Topic: Singapore

Asian shares fell to their lowest levels of the year on Friday as early bargain hunting gave way to worries about Europe's raging debt crisis and weak global growth.

Asian shares eased on Thursday as markets were vulnerable to faltering factory orders in China and lack of concrete measures shown by European leaders to tackle the risk of Greece leaving the currency bloc.

Singapore inflation hit a slightly higher-than-expected 5.4 percent in April, increasing the chance that it may exceed a government forecast for the year and putting pressure on the central bank to keep a tighter monetary policy.

Singapore has enticed Trafigura, one of the world’s biggest commodities trading houses, to move its legal headquarters from Switzerland to the Asian city state, highlighting the attractions of its low-tax regime and proximity to China. The FT reports.

Asian shares retreated on Wednesday as hopes for fresh measures to tackle euro zone debt faded and caution set in ahead of a meeting of European leaders, with renewed fears Greece would leave the euro bloc dampening appetite for riskier assets.

Asian markets kept gains on Tuesday after reclaiming some ground to move off lows for the year the day before, as hopes grew that Europe would embark on fresh action to address its debt crisis while promoting growth.

When Hong Kong businessman Mr. He paid a 35,000 pound ($56,000) deposit on a four-bedroom apartment in Britain, he believed it was a 40-minute walk from central London, his lawyer says. In fact it was a 40-minute journey by high-speed train.

Asian markets recovered some ground on Monday after last week's heavy losses, but investors remained wary about the euro zone despite world leaders calling for Greece to stay in the monetary union and for Europe to balance austerity with growth.

Asian shares ended lower on Friday as concerns about the global economic outlook grew due to an escalating banking crisis in Spain and political uncertainty in Greece that has fueled concerns of a euro zone break-up. 

Singapore said on Thursday the economy grew 1.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, unchanged from its earlier estimate, confounding economists who had predicted an upward revision.

Asian shares recovered some ground on Thursday from the previous day's sell-off, but investors found little reason to chase risk amid deepening turmoil in Greece and fears of contagion to other stressed euro zone economies.

Asian shares slumped on Wednesday after efforts to form a new government in Greece collapsed, fuelling fears that a second election in June could precipitate Athens' exit from the euro zone and deepen the bloc's debt crisis.

Asian shares fell to multi-month lows on Tuesday as investors sought refuge from the political turmoil that is fuelling fears of Greece's exit from the euro and threatening to undo progress made so far to solve the euro zone's debt crisis.

Demand for the world's priciest houses is likely to cool this year after two years of strong growth, as concerns over Europe's debt crisis, the health of the global economy and governments price cooling measures in Asia dissuade buyers, research showed.

Asian shares remained under pressure on Monday after talks to form a Greek government failed, with China's latest move to loosen monetary policy only adding to investor risk aversion as it underscored how Europe's plight is hampering global growth.