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Foreign and domestic distressed debt funds expect a big supply of bad loans to come on to the market in China after at least five years in which banks largely sat on their portfolios of troubled loans.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) stands ready to take action against any breach of its listing rules after investigations into FibreChem Technologies pointed to potential breaches.

Independent investigators have issued a damning report on FibreChem Technologies for making several accounting misstatements in its financial results over several years.

Mainland-listed companies have endured a tough time this year, with 70pc running paper losses and analysts predicting much worse ahead

Fears of hard landing by mainland’s economy see risk-averse investors decide to pull out their capital

Three years of investigations have uncovered several financial and accounting irregularities at FibreChem Technologies, including an unauthorised share transfer and HK$777 million (about S$130 million) in missing cash.

Asiasons WFG Financial said that internal controls failed to catch a breach of its stockbroking arm’s operating licence, its non-executive deputy chairman Ng Teck Wah said yesterday.

A unit of Asiasons WFG Financial - formerly known as Westcomb Financial - has lost its operating licence after failing to comply with certain financial benchmarks set by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Securities dealing subsidiary fails to meet certain financial ratio requirements; may be subject to MAS sanctions

Regulator’s new boss giving markets clear message of zero tolerance for dealing scams and other illegal activities after criticism in the past, analysts say

The lure of China remains, but bear in mind these are largely risky punts

As rising inflation eats away at cash balances and bond yields remain low, you may be wondering where to put your money next year.

Asia Ascent and its MD poised to sue senior SGX executive, alleging he ‘falsely and maliciously’ defamed them

One ID says he did not approve statements relating to SGX’s reprimand

In a dramatic show of defiance, China Sky Chemical Fibre has come out swinging in a strongly worded defence against a Singapore Exchange (SGX) reprimand over its failure to get a special auditor.

Noble Group’s Australia-listed coal mining subsidiary Gloucester Coal could be sold to China’s Yanzhou Coal Mining for US$2 billion (S$2.6 billion) or more and create Australia’s biggest independent coal miner.

Under new investor-protection rules that take effect Jan 1, investors must possess certain educational qualifications related to finance or have relevant work or trading experience to buy funds directly.

Many of country’s 3,500 private equity funds could be wiped out in squeeze on domestic market and growing economic uncertainty, say observers

Singapore Exchange (SGX) yesterday rapped China Sky Fibre Chemical and its directors for ignoring SGX’s directive to appoint a special auditor.

Beijing will relax monetary policy more, helping to boost market suffering from global uncertainty and drop in Japanese manufacturers’ confidence

According to a recent news report, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) is looking at allowing stockbrokers access to clients' Central Depository (CDP) accounts so that dealers and remisiers can see just what stocks their customers have at any one time.

First Wall Street firm to get a mainland underwriting licence shuns lucrative listing market in favour of getting higher fees from taking Chinese firms abroad

SGX to allow stock broking firms access to clients’ accounts

Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, Malaysia’s second-youngest billionaire, received former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s endorsement to acquire a controlling stake in carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd.

Former Malaysian prime minister reveals plans for 42.7% stake sale to DRB-Hicom

Shipbuilder could have new yard in Shanghai by 2012, analyst says

Central banks seen to boost money supply, cut rates

Discrepancies at Sino Techfibre remain unresolved as its special auditors have been hindered from completing the probe. Because of this, the audit committee (AC) has recommended, as a preliminary measure, that a valuer be appointed to carry out a valuation of the company’s assets and liabilities.

Olam International Ltd, one of the world’s top three suppliers of rice, cocoa and coffee, posted a gain in first quarter profit, while rival Noble Group Ltd had its first loss in 14 years. Risk management was a key difference.

Recent exuberance about Yanlord Land Group Ltd following the emergence of prominent investors needs to be tempered by the possibility that the new substantial shareholders may be looking at a longer horizon than most.

China’s money market rates rose sharply on Thursday after the People’s Bank of China conducted aggressive open market operations, setting it on course to drain money from the system this week, traders said.

