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any company out there start force leave? or cut OT? or retrenchment? i am from semincon industry heard that fab start to force leave from next month onward...warm shutdown...

Housing market set for prolonged downturn: Daiwa 04:45 AM Nov 18, 2011 SINGAPORE - The housing market in Singapore is heading for a prolonged downturn and overall private home prices are forecast to fall between 22 and 26 per cent in the next three years, Daiwa Research said. "We believe the residential property market could remain depressed for several years, triggered initially by a likely forthcoming gross domestic product slowdown (in 2012) and lingering global economic uncertainty," it said. From late next year, Daiwa said, structural issues such as the rapid build-up in unsold inventory in the primary market and vacant rental units will take centre stage and keep home prices and rents in check for several years. The mass-market segment will hold up slightly better than high-end properties, supported by better affordability and the resilience in the resale prices of Housing and Development Board flats, Daiwa said. The house has downgraded its view of Singapore's property sector to "Negative" from "Neutral", adding that "it is hard for us to see the developer shares outperforming the Straits Times Index over the next six months" despite their underperformance in the year to date. DOW JONES URL http://www.todayonline.com/Business/Proper...downturn--Daiwa Copyright 2011 MediaCorp Pte Ltd | All Rights Reserved

Especially given the recent COE cut? Lesser supply = high demand, even in recession? This Sunday Times columnist seems quite certain that it will drop.

SINGAPORE: The Community Development Councils are getting ready to cope with another economic downturn if it hits Singapore's shores. Ms Tin Pei Ling, MP for Marine Parade GRC, said: "One of the key issues is actually healthcare, especially for the senior citizens. Affordability is probably the top concern that they have reflected to me even at MPS, especially for those with chronic illnesses. The cost involved in having to visit the doctors on a quarterly visit can be a bit hefty and difficult for them to bear." http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1158175/1/.html interesting how after so many months of being a MP she still has yet to get a clue on how things work at our level from her statement i derive that many singaporeans have chronic illnesses!

Ferrari plans to halt factory production and cut jobs as a result of reduced engine orders from its sister company, Maserati. Maserati received about 4,500 engines from Ferrari in 2009, a far cry from the 9,000 delivered in 2008. It is reported that factory workers staged a four-hour walk-out because Ferrari plans on eliminating 120 office positions and 150 factory jobs in exchange for the last payment of year 2009 bonus, which was due this past April. A total of around 3,000 people are on the company payroll. "Ferrari has proposed to pay the bonuses if we accept the job cuts," said Giordano Fiorani, a union official representing workers. "We are ready to discuss layoffs and reorganization, as there is a real cut in production, but we don't understand their rigidity," he added. Fiorani told Bloomberg that Ferrari plans to lay off about 600 workers for a week. Ferrari spokesperson Stefano Lai confirmed that plans were afoot to lower the headcount but did not mention any figures. In addition, Fiorani claimed that 2010 production targets were being slashed from 20,000 to 11,000 units. Lai refuted the claim and explained that the company had never planned on producing 20,000 cars this year and will maintain production at about 6,000 vehicles, similar to last year's output. In addition, some jobs would be outsourced and some employees would be offered early retirement. Ferrari sold 6,294 cars in 2009 while its first-quarter trading profit slid 28% to US$49.5 million.

Maybe i'm slow in posting this but this song really make me awake for the marathon later Upturn

What a great slogan...More Good Years for everyone!

The current economic crisis has severely affected the financial institutions and soon will reverberate across other industries. I was thinking not all business will lose money during bad times, there'll still be some that will survive or even profit. Some of them I think include: 1) Food & Beverage - low to mid-end ones. People still got to eat. 2) Child care 3) Pawn shops 4) .... Please add to the list. Just some lazy afternoon discussions.