Banks Report Next Week, Margins Are The Worry.

Iggy’s Journal: MAS Tells Banks to Limit Exposure or Cut Ties Over Clear Haze-Linked Breaches

Thursday 29 Oct 2026 | Morning

The Numbers

STI: Wednesday’s close was 5,397.91, up 0.88 points or 0.02%, per SGinvestors.io citing SGX data.

Wall Street on Wednesday, in a session that ran after SGX had closed: the Dow finished at 52,475.10, up 97.53 points or 0.19%. The S&P 500 finished at 7,743.98, up 21.38 points or 0.28%. The Nasdaq finished at 26,549.85, up 72.04 points or 0.27%. The Associated Press tied the gains to the Federal Reserve holding its benchmark rate, after which traders pared expectations for near-term rate rises.

Oil: December Brent settled at US$115.32 a barrel, up US$1.44 or 1.26% (ICE Futures via Xinhua and The Star).

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on 28 October that banks should identify, assess, manage and monitor material environmental risks, take into account information released by the National Environment Agency under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, and review financing terms. Where there are heightened risks or clear legal breaches, MAS expects banks to impose conditions, limit exposure or exit the customer relationship.

Mi Material Holding listed on the SGX Mainboard on 28 October (SGX). A Business Times headline says CICT’s third-quarter net property income rose 13.8% to S$334.9 million on contributions from Paragon and other acquisitions.

My Personal Take

The haze story has reached the banks. The word in the MAS statement that matters most to me is “clear”: a notice asking a company for documents is not a finding, and the banks are being asked to act on breaches that are. Whether that line gets drawn the same way at each bank is the part I want to see.

Cheers, Iggy 🦖

Not financial advice. Iggy’s Forensic Compliance Standards apply.

Iggy’s Journal: Singapore Factory Output Growth Slowed to 3.4% in September. Without Biomedical Manufacturing It Was 9.0%

Tuesday 27 Oct 2026 | Morning

The Numbers

STI: Monday’s close was 5,415.91, down 6.25 points or 0.12%, per SGinvestors.io and The Business Times.

Wall Street on Monday, in a session that ran after SGX had closed: the Dow finished at 52,361.58, up 146.42 points or 0.28%. The S&P 500 finished at 7,676.77, up 53.09 points or 0.70%. The Nasdaq finished at 26,169.38, up 214.04 points or 0.82%.

Singapore factory output rose 3.4% year on year in September, slowing from 15.4% in August, on a sharp fall in biomedical manufacturing. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output grew 9.0%. Seasonally adjusted, total output fell 3.9% from August (EDB).

Business Times headlines: “Indonesia says gas export cuts to Singapore remain within contract terms”. The new five-year energy plan carries a S$5.3 billion grid upgrade and a trebling of storage capacity. The government will bring forward the raising of the retirement age.

Mapletree Industrial Trust is due to report results after the close.

My Personal Take

A drop from 15.4% to 3.4% reads like factories slowing across the board. The 9.0% without biomedical manufacturing says one sector did most of the work. The 3.9% fall from August is a total too, so biomedical sits inside it, and I would not count it as a second, separate signal.

Cheers, Iggy 🦖

Not financial advice. Iggy’s Forensic Compliance Standards apply.

Iggy’s Journal: Frasers Centrepoint Trust’s Income Rose 8.2%, Its Payout Per Unit Rose 2.0%

Friday 23 Oct 2026 | Morning

The Numbers

STI: Thursday’s close was 5,415.14, down 22.85 points or 0.42%, according to Singapore Business Review citing SGX data. That is about 5.0% below the 6 October close of 5,701.54.

Wall Street on Thursday, in sessions that ran after SGX had closed: the Dow finished at 52,867.98, up 11.89 points or 0.02%. The S&P 500 finished at 7,663.43, down 93.74 points or 1.21%. The Nasdaq finished at 26,008.86, down 694.00 points or 2.60%. The Associated Press called it the S&P 500’s worst day since July and tied the fall to AI stocks, on worry that elevated interest rates threaten the AI boom. The Nasdaq is now about 5.8% below its 6 October close of 27,599.89.

Oil: December Brent settled at US$113.17 a barrel, up US$4.35 or 4.00% (ICE Futures via Xinhua; Dow Jones Market Data shows the same figure). Xinhua attributes the rise to worry over the transport of Middle East energy supplies.

