This is a surprisingly strong result. We expected that there would be some rebound from the 9.7% fall in November but did not anticipate such a strong recovery. The Index is now actually 1% above the October level, prior to the interest rate increase which the Reserve Bank announced in November.
Another strong men's and women's line-up has been announced for the second leg of The Standard Chartered Greatest Race on Earth (GROE) 2006/07, the Singapore Marathon, which will take place on 3 December. With teams separated by the tightest of margins after the first leg of the series in Nairobi last month, the marathon will be crucial in determining how the largest prize pool in world athletics, US$1.5 million, is ultimately shared.
The number of job advertisements in major metropolitan newspapers fell by 3.2% in June to an average of 20,167 per week, following a 7.7% rise in May. Newspaper advertisements are now 2.7% lower than in June 2005.
Mayban Securities has maintained its Neutral stance on Malaysia's banking sector given a sluggish growth momentum as credit appetite weakens.
MasterCard International, Keycorp, Hitachi and Oak Hill Venture Partners (OHVP) today announced that they have completed a transaction to form a new company to expand MULTOS, one of the world's highest-security, open standard smart card platforms.
