With over 30 dishes to choose from, economic rice stalls are known for their variety of choice, convenience and economical price point. But of late, diners are complaining about the exorbitant prices of their cai fan or mixed rice dishes. Since January till mid October this year, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has received 11 economic rice-related complaints, on the lack of price transparency.
The Malaysian ringgit has fallen to its lowest level since the Asian financial crisis. How do you manage your finances, when the value of the currency keeps going down?
Prices of Singapore real estate investment trusts or REITs have been dropping all year. So are they still a good investment – and how do you spot a bargain?
Amid China’s record youth unemployment levels, some young people are moving back home to work as paid ‘full-time children’. As their parents’ live-in personal assistants, they do simple chores and spend time with them in exchange for free rent or even a salary. Some document their daily routine as part of a viral online trend on Chinese social media.
But, not every family is fully onboard with this alternative ‘career’ decision. Some ‘full-time children’ report tensions at home and anxieties about their formal jobless status.
According to the IMF, debt is at the highest level in decades. With high interest rates and a global economic slowdown, 60 percent of low-income countries are either already in debt distress or at high risk of debt distress. Pakistan is one country that has gone to the IMF recently for a bailout package. How is the country’s debt burden impacting its people? How is the debt problem further exacerbated by climate change? And what is the role of China’s Belt and Road initiative in Pakistan’s debt situation?
Pakistan is just one of 70 about countries struggling with a debt burden. With debt repayment expected to go up in 2024, will we see a global financial contagion and a deluge of defaults?