x 0

CLARiFiCATiON
The commentary,
“Rivals should tread carefully” (July 5), cited Fortis chairman Malvinder Mohan Singh as saying it was not in Khazanah Nasional’s interest to executive a ‘poison pen’ clause that would be detrimental to the Parkway group’s financial health.

Fortis has clarified that Mr Singh did not make such a comment.

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citizens say they ALL LiKE the ORiGiNAL P O S B

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Let’s link all ATMs

Letter from Ashok Kumar J

I REFER to “Left without cash” (July 6).

In Singapore, some bank ATMs are already linked. For example, ABN Amro, HSBC, Standard Chartered and participating Citibank and Maybank ATMs are connected under the ATM5 network. Bank customers of any of these five banks can use any ATM that bears the ATM5 logo, regardless of bank.

Customers of UOB and OCBC can also use ATMs belonging to either bank for a small fee.

But the biggest bank in Singapore, DBS, is not part of either network. I have frequently come across a long queue of people lining up to use a DBS/POSB ATM when there is another unused ATM belonging to another bank nearby.

Why don’t we bring all the bank ATMs in Singapore under one common network? Customers of any bank could then use the ATM of their choice for a nominal charge, or even for free. It has already proved successful overseas. For example, UnionPay in China links the ATMs of 14 major banks and many other smaller banks.

If we could have a common network, it would help avoid overcrowding. It would also save time, as users would no longer have to search for the right ATM. It could also reduce operating costs by allowing more efficient deployment of ATMs.

I wonder if it would have also helped avoid disrupting access to banking services if one particular bank’s network fails.

Could the Monetary Authority of Singapore or the Association of Banks in Singapore look into this?

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cOmmuters nEEd tO bE On-GUARD tO OFF-guarded OVERCHARGiNG and

OVERdeductiOn of FARES ? ? ? ?

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It is quite unlikely that most commuters are able to commit the fare structure to memory to check that the correct fare has been deducted.

pharoah88 ( Date: 07-Jul-2010 12:50) Posted:

Complicated structure is confusing for commuters
Letter from Chua Lay Kwan
I WAS happy when it was announced that distance fares for public transport would be introduced. I had thought that it would be easier to use and that fares would be cheaper as well.
However, I was sorely disappointed to see how complicated it was to compute my fare. There are 39 distance bands for bus fares and 41 bands for train fares.
For bus travel, the distance bands are in increments of 1km after the first 3.2km.
But the fare increment for each band is not fixed: It ranges from 1 cent (for journeys longer than 26.2km) to 10 cents (for journeys lasting between 3.3 to 6.2km).
It is quite unlikely that most commuters are able to commit the fare structure to memory to check that the correct fare has been deducted.
In the Public Transport Council’s press release, it was stated that 63 per cent of commuters will see fare savings and that 34 per cent will face increases of an average of 31 cents a week.
My bus fare from Marymount Road to Novena Square used to be 69 cents. Now, it is 81 cents.
So, over a week for two-way travel, I have to pay an extra $1.20, or $62.40 a year.
In addition, it has been reported that commuters travelling to and from Johor Bahru face an increase in fares of about 40 cents (40% ?) per trip.

It seems to me that there are many commuters who may not benefit from the new distance fare structure.

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dOes the rObOt swEEping Disc wOrk ? ? ? ?

I dOubt ? ? ? ?

iF it wOrks, I am sUre tOwn cOuncils and Management cOmmittees

wOuld have bOught them fOr the Offices and shOpping centres and hOusing estates . . . .

niuyear ( Date: 07-Jul-2010 12:20) Posted:

We cant change the government's action, but, we can change ourselves.

1) dont subscribe straits or business time, share your newspaper with your neighbour or read Today and read on line.

2) go to public places to surf the internet

3) sack the maid and buy that piece of round-disc(battery operated) that can go round your house do the sweeping for you daily.