China’s tight-minded policy makers have taken what appear to be the first, cautious steps away toward a more relaxed monetary course. Read more...

Reports that Noble Group is talking to former Goldman Sachs Asia-Pacific co-president Yusuf Alireza to head the company, as well as a share buyback undertaken by the group on Monday, appear to have done little to lift market confidence in the company. And there are very good reasons why investors are wary, given the double whammy it delivered last week.

Emerging market funds prove attractive as share prices plummet

Forget unemployment. Inflation. Consumer confidence. Personal Incomes… You can even ignore the ever-popular gross domestic product (GDP). Read on...

The founder of Asia’s largest commodity supplier by sales faces tough hunt for an executive skilled not only in trading, but in industrial operations

Sitting in China's copper and steel warehouses is a hidden risk to the world's second-largest economy -- banks' indirect exposure to a property market that is showing signs of stress.   Read more...

With Hong Kong Telecom’s capitalisation down 85 per cent in less than a dozen years, potential investors should ponder this latest effort to squeeze the market

Boss at mainland’s largest company says firms must focus on innovation in fuel efficiency and build bigger vessels

Recent accusations against Chinese companies dented confidence, but now their shares are bouncing back and shorts have had to take losses

It looks like a tempest in a rice bowl, but behind the vitriolic protests by the city’s small brokers over their shortened lunch break is a bigger fight for a way of life.

Overseas banks that tied up with Chinese partners in pursuit of IPO cash find the market tough due to regulations, competition and lack of local knowledge

Beijing’s goal to transport half its oil imports on its own ships brings huge problems for foreign fleets

About 150,000 accounts — from investors big and small — were left in limbo in the firm’s rapid demise. Regulators are in the midst of trying to transfer about a third of the accounts to other commodities brokers and securities firms. That usually takes place in a matter of days or weeks.

European Financial Stability Facility’s bond issue delayed as EU leaders meet Papandreou

MF Global Holdings Ltd failed to protect customer accounts by keeping them separate from its own funds, said a top U.S. exchange regulator, another shock for commodity markets scrambling to contain fallout from the brokerage's bankruptcy. Read more...

MF Global Singapore (MFGS) on Tuesday appointed provisional liquidators from KPMG to oversee the winding down of the company.

One in eight turbine makers not expected to survive rapid contraction in overheated wind energy industry

Declining bankruptcy cases belie problems investors and creditors encounter when companies collapse amid absence of proper winding-up procedures

Bank statements and sales tax invoices fabricated, it says

Shareholders of Synear Food got their first rude shock last Thursday when media reports surfaced in China that a batch of savoury dumpling products were found to contain staph bacteria.

Preliminary findings of study show that CFOs of many listed firms here lack experience or accounting background

Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) -- STX Pan Ocean Co., South Korea’s largest bulk-shipping line, fell by as much as the daily limit in Seoul trading and affiliates tumbled on speculation group companies may sell stock to help pay debt.

‘IPO King’ Peter Choo Chee Kong has marked his comeback with the launch of the first initial public offering (IPO) of a gold-mining company in Singapore.

Bourses seen not going far enough to woo high-frequency traders

Raymond Chow and Mah Pat Y accused of falsifying financial records

The most common perception about a GSC is the one the RN Elliott described during his discovery of the Wave Principle. In basic terms, he determined that the cycle began in 1776 with the founding of the 13 original american states. Then from the 1776 revolutionary war he roughly counted: 1776 – 1857 SC 1 and 2, resulting in the civil war 1857 – 1932 SC 3 and 4, resulting in a world war 1932 – xxxx SC 5 Read on...

Analysts are trying to determine which type of failure would cause less damage to the euro zone

The slew of corporate failures in Wenzhou, China’s entrepreneurial hub in Zhejiang province, has sparked fears that the informal lending bubble has burst. One S-chip that has docked itself into this shadow banking sector and could potentially be pulled down by the ebbing tide is Yangzijiang Shipbuilding.

