Romania hit-and-run case

I feel sorry for the injured and dead. Especially when everyone know that he won’t be returning for justice to be meted. At the same time, I feel government should show that they are making the effort. After all, it’s our own people. One people, One nation, One Singapore. If the government don’t even fight for us, then it is really a sad sad case for all Singaporeans. It’s similar to if you are young and being bullied, yet your parents just let it be.

-Straits Times-

Something to ponder upon for HDB pricing

Very interesting explanation on HDB pricing and statistic. At least I learnt statistic can be misleading. The only takeaway since we can’t really influence the pricing of the housing.

As for whether it is a good model to price the house, I am quite negative about it. Thinking in system or pragmatically, this model will not hold long. And the social effect will take time to mature and when that time comes, I believe many Singaporeans have to move to JB.

CPF as retirement measure

Quite a interesting video on CPF. Individually, I’ve also been thinking hard about managing my finance for retirement despite I’ve just started working for only 6 months. Kudos to singaporenewsalternative and theonlincitizens for sharing. Another post will be up based on my personal observation.

Town Council on how to invest?

After losing so much money is so called “low risk” investment product, we now got lesson 101 on investment. Isn’t it an irony? Alright, to be truthful, hindsight is always 20/20. Investment do have certain risk involved and shit do happens due to economic cycle. And sometimes, it’s good to do your own due diligence rather than listening to fund managers with a different set of priorities.

Due to my personality, I’m more of a low-risk appetite investor. Index and value investing is the way for me. I would recommend Peter Lynch and Warren Buffet as model for study.

Right now, I think it’s the best time to put certain percentage of money into stocks every month diversifying into several portfolios especially on renewable energy.

How to invest?: ”

TWO People’s Action Party (PAP) town councils are reviewing their investment strategies, just days after it was revealed that they had some funds exposed to toxic products.

Pasir Ris-Punggol and Tampines town councils told The Straits Times yesterday that they are rethinking how best to invest their funds in the light of the global downturn.”

(Via Straits Times Interactive - LATEST NEWS.)

Marriage

No no.. I know what you guys are thinking of. Nope, I did not do anything stupid in states, even though it’s very common in states. Just that Highland Center will be having a wedding dinner tomorrow.

Marriage can be regarded as a milestone in any people life. Life as a singlehood will end and more responsibility has to be shouldered to maintain the marriage. It’s now not about oneself but also one has to consider for his/her partner. Living together will also means that conflict has to be managed since there’s so much time spent together.

For me, as a single sensitive new age guy (plug), thoughts of marriage has seldom entered my mind. It’s so far yet so near. Already in my mid twenties means that I must be prepared for it too.

When I look at my family, I see the ups and downs throughout the years, the strength of my mom for taking care of 4 childrens. I’m very grateful for what I have been given. Like all moms, she has also been getting quite impatient of me finding a girlfriend.

Of cos, I have to assure her everything is under control, there’s nothing to be worried about. This thing can’t be rushed. Fortunately, she’s not the kind that will arrange for meetup with opposite sex. Yup I think she still got confident in me finding one.

If wanna blame, then blame pa for the house rule of cannot get girlfriend before I graduate. Not my fault wor~

Being independent in a dependent country

IF we the people can depend on ourselves, do we want help from others? Not that help is bad, but help is often not guaranteed. If the people can fish, it’s much better than being given fish everyday. At least that’s for me.

Wait… and what if help is not here in time?

And now the common people has the distrust and fear for bank and gahman due to the recent Lehman fiasco. When a people’s bank mis-sells a “safe” products and yet the gahman chosen by the people is not there to help? What will its people feel?

And now, not only there’s fear from gahmen, we are also trained to be very dependent on them. Even Obama said that gahmen can’t solve all the problems. So what makes (many) Singaporeans that gahmen will solve their problem.

The way forward is for the people to be dependent. I remembered some minister also mentioned that before. But our society is structured in such a way that most locals are having a problem to save for retirement because throughout their working life, they have their earnings pegged below the GDP. And if memory did not fail me. And also a lot of other stuff which is not that obvious that eat away the ability to save.

The frustration of common people having difficulty to living day to day, paying their bills. The recent the transport and SP 21% bill hike ain’t helping either? Always waiting for gahmen to continually to give “ang pow” to help fight inflation and recession is not the way to move things forward. Will people be happy?

I believed if given a choice, people would want to be able to be able to depend on themselves, which is to be in control, than to wait for help, which is reactive. And for that to happen, Singaporean will first have to realise that individual is responsible for their own life and not gahmen. And there’s knowledge that one’s need to gain to achieve personal and financial freedom.

