China's July Producer Price Index (PPI) fell 3.6% y-o-y, a larger decline than expected, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained flat y-o-y. SMU Associate Professor of Finance Fu Fangjian said that the latest CPI figures remain low, indicating that the Chinese economy has not yet completely escaped deflationary pressures, and that policies to boost domestic demand still have room for improvement.
Commenting on the revival of cryptocurrency, SMU Associate Professor of Finance Emiliano Pagnotta noted how stablecoins have emerged as the dominant use of crypto and how the recent passage of the Genius Act in the US helped with its broader adoption. Assoc Prof Pagnotta added that since the launch of US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products in 2024, integration with traditional finance has accelerated, drawing over US$54 billion in inflows.
The article covered the many facets of cryptocurrency and interviewed experts about them. One of them is SMU Associate Professor of Finance Emiliano Pagnotta, who highlighted that stablecoins have become a major application of cryptocurrencies. Assoc Prof Pagnotta noted that in 2024, on-chain stablecoin settlement volume exceeded $15 trillion, surpassing the transaction volume of Visa and Mastercard. However, due to its grey areas in management, many users were still resistant to it until the inception of the Genius Act.
SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan commented on BlueSG's wind-down on 8 August 2025, citing possible factors such as high maintenance cost, "lukewarm" revenue, and COVID-19 impacts. He noted that Singapore's car sharing market is expanding, but BlueSg's ageing fleet may need upgrades. Suspending operations until 2026 risks losing customers to rivals, through promotions could win them back. He added that no new players are likely to emerge soon, as car-sharing is a perishable service.
On 3 August 2025, Land Transport Authority (LTA) stated that the cross-border taxi scheme is under-utilised while the illegal operators have been endangering the earnings of the licensed taxi drivers, with some of these operators brazenly poaching passengers near the two pick-up points in Singapore and Johor Bahru. SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan highlighted the many illegal options available on Google that might not seem suspicious to an average consumer.
Commenting on the recent five-hour East-West MRT disruption, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan said reliability improvements take time, as some lines are older. He noted that greater reliability comes with higher costs and manpower needs and urged commuters to allow more travel time. He highlighted the trade-off between reliability and longer operating hours and stressed that the Land Transport Authority and operators must work closely to serve commuters effectively.
In an interview with CNA938, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan said cross-border on-demand transport could be feasible with strong regulatory oversight, though this remains a big assumption. He proposed expanding permitted pick-up and drop-off points and allowing more flexibility. While flexible transport may ease congestion, he stressed the need to control vehicle numbers.
On 1 August 2025, The Projector announced its departure from its Golden Village (GV) collaboration at Cineleisure, resuming its screenings at Golden Mile Tower. While The Projector has touted the move as a return to its roots, observers argued that its niche focus may also be an obstacle to its success. SMU Lee Kong Chian Professor of Operation Management Shantanu Bhattacharya inferred that The Projector sees lower customer volumes and has a higher fixed cost per offering as an arthouse cinema.
According to a recent survey by Blackbox Research, more young Singapore consumers are choosing Chinese brands over US counterparts, seeing them as affordable, reliable, and attractive. Regarding whether geopolitics affects consumer sentiment, SMU Associate Professor of Marketing (Education) Seshan Ramaswami said Chinese brands gained short-term advantage from US tariffs but must focus on innovation and quality for long-term success.
SMU Assistant Professor of Finance (Education) Aurobindo Ghosh warned about the risks of investing in meme stocks like GoPro and Krispy Kreme, nothing that these stocks are popular on social media and attract mainly retail investors. He compared this trend to risky behaviour seen with cryptocurrencies and suggested that purchases are sometimes driven by boredom or fear during uncertain times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
