Your Way Home with Hongbin Jeong

A viral travel hack has left people stunned. A US influencer shared a video suggesting travellers could wash their underwear in a hotel room coffee maker. Genius shortcut or completely unhygienic?  Then, we shift gears to road signs, from familiar traffic signs in Singapore to a surprising and very real warning sign in Japan featuring cats. What does it mean, why does it exist, and should Singapore have one too? From hotel rooms to highways, from hygiene debates to hilarious road signs, Hongbin Jeong, Nadiah Koh and Alexandra Parada break down the stories on What's Trending. 

On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Kevin Chen, Associate Research Fellow with the US Programme at IDSS, RSIS, to unpack US President Donald Trump’s record-breaking State of the Union address — the longest in modern history at 1 hour and 48 minutes. Delivered during his second term, the speech set out what Trump described as a “turnaround for the ages,” covering key issues including the economy, crime, immigration, trade and foreign policy. What does the address reveal about Trump’s priorities for the years ahead? What strategy underpins his messaging? And what signals does it send about the future direction of US policy both domestically and internationally?

Tether is reshaping the gold market. The crypto giant has been rapidly scaling its physical gold purchases, reaching levels typically reserved for central banks and sovereign investors. This unprecedented move is blurring the lines between digital and traditional stores of value, forcing investors and markets to rethink the relationship between Bitcoin, gold, and emerging crypto players. On The Wealth Tracker, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Ivan Lee, Head of Trading at QCP Group, to unpack what this convergence of crypto and gold means for investors, markets, and the future of money.

Singapore shares dipped today as investors digest a slew of corporate earnings from blue chip companies in the country. The Straits Times Index was down 0.3% at 5,005.57 points at 2.41pm Singapore time, with a value turnover of S$1.46B seen in the broader market. In terms of counters to watch for today, we have Genting Singapore after the company yesterday reported a 30 per cent decline in net profit for the second half of its financial year to S$155.6 million, from S$222 million in the same year-ago period.  Elsewhere, from investors’ reactions to US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, to how markets in Japan and South Korea reached record highs, more international headlines remained in focus.  Also on deck – more on investors’ sentiment towards the AI trade as Anthropic unveiled 10 new ways for business customers to use its AI plugins, and as they looked ahead to Nvidia’s latest earnings due overnight. On Market View, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian unpacked the developments with Kenneth Goh, Director, Private Wealth Management, UOB Kay Hian.

From red cards to recruitment strategy, from leadership to life after Tomoyuki Doi - Geylang International’s season hasn’t gone to plan. Sports Miniutes sits down with the Eagle's club captain Joshua Pereira to unpack the downfall, the dressing room mood, and the road ahead. Got a story to tell? Get in touch! raushan@sph.com.sg

Today we’re going to turn the clock back to the 1800s to share with you the story of a young man, Georges Nagelmackers, who had just fallen out of love.  Like some of us who might travel abroad to take a breather, Nagelmackers fled to the US, where he discovered railroads with the world’s first sleeping cars.  The enterprising Belgian engineer decided to take that idea back to Europe, where he would launch luxurious trains leading to the Gates of the Orient.  That’s right, we are talking about the Orient Express, or the luxurious train experience provider that would later be further popularised by a suspense novel by writer Agatha Christie in the early 1930s.  Then called the CIWL (Compagnie Internationale des Wagon-Lits), or The International Sleeping Car company, Orient Express’ inaugural trip happened in October 1883 from Paris to Constantinople (or the modern day Istanbul), redefining the meaning of long distance travel for luxury travelers.  As we know, the development of air travel has changed the way people move between places. That dealt a blow to CIWL, and eventually, the Orient Express made its last direct trip between Paris and Istanbul in 1977.  That same year, the SNCF or the French National Railway Company acquired the Orient Express brand, and the last Orient-Express train left Vienna for Strasbourg in December 2009.  But hope is not lost. Nearly 140 years after making its first trip, Accor Hotels fully bought over and redeveloped the brand in 2022, expanding the portfolio of Orient Express to include hotels and even yacht sailings.  As for the original Orient Express carriages – they will be back on railway tracks in 2027, though details are still scant at the moment. So, what should we know about the Orient Express portfolio of hospitality solutions today, and what is next for the firm?  In this episode of Under the Radar “SPECIALS”, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Gilda Perez-Alvarado, Group Chief Strategy Officer of Accor & CEO of Orient Express.

US President Donald Trump has warned that countries could face higher tariffs and even potential licence fees if they “play games” with recent trade deals, following court moves that blocked parts of his global tariff strategy. With the Supreme Court of the US limiting some of his sweeping levies, Trump has signaled that alternative legal tools, including possible new investigations under Section 301 through the Office of the United States Trade Representative, could be used to impose further trade pressure. How serious are these threats and how might US trading partners respond? And could this approach reshape future global trade negotiations? On The Big Story, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Dr Dylan Loh, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Global Affairs at Nanyang Technological University, to find out more.

Christie's Hong Kong Autumn Luxury Sales reached HK$1 billion, reinforcing Asia’s position as a global centre for high-value collecting. Exceptional performance across categories including world-auction records for rare Hermès handbags, Patek Philippe references, and Kashmir sapphires pushed hammer prices far above expectations. With nearly 20% new buyers and more than half of participants bidding online, the season reflects an evolving collector base that is younger, broader, and increasingly comfortable treating luxury assets as both cultural objects and investment-grade stores of value. On The Wealth Tracker, Hongbin Jeong speaks with Winsy Tsang, Head of Department, Handbags & Accessories, Christie’s Asia Pacific, to unpack the trends behind this record-breaking market and what they reveal about the future of luxury collecting in Asia.  

On today’s episode of What’s Trending, Hongbin Jeong and Alexandra Parada dive into the viral coffee-shop glitch that accidentally turned a UK woman into a quadrillionaire, but only inside one café. And the surprising return of landlines as parents bring back the house phone for their kids. From accidental “riches” to retro tech making a comeback, we unpack the chaos, the nostalgia, and the unexpected lessons behind both stories.

Singapore shares slid today as investors continue to mull uncertainties relating to US tariffs on global trading partners. The Straits Times Index was down 0.52% at 5,015.04 points at 2.12pm Singapore time, with a value turnover of S$1.48B seen in the broader market. In terms of counters to watch, we have UOB, after the bank said today that its net profit for the fourth quarter fell 7 per cent on the back of margin pressures from lower benchmark rates. Elsewhere, from how US President Donald Trump warned countries against backing away from recently negotiated trade deals after the Supreme Court struck down his emergency tariffs, to a fresh trade tangle between Japan and China, more international headlines remained in focus. On Market View, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian unpacked the developments with Eddy Loh, Chief Investment Officer, Maybank Group Wealth Management.