bro pple like me engrand helicoptered one, catch no ball. can put up links so we can google translate esp the prev article?
Junior
bro pple like me engrand helicoptered one, catch no ball. can put up links so we can google translate esp the prev article?
Junior
Li Ka Shing saying that there is no bubble in the real estate market? Isn't that the same as the pope saying that there is god, or the same as bill clinton saying that he did not inhale? Or the same as a hooker saying that *** is good for you?
the same as Kwek leng Beng saying people uses the deferred payment scheme not to speculate?
Junior
Why is your Li Kashing's body chopped into two pieces?Originally Posted by Reporter
李嘉诚看好今年香港楼市
星岛日报
星期五, 8-1-2009
Shouldn't it be like this?
Google can translate blocks of text too. This is translated by Google:
Li Ka-shing optimistic about this year's Hong Kong property market
Sing Tao Daily
Friday, 8-1-2009
Li Ka-shing 7th to attend the Annual Dinner of the Cheung Kong Group, stressed optimistic about market prospects. Told him not to worry about asset bubbles, because after the financial turmoil, the world will be more careful, not so fast another asset bubble. (Source: Sing Tao Daily)
"I have always been not to make a forecast increase in the property market, outlook for the property market will continue to improve, at a later inflation will come, the current hardware, and building materials such as oil prices began."
- Li Ka-shing
. Chairman
. Cheung Kong Group
. Thursday, 7-1-2009
Junior
Why are his pants on fire? I mean tycoon li?
by the way, Kwek Leng Beng said in 2007 that the boom in real estate would run seven years, right before the bottom fell out of the market. Was he purposely lying, or just plain stupid.
Junior
wonderful Mr. Kwek..
in 2007 during the peak, he said, "the higher the price, the more people will buy".
in 2008 during the down, he said, "the current price level is already the bottom and near the cost, it will not go down some more. so you should buy now".
As a shareholder, I'm pleased CDL always does what it's supposed to do.
F01 N54 Sheer Driving Pleasure
Paisei!Why is your Li Kashing's body chopped into two pieces?
Shouldn't it be like this?I'm using a widescreen (16:9) laptop. It looks OK on my ...
As per what jlrx translated.
Thanks!
F01 N54 Sheer Driving Pleasure
Banks on hiring drive
Gabriel Chen
The Straits Times
Friday, 8 January 2010, 7.17 pm
More than 1,000 staff are being hired by banks, poised to cash in on the expected return of the good times. -- Photo: Kua CheeSiong
A flurry of hiring is underway at many banks in Singapore, reversing the bloodletting of last year when the global financial crisis took a harsh toll on jobs.
More than 1,000 staff are being hired by banks, poised to cash in on the expected return of the good times. This is based on a check of banks by The Straits Times.
Many of the jobs are senior positions but entry level jobs are on offer too.
Headhunters say an entry-level operations job starts at $2,600 a month, on average. Entry investment bankers, needing good qualifications, can start at $8,000.
Hundreds of banking jobs were lost here last year given that the financial services sector was at the epicentre of the global financial crisis.
F01 N54 Sheer Driving Pleasure
Hotter than Pan Pacific Hotel 海天楼's $20,000 CNYE reunion dinner table that have been snapped up?House price goes up, food price also goes up.
Then will this Gingerbread House's price also go up?
奢华团圆饭一桌$20,000 竟被抢订一空
联合晚报
星期日, 10-1-2010
越来越多国人喜欢到餐馆吃团圆饭。（图／档案照）
一桌团圆饭$20,000，竟被抢订一空！
随着经济逐渐复苏，国人今年也更舍得花钱吃团圆饭，一间中餐馆推出一顿每人$2,000的豪华团圆饭配套，目前已几乎被订满。
泛太平洋酒店的海天楼中餐馆，推出最贵的团圆饭叫价每人1688元，加上消费税和服务费，需要花将近2000元。
这套团圆饭都是以最上等的材料烹煮而成，菜肴包括，金枪鱼腹和挪威三文鱼的鱼生、上等鱼翅和鱼鳔汤、烤乳猪、烤龙虾以及非洲四头鲍鱼和海參。
泛太平洋酒店发言人说，餐馆前几个月的订单已陆续增加，预计在除夕夜当日将被订满。除了虎年带旺生意，位于酒店37楼的海天楼因出名的粤菜料理、舒适的餐馆气氛和瞭望市景的好景观，也是它受国人欢迎的原因。
受访的公众黄女士（35岁，公务人员）说：“我和丈夫在海天楼订了一人788元的配套，团圆饭是一年一度的活动，我们觉得这笔钱是值得花的。”
乌节酒店的华厅中餐馆的发言人说，自去年6月起，餐馆团圆饭的订单已被订满了。“有好些顾客已经要求把他们列入等候名单，一旦有顾客临时没来，他们就能顶上。”
目前华厅中餐馆推出最昂贵的团圆饭套餐，一桌10人是5888元。为了应付除夕夜和新年期间的订单大增的情况，华厅中餐馆把年饭坐席位置扩展到酒店3楼的会议室和2楼的空场地。
Junior
WOW ... more expensive than the world's most expensive Gingerbread House!!!
