truly first world equal opportunity

Some middle-class students fortunate enough to have been accepted to Stanford University this year just got US$180,000 (S$243,081.00) worth of more good news: Their tuition is being waived.

Any undergraduate admitted to the class of 2019 who comes from a family with an annual income below US$125,000 won't have to pay tuition, the school announced last week. Previously, the cutoff for free tuition was US$100,000 in family income.
- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/education/s...88mzQ.dpuf

http://business.asiaone.com/personal-fin...now-it-yet

1. You've put more money in investing than you have in investment books and seminars

If you've put so much as $100 toward an investment fund, congratulations.

You're way ahead of people who haven't put one cent in an investment fund, but who've spent thousands on trading seminars, get-rich-quick schemes, and finance books (of which they've read maybe 10 pages of each).

One of the keys to successful investment is to start early. And while I'm not dissing homework (by all means, understand what you invest in), Singaporeans too rarely accompany book learning with actual action.

2. You reach 35 with no credit card debt

At around 30, most of us start making major financial decisions.

This is the age when we're getting married, buying a house, and wondering why every song on the radio now sounds like a car accident.

It's also when we're earning more than we're used to (beyond entry level pay), which translates to higher credit ceilings.

The combination of factors explains the number of frequent revolvers out there. And as a frank admission, even I ended up as one of them for a while (medical bills).

If you've managed to avoid it, you have a tighter grip on your finances than a lot of your peers.

3. You know what an index fund / exchange traded fund is

Many new investors fall prey to expensive asset management schemes, overpriced insurance policies, or outright Ponzi schemes.

Sooner or later, they'll find that index funds deliver better returns at lower costs. The only reason they're not in everyone's portfolio is that they're less advertised - few fund managers or financial advisors will recommend a product that brings them little to no commission.

So if you actually know about ST Index funds, or are already invested in them, you've got a better sense of financial markets than Joe Average.
- See more at: http://business.asiaone.com/personal-fin...jHisj.dpuf

using pyscho problem as an excuse to harm and commit crime...what can i say? smart?

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singaporean-a-...17873.html

A Singaporean Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) scholarship holder doing research at one of America’s top universities allegedly tried to poison her laboratory mates using a toxic chemical, The Straits Times reported.

Ouyang Xiangyu, 27, has been charged with four counts of poisoning the drinking water of lab mates at Stanford University.

Two female graduate student researchers in the same lab as Ouyang said they experienced burning sensations in their throats after drinking the water in their bottles.

They also found that the water smelt of paraformaldehyde (PFA).

Paraformaldehyde is a strong-smelling chemical classified as a probable human carcinogen (a substance that causes cancer) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and was available in the lab where they worked. It is also used as a preservative in mortuaries as it preserves tissue samples.

Ouyang is currently out on US$50,000 (S$68,000) bail but is not allowed to leave the country. She is also expected to plead not guilty due to insanity.

The former Temasek Junior College student is originally from China. She was expected to complete her A*Star National Science Scholarship PhD studies by 2018 and return to Singapore to complete her bond.

According to court documents, Ouyang, who was described as “quiet and shy” by her colleagues, started showing problematic signs in August last year when she allegedly started sabotaging a lab mate’s experiment.

When the police questioned her in November, Ouyang admitted that she added PFA to at least two bottles that did not belong to her.

Ouyang also claimed she suffered from severe insomnia and dizzy spells and had consulted a psychiatrist for help. She insisted that she never wanted to harm anyone.

Her actions were “a cry for help”, she said, and claimed she had little control over them.

Stanford University has also ordered her to stay away from the campus.

According to California law, she could face between two and five years in jail if found guilty. Another three years could be added if the poison involved can cause "great bodily harm or death"

Rest In Peace.

Thank you for everything that you had done for Singapore.

http://www.pmo.gov.sg/mediacentre/passin...-singapore

An island nation slightly smaller than New York City and Hong Kong remains the world’s most expensive city for a second year in a row, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) bi-annual Worldwide Cost of Living report.

