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Inflation hits top earners hardest

Ryan Huang

ryanhuang@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE

However, data released yesterday showed that the pinch of higher prices was not felt uniformly across all income groups.

According to figures released by the Department of Statistics (DOS), in the first six months of the year, the consumer price index (CPI) for general households rose 5.0 per cent from last year. However, the top 20 per cent of earners in Singapore felt the higher prices more acutely, facing an inflation rate of 5.6 per cent.

This was due to significant price increases for cars and petrol, which have relatively larger weights for this group.

In contrast, those among the lowest 20 per cent of income earners grappled with an inflation rate of 3.9 per cent, while the middle 60 per cent of income-earners saw inflation of 4.7 per cent.

According to the DOS, all three groups were affected by higher car prices, accommodation costs and more expensive food.  [WHAT is The  SOLUTION  ? ? ?? ]

These increases were, however, moderated — particularly for lower income-earners — by the Government’s scrapping of television and radio licence fees and lower service and conservancy charges.

Against this backdrop and with an eye on higher inflation in the months ahead, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) last week raised its official inflation forecast for the full year to between 4 and 5 per cent.  [WHY  sO lOw ? ? ? ?]  Another mIstake  ? ? ? ?

Analysts MediaCorp spoke to did not expect headline inflation to moderate until at least the end of the year.

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Near-ZERO Bank Savings Interest Rate is the ROOT INFLATION  MULTIPLIER  -

the whOle wOrld knOws abOUt  thIs  trUth    — Singapore’s inflation rate last month — driven by higher housing, transport and food costs — hit 5.2 per cent compared to a year ago — the highest level in five months since it peaked at 5.5 per cent in January.

 

GIC reveals performance over 5, 10 years  [WHY ?]

Teo Xuanwei

xuanwei@mediacorp.com.sg

SINGAPORE

The sovereign wealth fund traditionally publishes its annual performance aggregated over 20 years but, starting this year, it will include five-year and 10-year annual rates of return to “provide a good sense of the ongoing medium-term investment performance”, said group president Lim Siong Guan at a media briefing yesterday.

As at end-March, the GIC clocked a 20-year annual nominal rate of return in US dollar terms of 7.2 per cent, slightly above last year’s 7.1 per cent. In real terms, after factoring in global inflation (3.1 per cent) and deducting all costs incurred, the gain was 3.9 per cent compared to last year’s 3.8 per cent.

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Is it a bIg lOss  like  MAS  in 2011 ? ? ? ?— In response to long-standing calls for more information about the Republic’s investment portfolio, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) has revealed, for the first time, its performance over various time frames in its annual report, which it will released today.

 

ya, beri cheem. if you like to see thing in depth, ask her(might be him)

she(might be he) must be one near to the stage in the football field during the last election.

very against the hypocracy and the fake world, Bravo!!!

 

 

Two—thirds of NTU fresh grads secure jobs before convocation

 

 

WHAT  is  the  DIFFERENCE  ? ? ? ?

between

INTEGRITY  &   HONESTY  ? ? ? ?

---

The  LAWS  cannOt

determIne

INTEGRITY

---

An HONEST persOn

cAn  hAve

nO  INTEGRITY

 

Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.

Whether you're doing research, exploring a personal philosophy, or are simply curious about humanism, the resources here are a great place to start:

Explanations of Humanism

• Humanism and Its Aspirations : Humanist Manifesto III is the latest articulation of what it means to be a Humanist.
• What is Humanism? by Fred Edwords
• The Humanist Philosophy in Perspective by Fred Edwords
  
• Quotations from Famous Humanists

 

http://www.humanist-society.org/

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fOr  HUMANS  ONLY 

nO  ANIMALS  PLEASE  !

steadylar      ( Date: 25-Jul-2011 12:53) Posted: The world is looking sicker by the day... sick earth sick financial systems sick minds sick bodies sick religions how to save us humans? is there any hope?

 

Are  wOrld  leAders  tOday ? ? ? ?

hOnest  ? ? ? ?

less  hOnest  ? ? ? ?

mOre  hOnest  ? ? ? ?

