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Was looking at the exchange rate today. The lowest point today was: US$1 = S$1.2178. Anyone buying?

with the ramp up in bus services and number of buses, hopefully this can be part of the redundancy for people in case MRT breaks down... Billion-dollar Bus Service Enhancement Programme completed with 1,000th bus added to fleet http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/billion-dollar-bus-service-enhancement-programme-completed-1000th-bus-added-fleet "SINGAPORE — The government’s billion-dollar Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP) that was rolled out in 2012 to tackle bus congestion and long waiting times has wrapped up, as the 1,000th government-funded bus and 80th new bus service planned under the initiative hit the road. The five-year effort translated to a ramping up of bus capacity for about 70 per cent of bus services – or 218 out of 309 basic services – either through the deployment of higher capacity buses or the operation of more frequent bus trips, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Saturday (Dec 6)."

I don't think this question has ever been asked in this forum before. I am wondering how many here have a million cash in the bank now (not CPF) with the house they are living in now (hdb or private) fully paid and with zero debt? Please note that I am not talking about those sitting on paper assets as some bros here will probably say they can liquidate this and that property to have x millions, I am talking about those debtless people with a million cash in the bank now. If you are in this category, it would be interesting to hear what do you plan to do with your cash in the next couple of years?

Anybody else had a problem today with emails from Dollardex sent out with an incorrect addressee name on them???

Do you think NZD and AUD will rise against SGD in the coming months? Thinking of putting them in foreign currency fixed deposit. With the interests, should earn just that if the currency moves against me, will take longer to earn.

Just found out, we got the most valuable and expensive banknotes in the world. 2 out of top 3 in fact. World's most expensive banknote Draw your own conclusions as to why we need $10,000 note.

Miss Universe 2013 Venezuela's Gabriela Isler models the "Yamamay Million Dollar Swimsuit For Miss Universe" during an unveiling ceremony in Moscow November 10, 2013. The swimsuit, which is handcrafted by jewellery manufacturer Dinacci, consists of nearly 200 carats of gemstones such as diamonds, emeralds and rubies. An expensive swimsuit that will never be use for a dip.

A BILLIONAIRE'S bid to seek more than $1 million in damages from a Rolls-Royce car dealer here over an alleged defect in a $1.4 million Phantom began in the High Court yesterday. Mr Koh Wee Meng, boss of the Fragrance Group, alleges that the high-end luxury car, bought in December 2008, emits noises and vibrates when moving out of a three-point turn. The 50-year-old said he had complained many times to Trans Eurokars and was assured the problem would be rectified. When no remedy was in sight, he decided to sue the dealer. "I consider it a defect, I cannot accept it," he said on the stand yesterday. Trans Eurokars said the noise and vibration is a characteristic of the Phantom and cannot be considered a defect. Each side has engaged expert witnesses to support its case. Mr Koh is seeking more than $1 million in damages - the difference between the car's purchase price and its scrap value of more than $300,000. The property and budget-hotel tycoon was ranked Singapore's 15th-richest man by Forbes last year, with an estimated net worth of US$1.25 billion (S$1.54 billion). "That price was paid for what Rolls-Royce itself claimed was ultimate luxury, pin-drop silence and near perfection," his lawyer, Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, said in his opening statement. Instead, Mr Koh got "a Phantom plagued by noises and vibrations" when it moved out of a three-point turn, added the lawyer. Trans Eurokars' lawyer, Senior Counsel Tan Chee Meng, noted that Mr Koh was claiming damages for a car he had driven for four years and which had clocked some 46,000km to date. But Mr Koh noted that he had complained within three days of taking delivery. Mr Tan pointed out that between November 2009 and September 2011, Mr Koh had sent the car to the workshop for servicing and other works no fewer than eight times but did not complain about the noise and vibration, and suggested that the issue was "non-existent" during this period. Mr Koh disagreed. He replied that since Trans Eurokars was not able to resolve the problem, he saw no point in dragging it up every time he went to the workshop for other issues. In a statement yesterday, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said it has supported the dealer over the past four years in its dealings with Mr Koh. "We have not experienced any similar complaint from any other customer anywhere in the world." A record 39 Rolls-Royce cars were sold here in 2011. The trial continues today. [email protected]

