Wall Street Explodes In Historic One-Day Surge
Wall Street stormed back from last week’s devastating losses Monday, sending the Dow soaring a nearly inconceivable 936 points after major governments’ plans to support the global banking system reassured distraught investors. All the major indexes rose more than 11%. The market was expected to rebound after eight days of precipitous losses that took the Dow down nearly 2,400 points, but few expected this kind of advance, which saw the Dow by far outstrip its previous record one-day point gain, 499.19, set during the waning days of the dot-com boom. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index also set a record for a one-day point gains.

Oil Prices Rebound After Last Week’s Huge Losses
Oil prices rebounded from a 13-month low Monday, pushing above US$81 a barrel after the dollar weakened and investors trickled back into financial markets on hopes that a globally coordinated rescue plan will stave off an economic crisis. Prices were also supported by expectations that OPEC countries may tighten production in a bid to slow crude’s precipitous decline. Prices have fallen about 45% since shooting to a record US$147.27 on July 11. Last week, crude tumbled more than US$16 to levels not seen since September 2007, with over half the losses coming on Friday alone.

Design Studio’s Order Book Reaches $210m Record
Design Studio Furniture Manufacturer, Singapore’s leading premier furniture manufacturer, product and interior fitting-out specialist, has achieved record order book of $210m after a series of recent contract wins. This includes 2 new hotel projects from Abu Dhabi, which is in line with the company’s strategy to diversify to new geographical markets. The company has also secured niche residential projects in Singapore such as Dakota Residences and the Marq.

MFS Wins Top Supplier Award From Emerson
Mainboard-listed MFS Technology has been named a Marquee Supplier by St. Louis-based Emerson, a global leader in technology and engineering. The award recognises the contributions and achievements of the top 38 global suppliers in meeting Emerson’s critical production and delivery needs around the world. Some of the criteria include superior quality and services.

Swiber Clinches US$7m Maiden Project In India
Swiber Holdings, a world class service provider in the offshore industry, has broken into the lucrative subsea services market with the signing of its first Letter of Intent worth an approximate value of US$7m to provide subsea services for an offshore project in India. The deal was clinched through Kreuz Subsea, which is 70%-owned by the company. The addition of the new capability will thus transform the company into a fully integrated offshore player.

PCA Returns To Profitability
Mainboard-listed PCA Technology has achieved improved 1H09 results with a net profit of $0.4m compared to a net loss of $3m in the same corresponding period last year. Improvement in the product mix has resulted in 202.4% increase in gross profit margin to $3.3m during the period under review. The company has a strong cash position of $5.8m to weather the current tight credit conditions.

China Fibretech And Armstrong Win Most Transparent Company Awards
Armstrong Industrial Corp and China Fibretech have both won the runner-up awards for the Most Transparent Company Award in the Non-Electronics Manufacturing and New Issue categories respectively at the Securities Investors Association of Singapore Investors Choice Award 2008. The award, which started in 2000, recognizes listed companies that actively promote its Investor Relations and Corporate Transparency, with the goal to help investors make informed decisions.