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dO  wOrld  leAders  tOday  ? ? ? ?

hAve  INTEGRITY  ? ? ? ?

 

beri cheem

and yr your spelling beri super good

 

 

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”

 

(Who will guard the guards themselves?)

 

The world is looking sicker by the day...

sick earth

sick financial systems

sick minds

sick bodies

sick religions

how to save us humans?

is there any hope?

 

Reconsider video recording ...

Letter from Lim Ker Sheon

I read with interest the report “Calls for video recording have been considered” (July 22), about a procedure that, to date, still troubles many criminal practitioners like myself, a law firm director.

With the greatest respect to the Ministry of Law (MinLaw), the need for video recording of interviews is not merely to mitigate against coerced statements but against inaccuracies in taking statements.

To explain the process, what happens is that the investigating officer (IO) will usually interview the witness, reading from a prepared list of questions, and will then type the answers before printing a statement for the witness to sign.

The difficulty here is, inevitably, the questions asked and answers given orally may have (sometimes material) differences to the actual statement signed.

Most interviewees would sign the statement, believing it to be an accurate reflection of what was asked and answered.

This may not always be the case, as the IO would inevitably condense the answers or otherwise change it to reflect the question.

This problem is exacerbated when the interview is conducted not in English but in a different language, as the statement itself is in English.

The translation depends entirely on either the IO himself or sometimes a different police officer who acts as a translator.

In effect, the witness “blindly signs” off.

This statement, known commonly as the Long Statement, is hardly ever released to the witness or his lawyer after it has been signed and is frequently only brought out at trial, and only after the witness has said something that contradicts the statement under cross-examination by the prosecutor.

The issue and the need for video recording is, therefore, obvious. Quite aside from the occasional rogue officer who coerces statements, this is really a case of “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” (Who will guard the guards themselves?)

Where video technology is both cheap and readily available, the answer is obvious.

Certainly, the implementation of such technology would be far cheaper and a lot more effective than the additional training that MinLaw appears to be proposing.

Should video recording of interviews be allowed, I am certain the MinLaw would require certain safeguards to prevent wanton abuse of the process, where every accused person nitpicks on every small inconsistency in the statement given. That is fine.

In any event, I have absolute confidence in our judiciary to throw out any frivolous attempts by accused or defence counsel to do so.

But the argument remains — there really is no reason for such video recording not to be introduced.

And once MinLaw introduces video technology, my next hope is that FIFA will soon follow suit.

 

Singapore  EcOnOmIc  grOwth  pArAdIgm:

- FINE  CITY  ? ? ? ?

- INFLATION  CITY  ? ? ? ?

- RENT  CITY  ? ? ? ?

-  RANSOM  CITY  ? ? ? ?

 

frOm  the  letters  in the  newspapers and online

sEEms  lIke

sIngapOre  hIred  ALL  the  wrOng  tAlent

at    the  tOp  ? ? ? ?

 

What about non-fuel cost?

Letter from David Boey

IT IS not surprising that the recent application by the two public transport operators to increase bus and train fares has raised the ire of some commuters.

Consumers do not welcome price increases for goods or services for which an alternative is out of their reach.

It is surprising, therefore, that households have generally accepted the electricity tariff without much fuss.

This may be due to most of them believing, somewhat mistakenly, that the tariff is closely correlated to the price of fuel and, as price-takers, there is nothing much they can do about the latter. And because the tariff has risen less rapidly than the price of fuel this year, perhaps it cannot be all that bad.

However, the cost of fuel accounts for about only half the tariff.

One component of the tariff that has received scant scrutiny is the non-fuel generating cost — the amount paid to the electricity generating companies to cover their non-fuel expenses (such as depreciation, staff costs, taxes) and profit.

For the first nine months of this year, the average non-fuel generating cost (excluding Goods and Services Tax) stands at 6.63 Singapore cents/kWh, an increase of almost 18 per cent from the 5.62 cents/kWh for the corresponding period last year.

These cents translate into about S$480 million annually for domestic consumers in total, compared to about S$410 million last year (annualised and based on last year’s demand).

