Financial Digest

105 buyers say ‘no thanks’ to private homes Offer Singapore

5.2% of private home buyers cancel their options in June, i.e. 105 of 2000 units sold.

5.7% of buyers returned their properties in May or 150 of 2,600 units sold
The monthly return rates have stayed below 6% since 2009 with some aberrations.
In January, the returns hit 9% due to property cooling measures introduced by the government.

Buyers who do not exercise their option lose 1.25% of the property price.

Some purchasers buy based on impulse and this is often attributed to the hype created by the show flats.

Projects with the most returned units in June include Twin Waterfalls (EC), Seahill, The Tampines Trilliant (EC), Sky Habitat, D’Leedon and The Rainforest (EC).

105 buyers say ‘no thanks’ to private homes Offer Singapore:

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Classiads Property Update - July 2012 Offer Singapore

From the data compiled by SREE, rental yields for non-landed homes fell between 6.4% - 3.2%.

Analysts attribute this to the fall in COVs and a trend for buyers to purchase HDB units.

There is an anticipated oversupply of properties in the coming months with the launch of fresh projects in the north east. The MND is also confident that new quality HDB flats will be delivered on time.

New parcels of land were released in:

URA to launch the tender for the Reserve List site at Tai Thong Crescent (Parcel C)

Outdoor benches along Marina Bay waterfront promenade unveiled

for more info: Classiads Property Update - July 2012 Offer Singapore:

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No agent Fees! Casa Emerald Condo rooms for rent (10 mins walk to Aljunied/ Dakota Mrt) Offer Geylang $1000

No agent Fees! Casa Emerald Condo rooms for rent (10 mins walk to Aljunied/ Dakota Mrt) Offer Geylang $1000:

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U.S. stock futures climb as Fed plots course

New York • U.S. stock futures rose Tuesday as the Federal Reserve gathered to chart a course for the economy and new evidence emerged of a slowly mending market for builders.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 42 points to 12,729. Standard & Poor’s 500 futures added 4.6 points to 1,345.50 and Nasdaq futures rose 12.25 points to 2,599.75.

New York • U.S. stock futures rose Tuesday as the Federal Reserve gathered to chart a course for the economy and new evidence emerged of a slowly mending market for builders.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 42 points to 12,729. Standard & Poor’s 500 futures added 4.6 points to 1,345.50 and Nasdaq futures rose 12.25 points to 2,599.75.

At the same time, the fourth-quarter earnings report from FedEx painted a picture of a start-and-stop recovery.

The world’s second-largest package delivery company posted thinner profits and its outlook for the first quarter and the full year sent company shares down 2 percent before the market opened.

FedEx Corp. serves as a barometer for broader business trends. However, part of the carrier’s outlook is based on higher costs for salaries and pensions.

World markets rattled by Greek Elections

The Greek Elections stunned the world markets yesterday with the minority victory of New Democracy Party. Antonis Samaras, prospective prime minister said, ‘There will be no new adventures or political games. We will work with our European partners and add to our obligations the needed policies for growth and combating unemployment.’

With a weak mandate from the people of Greece, serious questions were raised about the future of Greek economy and the future of the Euro zone. The Greek austerity programme has reduced the economy by 20% since 2007 and with more austerity measures; the future of European Economic Cooperation looks bleak (here).

The New Greek Prime Minister wows good behaviour – an austerity programme and fiscal disciple. However, these promises cannot be kept as Greece is still reeling from its debt crises. Some observers see it as a strategy so that Berlin can foot Greece’s bills.

The socialist government has come into power as a result of the parliamentary elections in France. Their strategy for growth is by taxing the rich and distributing to the poor – a robbing Peter to pay Paul strategy. No growth is going to come from there.

The biggest obstacle to any recovery would require a major overhaul, for Italy to be less corrupt, for Greece to be well behaved and for France, Spain and Portugal to get its act right. It seems like the European Union is in tumult.

Will the Fed hint at yet another round of QE?

You have to hand it to the Fed. It's a group of great prognosticators.

Early this year, when investors and economists alike believed the economy was pressing down on the accelerator, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and most of his colleagues on the central bank's policymaking group kept any enthusiasm at bay.

Instead, the group refused to alter a pledge to keep interest rates near zero through at least late 2014, a signal that they believed the economy would need the extra boost until then. Only Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond in Virginia, worried that prices would jump up if rates remained so low for so long.

Then came May: a stock market swoon, an unmistakable slump in job growth, uneasy consumers and a European debt crisis that won't go away. It turns out the Fed's crystal ball works better than ours.

"There is a huge cloud of uncertainty about what will happen to the U.S. and the global economy over the next six to 12 months," says Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at The Economic Outlook Group in Princeton, N.J.

As it prepares to meet again this week, the Federal Open Market Committee faces a year that has played out like the previous two, a beginning filled with hopes for an entrenched recovery devolving into days of renewed recession fears.

What can the Fed do?