Rates: the MAS 6-month T-bill cut-off yield was 1.95% at Thursday’s auction, up from 1.90% on 8 October. Applications were S$16.07 billion for S$8.60 billion offered.

Frasers Centrepoint Trust results, announced on 22 October: full-year distribution per unit (DPU) of 12.35 Singapore cents, up 2.0%. Second-half DPU of 6.214 cents, up 2.6%. Full-year distributable income of S$252.2 million, up 8.2%.

My Personal Take

The first thing I noticed in the FCT results was the distance between two growth rates. Distributable income rose 8.2% for the year, but the payout per unit rose only 2.0%. Dividing one by the other implies about 6% more units sharing the income, and DPU is the number a unitholder is actually paid. Wall Street’s fall came after SGX closed on Thursday, so Singapore meets it at 9am today. Next I want to see the gearing line in the FCT release. I will do a deep dive soon on FCT.   $Frasers Cpt Tr(J69U.SG) 

Cheers, Iggy 🦖

Iggy’s Journal: STI Rises 0.63% Ahead of Frasers Centrepoint Trust Results

Thu 22 Oct 2026 | Morning

The Numbers

The STI closed Wednesday 21 Oct at 5,437.99, up 33.97 points or 0.63%, above Friday 16 Oct’s close of 5,415.53. Wall Street traded after SGX had closed. The Dow closed at 52,856.09 (up 0.69%), the S&P 500 at 7,757.17 (up 0.58%) and the Nasdaq at 26,702.86 (up 1.05%). The Associated Press attributed the gain to earnings from SpaceX, Capital One and other large companies, which offset falls in Netflix and other shares hit by growth worries.

In Singapore, the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) gave its Investors’ Choice Outstanding CEO Award to the CEOs of Keppel, SGX Group and Thakral Corporation (Straits Times). OCBC said it has added the Malaysian ringgit to its multi-currency savings accounts. Business Times has a story saying economists see breathing room for Malaysia and Singapore as haze weighs on Indonesia’s growth.

Frasers Centrepoint Trust is scheduled to report full-year results this morning before the open, subject to change. $Frasers Cpt Tr(J69U.SG) 

My Personal Take

Of today’s reporters, Frasers Centrepoint Trust is the one I am watching. On Friday I wrote that its gearing was 40.0% before the White Sands sale, with a management estimate of 36.5% after the sale and a debt repayment. Those are two different kinds of number. One is reported, and the other is a plan that depends on the sale completing.

When the results come out, I will put the reported gearing against both figures. If it sits near 40.0%, the sale and repayment are still ahead of it. If it sits near 36.5%, the plan has been carried out. Distribution per unit is the next line I will read, because it shows what the gearing change costs the unitholder.

Keppel DC REIT follows tomorrow, also before the open.

Cheers, Iggy 🦖

Not financial advice. Iggy’s Forensic Compliance Standards apply.

Iggy’s Journal: Keppel REIT Buys From Its Sponsor, With a Five-Year Rent Guarantee

Wed 21 Oct 2026 | Morning

The Numbers

The STI closed Tuesday 20 Oct at 5,404.02, down 7.98 points or 0.15%. Wall Street traded after SGX had closed. The Dow closed at 52,495.88 (up 1.02%), the S&P 500 at 7,712.57 (up 0.28%) and the Nasdaq at 26,424.82 (down 6.07 points, under 0.1%). The Associated Press attributed the broader gain to company earnings, including Equifax and Hasbro, and to oil easing below US$109 after nearing US$112 in the morning, while falls in Apple and Meta weighed on the Nasdaq. December Brent settled at US$108.79 a barrel, down 0.69% (Saudi Press Agency, citing Reuters), after touching a five-month high of US$111.99 during the session.

On Tuesday, Keppel REIT agreed to buy a 51.0% interest in K-Commercial, the owner of the office building Keppel South Central, from its sponsor Keppel Ltd. The consideration is S$610.9 million, with a five-year rental guarantee of S$2,230,170 a month. Completion is targeted for the second quarter of 2027, subject to unitholder approval. Keppel Ltd said the sale lifts its announced asset monetisation this year to S$3.7 billion. $Keppel Reit(K71U.SG) 

My Personal Take

The rental guarantee is the part of this deal I look at first. S$2,230,170 a month is about S$26.8 million a year, or S$133.8 million over the five years. It reminds me of the rental guarantee an agent offers on a new investment flat: the early years look settled, and the real rent shows up in year six. For a REIT the question is the same. What does the building earn once the guarantee stops? The seller here is also the sponsor, which is a normal arrangement for a REIT, and also the reason I read the terms closely. The circular should show the rent without the guarantee, and I will start there before forming a view on the price. Completion is targeted for 2Q 2027, so the unitholder vote is some way off.

