ShareJunction - Member Posts

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hOw bIg iS wOrld cUp ?

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Why dOes WATER

becOme sOund ?

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AusGroup is a clOwn

AusGroup is an Australian that Australian corporate do not tRUST

AusGroup did not get any of the GORGON Gas Project cOntracts

iNstead Malaysian cOntractors gOt the Gas cOntracts

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Way ahead for the third quarter

Investors should continue to go for equities with a focus on the US , emerging markets and Asia

Tony Raza

S
Global equity markets started the year strongly and then corrected sharply at the end of January as China started to tighten policies.
Then equity markets started to rally again, driven by increasingly strong economic data in the United States that resulted in the S&P 500 rising steadily by 15 per cent from February to April this year.
This was followed by the equity markets suffering a significant 10 to 15 per cent correction as a result of concerns in Europe.
The question is: Is it more of a typical mid-cycle correction buying opportunity, or the first hints of a looming double dip?
From our perspective, whilst we believe concerns over Europe are justified, we continue to be positive about the recovery in the global economic and investment cycle due to:
(1) Strong economic indicators;
(2) Strong monetary policy support from leading central banks;
(3) Strong corporate balance sheet and earnings prospects;
and
(4) Potential return of investors back to equity fund following the redemptions of 2008.
We think the investment decision for the second half of this year really boils down to deciding if the world is going to double dip into another period of negative growth or not.
If otherwise, then monetary policy and zero per cent interest rates are likely to “drive” investment dollars into assets that offer growth even if that growth is sub-par compared to normal recoveries.
Also, if the economies are not double dipping, corporates will continue to find their funding rates to be as low as 3.5 per cent, which is a hurdle rate that almost any company can clear even in a slower-than-usual recovery.
For corporates, this implies increased mergers and acquisitions or business investment, either of which would be a positive sign for equity markets.
And finally for professional investors, as long as global economies do not double dip, then there will exist attractive “carry trades”, where funds can borrow at such low rates that it is not difficult to find investments that can cover the costs of borrowing. So what makes us believe there is not going to be a double dip?
Firstly, double dips are extremely rare. The only real case of a double dip was in 1982 when right after the 1980 recession the US Federal Reserve Board hiked interest rates to 20 per cent to stamp out inflation once and for all.
Secondly, while there are structural problems with the financial system and de-leveraging, the multi-year recoveries in the 1930s and mid-1970s indicate that market can recover for extended periods of time even when there are structural problems.
Thirdly, economic indicators for the US remain quite strong as industrial production, manufacturing, confidence and employment all continue to recover.
Even in Europe, these same trends remain healthy so far.
And, lastly, when we summarise the European crisis, it is quite clear the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund have come up with a package that is enough to address the sovereign funding issues, and when we add up the fiscal austerity measures, it does not seem to have material impact on global growth.
We find that many of our clients are surprised that, after the strong rallies of the past year, Asia and the US are still only trading at 11-12 times earnings with consensus forecast growth over the next couple of years in the range of 15 to 20 per cent a year.
Ultimately, we suspect much of the investment opportunity comes from the fact that investors are currently much more careful in analysing risks.
In 2007, the global investment markets ignored the risks associated with property bubbles in places like the US and Europe, and to the massive leverage that was building up to finance them.
This time, investors seem intent on not making the same mistake again, by pricing in discounts and pricing in double dip scenarios even when the evidence for it is fairly light.
The result is that corporates are growing earnings at healthy rates but reasonable valuations.
Thus, going into the third quarter of this year, we recommend investors to continue to overweight equities with a focus on the US, emerging markets and Asia.
While we would underweight fixed-income investments, we would relatively overweight emerging market bonds over government bonds.
We would still hold gold which offers both a hedge and upside based on its own supply/demand imbalances.o far, this year has been a roller-coaster ride for most investors. Many are now probably confused as to where the markets are headed.

Tony Raza is Head of Asset Allocation,

UOB Asset Management.

