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Singapore's non-oil domestic exports contracted for the 11th straight month in August, falling by 20.1 per cent, with both electronics and non-electronics seeing a decline. Is this a worrying sign for the economy? And what is the outlook for the Chinese economy given last week's improved data? Investors are also looking ahead to an action-packed week that includes Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan meetings. Will the US Fed stand pat on further interest rate hikes? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Tareck Horchani, Head of Dealing, Prime Brokerage, Maybank Securities, to find out more.

A bond market signal that has shown warning signs for months suggests an economic recession could still be on the horizon. According to data from Bloomberg, the 10-year and 3-month yield curve has been inverted for 212 straight trading days. This is a record that just surpassed the 1980 inversion and is now the longest stretch since at least 1962. The yield curve inverts when short-dated Treasuries offer a higher yield than longer-term Treasuries, a market anomaly that typically suggests a period of economic weakness is imminent. A significant number of bond strategists polled by Reuters also indicated the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield has peaked in the current cycle. What does this all mean for bond markets in the future? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Omar Slim, Co-Head Asia ex Japan Fixed Income, PineBridge Investments, to find out more. 

On The Afternoon Update, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Geoff Howie, Market Strategist, SGX for market wrap of the week. We find out how the STI fared in the past week; the biggest movers; how a newly-launched equity ETF - the largest in Singapore - between SGX and BlackRock, can spur sustainable investing in Asia; the growth opportunities Temasek Holdings is exploring in the Chinese market; and how Singapore shares reacted to recently-released US CPI data.

US inflation accelerated in August for the second consecutive month, pushed up by rising gas prices. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, core inflation, however - which excludes volatile food and energy prices - continued to slow. The Consumer Price Index, a closely watched inflation gauge, rose 3.7% in August from a year earlier, up from July’s 3.2% rise.  On a month-to-month basis, prices rose 0.6% in August, compared with a 0.2% gain in July. So what can we make of these numbers and how might it impact the Fed’s FOMC meeting next week? On Money in the Market, Emaad Akhtar speaks to Sani Hamid, Director for Wealth Management, Financial Alliance to find out more. 

Investors are eyeing new opportunities in emerging markets. They are fast becoming an attractive destination for the latter half of 2023, owing to their resilience and growth advantage over developed markets. French asset management company Amundi forecasts a 4% average growth rate for emerging markets this year, in stark contrast to 1.1% for advanced economies.  And a significant chunk of that growth is being driven by Asia, despite China's recent economic slowdown.  So where exactly are these opportunities that investors can exploit in emerging markets?  On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Alessia Berardi, Head of Emerging Macro and Strategy Research, Amundi Institute, to find out more.

Blue, Grey, Pink, and even Turquoise - its the colour that counts when it comes to sustainable hydrogen. And as conversations of the gas as an eco energy alternative heat up - Rachel Kelly speaks to Dr Thomas Koller APAC Hydrogen Lead at DNV to find out what you need to know when it comes to Green Hydrogen.

During the month of August, financial markets were heavily focused on China and its sluggish economic recovery, as the nation reported a sequence of continuously  disappointing data. But even as markets suffered losses in the wake of this data, long-term US Treasury yields witnessed a rebound, as bond vigilantes returned. So what led to the return of the bond market? How will current economic conditions continue to shape the performance of financial assets beyond the end of 2023, and what lies ahead for financial markets? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Laurent Lequeu, Head of Portfolio Management & Research, Lumen Capital Investors, to find out more. Highlights: 01:10 - Why did financial markets last month witness seasonal weakness? 01:49 - Is China really melting down?  03:39 - How did bonds perform last month? 04:41 - Why is there a divergence between equity markets and real yields? 06:59 - What lies ahead for financial markets?

Key data released this past weekend showed an easing of China’s deflationary pressures for the month of August. The consumer price index was 0.1% higher year on year in August, lower than a Reuters poll of analysts who predicted a 0.2% increase. Most importantly, though, the index emerged out of the negative territory of -0.3% recorded in July. The producer price index, on the other hand, fell 3% from a year earlier, against a 4.4% drop in July. The drop in factory prices was the smallest in five months. Analysts maintain that China will need to implement more policy support to shore up consumer demand, with a slowing labour market recovery and household income expectations uncertain. So where does the world's second largest economy go from here? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Tao Zhang, China Markets Editor, Bloomberg, to find out more. 

In sunny singapore solar is an important component of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. But as we know, the sun doesn’t shine 24 hours a day, so for those looking to implement solar panels - how can they store that energy? VFlowTech is a Singapore-based long duration energy storage solutions provider manufacturing low-cost and efficient modular vanadium redox flow batteries.  Sounds technical doesn’t it? Rachel Kelly speaks to Dr. Arjun Bhattarai is the Co-Founder and CTO at VFlowTech to find out more. 

Housing was one of the central themes of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally speech.  In fact, under a new framework designed to ensure affordability and cap resale prices of public housing, buyers of new HDB flats in sought-after locations will be subject to stricter resale conditions from next year.  Will these measures have a big impact on the property market? And When can we see the effects coming in? Separately, it looks like million-dollar flat transactions hit a new high in August 2023. What’s driving these transaction volumes? Is this the best time to buy property?  And for renters, have rental prices finally tumbled? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Audrey Siek, Show Host and Producer, Ohmyhome, to find out more.