Latest Posts By pharoah88
- Supreme
About pharoah88
|
|
| 12-Sep-2010 15:16 |
SaizenREIT
/
SaizenReit - might be rising from tomb soon
 Go to Message
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
 x 0
 x 0
|
glObal prOperty expert On CNA last mOnday commented: JAPAN prOpertIes cOntinUe tO remaIn DEPRESSED. nO UpsIde In the near term . . . . sO the GIC IPO is nOt attractIve ? ? ? ?
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Good Post Bad Post | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12-Sep-2010 15:00 |
User Research/Opinions
/
^ Productivity ^ [Effecacy Efficiency Economy]
Go to Message
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
x 0
x 0
|
Sep 11, 2010Give weak pupils a fighting chanceI FULLY agree with Ms Sylvia Wong ('Mind the textbook gap'; Sept 9). I taught academically weak primary school children for 40 years. It was heart-wrenching to see those children failing dismally at every continual assessment, semestral assessment and the Primary School Leaving Examination. Those at the tail end of the streamed cohort, in particular those in EM2, floundered hopelessly because the examination questions were mostly well beyond their ability. Parents who came for the parent-teacher meetings would invariably ask me why their children's daily work was up to par, and yet they failed abysmally at the exams. Initially, I tried hard to get the children accustomed to the challenging genre of questions, but it was an exercise in futility - the gap was yawning. In the end, I accepted reality and grounded them in the basics - hoping they would score enough to be transferred to Secondary 1 Normal Technical stream. I use the word 'transferred' because the candidates who went to Secondary 1 had mostly Ds and Es (failing grades), in addition to a couple of weak Cs or Bs, and occasionally an A. I argued for far more balanced examination papers so that the weak pupils had a fighting chance to at least secure a passing grade. My pleas fell on deaf ears as each succeeding year saw the emergence of even more challenging exam papers, which totally dashed whatever hopes the weak candidates had to secure at least a passing grade. Not only were the questions very difficult but some were also couched in complex sentences requiring a good grasp of the language, and at the same time, guessing correctly what the setter wanted them to do. The smart and above-average children got by with the extra help they got at home or at tuition centres. The parents of average and weak ones would surely be relieved and encouraged if those who set examination papers do so with some thought for the stragglers and strugglers. Ms Wong's arguments for a closer affinity between textbooks and examinations deserve the staunch support of all - parents, teachers and administrators alike. Ho Kong Loon   Text size
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
AK_Francis ( Date: 22-Jul-2010 11:37) Posted:
|
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
Sep 8, 2010
Floods hit CBD, Little India
Heavy showers on Wednesday morning again caused flooding in Singapore, this time striking the Central Business District area. -- PHOTO: STOMP
A HEAVY downpour lasting more than two hours in the late morning on Wednesday caused flash floods in several city areas. Worst-hit was Little India, around Jalan Besar, Rowell Road and Hindoo Road, where traffic snarled and businesses were affected.
The water there was as high as 300mm, said national water agency PUB. At 300mm, water is about ankle-deep.
The heart of the Central Business District (CBD) between North Bridge Road and Shenton Way was also flooded, although the waters there subsided within 20 minutes. Around 123mm of rain fell over Shenton Way and 103mm in Little India on Wednesday. During the Orchard Road floods of July 17, around 194mm of rain was dumped over the area in two hours.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) had issued an alert earlier in the morning, but the flash floods still caught many motorists and businesses off guard.
For Indian national tourist B. Singh, 34, who was tucking into a hot bowl of noodles in a food centre along Rowell Road, the floods reminded him of home: 'I've been here more than 20 days and this is the heaviest I've seen it rain.
'I'm very surprised. The road looks the same as any back home when a flood happens there.'
Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Text size 
Discuss thisEmail thisPrint this
|
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
SOME readers will have noticed that I have turned almost bullish in my market commentaries recently.
Last week, I wrote in this blog that I did not believe that the United States was slipping back into recession. The only problem was the growing unemployment which might be structural in nature and needed time to be sorted out.
In any case, the August jobs report confirmed what many of us privately believe – that the US economy is growing, but at a slower rate than expected. This is a far cry from the financial Armageddon which some economists are predicting.
So rather than the dour headlines that have been spooking sentiments recently like "lost decade for investors" and "markets in for seven lean years", I am actually quite inclined to think that it will be business as usual soon.
And I can even put a date to it – November – as the outcome from the mid-term US Congressional elections helps to clear the grid-lock that is paralysing the US economy and generating the uncertainties which is keeping investors on the sidelines.
Some may ask: Why must investors pay so much attention to the United States ?
The conventional answer is that it is the world’s largest economy. But I believe that the more important reason lies in the immensely profitable but highly risky US dollar carry trade which big traders indulge in.