*no peekture added in case ppl kpkb* A Chinese paper reported on its front page today that an executive maisonette in Queenstown has found a buyer at $1 million, with COV at $195,000. The buyer is a naturalised Singapore citizen and her PRC citizen father. They have paid the option fee and will do the required paper work at HDB office next week. The flat is more than 10 years old with a floor area of 1700sqft. Analyst attributed the pricing to the unit being close to the city, as well as the Queenstown MRT, and the lack of supply of such double-storey masionettes. The relentless influx of cash-rich foreigners from China, India and elsewhere has been widely blamed for the sky-rocketing HDB flat prices which has more than DOUBLED in the last ten years, thereby pricing Singaporeans out of the housing market. Too many immigrants were accepted within too short a period of time which allows them to buy HDB flats thereby contributing to the growing demand.

Si bei sian

Are You Being Penny Wise, Pound Foolish? (Or in Singapore terms, Cents Wise Dollar Foolish) Recently I had sent a friend home and went up to his apartment for a short 20 minute drink. As Murphy would have told me, anything that can go wrong, will go wrong: Saving the trouble of tearing a 50 cent coupon cost me a $30 parking fine (Gentle reminder: these highly trained ninjas catch you when you least expect it).

Was looking at the FOREX recently. Compared to few months ago, looks like SGD is weakening against quite a number of other currencies. To encourage export?

Sound very easy. Multiple choice question. 25% chance to get it right. Mediakok is calling for the singapore version contestants! Wonder how is the selection criteria like? Must action action to be a funny guy during interview? Anyone gone for such selection before?

SO now is the BIG question, since our three highly sought after ministers are now out of jobs, will they managed to command a million dollar salary in the PRIVATE SECTOR based on their own merit??????

Before WTF comes in...this bang is not that type of bang ok? Where to go for your next holiday

Source: Bangkok post report Temasek's investment in Thailand shaken The Singaporean government's investment arm, Temasek Holdings, is expected to fight any attempts by TOT Plc to seek billions of baht in compensation from Thai telecoms companies in which it has holdings, say observers. TOT announced on Tuesday it will seek 214.7 billion baht in compensation from local telecom operators - including AIS, which is owned by Temasek - for unpaid access charges and losses resulting from improper policy changes made by past governments. The news, which shook the Thai share market, is likely to cast Temasek's Thai investments under a cloud, said a Post Today writer. Investments in the Thai share market by Temasek face a period of uncertainty, he said. Temasek Holdings has invested in the telecommunications, energy and hospital sectors here. Some believe its willingness to invest in Thailand was tied to the fortunes of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Once Thaksin was toppled from power, Temasek Holdings' investments in Thailand started to look less attractive to the company. Now, the findings of a committee appointed under Section 22 of the Joint Public/Private Venture Act 1992 could shake up Temasek's investments still further. The committee recommended that state-owned TOT sue Advanced Info Services (AIS), its mobile phone concessionaire, for over 70 billion baht in damages caused by amendments to its concession contract during the time Thaksin was in power. Singapore telecoms giant Singtel and Temasek Holdings stand to be affected, as they are the major shareholders in Shin Corp and AIS. If TOT sues AIS and wins, AIS may find it hard to survive, as it would have to pay a huge sum in damages. Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij revealed that Singtel executives came to see him earlier last month to discuss the AIS issue. Mr Korn said he would treat the Singaporean investors fairly, as Singtel helped develop the communications industry in Thailand. However, Mr Korn is prodding Singtel to acknowledge that it knew about the contract amendments which benefited Shin Corp, AIS and others. "At that time [singtel] may have thought that contract amendments would not cause any legal problems. "I will take care of this issue in a fair manner, but I ask that [singtel] not deny knowing about the issue," said Mr Korn. When news leaked that the Section 22 committee (a committee set up by the ICT minister under section 22 of the Joint Private/State Venture Act of 1992 to come up with a resolution concerning AIS after the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions last year brought down a judgement in the Shinawatra family's unusual wealth case) would find against AIS, the Thai stock market nose-dived, falling below the 1,000 points barrier. Some insiders claimed the selling orders originated from Singapore, and were intended to express displeasure with the Thai government, which investors thought was trying to punish AIS. Another rumour surfaced that several hedge funds based in Singapore and Hong Kong began to sell their holdings in companies owned by Temasek Holdings, including Singtel and AIS. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva met Singtel group chief executive Chua Sock Koong on Tuesday. Some believe the Singtel CEO carried a letter from Temasek Holdings seeking Mr Abhisit's opinion of foreign investors in the communications industry in Thailand. ICT Minister Juti Krairiksh wanted to table the Section 22 committee's conclusion with the cabinet on Tuesday for endorsement. Mr Korn asked for more time, as he wants to seek a compromise solution. The Finance Ministry said those who were involved in concession contract amendments which damaged TOT should be punished, which means the TOT board chairman and other high-ranking executives could be targeted. The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions in February last year confiscated 46.3 billion baht that Thaksin and his former wife, Potjaman na Pombejra, acquired from selling their shares in Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings. The court ruled that Thaksin had abused his power and had become unusually richer while holding the post of prime minister. It also found he abused his authority to benefit Shin Corp. Post Today did not believe that Singtel and Temasek Holdings should be punished as they were not directly involved in Thaksin's power abuse. The Finance Ministry insisted that TOT, as the concession owner, must be the party which initiates legal proceedings to recover the damages. The statutory period for taking action is one year after the Supreme Court handed down its verdict. If the ICT Ministry and TOT do not do anything to recover the losses, both could be sued for dereliction of duty. The Finance Ministry told the Section 22 committee that other telecom concessionaires including DTAC and True Move should also be sued for damages by CAT Telecom. Singtel and Temasek are likely to strongly resist any TOT threat to their investments - whatever they may think of Thailand since Thaksin was ousted from power.

