SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Europe’s debt crisis has significantly worsened, threatening global markets, so it is essential to stabilise the region’s bond markets, European Central Bank governing council member Christian Noyer said on Wednesday.

The ECB will do whatever is necessary to ensure adequate financing is available for companies and households, amid growing signs of funding strains in Europe’s banking system and a jump in government bond yields, Noyer said during a visit to Singapore on Tuesday.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – European Central Bank governing council member Christian Noyer said on Wednesday Europe’s debt crisis had significantly worsened, threatening global financial markets, but was confident the euro area would emerge stronger and more cohesive.

“The situation in Europe and the world has significantly worsened over the past few weeks,” Noyer said at a conference in Singapore. “Market stress has intensified.”

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – European Central Bank governing council member Christian Noyer said on Wednesday Europe’s debt crisis had significantly worsened, threatening global financial markets, but was confident the euro area would emerge stronger and more cohesive.

“The situation in Europe and the world has significantly worsened over the past few weeks,” Noyer said at a conference in Singapore. “Market stress has intensified.”

SINGAPORE, Nov 18 (Reuters) – Singapore’s central bank
on Friday warned banks of risks from relying on financial
markets to back their U.S. dollar and other foreign currency
loans amid the current economic uncertainty.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) also said in its
annual financial stability review that it expects the inflation
rate to drop to as low as 2.5 percent in 2012.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Insured losses from Thai floods could be in double-digit billions and the disaster will lead to a re-assessment of weather risks to industries in Asia, a senior official from global insurer Allianz said.

Calculating the true cost of the floods could take years in terms of working out the lost business to Thailand from investors who might now choose to invest in other countries, said Lutz Fullgraf, Allianz’s regional CEO for global corporate and specialty.

SINGAPORE, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Singapore on Thursday
reported a sharper-than-expected fall in October exports as
shipments of semiconductors plunged, reflecting further weakness
in the global electronics industry.

The Southeast Asian city-state’s non-oil domestic exports
(NODX) fell 16.2 percent in October from a year ago, confounding
economists who had on average had expected an 8 percent drop.

SINGAPORE/TOKYO (Reuters) – Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund said on Saturday it has sold most of its holdings of Olympus Corp (7733.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on concern of wrongdoing, the first major shareholder to show it has lost confidence in the scandal-hit Japanese medical device and camera maker.

Japanese authorities are investigating Olympus after the company admitted this week that it hid investment losses for decades using funds from M&A payments. Media reports on Saturday said police and regulators were joining forces in a rare collaborative effort to examine the cover-up.

SINGAPORE/TOKYO, Nov 12 (Reuters) – Singapore’s
sovereign wealth fund said on Saturday it has sold most of its
holdings of Olympus Corp on concerns of wrongdoing, the
first major shareholder to show that it has lost all confidence
in the scandal-hit Japanese medical device and camera maker.

Japanese authorities are investigating Olympus after the
company admitted this week that it hid investment losses for
decades using funds from M&A payments. Media reports on Saturday
said police and regulators were joining forces in a rare
collaborative effort to examine the cover-up.

GENEVA/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – UBS would be wrong to ditch its investment bank following a trading scandal, since it is a major draw for rich entrepreneurs seeking corporate finance expertise for their own firms, rival private bankers said.

“UBS is growing primarily because of Asian growth. The reason is because of the growth of its investment bank,” said Louay Al-Doory, head of global business development at Swiss boutique wealth manager Reyl & Cie.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) (RY.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), the nation’s largest lender, aims to more than double private banking assets in Asia to C$25 billion ($23.8 billion) by 2015, a senior executive said on Tuesday.

Asia has become a battleground for global and local private banks, who are competing for market share in a region that is seen outpacing the United States and Europe in wealth creation.