Apple Pay

Apple Pay is looking overseas in 2016.

After a sluggish start in the US since its debut more than a year ago, Apple Pay is ramping up in markets where people are more comfortable with so- called contactless payments. The service, which lets consumers pay in an app or by tapping their iPhone on store terminals, will be introduced next year in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Spain.

Google and Passwords

Google is testing out a new way to sign into its services - and it nixes one of the most annoying security measures out there: passwords. The tech giant is trying out a feature that lets some users confirm their identity just by using their smartphones.

Red Alert for Smog

Ten Chinese cities were on red alert for smog on Thursday, state media reported, as large swathes of the country suffered through their fourth wave of choking pollution this month.

Norwegian Cruise Lines

Genting Hong Kong will sell a further 2.3 per cent stake in Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings (NCLH) for net proceeds of about US$148.25 million.

Lyft Inc

Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding , the investment firm of billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, said on Thursday it had led a group of investors which bought 5.3 per cent of US ride-hailing firm Lyft Inc for US$247.7 million.

Apple Inc

Apple Inc on Tuesday became the latest US company to amend its bylaws to allow long-term shareholders to nominate members to its board.

New Home Sales in USA

New US single-family home sales in November rose less than expected and the prior month's increase was revised down, suggesting some loss of momentum in the housing market.

Crude Stocks in USA

US crude stocks fell unexpectedly last week, while gasoline stocks increased and distillate inventories fell, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.

The Verge

A well-known Little India property near Tekka Centre is being sold for $317 million to be redeveloped into a mixed project, including a mall and serviced apartments.

The buyer of The Verge, once called Tekka Mall, is Mr Keith Tang, chairman of privately held hospitality company Heritage Group, The Straits Times has learnt.

COE 23 December 2015

Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices finished mostly lower in the latest bidding exercise, with only motorcycle premiums rising from $6,501 to $6,600.

Category A premiums, for cars up to 1,600cc, dropped from $56,989 to $54,301.

Cat B premiums, for cars above 1,600cc, also dropped from $60,001 to $55,001.

Premiums for Cat C, for goods vehicles and buses, fell from $48,101 to $46,001, while those in the open category slid from $60,003 to $57,501.

Boeing

Boeing Co's commercial airplane unit will pay US$12 million and enhance its compliance systems in a settlement with US regulators to resolve multiple enforcement cases, the Federal Aviation Administration said on Tuesday.

Third Quarter Growth in USA

The US economy grew at a fairly healthy clip in the third quarter as strong consumer and business spending offset efforts by businesses to reduce an inventory glut, underscoring its resilience despite a raft of headwinds.

KFC is Japan's Christmas Tradition

Think "Christmas feast" and an image of a plump roast turkey will probably come to mind.

Ask most Japanese, however, and they'll tell you Christmas isn't complete without a bucket of fried chicken from KFC.

This is the result of a hugely successful marketing campaign by the fast food chain that was launched a little more than 40 years ago.

It all started in 1971, when foreigners in Japan celebrated Christmas with KFC's fried chicken. They had been unable to find turkey, which hitherto remains an uncommon dish in the country.

Gold

Gold edged up on Monday, adding to sharp gains from the previous trading session, as weakness in the dollar and equities helped the metal recoup some losses from a US interest rate hike last week.

LNG

Shippers who ply the seas to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) in massive tankers are likely to face a wave of consolidation and asset sales, with freight rates plunging as a growing fleet clashes with tepid demand.

Brent

European benchmark Brent crude slid to an 11-year low on Monday as oil prices resumed their slide in an oversupplied global market facing the prospect of renewed US exports.

Budget in Japan

Japan's Cabinet approved on Friday a US$27 billion extra budget for the fiscal year ending in March to revitalise growth, while critics see some of the spending as targeting voters ahead of an Upper House election next year.

Home Prices in China

Home prices in China rose for the second straight month in November in year-on-year terms, signalling further stabilisation in the country's largest urban housing markets, although oversupply continues to plague smaller cities.

Farm Subsidies

Negotiators at the World Trade Organization's ministerial conference in Nairobi agreed to end direct export subsidies on farm produce even as 14 year-old talks on trade development remain unresolved.

