Finance and Markets

Morgan Stanley believes the modest rally (from 51.2 in July) can be explained partly by seasonality.

DBS Group Research said China’s retail sales growth is higher than it’s been in a decade.

DBS Group Research said demand in the US is accelerating, even without including inventories or government spending in the picture.

The better-than-expected PMIs boosted global risk appetite, according to OCBC.

OCBC said bank loans are expected to accelerate further from 9% yoy in June to 11%, crossing into double-digit growth territory for the first time since February 2009.

Macquarie Research believes MAS is unlikely to tighten monetary policy again in October.

Macquarie Research says with increases in pharmaceutical output capacity and the strong momentum in the service sector that could cushion the fall-out, contraction previously forecast may not come to pass.

On 27 August MAS will auction $2 billion of a new 20-year SGS bond with effective issue size of only $1.8 billion.

The USD-SGD is currently around the 1.3600 mark as global risk appetite remains curbed by US data and Ireland’s downgrade, according to OCBC.

According to Macquarie Research, growth outlook appears vulnerable in terms of investment, with nearly half of Singapore’s cumulative net inflows of foreign direct investment from 2005 to 2009 coming from Europe.

Consensus and expectation are for a 6.0% drop in output which translates to 8.0% year-on-year growth.

OCBC Bank is reporting a massive flow of money into Asian stocks and bonds over the last week, which is one factor behind the continued strength of the Singapore dollar.

The Singapore dollar is now being closely watched, with the market showing preference to stay invested in Asia.