As the US Fed slashed interest rates to zero and printed almost US$2 trillion to try to jump-start the US economy back to health, the greenback has steadily weakened in value against all other major currencies.
It has become a no-brainer to borrow in US dollars to try to take a punt in other assets, with the borrower making gains from the appreciation of his asset, and foreign exchange, as the greenback weakens.
One sign as to how huge this trade has become is the explosive growth in foreign exchange trading in the past two years, even as the global economy was mired in a slowdown spawned by the mortgage crisis in the United States.
Even as their lending slows down in the US and Europe, global banks have been doing a roaring business trading currencies, as hedge funds get in and out of the various currencies when they borrow and repay their US dollar loans to take punts on other markets.
Their activities have lured other traders into the fray – the algos, for instance, that try to make money from tiny movements in prices.
The outcome of the US mid-term Congressional election may have a bearing on the greenback, and this will remove some of the uncertainties we are seeing in global stock markets now.
This morning, I wrote a Cai Jin column to highlight the possibility of a tech stock rally triggered by the smartphone revolution.
Smart companies like Intel are already gearing for the challenge by snapping up businesses which can add an edge to their technologies.
Not surprisingly, even SingTel may be jumping into the fray, with a report that it was mulling a bid for UK’s Cable & Wireless.
If it successfully buys up C&W, SingTel will be turning history on its head.
During the dotcom boom 10 years ago, SingTel’s bid to buy Hong Kong Telcoms was derailed by C&W’s decision to sell its majority stake in the HK telco to PCCW.
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
Sep 11, 2010
Understanding the PR psyche
I REFER to Thursday's report ('PRs won't be forced to become citizens'). Foreigners turn to living abroad for a broad range of reasons. Some will even country-hop as they want to have a taste of living in different environments before settling down in one place.
Permanent Residents (PRs) with special skills will be in demand everywhere and they will leave if the host country makes it difficult for them to settle in.
Already, we have quite a few incentives in the health-care, education and housing areas for PRs who want to become citizens. Nevertheless, many of them may not take up Singapore citizenship merely for tangible reasons, however substantial they may seem. They may do it only when they are able to call the host country home and feel welcomed.
The confidence that the family can survive comfortably in the host country and contribute to its society is also an important element of consideration for foreigners. There is no point for a PR to become a citizen if he feels that he will have to struggle to make a living later in his life.
On another note, I feel that the Government should make its criteria for selection of PRs more stringent so that only real talent that would benefit the country as a whole are allowed in.
Singaporeans are fairly open to the idea of importing talent to boost our economy and partially solve our declining birth rate. However, those brought in should not be competing for jobs with average Singaporeans.
Bringing in too many foreigners too soon will also not help the situation one bit as the population needs time and space to adapt.
Gilbert Goh
Sydney
Text size Discuss thisEmail thisPrint this
|
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
Sep 11, 2010
Understanding the PR psyche
I REFER to Thursday's report ('PRs won't be forced to become citizens'). Foreigners turn to living abroad for a broad range of reasons. Some will even country-hop as they want to have a taste of living in different environments before settling down in one place.
Permanent Residents (PRs) with special skills will be in demand everywhere and they will leave if the host country makes it difficult for them to settle in.
Already, we have quite a few incentives in the health-care, education and housing areas for PRs who want to become citizens. Nevertheless, many of them may not take up Singapore citizenship merely for tangible reasons, however substantial they may seem. They may do it only when they are able to call the host country home and feel welcomed.
The confidence that the family can survive comfortably in the host country and contribute to its society is also an important element of consideration for foreigners. There is no point for a PR to become a citizen if he feels that he will have to struggle to make a living later in his life.
On another note, I feel that the Government should make its criteria for selection of PRs more stringent so that only real talent that would benefit the country as a whole are allowed in.
Singaporeans are fairly open to the idea of importing talent to boost our economy and partially solve our declining birth rate. However, those brought in should not be competing for jobs with average Singaporeans.
Bringing in too many foreigners too soon will also not help the situation one bit as the population needs time and space to adapt.
Gilbert Goh
Sydney
Text size Discuss thisEmail thisPrint this
|
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
Sep 11, 2010
Offer 'same doc' option to all
I APPLAUD the polyclinics for introducing the Family Physician (FP) scheme.
Under the scheme, a patient pays between two and 2.5 times more than general queue patients to enjoy the following benefits:
- Being treated by a senior doctor
- Being treated by the same doctor by appointment only
- Longer consultation time
- Nurse consultation before seeing the doctor
- Access to a physiotherapist or dietitian when the need arises
- Subsidised rates for medication and lab test
- Shorter waiting time
Doctors also benefit from the scheme. They have less stress due to the longer consultation time allotted. They have an increased sense of responsibility and better patient-doctor rapport. They also project a more positive professional image to patients.
