What Papa's death taught us about ourselves

S'poreans have respect and empathy for one another and should retain such behaviour

PUBLISHED ON APR 5, 2015 5:47 AM

Mourners outside the NTUC headquarters at 1 Marina Boulevard on the day of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's funeral. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG  

BY LEE WEI LING

I am Lee Kuan Yew's daughter. I was brought up in a rather undemonstrative family. Papa's death was indeed a painful event for me, but I will not show my pain to the world. So I was amazed at the outpouring of emotion that usually phlegmatic Singaporeans displayed on my father's passing.

My father never sought popularity. Whilst not arrogant, he was openly dismissive of rogues, charlatans and crooks. And though he had a great rapport with regular people - he began his political career representing postal workers and his base was always the unions - he never suffered fools gladly, especially if they were pretentious and high-ranking. As everyone knows, he was not cuddly.

And yet when he died, Singaporeans cried as they would for a loved one. Never demonstrative himself, he elicited demonstrative crowds in the hundreds of thousands who thronged Parliament House and the 18 tribute sites the People's Association organised.

On the last day of the lying in state, I received a phone call from an old classmate who told me his wife was crying because she was unable to pay her respects in time. I could not help, for how could I justify helping a friend's wife jump the queue?

The next day was the funeral. The casket was carried by eight high-ranking officers, two each from the army, navy, air force and police. It was raining cats and dogs at the time we were to leave Parliament House.

We proceeded with the ceremony anyway, just as Papa had decided to do in 1968 when it rained cats and dogs during the National Day Parade. And just as he and his Cabinet members stood in the rain that day, his family walked through the rain at his funeral.

I saw schoolchildren drenched despite their ponchos, their faces contorted by crying although it was impossible to see any tears through such heavy rain. Tens of thousands of regular Singaporeans, including children and the elderly, stood in the rain, some with inadequate umbrellas or ponchos, others bareheaded and seemingly oblivious to the rain. The roar of "Lee Kuan Yew" was deafening.

A friend of mine, a neurosurgeon who competes in Ironman events, stood for four hours in the rain with his two daughters. He e-mailed me about it after the funeral. I e-mailed back: "Why didn't you spend that time training?"

He replied: "I wanted to show my solidarity with the nation in mourning his passing and have my daughters grow up remembering that poignant moment of the multitude who gathered at the roadside to honour him. The rain brought out the best in Singaporeans."

I asked another doctor friend who had been involved in Papa's care since 1996: "What does LKY's death tell us about Singapore and Singaporeans?" I added that I did not trust my own feelings on this issue because my view of Papa would be coloured by my being his daughter.

My friend replied: "LKY transcends all spectrums, hence this great spontaneous outpouring of grief and remembrance. He is regarded as among the world's greatest statesmen, and would have been even more recognised if he had been born in a larger country. Luckily for Singapore, we had him.

"His insistence on honesty, character, integrity and incorruptibility is now more clear and resonant than ever. His speeches made decades ago find a refreshing relevance in today's world. It is unlikely that there will ever be anyone quite like him again in our lifetime."

We are all aware how the Western press, cynical about Singapore's democracy, and rather condescending about our economic success and our law and order, has ascribed all our achievements to my father's authoritarian rule. If he had been such an authoritarian, how did the public suddenly like him in death?

Indeed, in the last few weeks of Papa's life in the intensive care unit, I, my brother Hsien Yang, his wife Suet Fern and their children were receiving e-mails from hundreds of strangers enquiring about Papa's health and conveying their good wishes and prayers. Indeed, we have been receiving such letters for years, strangers writing to us out of the blue to convey their good wishes to Papa.

Hsien Yang and I warned the State Funeral Organising Committee preparing for the lying in state that the turnout may be bigger than they had planned for. But when the time came, the outpouring of sorrow and the massive crowds who queued for long hours to pay their last respects were beyond even what we had anticipated.

I don't think Singaporeans suddenly woke up on March 23 and decided they loved and were grateful to Lee Kuan Yew. His death was the occasion, not the cause, for the expression of feelings that were always there.

We need not be concerned about impressing foreigners. Papa thought he was answerable only to his own people. Even then, he wanted to do only what was right, regardless of whether it was popular or politically correct. It is now apparent that though he never courted popularity, most Singaporeans know how much he did for them and that he devoted his life to his country.

