COE premiums ended lower across the board in the latest tender yesterday, with the rate for bigger cars posting the sharpest fall.

Market watchers attributed the softer prices to the seasonal lull of the school holidays, when people tend to be out of town.

There was also speculation that, with fuel prices hitting record highs, buyers may be starting to steer towards smaller and more economical cars.

The certificate of entitlement (COE) price for cars with engines up to 1,600cc, such as the Nissan Latio and Toyota Vios, ended 7.1 per cent lower at $14,590. The premium for cars above 1,600cc, such as the newly launched Audi A4 and Honda Accord, registered a 14.5 per cent drop to $14,640.

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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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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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IB Asia profitable after only a year; next phase is to launch complex treasury products

By Grace Ng, Finance Correspondent

PHOTO: DBS DBS Bank’s Islamic banking unit has clinched over 20 deals worth more than US$500 million (S$688.5 million) in its first year of business.The Islamic Bank of Asia (IB Asia), which marked its first anniversary yesterday, said the huge haul included US$200 million of deals it committed to in the first quarter of this year.

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THE red ink was flowing again yesterday after a week-long rally, as banks and property stocks across the region retreated in the face of a mixed performance on Wall Street overnight.

Chinese mainland bourses slumped more than 4 per cent, Hong Kong dropped 2.23 per cent, while Taiwan fell 2.43 per cent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 145.99, to 12,882.99 in early trade.

There was not quite so much red ink in Singapore. The Straits Times Index (STI) slid 41.61 points, or 1.28 per cent, to 3,199.88. Trading volume was up a notch, with 1.94 billion shares worth $2.11 billion changing hands.

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WASHINGTON - PRICES paid by American consumers rose less than forecast last month, reflecting declining costs for furniture and hotel stays that outweighed the biggest jump in food prices in 18 years.

The United States consumer price index (CPI) grew by 0.2 per cent last month, compared with a 0.3 per cent gain in March, the Labour Department said yesterday.

So-called core prices, which excluded food and energy costs, climbed 0.1 per cent from a 0.2 per cent advance in March.

Companies were holding down prices to attract customers, after the US economy grew at its slowest pace since the last recession over the last two quarters.

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NEW YORK - WELCOME to the ‘clawback’, bankers. In the wake of the sub-prime credit debacle, bank executives may be asked to give back compensation money if results are not met.

According to a report from Johnson Associates compensation consultants, Wall Street’s senior executives will also likely face the biggest bonus cuts this year and may even find their pay linked to risk exposure.

As merger activity slows and banks write down billions of dollars of assets, bonuses for investment bankers and stock and bond traders could decline by at least 10 per cent this year , while those of top executives could fall by as much as 35 per cent.

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