SeaPRwire

Don’t invest your emergency fund

elean
1 minute

A couple of years ago, the high-yield savings market was hot - at least to millennials. Internet-only banks entered the market and drove up annual percentage yields to above 2 per cent at their peak. This could help you grow your money far faster than the typical 0.01 per cent of most banks' savings products. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.

ACN Newswire
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China Medical System (0867.HK) Acquires a Dermatology Specialty Company: A Tough Player the Race

indie
12 minutes

HONG KONG, Feb 5, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - On February 1, China Medical System (0867.HK) announced that its subsidiary had acquired Luqa Ventures Co., Limited ("Luqa"), a dermatology specialty company. This acquisition expanded its product portfolio to include Luqa's dermatology products and marked the first foray into the medical aesthetic industry for China Medical System.Why medical aesthetics? What is the significance of this acquisition?1. Consolidating the Skin Management Business and Entering the Medical Aesthetic Market: Acquiring Luqa to Explore a New Growth EngineAccording to its official website, established in 2010, Luqa is an innovative enterprise with skin treatment and medical aesthetic solutions as its core business.Its founder, Mr. Luo Benwei, is experienced in medicine and was involved in Asia's skin management and medical aesthetic industry before establishing Luqa. In 2005, as Almirall's youngest international business development manager, Mr. Luo successfully drove the company's products into markets in Africa, the Middle East, West Asia and East Asia.China Medical System recognized Luqa's many advantages, including: its abundant overseas resources of medical ae...

SeaPRwire
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GameStop unraveling quickens, pushing weekly collapse past 80%

elean
3 minutes

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - GameStop capped another day of heavy losses on Thursday (Feb 4), pushing its collapse past 80 per cent this week as retail traders flocked to other corners of the stock market such as small drug developers. The video-game retailer tumbled 42 per cent to US$53.50, erasing nearly US$30 billion (S$40 billion) in market value. Trading volume picked up after a slow start, with 60 million shares exchanged after selling accelerated throughout the session. Meanwhile, demand shrunk for companies such as headphone maker Koss and apparel retailer Express, which had also skyrocketed over recent weeks. Both stocks have shed more than three-quarters of their value from last week's peaks. Still, retail traders using Twitter to communicate about their bullish bets and outlooks helped fuel rallies in biotech stocks Atossa Therapeutics and Anavex Life Sciences Corp. Cassava Sciences, a stock whose gyrations were another reminder of how fickle these more speculative trades can be, erased gains of 34 per cent to close lower. The gains show that Reddit and Twitter are continuing to "play a major role in trading action" for single stocks, wrote Jared Holz, a Jefferies health-care ...

SeaPRwire
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US stocks stage partial rebound from rout

elean
2 minutes

NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street stocks staged a partial rebound on Thursday (Jan 28) from the prior session's rout following mixed economic data as shares of GameStop and others continued to gyrate. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1 per cent at 30,603.36. The broad-based S&P 500 also won 1 per cent to 3,787.38, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.5 per cent to 13,337.16. Major indices had shed more than 2 per cent on Wednesday due in part to worries about the coronavirus and lofty valuations. Investors had also been rattled by massive jumps in GameStop, AMC Entertainment and others, but the market applauded new restrictions on these trades by TD Ameritrade and Robinhood, analysts said. Wednesday's big fall set the stage for bargain-hunting on Thursday. "The restrictions put in place regarding the retail traders by the platforms... (have) helped to calm the market down," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. "The worry in the market was, if this continue at this pace, it could cause even more damage to the overall market." Both GameStop and AMC fell sharply. More on this topic Related Story GameStop plunge wipes out US$11 bi...