4) when sky turns dark, go to bed and sleep, it can save your supper and electricity $$.

pharoah88 ( Date: 07-Jul-2010 12:04) Posted:

SiNGAPORE sEEms tO bE very FUNNY and very FREE . . . .

nOt creating and innOvaating sOlutiOns tO address ALL the EXTERNAL iSSUES tO improve LiVELiHOOD for the SiNGAPOREANS . . . .

but BUSY making CHANGES that are ALWAYS iNCREASiNG iNTERNAL COST-Of-LiViNG fOr SiNGAPOREANS

CAN'T THiNK Of any CHANGE that dOes nOt iNCREASE cOst-Of-LiViNG ? ? ? ?

Severe Acute DiSFLATiON Syndrome [SADS]

x 0

iNTERNALLY

there is just One CAKE

SiZE is FiXED.

ULTiMATELY, it Will reach The FOXCONN LiMiT . . . .

eXternally, the SKY is the lImIt.

There is nO lImIt tO the NUMBER of CAKES

an iNNOVATiVE ENTREPRENEUR can CREATE

PLEASE

STOP STOP STOP STOP

iNtrapreneurship [making mOney frOm WiTHiN - The FOXCONN WAY]

it has nO FuTuRE . . . .

P L E A S E

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DREAM BiG

AiM FAR

SCORE HiGH

nOt sO small lah

nOt sO clOse lah

nOt sO lOw lah

at lEast ? ? ? ?

at the vEry lEast ? ? ? ?

at the mOst lEast ? ? ? ?

x 0

Last SUNDAY morning at the market, I OVERHEARD a SAGE enlighting his friend.

The SAGE said to his friend that he nOticed a UNiQUE TREND in SiNGAPORE.

TOP TOP TOP Tolent in SINGAPORE alwasy DiG DiG DiG their BiG BiG BiG BRAiNS

to sQueeze mOre mOre mOre LiTTLE LiTTLE LiTTLE mOney frOm the MASSiVE pOOr

(lOwAiRES, zerOAiRES, nOAiRES).

WHY ? WHY ? WHY ? WHY nOt ? ? ? ?

Delve dEEP dEEP dEEP intO their BRAiNS tO be mOre mOre mOre PRODUCTIVE and

make sUper prOfits prOfit prOfits frOm the RiCH RiCH RiCH MiLLiONAiRES and BiLliONAiRES ? ? ? ?

WHY CHANGE the whOle System just tO make S$62.40 per year frOm each pOOrAiRE ? ? ? ?

WHY nOt make an ENTREPRENEURiAL prOject tO make S$1 BiLLiON frOm the BiLLiONS ? ? ? ?

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Complicated structure is confusing for commuters
Letter from Chua Lay Kwan
I WAS happy when it was announced that distance fares for public transport would be introduced. I had thought that it would be easier to use and that fares would be cheaper as well.
However, I was sorely disappointed to see how complicated it was to compute my fare. There are 39 distance bands for bus fares and 41 bands for train fares.
For bus travel, the distance bands are in increments of 1km after the first 3.2km.
But the fare increment for each band is not fixed: It ranges from 1 cent (for journeys longer than 26.2km) to 10 cents (for journeys lasting between 3.3 to 6.2km).
It is quite unlikely that most commuters are able to commit the fare structure to memory to check that the correct fare has been deducted.
In the Public Transport Council’s press release, it was stated that 63 per cent of commuters will see fare savings and that 34 per cent will face increases of an average of 31 cents a week.
My bus fare from Marymount Road to Novena Square used to be 69 cents. Now, it is 81 cents.
So, over a week for two-way travel, I have to pay an extra $1.20, or $62.40 a year.
In addition, it has been reported that commuters travelling to and from Johor Bahru face an increase in fares of about 40 cents (40% ?) per trip.

It seems to me that there are many commuters who may not benefit from the new distance fare structure.

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Some senior citizens
now pay higher fares
Letter from Benson Yow
UNDER the previous concessionary fare scheme for senior citizens, it used to cost a maximum of 73 cents to make a trip on public transport, regardless of the distance travelled.
On Saturday, the first day the new distance fares were implemented, I took a train on the North East Line from Buangkok station, alighted at Dhoby Ghaut station, transferred to the Circle Line and disembarked at Esplanade station.
The new fare came to $1.05.
The Government wants to encourage senior citizens to live a more active lifestyle.
#### dOes nOt WALK the TALK ? ? ? ? ####
However, the increase in public transport fares for some senior citizens may deter them from going out.
Furthermore, many senior citizens do not have a regular source of income.