Lending activities not affected by corporate failures in Wenzhou city, it says

Share values take a big hit, adding to worries over euro crisis and scandals in China firms

Unauthorised cash transfer by SinoTech chief sets off string of resignations

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) has spent a large amount of money upgrading its computer trading system in the past year, adding new features while enhancing trading speed. More, however, can be done. Based on feedback from dealers and remisiers - who interact with SGX software every minute of each trading day - here are some of them.

Heavy equity and bond losses mixed with currency weakness are taking their toll on high risk assets

Gold m miner LionGold Corp, with an unproven track record, continues to attract investor interest even though some broking houses are advising caution.

Wynn Macau - 16% Galaxy Ent - 15% Sands China - 14% Melco - 13% MGM China - 10% SJM - 10%

Evergrande plunges 17% Agile Property - 13.5% Renhe Commercial - 12% New World China - 9.5% Shimao Property - 8.8% Country Garden - 6.5% SOHO China - 6% Hysan Dev - 6% China Overseas - 5.8% Greentown China - 5.5%

Bank of China - 5% Citic Bank - 5.5% Bank of Comm - 6% China Merchant Bank - 8% Agriculture Bank - 8% Minsheng Bank - 9%

Move an attempt to beef up corporate governance in wake of S-chip scandals

There’s a strong sense of quiet resignation and resentment brewing within the ranks of retail brokers, negative emotions that stem from a growing belief that their days as market intermediaries are numbered with each new initiative announced by the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

Princeton professor advises switching to safer assets at first sign of crisis

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke tomorrow may disappoint stock investors betting on a commitment to step up stimulus. He has little choice, given rising consumer prices and a U.S. economy that is still growing.

Manchester United’s decision to favour the Singapore exchange over our own is no loss. The club may make plenty of revenue, but little of that will go to shareholders

Based on averages, Q4 tends to be far better for equities

Singapore is attracting an unwelcome flood of U.S. dollars that has caused a key interest rate to turn negative, complicating efforts to dampen inflation and prompting speculation the central bank will tweak its policy to slow the rapid rise in the country’s currency.

Can You Cut It as a Financial Advisor?

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) to disclose which employees knew of its decision to downgrade US debt before it was announced last week.

Growing ranks of lazy consumers boost online sales and delivery services

But analysts say easing in bank credit likely over fears of global slowdown

Mainland shipbuilders encouraged to upgrade and focus on high-technology vessels in order to displace South Korean rivals as industry leaders

A piecemeal ban on short-selling of financial stocks in Europe sparked a rush of alternative proposals from countries and regulators yesterday and investors said the row undermined a rally in bank shares.

While the China-US monthly trade surplus has reached a record, a new US Fed study shows that China shares little of the blame for America’s economic malaise

Largest futures market lifts by 22 per cent the level of cash speculators must keep on deposit to hold contracts; price drops most in 7 weeks, to US$1,756

Now the Securities and Exchange Commission apparently wants to know where those rumours came from and how they spread. The Financial Times reported Friday that the SEC has opened an inquiry, asking S&P to let it know who knew of the downgrade decision before it was announced, as a preliminary look into a possible insider trading inquiry.

Alex Crippen, cnbc.com 11 August 2011 It's a good time to remember one of Warren Buffett's classic rules: "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful." With so much fear in the financial markets right now, it's not a surprise that Buffett is being greedy. He reminds Fortune's Andy Serwer that "the lower things go, the more I buy. We are in the business of buying." (He, of course, won't say exactly what he's buying.) Buffett often makes a comparison to the price of hamburgers at McDonalds. If the price tag is reduced he doesn't get worried, he buys more and feels good that he's paying less for the same hamburger than it would have cost him the day before. He acknowledges, however, that overcoming fear is easier said than done. "There is no comparison between fear and greed. Fear is instant, pervasive and intense. Greed is slower. Fear hits."

S&P won’t publish names or panel’s deliberations

Keppel Corp (KEP) and Sembcorp Marine (SMM) are down about 6.4% and 7.2% respectively currently.