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Way ahead for the third quarter

Investors should continue to go for equities with a focus on the US , emerging markets and Asia

Tony Raza

S
Global equity markets started the year strongly and then corrected sharply at the end of January as China started to tighten policies.
Then equity markets started to rally again, driven by increasingly strong economic data in the United States that resulted in the S&P 500 rising steadily by 15 per cent from February to April this year.
This was followed by the equity markets suffering a significant 10 to 15 per cent correction as a result of concerns in Europe.
The question is: Is it more of a typical mid-cycle correction buying opportunity, or the first hints of a looming double dip?
From our perspective, whilst we believe concerns over Europe are justified, we continue to be positive about the recovery in the global economic and investment cycle due to:
(1) Strong economic indicators;
(2) Strong monetary policy support from leading central banks;
(3) Strong corporate balance sheet and earnings prospects;
and
(4) Potential return of investors back to equity fund following the redemptions of 2008.
We think the investment decision for the second half of this year really boils down to deciding if the world is going to double dip into another period of negative growth or not.
If otherwise, then monetary policy and zero per cent interest rates are likely to “drive” investment dollars into assets that offer growth even if that growth is sub-par compared to normal recoveries.
Also, if the economies are not double dipping, corporates will continue to find their funding rates to be as low as 3.5 per cent, which is a hurdle rate that almost any company can clear even in a slower-than-usual recovery.
For corporates, this implies increased mergers and acquisitions or business investment, either of which would be a positive sign for equity markets.
And finally for professional investors, as long as global economies do not double dip, then there will exist attractive “carry trades”, where funds can borrow at such low rates that it is not difficult to find investments that can cover the costs of borrowing. So what makes us believe there is not going to be a double dip?
Firstly, double dips are extremely rare. The only real case of a double dip was in 1982 when right after the 1980 recession the US Federal Reserve Board hiked interest rates to 20 per cent to stamp out inflation once and for all.
Secondly, while there are structural problems with the financial system and de-leveraging, the multi-year recoveries in the 1930s and mid-1970s indicate that market can recover for extended periods of time even when there are structural problems.
Thirdly, economic indicators for the US remain quite strong as industrial production, manufacturing, confidence and employment all continue to recover.
Even in Europe, these same trends remain healthy so far.
And, lastly, when we summarise the European crisis, it is quite clear the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund have come up with a package that is enough to address the sovereign funding issues, and when we add up the fiscal austerity measures, it does not seem to have material impact on global growth.
We find that many of our clients are surprised that, after the strong rallies of the past year, Asia and the US are still only trading at 11-12 times earnings with consensus forecast growth over the next couple of years in the range of 15 to 20 per cent a year.
Ultimately, we suspect much of the investment opportunity comes from the fact that investors are currently much more careful in analysing risks.
In 2007, the global investment markets ignored the risks associated with property bubbles in places like the US and Europe, and to the massive leverage that was building up to finance them.
This time, investors seem intent on not making the same mistake again, by pricing in discounts and pricing in double dip scenarios even when the evidence for it is fairly light.
The result is that corporates are growing earnings at healthy rates but reasonable valuations.
Thus, going into the third quarter of this year, we recommend investors to continue to overweight equities with a focus on the US, emerging markets and Asia.
While we would underweight fixed-income investments, we would relatively overweight emerging market bonds over government bonds.
We would still hold gold which offers both a hedge and upside based on its own supply/demand imbalances.o far, this year has been a roller-coaster ride for most investors. Many are now probably confused as to where the markets are headed.
Tony Raza is Head of

Asset Allocation,

UOB Asset Management.

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Attacked, but they just stared

My sister and I have lost faith in the kindness of Singaporeans — except for one

Letter from Irene Teo

ON SATURDAY evening, my sister boarded SBS bus No 30 along West Coast Road, heading for the Esplanade. She took a seat on the upper deck.

A male passenger took the seat next to her, positioning himself very close to my sister. She asked him to give her a little space. In response, he inched even closer.

Then, to her utter surprise, he punched her several times on her head.

My sister tried to defend herself, but she was no match for this man. He held her wrists and continued his attack, hitting her on the head and in the stomach.

As a result of the attack, my sister sustained bruises on her head, neck and arms.

The struggle lasted for 30 minutes and was witnessed by all the passengers seated on the upper deck, but during the entire incident, not one of them tried to intervene and stop the attack.

None of the passengers even bothered to help my sister pick up her belongings.

Only one passenger — Benjamin Tan Wei Kiong — who had been seated on the lower deck came to her aid.

Benjamin heard the commotion and headed upstairs. He asked the bus driver to stop the bus and call the police.

But the driver refused to, saying that the SBS command centre had told him to drive on.

After this shocking incident, there are a few crucial issues I want to highlight:

• Why didn’t the bus driver stop the bus? Driving on meant my sister, as well as other passengers on the bus, was put at risk of another attack.

