Serious Sinkies Lampa Shrinked > 40%!

[Pinkieslut]

Singapore GDP shrinks a record 41.2% in second quarter
Coronavirus pushes city-state into recession for first time since global financial crisis
6 hours ago

The number of coronavirus cases in Singapore is one of the highest in south-east Asia © AFP via Getty Images
Singapore fell into recession for the first time since the global financial crisis, with gross domestic product contracting by 41.2 per cent in the second quarter after the city-state imposed a lockdown to battle coronavirus.

The quarter-on-quarter squeeze in gross domestic product was the largest on record, according to preliminary figures from the trade and industry ministry, following a 3.3 per cent contraction in the first quarter.

The economy shrank by 12.6 per cent year-on-year — the largest drop since independence in 1965 — owing to “circuit breaker” measures imposed from April 7 to June 1 that forced non-essential businesses to close. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 10.5 per cent fall.

The economy shrank by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year.

The second-quarter fall confirms that the city-state is in technical recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.

The dire economic data come days after Singapore's ruling party won re-electionbut secured one of the lowest shares of the popular vote on record. Concerns over jobs intensified against the backdrop of Covid-19, with the resident unemployment rate forecast to jump to 4.2 per cent in 2020. Up to 97,800 residents could lose their jobs by the end of the year, according to DBS.

Singapore’s export-driven economy was hit by a drop in external demand as countries around the world also locked down to prevent the spread of the virus.

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Chua Hak Bin, senior economist at Maybank, expects a rebound in the third quarter, when looser social distancing measures should boost the services sector. Mr Chua said the services sector rather than manufacturing — which grew 2.5 per cent in the second quarter on an annual basis — was dragging the economy down.

But recovery will be damped by a “slow reopening, border controls, strict distancing rules and foreign worker shortages”, he added.

“Not only are some workers still stuck in dormitories, but Singapore also relies on [hundreds of thousands of] workers from Malaysia who commute every day. ”

On Tuesday, Singapore and Malaysia announced that they would gradually resume cross border travel for essential and official business from August 10.

Under this scheme, long-term immigration pass holders may enter the other country for work.

With foreign workers restricted to their dormitories, construction fell by 54.7 per cent year on year in the second quarter. Having seemingly controlled the virus early this year, the contagion spread rapidly in dormitories where more than 300,000 migrant workers sleep in cramped rooms with up to 20 bunk beds.

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With 46,283 infections and 26 deaths, Singapore has one of the highest number of cases in south-east Asia.

Alex Holmes at Capital Economics forecast that Singapore’s economy would bounce back in the second half of the year after lockdown measures were eased in early June and government stimulus measures worth S$100bn ($72bn) take effect. He said its recovery would outpace others in the region.

“The key reason for optimism is the huge size of the government’s stimulus package, which is equivalent to around 20 per cent of GDP,” Mr Holmes said.

“This has supported businesses and households through the crisis, which should allow output to bounce back now that the economy is reopening.”

 

[sweetiepie]

KNN My uncle say shrink ki lan KNN uncles cpfis investment major on sg and China Market rise till pang pang sang KNN it is just a scam KNN

 

[Leongsam]

Circuit breaker was a stupid idea. Singapore should have just carried on normally without masks.

Sweden did that and their Covid-19 problems are over. Sometimes it is better to bite the bullet and get unpleasant issues over and done with. Otherwise you end up like Australia where you have to lockdown, then open up, then lockdown again, then open again over and over until the country is literally beyond repair.

Locking down won't make the virus go away. All it does is postpone the inevitable.

 

[A Singaporean]

This is only the beginning and the worst is yet to come. Now we understand why the PAP needs to call the election in the middle of the pandemic. Instead of working with citizens for the future of Singapore they are more instead in the well being of foreigners including continuing the approval of work passes to bring in foreigners to displace Sinkies. On second thought this may be a good thing as many in the 61% will also be unemployed soon.

 

[laksaboy]

Election over, now the bad news can have the permission to come out.

 

[laksaboy]

Still don't want to investigate the true origins of the coronavirus?

Still want to praise Tedros for his 'leadership' in the WHO?

