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Automakers who thought that the Chinese market is a gold mine would have to think twice. Demand in the country has slowed down towards the end of 2011 such that its sales increase is now less than what was achieved by the US market, a first for the last 14 years according to Bloomberg. Other emerging markets such as India and Brazil are slowing down as well. Combined sales of cars, busses and trucks only rose 2.5% to 18.5 million vehicles in China in 2011, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. However, US demand for light vehicles climbed an impressive 10% in 2011 to 12.8 million vehicles. 2012 is expected to experience an annual growth of 13.5%. With such a positive outlook, it is perhaps why American automakers like Ford, Dodge and Cadillac are aggressively launching new models at the recent Detroit Auto Show.

Guys, in view of the impending US and EU economic crisis, will COE dip to below 40k?

Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin.../362437/1/.html MAS revises inflation forecast to 6-7% By Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 24 July 2008 1429 hrs SINGAPORE: Singapore's central bank has revised up its inflation forecast for 2008 for the third time. It now expects inflation to come in at between 6 and 7 per cent from its initial estimate of 5 to 6 per cent. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said this is due to the impact of external developments like higher oil and food prices on Singapore's open and trade-dependent economy. The central bank, however, is maintaining its current monetary policy stance for a slow and gradual appreciation of the Singdollar. MAS believes that inflation in Singapore has peaked this year. Inflation has stayed unchanged for the previous three months, at 7.5 per cent - a 26-year high. For the first half of the year, consumer inflation averaged 7.1 per cent. In the coming months, inflation is expected to moderate because the one-off impact of the GST hike last year will stop affecting headline inflation in July. MAS also expects global commodity price increases to be milder. Domestic cost pressures are likely to ease as the economy slows and asset markets consolidate. Recent employment surveys have also shown that labour market pressures could be easing. While most economists agree that inflation will come off in July, they say what is key will be the rate at which it moderates. Irvin Seah, economist at DBS Group Research, said: "It will decrease at a slower rate compared to what we thought so earlier, because of policy-induced inflationary pressure. Having said that, oil prices recently have shown signs of moderation. If that's sustainable in longer term, it means inflation could come off quite a fair bit." Between April 2004 and June 2008, the Singapore dollar appreciated 23.4 per cent against the greenback