• Why didn’t the bus driver contact the police? Surely all bus personnel have been trained as to what to do when a passenger is assaulted.

Even if he had been instructed to drive on and not stop, couldn’t he have assessed the severity of the situation and taken action?

• Most importantly, why did no one on the upper deck come forward to help my sister? Thanks to the inaction and apathy of the spectators on the bus, my sister is nursing not just her physical bruises but also the emotional hurt from the fact that no one bothered to help her.

This incident has made me lose faith in the kindness of Singaporeans.

The only glimmer of hope is the existence of Good Samaritans such as 22-yearold Benjamin, who helped my sister and who later spent his Saturday night at the police station with us.

Thank you, Benjamin.

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Attacked, but they just stared

My sister and I have lost faith in the kindness of Singaporeans — except for one

Letter from Irene Teo

ON SATURDAY evening, my sister boarded SBS bus No 30 along West Coast Road, heading for the Esplanade. She took a seat on the upper deck.

A male passenger took the seat next to her, positioning himself very close to my sister. She asked him to give her a little space. In response, he inched even closer.

Then, to her utter surprise, he punched her several times on her head.

My sister tried to defend herself, but she was no match for this man. He held her wrists and continued his attack, hitting her on the head and in the stomach.

As a result of the attack, my sister sustained bruises on her head, neck and arms.

The struggle lasted for 30 minutes and was witnessed by all the passengers seated on the upper deck, but during the entire incident, not one of them tried to intervene and stop the attack.

None of the passengers even bothered to help my sister pick up her belongings.

Only one passenger — Benjamin Tan Wei Kiong — who had been seated on the lower deck came to her aid.

Benjamin heard the commotion and headed upstairs. He asked the bus driver to stop the bus and call the police.

But the driver refused to, saying that the SBS command centre had told him to drive on.

After this shocking incident, there are a few crucial issues I want to highlight:

• Why didn’t the bus driver stop the bus? Driving on meant my sister, as well as other passengers on the bus, was put at risk of another attack.

• Why didn’t the bus driver contact the police? Surely all bus personnel have been trained as to what to do when a passenger is assaulted.

Even if he had been instructed to drive on and not stop, couldn’t he have assessed the severity of the situation and taken action?

• Most importantly, why did no one on the upper deck come forward to help my sister? Thanks to the inaction and apathy of the spectators on the bus, my sister is nursing not just her physical bruises but also the emotional hurt from the fact that no one bothered to help her.

This incident has made me lose faith in the kindness of Singaporeans.

The only glimmer of hope is the existence of Good Samaritans such as 22-yearold Benjamin, who helped my sister and who later spent his Saturday night at the police station with us.

Thank you, Benjamin.

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HEARD BP share prIce was WHACKED dOwn by 50% . . . .

hOw many S$BiLLiONS GiC had lOst fOr SiNGAPORE ? ? ? ?

jUst wOnder # # # #

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Net Profit before Interest and Tax / Debt Interest Ratio

will indicate whether the Debt Leverage brings in

POSiTiVE or Negative Effect.

As lOng as the Debt Leverage Effect is POSiTiVE, it is a Benefit.

Otherwise, it is a Damage.

pharoah88 ( Date: 07-Jul-2010 16:58) Posted:

Thanks for your research.

HiGH Debt / Equity RatiO gives gOOd Leverage On Other peOple's mOney during bOOm ecOnOmy.

When ecOnOmy is nOt gOing nOrth, it is Safer tO have less Leverage with Other peOple's mOney [OPM].

cOst of OPM is HiGH tOO and the returns are pOssibly lOwer in pOOr ecOnOmic TiMES.

The QUESTiON is whether the wOrld ecOnOmy is gOing nOrth or sOuth ? ? ? ?

alexchia01 ( Date: 07-Jul-2010 11:26) Posted:

CoscoCorp's Debt/Equity Ratio has been increasing since 2006, from 1.4 to currently 3.0.

Whereas its counterpart, Yangzijiang's Debt/Equity Ratio has decreased from 2.5 to 1.6.

For capital intensive industries, like shipping and construction, companies should try to keep their Debt/Equity Ratio below 2.

So from Fundamental standpoint, CoscoCorp's Debt is a bit high.

x 0

Thanks for your research.

HiGH Debt / Equity RatiO gives gOOd Leverage On Other peOple's mOney during bOOm ecOnOmy.