Accept sacrifices, cutbacks: ”

THE Government will ensure no Singaporean falls below the poverty line as a result of the financial crisis but it cannot restore people’s living standards to what they were pre-crisis.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew gave this assurance today, as he promised measures in next year’s Budget to buffer lower-income earners and those without jobs from the impact of higher prices of food and other goods.”

(Via Straits Times Interactive - LATEST NEWS.)

Chinese provincial authorities tried to cover up toxic eggs

This is nothing somthing that will not interest anyone but I still find it quite sad that the authorities, whose job is to maintain stability and security and the welfare of people, actually try to cover bad news that will affect thousands of babies.

Back in Singapore, they’ve done a good job of identifying and remove access of melamine-tainted product out of the shelf. At least I feel safer eating the stuff back home and also in states. For once, the American government restricted import of common food from China has avoided such problem. For many countries, it isn’t.

It’s time for companies to be ethical and stand out when necessary.

Chinese provincial authorities tried to cover up toxic eggs: “BEIJING - Provincial authorities in northeast China kept quiet about the discovery of melamine-tainted eggs for weeks and ordered a media ban before Hong Kong authorities finally revealed the problem, state press said on Thursday.”

(Via CNA > Asia Pacific News.)

Over 1b hungry next year

Over 1b hungry next year: ”

UNITED NATIONS - RISING food prices will push the number of hungry people in the world over one billion next year, a UN expert said on Monday.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation reported in September that at least 925 million people are hungry in the world today, compared with 848 million between 2003 and 2005, said Professor Olivier De Schutter, the UN Human Rights Council’s independent expert on the right to food.”

(Via Straits Times Interactive - LATEST NEWS.)

Something that really make people feel one way or another. While people die in hunger from those countries, people elsewhere is throwing so much food away daily. The most important thing a person can do is to have a clean plate policy to reduce the demand of using more food than usual.

We also realised we are much more fortunate than many others and should treasure everything that we have.

Love, Sex and the Changing Landscape of Infidelity

Something not that interesting facts considering that times have already changed. Given the social status and rights of woman nowadays, this is something quite expected. And with Singaporeans always playing catchup in finding a culture from other countries especially the states, their mind has become more liberal and grown more acceptance to infidelity. Someday, sometime in the future, the majority in Singapore will grown to accept this as a fact.

Well: Love, Sex and the Changing Landscape of Infidelity: “More people are cheating, new studies find, and younger women appear to be catching up with men.

”

(Via NYT > Science.)

New poor in Italy. How about Singapore?

Just wondering does our gahmen has any plan to avoid this from happening. Or will the reason be because we’re complacent.

Italy often gives the impression that it’s a romantic and happy place to be in but often this is only a illusion. Will Singapore gives the illusion of being “hip and happening” while the people is struggling to get by?

Extracted from CNA
MILAN - AN EMPTY plastic bag in hand, Italian shop assistant Stefano G. stands in line with hundreds of others waiting to collect handouts of basic foods he says he can no longer afford.

For the last seven months, the 43-year-old, who supports his pensioner parents and declined to give his full name because he did not want to be recognised, has been coming to the Pane Quotidiano (Daily Bread) charity in Milan to take home free bread, milk, fruit and vegetables and other produce.

Charities in Italy - where according to the World Bank Gross National Income was US$33,540 (S$50,468) per head in 2007 - say a rising number of people of working or pensionable age are seeking their help.

Known as ‘the new poor’ to some, the first-timers line up to collect food or eat at soup kitchens, where charities say they still represent a minority compared with immigrants.

Italy was already on the brink of recession before double-digit price rises for staple foods and the latest spasms of the financial crisis. Mr Stefano said he earns ‘a few hundred euros’ a month.

‘Things are getting worse and worse, it’s a crisis. With prices rising, what can I do but this? I can’t steal,’ he said.

‘Every little helps.’

Exactly how many people are joining the food queues is hard to say, but humanitarian groups say the trend is spreading as a slowdown and high prices push many on low incomes or without jobs into hardship.

Innovation in Singapore

Watching the video on Can America Invent Its Way Back? by BusinessWeek, it kinda bug me why our gahmen is always playing on the safe side. For example following Vegas and Macau in IRs and HK in the recent minibonds fiasco.

We missed out on innovation during the 1980-90 and we’re still following others footstep. Where are our leaders?

Innovation driving growth means there’re a lot to risk but there’s also a lot to gain from it. If you look at the top 4 companies in America, you’ll find that they alone can match up to 30-40% of our SGX.

Innovation is the key to drive SG ahead. They create more jobs (maybe not, since it will eventually outsourced to Chindia) and is the key to improving the country’s GDP.

Ten percent of $700 rescue package may go to bonuses

We’re paying them to help us secure our retirement and yet when they make such mistakes, they still have the cheek to get bonuses?