New Contracts in Uber

Uber won't be able to impose a new contract on drivers who are suing the company to be treated like employees after a federal judge said the reworded agreement was confusing.

Tokyo Olympics 2020

The Tokyo Olympics 2020 will cost the host organising committee six times more than their original estimate, and come in at around 1.8 trillion yen (S$20.1 billion), public broadcaster NHK said on its website on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

American Express

American Express can once again enforce its rules prohibiting merchants from steering customers to other credit cards after an appeals court temporarily lifted an earlier court order on Friday.

Malaysia Bak Kut Teh in Singapore

The Clementi Mall
#B1-34/35

KL Bak Kut Teh in Singapore

The Clementi Mall
#B1-34/35

New Manlee in Singapore

The Clementi Mall
#B1-34/35

Thai Boat Noodle Changi Airport

Aoy's Thai Noodle Bar
Terminal 3
#B2-33

Aoy's Thai Noodle Bar Changi Airport

Terminal 3
#B2-33

Facebook Messenger and Uber

Facebook on Wednesday announced an alliance with Uber that lets people summon cars from the ride sharing service using the Messenger smartphone application.

Instant Articles on Facebook

Facebook said on Wednesday it had signed up 350 global media partners for its "Instant Articles" service as it expanded the programme to Android devices.

Marks & Spencer in Beijing

British clothing and food retailer Marks & Spencer is to open its first store in Beijing on Friday, part of its strategy in China to focus on flagship stores in the largest cities, while expanding online.

Facebook Review Service and Yelp

A Facebook service that provides reviews of local businesses popped up on the Internet on Tuesday, and shares in crowd-sourced reviews star Yelp dropped.

Alibaba and Walt Disney Co

The e-commerce giant, Alibaba, headed by billionaire Jack Ma yesterday announced a multi-year licensing agreement with Walt Disney Co for a device that will deliver Disney and Pixar movies, games and travel services in China.

Federal Reserve

No sooner will the Federal Reserve raise US interest rates than it must make more decisions on how to drain markets awash in cash and, further down the road, how to shrink its swollen balance sheet.

Singapore-Malaysia Bullet Train

Japan, fresh from a US$15 billion rail win in India over China, aims to sell its bullet trains to a high-speed line being planned between Singapore and the Malaysian capital, opening a new market for companies from Hitachi Ltd to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.

Uber and Lyft

Seattle on Monday became the first US city to pass a law giving drivers for Uber and Lyft the right to unionise, a new challenge to the ride companies' success as they confront mounting dissatisfaction over how drivers are treated.

Virgin America

Virgin America Inc said on Tuesday it will lease 10 Airbus A321neo planes starting in 2017, a move that could let the low-cost airline add flights from coast to coast in the mainland United States and to Hawaii.

Cotton

There is enough cotton sitting in global warehouses to make more than 127 billion T-shirts, or 17 for each person on the planet. 

World inventories at the end of this season will be the second-largest ever.

Tenaga

Malaysia's state electricity utility, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has bought a 30 per cent stake in Turkey's GAMA Enerji AS for US$243 million to expand overseas, it said on Monday. 

Pininfarina SpA

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd agreed to buy Italian car designer Pininfarina SpA in a deal worth about 168 million euros (S$260 million), underscoring the Indian vehicle maker's international ambitions.

Gold

Gold prices bounced on Friday, erasing earlier losses as the dollar and US Treasury yields fell, but was still on track for a seventh weekly drop in eight as investors positioned themselves for a likely US rate rise next week.

Wind Power in Australia

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull lifted a ban on government investment in wind power introduced by predecessor Tony Abbott, in another policy shift that coincides with a global climate-change deal to curb fossil-fuel pollution.

Grexit

Greece cannot remove the IMF from its economic bailout, the head of the EU's rescue fund said Sunday, adding that the possibility of a Greek eurozone exit remains if reforms are neglected.

Ford Motor

Ford Motor Co says it is investing US$4.5 billion in electrified vehicles, responding to regulatory pressure with a bet on technologies that have struggled to attract buyers in the US as fuel prices stay low.

