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http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/S...ory_741449.html

This report follows the recent report on record increases in household wealth. Owner occupied leasee also need to pay property tax. Is this the norm outside Singapore?

SINGAPORE: From July, the prevailing CPF minimum sum (MS) will be revised upwards to S$131,000, up from S$123,000. The CPF Board said the new MS will apply to members who turn 55 from July 1 2011 to June 30 2012. It was announced in August 2003, that the minimum sum would be raised gradually to reach S$120,000 (in 2003 dollars) in 2013. CPF Board said the increase in minimum sum, which includes an adjustment for inflation, is to ensure that Singaporeans set aside sufficient savings for their retirement. Members who can set aside the MS fully in cash can apply to commence their monthly payouts of S$1,170 when they reach their draw down age. Also from July, the Medisave Minimum Sum (MMS) will be raised to S$36,000 from S$34,500. Members will be able to withdraw their Medisave savings in excess of the MMS at or after age 55. The maximum balance a member may have in his Medisave Account, known as the Medisave Contribution Ceiling (MCC), is fixed at S$5,000 above MMS and this would be increased correspondingly to S$41,000, from S$39,500. Any Medisave contribution in excess of the prevailing MCC will be transferred to the member's Special Account if he is below age 55 or to his Retirement Account if he is above age 55 and has a MS shortfall. The revisions to MMS and MCC are to ensure that Singaporeans have sufficient savings to meet their healthcare expenses, and have been adjusted for inflation. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1132239/1/.html So fast increase after election. Wonder will I ever see my money?

ELECTRONIC Road Pricing (ERP) charges at four areas will go up by $1 from Nov 1. The changes are as follows: >>Gantries at the East Coast Parkway (ECP) at Fort Road and the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway slip road from 8.30am to 9am. Old: $3 New: $4 >>Westbound on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) near Kallang Bahru from 7.30am to 8am. Old: no charge New: $1 >>The Central Business District and Bugis-Marina Centre cordon on weekday CBD from 6.30pm to 7pm Old: $2 New: $3 >>Orchard cordon on weekdays from 6.30pm to 7pm Old: $1 New: $2 >>Orchard cordon on Saturdays from 6.30pm to 8pm Old: $1 New: $2 The rates for the other gantries will remain unchanged. The next ERP review will take place in November for the December school holidays.

(Recasts, adds market background, details, analyst comments) By Luke Pachymuthu and Chua Baizhen [/size] SINGAPORE, May 9 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell will shut its second-largest crude distillation unit (CDU) and two secondary units at its Singapore plant next month for routine maintenance, piling more pressure on tight global distillate supplies. The CDU No. 4, with a capacity of 115,000-130,000 barrels per day (bpd) on Bukom island, as well as a gasoline-making platforming unit, is set to shut in early June and run for about three weeks, refining sources said on Friday. The platformer can produce an estimated 6,000 bpd of gasoline. The turnaround on the hydrotreater -- one of the smallest among seven others that produce mainly ultra-low sulphur diesel and jet fuel -- will start around June 24 and last for about a month, the sources added. A Shell spokesman declined comment when contacted. The refiner does not normally comment on operational matters. While analysts and traders said the turnaround would have limited impact on the major's export plan as they would have stocked up in advance, it comes at a time when global oil prices are driven by the strength of distillates on growing demand for transport fuel in Europe and for power in emerging economies. "Any time you have a crude unit or other process units going down, even if it's planned... directionally it will support the market, especially since this is not a very good time for this to be happening," said Victor Shum of Purvin and Gertz. A recent strike at the UK's Grangemouth refinery and output problems at the Porvoo refinery diesel unit in Finland have also curbed supplies at a time of shortages in China, South Africa, Latin America and parts of the Middle East. Outages were also seen in Indonesia, where Pertamina has shut an 83,000-bpd gasoline-making unit at its Balongan refinery due to an outage, while Valero Energy Corp is undergoing regular shutdowns at its crude and vacuum units in Corpus Christi, Texas. On Friday, U.S. crude prices extended their rally to records of $124.92 per barrel, propelled by strong diesel demand and active buying by investment funds. London gas oil futures premium to Brent crude also jumped to a record of $31.28 a barrel on the rally in gas oil Asian gas oil cracks 1M-CK-commanded $33.15 a barrel on Friday, near the record $34.81 hit three weeks ago, as news of the maintenance added support to a market already bullish on Western arbitrage hopes and strong demand from China. BULLISH About 90 percent of refined oil products from Shell's 500,000-bpd mega-facility in Singapore, which has two other CDUs, are sold into regional markets. Traders estimate the three-week CDU shutdown would take between three and four medium-ranged (MR) tankers cargoes, or 90,000-120,000 tonnes, of diesel off the market in June. And with competing demand from Europe, which could see a rare East-West arbitrage opening up as early as next week, traders said Shell refinery's partial shutdown could help lift prices further. "You have to know that the market will act on anything these days. Diesel is driving the barrel, it is the reason why crude oil prices are rising like there is no tomorrow," said a Singapore-based trader with an oil major. While Shell's maintenance of the platforming unit should have little impact on Asian gasoline, the market is expected to tighten in coming weeks due to the Balongan residual fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) outage. Eyes are also on strong Australian demand for gasoline in light of recent shutdowns and outages. The gasoline reforming margin SIN, or the premium that gasoline fetches to naphtha, rose for the fifth straight-session, up $2.31 to $19.68 a barrel. The refiner's Singapore facility, which is Shell's largest refining centre by crude-processing capacity, shut its Long Residue Catalytic Cracker (LRCC) in end-September for more than three months following an outage. At the time, Shell's fuel oil supplies were most affected, as most of the product was drawn off the LRCC's residues as well as from another unit, the 66,000-bpd thermal gas unit (TGU), which had been scheduled for a three-week turnaround in November. The TGU was restarted in early December. (Additional reporting by Seng Li Peng; Editing by Ramthan Hussain) http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7508420

Now that taxis are going to cost a bomb... I foresee many executives currently taking taxis to start considering getting a car. This fare hike is quite jialat... and many will feel the pinch of taking taxis. Last weekend already saw packed crowds at major car dealers like Borneo, Kah motors and even korean brands like Kia etc... (most probably due to return from holiday, fat bonuses, CNY etc) Now with this blow of taxi costs increasing, I won't be surprised another horde of crowd start streaming into showrooms to look at cars. I think next round COE for cat A sure explode upwards. My friends at the major car dealers also feel the same. I got one fren at Borneo closed more than 10 deals over the last weekend... quite a significant jump from previous months. I think those who want to book cars better do so fast cos once the quotas hit, car dealers will start increasing the prices (to accommodate for higher COEs)!