World’s Most Expensive Gingerbread House Makes Christmas Special This Year
Thursday, December 10, 2009 - By decojohn
With Christmas just around the corner, it’s a fact that everyone rolls, bends and twists to come up with the best decoration for the holiday season. Same seems to be the case with the world’s most expensive gingerbread house (in Gothenburg, Sweden), where the big day is gonna be nothing short of special, as the home-shaped delicacy with a chocolate & sweet pasta frame, gingerbread exterior, marzipan plates and caramel windows is definitely mouth-watering.
With an impressive ceiling height that stretches at 50 cm, an entrance leading into the main building with rooms stuffed with gourmet materials, an English-rich styled library, a crystal blue lake with a marzipan bridge site and a carport with room for the two cars, bidding for the year’s yummiest abode ever starts at 35,000 SEK, or close to 3,000 Euro (S$6,028).
F01 N54 Sheer Driving Pleasure
Err ... gingerbread house prices also going up?WOW ... more expensive than the world's most expensive Gingerbread House!!!
World’s Most Expensive Gingerbread House Makes Christmas Special This Year
Thursday, December 10, 2009 - By decojohn
With Christmas just around the corner, it’s a fact that everyone rolls, bends and twists to come up with the best decoration for the holiday season. Same seems to be the case with the world’s most expensive gingerbread house (in Gothenburg, Sweden), where the big day is gonna be nothing short of special, as the home-shaped delicacy with a chocolate & sweet pasta frame, gingerbread exterior, marzipan plates and caramel windows is definitely mouth-watering.
With an impressive ceiling height that stretches at 50 cm, an entrance leading into the main building with rooms stuffed with gourmet materials, an English-rich styled library, a crystal blue lake with a marzipan bridge site and a carport with room for the two cars, bidding for the year’s yummiest abode ever starts at 35,000 SEK, or close to 3,000 Euro (S$6,028).
... but it's just a cake!
Unless the reason is that all food prices are going up ...
Food prices going up
Policymakers under pressure as signs of inflation emerge
Fiona Chan
Monday, 11 January 2010, 6.00 am
Economic growth has yet to make it back to a firm footing, but policymakers in Asia are already being confronted with another emerging challenge: ïnflätïön.
Oil prices have been rallying in line with the global recovery, hitting levels above US$83 a barrel earlier this week, near a 15-month high.
Food prices are also rebounding from their 2009 lows, potentially increasing price pressures in Asian countries that are already seeing asset bubbles build up.
This has led economists such as Action Economics' David Cohen to predict that central banks in the region will have to start tightening monetary policy by the middle of this year.
This could include raising interest rates or appreciating their currencies.
Inflation recently peaked here at about 7.5% in mid-2008. Runaway inflation, if it takes hold, can cripple an economy as too much cash, worth less and less, chases too few goods and services.
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Venezuelans rüsh tö büy imports after devaluation
Agence France-Presse
Caracas, Venezuela
Sunday, 10 January 2010, 1.00am VET
Venezuelans crowd an electrical appliance store in Caracas. Thousands of Venezuelans descended on local shops, hoping to buy imported goods before a currency devaluation ordered by President Hugo Chavez ramps up prices. - Photo: Carlos Ramirez, AFP
Thousands of Venezuelans descended on local shops, hoping to buy imported goods before a currency dëvälüätïön ordered by President Hugo Chavez ramps up prices.
The firebrand leftist leader announced Friday that non-essential imports would be subjected to an exchange rate of 4.3 bolivars per dollar, a doubling from 2.15 per dollar today.
The higher exchange rate will apply to items such as automobiles, telecommunications, tobacco, beverages, chemicals, petrochemicals and electronics.