I would like to appeal to polyclinics to look into the possibility of extending the idea of "consultation by the same doctor" for general queue patients as well.
Follow-up consultation by the same doctor would be by appointment only. This way, both patients and doctors will benefit.
Tan Teck Kwong
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
Sep 11, 2010
Offer 'same doc' option to all
I APPLAUD the polyclinics for introducing the Family Physician (FP) scheme.
Under the scheme, a patient pays between two and 2.5 times more than general queue patients to enjoy the following benefits:
- Being treated by a senior doctor
- Being treated by the same doctor by appointment only
- Longer consultation time
- Nurse consultation before seeing the doctor
- Access to a physiotherapist or dietitian when the need arises
- Subsidised rates for medication and lab test
- Shorter waiting time
Doctors also benefit from the scheme. They have less stress due to the longer consultation time allotted. They have an increased sense of responsibility and better patient-doctor rapport. They also project a more positive professional image to patients.
I would like to appeal to polyclinics to look into the possibility of extending the idea of "consultation by the same doctor" for general queue patients as well.
Follow-up consultation by the same doctor would be by appointment only. This way, both patients and doctors will benefit.
Tan Teck Kwong
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
Sep 11, 2010
Offer 'same doc' option to all
I APPLAUD the polyclinics for introducing the Family Physician (FP) scheme.
Under the scheme, a patient pays between two and 2.5 times more than general queue patients to enjoy the following benefits:
- Being treated by a senior doctor
- Being treated by the same doctor by appointment only
- Longer consultation time
- Nurse consultation before seeing the doctor
- Access to a physiotherapist or dietitian when the need arises
- Subsidised rates for medication and lab test
- Shorter waiting time
Doctors also benefit from the scheme. They have less stress due to the longer consultation time allotted. They have an increased sense of responsibility and better patient-doctor rapport. They also project a more positive professional image to patients.
I would like to appeal to polyclinics to look into the possibility of extending the idea of "consultation by the same doctor" for general queue patients as well.
Follow-up consultation by the same doctor would be by appointment only. This way, both patients and doctors will benefit.
Tan Teck Kwong
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
Based On FOUR PILLARS Of GOOD GOVERNANCE:
OPEN * FAIR * JUST * TRANSPARENT
ANNUAL gamIng LEVIES shOUld bE revIsed accOrdIngly:
RWS S$2,000
MBS S$4,000
PRIVATE JACKPOT CLUBS S$6,000
niuyear ( Date: 12-Sep-2010 13:35) Posted:
|
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
Sep 11, 2010
Will telcos neglect exIstIng customers on older networks?
I REFER to the report ('Faster, cheaper high-end broadband'; Sept 1) regarding Singapore's next-generation broadband network.
With the arrival of the new network, using fibre-optic technology, will customers who are still on older networks be neglected in view of the telcos' desire to focus on customers signing up for the high-tech network?
The two biggest Internet service providers - SingTel and StarHub - are channelling resources into marketing and supporting the fibre-optic network and they could very well end up neglecting customers who are still on the older networks based on ADSL and cable technology.
A case in point is my ongoing broadband connection problems with SingTel, which is one of the joint venture partners building the new network, OpenNet. I am currently on an older ADSL contract and my home will not be wired up for the fibre-optic network until late next year. Despite having had the connection issue for more than two weeks, SingTel has yet to fix my problems.
Could this be a sign that service providers like SingTel are treating customers on older networks as less important than those who sign up for the fibre-optic network?
Chan Kah Fatt
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
Sep 11, 2010
Will telcos neglect exIstIng customers on older networks?
I REFER to the report ('Faster, cheaper high-end broadband'; Sept 1) regarding Singapore's next-generation broadband network.
With the arrival of the new network, using fibre-optic technology, will customers who are still on older networks be neglected in view of the telcos' desire to focus on customers signing up for the high-tech network?
The two biggest Internet service providers - SingTel and StarHub - are channelling resources into marketing and supporting the fibre-optic network and they could very well end up neglecting customers who are still on the older networks based on ADSL and cable technology.
A case in point is my ongoing broadband connection problems with SingTel, which is one of the joint venture partners building the new network, OpenNet. I am currently on an older ADSL contract and my home will not be wired up for the fibre-optic network until late next year. Despite having had the connection issue for more than two weeks, SingTel has yet to fix my problems.
Could this be a sign that service providers like SingTel are treating customers on older networks as less important than those who sign up for the fibre-optic network?
Chan Kah Fatt
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
O V E R H E A D :
PRIVATE JACKPOT clUbs prOfits were repOrted In the newspapers jUst a few mOnths agO.
PARIVATE JACKPOT cLubs are fOund In :
- gOlf clUbs ? ? ? ?
- cOuntry clUbs ? ? ? ?
