Recession Still Looks Likely For The US

Recession Still Looks Likely For The US
The US economy grew 0.6% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2008. Despite the stronger than expected GDP figures, our research team still expects the US to fall into a recession this year, and we believe the next two quarters would start showing the decline in GDP growth.

Commodities Funds: Sieving Out The Difference
US$65 per barrel. That was the cost of a barrel of crude oil one year ago. On 21 May 2008, oil prices flirted near US$140. Meanwhile, the prices of agricultural commodities such as wheat futures have risen by more than 70% since end-April 2007. Quite a few funds have been set up to capitalise on these trends in recent months. Two of these funds include the Schroder Alternative Solutions Commodity Fund and the BNP Paribas Agriculture (SGD) Fund. How different are they? We find out more in this article.

Fund Managers Eye Asian Stocks, But Stay Cautious
Asian stocks staged a comeback in institutional portfolios during May, even as cash remained popular as a safety net, according to Dow Jones' monthly survey of fund managers. Also encouraging fund managers to delve back into equity markets were stronger-than-expected US first quarter GDP growth, employment numbers and corporate earnings which eased concerns about the health of the US economy. But fund managers continue to play it safe in a still uncertain environment.