Domestic demand is less than one-fifth of total demand, however.

Including non-domestic consumers, the total non-fuel generating cost paid to the electricity generating companies may be as much as, if not more than, the S$1.4 billion in combined annual passenger revenues of SMRT and SBS Transit.

The percentage increase, at least for domestic consumers, is much more than the proposed 2.8-per-cent increase in bus and rail fares.

How much of it goes towards the generating companies’ profits?

 

Landlords are not the

only ones held to ransom

Letter from Erik Wilgenhof Plante

The news report “Some tenants in arrears hold landlords to ransom” (July 21) gives a one-sided view of the rental situation in Singapore.

Rising real estate prices have caused a lot of issues for tenants. Landlords often raise the rent to unacceptable levels, citing the real estate market. This would be logical if there were a shortage of rental homes, which is not the case.

Many landlords prefer to keep their premises empty [CASINO  GAMING ? ? ? ?] for a few months than to keep a good tenant who pays a reasonable rent on time and causes no trouble.

Our previous landlord doubled the rent after the two-year lease of our townhouse expired. He refused to negotiate even though the average rent of similar properties was much lower.

We proved to be model tenants and had chosen the location because it was close to my son’s pre-school.

It places great strain on any family to pack up and leave every time. There is, however, often no choice.

The rent for an average condominium unit or townhouse is often four to five times more than the mortgage amount.

Buying is not an option for many renters because of the 20-per-cent cash payment required upfront.

We had no choice but to move and are now living in a HDB flat, which is the only form of housing that is still (barely) affordable.

I am already dreading the next time the lease comes up and the whole game starts anew.

At that time, there will be nowhere else to go.

In short, it is not only tenants who can hold the landlord to ransom. It is often the landlord who holds the tenant to ransom.

The absence of any form of rent control is creating a rental bubble that makes it almost impossible for renters to find a suitable home.

 

ENLIGHTENMENT

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This  wOrld  alsO  needs 

jUst  One 

WORLD  GOLD  DOLLAR  [G$]

---

There  wOuld  be  nO  FInAncIAl  crIsIs

---

Creating  mAny  cUrrencIes

bAnks  cheAt  the  cOnsUmers  UsIng

twO-tIer  exchAnge  rAtes

tO  mAde  the  dIfference

and  eArn  prOfIt 

twIce  fOr eAch  trAnctIOn

 

 

warrenbegger      ( Date: 24-Jul-2011 16:56) Posted: I am a Freethinker. I am not bound to any religious and any ways of rightness. So i can accept and respect all race, colour and religious. The only truth is all human blood are red in colour, thats fact we had to accept but many didnt see it inside U. Good religious  can lead to rightness but some may also lead to darkness. Dont know how their shit rush to brain one? There's an old free saying, or maybe i  said one :) Different Religious is the cause of all different human separation. We R just human, why cant we live in peace? Because of different religion different view? All keep arguring there's only their own true god? Or is there real god to save U or the world when we need them? Or is there a home for U when U leave your body? There's no answer to it, the answer is all inside yourself. Why cant we combine all religion goodness or be a freethinker for a better world? For world peace. WE need to become ONE. One God. One human. One free mind.

 

Good health is easier said than done...

          For to have good health, 101 right things

                        need to be done right...

 

Working on acne from the inside

Skip the creams and lotions and work on improving health from within

 

I am a Freethinker. I am not bound to any religious and any ways of rightness.

So i can accept and respect all race, colour and religious. The only truth is all human blood are red in colour, thats fact we had to accept but many didnt see it inside U.

Good religious  can lead to rightness but some may also lead to darkness. Dont know how their shit rush to brain one?

There's an old free saying, or maybe i  said one :)

Different Religious is the cause of all different human separation.

We R just human, why cant we live in peace? Because of different religion different view? All keep arguring there's only their own true god? Or is there real god to save U or the world when we need them? Or is there a home for U when U leave your body? There's no answer to it, the answer is all inside yourself.

Why cant we combine all religion goodness or be a freethinker for a better world?

For world peace. WE need to become ONE.

One God. One human. One free mind.