As topic,Esso currently have $4 dollar off on oil pump.Do anyone know this?

any explanation Firefighters are most trusted Fri, Feb 26, 2010 my paper By Cheryl Lim Top 10 most trusted people 1 Chan Sek Keong (Chief Justice) 2 William Tan (wheelchair athlete and charity fund-raiser) 3 Tommy Koh (Ambassador-at-large) 4 Khoo Boon Hui (former Singapore Police Force commissioner ) 5 Lee Wei Ling (director and senior consultant of the National Neuroscience Institute) 6 Chan Heng Chee (ambassador to the United States) 7 Sim Wong Hoo (CEO of Creative Technologies) 7 Deirdre Moss (executive officer of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) 9 Catherine Lim (author) 10 Gurmit Singh (actor) 10 Olivia Lum (CEO of Hyflux) Top 10 most trusted jobs 1 Firefighter 2 Doctor 3 Judge 4 Teacher 5 Surgeon 6 Pilot 7 Paramedic 8 Nurse 9 Pharmacist 10 Dentist

Serious??

Let to roam free for months PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia) - MALAYSIA allowed a Singaporean Islamic terror suspect to remain free for months so that he might lead authorities to other militants, an official said on Monday. Mas Selamat Kastari was captured in Malaysia's southern state of Johor on April 1, more than a year after he escaped from a high-security prison in neighbouring Singapore in February 2008 by wriggling out a bathroom window. Officials were aware that Mas Selamat had fled to Malaysia from 'the moment he came to our country', Malaysian Home Ministry Secretary General Mahmood Adam said in an interview with The Associated Press. - suan WKS ah... 'We have a very good (police intelligence agency) here,' Mr Mahmood said. He did not say when exactly Mas Selamat came to Johor or whether Malaysia told Singapore about his whereabouts. Mas Selamat, the alleged Singapore commander of the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah group, evaded a massive manhunt in the city-state and slipped into Malaysia by swimming across a narrow strip of sea that separates the two countries. Police monitored Mas Selamat's movements instead of arresting him immediately because 'the most important (thing) sometimes is not the particular target, the most important (thing) sometimes is the networking', Mr Mahmood said. Mas Selamat alone is not as valuable as who is behind him, Mr Mahmood said. Mas Selamat lived in a Malaysian village of about 100 people, rarely going out or mixing with other residents, before being captured by Malaysian commandos. Mr Mahmood declined to say whether authorities are on the verge of making further arrests, but stressed that Malaysia remained 'very safe and secure'. Malaysia's government last week announced it would hold Mas Selamat for two years under a security law that allows for detention without trial. Prime Minister Najib Razak said officials want to obtain more information from Mas Selamat, calling him a 'threat to national security'. -- AP Wong can't sing really thick skin enough to still remain in the force..shame..