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GameStop market value soars past $13 billion after Elon Musk tweet

elean
5 minutes

NEW YORK (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) - Amateur investors piled further into niche stocks on Tuesday (Jan 26), sending professional short sellers scrambling to cover losing bets, with GameStop skyrocketing for a fourth straight day, thanks in part to Elon Musk. GameStop surged 50 per cent in extended trade after Mr Musk tweeted “Gamestonk!!”, along with a link to Reddit’s Wallstreetbets stock trading discussion group, where supporters affectionately refer to the Tesla CEO as “Papa Musk.” “Stonks” is a tongue-in-cheek term for stocks widely used on social media. Thanks to the gain, GameStop’s market value flew past the US$10 billion (S$13.2 billion) mark, after staring the year at US$1.2 billion. It is now worth more than 10 per cent of S&P 500 stocks including American Airlines Group and Under Armour. GameStop’s after-hours surge added to a 93 per cent jump during Tuesday’s roller coaster trading session, with the videogame retailer’s stock propelled by traders on Wallstreetbets, many of them buying volatile call options. The share spikes of the last few days are raising questions about potential regulatory clampdowns from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). “Such volatile tra...

ACN Newswire
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UK Advertising spend to recover faster than key international markets in 2021

indie
4 minutes

LONDON, Jan 26, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - The latest Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report expects the UK's ad market to grow by 15.2% this year, an upgrade of 0.8 percentage points from the last forecast in October 2020. The preliminary estimate for growth in 2020 now stands at -7.9% with adspend of GBP 23.17bn - a marked improvement (+6.6 percentage points) since the last outlook owing mostly to brighter prospects for online platforms.The new forecasts show that the UK's ad market will make up for 2020's decline and accelerate further into growth this year, reaching a total of GBP 26.69bn - above the previous high of GBP 25.37bn recorded in 2019. Further, the decline seen in the UK's ad market during 2020 is estimated to be softer than the global rate (-10.2%) and that of the rest of Europe (-13.7%). The UK's projected ad market growth in 2021 is also expected to be ahead of key international markets, with the US expected to grow 3.8%, Germany 9.3%, Europe (excluding UK) 8.8%, and China 10.3%.Internet adspend leads to stronger Q3 2020 performanceThe latest dataset includes actual figures for Q3 2020 and predictions for the coming eight quarters. The key findings show that...

ACN Newswire
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Bit.com to Launch Industry’s First BCH Options

indie
4 minutes

SINGAPORE, Jan 20, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - Bit.com, the secure and high-performance derivatives exchange by Matrixport, will be launching Bitcoin Cash (BCH) perpetual swaps and options. BCH options trading will go live on 01 Feb 2021, following the launch of BCH perpetual swaps on 20 Jan 2021.Bit.com's offering of Bitcoin Cash options is the first of its kind in the industry. Bitcoin Cash has been in the limelight as one of the major cryptocurrencies recognized by institutions, and constantly ranks No. 6 or 7 on the Top 10 list. However, there has been no options market for BCH and the liquidity of the perpetual swaps also has room for improvement. To put things into perspective, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) derivatives market grew tremendously during the past few years, and so did their relative shares of the underlying spot trading volume. Currently, the cryptocurrency perpetual swaps market is dominated by BTC, which accounts for ~53% of the market share, while ETH attributes to 20%. BCH takes only 1% of the crypto perpetual swap market share, which is disproportionate to the relative market share of the underlying asset. Similar for options market, market is hugely dominate...

ACN Newswire
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Japan Datacenters: Market Insights 2021

indie
2 minutes

Japan, Jan 11, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - Want to learn how Japanese datacenters are reshaping the country's economy?W.Media is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, 20th January, 10:30-12PM (GMT+9) dedicated to this explosive industry, with top-level speakers including:- Tsutsomu Toneyama, PTS Consulting Japan - Rui Takei, BICSI- Dominik Steiner, 650; VPC Asia KK- Takuya Yusa, NTT Facilities- Paul Dwyer, EquinixRegistrations are now open! https://bit.ly/38unI1MJapan's Datacenter Market is making a huge impact on the national economic landscape. Increased speculation from foreign companies and accelerated adoption of digital technologies across public and private sectors are the underlying driving factors to this rapid evolution.A majority of development is in the Tokyo metropolitan area, with Osaka close behind.Furthermore, the Japanese government inked a deal to migrate all HR systems to the cloud by 2025, a sign of the cross-industry embrace of cloud technologies currently transforming the country.But while the data center market is experiencing this unprecedented investment, there is simultaneously a growing call for such investment to be sustainable. Japanese Data Centers are pioneerin...

