2011: CPF gave net negative interest on OA, SA savings.

cherry6 wrote:

Now on 'live'....

Talking point: THE BUS DRIVERS’ ILLEGAL STRIKE

Quote:

THE BUS DRIVERS’ ILLEGAL STRIKE
It was the first illegal strike Singapore has seen in over two decades. Do you agree with what the bus drivers from China did? If foreigners are going to be performing our essential services, should their rights be better protected? Or should we start thinking of how to make these jobs more attractive to Singaporeans?
We discuss this on the next episode of Talking Point: The Vote, Tuesdays LIVE.
Post your comments here. Tweet us @tpvote. Call us LIVE at 66910028!

Perennial China Trust: an owner of 'bogus' real estate?- Clarification pls.

"The real estate business trusts also have the liberty of owning real estate which generate no or limited income for years but can still fund dividends to investors through various forms of guarantees (as in the case of Perennial China Trust) and so on. No critical questions are asked by investors and analysts as long as the company is able to pay dividends."

------------------------

Financial literacy for the new economy- what everyone should know.

bloodsucker(10Nov2012) wrote:

Re thread: noob need helpAgree with your views about how it doesn't cover inflation even if it breaks even. The effect of deduction is simply too high for most regular premium ILPs.

Bailouts for the rich; inflation, austerity, taxes increases to hit the poor.

SpeedingBullet (09Nov2012) wrote:

Re thread: Criminalizing Rich People
I know the article below has nothing to do with Singapore, but the context draws some parallels with the way I see some Singaporeans describe rich people here, and how our govt. is trying to rein in property prices, and income-limits for PR applications to appease the public.
The rising voices that speak out against foreigners (which is now borderline xenophobia) and "elites" in Singapore prompted me to start this topic here anyways hehehe
For us, we're in a different situation where we welcome rich people with our unbelievably low taxes. I wanna know what you all think.
Wall Street’s Impotent Billionaires Confront a Second Obama Term
Small excerpt:

US Electoral college system needs an urgent update- that's the point.

Asphodeli wrote:

Re thread: USA Presidential Elections 2012 Live updates
...
(Or are they implying that the local version of EC (GRC) is also a flawed system, in the way that it is similar to the EC (i.e. voting for someone to represent your state)? Tsk tsk. Naughty, naughty.)

'Give Way to Buses Scheme': a litany of leadership missteps

ponpokku (27Oct2012) wrote:

Re thread:'Give Way to buses scheme'= senseless, draconian public policy? the simple logic behind giving way was that in the past, we dont always have multi-lanes everywhere, so somehow u gotta give way when the situation arise. it is still so in smaller lanes/avenues in a good number of HDB estates. as u can see from the pic u posted in the 1st post.
- so taking the whole issue out of context is not gonna prove ur point. some places, esp built up places, couldnt have more road widening. u are not gonna tear down whole blocks of flats or shops are u?
- and all these got nothing to do with bikes. bikes are even less efficient than buses. and like i said in the past, dun use angmohs for examples. americans 8 cars/10 persons, all of EU and japan, 6 cars/10 persons. singapore, 1 car/10 persons. then they come and tell u about greenie theories and environmental problems. lol, farking hypocrite i say, and pretty dumb for ppl to buy that. go tell the angmohs to cut down on car ownership and not us.

Effective public transport in Singapore- a pipe dream of recurrent mistakes.

drymilo (27Oct2012) wrote:

Re thread: Give Way to buses scheme'= senseless, draconian public policy? '
If GWTBS is senseless, then how would creation of more bus lanes help? What's the link between encouraging bicycle/cycling and GWTBS?

GWTBS=: lipstick on pig; a glaring public policy mistake

Kiwi8 (24Oct2012) wrote:

Re Thread: 'Give Way to buses scheme'= senseless, draconian, public policy mistake?
Creating more bus lanes is actually even worse, since it blocks the entire lane from usage by non-bus commuters (other than segments where one needs to turn left, etc).
At least with this "give way" scheme, some roads need not have bus lanes, or with shortened times for the bus lanes.

Suggested improvement to Driver's Improvement Points System (DIPS)

Dragon (24Oct2012) wrote:

cherry6 wrote:

Re Thread: Ridiculous (?reckless?) driver ask for special privileges in Driver's Improvement Point System (DIPs
Very strange TP 12month 'safe driving'= all points purged rule....

So i wonder, you have a better system to propose?

Ridiculous (?reckless?) driver ask for special privileges in Driver's Improvement Point System (DIPs).

Quote:

Straits Times; Published on Oct 23, 2012
My Point
Expunge demerit points after three months
AS MANY people need to drive as part of their work, I hope that the Traffic Police can consider expunging demerit points after three months instead of a year.
Motorists are already punished with a monetary fine, but still have to wait for 12 months for the demerit points to be zero again.
Three months is a reasonable time for a motorist to reflect on the traffic offence committed.
Chan Ban Choon
My Point

Always call the police at 999 immediately if U witness a hit and run accident.

