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weather forecast not looking good... --- Singapore's Inflation rate edges up in December By Yvonne Chan | Posted: 23 January 2013 1408 hrs --- SINGAPORE: Singapore's inflation rate accelerated last month driven once again by housing and transport costs. Department of Statistics data showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in December 2012 rose 4.3 per cent from a year earlier, after increasing 3.6 per cent on-year in November. Accommodation cost inflation reached 8.5 per cent in December, following a 6.6 per cent gain the previous month. This was attributed largely to the costs of rented accommodation and minor repairs & maintenance which picked up sharply as a result of the disbursement of government rebates for HDB households. Imputed rentals on owner-occupied accommodation contributed 1.2 percentage points to overall inflation. In tandem with the recent surge in COE premiums, private road transport cost climbed 9.3 per cent year-on-year in December after increasing 6.7 per cent in November. Together, accommodation and private road transport costs accounted for more than two-thirds of CPI "All Items" inflation in December. Meanwhile, services inflation dipped to 2.5 per cent from 2.9 per cent, led by a decline in telecommunication charges and a more moderate rise in the costs of holiday travel and medical treatment. Food inflation eased to 1.5 per cent in December from 1.7 per cent in the previous month, as price increases for both non-cooked food and prepared meals slowed. MAS core inflation, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport eased to 1.9 per cent from 2.0 per cent due to lower contribution from costs of services and food. For the whole of 2012, MAS core inflation was 2.5 per cent compared with 2.2 per cent in 2011. In a statement, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said that given the continued weakness in the global economy, imported inflation will be "generally benign". Although the central bank warned that the persistent tightness in the labour market will support wage increases in 2013, part of the wage rises will be passed through to consumer prices. As a result, MAS core inflation is expected to average 2 to 3 per cent for the whole of 2013. - CNA/al

Welcome to 2013! Next COE Open Bidding Exercise Starts on 07/01/2013 12:00 hrs, Ends on 09/01/2013 16:00 hrs Quota for A is 410 (Presently @ 81,889$) Quota for B is 363 (Presently @ 93,501$) Quota for E is 256 (Presently @ 95,990$) All the best to those bidding this time!

NZ$35K onward.... only in New Zealand and Australia...I saw them on the road in Christchurch..quite nice IMHO... http://www.corolla.co.nz/ Thought is the new Yaris... There is a Toyota show room near my hotel..maybe if time allow..drop to take a see see look look

Got this from HWZ. I tried liao and got 4 product keys out of 5 attempt. Waiting for the last key to process, which is strange as I got the other 4 keys almost immediately after I complete the order. Anyway Office 2013 is not release yet, and this could very well be an error on Microsoft part, or they testing their ordering page. Though my order went thru, I hope they honor it if it's really an error, coz I finally going legit with my software since the $17.99 Windows 8 deal. Read about it here from HWZ, http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/eat-drin...-a-4048122.html Disclaimer: Try at your own risk.

Has been an eventful yr for me. A good yr by far and on the vehicle scene, this is the yr i changed 3 brand new cars until i finally got my itch cured. Looks like it is gone and ain't gonna donate to gahmen anytime soon. Other than that, being MOD has settled down in the blood and I take this opportunity to thank all fellow members here in MCF who have helped in one way or another to weed out the clowns who disrupt our harmony here. This place still RAWKS! We have gotten rid of much of the trash, but there lies much to be done and it is Work=in=progress Let me take this opportunity to wish one and all here in MCF a prosperous year in 2013 and to hope you will hv bountiful blessings and abundance of joy. HUAT AH and to more good yrs! HAPPY 2013 all! [wave]

I kpo, happened to see the above. Kindly see attached: http://www.pdf-archive.com/2012/12/20/list...d-19-dec-12.pdf

More scandals that we duno? [laugh]

