Trump, Democrats in frenzied final push ahead of US elections. Donald Trump and his Democratic rivals made frenzied, final pushes to motivate their core voters Sunday ahead of contentious midterm elections seen as a referendum on the president's divisive first two years in office.

DBS Q3 profit up 76% on higher loan income, lower allowances. DBS Group Holdings on Monday reported that third-quarter net profit rose 76 per cent to S$1.41 billion, compared to S$802 million for the same period a year ago, when accelerated allowances had been taken for weak oil and gas support service exposures. Indeed, allowances for credits and other losses also fell 71 per cent to S$236 million, from S$815 million a year ago.

Great Eastern says RM2b contribution to Malaysia's new health insurance plan among options still being discussed. GREAT Eastern Holdings (GEH) on Monday said that it is in discussions with the Malaysian authorities on possible options to enable its unit, Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad (GELM), to satisfy prevailing foreign ownership requirements applicable to insurance companies in Malaysia.

Manulife US Reit DPU up 33.6% to 1.51 US cents for Q3. MANULIFE US Reit (real estate investment trust) reported on Monday morning that its distribution per unit (DPU) for its fiscal third quarter expanded 33.6 per cent to 1.51 US cents from 1.13 US cents in the preceding year. That came as Q3 income available for distribution leapt 64.9 per cent to US$19.3 million from US$11.7 million in the year-ago period.

Source: CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, Business Times, Phillip Securities Research