Still want to thank Tiongcock for the donation of (hoarded or stolen) masks?

Lam Par Min and some CCP minion, posing for a diplomatic photo op.

 

[JohnTan]

That news sounds fake. My food catering business went up 30% during this period. We had a lot of orders to feed the quarantined serfs.

 

[Scrooball (clone)]

Circuit breaker? More like demolish the whole house because of a problem with the door!

PAP shouldn’t have extended the CB period.

 

[frogcall]

Join funeral industry, tiagong retrenchment proof

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Kenneth Jeyaretnam: Did PM Lee delay the release of Singapore's recession figures to influence the outcome of GE2020? - The Online Citizen
Following reports of Singapore entering recession after the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) plummeted 12.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter, secretary-general of the Reform Party (RP) Kenneth Jeyaretnam took to his Facebook earlier today (14 July) to question the timing of such news being released days after the General Election.
Citing an article – titled “Singapore in technical recession after GDP shrinks 41.2% in Q2 from preceding quarter due to COVID-19” – by Channel NewsAsia in his post, Mr Jeyaretnam claimed that the state media is attempting to downplay this huge drop by calling it a “technical recession”.
He noted that the situation Singapore is in right now “is worse than during the depths of the Great Depression in the 1930s”.
Given that such a major news made the headlines days after Singapore’s 13th General Election – which took place last Friday (10 July) – Mr Jeyaretnam wondered if former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had decided to delay the release of Singapore’s recession figures to influence the outcome of the election.
“No wonder PM Lee was in a hurry to get the election out of the way before this figure came out. He will have had advance warning. Did he delay the release to influence the outcome of the election?” he wrote.
Meanwhile, under the comment section of Mr Jeyaretnam’s post, Facebook user Lynda Ethan opined that the People’s Action Party (PAP) would have stood to gain more votes should the recession figures surfaced earlier.
When Mr Jeyaretnam himself replied to the comment, asking why did Ms Lynda think that way, the response he got in return was because many Singaporeans would have rushed to vote for the PAP “out of fear”.

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[bobby]

The gahmen ministers always boast about their abilities and high salaries to contribute to the growing Singapore GDP...now how ??

 

[birdie69]

This is only the beginning and the worst is yet to come. Now we understand why the PAP needs to call the election in the middle of the pandemic. Instead of working with citizens for the future of Singapore they are more instead in the well being of foreigners including continuing the approval of work passes to bring in foreigners to displace Sinkies. On second thought this may be a good thing as many in the 61% will also be unemployed soon.

CCS still strongly believes that foreign PMET bring good pay jobs to local citizens

 

[Hypocrite-The]

Join funeral industry, tiagong retrenchment proof

U sure ?
Norwegian funeral homes turn to the state to avoid an early grave
Norwegian funeral homes have been struggling as measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus have helped reduce overall mortality AFP/Jonathan NACKSTRAND
15 Jul 2020 05:20PM
(Updated: 15 Jul 2020 05:29PM)
Bookmark
OSLO: While the COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging the world, some of Norway's funeral homes have found themselves without work and have turned to the state for aid.
Due to declining mortality and cancelled funeral ceremonies, half a dozen Norwegian undertakers, according to a public registry, have turned to the state for help after the initial success of Norway's handling of COVID-19 left them struggling to make ends meet.
For the Lande family, who have made caring for the dead their livelihood for three generations, this has never happened before.
"When the measures against the coronavirus were imposed, it turned out that it not only broke the back of the coronavirus but other viruses too," Erik Lande, now head of the family business in the south of the country, told AFP.
"So much so that some of the old and sick people who would have died in normal circumstances are still around," he added.
Usually the firm handles around 30 funeral arrangements a month, but after the introduction of Norway's semi-lockdown in March, that fell to less than ten in following weeks, with not a single one from COVID-19, Lande explained.
To cover fixed costs such as rent and insurance, Landes Begravelsesbyra (Lande's funeral home), has received almost 32,000 Norwegian kroner (about US$3,400) of economic aid.
On Mar 12, Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg announced what she dubbed "the strongest and most intrusive measures" the country had seen in peacetime.
Those included the closure of schools, bars and many public spaces, a ban on sports and cultural events and a curb on foreign travel.
Since then nearly all of the measures have been lifted and the virus has been mostly contained, in stark contrast to neighbouring Sweden which is still seeing community spread.