MugenKia wrote:

Thread: Any scumbag workshop to recommend? need to claim against a hit and run.
this fellow came out of sliproad never check safety then touch my left fender (i was on the main road). came out confront him but the guy not willing to come out of his car keep denying. so i took a down his no plate. told him to stop one side as we were blocking the entire lane but after that he ran away. and now chances are he is going to continue denying. thing is i no car camera.

How the CDO Monster almost swallowed America and the virtue of gold.

Originally Posted by g3abc (17Oct2012)

Re Thread: Bank failure in Singapore- is PM Lee is sleeping with the enemy?
Which Bank is stronger - CIMB or Maybank ?
Thanks

According to PM Lee, since it is unknown how many banks intermix the funds in low risk fixed deposit and ordinary savings accounts with funds used in leveraged operations of their investment banking arms (to get high returns and bonuses that follow)- there is a tendency for banks to create bubbles in various parts of the economy that which will burst from time to time (e.g. the sub-prime crisis (Lehman 2008-9) was caused by the demand by investment banks for high interest paying investment vehicles called CDOs which some investment banks created and sold whilst many hedge funds and other investments banks traded and owned)- unfortunately the immense complexity of the product allowed too many loopholes in valuation resulting in industry wide delusion that CDOs were actually viable investment vehicles (even the respective rating agencies- Fitch, S&P, Moody's were totally fooled).

Government of Singapore: a sponsor of banker's prodigious greed?

Dividends Wizard (17Oct2012) wrote:

Re Thread: Bank failure in Singapore; the SDIC national solution?
what are you smoking ?
don't take so much drugs .
__________________
Sharing my Dividend Portfolio at :Dividends Wizard
I get S$1,000+/month in Dividends , so can You !

???management fees for SPDR GLD ETF

wira wrote:

Hi
Am looking to trade GLD ETF. can advise if there are management fees for this ETF and how does this gets charged to investors ?

Why Chase a married man?

She said:
Encounter with Married man years ago have made me Lost Trust in Men [link]
"I was seen as beautiful in my younger days. We girls want to be obedient to our parents. Sometime parents doesn't understand and sometimes outsider create problems in the family."

Writing the constitution in simple, clear, and unambiguous language is a skill that parliamentarians in Singapore ought aspire to assimilate.

ponpokku (09Oct2012) wrote:

Re Thread: Madam Vellama Marie Muthu and the health of democracy in Singapore.
it will be useless to bring this into parliament, since the incubents held majority seats, more than enuff to prevent changes to anything... but calling for a referendum or public vote 'might' help, even thou it's 60/40 to the pappies advantage in the last election.

Agreed tt it would be procedurally wrong for parliament to discuss the case once it had been presented by Mdm Vellama to the high court.

Squabble of the AGC like 2 battling MRT aunties?...

Quote:

Originally Posted by id_peace (09Oct2012) Re Thread: Madam Vellama Marie Muthu and the health of democracy in Singapore. i will help as well if she need a bit of money. Democracy cannot die...

Squabble of the AGC like 2 battling MRT aunties?...
Actually, democracy is just a vehicle. Hopefully the people riding the vehicle vote wisely and with good foresight, otherwise, the vehicle will surely steer itself into the sea.

Amy Cheong and globalization ... ...

steven jialat wrote:

Re Thread: TNP exclusive interview with Amy, asked her if she is now Spore's most hated woman
She said "no, they do not know me well enough to hate me"
As of yesterday, she also left the country for Perth.
From the whole article and her actual postings, I really don't think it is that bad as it seems. I am sure we have seen worst comments from here. But still she already paid with her job and life in singapore

Affordable motor insurance moving forward?

Originally Posted by BuriramUnitedFC (16August2012)

Source Thread: Singapore Ferrari Accident: does crime pay?
cherry, but you know it is normal for insurers to deny liability first right? legal liability is not so straightforward

Hi BuriramUnitedFC, I am not so much concerned if the insurers choose to deny liability, car owners/ drivers are not teenagers who don't have any ability to negotiate with the authorities- they can also seek advise from CASE, The Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre Ltd, free legal clinics (Hougang, every 3rd Tuesday of the mth [pdf][SBY-news]), their own personal legal council should they choose so- I think that insurance companies should compensate in so far as they are contractually liable to compensate and NOT to compensate (after having complied with all applicable laws, especially 'Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act (CHAPTER 189)').

Ma Chi's family to AXA: illegal F1 street racing 'accident' deserves full compensation.