When ecOnOmy is nOt gOing nOrth, it is Safer tO have less Leverage with Other peOple's mOney [OPM].

cOst of OPM is HiGH tOO and the returns are pOssibly lOwer in pOOr ecOnOmic TiMES.

The QUESTiON is whether the wOrld ecOnOmy is gOing nOrth or sOuth ? ? ? ?

alexchia01 ( Date: 07-Jul-2010 11:26) Posted:

CoscoCorp's Debt/Equity Ratio has been increasing since 2006, from 1.4 to currently 3.0.

Whereas its counterpart, Yangzijiang's Debt/Equity Ratio has decreased from 2.5 to 1.6.

For capital intensive industries, like shipping and construction, companies should try to keep their Debt/Equity Ratio below 2.

So from Fundamental standpoint, CoscoCorp's Debt is a bit high.

pharoah88 ( Date: 07-Jul-2010 11:04) Posted:

Which kind of debts?

What are COSCO's Level and Extent of debts?

Is COSCO generating OperatiOnal CASH flOws ?

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Committee:

Seow shouldn’t be Parkway ID

SINGAPORE

By a majority vote of 3 to 1, the committee said Mr Seow “cannot be reasonably perceived to be able to exercise independent business judgement” as spelt out by the Code of Corporate Governance.

In a stock exchange filing yesterday, Parkway said Mr Seow was deemed to be not independent due to an agreement he made with rival bidder Fortis Healthcare of India in March.

This allowed Fortis to tell him how to vote at the shareholder and director meetings.

This is despite Mr Seow not holding a management position and having no business relationship with Parkway.

The committee, which include chairman Chang See Hiang, Mr Richard Seow, Mr Alain Ahkong Chuen Fah, Dato’ Mohammed Azlan bin Hashim, Mr Sunil Godhwani and Mr Sandeep Laumas, disclosed its position in reply to regulator queries.

It also stressed that Mr Seow “had always in the past exercised his independent business judgment with a view to the best interest of the company, and sees no reason why Mr Richard Seow will not be able to continue to act in the best interest of all shareholders in his capacity as director of the company going forward”.

In May, Integrated Healthcare Holdings — a subsidiary of Khazanah, the Malaysian government’s investment holding arm — made a partial takeover offer of $1.18 billion to acquire Parkway’s shares at $3.78 a share.

Earlier this month, Fortis made a counter bid of $3.2 billion in cash or $3.80 for each Parkway share that it did not own.— The nominating committee of health care provider Parkway said its vice-chairman Richard Seow should not be considered an independent director (ID) in relation to the partial offer by Malaysia’s state investment arm Khazanah.

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Bank Tests just stress markets