If there’s any ethics in the company at all, they should reduce the pay for the RM and send them back for training especially in moral education.

Ten percent of $700 rescue package may go to bonuses: ”

Filed under: Management, Industry, Morgan Stanley (MS)

Wall Street walked into the path of its own oncoming stupidity. Of the $700 billion in Treasury rescue money, as much as $70 billion could go to bank and brokerage bonuses.

According to The Guardian, ‘Financial workers at Wall Street’s top banks are to receive pay deals worth more than $70bn (£40bn), a substantial proportion of which is expected to be paid in discretionary bonuses, for their work so far this year.’ The paper goes on to say that the Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) pool is large enough to buy the entire company when its stock was at a recent low.

Although this information get filed under ‘things you can’t make up,’ it will probably have such a severe backlash that Congress will run hearings until the bankers have exhausted the extra money they are making on legal fees.

The contrary argument to punishing the firms is that some of the people getting big pay-outs work in departments that actually contributed huge sums of money to their parents.

If the management at these firms has any sense at all, they will pay nothing to the staff who worked in operations that lost money and file with the SEC to show the amount of operating income made from the operations where people are getting an extra check.

There will be hell to pay either way.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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(Via BloggingStocks.)

Oil price to hit us again

By the supply and demand theory, when u cut down the supply, there will be more demand. But did you smell something wrong? By cutting down the demand, oil price will continue to hit the poor again.

Just when we thought we will get a break, it seems like a good excuse for organization to keep to their fare hike (taxi company in particular), to squeeze every single cents out from the people.

Maybe sticking to bread and water will solve the problem. We cannot have gardenia bread, better get ntuc bread. Opps I forgot, there’s not much of a price difference.

Opec to cut oil output: ”

LONDON - OPEC will on Friday announce it is cutting oil output to help lift crude prices that have dived 55 per cent since striking record highs in July, as a global economic slowdown slashes demand, analysts said.”

(Via Straits Times Interactive - LATEST NEWS.)

Another article on Iran calling to cut down more oil production

Iran wants to squeeze U.S., others on oil prices: ”

Filed under: Oil, Financial Crisis

Iran has not been a friend of the U.S. for a long time. It went a long way to prove that by calling on OPEC to tighten the supply of oil to a level at which prices are high enough so the crude producers can make some extra cash.

According to Reuters, ‘Iran’s oil minister renewed his call for OPEC to cut production when it meets later this week, saying this was the only way to prevent crude prices falling further.’ Other media sources said Iran actually wants to drive the price of crude back up.

The rest of the OPEC members may want to give the proposal some thought. Higher prices may bring them more profits in the short term, but if the west and China are pulled into a deep recession then demand for oil could fall very quickly. Pushing up what is being charged for such a critical commodity would make the downturn even worse.

OPEC may not care about its image, but it should be concerned with its own long-term income.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

(Via BloggingStocks.)

p.s: many of the politicians have some form of linkage with oil companies as told by my fren

Making money out of people life

I salute the Austrailian government for being conscious of people needs. In the sense, I wouldn’t mind taking 3% of my pay check out so that I can get a super cheap health care. A flat 25 bucks to see a doctor and get the drugs needed.

I had this Aussie friend who reasoned that healthcare should be made affordable and by using this system (some people fall sick easily, some people don’t and some once in a while), it actually works for them.

Previously, I had say how easy it is to earn money in states. On the other hand, I have missed out the point on how lousy is their health care system. People do pay a lot (400-600 usd) for healthcare insurance and taking into consideration that they do pay a lot of tax too. And much worst is that many americans don’t have health care insurance in place.

Think about filling a tooth already would cost 600 USD. That’s an outrageous amount of money! Think what if you have cancer instead.

So is it right to profit out of people’s life?

What if they are in danger? Do doctors still operate on them? (knowing that some countries don’t)

When they recover, will they be saddled in so much debts that they have difficulty living a normal life?

In Singapore, we’re “lucky” to have CPF to help us “plan ahead” for future problems. But it actually adds another problem of having enough money to get by for those lower income family. It’s also assuring that despite of so many hikes recently, healthcare ain’t be the one having any hike. At least for now. Phew~~

PM Lee says S’pore’s financial systems sound, economy competitive

When our PM says this that our economy is competitive, all of us know that in this country we remain competitive because of getting low pay every month (only for lower and middle class people). In such bad times, we still can remain competitive as compared with China and India, it’s amazing ain’t it?

PM Lee says S’pore’s financial systems sound, economy competitive: “SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday said the country’s financial system is sound, and its economy remains competitive despite slowing down.”

(Via CNA > Singapore Business News.)