As he himself put it towards the end of his life: "I have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. There's nothing more that I need to do. At the end of the day, what have I got? A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life."

I was educated in Chinese-language schools up to the equivalent of the O levels. My anti-colonial sentiments are hence somewhat stronger than those who attended English-language schools.

I watch with despair when Singaporeans buy into the dismissive views of some Westerners about Singapore. And I was very happy to see Singaporeans reject Western journalists who wrote dismissively of Papa and the response of Singaporeans to his death.

We must keep our heritage and respect the culture and language of our different races and be proud of Singapore. Never be impressed by the white man who thinks he is superior to you. We are no less and probably more capable than he is. If Papa and his Old Guard colleagues did not believe that, they would not have fought for independence and built up this country.

We should walk proud with no chip on our shoulder, and retain the mutual respect and empathy that we now know we are capable of. It will make life a little easier and our interaction more pleasant. We should do this in our everyday life without the need of some tragic event like Papa's death to bring out our better selves.

Papa's death revealed a lot of good things about Singapore and Singaporeans. There will never be another Lee Kuan Yew. Let's not miss the chance to learn the lessons Papa's death taught us about ourselves.

If there were any unresolved conflicts within me since Papa's last serious illness and subsequent death, writing this article has exorcised them. In the coming days and months, I will have to start planning for my own life after Papa - and so must my fellow Singaporeans.

suntimes@sph.com.sg

BACKGROUND STORY

Appreciation of devotion to the country

Papa thought he was answerable only to his own people. Even then, he wanted to do only what was right, regardless of whether it was popular or politically correct. It is now apparent that though he never courted popularity, most Singaporeans know how much he did for them and that he devoted his life to his country.

Nuclear agreement a crucial test of Iran's openness

PUBLISHED ON APR 6, 2015 5:56 AM

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The framework agreement signed last week, under which Iran will restrict its nuclear activities in return for relief from sanctions, is a welcome step in international efforts against nuclear non-proliferation.

Teheran has made concessions by agreeing to its stocks of highly-enriched uranium being cut by 98 per cent for 15 years, while its unfinished Arak reactor will not produce weapons-grade plutonium. Also, the deal will result in Iran reducing by roughly two-thirds - to 6,104 from around 19,000 - the number of uranium centrifuges, which can produce fuel for nuclear power but also the core of a nuclear bomb.

The deal, if adhered to, should make it virtually impossible for Iran to produce nuclear weapons but allow it to pursue nuclear energy generation and research for peaceful purposes.

These have been the stated goals of its nuclear programme, but they were met with scepticism by critics who saw them as a cover for nuclear armament. In return for concessions to assuage such concerns, the Iranian economy will benefit from the gradual suspension of international sanctions as the International Atomic Energy Agency confirms Iranian compliance with the deal. This would be a win-win deal for Iran and its negotiating partners - China, Russia, France, Britain, the United States and Germany. They must be credited for the agreement in principle, with a comprehensive accord due by the end of June.

Japan's wary manufacturers resist Abe's urge to splurge

5 Apr12:39 PM

[KUSATSU, Japan] Hirotoshi Ogura, a self-described "factory geek", is Daikin Industries' master of doing more with less - and part of the reason Japan's recovery remains stuck in the slow lane.

As Japan heads into the season of peak demand for room air-conditioners, Mr Ogura and other Daikin managers have been tasked with figuring out how to boost output by some 20 per cent at a plant in western Japan that six years ago the company had almost given up on as unprofitable.

The wrinkle: they have no budget for new capital investment at the 45-year-old Kusatsu plant. The still-evolving workaround shown to a recent visitor involves home-made robots for ferrying parts, experimental systems using gravity rather than electricity to power parts of the line, more temporary workers on seasonal contracts and dozens of steps to chip away at the 1.63 hours it takes to make a typical new air conditioner. "We can do a lot without spending anything," says Mr Ogura, a 33-year Daikin veteran who joined the company just after high school. "Anything we need, we first try to build ourselves."

Like Daikin, a number of Japanese manufacturers are shifting production back to Japan from China and elsewhere to take advantage of a weaker yen. Rival Panasonic has pulled back some production of room air-conditioners, Sharp has brought back production of some refrigerators, and Canon has repatriated some output of high-end copiers, according to a list compiled by Nomura.