MATTHEW LYNN
A
They are called stress tests.
Regulators will take a hard look at the big European lenders, such as Banco Santander, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank, then run various catastrophic scenarios past them, and check that the bank has the strength to withstand whatever storms might blow their way.
Sounds like a good idea? Well, not really.
In truth, there aren’t any common standards, we don’t know what scenarios are being tested, and we don’t know if all the results are going to be published. All this is doing is sparking another round of feverish speculation.
In effect, it is the stress tests themselves that are stressing out the markets.
The tests probably sounded sensible when they were announced at an EU summit on June 17. The Bank of Spain said it would publish the results of its own tests before German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy followed suit, proposing assessments for all main European banks. “What’s important right now is that we have maximum transparency,” said Mrs Merkel, announcing the initiative.
There is absolutely no sign the tests, due to be published later this month, have calmed investors. If anything, they are more nervous about the fragility of the European banking system than ever.
Of course, it is possible to see what Mrs Merkel and Mr Sarkozy were hoping to achieve. Right now, speculators are having a field day. All they have to do is put out the idea that a Spanish savings bank or one of the German Landesbanken has a balance sheet stuffed full of dodgy loans.
Then the markets dive. Since no one really knows what bank had lent money to whom, there is space for all kinds of wild rumours to flourish.
Disclose everything, and you reassure the markets that Europe’s financial system isn’t bust. Good enough in theory. But there are five reasons why it isn’t working out the way they hoped.nother week, another bad idea. With the markets still jumpy about Greece, the sovereign-debt crisis and the banking system, the European Union’s leaders have come up with a way to reassure us that everything is just fine in the euro zone, and there is really nothing to worry about.
FIVE REASONS WHY TESTS DON’T WORK
One, there aren’t any common standards.
European banks are all regulated on a national basis. The judgments applied to a Portuguese bank may be quite different to a Swedish one. Europe-wide stress tests don’t make any sense unless there is a single European regulator applying the same standard to each.
Two, what’s being tested exactly?
There are all sorts of scenarios you can think of where the banks come through okay. A mild recession in Germany, for example.
The oil price surging back to US$100 a barrel?
But what the markets are really nervous about is that Greece defaults, or Spain comes under attack, and that it brings down some really big banks. Unless you test the ability to withstand that kind of extreme event, it’s just a whitewash, and that won’t reassure anyone.
Three, it still isn’t clear whether the results will be made public. Some of the German banks are resisting compulsory publication. The British regulators may not be allowed to release the results without the permission of the bank involved. Why should they agree to that when there might be sensitive commercial information being disclosed? And yet, if the tests are kept secret, it is just a joke. And investors will assume any bank that doesn’t publish theresults has something to hide.
Fourth, who says the horrors are hidden inside the big banks? If you know you have lots of bad loans, and you are about to be stress-tested, maybe you could offload them to a friendly hedge fund for a few weeks. You might be able to, or you might not. The point is, a speculator can always spread rumours that you have parked all the stuff somewhere else — and then the stress tests will have achieved precisely nothing.
Finally, and most importantly, it just sets off a new round of speculation. Now everyone is worrying about what the stress tests will reveal. It sets a deadline, and everyone is nervous about that. If you are going to have stress tests, get them done behind the scenes, then announce the results when you inform the public of the decision to have the tests.
EU leaders think this is a crisis caused by financial markets. They imagine a basically sound system is being undermined by a bunch of badly behaved traders and hedge-fund managers.
And they think, naively, that if they just get enough information out there, everyone will see that the euro is in good shape, and stop worrying about it.
It isn’t true. The real issue is that Greece is probably bust, will default sooner or later, and will inflict huge losses on the banking system when it does.
Stress tests won’t change that harsh reality. All they are doing is making the markets even more nervous than before.
BLOOMBERG

The writer is a Bloomberg News columnist.

The opinions expressed are his own.

x 0

UNsafe DARK DRiViNG is One way tO prOduce MiLLiONAiRES frOm iNsurance CLAiMS ? ? ? ?

pharoah88 ( Date: 07-Jul-2010 14:57) Posted:

Driving in the dark on car safety

Richard Hartung
Once again, there has been another massive automobile recall. This past week, Toyota recalled 270,000 Lexus and Crown cars around the world.
While the car-maker says no accidents have been reported so far, cars could stall when on the move. In Singapore, Borneo Motors says it will recall nearly 500 cars, though it told the media they are “safe to drive”.
The recalls have come fast and furious for nearly a year.
Toyota started the ball rolling when it recalled millions of cars to fix problems with stuck accelerator pedals and floor mats. Then, Honda staged a recall due to air bags. Next, it was brakes. Among the other recent problems were Lexus steering wheels.
Reports from the United States indicate that accelerator problems alone may have caused 89 deaths. The National Highway Transport and Safety Administration (NHTSA) came up with this number by analysing complaints from drivers.
Perhaps the bulk of the problems that caused the massive recalls in America and other countries have simply passed Singapore by. Many of the models affected in other markets weren’t sold in Singapore.
But if any of the models available here did have yet unreported defects, it would be difficult to know since there seems to be little visibility of consumer complaints and the reasons for accidents. Without data on complaints or defects, it’s hard to figure out the magnitude of any problem.
And when recalls are made here, there is also little information about whether car owners respond, and if the problems were fixed. Local consumers quickly seem to forget about automobile flaws that could be life or death issues.
Part of the reason for complacency could simply be the difficulty in locating information or making a complaint. If a driver did face a problem, the easiest thing should be to go to the car company itself. The past year seems to have shown, though, that auto companies may have been less than forthcoming about responding to consumers or reporting problems.
A search of Singapore websites where one might think to file a complaint or find data yields few results.
While the Land Transport Authority keeps reams of data on everything from vehicle registrations to inspections, and its OneMotoring portal has a slew of motoring news, advice and forms, what seems to be missing is information on how to report a potential vehicle defect, statistics on such complaints, and even any news about carmarkers’ recalls.
The Traffic Police’s website, meanwhile, shows the number of road fatalities decreasing — which is good — but again, how to file a complaint or find data on accidents isn’t readily apparent either.
Automobile dealers also don’t seem to list consumers complaints on their websites, beyond official safety advisories on recalled models.
Looking for information at consumer organisations yields a similar lack of results.
The Consumers Association of Singapore simply indicates that 10 per cent of its 21,872 complaints last year related to cars. The Automobile Association of Singapore just has links to other sites.
Of course, just reporting a problem to the authorities or consumer groups isn’t a panacea.
The NHTSA has faced severe criticism over its cosy relationship with the auto industry and its previous failure to probe car owners’ complaints. Only after the media spotlight was thrown on deaths resulting from automobile defects, was consumer data made available for analysis.
The result is that long-time problems have come under scrutiny: Along with recent NHTSA investigations, research by
So, how do we cast a more rigorous light on motor vehicle safety here? One option could be to create a complaints hotline or website where owners
If there are major issues, though, consumers would have a way to bring them to someone’s attention, potential safety issues could be identified earlier, and investigations would facilitated.
Lives hang in the balance.
Making it easier for consumers to report problems could make our cars safer, sooner.The New York Times showed that there were over 10 times more complaints about air bags than about accelerators.can report potential vehicle flaws and register complaints. The best case scenario would be that this platform is hardly used at all, meaning that there are no problems.

