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Minister in charge of civil service, Teo Chee Hean, censured Tan Yong Soon in parliament for his boastful article (see perm sec flaunts wealth), saying it “showed a lack of sensitivity and was ill-judged.”“The Head of Civil Service has spoken to Mr Tan about this to make these points, and asked Mr Tan to ...
It will be the first time in history if our reserves are tapped to save Singapore from the rapidly worsening economy.I think it’s a major cause for concern, not because tapping the reserves sets a precedence - our government is well known for setting up safeguards to prevent future abuse - but because our ...
The resident unemployment rate stood at 3.3% last September, according to MOM’s press release.With 65,400 residents unemployed, the jobless rate is the highest since the 3.8% registered in March last year.It seems MOM is still compiling the statistics for the fourth quarter - why is it taking so long when Hong Kong and Australia ...
So says a shocking Citi report on Singapore property.Citi expects our GDP to contract by 2.8% this year, “making it the most severe recession in Singapore history.”As for property prices, the report also says that a crash is imminent (see article: Property Must Crash). Condominiums in the mid-tier segment is expected to have a ...
Same survey, but different headlines.I thought I heard over TV news that two-thirds of those surveyed are NOT willing to work beyond 65 years old.Then, in printed and online news today, the headlines are “Baby boomers are not ready to call it a day” (BT) and “Survey shows 3 in 10 expect to retire ...
The writings are already on the wall. Today newspaper reported a fortnight ago that retrenchments will “go up” after Chinese New Year.In TV news just now, it’s said again that there will be more retrenchments toward the end of this month, with more cuts targeted at white collar workers in the manufacturing sector.Yet, our ...
Have you been getting expensive supplements from the local pharmacies? There’s a way to save a lot of money.I highly recommend www.iHerb.com. Use this coupon code FIR471 to save an additional $5 USD off your first purchase. (To enjoy the discount, simply enter the code at the checkout screen.)Don’t be fooled by the simple ...
Haven’t you noticed? Whenever interviewed by the media, they almost always talk up the property market, saying things like prices have stabilized and now is the best time to get into property.Yes, according to them, NOW is always the best time to buy property.Recent case in point: in today’s Sunday Times, among the 10 ...
Only 267 condominiums and private apartments changed hands in the whole of November.This is the fourth consecutive month of decline in non-landed private property transactions, down from a peak of 1,613 recorded in July this year.As property agents depend on transacting deals to make a living - sellers typically pay them 2% of transacted ...
Thanks to a comment from “Passerby” on my previous post on SingTel’s unfair tactic, I now believe - though I’m not a lawyer - that SingTel has violated the Telecommunications Act’s Code of Practice for Provision of Premium Rate Services, which states:“2.3.1 No premium rate service provider shall engage in the practice of providing ...
I thought it’s always safe to delete those <ADV> SMSes without reading them… until I received this unpleasant surprise from Singtel:“<Singtel ADV>U have been selected to enjoy 30 days FREE trial for Colour-Me-Tones. SingTel’s ‘Friends’ will replace your standard connecting tone on 10 Dec. To opt out of trial, SMS …
The ever pertinent question: What is the median salary of working Singaporeans?Based on info in the just released Singapore Workforce, 2008 report from the Manpower Ministry, the median gross monthly income of full-time employed residents is $2,590.Not very high. But it’s already an 11% increase from last year, according to the MOM report.What about ...
Civil servants will receive a total bonus of 2 months this year, inclusive of the 13th month bonus. This is 1 month less than last year’s bonus.As they have already received half a month’s bonus at mid-year, they will receive the 13th month annual wage supplement (AWS) and a further half month’s bonus at ...
The average household has a net wealth of $710,400, says an interesting article in New Paper on Sunday.“Total Assets: $859,970 Currency & Deposits $157,930Shares & Securit …
As the economic crisis worsens, here’s a note of caution to those who have taken a non-HDB property loan, or intend to take up one:Your friendly bank may invoke a margin call on your property loan. If your property is worth less than what you still owe the bank, you may be asked to ...
Based on figures in the latest Iras 2007/2008 annual report, I have updated the popular Salary.sg income comparison tool (see previous version).Simply enter your annual salary for YA2008 and see how you rank against all resident taxpayers in Singapore:The following is the graph for both YA2008 data (red) and YA2007 dat (blue). It is ...
Once again, we are ranked near the top of the table. But this time, it’s for raising electrical tariffs!HK electricity producer CLP Power released a media statement last month that included a table of 21 major cities ranked by how much electricity tariffs they have raised since 2005.Thanks to our formidable Singapore Power, we ...
URA has released the Q3 2008 flash estimate of the price index for private residential property. It showed a decline of 1.8% - the first decline in 4 years.Chances are property prices are going to decline for many more quarters.After a spectacular 2007, Singapore (and probably the rest of the world) has swiftly entered ...
Straits Times Index peaked at 3,875.77 on 11 October 2007, exactly 364 days ago.Today, in the wake of an official technical recession, the STI index plunged to its new multi-year low, closing at 1,942.50.This is 50% from the peak.Will it go lower before it starts to creep up again? No one knows…
It’s official. Singapore is in recession, or “technical recession” to be precise.After 2 consecutive quarters - i.e. Q2 2008 and Q3 2008- of economic contraction, our economy is now in what economists call a technical recession. For the past 2 quarters, we achieved negative growth.As with all recessions, expect to witness more retrenchments, business ...
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