1. Gold climbed as the Federal Reserve's decision to raise US interest rates prompted traders to weigh the pace of future rate increases. Gold for immediate delivery advanced as much as 0.7 per cent to US$1,058.09 an ounce.

2. Catastrophes this year proved more deadly than in 2014, although the total cost to the insurance industry is likely to be 8.6 per cent lower at US$32 billion (S$45 billion), said reinsurance firm Swiss Re.

3. Zurich Insurance is buying a Wells Fargo crop insurance business for up to US$1.05 billion, as the Swiss company puts to work excess cash left over from a separate takeover bid it abandoned earlier this year.

4. China and Hong Kong regulators approved the first cross-border mutual funds since the Shanghai stock market rout. Four China funds and three Hong Kong funds were registered, Bloomberg reported.

5. Singapore Exchange-listed USP is planning to buy Koon Cheng Development, the owner of three industrial properties in Woodlands, for $32 million.