Putin Says Russia Is Willing to Supply Uninterrupted Fuel to India

Singapore's High Court yesterday upheld the conviction of opposition leader Pritam Singh for lying to a parliamentary committee, in connection with a case involving a former lawmaker from his party.

In February, the leader of the Workers' Party, the only opposition party with seats in Singapore's Parliament, was convicted on two counts of lying to a parliamentary committee under oath and was fined S$7,000 (around $5,400) for each count.

The charges were related to Singh's handling of a scandal involving Raeesah Khan, a former Workers' Party MP, who admitted that she had repeatedly lied to Parliament in August 2021 about alleged police mistreatment of a victim of sexual assault. During a parliamentary committee investigation, she claimed that the party's leaders, including Singh, had told her to "continue with the narrative," despite knowing about the lie.

Khan was fined S$35,000 for lying and abusing her parliamentary privilege, and subsequently resigned from the party and from Parliament. The committee later concluded that Singh had not been truthful to the committee and recommended a criminal investigation into his conduct. Prosecutors agreed, and in March 2024, charged him with making two false statements during the committee's proceedings.

During yesterday's hearing, Justice Steven Chong said the lower court judge's decision to convict Singh on both charges was sound and supported by the evidence, despite quibbling with some small elements of the case, Channel News Asia reported.

After the hearing, Singh, 49, told the press that he was "disappointed" with the decision but accepted it "fully and without reservation," the BBC reported. He said he took responsibility for taking "too long" to respond to Khan's lie, but that he remains committed to working for the betterment of all Singaporeans. Singh also paid his fines at the courthouse after the hearing.

In a statement posted on Facebook after the verdict, the Workers' Party said that it was "studying the Court's verdict and grounds of decision," noting that it has "weathered many challenges over the years."

"Our commitment to serving the people of Singapore remains unwavering," it added. "We are deeply grateful to everyone who has stood with us, in moments of progress and through difficult times."

Despite his conviction in February, Singh was allowed his seat in Parliament and led the Workers' Party into a general election in May, during which it increased its share of the vote to 14.99 percent (up from 11.22 percent in 2020), and increased its share of parliamentary seats from 10 to 12. However, the party largely failed to make headway outside its existing strongholds of support, and its increased vote share was largely cannibalized from other opposition parties.

Source: The Diplomat

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Confirmation Across Dow Indices: A Classic Bullish Signal

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A Market Broadening in Motion

Source: Bloomberg

Chicago soybean futures edged down on Friday and were set for a first weekly loss in eight amid uncertainty over the scale of Chinese demand for U.S. supplies under a bilateral trade truce.

Wheat and corn also eased, with ample global grain supply tempering support from brisk U.S. corn exports.

Grain markets were turning their attention to a U.S. Department of Agriculture supply and demand report next Tuesday, while investors were also watching for a U.S. inflation reading later on Friday to gauge prospects for an interest rate cut next week.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT)was down 0.3% at $11.16-1/2 a bushel by 1011 GMT.

The USDA on Thursday reported 1,248,500 tons of net export sales of U.S. soybeans in the week ended October 30, including 232,000 tons to China, the country's first purchases from the 2025 U.S. harvest. (EXP/SOY)

However, overall purchases remain well below the 12-million-metric-ton target referred to by senior U.S. officials, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this week appeared to push back the deadline for the target to end-February from end-December.

"A few days before the USDA's monthly report, Chinese import potential will be closely monitored, knowing that Brazilian exports have so far largely covered the country's needs," Argus Media analysts said in a note.

In cereals, CBOT wheatfell 0.5% to $5.37-1/2 a bushel while CBOT corndipped 0.3% to $4.46 a bushel.

On Thursday, Statistics Canada reported the country's total wheat production at nearly 40 million tons, surpassing market expectations.

"The big news was the StatsCan data, which placed wheat and canola both at record highs. This continues the narrative of strong global supply," said Andrew Whitelaw, an analyst at Australian consultant Episode 3.

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, meanwhile, on Friday increased its forecast of world cereal production and stocks this season to record highs.

Chicago corn nonetheless remained near a six-month peak struck at the start of the week, supported by brisk exports and concern over cold weather hampering transport of U.S. grain.

Source: TradingView

Foreign Relocation Rises as Swiss Companies Adapt to Tariff Environment

Diversification Beyond U.S. and EU Markets Gains Momentum

High-Skilled Job Concerns and R&D Retention in Switzerland

Impact of $200 Billion U.S. Investment Commitment and Pharma Sector Risk

Strategic Investment or Structural Risk?

Source: Bloomberg

Oil prices were steady on Friday, supported by stalled Ukraine peace talks, though gains were offset by expectations of a supply glut.

Brent crude was down 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $63.18 per barrel by 1032 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate dipped 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $59.53 a barrel.

For the week, Brent was largely stable and WTI was on track to log a gain of about 1.7%, marking a second straight weekly increase.

"It is quite flat today and this week had a narrow trading range," said Tamas Vargas, an oil market analyst at PVM. "The lack of progress in the Ukrainian peace talks provides a bullish backdrop but on the other hand, resilient OPEC production provides a bearish backstop. These two opposing forces make trading seemingly quiet."

The market is also assessing the impact of a possible U.S. Fed rate cut and tensions with Venezuela, both of which could boost oil prices, analysts said.