SeaPRwire
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Singapore kept IPO flow steady last year despite pandemic-driven market volatility: PwC

elean
1 minute

SINGAPORE - In a year ravaged by a recession and wild swings in financial markets, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) managed to bring in as many new companies to list here as in 2019. The bourse attracted 11 initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2020 despite the coronavirus-induced uncertainty and market volatility, according to a report by PwC Singapore. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.

SeaPRwire
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4 property trends to watch in 2021

elean
7 minutes

Singapore's property market witnessed a roller-coaster ride over the past year. Home sales plunged to historical lows during the April and May circuit breaker period. But at the end of the movement restrictions, property buying activities rebounded strongly across many market segments. Although the coronavirus may continue to cast a shadow over the broader economy, global markets have already looked past current headwinds and are banking hopes on the success of Covid-19 vaccines. The pandemic has accelerated some property trends and spawned new ones that may present attractive investment opportunities for buyers. We offer a preview of how the property market here may fare this year, and the key trends to keep an eye on. Singapore's property outlook hinges mainly on the country's ability - and global collective efforts - to rein in Covid-19. The real estate market is poised for a steady recovery and further price growth if our economy rebounds strongly this year. 1. Recovery to gather pace on fresh optimism Singapore's housing market is one of the sectors that are defying gravity. Despite the pandemic, we observed healthy sales for landed properties and the private and Housing Board...

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82 HDB resale flats sold for at least $1m in 2020 as overall prices, sales rise: SRX

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - The number of Housing Board (HDB) resale flats sold for at least $1 million hit a new high last year amid a strong showing by the market despite the Covid-19 pandemic, according to flash data from real estate portal SRX released on Thursday (Jan 7). There were 82 million-dollar flats transacted in 2020, compared with 64 for 2019, after December saw 10 more of such transactions. They make up about 0.35 per cent of the total number of HDB resale flats sold last year. SRX's flash estimates for December also reveal that overall HDB resale prices rose for the sixth consecutive month, bringing the total price rise for 2020 to 6.4 per cent, much more the 0.3 per cent increase seen in 2019. ERA Realty head of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said: "This performance of the HDB resale prices and transaction volume illustrated that the adverse impact of the pandemic and economic recession is like water off a duck's back." HDB advance estimates released last week showed that resale prices rose 2.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020 from the previous three months, marking the biggest quarterly increase in over nine years. For all of 2020, resale prices rose 4.8 per cent, ac...

SeaPRwire
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Bitcoin falls, bringing dizzying rally to a halt

elean
3 minutes

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Bitcoin fizzled in trading on Monday (Jan 4) as the famously volatile cryptocurrency pulled back after a spectacular new-year rally. Prices fell as much as 17 per cent in the biggest drop since March before recovering. The losses are small in the context of Bitcoin's broader rally, with a 50 per cent jump in December alone. After a parabolic 2020, the digital currency had started the new year with a bang, surging as high as US$34,000 (S$44,890) and hitting all-time highs on Sunday. Bitcoin was down 7 per cent to US$31,227 as of 12:59pm in London. "Today's selloff is a reminder this is a relatively new asset, highly volatile, and still yet to find its place in the market," said Adrian Lowcock, head of personal investing at Willis Owen. "There are many (major) hurdles for it to overcome for it to be a useful mainstream asset." As ever in the world of crypto, it's hard to pinpoint the proximate cause for the latest bout of volatility. Bitcoin is up more than 300 per cent over the past year, driven by a speculative fever from retail and institutional investors on the belief that cryptocurrencies are emerging as a mainstream asset class and can act as a store of v...

