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Mods pls close off this thread if already started somewhere else... https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2019/07/01/analysts-predict-temasek-and-gic-to-have-negative-returns-in-last-fiscal-year/?fbclid=IwAR03ZvPXPBVTzaEZKjAiqcHDPFTKY7X0W10LJ3F2SC1BC6Z-Cgtd2VO2nVE Analysts predict Temasek and GIC to have negative returns in last fiscal year

Can anyone explain what will be the impact of the rating? File photo: Singapore's skyline. Enlarge Caption SINGAPORE: Credit rating agency Moody's on Monday downgraded the outlook of Singapore's three main banks to "negative" from "stable" amid rising property prices and mounting household debt in the city-state. "The two main drivers underpinning our opinion are the recent period of rapid loan growth and rising real estate prices in Singapore and in regional markets where Singapore banks are active," it said in a statement. "These have increased the probability of deterioration in the banks' credit profiles under potential adverse conditions in the future." Moody's said Singapore banks have been operating in a favourable environment for an extended period amid low interest rates and strong regional economic growth, which has led to rising credit and asset inflation in the property and financial markets. Domestically, household debt increased to 77.2 percent of gross domestic product as of March 2013 from 64.4 percent at the end of 2007, with private property prices growing 120 percent during the same period. "Regionally, we observe similar or even more dramatic trends," Moody's added, noting that Singapore banks generate more than 37 percent of their revenues from overseas markets. A tightening of US monetary policy is a "potential trigger" that could have an impact on interest rates in Singapore and neighbouring countries as well as capital flows in emerging economies where Singapore banks are active, Moody's said. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week the US central bank would maintain its growth-oriented policies "for the foreseeable future". But some analysts expect its $85 billion-a-month bond purchases to taper off in coming months, possibly in September. Moody's outlook report covers prospects in the next 12-18 months for DBS Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/another-minimum-wage-backfire-1439249236 This article is a good explanation of why setting minimum wage is no good for lower income people. Many people think setting minimum wage does benefit do good for lower income people as they will earn more which in turn will be less stressed out in their financial expenses. However they overlooked on the fact that by setting minimum wage, it actually backfire as explained in the above article. Many Singaporeans had been voicing out for government to set minimum wage just like other country but our government stay firm and say "No, we cannot do that" this I feel government is doing the right thing for lower income people. However one thing that the government lack of is clear explanation to convince why setting minimum wage is no good. I post this article to educate people that setting minimum wage do more harm than good, and hope people can see the good intention of government to stay firm to say no to minimum wage.

Anyone?

-125 as we speak. anyone get burn and what is your damage?

Let me start...... Walked past a chinese FT when I was heading back to office after lunch and I heard him talking to a female friend. Bloody Singaporeans walk so fast

Extracted from the yahoo page....http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/singaporescene/general-election-polling-day-may-3-7-20110415-222411-701.html

Dunno where to post tis request, so try my luck here. Need the pros and bros/sis expertise in tis. Which is better? Positive or negative? Or both? I reali know nuts abt tis stuff. Stil new to car stuff la. And i got a situation where i changed to a 2nd hand coilovers where go tyre shop and do alignment, my other rims all can get negative camber but only my front driver side has a positive 0.3mm(is tis correct reading?). Can tis b cured? All ur feedbacks and advise is much appreciated. So thanx in advance!

Even in the wake of 'crashgate' and the ensuing saga about his motor racing ban, Flavio Briatore is still making headlines for the wrong reasons. The 59-year-old Italian had retained his role as chairman of the London football club Queens Park Rangers, but it now emerges that he has stepped down. Alongside Bernie Ecclestone, he bought into the club in September 2007, but in that time Briatore became known as the mastermind of 10 managerial changes and little progress on the field. "My three years as chairman have been an exciting and incredible experience. I'm proud to have helped save this historical club and to have contributed in paving the way to its future success," he said. Briatore's departure has resulted in the family of wealthy steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal increasing its stake in the club, while Briatore and Ecclestone retain shareholdings. It also emerges that Briatore is set for a London High Court battle with the former partner of his luxury UK fashion label Billionaire. According to the Times, designer Angelo Galasso is claiming multi million pound damages because Briatore promised him a formal 20 per stake in the company. "I'm really, really disappointed," said Galasso. "Flavio kept saying 'trust me, trust me'. But he didn't respect the deal. He didn't respect me." Briatore's lawyer did not reply to a request for comment.