The writer is a consultant who has lived in Singapore since 1992.

x 0

Driving in the dark on car safety

Richard Hartung
Once again, there has been another massive automobile recall. This past week, Toyota recalled 270,000 Lexus and Crown cars around the world.
While the car-maker says no accidents have been reported so far, cars could stall when on the move. In Singapore, Borneo Motors says it will recall nearly 500 cars, though it told the media they are “safe to drive”.
The recalls have come fast and furious for nearly a year.
Toyota started the ball rolling when it recalled millions of cars to fix problems with stuck accelerator pedals and floor mats. Then, Honda staged a recall due to air bags. Next, it was brakes. Among the other recent problems were Lexus steering wheels.
Reports from the United States indicate that accelerator problems alone may have caused 89 deaths. The National Highway Transport and Safety Administration (NHTSA) came up with this number by analysing complaints from drivers.
Perhaps the bulk of the problems that caused the massive recalls in America and other countries have simply passed Singapore by. Many of the models affected in other markets weren’t sold in Singapore.
But if any of the models available here did have yet unreported defects, it would be difficult to know since there seems to be little visibility of consumer complaints and the reasons for accidents. Without data on complaints or defects, it’s hard to figure out the magnitude of any problem.
And when recalls are made here, there is also little information about whether car owners respond, and if the problems were fixed. Local consumers quickly seem to forget about automobile flaws that could be life or death issues.
Part of the reason for complacency could simply be the difficulty in locating information or making a complaint. If a driver did face a problem, the easiest thing should be to go to the car company itself. The past year seems to have shown, though, that auto companies may have been less than forthcoming about responding to consumers or reporting problems.
A search of Singapore websites where one might think to file a complaint or find data yields few results.
While the Land Transport Authority keeps reams of data on everything from vehicle registrations to inspections, and its OneMotoring portal has a slew of motoring news, advice and forms, what seems to be missing is information on how to report a potential vehicle defect, statistics on such complaints, and even any news about carmarkers’ recalls.
The Traffic Police’s website, meanwhile, shows the number of road fatalities decreasing — which is good — but again, how to file a complaint or find data on accidents isn’t readily apparent either.
Automobile dealers also don’t seem to list consumers complaints on their websites, beyond official safety advisories on recalled models.
Looking for information at consumer organisations yields a similar lack of results.
The Consumers Association of Singapore simply indicates that 10 per cent of its 21,872 complaints last year related to cars. The Automobile Association of Singapore just has links to other sites.
Of course, just reporting a problem to the authorities or consumer groups isn’t a panacea.
The NHTSA has faced severe criticism over its cosy relationship with the auto industry and its previous failure to probe car owners’ complaints. Only after the media spotlight was thrown on deaths resulting from automobile defects, was consumer data made available for analysis.
The result is that long-time problems have come under scrutiny: Along with recent NHTSA investigations, research by
So, how do we cast a more rigorous light on motor vehicle safety here? One option could be to create a complaints hotline or website where owners
If there are major issues, though, consumers would have a way to bring them to someone’s attention, potential safety issues could be identified earlier, and investigations would facilitated.
Lives hang in the balance.
Making it easier for consumers to report problems could make our cars safer, sooner.The New York Times showed that there were over 10 times more complaints about air bags than about accelerators.can report potential vehicle flaws and register complaints. The best case scenario would be that this platform is hardly used at all, meaning that there are no problems.

