The Afternoon Update with Lynlee Foo

Is greenwashing here to stay? How can businesses better tackle issues related to adapting to become more sustainable? These were some of the questions answered at the Inaugural Earth Hour Summit. In this podcast, host, Rachel Kelly brings you highlights from the summit and speaks with WWF CEO, R Ragunathan, for his thoughts on the future of WWF Singapore. 

Gender diversity is in focus today on Money in the Market. Does gender diversity even matter to investors? Why should it matter? Well according to MSCI, which has been tracking gender diversity of corporate boards since 2009. Nearly 40% of constituents of the MSCI ACWI Index had at least 30% of board seats held by women, a milestone that many investors, regulators and other stakeholders have long advocated for. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Miranda Carr, Executive Director, Global Head, Applied ESG & Climate Research at MSCI to find out why this is important to note and why gender diversity matters to investors. Highlights:  01:07 - At least 30% of board seats held by women - why is this a milestone? 02:20 - Where does Singapore stand in gender diversity?  04:52 - How does gender fit into ESG issues?  07:10 - Why does gender diversity matter to investors?  09:26 - How can we evaluate gender diversity in our investment process? 

The global stock market took a tumble in February following a robust surge in January. Despite some encouraging economic indicators, it seems unlikely that there will be a break in the upward trend of interest rates anytime soon. And some say the headwinds for equities are set to increase even further in March. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong spoke to Shen Hong, editor at Bloomberg News to find what’s set to drive markets in the coming weeks. 

We saw a reversal in trends in stock markets in the month of February. There was nowhere for investors to hide in February's market reversal. But how did the STI withstand all of this? And what will March bring us? Will it be full of madness? For a market wrap of the week, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Geoff Howie, Market Strategist at the SGX to take a look back at what February was like for the STI and what March will bring us next. 

Stocks in Asia started 2023 in a bull market. Investors have been cheered by China’s pivot away from its zero-Covid policy, the ending of its crackdown on tech companies and Beijing’s renewed commitment to growing the world’s second biggest economy. But now it seems like that optimism has already been priced in. In February we saw a reversal of trend in the stock market, leaving us with the question - is the bull market over for Asian stocks? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Kelvin Tay, Regional Chief Investment Officer at UBS, to find out whether there is room for stocks to rally further, or if the bull run really is over for Asian markets.

Certain credit factors have always been a part of credit risk analysis. But as ESG factors have been known to impact companies, their relative importance with respect to credit has been increasing. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Philipp Buff, Investment manager of Developed Markets Credit at Pictet Asset Management to find more about what sustainable credit is, and what it covers.

As Wall Street faced some heavy sell-offs in recent days, Asian markets followed suit, despite seeing a huge rally in the beginning of the year due to the optimism of China’s faster-than-expected reopening. So what’s moving Asian markets at the moment? And how do the current state of Asian stock markets compare to other global stock markets? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong finds out more with Sani Hamid, Director for Wealth Management, Financial Alliance on what’s moving markets in the region.  Highlights:  01:07 - Has markets priced in all of the optimism surrounding China's reopening?  02:03 - What's moving Asian markets at the moment?  03:10 - Which specific markets in Asia are performing well or poorly? 04:49 - How are investors responding to the current state of Asian stock markets? 06:05 - How do Asian stock markets compare to other global stock markets?

For the time being, the tug-of-war between bulls and bears remains centred on the trends in inflation, monetary policy, and the economy. After a challenging 2022, investors anticipated that 2023 will start on a similar tone but so far this year, financial markets have benefited from the conjunction of miracles which have prompted investors to discount that we are once again in a ‘’Goldilocks’’ environment. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Laurent Lequeu, Head of Portfolio Management & Research at Lumen Capital Investors to find out more on what a ‘’Goldilocks’’ environment is and what miracles are keeping this “Goldilocks” dream alive.

On The Afternoon Update, Geoff Howie, Market Strategist at the SGX, joins Hongbin Jeong for a wrap of markets for the week; including how the STI performed; the biggest movers of the week; UOB and OCBC earnings; what the FOMC minutes is signally; as well as what to look out for in the week ahead. 

The Singapore dollar has outperformed nearly all Group-of-10 currencies so far this year. But investors seem to be returning to placing bearish bets on all Asian currencies - including the Singdollar -  shortly after on the increasing likelihood that the U.S. Federal Reserve would continue hiking rates for longer, helping the dollar regain its lost momentum. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Peter Chia, Senior FX Strategist at UOB, to find out more.