Algos like this one will thrive when world’s fastest trading engine launches here on Aug 15

Washington, Aug 8 (IANS) Here is the Standard and Poor's list of top 20 US companies sitting on $1.4 trillion in cash, even as the debt-ridden world's largest economy had to face an embarrassing ratings downgrade last week: 1. Citigroup $526 billion 2. JPMorgan Chase $414 billion 3. Wells Fargo $112 billion 4. General Electric $82 billion 5. Microsoft $53 billion 6. Google $39 billion 7. Oracle $29 billion 8. Apple $28 billion 9. Johnson & Johnson $27 billion 10. Pfizer $24 billion 11. Chevron $18 billion 12. Coca-Cola $14 billion 13. Intel $12 billion 14. IBM $12 billion 15. Exxon Mobil $10 billion 16. Walmart $9 billion 17. Schlumberger $5 billion 18. AT&T $4 billion 19. Procter & Gamble $3 billion 20. Philip Morris $2 billion

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A scary drop in stocks and commodities threatens to squeeze life out of an already faltering US economy, with deal-making, investment in plants and equipment, and capital raising at risk of slowing down or freezing up.

South Korea’s US$300 billion state pension fund, the world’s fourth-largest, muscled its way into markets yesterday to buy shares in a bid to stem a sell-off that had pushed Seoul stocks down almost 5 per cent amid a global market rout.

Okay. I understand that our finances are a mess and our political system is broken. We just missed a good chance to improve things significantly, and we chose, instead, to improve things marginally. Several times, our leaders snatched defeat from victory. Neither side could say yes. Yet, they did the minimum and avoided default.

With US$2.5 trillion wiped off the value of stocks in the past week alone, it feels almost like a replay of 2008. During that time, the turmoil in the markets - which intensified after the collapse of Lehman Brothers on Sept 15 that year - was triggered by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis. This time, the turmoil is driven by the eurozone sovereign debt crisis - with a little help from the United States, which has just condemned itself to a decade of fiscal austerity. Just how bad the repercussions of this will be are still uncertain, but we know they will be bad.

Investment markets threatened by governments that have run out of policy options

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Chinese state media hit out at the US on Saturday after its unprecedented ratings downgrade, saying the world’s largest economy needed to cure its “addiction” to debt.

Markets could rebound after Thursday's global market sell-off, but investors should see any bounce as a selling opportunity, as the world economy rolls towards total collapse, Mark Faber, editor and publisher of the Boom, Doom and Gloom Report, told CNBC Friday. Link

Harvard professor sees 50% chance of recession in the US; growth may slow in Europe and Asia

A spate of spectacular collapses of Chinese stocks listed on American exchanges has cost U.S. investors billions of dollars. The fiasco has sparked multiple investigations. Accusations are swirling in Washington and Beijing.

“After all the wind and storm, what’s going on with the high-speed train?” read the prophetic message posted last Saturday evening on the Chinese microblog Sina Weibo. “It’s crawling slower than a snail. I hope nothing happens to it.”

Mainland’s largest charity opens up some of its accounts online in an effort to regain credibility after scandal, but internet users are not impressed

Though offer has been doubled, victims’ relatives reluctant to give up right to seek further redress

Authorities are struggling to contain the backlash on microblogs over the handling of the crash

Mainland curbs on coverage of train crash deny public the assurance probes will be transparent

An accident has put high-speed rail technology in the spotlight

Fleets owned by mining companies may lead to a majority control of China-bound iron ore shipments

If stock-picking were a game of football, James Lim would be one of those runts who outrun their opponents on the field.

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Analysts say immediate effect may not be significant given the greater, continued drag from global uncertainties

Accounting debacles at U.S.-listed Chinese companies have prompted a surge of securities fraud lawsuits, but investors might have trouble recouping their losses even if they win.

For those who care to recall, about this time last year it was all the rage for listed companies big and small to seek a dual listing, perhaps in Hong Kong or Taipei.

Exponential growth follows its launch here just six months ago