That prompted throngs of customers to queue in front of electronics stores, while those who made it inside navigated crowded aisles to grab refrigerators, stereos and other imported goods.
"We decided that today was the day to buy a television before the prïcë ëxplödës," a customer told AFP.
"We went to various shops but the queues were too long, finally we found one that was less crowed, but the products just disappeared. Everybody wants to buy today."
In a move that will lessen the impact of the devaluation on poorer Venezuelans, who have traditionally formed the backbone of Chavez's support, the president said an exchange rate of 2.60 bolivars to the dollar would apply to basic goods.
On the black market, a dollar costs around six bolivars.
The bolivar's devaluation was the first since 2005, and was designed to aid public finances that have withered amid reduced oil revenues and a rapidly contracting economy.
Critics said the move would allow Chavez to boost public spending ahead of elections in September, but would severely damage the health of the economy.
Since coming to office, the president has sought to remake the Venezuelan economy, vowing to create a more equitable, socialist model.
That has initiated a string of nationalizations of foreign firms and measures that have sent inflation soaring to around 25%.
Critics said the move would further drive up ïnflätïön.
"It would be foolish on my part to deny that this measure will have an impact on prices," said Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez.
Economist Orlando Ochoa said that was the understatement of the year, and that Venezuelan consumers would pay big for the dual rate move.
The measures really are "throwing gasoline on a fire" as far as inflation is concerned, Ochoa said.
"Prices are going to go up, but the government needs more income and it will be getting more for its exports," he said.
F01 N54 Sheer Driving Pleasure
Asia Stocks, Oil, Metals Advance as China’s Exports Soar 17.7%
Anna Kitanaka and Clyde Russell
Bloomberg
Tokyo, Japan
Monday, 11 January 2010, 1:41 pm JT
Asian stocks rose and commodities gained after China’s exports surged in December and imports rose to a record, signs the global economic recovery is accelerating.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index excluding Japan Index climbed 1.6% to 434.23 as of 1:40 p.m. in Tokyo, led by commodity producers. Oil advanced to a 15-month high, gold jumped 1.8% to $1,158.40 an ounce, the most in a month, and copper for 3-month delivery on the London Metal Exchange rose as much as 2.9% to $7,675 a metric ton.
China, the engine of recovery from the world’s worst recession since World War II, yesterday said exports climbed 17.7% from a year earlier, the first increase in 14 months, and imports surged 55.9%. The U.S. economy may show further signs of recovery this week with retail sales expected to rise 0.5% in December, according to a Bloomberg News survey of 57 economists, easing concerns caused by the loss of 85,000 jobs the same month.
“The whole recovery story is unfolding very well,” said Nader Naeimi, a Sydney-based strategist at AMP Capital Investors, which oversees about $75 billion. “China is on track and the fact that export numbers are very strong shows external demand from the developed world is gaining traction as well.”
The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index gained for the 13th day in 14. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.8%, while South Korea’s Kospi Index added 0.5%. China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.4%, led by brokerages and banks after the government approved the use of stock index futures, fanning speculation the new derivative will boost trading volumes. Japanese markets are closed today for a holiday.
S&P Futures Gain
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.4%. The gauge rose 0.3% to a 15-month high on Jan. 8 as speculation the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates near zero overshadowed the unexpected decline in jobs.
Material producers accounted for 35% of the MSCI index’s advance today on optimism growth in China, the world’s third-largest economy, will stimulate demand for metals.
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, gained 1.9% to A$44.43. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s largest gold producer, climbed 1.8% to A$36.82.
Posco, South Korea’s largest steelmaker, climbed 3.1% to 625,000 won. Hyundai Securities Co. raised its share- price estimate to 750,000 won, citing an improvement in the global steel industry.
Copper advanced for the first day in three, before trading at $7,642 in Asia. Copper imports by China climbed for a 2nd month, extending a rebound from a 9-month low.
Gold Appetite
Gold rose on speculation a slumping dollar will increase investor appetite for the metal as an alternative asset. It traded at $1,152.82 in Asia.
Crude oil rose for a second day, with the contract for February delivery gaining as much as 92 cents, or 1.1%, to $83.67 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $83.46 in Asia trading.
Oil climbed 4.3% last week and gained in 11 of the past 12 sessions as freezing temperatures in Europe and North America boosted heating demand. Heating oil rose as much as 1.1% to $2.2239 a gallon on Nymex, the highest level since Oct. 14, 2008.