I hope the transport authorities will reassess the new fare structure and work out a better deal for senior citizens.

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WHEN OLYMPIC organizers cOuld nOt make mOney frOm the ADULTS,

can SiNGAPORE make mOney frOm the CHiLDREN ? ? ? ?

WHERE and HOW MCYS raise the mOney ? ? ? ?

S$387 Million can dO a lOt Of gOOd fOr SiNGAPOREANS.

# # # #
SINGAPORE

With 38 days left to the opening ceremony at The Float@Marina Bay on Aug 14, it will now cost $387 million to stage the Games, up from its original estimate of $122 million during the Games’ bid phase, before Singapore was named host by the International Olympic Committee in February 2008 after a keen tussle with Moscow.— The cost of organising the inaugural 2010 Youth Olympic Games has risen three-fold.

# # # #

HOW many SiNGAPOREANS watched the OLYMPiCS ? ? ? ?

HOW many SiNGAPOREANS WiLL watch YOG ? ? ? ?

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Cost of Youth Games goes up three-fold

An extra $265 million needed to meet the cost will be borne by MCYS and Ministry of Finance

Tan Yo-Hinn

yohinn@mediacorp.com.sg

x 0

x 1

HEARD:

The DEViL is the GST ? ? ? ?

the HiGHER all the PRiCES are iNCREASED

the HiGHER the GST cOllectiOn

x 0

SiNGAPORE sEEms tO bE very FUNNY and very FREE . . . .

nOt creating and innOvaating sOlutiOns tO address ALL the EXTERNAL iSSUES tO improve LiVELiHOOD for the SiNGAPOREANS . . . .

but BUSY making CHANGES that are ALWAYS iNCREASiNG iNTERNAL COST-Of-LiViNG fOr SiNGAPOREANS

CAN'T THiNK Of any CHANGE that dOes nOt iNCREASE cOst-Of-LiViNG ? ? ? ?

Severe Acute DiSFLATiON Syndrome [SADS]

x 0

In ECONOMICS, there is The MULTiPLiER EFFECTS . . . .

Once One PRiCE iNCREASES,

every Other PRiCE WiLL iNCREASE . . . .

The cOnsequence is

The DEADLY DiS FLATiON

niuyear ( Date: 07-Jul-2010 11:50) Posted:

My maid asks for increment in salary becos of transport fares increased. So smart !

x 0

WHY ? ? ? ?

is a System WiDE CHANGE iMplemented

WHEN the grand cOmmittee is STiLL UNclear ? ? ? ?

WHEN the grand cOmmittee has nOt lOOked enOugh at the System ? ? ? ?

pharoah88 ( Date: 07-Jul-2010 11:49) Posted:

Told about grouses over higher-thanexpected hikes, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport Lim Wee Kiak said it is unclear if they reflect the majority. He cautioned that not every example can be “generalised to all”.

In time, he said: “We can take a look at (the system) AGAiN to see which is the group that is most severely affected.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTIN G BY SHA RON SEE

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Told about grouses over higher-thanexpected hikes, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport Lim Wee Kiak said it is unclear if they reflect the majority. He cautioned that not every example can be “generalised to all”.

In time, he said: “We can take a look at (the system) AGAiN to see which is the group that is most severely affected.”

ADDITIONAL REPORTIN G BY SHA RON SEE

x 0

Fare calculator Distance Discrepancies ? ? ? ?
Could there be some data discrepancies in the PublicTransport@SG’s fare calculator? Today reader Dennis Puk Leung Kong wrote in to highlight what appears to be an inconsistency.
The distance between the bus stop in front of Buona Vista MRT station on North Buona Vista Road, and the bus stop in front of Blk 43, Commonwealth Avenue is given as 0.3km on the calculator.
But the distance in the opposite direction is given as 0.6km.
Both distances measured on another website,

Mr Puk was worried that if the fare calculator’s data was used to compute actual fares, the commuter could end up being billed for a longer distance. This discrepancy has been put to the Land Transport Authority. www.onemap.sg, are approximately 0.3km. Today has verified these findings.Neo Chai Chin

x 0

dOw is iN SCAM mOde

Blastoff ( Date: 07-Jul-2010 07:03) Posted:

Dow breaks 7-session losing streak

By Alexandra Twin, senior writerJuly 6, 2010: 5:59 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Dow ended higher Tuesday, finishing a volatile session with gains and breaking its seven-session losing streak as investors scooped up certain shares hit in the recent bloodletting.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) added 57 points or 0.6% after having been up as much as 171 points earlier and briefly dipping into negative territory.

