Re-admission to Universal Studio

The rules of Universal Studio Singapore said that "for same day admission, you must present the Studio admission ticket and hand stamp for re-entry".

I recall visiting the theme parks in America where they recognize the hand stamp (or similar tags). They do not require the admission ticket to be shown as well. I wonder if this reflects the peculiar  requirements in Singapore - where it is usual to add to the hassle for customers?

Benchmark for housing prices

An American told me that 30 years ago, the banks will give a mortgage to the borrower to buy a house for not more 3 years of the income of the breadwinner (and the income of the working spouse is disregarded). The bank also required the borrower to make a down-payment of 10% for the house.

If this rule is applied in Singapore today, the average price of a 4 room HDB flat should be $120,000 (assuming an average income of the breadwinner to be $40,000).

The price of HDB flat that is being charged is about 3 times of this benchmark - and a 4 room HDB flat is considered to be quite modest, compared to a typical house with a land in America. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_housing_in_Singapore)

This shows how costly are HDB flats in Singapore - and they are considered as "public housing". No wonder, both parents have to work and they still do not have enough money for retirement. The housing is far too expensive.

HDB flats are getting smaller and more expensive

This is an interesting perspective told by Lucky Tan

http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/11/smaller-flats-doesnt-mean-lower-quality.html

Administrative executive

There is a vacancy for a person to carry out office administrative work at our office at Midview City, Sin Ming Lane. The working hours are from 9 am to 6 pm, five days a week. The expected salary is $1,500 per month. Preference will be given to a candidate who has working experience and who lives nearby. Interested parties are required to send in a resume and expected salary to ceo@tankinlian.com. The candidate is expected to start work during the third week of November 2011.

The candidate must be a citizen or permanent resident or someone who has a dependent work pass. Candidates who wish to work part time on a reduced salary will also be considered.

MF Global Singapore clients

Mr Tan,

Your reader might be interested in this news.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/nearly-half-of-mf-global-singapore-client-monies-held-abroad/

 SK

My views
It is better for Singapore investors to keep their accounts with local brokerages, rather than foreign brokerages, due to this type of problem. The local brokerages are more likely to keep their money in Singapore. Even though the client's monies are kept outside Singapore, I believe that they belong to the clients and should be returned to the liquidators on demand. I don' think that the foreign banks or other institutions have the right to reject the request of the liquidators to return the monies. But, it seems that international finance is getting very complicated and risky.

Role of government in regulation

I read this interesting story about the problems faced by the regulators on regulating neutrality on the Internet http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/11/11/what-next-for-net-neutrality/?section=money_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_topstories+%28Top+Stories%29

It is clear that there is a need for a neutral party, i.e. the regulator, to set the rules to ensure a level playing field for all the parties, and for consumers to have access to unbiased information. But the big businesses are challenging the role of the regulators, using their lobbyists and lawyers and will bring the matter up to the Federal Courts.

America has clearly gone too far down the road in letting the businesses have their way. Their economy is collapsing, and is now being propped up by massive debts. It is likely to lead to dire consequences.

The US government has failed to govern. I am worried that Singapore may be in a similar situation.

Danger to the world economy when growth stalls

Quote from Mohd El-Erian of Pimco, manager of the world's largest bond fund.


"The concept of stall speed is not something that's familiar to the markets," he said. "That's what I find is terrifying. We can talk about the probability of recession when unemployment is already too high, when the financial deficit is 9 percent of (gross domestic product), when interest rates are already at zero percent and when a quarter of the homeowners are already underwater on their mortgages. That is a terrifying concept. That is why everything must be done to avoid a slowdown in growth."


http://www.cnbc.com//id/45253864