Ass Loon Soln to Jobless - RETRAIN! Might As Well Jump TRAIN! *PTUI*

[makapaaa]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Why not ask his wife to cough back the $80B she lost gambling in NYSE?

Govt help for workers, companies 'this week'
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>More measures will be in Budget '09 which will be brought forward to January, says PM </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Sue-Ann Chia, Senior Political Correspondent
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ST PHOTO: LIM WUI LIANG
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->INSTEAD of waiting till February to unveil help measures for businesses and workers, the Government will be announcing some within the week.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday the Government will announce 'this week' a loan access scheme for businesses, and a new training programme for workers.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>Electricity prices to come down in January
ELECTRICITY prices are set to come down next January, due to sliding fuel prices in recent months.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave this good news yesterday, saying: 'I asked MTI (Ministry of Trade and Industry), they said yes, by January, electricity prices should come down. If we are lucky, it will be where we were before October.'

... more​

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>There will be more measures in the annual Budget statement, which is normally in February but will be brought forward to January.
'We don't want to wait,' said Mr Lee.
He said the recession will last about a year, but it will take several years of slow growth before the economy returns to normal. Recovery, he said, would be a 'fat U', which means a protracted downturn before things get better.
His sobering message was delivered to 1,000 People's Action Party cadres at the annual party conference.
Sitting in the Toa Payoh Sports Hall, many wore grim expressions as they listened to Mr Lee, the secretary-general of the PAP, listing the two responses that the Government will offer.
One is to ensure that policies are in place to safeguard jobs and livelihoods. The other is uniting citizens during this time of adversity and providing good leadership.

=> As 1 cuntry, 2 systems with citizens serving NS while jobs and free scholarships going to FTrash?

On the policy front, he noted that this year's Budget, 'anticipating the difficulties ahead', had already provided more than $3 billion in different schemes to help households, workers, elderly Singaporeans, and companies.

=> Big DEAL! How much more has his Familee sucked out from the Peasants and how much more has his daddy and butch LOST?

This week, details of two new schemes to help people cope with the crisis will be announced, he said.
One is to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) get access to bank financing. Banks are now more risk-averse and have been tightening credit.
The scheme will see the Government sharing some of the risks, so that banks would be more willing to lend, Mr Lee indicated.
The other scheme is to help retrenched workers reskill for new jobs.
'This is a priority because as workers get retrenched, we have to help them with new jobs,' he said.
To be called Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience, or Spur, this comes on top of existing training programmes for workers.
Despite the cloudy outlook, Mr Lee assured his audience that Singapore remains in a strong position, thanks to projects already in the pipeline that will create thousands of jobs.
In addition, because its huge reserves enabled Singapore to fend off attacks on its currency, Singaporeans need not worry about their Central Provident Fund savings losing value.

=> Then why costs keep escalating? Heard of Purchaing Power Parity? Why are Sporns so poor by this standard?

'Nobody is thinking of testing the Singapore dollar...that keeps our economy stable and therefore your savings are safe,' he said.
Inflation has also moderated, and electricity prices look set to come down in January, he added.
Besides help measures, PM Lee also emphasised the importance of good political leadership.
'We cannot sail through this storm on auto-pilot. The Government has to lead...implement the policies which are needed, mobilise Singaporeans and mount a national response to get us through,' he said.

=> Going by the Minibomb saga, Sporns would do better emigrating to HK!

PAP member Angela Goh, attending the party conference for the first time, was glad to see the Government speeding up its help measures.
'It is good that the Government is looking at giving help packages now as people are suffering,' she said.
[email protected]
More reports: SINGAPORE

 

[makapaaa]

Kena slapped right away!

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Short-term US$ deposits getting...
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Analysts say market flooded with greenback after big cash injections </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Gabriel Chen
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THE greenback's rapid climb is taking a big toll on the interest earned by US-denominated deposits here.
A check of banks' websites last Friday shows many, including the local lenders, are paying close to nothing for short- term US-denominated time deposits.
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GREENBACK STRENGTHENS
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>United Overseas Bank is paying zero per cent for amounts below US$50,000 (S$76,000) for a one-month deposit, while OCBC Bank is paying no interest for its call deposit for US dollars.
DBS Bank is paying zero interest for all listed amounts of US dollars for a one-week deposit. This means if you park a big sum, say US$500,000, with Singapore's largest bank in a one-week term deposit in US dollars, you would do just as well to keep the cash at home.
Money market experts say what they are seeing is 'unprecedented'. While currencies like the yen have yielded zero per cent interest, this is possibly the first time banks here have dished out zilch for US-denominated deposits.
'I have been in the market for 18 years and I have never seen such volatile movements in currencies,' said Citi Asia Pacific's managing director of global markets, Mr Lee Lung Nien.
He said the system is 'flush' with US dollars after aggressive interest rate cuts by global central banks and massive doses of liquidity injections to thaw frozen credit markets.
CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun said banks may not be 'needing your money' at this point as there is plenty out there, given that the cost of borrowing in interbank markets has also dipped.
Still, despite the low yield, some consumers have chosen to leave their money in US-denominated fixed deposits.
Mr Koh, an investor in his 40s, said while he is not getting much interest out of his US-dollar fixed deposit, he will keep it there to reap overall 'capital gains' from the stronger greenback.
CIMB-GK's Mr Song said of this strategy: 'He can look forward to earning on the exchange rate side.'
Last Friday, the Singapore dollar weakened to $1.5148 against the US dollar - a level not seen since September last year.
It was only in July this year that the greenback was at a record low against the Singapore dollar, at $1.3468.
Much of the local currency's fall has to do with the unfolding of global events, as investors pile into safe assets such as the greenback and yen.
The plunge in the Singdollar has created headaches for importers and Singaporeans going on holidays in the US.
Experts are baffled at the extent and speed at which the greenback has gained against currencies like the Singdollar.
After all, the United States is mired in some serious debt issues. The country's deficit has been ballooning after factoring in the costs of bank bailouts and the impact of slumping revenues.
Some economists think the Singdollar's sharp fall against the US dollar will continue for at least the next six months.
Morgan Stanley's global head of currency research, Mr Stephen Jen, sees the Singdollar weakening to $1.80 against the greenback in next year's second quarter.
He said the weakening will be partly due to an aggressive policy by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to protect the export-oriented local economy.
But both UOB economist Ho Woei Chen and OCBC's forex strategist Emmanuel Ng, believe the local currency should start to gain ground from the second half of next year.
'There'll come a point next year where markets will take a step back and say we're done buying US dollars, given that the US' fiscal bill has bloated its balance sheet,' Mr Ng said.
'By then, the likes of European Central Bank will be done with rate cuts and there should be some stabilisation of numbers. For Asia, there should be a trough on how badly exports will be affected, and at the first hint of stabilisation, some interest should come back to Asian equities and bonds,' he said.
Other experts say the recovery will not happen so soon. 'The pace of Singdollar losses will slow but not the trend,' said Societe Generale's Asia foreign exchange and rates strategist, Mr Patrick Bennett.

 

[Leegimeremover]

Most pyramid scheme fraudsters tell you they have a lot of money, everything is safe, blah blah just before they go bust. So be careful. It has happened in 2 SE Asia countries before. You have so many investment banks that fucked you. The fact that it is a government means nothing.

 

[david]

RETRAIN! Might As Well Jump TRAIN! *PTUI*

It's jump moat these days :o