Dear helpless investor, I am writing to check in on you. It has been a roller coaster week. Are you still intact despite all the ups and downs? You must have been through a lot. Suddenly, you woke up to a disastrous free fall in the stock market. The next day there was a historic rebound. Then the following day another market plunge wiped out the gains. As retail … [Read more...]
How serious are property market forecasts?
This March companies are busy preparing sales forecasts for the new financial year. Regarding forecasts, I have said this in my book Behind The Scenes of The Property Market: “With high uncertainties looming in the global economy, it is doubtful whether anyone can predict what will happen in six months, let alone the full year. Those who claim that they can do so are most … [Read more...]
New property cooling measures coming again?
“Singapore Govt ‘not averse’ to more property cooling measures if necessary: Desmond Lee” - that was the title of a Straits Times article published last Friday (Jan 17). A few questions pop up in my mind: - Were HDB property cooling measures effective? - Did private property cooling measures work? - Is new property curb a self-fulfilling prophecy? - Do we want property … [Read more...]
Reporting from Shenzhen: How China stimulates the property market
I was in Hong Kong last week. To find out why Hong Kong people flocked to Shenzhen on weekends, I decided to cross the border for a personal experience. Singapore’s infamous train fault There is a Chinese saying that “Good things aren’t heard outside the house. Bad things spread a thousand miles. During this trip, whoever I met, the first thing they mentioned was … [Read more...]
Rate cut and where to park money
Rate cut talks have dominated finance news for over a month now. What a breath of fresh air. It gives us hope after alarming events in the recent global winding of Japanese yen carry trades, or frantic sell-off of equities and cryptocurrencies. Rate cut twists and turns In fact, since end-2022 some analysts have been speculating that Federal Reserve would lower interest … [Read more...]