The Afternoon Update with Lynlee Foo

A deal to end the crisis of confidence that had started to spread across global financial markets - UBS Group has agreed to buy rival Credit Suisse in a historic, government-brokered deal. What does this mean now, and how are markets reacting? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Chanyaporn Chanjaroen, Asia Finance reporter at Bloomberg in Singapore to find out more about this latest development and how much the US Fed will weigh the recent turmoil in the banking sector on its next monetary policy move.

The Afternoon Update's Hongbin Jeong speaks to Geoff Howie, Market Strategist from the SGX for a market wrap for the week, on the back of the turmoil that has hit the banking sector, including the fall of SVB and the crisis of Credit Suisse. They discuss how the STI fared this past week; how local banking stocks were affected; and how much the Fed will weigh the current turmoil when deciding on their next interest rate hikes. Also on the agenda, they talk about the outlook on Singapore's economy as the island releases NODX numbers and employment data. 

Volatility was one of the key outcomes of economic and market shifts in 2022, But will it be the same in 2023? Or could we see some stability this year? And as interest rates are expected to rise further, fears of a recession are continuously growing. But are such fears overblown at this point? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to James Beaumont, Head of Natixis Investment Managers Solutions, to find out what are the best investment strategies are in the current market as well as what  asset types are set to dominate this year. 

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.