Bathe in a new light

Whether you are selling your home or staying put, a stylish loo is always welcome. So go on, make over your bathroom
ADMIT it: You’re thinking about a facelift.
You’ve noticed the little lines forming here, darkened areas emerging there. Features once fresh and sparkling are looking worn and dull. When you switch on the light, it’s [...]

Older ‘new’ condos on the market

Leftover units offer immediate occupation, but buyers should take note of some things
With property developers holding back major launches as they wait out the gloomy market sentiment, eager buyers have had to turn to other avenues for a home.
Some with urgent housing needs are looking at older ‘brand-new’ condominiums - developments that have been completed [...]

DBS emerges as most resilient local bank

THESE are not the best of times for banks, but DBS Group Holdings can at least claim that it has emerged as the most resilient of the three local players this week.
On many criteria - from share price to valuation - it held up best when all three filed their first-quarter results.
While they all delivered [...]

Bank chief was talking about US

I REFER to yesterday’s article, ‘Two more slow quarters for OCBC ahead, says CEO’.
Our CEO, Mr David Conner, was responding to a journalist’s request for his views on how long the downturn in the US economy would last.
Mr Conner’s reply was that the US had experienced two quarters of fairly low growth and it was [...]

Banks aren’t out of the woods yet

DOGGED by a multitude of problems stemming from the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US, banks here are not having it easy. Nor will it become easier as the year progresses. Last year saw them dogged by writedowns on their holdings in collateralised debt obligations (CDOs). Yes, they suffered from provisions made on their CDO [...]

DBS Q1 net earnings dip 2% to $603m

Trading losses drag down income, but earnings still better than expected
DBS Group’s first-quarter net profit dipped 2 per cent to $603 million from a year earlier, dragged down by trading losses amid financial market volatility, the bank said yesterday.
The lower net profit for the quarter was still better than analysts had expected. Net interest income [...]

OCBC posts 4% lower Q1 net profit of $622m

THE volatility in the financial markets has taken its toll on local bank earnings, with OCBC Bank yesterday reporting a 4 per cent drop in first-quarter net profit to $622 million despite higher divestment gains. The earnings beat analysts’ expectations, however.
OCBC’s results for the three months to March 31 were hit by a plunge in [...]

Two more slow quarters for OCBC ahead, says CEO

Bank’s first-quarter net profit falls 4% to $622m, but still beats analysts’ estimates
OCBC Bank has now suffered two straight quarters of sliding profits and may well have to endure more tough times ahead, the bank’s chief executive, Mr David Conner, warned yesterday.
‘We’ve had two quarters of very low growth. Can it happen for two more [...]

DBS, OCBC hit by global turmoil; Q1 net profits fall

Two Singapore banks on Wednesday reported falls in first-quarter net profit as trading activities took a hit from global financial turmoil.
DBS Group, Southeast Asia’s biggest bank, said its net profit in the first quarter ended March 31 dipped 2.0 percent to S$603 million (US$446 million) compared with the previous year.
Singapore’s smallest bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp [...]

DBS Q1 profit slips, outlook murky

DBS Group, South-east Asia’s biggest bank by assets, posted a smaller-than-expected two per cent drop in quarterly profit after strong loan growth helped to ease credit-related writedowns.
Analysts warned that more difficulties lie ahead in the second half when a looming United States recession catches up with Asia’s robust economies, putting a brake on earnings momentum.
DBS [...]