Saturday 31 August 2024

[Post 445] Riding the global stock market rollercoaster | Money Talks podcast





Summary

Global financial markets were in a spin recently when the Japan's main stock index suffered its worst day in 37 years and stocks on Wall Street faced their sharpest decline in nearly two years.

Eddy Loh, chief investment officer of Maybank Group Wealth Management, tells Andrea Heng what this means for economies and for investors.

[Post 444] The Singapore watch strap brand winning over Ed Sheeran and watch lovers worldwide





Summary

Singapore watch strap brand Delugs has grown from a small bedroom operation to an international brand. The brand’s founders, husband-and-wife duo Kenneth Kuan and Chia Pei Qi, want to make strap changing a lifestyle. 

Friday 30 August 2024

[Post 443] Pulau Ubin's Last Malay Taxi Driver: Holding On To Singapore Kampung Life | On The Red Dot





Summary

Azman Hamid fell in love with Pulau Ubin while growing up on the island. Even though he has moved to the mainland more than three decades ago, his heart remains on Ubin. He has been taking a boat to the island daily ever since to work as a taxi driver. He calls himself the last Malay driver in Pulau Ubin, because he literally is. Together with 6 other drivers of taxi vans on the island, Azman is committed to preserving Pulau Ubin’s kampong life in the face of urban development and dwindling visitor numbers.

Thursday 29 August 2024

[Post 442] Why Hong Kong Is Losing Its Youths And Talents To Mainland China





Summary

Hong Kong graduates and youths are looking to mainland China for work and business opportunities. Some are even choosing to work and live in cities like Guangzhou or Shenzhen and super-commute back to Hong Kong on weekends. And that’s possible because the Greater Bay Area, an economic zone of 9 major cities in the Guangdong province, is designed to facilitate people movement.

Wednesday 28 August 2024

[Post 441] China Gen-Zs Are Choosing Blue-Collar Jobs Over White-Collar Work. Why? | Money Mind | Gen Z





Summary

What’s a young graduate to do when he’s surrounded by millions of unemployed peers, and there are not enough traditional white-collar jobs to go around? For Gen Z in China, one solution is to take up blue-collar jobs.  

Tuesday 27 August 2024

[Post 440] Saving Too Much Could Cost You Money: Savings Mistakes To Avoid | Money Mind | Personal Finance





Summary

Why saving too much can actually be a financial mistake – and where you could stash that cash instead. 

[Post 439] Should I Hire A Life Coach? | Talking Point | Full Episode





Summary

Many young Singaporeans are turning to life coaches to help them live, well, their life. With a burgeoning industry that’s largely unregulated, Producer Charmaine Tan, herself a 20-something, delves deep into the sector to find out if she really needs to pay someone to act as her life coach. 

This is the first #mystory episode of Talking Point that intimately looks at issues facing the youths of today. 


Saturday 24 August 2024

[Post 436] Why We’d Rather Buy ‘Made In China’ Than Global Brands





Summary

Chinese Gen Zs and millennials are choosing to buy domestic products, such as Xiao Mi, BYD or Mao Geping, instead of international brands like Apple, Tesla or Dior.

‘Guo chao’ which translates to national wave is the trend where Chinese shoppers are buying  ‘Made In China’ products by Chinese brands rather than international names. For some Chinese youths, using homegrown labels evokes that sense of nationalistic pride. 

Friday 23 August 2024

[Post 435] Turning your home into a parcel collection point





Summary

Would you run a parcel collection point from your home? Two HDB residents who signed up say they got to know their neighbours better, but they have also received complaints.

[Post 434] This $9B Chinese Restaurant Chain Wants to Conquer the U.S. | WSJ The Economics Of





Summary

China's hot-pot giant Haidilao offers more than just food. It has free manicures and massages for customers. Waiters dance on request. The over-the-top performances and customer service set it apart from its competitors. With fresh funds from a public listing, the restaurant company plans to expand across the U.S. 

WSJ examines the Chinese company and explores whether these gimmicks could be enough to sustain America's appetite.

Wednesday 21 August 2024

[Post 433] Why Homeowners Are Struggling to Afford Monthly Expenses





Summary

More than 80% of recent homebuyers say they regret their purchase, according to a recent survey from Clever Real Estate. Home prices have been rising faster than incomes, which can be a problem for homeowners because as the value of a home rises, so does the cost to maintain it. Property taxes and insurance premiums have been rising at a rapid rate, influenced by inflation and the increase in catastrophic weather events.

Tuesday 20 August 2024

[Post 432] Why Starbucks Is Struggling





Summary

Starbucks reported a global same-store sales decline of 3% and missed revenue expectations by $130 million in its fiscal third-quarter earnings on July 30, 2024. Its share price has tumbled nearly 25% in the past year. That's all due to operating challenges, an increasingly price conscious consumer and boycotts related to the Israel-Hamas war. Still, the coffee giant accounted for more than 25% of the U.S. coffee and snack shop market in 2023.

Monday 19 August 2024

[Post 431] I Was Laid Off From Meta — Now My Side Hustle Brings In $145K A Year





Summary

Scott Goodfriend, 39, was working his dream job at Meta — until he was laid off just 8 months into the gig in February 2023. Instead of taking another corporate job, he decided to take his food tour side hustle full-time. Now he runs Ultimate Food Tours in New York City, bringing in $145,000 a year.

[Post 430] I Earn $73K In One Of The Most In-Demand Jobs Right Now — I Love What I Do





Summary

As a wind turbine service technician, Jessica Jackson, 37, has one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. It’s also the fastest-growing job in the U.S.

