Singapore - The US Federal Reserve, the Banco Central do Brasil, the Banco de Mexico, the Bank of Korea, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Thursday announced the establishment of temporary reciprocal currency arrangements (swap lines).

Singapore  - An afternoon buying spree Tuesday brought some relief to Singapore's battered Straits Times Index, which nosedived in the first hour of trading.

The index made a turnaround, gaining 66.21 points, or 4.41 per cent, to close at 1,666.49.

The index had dropped to a low of 1,475.86 within the first hour of trading to start the week on a bearish note after being closed Monday for a holiday.

A total of 1,490.5 million shares were traded on the Singapore Exchange with 364 stocks recording losses and 205 managing gains.

Singapore  - Singapore's central bank said Tuesday it stands ready to intervene and manage the Singapore dollar exchange rate if volatility continues.

Citing the weakening external economic environment and its impact on Singapore's economy, the bank said its monetary policy would shift to keeping the currency from appreciating too much, which hurts exporters.

"This policy maintains the current level of the policy band, and there will be no re-centring of the band or change to its width," it said in its latest macroeconomic review.

The central bank said it expected economic growth to remain below potential due to the weak global economic environment and the crisis in financial markets.

Singapore - East Asia should be able to achieve an annual economic growth of 3 per cent to 5 per cent considering the current global financial crisis, Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said, in press reports Saturday.

Giving the assessment, Lee was upbeat about Asian economic growth supported by China and India.

"I would say the rest of Asia might make 3, 4, 5 per cent, which isn't bad for this condition," said Lee, the first prime minister and architect of modern Singapore.

Singapore - Investors shed their shares Friday from the opening bell at the Singapore Exchange for fears of the global downturn's impact on corporate performances and the fate of developing economies.

The Straits Times Index crashed to 1591.48 points towards the closing bell but made a slight flip to close at 1600.28, down by a huge 145.39, or 8.33 per cent.

The STI has lost 278 points this week, having settled at 1878.51 at last Friday's close. The Singapore Exchange ended the day with 513 counters suffering losses and just 90 gainers. Trading volume totaled 1,208.5 million shares.

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