Aussie 1-Month High
The Australian dollar climbed to a 1-month high and South Korea’s won rose for a 7th day, its longest winning streak in 3 months.
The Australian dollar climbed 0.6% from Asian trading on Jan. 8 to 93.05 U.S. cents, the New Zealand dollar strengthened 1% to 73.88 U.S. cents and the South Korean won gained 0.8% to 1,121.2.
Yuan forwards jumped to the highest in eight weeks with 12-month non-deliverable yuan contracts advancing 0.5% to 6.5920 per dollar on speculation China will allow its currency to strengthen. China has effectively pegged the yuan at about 6.83 per dollar since July 2008 to help exporters weather a slump in demand triggered by the global financial crisis.
“It does underscore the continued improvement in global export demand,” said David Cohen, director of Asian forecasting at Action Economics in Singapore. “Perhaps Beijing will be more into tolerating renewed appreciation.”
The dollar fell to a 3-week low against the euro and slid to the weakest since October versus its Canadian counterpart as the signs Asian growth is gaining pace boosted demand for higher-yielding and commodity currencies.
China Beats Germany
China overtook Germany as the world’s No. 1 exporter of goods in 2009 even as the Asian nation reported yesterday its first annual decline in shipments in more than 25 years. China’s central bank last week guided three-month bill yields higher for the first time since August, suggesting that the government wants to rein in liquidity to limit the risks of real-estate bubbles and resurgent inflation.
U.S. Treasury futures declined, signaling cash bonds are likely to weaken when trading opens later today.
2-year Treasury yields fell to the lowest level in 2 weeks on Jan. 8, and longer-maturity yields rose, after a U.S. payrolls report showed the economy unexpectedly lost jobs in December, boosting the prospects that the Federal Reserve will wait longer to remove its stimulus measures and raise interest rates. The Federal Funds Implied Probability shows a 34% chance that rates will remain unchanged up to the Aug. 10 meeting, up from 14% a week ago.
The so-called yield curve, or the difference between 2- and 10-year rates, steepened to 2.85% from 2.75% a week ago. It reached a record 2.88% on Dec. 22.
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Singapore 2010 ïnflätïön to be between 2.5% and 3.5%, Lim says
Bloomberg
Singapore
Monday, 11 January 2010, 1.47 pm CCT
Singapore’s ïnflätïön may be between 2.5% and 3.5% this year, Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang said today.
F01 N54 Sheer Driving Pleasure
Global upturn contributed to Singapore recovery, Minister says
Bloomberg
Singapore
Monday, 11 January 2010, 1.51 pm CCT
The global economic upturn contributed to Singapore’s economic improvement, Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang said today.
New Launch Project Specialist
I thought the Ministers upturned the downturn?
Global upturn contributed to Singapore recovery, Minister says
Bloomberg
Singapore
Monday, 11 January 2010, 1.51 pm CCT
The global economic upturn contributed to Singapore’s economic improvement, Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang said today.
F01 N54 Sheer Driving Pleasure
Getting a 4-room flat in Limbang Green looks less and less likely
H88
Monday, 11 January 2010, 15:52
6 days in and things are looking grim for buyers looking for 4-room flats. Applications for the latest BTOs in Hougang and Choa Chu Kang are already 4 times oversubscribed, with 4-roomers in Limbang Green taking the brunt.
Results so far below.
As you can see, 4-room flats for Buangkok Vale are at about 4 to 1 chance, whilst Limbang Green's 4-toom flats are almost 10 to 1! Worse, applications close on the 18 Jan, almost another week from now.
Makes you wonder why only 188 4-room flats were set aside for Choa Chu Kang's Limbang Green. It can't just be because its a nice number right?
Junior
That's why I preach the importance of believing in the Propertism religion, that properties should only be bought and not sold.
Getting a 4-room flat in Limbang Green looks less and less likely
H88
Monday, 11 January 2010, 15:52
6 days in and things are looking grim for buyers looking for 4-room flats. Applications for the latest BTOs in Hougang and Choa Chu Kang are already 4 times oversubscribed, with 4-roomers in Limbang Green taking the brunt.
Results so far below.
As you can see, 4-room flats for Buangkok Vale are at about 4 to 1 chance, whilst Limbang Green's 4-toom flats are almost 10 to 1! Worse, applications close on the 18 Jan, almost another week from now.
Makes you wonder why only 188 4-room flats were set aside for Choa Chu Kang's Limbang Green. It can't just be because its a nice number right?