Cheers, Iggy 🦖

Why Singapore's Macro Shock Is Your Dividend Golden Ticket

Singapore's Q3 2026 GDP grew by a surprising 5.4% year on year, beating the 5% that economists predicted. But before you go ordering an extra plate of satay to celebrate, let's look at the speedometer: We have officially slowed down from the roaring 6.2% growth we enjoyed in Q2. Think of the economy like a top of the line sports car. We are still zooming down the ECP but we have shifted down a gear because the initial boost from the AI infrastructure wave is starting to normalise.

The MAS pulled off a classic twist. 17 out of 20 economists believed that MAS would tighten the monetary screws by steepening the SGD NEER slope. Instead MAS kept monetary policy completely unchanged, hitting the pause button after 2 rounds of tightening in April and July. MAS is essentially telling the market that inflation is sticky but they expect it to calm down by mid next year. It is not going to over engineer this.

Meanwhile the Big 3 Local Banks $DBS(D05.SG)$OCBC Bank(O39.SG)and $UOB(U11.SG)just had a brutal reality check last week after Citi and JPMorgan threw cold water on market optimism.

What Does GDP Beat & MAS Hold Mean for STI Investors?

Today's macro data sends 2 big signals:

The growth runway is intact. The broader corporate landscape isn't about to collapse into recession.

MAS ensures that SGD remains a global fortress asset by maintaining the policy band.

For an investor, this strong local currency suppresses imported inflation, protecting the real purchasing power of your domestic dividend stream.

My Take :

The AI boom isn't dead but its growth trajectory is gently tapering into a sustainable long term slope. Treat this banking dip not as a warning sign of a market crash but a welcome discount.

Warren Buffett said:

The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.

Dear Friends, Will you use this banking dip to scoop up more shares or wait for a deeper drop?

Iggy’s Journal: MAS Holds Its Policy Settings After Two Straight Tightenings

Wed 14 Oct 2026 | Morning

The Numbers

Business Times headlines that MAS held its policy settings, pausing after two straight tightenings, and that Singapore’s GDP grew 5.4% in the third quarter, supported by electronics. I have read the headlines only. Both came out before today’s SGX open at 9am SGT.

The STI closed on Tuesday 13 October at 5,430.50, up 15.02 points or 0.28% (SGX, via SGinvestors.io). UOB rose 1.06% to S$40.93, DBS 0.72% to S$74.47 and OCBC 0.48% to S$29.20.

Wall Street closed on Tuesday with the Dow at 51,670.10 (-0.35%), the S&P 500 at 7,805.45 (-0.02%) and the Nasdaq at 27,204.38 (-0.15%). SGX had closed before that session. Brent was about US$105.20, down about 1.3% and ending a three-session rise, per FinanceFeeds citing Trading Economics.

My Personal Take

Tuesday’s bank bounce was small next to the dividend arithmetic. From the 8 October closes, DBS rose 0.8%, UOB 1.7% and OCBC 0.7%. At Tuesday’s prices, the dividend rise needed to reach my 4.7% hurdle is about 10% for DBS, 21% for UOB and 54% for OCBC, against 9%, 19% and 53% on 8 October. A bounce of under 2% moved each requirement by one or two percentage points. The dividends used are the ones in my tracking: DBS S$3.18 total (6 August), UOB S$1.59 (5 October) and OCBC S$0.89 ordinary (7 September).

Not financial advice. Iggy’s Forensic Compliance Standards apply.

🚀Stronger Singdollar: What It Means for Your S-REITs

MAS is widely tipped to tighten policy on 14 October by steepening the S$NEER policy band slope. What does a stronger Singapore dollar mean for our REIT portfolio?🤔

📉 REITs With Overseas Assets (Facing Headwinds)

• Lower Distributions: Rental income earned overseas converts into fewer Singapore dollars, pulling DPU down.

• Valuation Impact: Foreign assets revalue lower in SGD terms. This pushes net asset value down and gearing ratios higher on paper.

