By Francis Chan

ABOUT 700 people here who invested a total of $26 million in complex structured products look certain to lose all their money.

The products - called Pinnacle Notes Series 9 and 10 - have been battered by the financial crisis and are likely to be wound up for little more than small change.

US investment bank Morgan Stanley, which arranged the notes through its Asian unit, broke the bad news on its website yesterday. Investors were also notified through the financial institutions they bought the product from.

Bargain-hunting investors return to stock market

By Alvin Foo, Markets Correspondent

LIKE bears resurfacing after winter hibernation, investors have been tiptoeing back into the local stock market in the past fortnight after months of sitting on the sidelines.

Remisiers told The Straits Times that some have been taking advantage of plummeting prices and low valuations to accumulate blue chips while many others are speculating on intra-week movements with a 'hit-and-run' strategy.

The plunge and slight rally has resulted in handsome profits for some of their clients.

S'poreans turn to US stocks

By Yang Huiwen

More locals set up trading accounts, lured by battered US markets and affordable shares

MORE Singaporeans are looking for money-making opportunities in the US stock market, which has been battered down to bargain-basement levels.

Local brokerages and traders have seen increasing numbers of investors opening US trading accounts to take advantage of the heightened volatility and cheap offerings, even as sentiment is still weak and the outlook bleak.

Last month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below 9,000 for the first time since 2003, to as low as 8,175.77 - almost half its value since last December.

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