All new 2013 Sportage and Sorento facelift with upgrade features and specificiations. (based on European specifications) New changes in Sportage 2013 Petrol and Diesel variant MDPS Factory fitted black leather seats with ventilation function. Factory fitted reverse cam Eco mode indicator Privacy glass Speed sensing lock/unlock 4 wheel drive (diesel only) Performance in Diesel variant Horsepower 184bhp @ 4000rpm Torque 40kg.m (392nm) @ 1800-2500rpm Price for Sportage 2013 Petrol: $159999 (estimated OMV: $23k) Diesel: $163999 (estimated OMV: $25k) New changes in Sorento 2013 Petrol and Diesel variant 7" TFT LCD supervision cluster display Factory fitted integrated sound system with LCD display screen Smart parking assist system 19" Sports Rims with temporary mobility kit Bluetooth handsfree with voice activation Rain sensor DRL LED rear combi lamp HID with adaptive front lighting system 1st row illumination Rear door side curtain Front driver (w/memory) and passenger power seat Ventilated seats (cooling) Rear heater function A/B Pillar cloth wrapped Speed sensing lock/unlock Pocket lighting MDPS Factory fitted black/white or brown leather seats with ventilation function. Factory fitted reverse cam Eco mode indicator Privacy glass 4 wheel drive (diesel only) Performance in Petrol GDI variant Horsepower 192bhp @ 6300 rpm Torque 24.7kg.m (242nm) @ 4250rpm Performance in Diesel 2.2 variant Horsepower 197bhp @ 3800rpm Torque 44.5kg.m (437nm) @ 1800-2500rpm Price for Sorento 2013 Petrol: $175999 (estimated OMV: $28k) Diesel: $179999 (estimated OMV: $31k) Prices & specifications are subjected to changes. Estimated arrival end Nov ~ Dec. Official launch 2013 Jan.

Less than 2 months to go before the new tax cuts in. Diesel anyone? http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/...223-329727.html

got any insider news of the cars coming in 2013 ? think got quite a number of diesel cars

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2012...raised-in-2013/

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/audi/2013-aud...k-ar135210.html

Happened to read about it just now in business times.. they managed to get a NON EXCLUSIVE deal to screen for the next 3 seasons. means the cross carriage laws dont apply.. starhub is free to renego with the distro for EPL.. wtf is this

http://www.worldcarfans.com/112100549114/2...leaked-brochure

2013 Nissan Altima

Hi guys Check it out. The all new 2013 kia soul commercial.......though i see no difference from my 2012 kia soul. Interesting marketing.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0B5vuAYk94

2014 KIA Cerato

Tried searching but couldn't find the full weekend schedule. The Official Singapore GP webby has the 2012 schedule up only. Saw the paddock full of Ferraris yesterday when I drove pass it. So anyone knows what happening on Friday, Saturday and Sunday ? Have tickets for Friday only for now so also keen if someone wants to let go of tickets for Sunday.

Here is your chance to share your idea and voice your frustration on current transportation policies to LTA. LTA is now embarking on another 5-year plan to review and update its 2013 Masterplan There are 3 discussion topics: - How can we improve your public transport experience? - How can we make better use of scarce road space in land-constrained Singapore? - How can we create an inclusive transport system, and one that supports environmental sustainability and liveability? http://talk2lta.lta.gov.sg/ltmp

Military buffs, check it this out: From CNA: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp...1200582/1/.html US Navy to deploy new warship to Singapore in 2013 Posted: 11 May 2012 0740 hrs

