$17m widening of CTE to begin on Monday

$17m widening of CTE to begin on Monday
 
1st phase to last till end-2009, but delays to traffic will be minimal
 
By Maria Almenoar
 
WORK will begin on Monday to widen the Central Expressway (CTE), but officials say the construction will cause minimal delays on Singapore’s busiest thoroughfare.
 
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will add a fourth [...]

Evergro to raise $170m through rights issue

Evergro to raise $170m through rights issue
The company also intends to carry out a capital reduction exercise
 
 
By EMILYN YAP
 
 
 
EVERGRO Properties, a subsidiary of Keppel Land, plans to raise about $170 million through a renounceable rights issue.
 
 
Evergro also intends to carry out a capital reduction exercise to write off accumulated losses of $36.5 million.
 
The fund-raising [...]

Bank loans grow at slowest pace in a year

Bank loans grow at slowest pace in a year
 
(SINGAPORE) Singapore bank loans grew at its weakest pace in a year in April as lending to businesses slowed, providing new signs that sluggish global demand could drag on the economy.
 
 
Bank loans in April rose 0.6 per cent to $251.1 billion in April from $249.5 billion [...]

Asia-Pac growth forecast slashed to 3.7%

Asia-Pac growth forecast slashed to 3.7%
 
 
 
(SINGAPORE) The Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) has cut its forecast of Asia-Pacific’s 2008 growth by more than one percentage point to 3.7 per cent.
 
 
In November last year, the think-tank was looking at 4.9 per cent growth in 2008 for the region. But ‘increased pessimism’ about the health of the [...]

Home prices in Iran going through the roof

Home prices in Iran going through the roof
 
TEHERAN - AS IRAN’S economy is buffeted by inflation, the country’s homeowners are fast becoming richer in a real estate bubble that is driving affordable housing beyond the reach of ordinary citizens.
A luxury 1,400 sq m penthouse sold recently for US$21 million (S$29 million) at US$15,000 per [...]

Consumer confidence plunges to 28-year low

Consumer confidence plunges to 28-year low
 
WASHINGTON - CONFIDENCE among United States consumers fell this month to the lowest level in 28 years, pointing to slower spending as petrol prices reach record levels and job losses mount.
The Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment decreased to 59.8, the weakest reading since June 1980, [...]

Raffles Hotel won’t be sold after all

Raffles Hotel won’t be sold after all 
Consortium that inked in-principle deal declines to say why sale fell through
 
A PLAN to sell the historic Raffles Hotel again has fallen through.
The Business Times (BT) yesterday reported that a consortium led by former Credit Suisse banker Mark Pawley, which had inked an in-principle deal to buy [...]

COOPED UP LIKE BATTERY CHICKENS

COOPED UP LIKE BATTERY CHICKENS
 
Workers keep quiet out of fear
 
WHEN I walked into the building at No 2, Kampong Ampat, it was like I was entering a different world.
 
By S. Murali
 
 
31 May 2008
 
WHEN I walked into the building at No 2, Kampong Ampat, it was like I was entering a different world.
 
A dingy staircase led [...]

600 WORKERS CRAMMED ON 2 FLOORS

600 WORKERS CRAMMED ON 2 FLOORS
 
54 workers crammed in one room
 
THEY were living in squalid conditions - 38 foreign workers squeezed into a tiny, dirty shophouse - when Ministry of Manpower (MOM) officials ordered their employer to find them acceptable accommodation.
 
By Tay Shi’an
 
 
31 May 2008
 
THEY were living in squalid conditions - 38 foreign workers squeezed [...]

Raffles Hotel deal is off after all

Raffles Hotel deal is off after all 
 
— TEO XUANWEI
 
 
A CONSORTIUM :led by former Credit Suisse banker Mark Pawley that was to have bought the grand dame has called the deal off, :The Business Times: (BT) reported on Friday.
.
“We regret to say that the sale will not be completed as planned,” a consortium [...]