SeaPRwire
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Market volatility, giant valuations prompt warnings of IPO bubble

elean
5 minutes

NEW YORK • The initial public offering (IPO) market is manic. Stocks have not been this expensive since the dot.com era. The Nasdaq 100 has doubled in two years, leaving its valuation bloated - all while volatility remains stubbornly high. It is a set-up that has left investors sitting on fat returns from 2020, a year that defied easy explanation. It is also one that has a growing cohort of experts warning about a bubble. Knowing when market rallies turn from logical to excessive is always tough. It was nearly impossible as last year ended, with interest rates pinned near zero and the federal government unleashing another US$900 billion (S$1.19 trillion) into the economy. But history offers clues, and a raft of current market conditions meet criteria that would likely be found on a bubble checklist. Take a study by Harvard University researchers published in 2019. It noted that while not every stock surge meets with disaster, those that do share some attributes, including increased share issuance, heightened volatility, and a sector or index that doubles and is twice as high as the broader market. Check, check and almost check. "Are there areas of the market that are in a bubble? Y...

SeaPRwire
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Algorima, a Korean AI-focused education company executes MOU with Inganam

aseanpr
2 minutes

Seoul, Korea - Algorima, an AI-focused education company, and Inganam, a human sciences education company, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This will secure future opportunities for Korean startups to pioneer the SEA education market. Algorima, an AI-focused education company, has signed an MOU with India's Inganam to form a partnership. Algorima plans to incorporate its own product, Easydeep, into Inganam's remote classes and engage in joint marketing initiatives to promote brand awareness worldwide. EasyDeep is an educational tool service developed by Algorima Co., Ltd that allows anyone without coding knowledge to easily learn the concept and mechanism of AI. With only the drag & drop use of a mouse, even non-AI majors can execute AI models. India accounts for the second-largest education market in the world. With this agreement, Algorima will serve as the barometer for other Korean AI startups expanding overseas. Kim Young-wook, CEO of Algorima, said, "This agreement gives us an opportunity to pioneer the Southeast Asian education markets, such as India, Vietnam, and Singapore, which are developing as or represent a major consumer market, and there are...

SeaPRwire
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No swift recovery in 2021, but Singapore job market on the mend

elean
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Hopes for a better 2021 are aplenty, but recovery for the labour market is likely to be protracted, experts say. Although the latest quarterly labour market data released earlier this month shows the employment situation for Singapore residents is on the mend, uncertainties still abound. Ms Selena Ling, OCBC Bank's head of treasury research and strategy, said it may take till 2022 for unemployment rates to return to pre-Covid-19 levels, barring a Covid-19 panacea. "The biggest challenge is not really new per se - that there is a significant SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) base and older, low-income workers and even PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians) who may find the pace of change accelerated and disruptive and have a more difficult time adapting and transforming," she said. It remains to be seen how the labour market will react next year when the Jobs Support Scheme wage subsidies taper off and some of the traineeships, attachments and training programmes introduced to help job seekers end. National Trades Union Congress secretary-general Ng Chee Meng said in a recent webinar organised by The Straits Times that the local and global heal...

ACN Newswire
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Amm Global Institute leads digital transformation in radio broadcasting industry in SE Europe

indie
8 minutes

Zagreb, Croatia, Dec 25, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - Croatian Amm Global Institute organized for the first time at Zagreb's Hotel Esplanade the first 'Croatia media congress' involving all key executives from Croatian media, the Minister of Culture and Media Nina Obuljen Korzinek, the State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture and Media Kresimir Partl, and Director of the Electronic Media Agency Josip Popovac. The Amm Global Instute is the first private creative industry institute in Croatia established by Ivan Juric Kacunic. This most prominent radio businessman in Croatia speaks about the condition of the media market in Croatia, the impacts of the Corona pandemic on media, and about the future of the Croatian media industry and its future role in the recovery of the Croatian economy from the effects of the Corona crisis. What is the present condition of the media market in Croatia Both the Croatian media market and the European media market as a whole are currently facing a serious situation, primarily due to the Corona crisis that has resulted in a significant decline of the overall market, in particular the service and entertainment markets, which has in turn caused a significant ...