 

[Hypocrite-The]

News of Singapore's record GDP drop after GE could mean that the PAP might have been asking for a mandate under false pretences - The Online Citizen
Hot on the heels of the recent general election which saw the Peoples’ Action Party (PAP) win a super majority in Parliament, Bloomberg has reported that Singapore has slumped into a recession with a record 41.2% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) plunge.
Given that this is a huge drop, one has to wonder if this was the reason why the PAP was pushing for a general election despite opposition parties calling for such election to have been postponed given the global COVID-19 pandemic?
Did the PAP push ahead with the general elections despite the clear pandemic risks because it feared that an economic downturn would reduce its vote share?
Before the general election date was announced, there were clear indicators that a general election was about to take place. Yet, the PAP government dallied in announcing a date. At that time people had speculated that the PAP was well aware of the date of the general election but was choosing not to reveal the date so as to reap a “timing ” advantage. Now that it has been reported that our economic situation seems dire, it could well mean that the PAP was timing the general election before such dismal economic contractions hit the news? In other words, did the PAP knowingly risk the lives of the voting public to insist on a general election just to ensure that it could secure a super majority ahead of reports of upcoming economic slumps hitting global headlines?
Does this mean that the PAP was asking for a mandate under false pretences?
Knowing what we know now about the dismal state of the economy, does this downplay the legitimacy of the PAP’s mandate? Was the PAP insisting on a general election despite the global pandemic because it knew that the economy was about to significantly contract and therefore wanted to secure vote share before such contraction hits the headlines? Does this mean that the PAP were of the view that had the general elections been delayed, that it would lead to a worse result for them?
If so, this sounds more like cheap power grabbing tactics than the long term planning the PAP has prided itself on.The PAP has banged on about its outstanding reserves and foresight. Yet, if the above questions are answered in the affirmative, it would point to a government that is much more reactionary than proactive.
Given that the PAP had control over when the general election was to be held and could easily have amended the Constitution to postpone such election, has the PAP cheated the voters of their votes by calling elections before news of economic slumps start to dominate global headlines?
Was the PAP counting on the short memory of the electorate? By buying another five years (or so) of absolute power, is the PAP hoping that it would be able to even out the economy by 2025 and the public would forgive them?
Looking at the global trajectory, it would appear that Singapore’s economy will continue to tank. The PAP may have bought itself another five years but is five years enough time to shore up the economy?
If not, voters will do well to remember that the PAP selfishly pushed on with an election that alternative parties had disagreed with to get its “blank cheque” mandate on the basis of stablising the country and its economy. If the PAP fails to do this, it would have knowingly put voters at risk for no discernible benefit.
Share this:

 

[frogcall]

U sure ?
Norwegian funeral homes turn to the state to avoid an early grave
Norwegian funeral homes have been struggling as measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus have helped reduce overall mortality AFP/Jonathan NACKSTRAND
15 Jul 2020 05:20PM
(Updated: 15 Jul 2020 05:29PM)
Bookmark
OSLO: While the COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging the world, some of Norway's funeral homes have found themselves without work and have turned to the state for aid.
Due to declining mortality and cancelled funeral ceremonies, half a dozen Norwegian undertakers, according to a public registry, have turned to the state for help after the initial success of Norway's handling of COVID-19 left them struggling to make ends meet.
For the Lande family, who have made caring for the dead their livelihood for three generations, this has never happened before.
"When the measures against the coronavirus were imposed, it turned out that it not only broke the back of the coronavirus but other viruses too," Erik Lande, now head of the family business in the south of the country, told AFP.
"So much so that some of the old and sick people who would have died in normal circumstances are still around," he added.
Usually the firm handles around 30 funeral arrangements a month, but after the introduction of Norway's semi-lockdown in March, that fell to less than ten in following weeks, with not a single one from COVID-19, Lande explained.
To cover fixed costs such as rent and insurance, Landes Begravelsesbyra (Lande's funeral home), has received almost 32,000 Norwegian kroner (about US$3,400) of economic aid.
On Mar 12, Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg announced what she dubbed "the strongest and most intrusive measures" the country had seen in peacetime.
Those included the closure of schools, bars and many public spaces, a ban on sports and cultural events and a curb on foreign travel.
Since then nearly all of the measures have been lifted and the virus has been mostly contained, in stark contrast to neighbouring Sweden which is still seeing community spread.