But even as output recovers, Japanese companies remain cautious about new capital investment in factories and equipment. The trend is especially pronounced for smaller firms down the supply chain.

After increasing capital spending by 6 per cent in the just-completed fiscal year, small manufacturers plan a 14 per cent decrease in the current year, according to the Bank of Japan's quarterly survey released this week. Big manufacturers like Daikin plan a 5 per cent increase, but overall investment remains 10 per cent below pre-crisis 2007 levels.

Over the same time, corporate earnings have increased by 11 per cent, shares have rallied - Daikin's are up more than four-fold from its 2008 low - and Japanese companies have socked away a record 87 trillion yen (S$986 billion) in cash.

For Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic revival plan to work, pulling Japan out of decades of stagnation and deflation, companies need to be willing to use that cash for new investment in a way they have so far baulked at in the more than two years since he took office, economists say. "It turned out that the government and the BOJ were wrong in thinking monetary easing would boost capital spending," said Taro Saito, director of economic research at NLI Research Institute. "Low growth expectations appear to outweigh the benefit from lower interest rates, keeping companies from boosting capital spending."

For Daikin, there is a wariness that the slumping demand and sharply higher yen that almost forced the closure of the Kusatsu plant in 2009 could return at any time. Sales in Japan represent just 25 per cent of Daikin's air-conditioning sales now, down from over a third in 2009.

But managers also say the lean years have forced the company to innovate at its four home factories, a theme mirrored at Daikin's production mentor, Toyota Motor.

At the urging of Toyota president Akio Toyoda, Japan's top automaker last week unveiled the results of a five-year-old programme to re-engineer the way it makes cars to cut the costs of retooling existing factories and building new ones.

Already running its factories at 90 per cent of capacity, Toyota expects to be able to cut the cost to retool an existing production line for a new model by half of what it cost in 2009 and cut the investment needed for the new plants it is planning for Mexico and China by 40 per cent from earlier levels.

Like Daikin, the savings at Toyota will come by a thousand cuts, from smaller and more efficient paint booths to a faster and more flexible robot welding system that will also be installed at factories in Japan.

Atsushi Takeda, chief economist for the Itochu Economic Research Institute, said there was not much Mr Abe's government could do to shake companies out of their caution, apart from cutting regulations and encouraging new industries, areas where progress has been slow.

Most Japanese companies still see better growth outside Japan and are investing accordingly. "Companies were so hard hit by the excessive yen strength after the Lehman shock they want to be convinced there won't be a reversal of the weak yen over the next five to 10 years," Mr Takeda said. "They are in no mood to take risk."

REUTERS

    
 

Ukraine at financial breaking point

5 Apr8:16 PM

[PARIS] Bruised and battered after a year of armed conflict, Ukraine has been crippled by a combination of monetary, budgetary, industrial, banking and energy crises that could make it dependent on outside help for decades.

The country has suffered a series of shocks that has obliterated its fragile economy.

Its vital heavy industry, in the east, has been completely hamstrung, with production plunging by a fifth - not helped by a sharp decline in steel prices.

In addition, with foreign investors fleeing the uncertainty, the value of the local currency, the hryvnia, has fallen by around 50 per cent since the beginning of the year.

"Like many emerging markets, this has a direct effect on households, businesses and public finances, because both private and public debt is denominated in foreign currency," said Julien Marcilly, chief economist at insurance firm Coface.

Gross domestic product contracted 6.8 per cent last year, according to official statistics and the central bank is bracing for a decline of as much as 7.5 per cent in 2015.

Ukraine is also suffering a debt crisis, with its proportion of public debt to gross domestic product (GDP) expected to spiral to 94 per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund - from a healthy 40 per cent in 2013.

"There is a banking crisis, a monetary crisis and an economic crisis that translated into a strong contraction of GDP last year. This year, there will probably also be an energy crisis," said Francis Malige, Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The international community, desperate to avoid a collapse in the Ukrainian economy that could be a propaganda coup for Russia, has rushed to its aid.

In April 2014, the IMF sketched out a bailout plan worth some US$17.5 billion to come in a series of tranches - US$5 billion of which has already been paid out.

This is part of a package of US$40 billion pledged by the international community to help Ukraine back on its feet.

