SINGAPORE - Catch up on the morning's top business headlines in Singapore with The Straits Times Money Desk's daily update.

1. New private home sales tepid in July amid few major launches. Developers sold just 484 private homes last month, according to Urban Redevelopment Authority figures out on Friday.

2. Singapore retail sales up 0.4 per cent in June on higher car demand. Excluding motor vehicles, retailers' sales would have fallen 2.1 per cent in June over a year ago.

3. Singapore's GIC takes 18.5 per cent stake in Brazil education firm. GIC did not say how much it paid for the stake in Abril Educacao, a leading player in Brazil's primary and secondary education market.