Singapore Exports Fall

[arthur]

Our 154th media never reported this .. yet?
Diam diam like can hear the fall of a pin like that.
Sheeze...

All i hear is how suddenly Punggol constituency people all never mind their MP's extra-maritial affairs anymore leh.
Tabloid newspaper also got into the act to do some massaging..

http://www.tnp.sg/content/why-affairs-are-no-big-deal


SINGAPORE—Singapore's exports unexpectedly fell in November on the slumping electronics sector, suggesting that a broader recovery among Asia's manufacturers has yet to take root in the city-state.

Exports of nonoil goods dropped 2.5% last month compared with a year earlier, stumbling after a strong 7.9% on-year rise in October. The result was also weaker than predicted by a Dow Jones Newswires poll of 12 economists, who expected exports to expand 2.1% in November from a year earlier.

Trade-promotion agency International Enterprise Singapore released the data Monday.

The decline was largely due to weak exports of PC parts, semiconductors and other electronics, down 16.5% in November from the previous year.

Manufacturing elsewhere in Asia is showing signs of life. Taiwan's official purchasing managers' index improved in November, while South Korean exports in the same month rose 3.8%. In China, a preliminary gauge of manufacturing activity rose to a 14-month high in December.

Related
China's Manufacturing Expands

.Those bright spots could portend a turnaround in Singapore exports early next year. "The stimulus-led recovery currently under way in China may already be providing some support and this is expected to continue to provide support in coming months," said Leif Eskesen, HSBC chief economist for Southeast Asia.

However, government policies favoring a strong Singapore dollar and curbing the influx of foreign workers will continue to weigh on Singapore's electronics industry, said Credit Suisse CSGN.VX -1.18%economist Michael Wan.

.The Singapore dollar is 5% stronger against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of the year, as the nation's central bank guided the currency higher in an effort to stave off inflation.

"The manufacturing sector has been bearing quite a bit of the brunt of these domestic policies," said Mr. Wan. "Curbs on foreign workers have driven up labor costs," making exports less competitive, he said.

Another reason Singapore's exports are lagging behind its Asian competitors is because its electronics sector is more geared toward personal computers, so it hasn't benefited as much from tablet and smartphone developments that have boosted exports in South Korea and Taiwan, said economist Alaistair Chan of Moody's MCO -0.50%Analytics.

Soft demand from Western economies continued to underpin Singapore's weak November figures. Exports to the U.S. fell 7% on-year after rising 48% in October. Workers' strikes in a number of U.S. ports during the month might have been one reason that exports to the U.S. underperformed shipments to the European Union, said Mr. Chan.

Exports to the EU, Singapore's biggest export destination, managed a 0.5% rise, compared with an 8.9% on-year increase in the previous month, IE Singapore said.

Exports to China, however, grew 9.4% after the previous month's 6.6% gain.

Shipments of non-electronic products grew 6.3% on-year, slowing from a 12.6% rise last month. Pharmaceutical exports, typically a volatile category, surged 29.6% after a 2.7% rise in October.

Compared with a month earlier, November exports fell 0.3% in seasonally adjusted terms, after contracting 1.2% on-month in October. Nine economists in the Dow Jones Newswires poll had projected a median 4% rise in November from the previous month.

http://www.iesingapore.gov.sg/wps/portal...ember+2012

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424...opWhatNews

[VIChris]

Thanks for sharing.
As for the Punggol MP case, I do mind.
If morally we can accept this, does it means all our MPs or anyone within the society can sleep around with others girlfriends, wife, friends?
Do you think this is acceptable?

Then it's lead to another question, why we need to be educated apart from gaining knowledge? Its to teach us to differential what is right and what is wrong.

Marriage is social contract between 2 people who promise to be faithful to each other throughout their relationship. If ones cannot keep a promise, what makes you think the person could keep a promise serving you and me? We want a role model who leads by example. If our role model is already an adulterer, do you expect ones to even look up to the person advice on matters pertaining to society?

Sorry for the OT.

[natnavi]

It is inevitable that our export will decline. The SGD is just too strong, and surprisingly, the government is still continuing on with their policy of gradual strengthening of SGD to combat inflation. I wonder how long can they sustain such a policy. On the other hand, I do understand why they are trying to maintain such a policy. Reversing such a policy may lead to an outflow of foreign money, which may cause the market to fall.

Personally, I think the media should be reporting on more important issues rather than such gossip. Either the media has nothing else to report or they are trying to divert our attentions to such silly nonsense. I have also come to realize that our media is really shallow in their reporting. No depth.

On a side note, morally I think adultery is not right. However, to sack the guy because he committed adultery, i think its way over the top. As long as he can continue to do his job well, why should a company fire him. Should Bill Clinton been fire because he committed adultery? He served his country well even though he committed adultery. On the other hand, we have Bush jr, who did not commit adultery, but was not an effective leader. Should he have been sacked instead?