The European Union has offered Ukraine about 1.6 billion euros (US$2 billion) in short-term assistance and put together a wider package worth about 11 billion euros.

Ukraine has encountered huge difficulties in borrowing on the open market, raising only small sums over short periods of time.

Possible lenders are scared off by the potential for default - which the Moody's ratings agency says is near 100 per cent.

However, others see it differently - billionaire investor George Soros has said he is willing to plough one billion dollars into the country.

One thing that particularly irks investors is the perceived level of corruption in Ukraine.

The authorities in Kiev say they are trying to stamp out corruption and have fired a billionaire governor and arrested some high-level officials.

But Tatiana Jean, from the Paris-based IFRI think tank, said part of that was "play-acting".

If authorities were serious about clamping down on corruption, they could start with breaking the monopoly of state gas firm Naftogaz, she says.

Malige, from the EBRD - the main investor in the country - said another priority was to clean up the financial system.

"There are too many banks in Ukraine working on a closed system. They are in the hands of a few powerful people and they tend to finance the companies held by those same people," he said.

Nonetheless, he pointed out some of Ukraine's attractions: fertile agricultural land, "ultra-competitive" workforce and "the most reform-minded government since independence."

AFP

    
 

China to step up urbanisation along Yangtze River

5 Apr9:22 PM

[BEIJING] China's government released on Sunday a framework to develop sprawling urban areas along the Yangtze River as it moves forward with a decade-long ambition to turn the Chinese heartland into a major economic belt.

Although no specific investment details were released, the State Council, China's Cabinet, said on its website it would designate 317,000 square kilometres along the river to become urban areas, hosting transportation and energy projects.

The designated urban development area will span the three provinces of Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi near and around the metropolitan areas of Changsha and Wuhan.

China's top leadership has outlined plans to turn the Yangtze, which runs from China's western highlands and empties into the East China Sea near Shanghai, into an economic axis that would catch up with China's highly developed coastal regions.

Reuters

    
 

US employers announced sweeping wage increases

5 Apr8:23 PM

[WASHINGTON] After turning a deaf ear to pressure for years, US businesses are digging into their pockets to improve the lot of the lowest-paid workers, but also their own images.

Faced with a mounting campaign to address a growing gap between the rich and the poor, and complaints that low wages leave workers dependent on state handouts, some of the largest US employers have announced sweeping wage increases in recent weeks.

After department store Walmart and clothing chain The Gap said they would raise worker pay, fast food giant announced a hike for 90,000 of its workers.

The wave of companies showing a greater appreciation for their workforce has even spread to the tech industry. Microsoft announced it would require its contractors to extend paid leave to thousands of people that regularly work for the company but are not Microsoft staff.

The companies have made sure the public takes note. McDonald's took a full-page advertisement out in the New York Times heralding its generosity.

"We're announcing a first step in rewarding the team members who work so hard for our brand every day," it said.

Wal-Mart Stores chief executive Doug McMillon told workers that the world's largest retailer would "continue to provide that ladder that any of you can climb." -

But the moves, which sought to raise hourly wages above the official minimums - McDonald's promised it would pay an average US$10 an hour by the end of 2016 - still fell short of a national campaign calling for a US$15 an hour standard.

That raised questions about whether the moves are simply a publicity effort for the firms.

The US labor union federation, the AFL-CIO, which has been fighting for higher wages for retail and food chain workers, dismissed the question.

"It's not essential to figure out whether or not they did it for good reasons. The key issue here is that it rewards months of mobilization," deputy policy director Kelly Ross said.

The companies could also be responding to fundamental economics. The US economy has been growing steadily and companies have added some 3.4 million jobs in the past year alone, tightening the jobs market somewhat.

"It is a public relations move by the companies, but it comes in a macro-economic context that is pushing up low wages," Ioana Marinescu, a labor rights expert at University of Chicago, told AFP.

Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute in Washington agreed.

"As the labor market become more competitive, the firms have to increase wages to attract the workers they want," he said.

AFP

    
 

Pope Francis condemns world's 'indifference' to jihadist atrocities against Christians

PUBLISHED ON APR 5, 2015 7:26 AM

Pope Francis leading the Easter Vigil at the St Peter's basilica on April 4, 2015 in Vatican City. -- PHOTO: AFP

VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Francis condemned indifference and "complicit silence" to jihadist attacks on Christians as he presided over Easter ceremonies in the wake of a massacre of nearly 150 people at a Kenyan university by Shebab Islamists.

