The Afternoon Update with Lynlee Foo

Crypto markets are reeling from a turbulent weekend, after one of the market’s leading stablecoins, Circle’s USD coin (USDC), lost its 1-to-1 peg to the US dollar. USDC restored its peg earlier this week and continues to hover close to $1, but the crisis might have broader implications for crypto and decentralised finance. USDC is usually considered the safest stablecoin. So what does this mean? What does this signal for crypto markets? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Evans Huangfu, Partner, Arcane Group to find out more. Highlights:  1:13 - What's led to the fall of SVB? 2:49 - What kind of exposure does this have on crypto players? 6:25 - How have crypto markets reacted to this collapse?  7:46 - Stablecoins were affected - what does this say about the severity of this collapse? 8:49 - Do you see this impact on crypto markets long lasting? 

Where are the lines drawn on what is and isn’t sustainable? AND what are big international banks doing about it? More importantly where are the investment opportunities? Eco Money Host, Rachel Kelly speaks to Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer of Standard Chartered Bank and Alex Manson, Member, SC Ventures to find out. 

Volatility is back, and it’s creating uncertainty on the direction of stocks markets for the rest of the year. What about in terms of fixed-income, bonds and currencies? How are they faring in the current market condition? Where do the opportunities now lie? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Carol Lye, Associate Portfolio Manager & Senior Research Analyst, Brandywine Global Investment Management to find out more. 

Two weeks into the new month of March, and already, Asia’s benchmark stock index erased all of its gains for the year as financials extended the rout triggered by the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped nearly 2%, with Japanese banks among the biggest drags on the gauge. Is March now a worse month compared to what we saw in February? Will Asian markets be able to recover? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Ben Luk, senior multi asset strategist at State Street Global Markets to find out more. 

The US dollar has surged once again in recent days, especially after Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned once again that rate hikes will be here to stay for longer. So is the period of volatility in currency markets set to last for the rest of this year? Will there be any regional currencies that will be able to withstand the strong greenback? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Simon Harvey, Head of FX Analysis at MonFX, part of the Monex group, to find out more. 

Over the weekend with the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank sent shockwaves through the start-up community. As investors start the week trying to figure out the implications from the fallout from the bank run on Silicon Valley Bank, the Fed, Treasury Department and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp are taking steps to shore up confidence in the banking system after SVB’s failure spurred contagion concerns. But how does this impact those in Asia? What kind of exposure does this have on Singapore? On What's Trending, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Nirgunan Tiruchelvam, Head of Consumer and Internet at Alētheia Capital, and the author of the book Investing In The COVID Era, to find out more. 

On The Afternoon Update, Geoff Howie from the SGX joins Hongbin Jeong to give a wrap on markets this week, including how the STI was largely in the red the past week, the biggest movers on the STI, and whether or not our local banks have been caught up in the SVB turmoil. They also discuss central banks - including the MAS and whether they further tighten its monetary policy, the US Fed and whether rates will peak at 5.6%; as well as the Bank of Japan and its interest date decision. 

Housing prices are increasing here in Singapore amid a time of slowing growth and rising mortgage rates. Rental market is expected to continue its upward trend in 2023 due to rising costs and surging demand. Last month, The Business Times even described that 2023 would be “another year of pain for tenants” as higher property taxes and interest rates are likely to contribute to more increases in rents. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex, to find out more about the current state of the property market and what the outlook is like.

Emerging markets are set to rebound in 2023, boosted by the re-opening of China. That's according to the Federated Hermes' Global Emerging Markets Outlook. Rebounds in South Korea, Taiwan and Brazil and the stability of India, Indonesia and Mexico is said to support emerging markets’ growth. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Kunjal Gala, Head of Global Emerging Markets at Federated Hermes to find out more on this report and how Asian markets will help support EMs rebound this year.

The US dollar looks set to gain further against some of its peers on relative outperformance of the US economy and monetary policy edge. In his semi-annual testimony to lawmakers, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stepped up hawkishness, saying the ultimate rate peak is likely to be higher than expected and the central bank is prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes if needed. But how are regional currencies affected? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Lim Jun Kit, Strategist at Phillip Nova to find out how the US dollar is faring and how the strong dollar is affecting the regional currencies.