Propertism not only saves one's own soul, but those of one's progeny as well.
That's why nowadays many people are buying lots of excess properties, so that next time their children don't have to suffer the anxiety of balloting for all these HDB flats, which in future may even be in Ubin or Tekong.
Look at proud owner's friend's in-law below, who are shining examples of devout Propertists. Their children have achieved salvation, by virtue of their parents' strong faith in Propertism.
Don't think that I am the most devout Propertist around, just because I am a preacher of the Propertism religion.
There are many very devout Propertists around whose faith is much stronger than mine.
Leaving 7 residences@evelyn condos empty for grandchildren is not something I'm able to stomach.
F01 N54 Sheer Driving Pleasure
Singapore says its löw interest rates reflect global conditions
Bloomberg
Singapore
Monday, 11 January 2010, 2.26 pm CCT
Singapore’s löw interest rates reflect global conditions, Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang said in parliament today.
The country’s well-regulated markets are an attraction for funds, he added.
Newbie
Owners of R@E should pay this guy a retainer fee for keeping these empty and not bailing out. Imagine the resale value of other units if he drops price to sell. Just look @ Solitaire.
7X4k per month is a lot of money to throw away just to keep the faith in propertism.
F01 N54 Sheer Driving Pleasure
Flat owners to register subletting of rooms with HDB
AsiaOne
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
From 1 February 2010, flat owners who sub-let rooms in their HDB flats will have to register with the Housing & Development Board (HDB) within 7 days.
They will also be required to notify HDB when they renew or terminate the sub-letting of rooms, as well as any changes to their sub-tenants' particulars. However, there is no need to seek prior approval for sub-letting of rooms.
HDB said that the new rule will support the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)'s on-going efforts to eradicate loan-sharking activities, and will better protect HDB residents. Through this, HDB will be able to capture the particulars of those who rent rooms in HDB flats.
The requirement will apply to both new and existing cases of room sublets.
For tenancies that commenced before February 1, owners will be given a six-month grace period from that date to register. Meanwhile, for sublets from February 1, owners will have to register with HDB within 7 days from the start date of subletting.
According to a statement from the HDB, the following information must be provided:
Registration may be done either online, or at the Branch Office, where staff will be able to guide them on the registration process.
- Sub-letting commencement date
- Sub-letting expiry date
- No. of rooms sublet
- Rental per month
- Name of sub-tenants
- Househould structure of sub-tenant
- UIN/FIN of sub-tenant
- Nationality of sub-tenant
- Citizenship of sub-tenant
- Ethnicity of sub-tenant
- Work pass of sub-tenant (e.g. work permit, employment pass)
- Sector which sub-tenant works in
- Reasons for subletting
Flat owners who flout the rule will face a penalty of up to $3,000. Those who repeatedly fail to comply with the requirement may find their flat compulsorily acquired by HDB.
Apart from this new rule, the other terms and conditions for sub-letting of rooms are unchanged.
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North Korean Money Troubles
Kim Jong Il's currency revaluation is on the verge sparking hypërïnflätïön.
Nicholas Eberstadt
The Wall Street Journal
Tuesday, 11 January 2010, 2:30 pm CCT
The past month has seen an extraordinary spectacle in North Korea: the failure of a hastily announced "currency reform" and the subsequent collapse of the won, the official domestic currency. These developments are of more than numismatic interest. Pyongyang's currency move marks the end of an era of hesitant economic experimentation and ushers in a new era of greater economic, and perhaps political, uncertainties.
The seeds for this crisis were sown long ago. The North Korean state has always had a deep philosophical problem with money—in anyone's hands but its own. Money allows ordinary North Koreans to make economic choices about their own lives, decisions the leadership takes to be its purview alone. In the North's "golden era" (before the end of the Cold War, into the 1980s), total wages and salaries ultimately accounted for barely one-fifth of national output. Apart from Pol Pot's Cambodia, no other modern government has come so close to completely demonetizing a national economy.
Pyongyang's alternative model provided a direct government supply of household goods through a public distribution system. This gave leaders near-total control over the consumption patterns of their subjects, but it also left the people almost totally dependent on what the state deigned to provide them.
With the country's economic tailspin in the wake of the Soviet collapse, the system no longer had enough food in the pipeline to feed the entire North Korean population. There commenced a terrible famine, and an implicit change in the country's social contract. People increasingly would be expected to look after their own needs. Surreptitious markets arose, with exchanges transacted via barter, primitive forms of reciprocation, and currencies of various sorts, including the North Korean won. Lacking the wherewithal that would permit the population to survive on public rations alone, the leadership was forced, from the mid-1990s onward, to tolerate a measure of private-market activity.
