Remembering periodic table

JP Morgan recently came out with a Singapore Property sector report which I like to share some of the key salient points with everyone. You can find the PDF report at the end of this article. Following that, I will like to also share an article from Stuart Chng on whether to buy or not to buy a property during this period. Table of Contents Residential prices could fall by 10per cent over the next two years Sales volume to bottom in 2Q20 Probability of policy relaxation How do developers trade in a declining price environment before a recovery? New launches in 2020 Rise in median household income to support properties in the OCR and RCR region Covid-19 Phase 2: To Buy Or Not To Buy Property, That Is The Question A Constant State Of Disorder What then are classified as safe assets? Is Singapore Real Estate A High Risk Investment? Recent Private Non-Landed Resale Price Trends Recent HDB Resale Price Trends Will Real Estate As An ... » Learn More about Singapore property: JP Morgan says a fall of 10% is likely. To buy or not to buy now?

SINGAPORE - When Parkway Shenton's operations manager, Ms Jenifer Mannong, was tasked with converting an abandoned school into the fully functional vaccination centre it is today, she knew she was in for a challenge. The former Hong Kah Secondary School was empty as it was a decommissioned building with no electricity or water in the toilets. Ms Mannong and her team opened the centre five days later on Jan 18, with barely a hiccup. Singapore has been aggressively rolling out Covid-19 vaccinations nationwide, a massive undertaking involving thousands of people from various government agencies, private healthcare providers and volunteers. The People's Association (PA) told The Sunday Times that as at March 1, around 1,800 PA staff and 14,000 volunteers have been involved in the vaccination programme. There are currently 31 vaccination centres in operation, on top of 20 polyclinics and 22 public health preparedness clinics, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) last Wednesday. Each ... » Learn More about The people behind Singapore’s war on Covid-19

SINGAPORE: The recently concluded Southeast Asian (SEA) Games got me thinking about the issue of Singapore’s national sport. Do we have one? If so, what is it? I guess it depends on what a national sport is in the first place and what purpose it serves. Let’s explore some plausible definitions. WHAT IS A NATIONAL SPORT? Online definitions talk about how a national sport “is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation". That's a decent starting point - but can it be developed? On further thought, I drew up a few more possibilities. What if the “national” aspect of the national sport meant that it had to identify closely with the characteristics of a nation? Or should it be one which the country is particularly good at, with athletes competing and winning at all levels so often that it elicits national pride? CULTURE OF A NATION Based on that first definition of a national sport, I fail to identify a sport inherent to Singapore’s local culture, ... » Learn More about Commentary: Why success should not be the only factor in deciding what is Singapore’s national sport

Even before the pandemic hit, the job landscape was already in flux, with many companies restructuring their workforce and employing technology to change the way they do business. As a result, the number of skills employers are looking for has gone up dramatically. Unfortunately, though, companies haven’t been able to reskill their employees fast enough to meet their changing needs, so to cope with this urgency to fill talent and skill gaps within their organisations, employers have started to “rent” these skills as the need arises. If they require certain skills for a specific period, some companies are also turning to contract-to-hire agreements or partnering with other organisations to rent people who can fill these skill gaps. What specific skills are companies looking for? “Even before Covid-19, companies placed the responsibility of training and development into the hands of individual employees,” says Paul Heng, a career and executive coach and founder of ... » Learn More about How to market your skills for the job you want

SINGAPORE - With schools closed and online learning in full swing, fault lines in the digital space have begun to emerge in the harsh light of the pandemic. Since April 8, as part of circuit-breaker measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, students in Singapore have been engaged in full-time home-based learning (HBL) , which requires the use of laptops or tablets. The Government, schools, community groups and stores have seen a corresponding surge in demand for electronic devices. According to figures provided by the Ministry of Education, about 12,500 laptops or tablets, as well as 1,200 Internet-enabling devices, such as dongles, have been loaned to students who do not have enough devices at home for HBL. HBL, which applies for students in all schools and institutes of higher learning, comprises a mix of online and offline learning. This typically includes e-learning via the Student Learning Space (SLS) platform and completing workbooks and worksheets. A small number of ... » Learn More about How home-based learning shows up inequality in Singapore – a look at three homes

No one in Ms Deena Al Mahbuba's family has met her daughter, Aara. She was born at the end of 2019, extremely premature. By the time Aara left the hospital for her home outside Boston in mid-June, the world was already months into Covid-19 lockdowns. Ms Mahbuba's close relatives, along with her husband's, all live in Bangladesh. The couple moved from there in 2013. Family members have done their best to stay connected, but Ms Mahbuba, a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wishes her relatives were nearby. Her elder siblings could help her soothe Aara when she is sleepless. Or they could show her how they introduced foods to their babies. Aara, now 15 months old, struggles with new foods after having been tube-fed in her early life. Ms Mahbuba also hopes Aara will learn to speak Bengali, but worries she needs exposure to the language from people besides her parents. "Sometimes, I feel really sad," she said. "I feel like there is a gap ... » Learn More about Bonding with a child born during pandemic times

One of the main differences between HDB and private properties is the greater potential for en-bloc sales. In fact, some investors go out of their way to purchase older properties; not only is the cost lower (and sometimes higher rental yields), they may also hit the proverbial jackpot if an en-bloc sale happens. Well, we all know that hitting the en-bloc jackpot is always going to be a profitable one. But what about those who’ve bought just before an en-bloc sale? With the current 12 per cent Seller Stamp Duty (SSD), would you still even be able to make any profit? Here’s a look at the data. Real transactions that have seen profits right after en-bloc We’ve tracked down a series of transactions, made six months before an en-bloc sale of the property. Note that the following buyers made a profit even after paying the Sellers Stamp Duty (SSD). The SSD is a tax on the sale proceeds of the property, that applies even in an en-bloc situation. The current rate is: 12 per cent ... » Learn More about Is it worth buying a property before it goes en-bloc? Here’s what past data suggests