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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ZURICH - THE end of the global credit crisis is getting closer and the United States real estate market should recover in the second half of the year, Deutsche Bank chief executive (CEO) Josef Ackermann said in a newspaper interview.

‘I think that we are getting closer to the end of the financial crisis,’ he told the Swiss Sunday newspaper SonntagsBlick. ‘It is not fully over yet, but the signs from the US are encouraging.’

He said the pragmatic approach being taken in the US to resolve the crisis should start to pay off soon.

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RESIDENTS in Punggol will have a new shopping mall and more fellow residents within the next three years.

The new town, which already has 16,700 flats, has another 2,100 being built now.

The Housing Board also recently launched 1,700 flats and will launch another 4,000 by year’s end, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan last Saturday at the launch of a two-day exhibition on the progress in Punggol.

He added that, with more residents calling Punggol home, it would become feasible to build more commercial and public facilities.

One being planned is a shopping mall about the size of Junction 8 in Bishan.

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Earnings set to stay in doldrums, with single-digit gains projected By Alvin Foo

THOSE golden days of strong double-digit earnings growth may be over for now, but it is hardly gloom and doom for corporate Singapore.

First-quarter results of locally listed companies showed a rise in profits of just 11.2 per cent - small change compared with last year’s big numbers.

And it is not likely to change much soon, with analysts warning that corporate earnings may stay in the doldrums for some time yet.

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Number of foreign purchases fall; many buying homes in suburban areas By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter

HIGH-END homes have become the first to buckle under the pressure of volatile market conditions and gloomy buyer sentiment.

Prices of luxury developments dipped in the first three months of this year, even as foreign buyers - a traditional source of demand for such properties - turned to cheaper options.

A report by property firm Savills Singapore released yesterday showed that prices of expensive homes fell 2.1 per cent in the first quarter, after a steady 21/2-year climb that saw values more than double.

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Hour-long talks with Libya’s leader focus on direction of its economy

By Chua Lee Hoong, Political Editor

LEADERS’ EXCHANGE: Mr Goh meeting Colonel Gaddafi at the Aziziya Barracks yesterday. SM Goh said he found the Libyan leader introspective, astute and concerned about his nation’s problems. — PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO IN TRIPOLI - SENIOR Minister Goh Chok Tong ‘had a good conversation’ with Libya’s leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, here yesterday.The one-hour meeting took place in an air-conditioned white tent at the Aziziya Barracks, a heavily guarded compound which is about a 15-minute drive from the city centre.

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Keep track of ETFs By Lorna Tan

Exchange-traded funds are gaining popularity among investors as a viable investment option. Lorna Tan looks at the advantages and pitfalls of investing in ETFs

GRAPHICS: MIKE M DIZON Retail investors who want to make their money work harder for them are finding exchange-traded funds (ETFs) a viable option. The main attraction is their low cost compared with traditional instruments such as unit trusts.Listed on a stock exchange, ETFs are baskets of stocks that typically aim to track the performance of a stock market index. ETFs can also be theme-driven, focusing on certain asset classes or commodities such as gold and agriculture.

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TWO listed units of Wing Tai Holdings have agreed to pool synergies in the hospitality and property management sector by forming a joint venture (JV) to acquire a 43-storey condominium in Kuala Lumpur, which will be jointly owned and operated as serviced apartments.

Click on Singapore Property News for more information or other listing of Singapore condo for sale

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THE Government will tender out more than $8 billion worth of projects

over the next 12 months - more than double last year’s budget and the

largest amount in recent years.

The lion’s share - about $5.8 billion - will be used for building and

construction works, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said yesterday. The

rest will be earmarked for buying goods and services and information

technology.

This is the most the Government has spent since it started releasing

its yearly pre-procurement plans in 2003. These plans, which outline

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