Late in the 1990s, as new international revenues (including dividends from the "Sunshine Policy") began to flow into the Dear Leader's coffers, North Korean leaders attempted to rebuild their badly broken socialist economy. But this took the form mainly of measures to strengthen central planning.
Then in 2002, the government suddenly enacted a flurry of economic measures. These actions never constituted the "reforms" they're sometimes termed abroad, but they did mark a departure from the previous three decades. By downsizing official ration guarantees, raising both wages and consumer prices dramatically, and radically slashing the official exchange rate, the leadership significantly increased the sanctioned role of currency and markets (state-run and otherwise).
Activist Park Sang-hak holds worthless North Korean banknotes in Seoul, December 1, 2009
For a variety of reasons—possibly including unintended reverberations from the past decade's nuclear drama—the remonetization did not work well. Too much new money was chasing too few goods, sparking significant inflation. By November 2009, the North Korean won's black-market value in dollars was barely 5% of the level when the 2002 measures were implemented, a depreciation averaging over 3% per month.
The government attempted to redress these problems with a single swift blow. On Nov. 30, 2009, Pyongyang announced without warning an immediate "currency reform." New won notes were issued for old ones on a 1-for-100 basis; no more than 100,000 old won per person (under $40 at unofficial rates) could be converted; and old currency was completely void at the end of the week. This amounted to an overnight confiscation of the overwhelming majority of won holdings by ordinary households, and severely disrupted the workings of the country's already fragile markets for foodstuffs and other goods.
For the first time in the regime's history, a Pyongyang ukase generated widespread public resistance visible to the outside world. International news coverage reported market women cursing their government, and even told of local riots that were only suppressed by force of arms. The government backtracked, conceding that slightly larger personal holdings of old money might be exchanged for new.
Belatedly, the government also apparently realized that foreign currency plays a role in North Korea's consumer economy, too. By some estimates, the convertible foreign exchange holdings of families may total $1 billion or more, largely in dollars, yuan and euros. Three weeks after the currency reform, Pyongyang ordered that foreign currency could no longer be used in domestic transactions (as had been occurring, albeit illegally), and that all foreign notes must be exchanged at wildly unrealistic official rates. The won went into freefall.
The speed and depth of the won's resulting plunge has been dizzying. The nominal market price of rice is reportedly higher today than it was in November 2009, before currency reform. This would imply 100-fold inflation and then some in just over one month. The won-yuan exchange rate along the North Korea-China border has reportedly dropped by almost 50% over the past month, even after discounting for the 100-to-1 currency conversion. The government apparently has no confidence in its own currency move, and is now betting against it. News reports indicate that Pyongyang this month is issuing soldiers in its public security forces twice their nominal monthly pre-reform wages (a 20,000% raise in light of the currency conversion). If the government finances more wage hikes like this by running the printing presses, it will turn the currency into a toxic asset no one wants to hold.
North Korea appears to be approaching the brink of hypërïnflätïön. This carries several implications for foreign governments, none of them pleasant.
The era of timid official experimentation with economic policy is regarded as a failure by the regime and has come to a crashing end. Because the currency reform's failure has so shaken the regime, the North's "military first politics" may take on a more strident tenor even less conducive to engagement with the West.
The botched currency reform also has revealed how little North Korean decision-makers understand their own economy, much less the outside world. On a related note, the regime's supposed heir apparent, Kim Jong Eun, was the mastermind behind the North Korean currency reform, according to South Korean intelligence. This may just be bad intelligence or disinformation. But if accurate, it raises disturbing questions about the judgment of the rising generation of North Korean leadership.
Meanwhile, Pyongyang's currency machinations portend ominously for the country's food situation. Although Pyongyang has managed to avoid mass death from starvation over the past decade, there is no margin of safety in the food system. The currency move has severely disrupted the private markets that are key to food security. North Korea is now one fateful step closer to a new famine.
The immediate consequences of the failed currency reform are bad enough already. But much worse may yet lie in store. Ordinary North Koreans are already bracing for this; Western policy makers should be preparing as well.
Senior
6 days and 4rooms are 4x oversubscribed. not easy getting a new flat these days...
Newbie
Well, human nature. Always go for the best when there's a bargain!