Free Uber Rides in Saudi Arabia

Online taxi-hailing service Uber will give Saudi Arabian women lifts to polling stations for free on Saturday to help boost female participation at the first elections in the deeply conservative Islamic kingdom open to female voters.

Possibility of ERP in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has opened a three-month consultation period on a proposed electronic road-pricing plan in a bid to ease traffic jams in Central, the busiest Hong Kong business district, the South China Morning Post reported, citing government officials including Secretary for Transport and Housing Anthony Cheung.

COE 09 November 2015

COE for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp slid 3.7 per cent to end at $56,989. COE for cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp dipped by 1.8 per cent to finish at $60,001.

Open COE, which can be used for any vehicle type but ends up mostly for bigger cars, fell by 3.3 per cent to close at $60,003. 

Meanwhile, commercial vehicle COE climbed 4.8 per cent to end at a four-month high of $48,101. 

Retail Sales in USA

US retail sales picked up in November as Americans opened their wallets as the holiday shopping season kicked into gear, while wholesale inflation edged higher, official data showed Friday.

Housing in Canada

Canada's newly elected Liberal government said on Friday it will force people who want to buy more expensive houses to provide a bigger down payment, in a bid to cool parts of a hot housing market some fear is developing into a bubble.

Different Taste Cafe

Downtown East
#01-32/33

Walmart

Walmart on Thursday announced it was launching its own mobile payments service, challenging similar offerings from Apple, Samsung, Google and others.

Blendle

Online news startup Blendle, which allows users to make small payments to read individual articles, announced plans on Wednesday to launch next year in the United States.

Twitter Inc

Twitter Inc is finding ways to advertise to people who view tweets on its website without having an account, seeking to prove to Wall Street that its business can thrive even as membership growth slows.

Upday

Europe's biggest newspaper publisher is betting it can make money from digital news by winning paying readers in the region and the US.

Axel Springer SE plans to start charging for some content on its largely ad-financed Upday mobile news application in the second half of next year, 

Yahoo

Yahoo's Chairman Maynard Webb said Wednesday that the board had full confidence in chief executive Marissa Mayer, despite the company still struggling to build the value of its Internet operations.

Sibor

The three-month Sibor or Singapore interbank offered rate has jumped to 1.12028 per cent on Wednesday from 1.07832 per cent on Tuesday as financial markets anticipate the first US rate hike in over nine years to land next week.

Yahoo Inc

Yahoo Inc may make big changes to its media unit, restructuring and consolidating it, including making cuts and shuttering some efforts, tech news site Re/code said.

Spending Bill Negotiations in USA

US House Republican leaders on Tuesday said they will seek to pass a short-term spending measure in order to avoid a shutdown of the federal government while negotiations continue over a larger spending bill.

British Household Spending

British weekly household spending rose in 2014 to its highest since before the global financial downturn but remained below pre-crisis level, official data showed on Tuesday.

Software and Computer Services

The world's biggest banks risk losing out to technology companies as lenders fail to attract holders of business degrees in the wake of the financial crisis, according to research from Deloitte.

The popularity of a career in software and computer services has risen by 4.1 percentage points between 2008 and 2015, while banking fell by 4.3 percentage points over the same period, according to a survey of more than 200,000 business students in 30 countries published by the accounting firm on Monday. Based on current trends, software and computer services will overtake banking in popularity by 2022, Deloitte said.

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank has launched a computerised investment advisory service, seeking to keep up with other asset managers who have started introducing "robo advisers" to help certain clients create portfolios inexpensively.

RBS

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Britain's largest taxpayer-owned lender, will prioritize cost cutting at its Coutts private bank in the UK in the first half of next year, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

Zurich Insurance Group in Singapore

The shocking exit of Swiss-based insurer Zurich Insurance Group from Singapore's life insurance scene has caused quite a stir and left some distributors feeling bummed.

Porsche

Porsche said on Friday it was pumping in a billion euros to bring its first all electric car to market by "the end of the decade", as the German luxury sportscar giant joined the race for a slice of the green car market.

New Runway at Heathrow Airport

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron could approve as soon as this week the building of a new runway at Heathrow Airport, ending decades of political deadlock as well as breaking a famous pledge made in 2009 not to allow a third runway to be built at Europe's busiest hub airport.