Bizview: Today's top business news

Asian markets recovered slightly yesterday, soothed by the waning pressures in both Greece and China. The brighter overall sentiment sent The Straits Times Index up 12.48 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 3,279.88 points.

SMRT could get slapped with a S$50 million fine for Tuesday's unprecedented breakdown on the North-South and East-West lines, Maybank Kim Eng said in a report on Friday. Keeping its "hold" call on the stock, the broker said: "We believe that the regulators could fine SMRT for the service disruptions.

HSBC on Friday announced the appointment of Steven Cranwell as head of commercial banking, Singapore. He takes over from Kelvin Tan, who has been appointed chief executive officer for HSBC in Thailand. Mr Cranwell will have responsibility for HSBC's large corporates, middle market, and small and medium-sized enterprise banking segments.

The Greek parliament will give the government a mandate to negotiate with creditors for a cash-for-reforms deal, the parliamentary spokesman of the ruling Syriza party told reporters on Friday. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called a snap vote in parliament on Friday asking for its backing to negotiate a list of "prior actions" - measures his government would take to convince creditors of its intent for an aid deal.

When the New York Stock Exchange halted trade Wednesday morning, broadcasters showed images of brokers on the legendary exchange floor suddenly stopping orders. Yet screens used by investors everywhere continued to flash new trade prices in red and green for ExxonMobil, JPMorgan Chase and other NYSE blue chip stocks, as fresh transactions were executed on other platforms, including the Nasdaq, the NYSE's cross-town rival.