Junior
I see you have not seen the light in Propertism as yet.
Let me show you another devout Propertist - a Mr. Kuok from Malaysia.
Great World Amusement Park was also known as Tua Seh Kai in Hokkien, meaning "great world" which belonged to Shaw Brothers. In 1979, Shaw sold the park to Robert Kuok, dubbed Malaysia's "Sugar King".
The amusement park was left empty for 18 years, until Great World City was opened in October 1997.
The question now is:
Should owners of properties next to Great World City, e.g. Kim Seng Plaza which en-bloced in 2006 to Lippo for $132 million, pay Mr. Robert Kuok a retainer fee for keeping his amusement park empty for 18 years, and not bailing out. Imagine the resale value of Kim Seng Plaza if Mr. Kuok drops price to sell off his plot of land. Just look @ Solitaire.
Just the property tax alone on the plot of land is a lot of money to throw away just to keep the faith in propertism, over 18 years.
F01 N54 Sheer Driving Pleasure
2-room flat cösts möre than a 4-room
AsiaOne
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Photo: Mr Adrian Wee (28, left) of OrangeTee was the agent who handled the transaction for the former home owner, Mr Tan (43, right).
A 2-room HDB flat in Chinatown was sold for $245,000 recently, creating a new recörd for the re-sale price of HDB 2-room flats.
Located at Jalan Kukoh, the flat is on a higher floor of block 10, and is about 40 years old.
Photo: Courtesy of Mr Adrian Wee
Home owner Mr Tan, a 43-year-old advertising executive, bought the unit with his wife two years ago at about $145,000. They decided to sell as they want to move to a larger flat.
"We bought this unit because we wanted to live in Tiong Bahru, but could not afford a 4-room flat in this area. Now, we want to upgrade to a larger flat. We also find it too noisy as it is near the highway," he told Shin Min Daily.
According to OrangeTee property agent Mr Adrian Wee, 28, the new flat owners are a young couple with one child. Besides the central location, the flat is also near to where their parents stay. As they also like the simple, open layout of the flat, they did not object to the noise from nearby traffic.
The flat's floor area of 53 sqm includes a living room and one bedroom; an additional storeroom was added by the former home owners. The price of $245,000 is about $45,000 aböve valuation.
Mr Tan says that although he made a tidy profit from the sale, the price over valuation of his new 4-room flat is also quite substantial, so it is just enough to cover his costs of buying a new home.
According to HDB figures, the average price of a 2-room flat in Tiong Bahru was about $190,000 to $220,000.
ECG Property CEO Mr Eric Cheng says that the price is high, but still reasonable for the prime location.
"Some couples prefer flats in mature estates as they are near the city and they can save time and transport costs," he told Shin Min.
PropNex CEO Mr Mohd Ismail said that many of the home owners are elderly, and most of them have no intention of selling their flats, so it can be hard to find one on the market.
"For this price, a young couple can get a new 4-room flat in Punggol," he said.
Newbie
That's indeed a very interesting question. I believe we have 2 type of situations.
One is where large asset owner lik Mr Kuok sees that he can make 100folds the property tax he has to pay if he retain the land for future development. In which case whoever benefits from his future development simply enjoy a free ride on his gain.
The other type of scenario is when a small time investor like most in our forum decides to sell 6 units of Kim Seng Plaza at fire sale price in 2006 before the enbloc. So instead of $132m, the owners get 70% of the value. Should the majority owners benefit more if they have paid the interest or rental for these units so that it does not affect the market value of the entire development.
Propertism works well when everyone can hold. In fact if everyone subscribes to this philosophy prices can only go up since no one will sell at lower prices.
Should there be a law in the condo mgmt committee that prevent owners from selling below a certain floor?
F01 N54 Sheer Driving Pleasure
Home price rise reflects demand, nöt a bübblë: DBS
Conrad Tan
The Business Times
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
The recent sharp rise in private home prices here is nöt yet indicative of a bübblë and prices could ïncrëäsë further, DBS Group research head Timothy Wong said yesterday.
'In the mass market, what you are seeing is rëäl end-user demand that is catching up,' he told reporters at a briefing to present the group's economic outlook and investment strategy for the year.
'If you look at äffordäbïlïty levels, the average cost to service a mortgage taken against the median wage is about 30%, which is fairly stable. When it moves up to 50%, you know you have a bubble forming.
'So we're not really at a bubble stage yet. I think the last time we had a major bubble was probably in 1995-96, when queues were forming outside showflats and people were buying 3 or 4 properties at one go.