Disclosure, I am not member nor staff of AXA insurance nor party to any direct compensation, just a judicially concerned Singaporean internet observer who would like to see justice served and see no reason why innocent insurance subscribers should compensate for 'non-accidental' accidents consequent of the criminally negligent/ illicit use/conduct of motor vehicles as racing cars on public roads.

Post manslaughter excursion, Ma Chi's family inherits S$8.1million; innocent victims now forgotten?

Quote:

Ma Chi’s wife and children inherited $8.1 million dollars
Posted by temasektimes on August 7, 2012
PRC Ferrari driver Ma Chi who angered the entire nation by his reckless driving which caused the deaths of two innocent parties has left a fortune of S$8.10 million dollars to his family.

S$120 p.m. FDWG biased and unfair.

S$120 p.m. Foreign Domestic Worker Grant (FDWG) is biased and unfair.

- Those who qualify but do not hire a FDW due reasons such as: no space for FDW (FDW needs to live-in), cannot afford FDW, elderly is taken care of by 'unemployed' Singaporean child/ relative etc should be allocated the SAME funding to be placed into the elderly person's medisave account/ elder expense account that can be later spent on elderly care issues (monthly limit) such as nursing home care, dietary supplements, pampers, part-time/ professional help (licensed), medical appliances, taxi journeys involving the elderly to public health care institutions etc or used as a supplement to the regular use of medisave funds.

ST: Fraud: Hold external auditors accountable

Perhaps govt should hire more detectives (CAD) to arrest corrupt board directors and their colluding auditors since these 'paid' auditors have the tendency to do a slip shod job (high leniency for errors= happier clients).

Is Google an evil company?

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobo85 From Thread: Google Wants to Legalize Same Sex Marriage Worldwide (Re: Google Wants to Legalize Same Sex Marriage Worldwide ) Homos all go to hell Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Today legalize sex marriage, tomorrow how?

Quote:

Originally Posted by maverick Thread: Re: Google Wants to Legalize Same Sex Marriage Worldwide personally, i don't agree with this too. i don't feel that homosexuality is not as nature intended. But of course a large part is due to my religious beliefs too. anyway, what is the statutory rape Law and what has this to do with the topic? [bold font added]

Toxic financial debt instruments, a greater public moral hazard than public bus service cash injections.

Kiwi8 (10July2012) wrote:

Thread: [QUESTION] SBS getting taxpayers' money: Is it justified?
Socialising the costs, privatising the profits, that's all that it is.

Reasons why SG Govt $1.1billion bus services $$$ injection is legally justified.

apostrophe wrote:

Thread: [QUESTION] SBS getting taxpayers' money: Is it justified?
Honest question. Hope someone can explain to me.
SBS is public listed, so basically they get their money from investors right?
So how can they receive taxpayers' money for their company? By that account, won't it be the same for other companies to get access to taxpayers' money to upgrade their services/products?
Or did I miss something here? TIA.

Singaporeans have dignity and are not prostitutes to the rich; the rich must likewise pay to enjoy space

wallacetan(10-06-2012) wrote:

Thread source: Property in Singapore taxed less than food and water...why?
Wow, you still believe it is right to steal.
I thought the one of the 10 commandments is "Thou shalt not steal"?
And you still believe the government knows how to allocate resources best without wastage.
And you also believe the rich will stay put and let the government increase their tax, haven't you heard of Eduardo Saverin? (he renounced his U.S. citizenship; to reduce the capital gains taxes on his Facebook IPO)

Harmonized property taxes for a harmonious and peaceful society.

wallacetan(10May2012) wrote:

Source thread: Property in Singapore taxed less than food and water...why?
Lemonade Stand Economics - Penalizing Productivity

IHH IPO: Can placement orders by institutions be withdrawn

TheExtraKid93 wrote:

Re Thread: IHH IPO
chances of getting it is extremely low, latest news was 60x oversubscribed, maybe currently rise to 65-70 already

America vs China; C81, why do you pray for war?

cancer81 wrote:

Thread source: 'Rating downgrade - beginning of the end, hyperinflation next'
fiscal prudence for the american administration?
not doing quantitative easing?
raising funds by actually raising taxes and collecting revenue?
promises are almost "meant" to be broken.
anihow, even the MOST conservative would not think up a plan like that. They would rather attempt to sanction other nations in a bid to bring back American Jobs for the American People.

Singapore a republic or Singapore Inc.?

- The rough edges of capitalism need to be smoothened

Quote:

Originally Posted by sock_min Source Thread: [ST forum]: CPF min sum amount vs Inflation: the 3 letters thus far What does CPF have in relation to a shiny head children in Zimbawe??? I doubt even USA fed chairman can influence CPF.