Not talking about BIG scale forex but just normal exchange rates for travel purpose or pasar talk only. Looking at it, the USD has been going up & down against SGD over the month or so from 1.5+ to ~ 1.46 recently. I wonder how will it go this month? Down somemore or up again? Thinking of when to change money for the June holiday travels ...

UK and US printing money 'out of thin air' to fight credit crunch New worry is hyper-inflation BACK in 1991, when a group of us launched Money Mind (a TV programme still telecast on Channel NewsAsia), I was allowed to film De La Rue Currency's ultra-secretive banknote manufacturing facilities in Singapore. By Zhen Ming 20 March 2009 BACK in 1991, when a group of us launched Money Mind (a TV programme still telecast on Channel NewsAsia), I was allowed to film De La Rue Currency's ultra-secretive banknote manufacturing facilities in Singapore. De La Rue Currency - the world's largest commercial currency printer, involved in the production of more than 150 currencies - closed its Singapore factory in 2002 after finding it difficult to cope with rising costs. During my visit, I saw the firm's banknote design and production facilities. A line of 300 Singaporeans were inspecting sheet after sheet of freshly printed $2 banknotes to spot errors (none on that day). These days, however, most of the money that flows around an economy is created electronically rather than printed physically. Quantitative easing And as the world's ailing financial systems continue to remain immobile, central banks everywhere are introducing what's known as 'quantitative easing' (QE) - the modern equivalent of printing more money - as a desperate measure of last resort. Under QE, a central bank creates new money literally 'out of thin air', which it then uses to buy what are essentially IOUs from ordinary banks. The banks, in turn, use this money to create even more new money in a process known as deposit multiplication, where the amount of money (or loans) in circulation is further increased to stimulate additional spending. The impact of QE is not very different from dropping paper money from a helicopter - as Mr Ben Bernanke himself once described this policy before he became chairman of the US Federal Reserve (Fed). This idea (first mooted by US economist Milton Friedman) won Mr Bernanke the nickname 'helicopter Ben'. The Fed is effectively practising QE - except, for ideological reasons, the Fed prefers to call it 'credit easing' instead. To date, total QE assets held by the Fed stand at US$1.9 trillion ($2.9 trillion) - 2.4 times the size of the stimulus package sponsored by US President Barack Obama. The US, not unlike the UK, has just signalled that it will continue to print more new money (that is, embark on further QE) in order to re-inflate its flagging (or deflating) economy. The Fed is scheduled to issue its statement on QE later today. Mr Bernanke's view is that if the Fed provides liquidity, credit will flow and lower the price of loans, feeding pent-up demand for homes, cars, credit-card borrowing and capital expenditures by business in the depths of the worst recession in living memory. Will QE work? But will QE work? Or will triple-A sovereign borrowers like the US and the UK risk destroying their solvency, as they use QE to rescue over-indebted private sectors? This possibility of a botched-up QE programme could be nightmarish for surplus countries like China, Japan and Singapore. These countries currently hoard mountains of foreign reserves denominated in Western currencies like the US dollar and the British pound. These hard-earned reserves actually stand the risk of dramatically losing their value in real terms because QE, if mismanaged, could trigger runaway inflation or hyper-inflation. In some extreme examples of old-fashioned money printing, the results were disastrous. Think of the Reichsmarks in Germany after World War I, Japanese banana money in colonial Malaya during World War II, Russian roubles after the fall of communism, and the current hyper-inflation in Zimbabwe. That's why Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is 'worried' about the safety of China's US$1 trillion investment in US government IOUs. Singapore should be too.

I been looking to change some AUD for a trip to Australia. XE.com has the interbank rates at nearly 1:1 with Singapore dollar being a tiny bit stronger. Yet I go to moneychangers in town and they either don't put up their AUD exchange rate, or they put stupid rate where S$1 buys A$0.85. I was at the airport the other day, and it seems the bank money changers like UOB and American Express has more realistic exchange rates. Anyone got a money changer to recommend?

I REFER to the report

The Million Dollar Question ... ok lah, not really million dollar but its still on people's mind ... If you are in the market for a new car soon i.e. within 9 months, would you buy it now or wait? If wait, why? Considering that OMV rebate in March plus announcement of new COE quota to be released in April, timing for purchasing a new ride is becoming more critical. Anyone care to add these 2 cents worth?