Kopi With YP: Your Minimalist Morning Briefing, 20 Feb

Get up to speed and stay smart with the latest business, tech, and local news in under 2 minutes

Business

US economy is on “sound-footing” said Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester herself at a forum in Singapore. She, however, warned against furthering their interest hikes and pinpointed the need to return to “more normal policy footing, including trimming its $4.5-trillion bond portfolio.”

China gets the 2nd largest size of the pie. The China National Petroleum Company signed a 8% share deal with Abu Dubai National Oil Company worth US$1.77 billion. This move puts China right below France and UK in terms of foreign share holding, who both secured 10% of the shares previously.

Banks in Singapore are getting worried. Previously, DBS reported a fall in their profit. This time, the 3rd largest lender in Singapore, UOB, is reporting a 6.2% decline in its Q4 profit. Their total revenue was $739 million, down from $788 million the same time last year.

Expect to see more local brands at supermarkets. As part of NTUC Fairprice’s Suppliers Support and Development Programme, more than $1 million annually has been pumped in to provide 50% discount on product and listing fees for local brands to support SMEs.

World

Washington wants to chat with North Korean officials for the first time in more than 5 years. However, visas for the North Koreans have not been verified.

Big news for North Korea-China relations. China has reportedly suspended all coal imports from North Korea as of 19 February. Motivation for such a move has not been officially announced. Previously, North Korea was responsible for 14.5% of China’s coal imports.

Throwback to the Cold War days? Despite higher oil prices, global arms imports has been higher than ever with Asia and Oceania accounting for 43% of the trade, 7.7% up from last year. This was notably seen from the Mid-East in pursuit of reputable military strength.

Local

It’s been long, Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kicks off a two-day official visit to Singapore from Monday.

Trapped by the cage of local bird trade. Illegal bird trapping is no stranger to Singapore with 7 out of 10 pet birds on sale locally that are non-native to the Republic. This calls for clearer protocols and trade regulation for something that is seemingly a “mild problem” but does have its consequences.

Don’t necessarily need a near-perfect score no more. Local universities are set to accept more students through the discretionary admission scheme as part of the government’s efforts to increase diversity and cohort participation rate to 40% by 2020.

Tech

Unfazed by UK’s goodbye to the EU. Amazon is set to create over 5000 jobs in Britain this year despite their volatile political climate with their imminent withdrawal from the European Union. Large tech companies have similarly reflected that the country’s geopolitical decisions will not affect their investment plans in the UK.

May the best hacker win. DBS will be the first bank in Southeast Asia to offer full-time positions to about 100 software developers with the necessary coding and analytics’ skills through a Hackathon “contest”.