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Magnus Energy plans to tap the final S$15 million of a controversial convertible bond deal, and its new major shareholder was introduced by a director of a company in which Magnus is raising its stake, Magnus chief executive Luke Ho said on Friday.

A Singaporean former private banker linked to troubled Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) was yesterday charged with cheating which involved money from the fund, and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Stealing a trick from Google Inc, the biggest social network operator, Facebook Inc, disclosed a plan Wednesday to create a new class of shares to go along with its existing two. When enacted, the action will amount to a 3-for-1 split that will send about 5.7 billion new Facebook shares into the world, stripped of voting rights.

The so-called “death spiral” convertible bonds that lie at the heart of the proxy battle at Magnus Energy may be a wake-up call for all stakeholders.

Vacancies at retail malls in the central region hit a five-year high in the first quarter of the year, driven largely by more vacant space in the Orchard sub-market.

Shops and shophouses overtook residential properties in total sales value in auctions in the first quarter of this year, a report by Knight Frank released on Wednesday shows.

Several local remisiers are being questioned by the financial authorities over alleged breaches of the securities law after a series of raids on at least four brokerages this week.

Magnus, an energy equipment and production company, announced on Monday that one Lee Chin Cheh raised his direct and deemed stake to 24.58 per cent by buying 680 million shares, or a 22.14 per cent stake, for S$2.04 million or 0.3 Singapore cent apiece. Magnus shares closed at 0.3 Singapore cent on Tuesday.

Activist investing isn't a thing in China. It's culturally frowned upon to be that confrontational. Mr Liang Jian, a journalist-turned-hedge-fund manager, is on a mission to change that.

Trading floors came alive with speculation on Friday about which stocks were involved in an investigation that led to police raids of broking firms on Wednesday, but the absence of any firm information kept traders from pulling any triggers.

Yeo Jiawei, a former wealth planner at the Singapore arm of Swiss private bank BSI SA, was charged on April 16, said the people. While the charges made no mention of 1Malaysia Development Bhd or any related entities or individuals, they stemmed from investigations into the fund's money flows, the people said.

Trading in futures on everything from steel reinforcement bars and hot-rolled coils to cotton and polyvinyl chloride has soared this week, prompting exchanges in Shanghai, Dalian and Zhengzhou to boost fees or issue warnings to investors. While the underlying products may be anything but glamorous, the numbers are eye-popping: contracts on more than 223 million metric tons of rebar changed hands on Thursday, more than China's full-year production of the material used to strengthen concrete.

Those hauled in for questioning said to be remisiers; MAS says documents and other items also seized

Apparently toxic convertible bonds issued by Magnus Energy have continued to pummel the micro-penny stock, which fell 25 per cent or S$0.001 to S$0.003 on Thursday.

As Singapore seeks to transform its workforce to be more innovative, entrepreneurial and nimble-footed, it needs to adapt its housing policy to the needs of a future global economy that rewards asset-light, agile and adaptive entrepreneurs. Handcuffing our young households with 30-year-long mortgages when they get married at 28 years of age will not foster any entrepreneurial spirit. In fact, it does the opposite, making our society of well-educated workers averse to risk, and happy to just conform to the status quo.

Shares of Catalist debutant China Star Food Group shot up on active trade on the first day of trading on Wednesday.

A series of cooling measures progressively introduced in the last six years has led to a patchwork quilt covering the property market that is now uncomfortably scratchy and somewhat suffocating. Calls to relax the cooling measures began to ring out two years ago. In recent months, developers, property agents and industry associations have repeated their calls, with some predicting that measures may be lifted or amended by the end of 2016.

The premium that shares on Chinese markets have to their Hong Kong counterparts shrank to a five-month low on Thursday, as foreign investors stepped up bargain hunting in Hong Kong, betting that China's economy is stabilizing.

In China's financial circles, they call it the King - a state-run investing behemoth with unmatched power to move the world's second-largest stock market.

Don’t criticise what you can't understand, Bob Dylan famously sang in his 1964 anthem of change The Times They Are A-Changin'. The Singapore market, it appears, is doing that to YuuZoo, a company whose business model is understood by few.

The polite way to discuss tax avoidance is to say “tax efficient”. Or you could say “optimising your income,” or a dozen other euphemisms for “pay as little tax as possible without going to jail”. See, who says words people are not numbers people too? The Middle Ground

In recent months, the Singapore market has seen a flurry of offers for listed companies, several of which have the aim of privatisation. Indeed, we find that conditions are ripe for privatisations or takeovers, given 1) how attractive valuations are currently, 2) capital costs are still low for stronger corporates and individuals, and 3) investors still believe in the long-term prospects of Asia. We screen for stocks that are unloved and trading with low Price/NTA ratios, and search for companies that are net cash, as well as those that have large shareholders. We also look out for companies whose insiders have been scooping up shares recently. To broaden the search, we also seek a list of companies that have been undertaking more share buy backs recently. Based on our screening, companies that are more likely to be privatised or taken over include:

OUE’S latest marketing campaign for its high-end condominium project Twin Peaks has caught the attention of market players - for the steep discounts of 15 per cent off the price list and for its creative schemes.

After nearly five years of deliberation, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued the revised leasing standard IFRS 16 in January 2016. IFRS 16 will replace the current IAS 17 for companies with annual reporting periods beginning on or after Jan 1, 2019. Before the new standard becomes effective, tenants, landlords and stakeholders should take the time to understand the implications that the new standard might have on them and for Singapore's real estate industry.

The spectacular crash in the shares of property company OKH Global last month raises a pertinent issue regarding disclosure of shares pledged by major shareholders for private loans.

The Donald has used bankruptcy protection to its full advantage MarketWatch