Sunday 18 August 2024

[Post 429] Market watchers call for more drastic measures to boost listings on SGX





Summary

Making it mandatory for international companies based in Singapore to list on the Singapore Exchange. That's among measures market watchers are calling for, as the Monetary Authority of Singapore looks into how to boost listings on the bourse. SGX had only one initial public offering in the first six months of this year, versus six in 2023. Meanwhile, five Singapore-based companies have listed overseas in the same period. Nadirah Zaidi reports.

Saturday 17 August 2024

[Post 428] Meet the Singaporean running a longan and lychee farm in China's Guangdong





Summary

In 2006, Singaporean Justin Low opened a farm in Huazhou - a county-level city under the administration of Maoming, which is about 500km away from Guangzhou city. Justin, who currently resides in Shenzhen, has help from around 100 workers who harvest the farm's yearly output of around 600,000kg of longans and lychees. 

Around 2,000 Singaporeans live, work and play in southern China's Guangdong province. Maoming is a coastline city facing the South China Sea, with a population of around six million and known for its fruit production. Tan Si Hui reports.

Tuesday 13 August 2024

[Post 426] Japan's Young Are Now Its Loneliest Generation, Overtaking The Old. Why? | Insight | Full Episode





Summary

Last November, the World Health Organisation declared loneliness a ‘Global Public Health Concern’. Meanwhile, Gen Zs are emerging as the loneliest generation ever.

Japan has a reputation as a lonely country, but here, there are more lonely people in their 20s and 30s than any other age group. An extreme expression of loneliness are the infamous “hikikomoris” – shut-ins who have isolated themselves from society. More join their ranks each year. 

But apart from this group, there are millions of other youths who experience alienation and loneliness. And with it comes a slew of social ills – from greater rates of depression, to falling marriage rates, to lower productivity. Social anxiety, the suffocating rat race and cultural stigma - Insight explores what is driving solitude in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Sunday 11 August 2024

[Post 425] My Amazon Side Hustle Brings In $409K A Year — At Age 17





Summary

Bella Lin, 17, is the founder of GuineaLoft, a company that sells products for small pets, including guinea pig cages, bedding, food feeders and water bottles. In 2024, GuineaLoft has brought in an average of $71,000 per month in revenue so far. That's more than double compared to last year, when the company brought in $34,000 a month.

Saturday 10 August 2024

[Post 424] How Our Toys Bring In $226 Million A Year





Summary

Drawing inspiration from a doctoral thesis on infant brain development, Jessica Rolph and Roderick Morris co-founded Lovevery - a company specialized in stage-based children's toys. After creating prototypes and entering in the subscription toy box market, the company brought in $226 million in revenue last year.

Friday 9 August 2024

[Post 423] China's Youth Are Ditching City Life For Countryside: What's The Allure? | Young & Rural In China



Summary

In the past two years, digital nomad enclaves have been springing up across China’s rural towns and villages. The country’s biggest digital nomad hubs are both in Anji County, in the Eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. How have DN Yucun and DN Anji become magnets for a wave of young Chinese professionals seeking to redefine their approach to work and life? 

Elsewhere, Chinese youth are leaving prestigious jobs in big internet firms in Beijing and Shanghai and returning to their rural roots. 

In the west of China, in the province of Sichuan, a former ByteDance product manager gave up a career at ByteDance to become a new farmer, with plans to revolutionise farming practices in his rural hometown. Not far from him, a young couple with postgraduate degrees, left their jobs in Beijing – and an annual salary of 800,000 yuan, or 110,000 US dollars – to pursue dreams of being rural influencers. What enticed them to do so? Discover why attitudes towards rural living have been changing in China

Wednesday 7 August 2024

[Post 422] Five Ways To Use $10,000 To Grow Your Wealth | Money Mind | Financial Planning





Summary

What should you do once you have a $10,000 nest egg saved up? Tips on how to use the money for a better financial future. 

Tuesday 6 August 2024

[Post 421] Young Pro Bono Lawyers: Why We Gave Up Private Practice To Give Legal Advice For Free





Summary

Working out of temple grounds is one unconventional way law charity Pro Bono SG is bringing legal services into the Singapore heartlands. The firm’s young lawyers share why they choose to make a full-time career out of helping Singapore’s underprivileged meet their legal needs. 

Sunday 4 August 2024

Saturday 3 August 2024

[Post 419] Got $10,000 Spare Cash? Sectors & Geographies To Consider Investing In Right Now | Money Mind





Summary

Tips on where to invest $10,000 right now. We look at the sectors and geographies with potential investment opportunities.


Friday 2 August 2024

[Post 418] The Women Who Were Sold To Marry Their Brothers: China's Child-Fostered Brides | Daughters Of Putien





Summary

Between the 1970s and the 1990s, under China's strict one-child policy, an unknown number of baby girls were abandoned by their parents who wanted to have a son. Tens of thousands of these unwanted girls were brought to Putien, Fujian, where they were raised by foster families. But their foster parents didn't do this out of the kindness of their hearts. Instead, they had a clear goal: one day the girls were to marry their sons. Decades later, the women have grown up, and they want answers: where did they came from? And why are they traded like a commodity?

Thursday 1 August 2024

[Post 417] Red Lobster's Fall Is A Case Study Of How To Kill A Business | Rise and Fall | Business Insider





Summary

Once a seafood powerhouse in America, Red Lobster is bankrupt and shutting down dozens of restaurants. Is Wall Street to blame?