If sinkieland funeral industry also retrench, means really deep shit

 

[sweetiepie]

KNN My uncle say shrink ki lan KNN uncles cpfis investment major on sg and China Market rise till pang pang sang KNN it is just a scam KNN

KNN see everyone ? KNN









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Singapore likely to rebound from recession, achieve 7 per cent GDP growth in 2021: Report

Singapore's economy is set for a strong recovery in 2021.ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
Published
23 min ago
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Ovais Subhani



SINGAPORE - Singapore's economy is set for a strong recovery next year after a deeper- than-expected slump amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report by the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (Amro).
The Republic's economic growth will expand by 7 per cent in 2021 after shrinking 6 per cent this year, Amro said in its August update of the Asean+3 Regional Economic Outlook 2020 report released on Thursday (Aug 6).
The gross domestic product growth forecast for 2020 was downgraded from Amro's earlier projection of 0.8 per cent released in March.

Dr Hoe Ee Khor, Amro's chief economist, said Singapore's recovery will start to take shape in the second half of 2020 aided by the manufacturing and financial services sectors that have performed relatively better than other sectors.
As more migrant workers are tested for Covid-19 and cleared for work, the construction sector will also start to contribute to growth in earnest later this year and further boost the recovery in 2021.
"We expect Singapore to bounce back strongly in the second half and into 2021," he said in a virtual media briefing. However, services sectors such as tourism and hospitality will continue to suffer until a vaccine is widely available to allow lifting of curbs on international travel, he noted.



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The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) expects Singapore's GDP to shrink by 4 to 7 per cent this year. So far there is no official forecast for 2021.


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Across the 14-nation Asean+3 region, Amro expects a U-shaped recovery, led by China. Growth across the region is expected to slow sharply this year to 0.1 per cent, from 4.8 per cent in 2019, before rebounding strongly to 6 per cent in 2021.
Strict containment measures to prevent the virus from spreading caused economies to come to a standstill, leading to massive increases in unemployment, disruptions to businesses, and widespread collapse in domestic demand. Bans on international travel have decimated the region's all-important tourism sector.
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Nine of the 14 economies are expected to contract this year, with positive growth rates projected for China, Brunei, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Amro's growth trajectory is predicated on the effective containment of Covid-19, both regionally and globally.
The resurgence in infections in some parts of the region and elsewhere has heightened caution about another spate of lockdowns, which the Asean+3 economies can ill afford, even though most still have some fiscal and monetary space to provide support if needed, Amro said.
Dr Li Lian Ong, Amro's acting group head for regional surveillance, said that managing the exit from the raft of pandemic policies will be key to regional financial stability.
"The biggest challenge facing Asean+3 policymakers in the second half of 2020 will be balancing the trade-off between easing restrictions to revive their economies and risking another wave of infections," she said.
Going forward, the manner in which the exit from pandemic policies is managed will be key to ensuring economic and financial stability, according to the report.
Governments would have to withdraw financial support to non-financial corporations and individuals to maintain the soundness of fiscal finance, while balancing against corporate bankruptcies and unemployment.
Related Story
Singapore enters technical recession as GDP dives 12.6%
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Singapore firms stay gloomy on outlook with Covid-19 uncertainty, rising trade tensions
Similarly, financial regulators must design the exit from regulatory forbearance appropriately, to avoid moral hazards while guarding against any sudden shock to bank balance sheets.
Central banks should terminate their liquidity injections into the financial system to avoid the development of asset bubbles and inflationary pressures while guarding against an excessive tightening of credit conditions, the report added.
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Read the latest on the Covid-19 situation in Singapore and beyond on our dedicated site here.
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