The Afternoon Update with Lynlee Foo

On What’s Trending, an auction is being held for Elton John’s personal items at Christie’s New York. Another artist up our radar, Beyoncé, who has become the first Black woman to top Billboard's country music chart. And lastly, Starbucks China released their Lunar New Year menu, giving people ‘pig’ reactions.

The Malaysian ringgit has continued its slide, with most recently hitting its lowest level since 1998. The recent weakness in the ringgit was partly due to the soft economic expansion reported last week, whereby annual gross domestic product growth for 2023 missed the official forecast, also driven by China’s sluggish economy hurting exports in the country. But some say it is doubtful that it will breach its record low, hit back in 1998. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Lim Jun Kit, Strategist, Phillip Nova, to find out more about the outlook of the ringgit. 

The escalation of attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea is making itself felt not only in transport and logistics, but also in consumer goods supply chains - including sporting goods and luxury brands. In fact, this earnings season, more companies have highlighted the Red Sea flashpoint as a watch factor into the months ahead. So which sectors should investors watch out for? And how concerned should we be? Are we near a systemic Covid 2.0 style supply chain disruption? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Low Pei Han, Head of Equity Research, Bank of Singapore, to find out more.

On What’s Trending, Ed Sheeran receives a personalised watch strap from Delugs, a local watch accessory company. And still in line with something British, the British Museum is urged to return a huge moai statue to Easter Island by Chilean activists. And lastly, a local young chess player was able to beat a grandmaster in classical chess.

Investors in Indonesia had much to cheer as stocks saw their biggest increase in two months a day after Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto declared victory in the nation’s presidential election. The Jakarta Composite Index finished 1.3 per cent higher - that’s the most since December 14, and was nearing a record high. So to find out what this election means for domestic and international investors of Indonesia’s market, on Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Tareck Horchani, Head of Dealing, Prime Brokerage, Maybank Securities. Highlights: 1. Could you shed some light on Indonesia's stock market performance leading up to the elections? What notable trends emerged during this period? - 1:02 2. What factors contributed to the notable increase of 1.3% in the Jakarta Composite Index following Prabowo Subianto's victory announcement? - 2:25 3. Why is this growth remarkable to Indonesian stocks? What does it imply? - 3:14 4. What were some sectors/stocks that were the winners following the election? Which were the losers? - 4:55 5. Why are the rate cuts by the Bank of Indonesia significant? - 9:02

Singapore's Budget 2024 was announced in Parliament last Friday by DPM and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong. And from workers to seniors, individuals to households, there was something for everyone to help ease the pressures of the high cost of living. Here are the key highlights from Budget 2024.

Air travel is back to a thing of a norm. The airline industry, which tends to be cyclical, is subject to overall economic activity. And with some expecting airline capacity to finally exceed the pre-pandemic levels this year, what’s the outlook on the airline market? Plus, with many of the Southeast Asian countries’ tourism performance hinging on the return of Chinese travellers, how much impact will Chinese travellers have on the airline industry in the year ahead? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Shukor Yusof, Founder, Endau Analytics, to find out more. 

On The Afternoon Update, Hongbin Jeong is joined by Geoff Howie, Market Strategist at the SGX, for a market wrap of the week. They discuss how the STI fared in the past week, the biggest movers on the STI, and several economic news released this week including the latest GDP numbers and NODX data. They also look ahead to Singapore’s Budget 2024 ahead of DPM Lawrence Wong’s speech later in the day to see whether there’s a stock market wish list for the Budget.

A key theme this year is the prospect of US Fed rate cuts in the year ahead. But with the latest data showing that inflation is still stickier than expected, a May rate cut seems to be off the table. The latest inflation numbers also erased the last remnants of a global bond rally that started in December with the hope that the Federal Reserve had finally pivoted to favour interest-rate cuts. So what’s the outlook on fixed income markets now? How will fixed income markets perform compared to other asset classes? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Kheng Siang Ng, Asia Pacific Head of Fixed Income at State Street Global Advisors, to find out more. 

On What's Trending today, MRT stations got a whole new tune to chime through your journey. The chimes on the trains and at MRT stations that were recently piloted in selected stations will be progressively implemented on all trains and at more than 70 stations on the North-South, East-West and Circle lines. Also on What's Trending, Katy Perry may be bidding farewell to American Idol after the latest season, which kicks off on February 18. Also, are you ready for Taylor Swift? She's coming to Singapore in a few weeks, and The Straits Times has something special in store.