Singapore Financial News

SMBC on Wednesday said the Tata Group-owned Air India has borrowed USD 120 million from it for purchasing a wide-body aircraft from Airbus. The transaction has partly financed Air India's purchase of an A350-900 aircraft from Airbus, which was delivered in October 2023, according to an official statement.

The seven-day moving average of the infection was 7,870 on December 12 and decreased slightly to 7,730 on December 17, The Straits Times newspaper reported.

Indoor air quality at offices could negatively impact the creativity of workers, according to a new study. Researchers at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, found that the 87 study participants, all undergraduate and postgraduate students, produced creative output with lower scores when there were high indoor levels of volatile organic compounds, including gases released from products such as detergents, perfumes and paint.

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) — China stood pat on benchmark lending rates at the monthly fixing on Wednesday, matching market expectations, after the central bank kept its medium-term policy rate steady earlier last week.

Mint explains what the new virus is, its symptoms and efficacy of the vaccine: The new variant, experts have warned, appears to be more immune evasive and has been identified by WHO scientists as a ‘variant of interest’. JN.1 was first detected in the US in September 2023. By the end of October, it made up less than 0.1% of SARS-CoV-2 viruses, as per US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The major US-based crypto exchange Coinbase has announced the availability of USD transfers for its retail customers in Singapore, according to an announcement.

Could sails make a comeback for cargo ships on the high seas? Major players in maritime shipping, looking for ways to cut carbon emissions and save on fuel, are trying out new ways to use old-fashioned wind power. But the devices being tested on some bulk freighters are far from old-fashioned—more like high-tech airplane wings than the canvas sails that once powered schooners and sloops. One version is the “WindWings" device developed by the Minneapolis-based agricultural giant Cargill and BAR Technologies, a U.K.-based company that has designed boats and advanced sails for the America’s Cup race.

air quality at offices could negatively impact the creativity of workers, according to a new study. Researchers at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, found that the 87 study participants, all undergraduate and postgraduate students, produced creative output with lower scores when there were high indoor levels of volatile organic compounds, including gases released from products such as detergents, perfumes and paint. They further found that lowering total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) levels in a room by 72 per cent could improve a student's creative potential by 12 per cent. They have published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports. «This could have serious consequences for industries that rely on creativity for the bulk of their work. »For instance, artists often use paints and thinners that release high levels of volatile organic compounds and may not know they need adequate ventilation to clear them from their workplace," said lead researcher Wan Man Pun from the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, NTU. For the study spanning over six weeks, the researchers recruited undergraduate and postgraduate students in a controlled environment depicting an indoor workspace. Every week across three 40-minute sessions, the participants read a summary of a global issue such as climate change, mental health, and poverty and then offered a solution by building a 3D model using LEGO bricks. The students were then asked to produce a written description and explanation for their models.

Go First has remained grounded since May. The airline has a fleet of 54 Airbus SE A320neos.

By Rae Wee

₹6999 to ₹1,00,000 per annum. Simultaneously, the company is also working on expanding in South East Asia and has launched operations in Malaysia this year.

(Reuters) -New York-listed e-commerce giant Coupang plans to buy Farfetch (NYSE:FTCH) Holdings in a deal that will provide the struggling online luxury fashion retailer with $500 million in capital to stay in operation, the companies said in a joint statement.

India is monitoring the emergence of a new variant of Covid-19 with the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (Insacog), the network of laboratories set up to monitor genomic variations of the coronavirus, set to meet on Friday to review the situation. So far, Insacog has not found anything «unusual», a member of the network said, adding «there is nothing to panic». A case of JN.1 subvariant of Covid-19 was detected in Kerala, the Union health ministry said on Saturday. The case was detected in an RT-PCR positive test sample from Karakulam in Thiruvananthapuram on December 8, it said.

Covid cases are on the rise again. Singapore has issued a health advisory as new cases climbed to some 56,000 in the December 3-9 week, up from some 32,000 the week earlier. Experts say there is no cause for worry.

New JN.1 variant: Symptoms and precautions He underlined that “due to consistent and collaborative actions between Centre and state governments, we have been able to sustain the trajectory at sustainable low rates". The ministry has listed some strategies for Covid control.

The former Governor of China’s central bank, Dai Xianglong, has insisted that China needs to “lead the world’ in CBDC adoption, as the nation’s digital yuan pilot continues.

(This story originally appeared in on Dec 17, 2023)

Economic Times. The advisory also applies to Indian travelers. According to the report, the ministry estimated around 56,043 COVID cases in the week of 3-9 December 2023, a rise from 32,035 cases in the previous week.

COVID-19 sub-strain JN.1). As reported by ANI, George said, “No need of any worry. That is a sub-variant (COVID-19 sub-strain JN.1).

AI is coming to a smartphone near you. The stars have aligned. All pieces of the puzzle are falling in place. From 2024 onwards, the breakthrough technology is expected to be a key selling point, featuring prominently in marketing communication from brands, as smartphone makers look to leverage the breakthrough technology to chart another phase of growth. “Innovation has so far been on the connectivity side or the camera, both of which have improved by leaps and bounds thanks to AI. But now, with generative AI, smartphones will become smarter, because you will be able to do a lot of things without even opening any apps. You can simply issue voice commands to accomplish tasks,” said Neil Shah, co-founder of the consulting firm Counterpoint Research.

U.S. stocks are poised to end 2023 on a high note amid investor optimism that the historic tightening of monetary policy is likely over, and interest rates will fall next year following a dovish pivot by the Federal Reserve.