Business

Editor: evewen
11 Sep 2008 09:51:03 GMT

SINGAPORE, Sept 11 - Singapore banks are likely to
be in the market spotlight on Thursday after Merrill Lynch
downgraded DBS, OCBC and UOB, citing weaker profits in 2009.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as OPEC’s move to shore up oil
prices boosted energy shares and Texas Instruments’ outlook
soothed fears about technology spending even as worries persisted
about the health of the banking sector.
———————-MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2359 GMT ————

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 <.SPX> 1232.04 0.61% 7.530
USD/JPY <JPY=> 107.41 -0.32% -0.350
10-YR US TSY YLD <US10YT=RR> 3.6314 — -0.004
SPOT GOLD <XAU=> 748.95 -0.41% -3.050
US CRUDE <CLc1> 102.82 0.23% 0.240
DOW JONES <.DJI> 11268.92 0.34% 38.19
ASIA ADRS <.BKAS> 129.66 2.43% 3.08
————————————————————-
>US STOCKS-Wall St gains as energy, tech offset bank fears [.N]
>FOREX-US dollar index climbs to 12 month high [USD/]
>TREASURIES-Prices slip on stock gains, supply fears [US/]
>Gold drops as dollar hits year high, oil falls [GOL/]
>Oil slips as dealers shrug OPEC cut, hurricanes [O/R]

Stocks and factors to watch:

–Singapore banks

- Merrill Lynch downgraded its ratings for Singapore banks,
cutting its recommendation on Southeast Asia’s largest bank, DBS
Group <DBSM.SI> to “underperform” from “neutral”, citing weaker
profits in 2009.

Merrill also cut its rating for Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp
<OCBC.SI> to “underperform” from “buy” and lowered United
Overseas Bank <UOBH.SI> to “neutral” from “buy”.

Merrill Lynch said it had become more negative on Singapore
banks as it expects slowing economic growth and a protracted
downturn in the property market to impact profits in 2009.

Merrill has a price target of S$16, S$8 and S$20 for DBS,
OCBC and UOB respectively.

–Singapore Technologies Engineering

- Singapore Technologies Engineering <STEG.SI> said its land
systems arm Singapore Technologies Kinetics has bought the
remaining 13.75 percent stake in STAR Automotive Center from
Sinostride Technology for 3.75 million yuan ($548,400).

The firm said the purchase is in line with its plan to expand
in the automotive repair market in China.

–Keppel Corp

- Keppel Corp <KPLM.SI> said its unit Keppel AmFELS has
delivered Scorpion Offshore’s fourth jackup drilling rig. The
yard received a bonus of $1.35 million upon the successful
delivery of the rig to Scorpion.

–Oculus

- Oculus’<OCUL.SI> ousted director Jan Tangkilisan is suing
the firm for salary and bonuses he claimed were not paid to him.
Oculus said it will be contesting Tangkilisan’s claim and will be
filing a counterclaim, the Business Times said.

–Eng Wah

- Eng Wah <ENGW.SI> has received support from approximately
40 shareholders for the proposed sale of its Mandarin Theatre in
Kallang Bahru to Carilla Pte Ltd for S$13 million ($9.1 million),
the Business Times said.

–Mermaid Maritime Public

- Mermaid Maritime Public <MMPC.SI> said it has won a $30
million contract with engineering contractor CUEL Ltd to complete
a subsea installation job in the Gulf of Thailand.

The firm said the contract is part of a major long term
agreement that has a potential value of $150 million to $200
million with CUEL Ltd.

–Youcan Foods International

- Youcan Foods International <YOUC.SI> said the purchase of
its factory and office premises in Hangzhou City of Zhejiang
Province by Chinese authorities was a compulsory move by the
government.

The firm said the relocation is in line with its production
capacity expansion plans. It said it is in talks with the
authorities about a compensation package, but a date has yet to
be set for the firm to vacate its the premises.

- Singapore’s benchmark Straits Times Index <.FTSTI> fell 1.9
percent to 2,622.41 points on Wednesday.

- The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 0.34 percent
to 11,268.92 points and the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC>
rose 0.85 percent to 2,228.70 points on Wednesday.