List down the negative impacts of the proposed ERP scheme -- more gantries, higher charges. 1. Lesser pocket $$$, higher cost of living 2. Less work life balance, all have to wait until 8pm before going home to avoid evening ERP 3. Ugly city icon ... Fullerton Hotel + ERP grantry = mismatch 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Come across this Ozy webby.......check out here: http://www.impulsengine.com/index.shtml Contrary to Cold Air Intake (CAI) methods......... No flaming please.........juz yer IMHO.

Why is it so? It was just a mentioning of how EZ-STAB doesn't work for some people I know. Is Ez-Stab an endangered, protected entity on this forum? (It apparently is) Maybe this post will be gone too. If information censorship is JUST for the income interests of the forum, this is distasteful, discourages genuine posting/technical discussions and drives away knowledgeable users who really want to help. This has been quite disappointing and I realized that I probably can't depend on the integrity and soundness of the views projected in this site. I can come here for my daily gossips and have a good time, but the car talk can't be trusted, what is the point? What is worse is that the negative posts are selectively removed and leaving behind all the raves on "It somewhat works, smoother, worth the money! But I can't quantify the difference." In this situation, an appropriate actions can be 1. delete the entire thread 2. lock the thread so that everything stays. 3. textual information removed by moderator, leaving the post there, but stating a reason why it is censored.

Many car distributors are selling cars with rebates if u take out their in-house loans. Like mazda motors, if u want a discount, then u have to be bound by a 7 year loan @ minimum 70% car price. I guess if u sell off the car earlier, you will be penalised. So calculating everything including interest etc, if you were to sell your current car at the 2nd hand market, do u need to top-up the finance? If not when will be your break even year? Interesting to see who plan to buy a new car soon

Why singapore don't come up with such things? This things is real because it comes with a guarantee. Now how many stupid snake oil products are sold in singapore to unsuspecting suckers come with a GUARANTEE? http://www.impulsengine.com/kits/performan...rovements.shtml Negative Supercharging produces the combined performance advantages of a race car, family car and truck Violent acceleration of a race car Smooth idle, acceleration and fuel economy of a family car Massive towing power of a truck Plus many more performance advantages Peak torque from idle 2 times more torque from idle to midrange during full throttle 3 times more torque from idle to midrange during part throttle Violent launch from idle during full throttle Smooth acceleration during part throttle Extremely responsive at any throttle position Effortless acceleration in 3rd gear from a standing start Effortless acceleration using low rpm Low and smooth exhaust note with a deep thump of a big block during idle and cruising Powerful growl of a race car during full throttle Easy starting Makes carbureted engines run as smooth as fuel injected engines Allows carbureted engines to be driven immediately from a cold start like fuel injected engines Allows carbureted engines to idle all day in heavy traffic and not foul the plugs Allows full throttle acceleration from a dead cold start using a carburetor (not recommended even though possible) More torque and horsepower the hotter the outside air temperature Hot air from around the exhaust manifold is drawn into the engine to produce more power Water reaches operating temperature in half the normal time Water runs cold at half the normal operating temperature of standard and high rpm engines Water runs cold while towing in hot weather and heavy traffic Eliminates overheating More manifold vacuum More fuel economy Less emissions Lower maintenance and running costs 1/3 the price of conventional supercharging More performance per dollar than any other technology currently available http://www.impulsengine.com/kits/performan...rovements.shtml