Economics and the future of humanity, what can we expect?

cancer81 wrote:

Source Thread: 'Rating downgrade - beginning of the end, hyperinflation next'
how about some comments from you instead? to kick this off?
hey ForeverAlone!!
this guy!! this is the guy, you need to talk to!!

The deficits of 'Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act (CHAPTER 189)'?

QUOTE (Mustank @ Jun 14 2012, 09:53 AM)

Re: What if.....accident with drink driver
I think what Big Cherry did is very commendable.
We are given the wrong understanding that when a drunk driver hit us, we will not get compensated if we report the drink drving. now it is proven to be not true. i aint no lawyer so i dont understand the law part.
Question is do we need to engage lawyer to sue drunkard's isurance or our insurance company will do it for us?

Compensation by Motor Insurer to 3rd party victims? The answer from Singapore is clear.

ponpokku (13June2012) wrote:

Re thread: [Ferrari accident] Should assets of Ma Chi be frozen immediately for (re-)compensation?
obviously u dun drive and u dun read and u dun think, after i point out that insurance clauses to u.
what u said only applies to those that are WITHIN the insurance policies.
in cases of accidents where the insured was found to be non-compliance with the insurance conditions, the insurance company can void his policy on the spot and return him the premiums (usually much later on). meaning 'i dun do ur business and here's ur money, now fark-off'. end of story. u cant read the part that says 'will not pay'? now go ask ard drivers how many of them kena such things from insurance companies. u think or u try to portray insurance companies as dumb suckers that will pay out every single cent at the very first hour? ppl are in the business longer than ur father mother lived and they are famous for being cunning business. they know what to do, plz.

Ma Chi broke the law and his victims died, now let the law do what is right.

My Little Diary 88 (13June2012) wrote:

Re Thread: [Ferrari accident] Should assets of Ma Chi be frozen immediately for (re-)compensation?
cherry6,
perhaps the government should not step in but rather the traffic police should quickly conclude its case so that a civil claim can proceed on two legs
in the civil claim, to request the Court to freeze the assets of the estate until such time the Court make a judgment. Also to serve notice to the administrator of the estate that a civil claim is being filed and that as administrator, she should not distribute the funds until the claim is settled
however, like you said, it is possible for the funds to be sent abroad, the administrator returned to China and then there is no way to recover the funds as a civil case cannot request extradition of the administrator

Please don't make innocent drivers pay, sue Ma Chi's estate if he is responsible for the Ferrari accident claims.

ponpokku (13June2012) wrote:

Re Thread: [Ferrari accident] Should assets of Ma Chi be frozen immediately for (re-)compensation?
it means TS too free. thats all.
i dont think our court of law can trial a man who died in the course of his unlawful act, unlike one who incurred debts at an earlier time and died later on. so there will be no blame, meaning he got no outstanding debts to repay, and the successor(s) to his property got zero liabilities to anyone. in the case of an earlier debt, generally speaking the benificiary can either choose to agree to inherit the properties along with the debts, or choose not to accept both. but of cos different places got different laws, might not always be the case.
so it is up to ma chi's family to decide whether or not to compensate the victims. and there's no obligations wadsoever on their side, just out of moral considerations.
- [emphasis added]

Compensation to Mr Cheng Teck Hock's family- what ought be sought.

ponpokku (12Jun2012) wrote:

Thread: '[Ferrari accident] Should assets of Ma Chi be frozen immediately for (re-)compensation?
thats why i say u too free. until that happens we shall see how it will end. what for u hype it all up here to provide fuel for the said 'road terrorist'?
u can try to imagine any remote scenario and try to prophesize on how things will develope, but until that happens, i dun see the relevance of it. all these speculations turns pale in the face of reality.

A '?Christian?' critique of YouTube 'Lemonade Stand Economics - Penalizing Productivity'

wallacetan(11-05-2012) wrote:

Thread Topic: Property in Singapore taxed less than food and water...why?
For the record, I do not support any polictical party.
I have explained that the Government ROBBED from tax-payers, enrich themselves first, then redistribute the leftover tax-dollars to the 'poor'. Similar to NKF's T. T. Durai.

Before increasing overall GST, Tax loopholes enjoyed by the rich MUST be closed ASAP.

wallacetan(11-05-2012, 12:45 PM) wrote:

Thread topic: Property in Singapore taxed less than food and water...why?
From your logic, if you purchase and own a piece of land, with only grass growing and nothing else. You don't have to pay the increased property tax (a consumption tax)?
Only when you develop the piece of land, like build a luxurious house, swimming pool, tennis courts, gymnasiums, parking lots and private pier with your own money, then you will be punished and have to pay the increased property tax (a consumption tax).
When you paid for the land and build the luxurious house, pool, etc. you have already paid GST to the building company.

[Top of The News] DPM Teo CH's textbook gift to Reuben Wang - may I please have a copy too?