Singapore holds the undeniable top spot as the priciest city, respectfully followed by Paris, Oslo, Zurich, and Sydney.

The EIU’s survey compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services, including groceries, clothing, household supplies, personal care items, home rental prices, transportation, utility bills, private schools, domestic help, and recreational costs.

The report includes 133 cities and is designed to offer city-to-city comparisons with New York City set as the standard base of the study.

According to the report, Singapore has absurdly expensive prices in the following categories:

Clothes: Approximately 50% more compared to New York City
Groceries: Approximately 11% more compared to New York City
Cars and transportation: Approximately three times more compared to New York City

While Asia is home to the world’s most expensive city, the region also boasts the world’s most affordable cities, including Karachi and Bengaluru (formerly known as Bangalore), Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi, and Tehran.
http://www.businessinsider.sg/the-10-mos...Q41xY7baps

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he and almost everyone working for him would take a 10% pay cut because of mounting economic sanctions imposed on his country.

Whether Putin and his staff will actually feel the slash in their salaries is debatable, considering Putin says he is unaware of the amount printed on his paychecks. "Frankly, I don't even know my own salary; they just give it to me, and I put it away in my account," he reportedly said to a group of reporters during his annual Q&A session in December.

Putin's official salary is chump change compared with that of a prime minister of an island nation smaller than New York City.

Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong earns 12 1/2 times as much as Putin at a whooping $1.7 million. Loong's salary is large enough to pay for the combined salaries of the leaders of India, Brazil, Italy, Russia, France, Turkey, Japan, United Kingdom, South Africa, and Germany.

Loong's Singapore is also the world's most expensive city for a second year in a row, according to The Economist's bi-annual Worldwide Cost of Living report.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/salari...00861.html

Recently, I have been thinking of switching one counter (in my CPF portfolio) which has a good dividend history to another which may allow me to earn more dividend if I can reinvest all of the monies.

However, the investment limit of 35% means whatever I sold, I can only buy using a much lower amount (in a way CPF is forcing me to lock in the 65% gain). After some calculation, the dividend that I am likely to receive is going to be lesser. In the long run the new counter may give better overall return if i include capital gains but as always, nothing is certain.

I feel this 35% limit is a drag but may also be a blessing in disguise.

What do other VBs feel about this limit?

MP's speeches in Parliment, isn't protected by constitution, as in Singapore? May be MP isn't as protected as we thought, even in Singapore...

Malaysia arrests Anwar's daughter for sedition -opposition party

KUALA LUMPUR (March 16): Malaysian police have arrested opposition politician Nurul Izzah Anwar, the daughter of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, for sedition over a speech she made in parliament, her party said on Monday.

In the speech last week, Nurul Izzah, a 34-year-old member of parliament, referred to a February ruling by the country's highest court upholding the sodomy conviction of her father, the biggest political threat to Malaysia's government.

"This police investigation is illegal, unconstitutional and a serious interference with the rights and privileges of parliament," N. Surendran, Anwar's lawyer, and a member of his People's Justice Party, said in a statement.
...
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/sg/node/189833

This is creativity. This is innovation. Looking forward for a day with the gadget...

It's a necklace, it's an umbrella, it's a drone

AUSTIN (Texas) — Picture a stylish, blade-shaped drone on your necklace. As rain starts to fall, the device can fan out and fly above your head, spinning fast enough to keep you dry.

Or imagine a bracelet-mounted gadget that looks like a hockey puck and takes off to lead the way when you’re lost. And if you don’t mind walking city streets with a circular pad on your shoulder, consider a filter that can hover in front of your mouth automatically when air-pollution levels rise.

These futuristic concepts of wearable drones — which, though years from reality, would make the Apple Watch look like a Beatles-era Timex — were dreamed up at design and innovation firm Frog Design.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/its-neck...-its-drone

Sharing an info-graphic on Singapore Budget 2015.

Enjoy!

[Image: Budget-2015-Updated-5-Mar-ver2-2.jpeg]