The Afternoon Update with Lynlee Foo

Vice-president candidates JD Vance from the Republican Party and Tim Walz from the Democratic Party engaged in a vice-presidential debate today in what could be the last  face-to-face showdown for both camps, before the November 5 US election.  How did both VP Candidates perform? What's the outlook for the final 5 weeks before the election? Do Vice-President debates even matter? Samuel Garrett, Research Associate at the United States Studies Centre at theUniversity of Sydney weighs in on the Veep debate and gave his take on the impact of such debates. 

The technology industry is at an exciting juncture. Cloud services provider Akamai launched an initiative earlier this year, to help companies deliver better experiences by moving their workloads closer to end-users. Akamai aims to increase its cloud-computing network with an additional 10 regions worldwide in the first quarter of this year and then another 75 throughout the rest of the year. Jay Jenkins, CTO, Akamai, shares insights into edge computing and the company's current efforts to interweave cloud computing capabilities into its large-scale edge network to become the preferred cloud computing platform. 

The Singapore dollar is trading at its strongest level in almost a decade against the U.S. dollar amid lower U.S. interest rates coupled with investors' confidence in its resilient economy. The recent rate cut by the Federal Reserve and announcements by the People’s Bank of China have caused movements among many major currencies. How is the Singapore dollar faring against the US dollar, the sterling pound, the yuan, the Australian dollar and the Malaysian ringgit?  Yeap Junrong, Market Strategist at IG, gives his take on the state of play at the current levels and shares a trade idea. 

The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority, recently launched LawNet AI, an AI service designed to help lawyers in Singapore do research more efficiently. Similarly, AI tools are transforming conflict resolution, helping mediators by providing data-driven recommendations and possible solutions based on historical data and prediction models.  However, while AI is set to revolutionise law, how are issues of confidentiality and data privacy being addressed? Is the billable hour still relevant with AI-driven services? Ms Eliza Jiang, is the CEO and co-founder of Lawdify, a company that provides legal professionals AI-first Software as a Service solutions, focusing on high-profile and reputable dispute teams across major legal hubs such as Singapore, Hong Kong, London, and Toronto. Eliza who is a disputes lawyer, shares more insights.

Chinese stocks rallied for a ninth straight day in one of most remarkable turnarounds in history after the central bank unveiled its biggest stimulus since the Covid 19 pandemic. On Monday (Sep 30), China's CSI300 Index surged more than 8%, extending last week's 16% jump. Shanghai stocks shot up more than 7% while Shenzhen shares soared more than 10%, with combined turnover of 2.6 trillion yuan exceeding the bull run a decade ago. While investors are celebrating, economists say the jury is still out on China's economy.  On Market View, Gary Ng, Senior Economist at Natixis, weighs in on the country's bold stimulus measures and explains why Chinese markets may not be out of the woods so soon. 

Chinese tech stocks are hitting highs not seen in more than a year after China’s central bank announced measures to stimulate the world’s second-largest economy. The central bank on Friday lowered interest rates and injected liquidity into the banking system as Beijing assembled a last-ditch stimulus assault to pull economic growth back towards this year's roughly 5 per cent target. More fiscal measures are expected to be announced before China's week-long holidays starting on Oct. 1. The CSI 300 rallied nearly 15% this week and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is set for its best week since 1998. Dan Chang, Investment Specialist and Trading Representative at PhillipCapital, tells us about the Chinese stimulus measures' impact on the Singapore market and what he is looking forward to in the days ahead.  

This week, an unexpected turn of events at the start of a much-anticipated criminal trial of Singapore's former transport minister S Iswaran. The landmark trial marks the first time in 50 years that a political office holder was put in the dock.  The 62 year-old pleaded guilty after prosecutors amended corruption charges against him to reduced counts of obtaining gifts and valuable items worth more than $400,000 in total. On Weekly Wrap, Eugene Tan, Associate Professor of Law at the Singapore Management University, sheds more light on the differences between the amended charges under Section 165 and the original ones under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and shares his views on the developments ahead of Iswaran's sentencing on October 3. 

Whenever there are major changes, be it to a business or one's life, having storage space can be an essential solution. The self-storage sector has been seeing a remarkable ascent in recent years with more players entering the market. As the demand for self-storage in Singapore grows more robust, bolstered by e-commerce growth, evolving work dynamics, and a growing emphasis on environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations, what are the current trends in the self-storage landscape? Jes Johansen, CEO from leading self-storage operator Storefriendly shares more insights about the sector, and explains why the company is in the right space by giving old buildings an 'elegant end-of-lease life' experience to provide storage solutions.

Certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums climbed across most categories at the latest round, with the Open category recording the biggest rise to hit $113,104, the highest levels since December 2023. At $98,524, the price of a Category A COE for smaller and less powerful cars and electric vehicles, hit a record high in 2024, and the sentiment on the street is that the upward trend will continue. Lee Nian Tjoe, The Straits Times' Senior Transport Correspondent shares his views.

Should you pursue a graduate business degree? This question is bound to come up at some point, especially if you are a business leader or a professional wanting to accelerate your career. Recently, INSEAD's Master in Management (MiM) programme made an impressive debut, ranking #3 globally in the 2024 Financial Times rankings. While such rankings can be a strategic tool to boost an institution’s brand and reputation, what should you look out for? Is the MiM suitable for you? What's the difference between an MBA and an MiM? Professor Mark Stabile, Dean of Degree Programmes and Dean of the Europe Campus at INSEAD, shares more about INSEAD's graduate business programmes as well as how business schools are staying ahead of their game to remain relevant.