Is That Additive Really A Negative? Article by Fred Rau, You Can't Tell The Players Without A Program There were simply too many oil additives available! First of all, we found that if we checked the fine print on the packages, quite a number of the additives came from the same manufacturer. Also, we began to notice that the additives could be separated into basic "groups" that seemed to carry approximately the same ingredients and the same promises. In the end, we divided our additives into four basic groups and purchased at least three brands from three different manufacturers for each group. We defined our four groups this way: [ol] [*]Products that seemed to be nothing more than regular 50-rated engine oil (including standard additives) with PTFE (Teflon TM) added. [*]Products that seemed to be nothing more than regular 50-rated engine oil (including standard additives) with zinc dialkyldithiophosphate added. [*]Products containing (as near as we could determine) much the same additives as are already found in most major brands of engine oil, though in different quantities and combinations. [*]Products made up primarily of solvents and/or detergents. [/ol]There may be some differences in chemical makeup within groups, but that is impossible to tell since the additive manufacturers refuse to list the specific ingredients of their products. We will discuss each group individually. The PTFE Mystery Currently, the most common and popular oil additives on the market are those that contain PTFE powders suspended in a regular, over-the-counter type, 50-rated petroleum or synthetic engine oil. PTFE is the common abbreviation used for Polytetrafloeraethylene, more commonly known by the tradename "Teflon," which is a registered trademark of the DuPont Chemical Corporation. Among those oil additives we have identified as containing PTFE are: Slick 50, Liquid Ring, Lubrilon, Microlon, Matrix, Petrolon (same company as Slick 50), QMl, and T-Plus (K-Mart). There are probably many more names in use on many more products using PTFE. We have found that oil additive makers like to market their products under a multitude of "private brand" names. While some of these products may contain other additives in addition to PTFE, all seem to rely on the PTFE as their primary active ingredient and all, without exception, do not list what other ingredients they may contain. Though they have gained rather wide acceptance among the motoring public, oil additives containing PTFE have also garnered their share of critics among experts in the field of lubrication. By far the most damning testimonial against these products originally came from the DuPont Chemical Corporation, inventor of PTFE and holder of the patents and trademarks for Teflon. In a statement issued about ten years ago, DuPont's Fluoropolymers Division Product Specialist, J.F. Imbalzano said, "Teflon is not useful as an ingredient in oil additives or oils used for internal combustion engines." At the time, DuPont threatened legal action against anyone who used the name "Teflon" on any oil product destined for use in an internal combustion engine, and refused to sell its PTFE powders to any one who intended to use them for such purposes. After a flurry of lawsuits from oil additive makers, claiming DuPont could not prove that PTFE was harmful to engines, DuPont was forced to once again begin selling their PTFE to the additive producers. The additive makers like to claim this is some kind of "proof' that their products work, when in fact it is nothing more than proof that the American legal ethic of "innocent until proven guilty" is still alive and well. The decision against Dupont involved what is called "restraint of trade." You can't refuse to sell a product to someone just because there is a possibility they might use it for a purpose other than what you intended it for. It should be noted that DuPont's official position on the use of PTFE in engine oils remains carefully aloof and non-commital, for obvious legal reasons. DuPont states that though they sell PTFE to oil additive producers, they have "no proof of the validity of the additive makers' claims." They further state that they have "no knowledge of any advantage gained through the use of PTFE in engine oil." Fear of potential lawsuits for possible misrepresentation of a product seem to run much higher among those with the most to lose. After DuPont's decision and attempt to halt the use of PTFE in engine oils, several of the oil additive companies simply went elsewhere for their PTFE powders, such as purchasing them in other countries. In some cases, they disguise or hype their PTFE as being something different or special by listing it under one of their own tradenames. That doesn't change the fact that it is still PTFE. In addition, there is some evidence that certain supplies of PTFE powders (from manufacturers other than DuPont) are of a cruder version than the original, made with larger sized flakes that are more likely to "settle out" in your oil or clog up your filters. One fairly good indication that a product contains this kind of PTFE is if the instructions for its use advise you to "shake well before using." It only stands to reason that if the manufacturer knows the solids in his product will settle to the bottom of a container while sitting on a shelf, the same thing is going to happen inside your engine when it is left idle for any period of time. The problem with putting PTFE in your oil, as explained to us by several industry experts, is that PTFE is a solid. The additive makers claim this solid "coats" the moving parts in an engine (though that is far from being scientifically proven). Slick 50 is currently both the most aggressive advertiser and the most popular seller, with claims of over 14 million treatments sold. However, such solids seem even more inclined to coat non-moving parts, like oil passages and filters. After all, if it can build up under the pressures and friction exerted on a cylinder wall, then it stands to reason it should build up even better in places with low pressures and virtually no friction. This conclusion seems to be borne out by tests on oil additives containing PTFE conducted by the NASA Lewis Research Center, which said in their report, "In the types of bearing surface contact we have looked at, we have seen no benefit. In some cases we have seen detrimental effect. The solids in the oil tend to accumulate at inlets and act as a dam, which simply blocks the oil from entering. Instead of helping, it is actually depriving parts of lubricant." Remember, PTFE in oil additives is a suspended solid. Now think about why you have an oil filter on your engine. To remove suspended solids, right? Right. Therefore it would seem to follow that if your oil filter is doing its job, it will collect as much of the PTFE as possible, as quickly as possible. This can result in a clogged oil filter and decreased oil pressure throughout your engine. ......... continued.....