SeaPRwire

Oil price falls on fears of Covid-19 mutation

elean
3 minutes

NEW YORK • Oil fell to less than US$48 a barrel in Asian trading - after posting a seventh weekly gain - on concern a Covid-19 mutation discovered in Britain could speed the virus' transmission and lead to more lockdowns. Futures in New York dropped nearly 3 per cent after closing at the highest level in almost 10 months last Friday. Over 16 million Britons are now required to stay at home as a full lockdown came into force in London and the south-east of England, with some European countries limiting travel with Britain. A stronger dollar also reduced the appeal of commodities that are priced in the currency, while a stimulus deal in the United States could not stem the slide. Physical oil prices are also falling as Asian refiners ease purchases after an earlier-than-usual buying spree. Abu Dhabi's Murban crude was sold last week on the spot market below its official selling price for the first time since August, while differentials for Russia's Espo have fallen from a six-month high. Crude has rallied around 33 per cent since the end of October on a series of vaccine breakthroughs that have created expectations for a recovery in energy demand next year. In the short term, however...

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How Covid-19 pushed the property market to adapt

elean
5 minutes

During the worst phase of the pandemic, many people wondered if the property market would come to a screeching halt and result in the greatest fall in prices since the turn of the millennium. However, the market proved to be quite resilient. And this did not come by sheer luck. First, government intervention through stimulus packages and jobs protection aid insulated Singaporeans from the full brunt of the economic slowdown and minimised the number of people affected by retrenchments or business closures. It was reported that around 150,000 jobs will be saved over these two years, with more than half of them by the Jobs Support Scheme. Second, the loan repayment moratorium helped to cushion the shock of job losses and these measures collectively helped prevent the widespread distress sale of homes. Statistics have shown that residential properties make up a large chunk of the Singaporean household balance sheet, with the other components being investments in financial products, insurance and savings. That developers received an extension to project completion times alleviated some of their stress. As a result, the market did not experience mass reduction of prices just to move unit...

JCN Newswire
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NEC Holds No.1 Position for 6 Years in a Row as Worldwide Leader in the Small and Medium-Sized Business Call Control (PBX-IP PBX) Market

ruth
2 minutes

TOKYO, Dec 17, 2020 - (JCN Newswire) - NEC, a global leader in Communications & IT solutions, today announced that it now, for six years in a row, is recognized as the global #1 for SMB (Small and Medium Business) Communications Systems. This success underscores the strength of NEC's portfolio, the company's commitment to expanding its global enterprise communications footprint and the ability to serve customers to the fullest satisfaction.NEC has a long history and legacy in communications for over 120+ years and remains committed to the Unified Communications market for SMB and Enterprise with, at the core, its UNIVERGE communications portfolio SL, SV, 3C premise-based solutions and its new generation UNIVERGE BLUE UCaaS cloud-based solution offering.Fundamental pillarsMZA's (new windowwww.mzaconsultants.com) reporting on the global Call Control market shows that NEC has led all manufacturers in global shipments in the SMB segment for the last 6 years*. With a present market share of 17%, NEC is well ahead of all other companies in that segment.Expertise and innovative strength combined with the company's dedication, reliability and financial viability are fundamental pillars...

SeaPRwire
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Number of HDB resale flats sold for at least $1m hits new high; 72 in first 11 months of 2020

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The number of Housing Board (HDB) resale flats sold for $1 million or more each has hit a new high, following 13 transactions done in November, according to data from real estate portal SRX released on Thursday (Dec 10). The 72 million-dollar flats sold in January to November this year compare to 64 such units for the whole of 2019. SRX's flash estimates for November also reveal that HDB resale prices rose for the fifth consecutive month, though the volume of transactions dipped. At the top end of the HDB resale market, a five-room unit at The Pinnacle @ Duxton sold for $1,248,000, which was the highest transacted price registered for a resale flat in November. Meanwhile, a five-room Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flat in Parkland Residences in Hougang sold for $810,000, recording the highest resale price in non-mature estates. PropNex head of research and content Wong Siew Ying said buyers of million-dollar HDB flats may be willing to pay so much due to its central location, the convenience of being near to the city and the amenities available. She added that as private condo prices have remained resilient throughout the pandemic, some buyers may have turned to t...