LEADING economists are warning increasingly of the dangers posed by a global build-up of debt that has occurred, especially in emerging economies, and the debt "mountain" could be even bigger than feared because not all of it is logged in official data.

LAST week, stocks rose after the Federal Reserve expressed willingness to suspend its rate hike programme until the outlook brightens, but some warn that the Fed is only delaying inevitable market pain.

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat will present the 2016 Budget, the most important event in Singapore's fiscal calendar, in Parliament on March 24. The Business Times takes a look at the Budget process and the government's fiscal position.

WHAT do household terms Black Monday and the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) have in common? They both originated in 1987, a remarkable year that saw the worst – and best – of the Singapore stock market, as well as the historic rollout of the Republic's first MRT service.

HELP to navigate the rough economic terrain, nudge small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to scale up and venture abroad even in tough times, and enable businesses to harness technological innovation are among the top wishes of business leaders as Budget 2016 looms.

DESPITE much industry lobbying for an extension of deadlines for developers to meet the conditions for additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) remission on residential sites, it appears that many developers are sanguine about the looming deadlines.

MORE listed entities could soon expand their borrowing options to include loans from unregulated peer-to-peer (p2p) lending sites, even as Catalist listing Epicentre Holdings became the first in Singapore to raise at least S$1 million through p2p platform MoolahSense.

Some home-grown firms are spending more than ever on research and development (R&D), never mind the common perception of struggling small and medium-sized enterprises.

Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat will present the 2016 Budget, the most important event in Singapore's fiscal calendar, in Parliament on March 24. The Business Times takes a look at the Budget process and the government's fiscal position.