A Mother Expresses Concern Over Rising Food Prices as Children Face Higher Costs In a recent social media post, a Singaporean mother shared her frustrations over the impact of inflation on school canteen food prices, highlighting how even children are not spared from rising living costs. The post, shared on Monday, January 15, 2024, featured...
BSP Governor Flags Easing Measures Amid Controlled Inflation and Economic Shifts The Philippines’ central bank is eyeing a reduction in benchmark interest rates in 2024, contingent on inflation being brought under control. In a statement on January 12, 2024, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla also hinted at a potential reduction in the...
Predicted rise in prices supported by supply constraints, China’s recovery, and energy transition; decline expected in 2025. HSBC has forecast that commodity prices will remain elevated in 2024, driven by a combination of squeezed supply, increased demand from China, and the global energy transition. In its latest report, released on January 2, the bank expects...
Prices climb as reinsurers aim to recover from heavy losses caused by natural disasters in 2023 Reinsurance rates for US property catastrophe policies have increased by as much as 50% as of January 1, 2024, according to a report by broker Gallagher Re. The hike comes as reinsurers seek to recover from significant losses sustained...
Opposition politician questions government control as hawker stalls raise prices following GST increase Following the increase of Singapore’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 8% to 9%, opposition figure Lim Tean has drawn attention to rising prices at local hawker stalls. On January 2, 2024, Lim posted a photo of a price increase notice shared...
Some Singaporeans see their Assurance Package payouts ahead of schedule, with early disbursements for OCBC clients. Singaporeans have started receiving early payouts from the Assurance Package (AP), with OCBC bank customers among the first to see the funds reflected in their accounts. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) had announced in November that adult Singaporeans would...
Survey Highlights Financial Disparities Among Singapore’s Elderly Population A recent survey by Mediacorp channels has raised important questions about the financial well-being of elderly Singaporeans. While over 90% of seniors reported being able to meet their basic living expenses, the findings reveal a more complex picture when it comes to their overall living conditions. The...
As the planet heats up, global economic concerns cool – but the environmental crisis continues to escalate, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable change. First, there was the pandemic. Then came the war in Ukraine. And now, the next major threat to global stability could be the climate crisis. Last week, the world recorded its...
Revised GDP Figures Show Contraction in Early 2023, Deepening Recessionary Concerns Amid High Inflation The eurozone has officially entered a recession, with GDP figures revised to show a contraction of 0.1% in both the first quarter of 2023 and the final three months of 2022. This marks two consecutive quarters of negative growth, which is...
Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, regulators step in to protect depositors, as another bank, Signature, also shuts down. On Sunday evening, US financial regulators announced emergency measures to prevent further financial instability after Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse. The key step was ensuring that all depositors at the failed bank would have immediate access...