The Dow ended Friday's session at an 8-month low, closing lower for seven straight sessions, its worst streak since October 2008. The gains Tuesday broke that streak.

The Nasdaq (COMP) composite gained 2 points or 0.1%, after having risen as much as 44 points in the morning before dipping. Like the Dow, the Nasdaq ended Friday at an 8-month low.

The S&P 500 (SPX) added 5 points or 0.4%. The S&P 500 ended Friday's session at its lowest point in 9 months.

Stocks rallied through the early afternoon, slipped in the mid-afternoon, and seesawed erratically in the last hour of trading.

Selling in retail, transportation and select technology stocks was countered by strength in financial and energy shares.

"I didn't see anything driving the rally this morning other than it's a Tuesday after a holiday, so I wasn't surprised to see it fizzle," said Joseph Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading.

"This is how the market is going to be for a while, particularly this week when some people are on vacation and there isn't a lot of economic news," he said. "The good thing is we could end up higher in the next few days because it's so volatile."

Concerns about the health of the U.S. economy and what hits it might take from the European debt crisis have dragged on stocks in recent months. On Friday, the major indexes closed at multi-month lows as investors pulled back ahead of a long holiday weekend. All U.S. financial markets were closed Monday in celebration of Independence Day.

Initially, investors followed European markets higher, but stocks ended up losing momentum as the day wore on.

Since peaking in late April, the Dow is down just under 14%, the S&P 500 is off 16% and the Nasdaq is off 17%.

"In the last two months and especially the last two weeks, everyone was focused on the negatives," said Bernard McGinn, CEO at McGinn Investment Management. "But longer term, I'm more optimistic. Companies aren't hiring yet, but other economic conditions continue to improve, just at a slow pace."

Retail stocks: Citigroup cut its targets on a number of retailers for the 2010 to 2012 period, citing a "hangover" for consumer spending in the second half and beyond after the first-quarter binge.

Citi cut its earnings per share forecasts and 12-month price targets on Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500), JC Penney (JCP, Fortune 500), Lowe's Companies (LOW, Fortune 500), Nordstrom (JWN, Fortune 500), Kohl's (KSS, Fortune 500), Macy's (M, Fortune 500), Saks (SKS), Target (TGT, Fortune 500) and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, Fortune 500).

Behind the mood swing in stocks

World markets: European markets surged across the board, with Britain's FTSE 100 gaining 2.9%, Germany's DAX advancing 2.2% and France's CAC 40 rising 2.7%.

Asian markets rallied as well, with Japan's Nikkei gaining 0.8%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 1.2% and the Shanghai Composite rising 1.9%.

Commodities: U.S. light crude oil for August delivery settled down 11 cents to $71.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, giving up earlier gains.

COMEX gold for August delivery ended down $13.20 to $1,195.10 an ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 2.93% from 2.98% late Friday. Debt prices and yields move in opposite directions. Treasury markets were closed Monday.

BP: Shares of BP (BP), the beleaguered oil company, rallied 6% after a report said Libya's sovereign wealth fund might invest in the company and the company announced that it would not issue new shares to cover costs associated with the oil spill.

Both Saluzzi and McGinn said that the fallout from the oil spill was also continuing to drag on the markets as investors worried about the depth of the damage to the economy.

Market breadth: Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by a narrow margin on volume of 1.32 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers two to one on volume of 2.19 billion shares.

Economy: The Institute for Supply Management's index on the services sector of the economy was released after the start of trading. The index fell to 53.8 in June from 55.4 in May. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected it to fall to 55. A reading above 50 signals expansion in the sector.