A UNIT of property giant Far East Organization has put in the top bid for a condominium site at Choa Chu Kang Drive, about five minutes’ walk from Choa Chu Kang MRT Station.

Tian Hock Properties offered $116 million for the 204,514 sq ft plot, which works out to about $203 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

The site drew a respectable five bids when its tender closed yesterday, possibly due to the perceived strength of the mass-market condo segment, experts said. Far East’s offer topped those of Sim Lian Land, Hong Leong Holdings, GuocoLand and Hiap Hoe.

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$13.8m price tag in Anthony Soh’s ad suggests he wants a quick sale

By Lee Su Shyan, Assistant Money Editor

ST PHOTO: ALBERT SIM View more photos THE businessman caught out when his takeover of Jade Technologies descended into farce and recrimination has put his multimillion-dollar home on the market.Dr Anthony Soh placed an advertisement for the plush house in The Straits Times classifieds section over the weekend with an asking price of $13.88 million.

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BERLIN - THE United States is already in a recession, and it will be longer and deeper than what many people expect, United States investment guru Warren Buffett said in an interview published in German magazine Der Spiegel last Saturday.

He said the US was ‘already in a recession…perhaps not in the sense that economists would define it’ with two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

‘But the people are already feeling the effects,’ said Mr Buffett, the world’s richest man.

‘It will be deeper and last longer than many think.’

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By Alvin Foo, Markets Correspondent

THE recent retreat of Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is drawing traders into fresh positions for its contracts.

Last Friday, the index plunged 329.05 points to 24,714.07 - down a total of 904.79 points, or 3.53 per cent, for the week.

However, a Societe Generale (SG) warrants report said: ‘Investors’ sentiment has improved, as negative news coming from the United States has abated and some recent news has been fairly positive.’

‘The index has risen by about 4,200 points from its low in mid-March,’ it noted.

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MARKET players are expecting activity on the local bourse to follow the dreary tone set in the past few weeks.

The lack of conviction in the market stems from the troubling inflationary pressures fuelled by record oil prices and Wall Street’s fall last Friday. There is not likely to be much uplifting news coming in either.

‘You know the saying: Sell in May and go away? Every month this year seems to be a May. It’s that bad,’ said a remisier.

‘It’s very stressful for us as well. Once you buy, you’re stuck. There’s not much to be made. We don’t want to see clients lose money.’

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Bank letting small investors get a big piece of the action, say sources

By Grace Ng, Finance Correspondent

NOT LEFT OUT: OCBC’s preference share offer is likely to come with a lower dividend rate than the DBS securities. However, sources say retail investors will be able to take up OCBC’s offer. DBS’ recent $1.5 billion preference share issue was open only to institutional investors. — BT FILE PHOTO

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New homes, rising vacancy rates, unsold condos and fewer rental deals cited as reasons

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter

ST GRAPHICS ILLUSTRATION: ISTOCKPHOTO THE slowdown in the Singapore housing market has prompted two banks to predict a dramatic plunge in home values in the next two years.In two starkly bearish reports, Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse have forecast drops of up to 40 per cent in home rents and prices, as demand and supply dynamics move in favour of buyers.

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ZURICH - SWITZERLAND is planning tougher oversight rules for its two biggest banks, given their importance to the country’s economy, said a senior central banker.

UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank, is Europe’s hardest-hit victim of the global credit crisis, with write-downs of some US$37 billion (S$50.9 billion), while Credit Suisse has been forced to write down roughly US$10 billion.

Swiss National Bank vice-chairman Philipp Hildebrand would neither specify nor quantify the new measures that he said on Monday would not be in place before 2010.

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It will give federal guarantee to failing mortgages - at no cost to taxpayers

HELP FOR HOME OWNERS: The plan will create a new regulator for housing finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are expected to cover an estimated US$500 million (S$688.5 million) in failed loans. — PHOTO: REUTERS

WASHINGTON - LEADERS of the United States Senate Banking Committee have reached a deal on legislation to create a multibillion-dollar mortgage rescue fund and a new regulator for housing finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

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WASHINGTON - UNITED States producer prices rose by a smaller-than-expected 0.2 per cent last month after petrol prices sank, according to government data, but core inflation at the producer level posted a larger advance.

Core producer prices, which strip out volatile energy and food costs, increased by 0.4 per cent. That was twice the rate that had been forecast.

Core producer prices over the last 12 months rose 3 per cent, the largest gain since December 1991.

Petrol prices at the producer level fell 4.6 per cent, but they were up 23 per cent over the past year. Overall producer prices were up 6.5 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

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