Daily Briefing: SGD forwards drop; SIA bans Note 7 on planes

And here’s what happens to prices of old leasehold condos.

The currency market has shifted to signal expectations the Monetary Authority of Singapore will refrain from easing next month, with a measure of the local dollar’s potential direction sliding to a four-year low.Six-month forwards tumbled to minus 15.64 points on Thursday, the least since July 2012, data compiled by Bloomberg. The rate touched 32.23 points on June 28, days after the U.K. vote to exit the European Union caused a global financial rout. Read more here.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said on Saturday that it has joined other airlines in banning the inflight use of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 phones after reports of exploding batteries in some units. "The powering up and charging of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 mobile phones is prohibited on all our flights," SIA said in a statement. Find out more here.

Since the Singapore government has ceased to offer freehold land parcels under its Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme, and with most residential properties occupying 99-year leasehold sites, it would be interesting to observe the price performance of leasehold properties as their tenures run out. Lessees may apply to top up the lease to a fresh 99 years. Read more here.