Of economists surveyed in a November 28 to December 4 Reuters poll, 82% expected a 25-basis-point interest rate reduction at next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting. A rate cut would stimulate economic growth and energy demand.

"Looking ahead, supply factors remain in focus. A peace deal with Russia would bring more barrels to the market and likely push prices down," said Anh Pham, a senior research specialist at LSEG.

"On the other hand, any geopolitical escalation will drive prices higher. OPEC+ has agreed to keep production steady until early next year, so it adds some support for prices too," he said.

Markets also continued to brace for a potential U.S. military incursion into Venezuela after President Donald Trump said late last week the U.S. would start taking action to stop Venezuelan drug traffickers on land "very soon".

Rystad Energy said in a note that such a move could put at risk Venezuela's 1.1 million barrels per day of crude oil production, which goes mostly to China.

Prices were also boosted this week by the failure of U.S. talks in Moscow to achieve any significant breakthrough over the war in Ukraine, which could have included a deal to let Russian oil back into the market.

Those factors kept prices supported despite a growing surplus.

Saudi Arabia cut its January Arab Light crude selling prices to Asia to the lowest level in five years amid oversupply, according to a document reviewed by Reuters on Thursday.

Source: Reuters

Taxing expensive homes to raise less than 0.1% of total government receipts is hardly a fiscal revolution. But the modest beginnings of Britain's proposed mansion tax shouldn't obscure its potential significance. History and international experience suggest the high-value council tax surcharge is likely to become bigger and broader in scope as time goes on. A shiny new dial has been created on the fiscal dashboard; the temptation to turn it will be hard to resist.

UK property taxes may start out temporary and small, but they tend to stay and grow. Stamp duty, for instance, began in 1694 as a levy to finance one of Britain's frequent wars with France. Originally, it was a paperwork fee, with documents requiring a physical stamp to be recognized as legally valid. Parliament expected it to last four years. It's now in its fourth century. In the 2024-25 financial year, stamp duty on residential property transactions netted more than £10 billion ($13 billion), or more than 25 times as much as the estimated revenue from the mansion tax.

Even three decades ago, stamp duty was still largely a symbolic tax — levied at 1% and only on houses changing hands for more than £250,000. Given the average UK property price was about £55,000 at the time, only a small fraction of purchases were liable. Tony Blair's Labour government created the modern system with a 2003 overhaul that made it easier to raise rates, change thresholds and add surcharges (adding "land tax" to the name recognized that it was a transaction levy rather than an administration fee). In 2014, Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne increased the top rate to 12% on properties valued at more than £1.5 million, where it remains.

Stamp duty became a bigger contributor to government revenue despite being almost universally disliked by economists, who regularly cite it as one of the UK's worst-designed taxes. Transaction levies distort behavior by deterring deals that would be mutually beneficial, harming labor mobility and dragging on productivity and economic growth. But when governments need to raise money, they turn to the levers they have.

And taxing property has some obvious advantages. For one thing, it's immobile and hard to hide — you can't sequester your Mayfair mansion in a Caribbean tax haven. While wealth taxes have frequently been rolled back, recurring levies based on property value have tended to survive and expand — Switzerland, Spain, Norway and Denmark being among the examples. France in 2018 abandoned its wealth tax and replaced it with the impôt sur la fortune immobilière, or IFI, which levies progressive rates on net taxable real estate wealth starting at €1.3 million, the equivalent of £1.1 million.

Before last week's budget, speculation suggested that the government was looking at targeting the two highest council-tax bands to raise as much as £4.2 billion. In the event, it set a much higher threshold of £2 million (affecting only the highest band) and will raise a mere £400 million. A broader mansion tax might still be the long-term direction of travel, though.

Minouche Shafik, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief economic adviser, wanted to see sweeping changes to property taxes but was blocked by political figures in Downing Street who feared there would be too many losers among England's middle classes, according to the Observer. Shafik, a former president of the London School of Economics, chaired an inquiry by the Resolution Foundation think tank that recommended implementing a proportional property tax, or PPT, a recurring charge based on a percentage of valuation that many economists see as more efficient than stamp duty or the existing system of council tax. Look at the implications and the political concern is easy to understand. The highest mansion tax surcharge, applying to homes valued at more than £5 million, will be £7,500. Under a PPT set at 0.5% (in the ballpark for most proposals) a £5 million house would pay £25,000.

There are practical reasons for starting small. The mansion tax will necessitate the first wave of official residential property revaluations in England in more than three decades. The Valuation Office Agency is already burdened with a backlog of challenges related to council tax bands and business rates. Once the administrative infrastructure has been built, it becomes easy to extend the tax's reach into a wider range of valuations. In the meantime, a narrower base limits the potential for backlash.

In fact, the political dynamics for a mansion tax are favorable — if jarring change can be avoided. It's a proposal with many winners and few losers (though these, problematically, are concentrated in London and the Southeast). The government framed the change as being about fairness, and it's an argument that resonates. A decades-long runup in property prices has created much intergenerational unfairness. Young people who don't have access to the Bank of Mum and Dad — and their accumulated windfall property gains — face a much more difficult task to get on the housing ladder. Meanwhile, slowing growth and fiscal pressures have helped fan global momentum for taxing property wealth.

That suggests that, once created, the levy will act like a ratchet — easy to ramp up but very hard to roll back. The limited scope of the mansion tax prompted understandable relief in the property market. The reprieve is unlikely to be permanent.

Source: Bloomberg Europe