The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics brought up the extremist persecution of Christians as the holiest ceremonies of the Church calendar reached a climax Sunday, when believers celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

The Islamists behind Thursday's university attack that shocked Kenya are reported to have separated out their victims into Muslims and non-Muslims, before killing the Christians.

"Today we see our brothers persecuted, decapitated, crucified for their faith in you, under our eyes and often with our complicit silence," the pope said after the traditional Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession through Rome on Friday, which recreates Christ's last hours before he was crucified.

Commerzbank avoids conviction in US$1.45b deal

5 Apr9:31 AM

[CHICAGO] Commerzbank AG and US government lawyers gained federal court approval of a US$1.45 billion agreement to defer prosecuting the lender for violating US laws, including sanctions on doing business with Iran and Sudan.

Under the accord, Germany's second-largest lender will pay penalties to government agencies including the Manhattan District Attorney's office, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department. The Frankfurt-based bank conceded the allegations, which included aiding accounting fraud at Olympus Corp.

The bank and its New York unit must continue reforms of its anti-money laundering compliance programme and cooperate with the government for three years before charges against it are dropped.

Signed by bank officials and lawyers for both sides last month, the agreement was accepted Friday by US District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington.

"Commerz New York violated the Bank Secrecy Act designed to prevent the movement of money, often with nefarious intent," Diego Rodriguez, the FBI's assistant director in charge in New York, said in a statement when the deal was announced on March 12.

Duncan King, a bank spokesman, declined to comment on Friday on the court's approval of the pact.

"We take these violations very seriously and deeply regret the actions that led to today's announcements," Commerzbank Chief Executive Officer Martin Blessing said in a March 12 statement.

The accord didn't require the lender to plead guilty. If prosecutors agree after three years that it has met its obligations, they must ask the court to dismiss the charges no later than May 3, 2018, according to court records.

The US can resume prosecution if Commerzbank violates the agreement's terms before then.

New York's Department of Financial Services, a party to the deal, previously ordered Commerzbank to hire an independent monitor and fire four employees, according to a March 12 statement by Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky. A compliance chief in the bank's New York branch resigned as a result of the state regulator's probe.

From at least 2002 to 2008, the bank used a series of measures, including stripping out information identifying sanctioned clients, to process transactions valued at more than US$250 billion on behalf of Iranian and Sudanese entities, according to authorities.

The bank is expanding lending to German consumers and companies while winding down soured shipping and real estate loans. Blessing has also pledged to cut at least 5,200 staff as he seeks to reach profitability targets set for 2016. The company posted profit of 264 million euros (S$388 millon) in 2014, up from 81 million euros a year earlier.

Weak economic growth and low interest rates in Europe are making it more difficult to reach the bank's targets, Blessing has said.

BLOOMBERG

 
 

Geopolitical issues pose biggest risk to markets: poll

By

Kelly Taykellytay@sph.com.sg@KellyTayBT

GLOBAL geopolitical issues form the biggest risk for markets this year, said regional investors polled at Credit Suisse's Asian Investment Conference last month. 

PHOTO: AFP

4 Apr5:50 AM

Singapore

GLOBAL geopolitical issues form the biggest risk for markets this year, said regional investors polled at Credit Suisse's Asian Investment Conference last month.

Over a quarter (27 per cent) of the 1,200 survey participants cited global geopolitical issues as their foremost concern - up from 18 per cent in the 2014 edition of Credit Suisse's Electronic Sentiment Survey.

This was followed closely by the tightening of monetary policy (24 per cent) and China's growth and credit-related risks (18 per cent).

"China-related risks were the prominent concern by quite a margin in 2014, but seemed to have tapered off somewhat this year," said Credit Suisse in its report. "The risks of deflation (or) disinflation were flagged by 15 per cent of respondents - this was not among the top six choices last year."

Held in Hong Kong in late March, the 18th Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference was attended by more than 2,800 people, comprising 300 companies from 15 countries in the region, in addition to various policy makers and political leaders.

For the Credit Suisse Electronic Sentiment Survey 2015, 1,200 institutional investors, hedge funds, and high net worth individuals were polled - collectively representing more than US$18 trillion in assets under management.

