The Evening Runway with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Since late January, four vessels, including a suspected Chinese spy balloon, have been seen entering US and Canadian airspace. What is going on with the unidentified objects that US fighter planes keep taking down? Might these strange objects be an even bigger problem than we thought? And how will the spy balloon fallout bring instability to Southeast Asia and beyond? On Washington Report, Drive Time's Elliot Danker and Timothy Go spoke with Steve Okun, Senior Advisor, Mclarty Associates to find out more about the mystery surrounding all these aerial intrusions. 

Singapore stocks opened lower today. The Straits Times Index dropped 0.2 per cent in early trade to 3,351.85 points after 71.5 million securities changed hands. Some notable names seeing new developments today include UOL Group and Singapore Land Group, which purchased Meyer Park for S$392.18 million via a collective sale. But what would this mean for both companies? Elsewhere, China’s consumer inflation accelerated last month. CPI was up 2.1% on a yearly basis, higher than the 1.8% increase in December. What’s the country’s recovery story looking like? On Market View, the Drive Time team posed these questions to Benjamin Goh, Head of Research and Investor Education, SIAS.

The online brokerage industry is at the heart of our discussion today.  The pandemic-induced retail trading frenzy has led to a boom in new online brokers in Singapore as more people put their dollars to work on digital platforms.  But with the country now back to Dorscon green, how would companies position themselves for the future? We’re going to speak with online trading platform moomoo to find out more about their future plans.  The company is apparently also serving financial institutions, and is the main placement agent for the IPO of the maker of the TraceTogether token. But why is it diversifying to serve institutional clients? How much money is in it for them to do so? On Under the Radar, Drive Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Gavin Chia, Singapore Managing Director at moomoo.

Today we discuss the question on whether we are stuck paying more for sports broadcast packages and the new European Super League, what would it mean for football fans? 

If you're an art aficionado, museum fan, or looking for an interesting activity to do over the weekend, why not head over to a brand new art exhibition? 'The Grand Italian Vision: The Farnesina Collection'  — an Italian art exhibition curated by Achille Bonito Oliva is set to make its first-ever international debut right here in Singapore this February.  How significant is the exhibition to the arts and cultural scene in Singapore? And how will it enable cultural diplomacy between the two nations? On Culture Club, Drive Time's Elliot Danker and Timothy Go speak with Mario Andrea Vattani, Ambassador of Italy to Singapore and Brunei Darussalam to find out.

The world of digital assets are still reeling from the ‘crypto winter’, a huge collapse in asset valuations in early 2022 triggered by the failure of a major stablecoin. So how will regulation and compliance help rebuild the trust between both investors and regulators.  Justin Lim, Director of Business Development, Liminal shares his views. 

Green is the new orange and we are back at Dorscon green! From February 13, commuters will no longer have to wear masks when taking public transport as community regulations are progressively lifted. But are Singaporeans ready to go back to 'normal'?  Dr Asok Kurup, Infectious Disease Expert, Mount Elizabeth Hospital shares his views. 

The stakes couldn't be higher for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Just months before the biggest test of his political career, a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and Syria, killing over 15,000 people. In May, Turkey will vote in elections that polls conducted before the disaster showed would turn into a tight race for Erdogan, who has led the country since 2003. On Euro Watch, Drive Time's Elliot Danker and Timothy Go speak Antonio Fatás, Professor of Economics, INSEAD on how the tumultuous events will impact Erdogan's election prospects.

Today we talk about why rich men buy sports teams and if they even know what they are doing with these teams. 

Singapore shares slipped when trading began today, tracking a sell-off on Wall Street amid fears that the US Federal Reserve would keep interest rates high longer than needed. The Straits Times Index headed down 0.4 per cent to 3,373.51 points in early trade after 56.9 million securities changed hands. Some notable names seeing developments today include the Singapore Exchange, which reported a 30.1 per cent increase in net profit for the first half of FY2023 today. But what does the performance mean for the exchange? Another company to watch is Keppel Corp, which said yesterday that a unit of Keppel Land is selling its 100 per cent stake in its investment holding unit Willowville for US$5.5 million. How significant is this move though? On Market View, the Drive Time team posed these questions to Terence Wong, CEO of Azure Capital.