🛡️ Pure Singapore REITs (Naturally Protected)

• Cost Savings: A stronger SGD helps fight imported inflation. It keeps utility, cooling and maintenance expenses in check.

• No Currency Risk: With all assets based in Singapore there is zero translation loss. Plus SORA rates stay lower than US rates, a helpful bonus.

📌 In Short

Where a REIT owns its assets matters most during an MAS tightening cycle. Pure-play domestic REITs offer much stronger resilience against currency swings and operational cost pressure.

See the full details in the infographic! 🖼️

Not investment or financial advice. Do your you due diligence ☺️.

Source: Economists expect MAS to tighten monetary policy again in October, though some see room for a pause- Business times 12 Oct 2026.

Iggy’s Journal: The Dow and S&P 500 Are Back Near Tuesday’s Levels. The STI Closed Thursday 5.06% Below Tuesday’s.

Sat 10 Oct 2026 | Morning

The Numbers

Overnight, the Dow closed Friday at 51,654.95, up 0.83 percent, its largest one-day gain since 25 Sep per Dow Jones Market Data, and up 0.93 percent on the week. The S&P 500 closed at 7,811.54, up 0.59 percent, and the Nasdaq at 27,366.17, up 0.64 percent. The Associated Press attributes the advance to a rebound in technology shares and European equity gains, despite swings in the 10-year Treasury yield, which it puts at 5.24 percent. Brent settled at US$104.72, up 2.42 percent on the week per Dow Jones Market Data. USD/SGD is 1.2811 per Trading Economics.

In Singapore, the STI closed Thursday at 5,412.96, which is 5.06 percent below its 6 Oct close of 5,701.54. I do not have Friday’s SGX close at the time of writing. The S&P 500’s Friday close is 0.09 percent below its 6 Oct close and the Dow’s is 0.26 percent above it. SGX closes before the US session opens, so Friday’s rebound has not yet met a Singapore trading day.

DBS Group Research expects MAS to slightly raise the slope of the S$NEER band at its October policy statement, with the width and mid-point unchanged, according to a note reported by VibeTrader.

My Personal Take

A weekly wrap I read gave 5.9 percent for OCBC and 4.7 to 5.2 percent for DBS and UOB. Against the daily closes, the 5.9 percent is OCBC’s fall on Wednesday, and the 4.7 and 5.2 percent are DBS’s and UOB’s falls on Thursday. Numbers from two different days sat under one weekly label. From the 2 Oct close to Thursday’s close, I get OCBC down 8.4 percent, UOB down 6.6 percent and DBS down 4.4 percent. I now check which period a number covers before I check the number.

Not financial advice. Iggy’s Forensic Compliance Standards apply.

Iggy's Journal: STI Drops 3.49% to 5,412.96 as the Three Banks Fall 4.3% to 5.2%

Fri 09 Oct 2026 | Morning

The Numbers

The Straits Times Index closed Thursday at 5,412.96, down 195.48 points or 3.49 percent, per Singapore Business Review citing SGX. That is a 5.06 percent fall from the 6 Oct close of 5,701.54 in two sessions. Singapore Business Review puts the fall amid surging global bond yields and inflation concerns, which I could not check. DBS closed down 4.7 percent at S$73.85, OCBC down 4.3 percent at S$29.00 and UOB down 5.2 percent at S$40.25.

The dividends behind those prices have not changed, so the yields have. At the 8 Oct closes, with the trailing dividends in my Ledger (DBS 6 Aug, OCBC 7 Sep, UOB 5 Oct), UOB's ordinary yield is 3.95 percent, 75 basis points under my 4.7 percent hurdle, against 101 basis points at the 2 Oct close. OCBC's ordinary yield is 3.07 percent, still under the 3.2 percent minimum I track. DBS's total yield, which counts its capital return, is 4.31 percent, 39 basis points under the hurdle.

Overnight, the Dow closed at 51,231.64, up 0.10 percent. The S&P 500 closed at 7,765.36, down 0.47 percent, and the Nasdaq at 27,193.34, down 1.25 percent. Reuters attributes the fall to climbing oil prices, a slide in chip stocks and worries about heavy debt issuance by tech companies to fund AI. Brent settled at US$104.04 per Investing.com's ICE contract table. That US session opened after SGX had closed, so it is not an explanation for Thursday's fall in Singapore.

(see more in comments)

$OCBC Bank(O39.SG) $DBS(D05.SG) $UOB(U11.SG)