According to this year's survey findings, just over half of those polled expect oil to trade between US$50 and US$80 by year-end, while 45 per cent expect it to be between US$25 and US$50.

Said Credit Suisse: "Continued supply growth in the US and instability in the Middle East inevitably render the oil price a difficult and volatile one to forecast."

Risks aside, 45 per cent of participants believe Europe is likely to provide the greatest upside for equity investors this year. This is followed by 23 per cent for Asia ex-Japan, 16 per cent for the US, and 12 per cent for Japan.

"Time will tell if they are right, and if this is finally Europe's year to shine - in euro terms, Europe has indeed had a very strong start to this year," said Credit Suisse.

However, in response to the same question last year, the majority of participants had also chosen Europe, but they turned out to be off the mark. The Stoxx 50 - Europe's leading blue-chip index for the eurozone - in fact fell 11 per cent in 2014 (in US dollar terms).

    
 

US: Treasuries rise, equity futures fall after weak US jobs data

US Treasuries prices rallied and equity futures stumbled on Friday after weaker-than-expected US jobs data for March became the latest in a string of underwhelming economic figures that called the strength of US growth into question. 

PHOTO: AFP

4 Apr8:04 AM

[NEW YORK] US Treasuries prices rallied and equity futures stumbled on Friday after weaker-than-expected US jobs data for March became the latest in a string of underwhelming economic figures that called the strength of US growth into question.

Labor Department data showed US employers added just 126,000 jobs in March, the fewest in more than a year.

The figure was well below expectations for a gain of 245,000, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

Recent data suggests the first quarter ended on a weak note, weighing on investor sentiment. The bond market rallied sharply, pushing the benchmark 10-year Treasury note to its lowest level in nearly two months, as the expectation for a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike by September diminished.

Trading was thin on Friday due to the Good Friday holiday, as most overseas markets and major US stock exchanges were closed, so the reaction in both US Treasuries and in US equity futures was affected by the light volume.

"The sharply lower-than-consensus job creation for March is a reminder that the US economic recovery is yet to reach escape velocity," said Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz Se in Newport Beach, Calif.

"The economy's structural growth momentum is not yet strong enough to decisively overcome short-term weather disruptions and headwinds from abroad." The report weakened the dollar, continuing a trend of weakness in the greenback that followed a 20-per cent-plus rally in the currency against major trading partners over a year-long period.

With European economic data coming in better than anticipated, the dollar's recent sluggishness may have further to run.

The data reduced the market's expectations for a rate increase by September. Most Wall Street brokerages who deal directly with the Federal Reserve see that month as the likely moment for the Fed to raise rates, but the strong dollar, decline in oil and weakness abroad may mean the Fed could hold off further. "The market was sort of resting its hat on the payroll number being okay, and that's gone," said Ashwin Bulchandani, chief risk officer and market strategist at asset manager MatlinPatterson in New York.

Yields on benchmark 10-year Treasury yields, which move inversely to prices, hit nearly two-month lows of 1.8 per cent, while three- and two-year note yields hit two-month lows of 0.77 per cent and 0.47 per cent, respectively.

US 30-year Treasuries prices rose more than a point, but their session low yield of 2.445 per cent remained above Thursday's nearly two-month low of 2.441 per cent. The US bond market closed early on Friday.

US 10-year Treasury prices were last up 18/32 to yield 1.84 per cent, from a yield of 1.9 per cent late Thursday.

US three-year notes were last up 6/32 in price to yield 0.78 per cent, from a yield of 0.86 per cent late Thursday. Yields on all Treasury notes and bonds fell for the week.

US stocks were closed on Friday. US stock futures fell on the jobs data and US S&P e-mini equity futures unofficially ended down 19.75 points, or 1 per cent, to 2039.75, indicating a lower open for stocks on Monday.

The US dollar tumbled on thin volume, with the euro immediately spiking to a 1 per cent gain against the greenback following the jobs report. The euro hit US$1.10270 on the EBS trading platform, the highest since March 26.

"I'm not pushing the panic button yet. It is still a Q1 number. I don't think the Fed will either. We're not getting a clean read on the economy yet. We had a bad winter for most of the northeast and any clean read for the economy will come in the next couple of months," said Win Thin, currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York.

REUTERS