The writer is a consultant who has lived in Singapore since 1992.

x 0

Fine-tuning reserve requirements

Letter from Lim Jia Kai

I REFER to “No cut in length of NS:

DPM Teo” (July 1). Operationally-ready National Servicemen who are WOSEs (Warrant Officers, Specialists and Enlistees) are required to serve a minimum of seven high-key and three low-key trainings by the age of 40.

While the requirements are clear, some are at a disadvantage since attending low-key training in excess of the minimum does not count toward meeting these requirements.

It seems strange that with Full-time NSmen now serving a shorter period of service of two years, Operationally-Ready NSmen are now called up for low-key trainings beyond the minimum requirements, when these low-key trainings or duties can be fulfilled by Fulltime NSmen instead.

If operationally-ready NSmen are indeed required, perhaps the Ministry of Defence could count attendance at such low-key training towards reserve requirements. For example, two lowkey trainings may be equivalent to one high-key session.

The benefits are multi-pronged:

NSmen will be more enthusiastic about attending training, resulting in lower drop-out or deferment rates, which also provides every NS unit with greater certainty in manpower planning and a lower workload.

# # # #

UNproductivity ? MiSproductivity ? DiSproductivity ?

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x 1

the fEw HAPPY cOuntries have nO RiCH MiNORiTY ? ? ? ?

x 0

there is nO absOlute RiCH cOuntry iN the wOrld.

there is Only Rich MiNORiTY iN mOst cOuntries

pharoah88 ( Date: 07-Jul-2010 14:22) Posted:

Will we be happier in 10 years?

Letter from Loon Seng Chee
I REFER to “Target: $3,100 Median Wage for workers” (July 3-4). The newly-announced 2020 target for a $3,100 Median Wage is a laudable aim. The pay increases are highly welcome. This, and other planned reforms to health care, public transport and infrastructure are worth looking forward to.
But for the average working Singaporean tax-payer, the more pressing issue is how these proposed initiatives translate into tangible improvements. In 10 years’ time, how happy will be we?
For example, pay increases will not mean very much if they are Offset by a Bigger Jump in the Cost of Living. When it comes to public transport, the real issue for the average Singaporean is whether his commute is smoother and faster.
Similarly, when it comes to water management, all we care about is that our lives are not affected by traffic jams and our cars and homes aren’t flooded.
As the population ages, one of the biggest priority is improving, or at least maintaining, our standard of living as many of us enter the autumn of our lives without being forced to continue working because our savings alone cannot pay for the rising cost of living.
With all the pressures Singaporeans face, what will really Matter is if our lives change for the Better. Many studies have shown that the happiest countries are often not the richest.
Numbers and statistics tell one side of the story.

The Litmus Test of our success is the well-being of our citizens. It is the measure of our happiness that is the true measure of a caring government.

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WiLL STi be HAPPY Or UNhappy iN 2020 ? ? ? ?

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Will we be happier in 10 years?

Letter from Loon Seng Chee
I REFER to “Target: $3,100 Median Wage for workers” (July 3-4). The newly-announced 2020 target for a $3,100 Median Wage is a laudable aim. The pay increases are highly welcome. This, and other planned reforms to health care, public transport and infrastructure are worth looking forward to.
But for the average working Singaporean tax-payer, the more pressing issue is how these proposed initiatives translate into tangible improvements. In 10 years’ time, how happy will be we?
For example, pay increases will not mean very much if they are Offset by a Bigger Jump in the Cost of Living. When it comes to public transport, the real issue for the average Singaporean is whether his commute is smoother and faster.
Similarly, when it comes to water management, all we care about is that our lives are not affected by traffic jams and our cars and homes aren’t flooded.
As the population ages, one of the biggest priority is improving, or at least maintaining, our standard of living as many of us enter the autumn of our lives without being forced to continue working because our savings alone cannot pay for the rising cost of living.
With all the pressures Singaporeans face, what will really Matter is if our lives change for the Better. Many studies have shown that the happiest countries are often not the richest.
Numbers and statistics tell one side of the story.

The Litmus Test of our success is the well-being of our citizens. It is the measure of our happiness that is the true measure of a caring government.

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iS thErE a

CHiNA tOwn

iN iNDiA ?