- ntUc clUb at AMK hUb ? ? ? ?
check them OUt ? ? ? ?
niuyear ( Date: 12-Sep-2010 13:08) Posted:
|
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
Sep 11, 2010
Will telcos neglect exIstIng customers on older networks?
I REFER to the report ('Faster, cheaper high-end broadband'; Sept 1) regarding Singapore's next-generation broadband network.
With the arrival of the new network, using fibre-optic technology, will customers who are still on older networks be neglected in view of the telcos' desire to focus on customers signing up for the high-tech network?
The two biggest Internet service providers - SingTel and StarHub - are channelling resources into marketing and supporting the fibre-optic network and they could very well end up neglecting customers who are still on the older networks based on ADSL and cable technology.
A case in point is my ongoing broadband connection problems with SingTel, which is one of the joint venture partners building the new network, OpenNet. I am currently on an older ADSL contract and my home will not be wired up for the fibre-optic network until late next year. Despite having had the connection issue for more than two weeks, SingTel has yet to fix my problems.
Could this be a sign that service providers like SingTel are treating customers on older networks as less important than those who sign up for the fibre-optic network?
Chan Kah Fatt
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
FAIR dIstance-based + travel tIme-based gamIng LEVIES
SENTOSA is OFFSHORE - gamIng LEVY S$100
MBS is ONSHORE - gamIng LEVEY shOUld be DOUBLED at S$200 [tOO accessIble]
PRIVATE JACKPOT CLUBS RIGHT IN CITY CENTRE - tOO cOnvenIent ? ? ? ? tOO temptIng ? ? ? ?
PRIVATE JACKPOT CLUBS - gamIng LEVY shOUld be hIgher than pUblIc
at S$200 x 1.5 times = S$300 [tOO prIvIleged]
nOte: Private TranspOrt prIces mUst be 1.5 tImes Of pUblIc transpOrt prIces
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
FAIR dIstance-based + travel tIme-based gamIng LEVIES
SENTOSA is OFFSHORE - gamIng LEVY S$100
MBS is ONSHORE - gamIng LEVEY shOUld be DOUBLED at S$200 [tOO accessIble]
PRIVATE JACKPOT CLUBS RIGHT IN CITY CENTRE - tOO cOnvenIent ? ? ? ? tOO temptIng ? ? ? ?
PRIVATE JACKPOT CLUBS - gamIng LEVY shOUld be hIgher than pUblIc
at S$200 x 1.5 times = S$300 [tOO prIvIleged]
nOte: Private TranspOrt prIces mUst be 1.5 tImes Of pUblIc transpOrt prIces
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
FAIR dIstance-based + travel tIme-based gamIng LEVIES
SENTOSA is OFFSHORE - gamIng LEVY S$100
MBS is ONSHORE - gamIng LEVEY shOUld be DOUBLED at S$200 [tOO accessIble]
PRIVATE JACKPOT CLUBS RIGHT IN CITY CENTRE - tOO cOnvenIent ? ? ? ? tOO temptIng ? ? ? ?
PRIVATE JACKPOT CLUBS - gamIng LEVY shOUld be hIgher than pUblIc
at S$200 x 1.5 times = S$300 [tOO prIvIlege]
nOte: Private TranspOrt prIces mUst be 1.5 tImes Of pUblIc transpOrt prIces
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
FAIR dIstance-based + travel tIme-based gamIng LEVIES
SENTOSA is OFFSHORE - gamIng LEVY S$100
MBS is ONSHORE - gamIng LEVEY shOUld be DOUBLED at S$200 [tOO accessIble]
PRIVATE JACKPOT CLUBS RIGHT IN CITY CENTRE - tOO cOnvenIent ? ? ? ? tOO temptIng ? ? ? ?
PRIVATE JACKPOT CLUBS - gamIng LEVY shOUld be hIgher than pUblIc
at S$200 x 1.5 times = S$300 [tOO prIvIlege]
nOte: Private TranspOrt prIces mUst be 1.5 tImes Of pUblIc transpOrt prIces
Go to Message
x 0
x 0
FAIR dIstance-based + travel tIme-based gamIng LEVIES
SENTOSA is OFFSHORE - gamIng LEVY S$100
MBS is ONSHORE - gamIng LEVEY shOUld be DOUBLED at S$200 [tOO accessIble]
PRIVATE JACKPOT CLUBS RIGHT IN CITY CENTRE - tOO cOnvenIent ? ? ? ? tOO temptIng ? ? ? ?
PRIVATE JACKPOT CLUBS - gamIng LEVY shOUld be hIgher than pUblIc
at S$200 x 1.5 times = S$300 [tOO prIvIlege]
nOte: Private TranspOrt prIces mUst be 1.5 tImes Of pUblIc transpOrt prIces
| First < Newer 6841-6860 of 13894 Older> Last |