Singapore (The Star/ANN) - Singapore television, which helped Lee Kuan Yew defeat his left-wing foes and stay in power for 50 years, plans to go worldwide 24 hours a day from next year. The global push by the state-owned Channel News Asia (CNA) to extend its reach from Asia to cover the United States and Europe is an ambitious project, given the adverse cable news market. Last week, America's CNN (Cable News Network), despite its vast resources and experience, reported a ratings drop of up to 50 per cent in the first quarter. All three global networks suffered declines, having lost audiences to the new digital media. The declines are not deterring CNA, whose predecessor had played a historic role in the People's Action Party's (PAP) elimination of the powerful left-wing Barisan Sosialis in the 60s. Despite its near-monopoly, circulation of Singapore's main Straits Times broadsheet has stagnated. "For us to be a true global player in the news channel space we need to broadcast 24 hours, every hour on the hour, with live news," said a CNA spokesman. "This will eventually allow us to penetrate the US and European pay TV markets, so that people there can get Asian news with Asian perspectives whenever they want." Having their state TV moving into the world arena has raised a little sense of pride among some Singaporeans. Informed citizens, however, are questioning its chances of success considering that it is considered to be a government mouthpiece. And taxpayers are worried about footing the bill for potential losses. A small-time businessman commented: "I wish it well, but if powerful global networks like CNN are losing out, what chance has the state-owned Singapore TV to succeed?" Not everyone agrees. A polytechnic lecturer said Singapore has become an economic international player and a provider of jobs for professionals. So TV has a small part, but, he added, if it is thinking of taking on the big players in providing global news, "I would say forget it". The vast majority of Americans and Europeans don't really care for Singapore's idea of "Asian coverage of Asian news". The biggest handicap is its ties to the government. Most people I talked to doubted if many Westerners would be well disposed to news from a government news channel (BBC is different because of its long history of objective reporting). Even among Singaporeans, one in every two believes that the Singapore media is biased, according to a survey last year. On average, in a normal day, however, newspapers and television are the top sources of news here, with the Internet coming in a close third. But in last year's election, some 48 per cent turned to Yahoo! for quick news, with CNA in second place at 23.8 per cent. Newspapers, however, were the people's main source of news. Television was launched in 1963, the year Singapore joined Malaysia, and when it left two years later, the telecast of Lee Kuan Yew weeping caught the imagination of the world. At the launch, only 2,400 Singaporean homes had TV sets, but tens of thousands of people, young and old, would sit on wooden benches in community centres to watch the magic box. As a 23-year old then, I joined enthusiastic friends to meet outside a department store TV display window and watched celluloid scenes of the PAP developing Jurong or building public flats at a rate of one unit every 45 minutes. It was a powerful message for a poor squatter country. Eventually the leftwing hold among the vast Chinese-educated was broken. To the viewers, moving pictures could not lie. The hard-working Barisan Sosialis representatives resorted to knocking on doors to get to the people, but they could not match the power of moving pictures. Since then, the government has kept 100 per cent ownership of television. Despite much talk of going public, TV news remain in official hands. About half of Singaporeans polled last year felt that "there is too much government control of newspapers and television", according to an analysis by the Institute of Policy Studies. With 3.37 million Internet users out of a 5.18 million population, the expectation is that while mainstream newspapers and TV remain on top of the pole for news, erosion among young readers is likely to continue. This is because CNA is widely perceived as the voice of the government. An advisory committee said in 2009 that this factor could hamper its credibility as a news conduit. The circulation of the Straits Times has been dismal over the decades despite a big population jump. Not exactly good news for the ruling PAP. An authoritative source once told me that for the PAP to remain in power, it must have control over three things - security forces, finance and the media. The first two remain more or less in place, but control of the third - the media - is being challenged by the day by the surging social media where every citizen can be both a reporter and a reader Link What I love best is the statement in BOLD..

Public Holidays 2013 New Year's Day Tuesday 1 January 2013 Chinese New Year Sunday* 10 February 2013 Monday 11 February 2013 Good Friday Friday 29 March 2013 Labour Day Wednesday 1 May 2013 Vesak Day Friday 24 May 2013 Hari Raya Puasa Thursday 8 August 2013 National Day Friday 9 August 2013 Hari Raya Haji Tuesday 15 October 2013 Deepavali Sunday** 3 November 2013*** Christmas Day Wednesday 25 December 2013 * As Chinese New Year falls on Sunday 10 February 2013 and Monday 11 February 2013, the next day, Tuesday 12 February 2013, will be a public holiday. ** The following Monday will be a public holiday. *** The date, 3 November 2013, for Deepavali needs to be checked against the Indian Almanac when it is available. Should there be a change in date, the Ministry of Manpower will issue a media release to announce the change.

The Subaru Legacy and the Legacy on stilts, the Outback has been revised for the 2013 model year. Subaru has slightly 'improved' the looks of the quirky looking large sedan and wagon by changing the front end of the cars. Both cars feature new headlights, grille and bumper. The new look seems to suit the Legacy better with its Audi-esque bumper (but still slightly awkward) but the Subaru Outback still looks dumpy and awkward to me. Other styling changes are limited to the interior

Details here: http://www.mercnews.net/2012/03/mercedes-b...-sl-65-amg.html