Top up CPF savings

Here are 3 reasons to top up CPF savings and some tips on choosing between the retirement account and CPF Life. To enjoy the tax savings, the top up has to be done before the end of the year.


http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=584&PK=6a9035fe4e91102f8aebde1ae83d78a1

Singaporeans are reluctant to protest

Signaporeans are reluctant to protest. They generally do not care, if some bad things happen to other people. When it happens to them, they find that the other Singaporeans do not care.

http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/10/singapore-leads-occupy-rally-reluctance.html

Singaporeans should read and understand the meaning behind this story, "First they came for the Socialists" ....
hhttp://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007392

Sephora Sensorium – Lucid Dreams from the Sensory World

Beauty retailer Sephora and fragrance manufacturer Firmenich have commissioned The Sensorium: Lucid Dreams from the Sensory World, an interactive, multimedia experience set in a pop-up museum, designed to explore the emotions and instincts behind scent. The Sensorium features interactive and immersive installations First Scent and Lucid Dreams, developed and produced by experience design and production company The Department of the 4th Dimension (The D4D) to transport visitors into the realm of the perfumer’s imagination. The Sensorium, located in a 3,700 warehouse in New York’s Meatpacking District, launched to the public on October 15 and runs through to November 27th, 2011. Tickets are available through the Sephora website.

Upon entering First Scent, visitors are surrounded by motion picture media inspired by custom fragrances emitted throughout the room that trigger collective emotion and connections. Dreamlike films of cutting grass, a morning breakfast and a visit to the beach correspond to fragrances Weekend Splendor, 6:01 am and Summer Vacation designed by such superstar perfume creators as Harry Fremont and Honorine Blanc. Here, elemental and unforgettable moments are manifested in an evocative cocktail of sight, smell and sound.

Next, in the museum’s marquee event Lucid Dreams, visitors can affect beautiful suspended images inspired by Firmenich’s master perfumers. Using a high tech flower sculpture, the images transform based on the power of the individual’s sniff – triggered by the unique sound transmitted by the physical act of smelling. The D4D created each room’s architecture, including the short films, beautiful floor-to-ceiling images, glowing sniff-registering flowers and the software that drove the entire soul-stirring experience.

Credits

The Sensorium project was developed at The D4D (The Department of the 4th Dimension) led by creative director Matt Checkowski and executive producer Ron Cicero, along with a team of architects, designers, technologists and writers.

During the production and design of First Scent and Lucid Dreams, The D4D team worked on the visual experience with the custom designed perfumes on hand, to ensure the visual and auditory elements were a perfect fit for each scent and would combine in a journey of heightened perception. The perfumers and The D4D creative team collaborated throughout, with imagery and scent choices and changes influenced by the other during the process. The technical production of the interactive elements involved significant research and development including an examination of wind velocity and other triggers before landing on the auditory solution.

Top 40 blue chips in Singapore

This table shows the top 40 blue chips traded in the Singapore Exchange. Of special interest are the drop in price from the recent high dividend yield and a stockbroker's forecast of the EPS (earning per share) and PER (price earning ratio for the next two years. These figures should be treated with caution. The stockbroker's recommendation has been removed. Before investing in any share, you should consult your stock broker.
http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=583&PK=6e4c42184de0102f8aebde1ae83d78a1

Investing in a troubled world

Given the uncertainty in the global financial and economic environment, how should ordinary people invest their long term savings to earn an adequate income and to cope with the higher rate of inflation expected in the next few years?

This is the question asked by many people. I like to give my views.

http://tankinlian.com/admin/file.aspx?id=582&PK=b608b34c4da6102f8aebde1ae83d78a1

Haircut on Greek Debt

Private investors will be asked to take a 60% haircut on their investments in Greek bonds. This is much higher than the 21% agreed in August. I expect that the final figure will probably be 40% to 50%.

http://www.cnbc.com//id/44992798

The question is - why are the European banks holding so much Greek bonds? Surely, the jobs of banks should be to provide banking services and give loans to businesses. They should not be an investment fund, using their money (taken from the Central Bank or credit creation) to speculate on this type of investments or to fund foreign governments?

And why is Greece, a country, not able to meet its obligations? Surely, the Government has assets that can be sold - to repay the debts? If Greece is allowed to get away with 60% of its obligations - what about other countries? This will set a bad precedent. Many countries will continue to be bad risks. What about USA? We can expect an uncertain future and more volatility! And the structure of the financial world will be quite different.

The answer to these questions are - there is something seriously wrong with the financial structure of our global system. Our financial system is based on the illusion of market values and is fed by greed, speculation and corruption.
  

Pay of Government Leaders

This table shows the pay of Government leaders, compared to GDP
http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/Top-10-Highest-Paid-investopedia-1388928230.html?x=0