'This time, it's more circumspect - there are some speculators out there, but by and large people are genuinely buying homes to upgrade and move into,' Mr Wong said.
'Rental yields have come down, because they were exceptionally high at about 4-5%, now they're about 3-3.5%. If they got down to 1%, I would say that represents a bubble.'
The group's research team expects hïgh-ënd private home prices here to rïsë a further 10-15% this year, while mid-tier home prices are expected to rise 5-10%. It expects any increase in the price of mass-market private homes and public housing to be relatively muted.
Senior
Home price rise reflects demand, nöt a bübblë: DBS
Conrad Tan
The Business Times
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
The recent sharp rise in private home prices here is nöt yet indicative of a bübblë and prices could ïncrëäsë further, DBS Group research head Timothy Wong said yesterday.
'In the mass market, what you are seeing is rëäl end-user demand that is catching up,' he told reporters at a briefing to present the group's economic outlook and investment strategy for the year.
'If you look at äffordäbïlïty levels, the average cost to service a mortgage taken against the median wage is about 30%, which is fairly stable. When it moves up to 50%, you know you have a bubble forming.
'So we're not really at a bubble stage yet. I think the last time we had a major bubble was probably in 1995-96, when queues were forming outside showflats and people were buying 3 or 4 properties at one go.
'This time, it's more circumspect - there are some speculators out there, but by and large people are genuinely buying homes to upgrade and move into,' Mr Wong said.
'Rental yields have come down, because they were exceptionally high at about 4-5%, now they're about 3-3.5%. If they got down to 1%, I would say that represents a bubble.'
The group's research team expects hïgh-ënd private home prices here to rïsë a further 10-15% this year, while mid-tier home prices are expected to rise 5-10%. It expects any increase in the price of mass-market private homes and public housing to be relatively muted.
if i am the MD of DBS, i would fire the home loan team ...
if DBS believes strongly enuff to have this published, then their home loan should be all out to LEND to home buyers ...
why arent they ?
somewhere, somehow, one dept is not right ...
Junior
I read a book '' Make your money work for you'' by Keon Chee and Ben Fok. Everything makes senses till I came to this page, that talk about when crisis hits..
Well-meaning financial advisers are apt to say that given time, your portfolio will recover, so don't sell....hold. Well, you may be surprised to know that this does not work all the time and when this does not work out, the pain can be excruciating and last a long time.
Lucky I didn't read this book 1 year ago.
F01 N54 Sheer Driving Pleasure
80% pay flats with CPF
The Straits Times
Wednesday, 13 January 2010, 1.18 pm
First-timers can also enjoy a CPF Housing Grant of up to $40,000 when they buy a resale flat, DBSS flat or EC. -- Photo: Alphonsus Chern, ST
8 in 10 new Housing Board buyers are able to service their housing loans entirely using Central Provident Fund (CPF) monies wïthöut forking out any cäsh.
This is possible due to the gënëröus subsidy system, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan. For example, households earning less than $5,000 monthly can apply for Additional CPF Housing Grants (AHG) of up to $40,000. The Housing Board also offers concessionary loans to eligible households. First-timers can also enjoy a CPF Housing Grant of up to $40,000 when they buy a resale flat, Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flat or Executive Condominium.
Replying to a question from Madam Ho Geok, MP for West Coast GRC, Mr Mah said in his written response on Tueday: ' HDB has progressed from the mass production of basic flats in the 70s and 80s to offering many choices across different locations, flat types, designs and prices. This caters not only to rising aspirations, but also to different segments of flat buyers with varying preferences and budgets within the $8,000 income ceiling. This means that such choices are offered to almost 80% of households in Singapore.'
While HDB provides many choices, flat buyers must play their part too, said Mr Mah, who advised them to exercise prudence and buy within their means. By way of an example, the minister explained: 'A family with monthly household income of $3,000 who spends 30 per cent on housing can buy a flat of up to $250,000. This covers all the new three-room flats in HDB's most recent BTO projects in Choa Chu Kang and Hougang.
'They also have a selection of the 4-room flats, where prices start at about $230,000. At $4,000 monthly income, a family can afford up to $333,000 without spending more than 30% every month.'
He added that the HDB is committed to ensuring a sufficient supply of new flats. Flat buyers can look forward to about 12,000 new BTO flats this year, if demand is sustained. These BTO flats will also be supplemented by DBSS flats and ECs.
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