s view that it can operate with a junk rating is about to be stress-tested, after Standard & Poor’s became the second agency to downgrade the company’s debt. Shares in the Hong Kong-based commodity trader, already at seven-year lows, lost as much as 11.6 percent in Singapore on Friday after S&P’s action. Find out more here.

Singapore home prices dropped for a ninth quarter, posting the longest losing streak in 17 years, as tighter mortgage curbs cooled demand in Asia’s second-most expensive housing market. An index tracking private residential prices fell 0.5 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31 from the previous quarter, according to preliminary data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority on Monday. Read more here.