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“Not so soon” - That’s what Chair Jerome Powell signalled in his speech, following the latest interest rate decision, to the traders eagerly hoping for an interest rate cut to begin soon. Policymakers once again cemented the end of their aggressive campaign to push up interest rates, and sought to reset expectations for how soon and how fast they’ll cut this year. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Vishnu Varathan, Head of Economics & Strategy, Asia at Mizuho Bank, to find out more about the latest interest rate decision and when we could expect a rate cut now. 

Today, digital bank Trust Bank has launched Trust+, Singapore's first fully digital elevated banking experience. So what is it and what benefits does it offer? On What's Trending, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Natalia Goh, Chief Operating Officer of Trust to find out more about this new launch and how customers can apply. 

The rally over on Wall Street has been mainly driven by changing rate expectations. Stocks have reached an all-time high, supported by strong gains from large tech companies. Some say markets will continue to be choppy going forward, but they remain optimistic that it will be a continuous uptrend for markets in the coming months. That’s as investors bet that falling inflation would allow the Fed to start cutting rates. So with the interest rate decision expected tonight, what can we expect? When can we finally see rate cuts coming in? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Yap Fook Hien, Senior Investment Strategist, Standard Chartered, to find out how the decision will influence markets going forward. 

South Pole’s latest Net Zero Report has shown that 44% of surveyed companies say external communication on climate targets has become more difficult in just the past year, and 58% are decreasing communications as a result. A sign that green hushing is the new norm? Host Rachel Kelly, takes a closer look at the report in this episode of Eco Money.

Singapore banks’ net capital-bond supply, which includes AT1s and T2 bonds, is expected to be negative this year. And this is possibly due to low refinancing needs and sluggish loan growth potential. So as potential rate cuts are bringing focus back to our local bank’s potential bonds issuance this year, how might the bank’s low funding needs limit their capital bond supply in 2024? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rena Kwok, Credit Analyst, Asian Financials, Bloomberg Intelligence, to find out more.

Chinese authorities are stepping up efforts to stabilise the recent stock market rout. On top of a potential rescue package to bolstore the stock market that will see a mobilisation of more than 2 trillion yuan, authorities have halted the lending of certain shares for short selling from today. Now while the new steps by Beijing outweighed the drag on sentiment from the liquidation of property giant China Evergrande, does the rally mark an end to the country’s three-year long market meltdown? Or are the latest measures more of a short term remedy? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Shen Hong, Asia Markets Editor at Bloomberg to find out more.  Highlights: 1. How bad has the equities route been and what was behind it? - 1:09 2. What does the latest rescue package entail and how significant is it? - 2:11 3. Would you say the rescue plan is enough? What are some of the more deep-rooted concerns here? - 4:02 4. What does this now mean for investors and how does this help avoid a further sell-off of Chinese equities? - 5:54 5. Do you see this as more of a short-term remedy? - 6:40

S-Reits have kicked off the earnings season this week, with Frasers Centrepoint Trust the first to report their earnings. So how have S-Reits performed so far? On The Afternoon Update, Hongbin Jeong is joined by Geoff Howie, Market Strategist at the SGX, for a market wrap of the week to find out whether S-Reits are showing a muted performance as many had expected ahead of the earnings season. They also discuss how the STI fared in the past week, biggest movers, SG inflation data, and what to expect for the Monetary Authority of Singapore durings its policy meeting next week. 

With the end in sight for the rate hike cycle and the US dollar expected to weaken with that backdrop, there is optimism for emerging markets this year. So what’s the outlook like for these emerging markets? Will emerging economies outperform developed countries this year? What are some factors that will help drive growth in emerging markets? On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Alessia Berardi, Head of Emerging Macro and Strategy Research at Amundi Investment Institute, to find out more about the opportunities investors can seek out in these emerging economies.

Buildings alone account for close to 40% of global energy-related carbon emissions. And with many of the buildings around today expected to still be standing by net zero target date of 2050  - Rachel Kelly speaks to Adrien Pierson, Vice President of Strategy, iviva to find out if the industry is progressing fast enough.

2023 turned out to be better than many had expected for markets. But a number of key issues are coming to the forefront that will affect prospects in 2024. Pictet Wealth Management has recently published its prediction for the global economy and financial markets for the year ahead. They’ve labelled the year of 2024 as the ‘The Year of the Funambulist'. On Money in the Market, Hongbin Jeong speaks to Rickie Jia, Head of Discretionary Portfolio Management Multi-Asset and Management Asia, Pictet Wealth Management, to find out why.