Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

In a statement just issued by the Palace, Malaysia’s King expresses his "disappointment at current political developments", leaving him with no choice but to assent to the Parliament's dissolution. This, so that the mandate can be returned to the people to "elect a stable government". Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah made the statement shortly after Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved Malaysia's Parliament, paving the way for snap polls nearly a year ahead of the deadline for a general election. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Multimedia journalist Cheow Sue-Ann spoke with Malaysia CorrespondentRam Anandfor more on these developments. 

The Japanese government encourages firms to let workers take up side gigs, with the hope that the move will help foster greater diversity in the country’s work practices and encourage talent to move into growth areas. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharati Jagdish speaks with one employer here who allows her employees to take on side hustles - Winnie Pua, Managing Director of local creative agency antics@play, and her staff Jasmine Tan, Account Manager, antics@play. Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

Within Asia, we saw inflation reports out of major economies such as Indonesia, South Korea, Japan and Thailand.  More notably, core consumer prices in Tokyo, a leading indicator of nationwide inflation, hit 2.8% in September from a month ago, marking the biggest gain since 2014. And speaking of inflation, analysts seem to observe an interesting correlation repeatedly occurring in the markets. Whenever reported inflation figures pose a surprise on the upside, any assets that typically protect from inflation such as property, commodities, equities are being sold off. On Market View, Prime Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian found out more about the phenomenon and what’s to come in Asia from Martin W. Hennecke, Head of Asia Investment Advisory at St. James’ Place (SJP).

Malaysia has unveiled a smaller budget for 2023, prioritizing fiscal discipline over expectations of populist measures, as it warned of a slowdown in the economy from rising global risks. Prime Time's Bharati Jagdish speaks with Dr Serina Rahman, Lecturer at the Department of Southeast Asian Studies, National University of Singapore to find out what’s most crucial right now in the Malaysian economy and explore the ripple effects on this part of the world. 

Singapore is looking to have its emissions reach net zero by or around 2050. So how can power generation companies play a larger role in spearheading newer, more sustainable technology? Prime Time’s Bharati Jagdish speaks with Kazunari Fukui, Decarbonization Leader for Asia at GE Power to find out. 

Quiet Quitting has been making the rounds on social media and in the workplace. It's time to talk about the flipside - Quiet Firing. What exactly is Quiet Firing? How can we spot that and how do we know if we are at risk? In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharati Jagdish speaks with Alex Hattingh, Chief People Officer, Employment Hero to find out more. Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

European economies are on our agenda today. In the UK, the British Prime Minister Liz Truss and Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng was forced to abandon a move to cut the top rate of tax from 45% to 40% for its top earners, in what’s seen as an embarrassing U-turn 10 days after announcing the new government’s growth plan to stimulate its economy.  Elsewhere, the latest treasury forecasts showed Italy’s economy probably shrank in the third quarter, adding more uncertainties to the mix.  Not to mention, the OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial meeting on oil production - and the possible impact on oil prices.  On Market View, Prime Time’s Finance Presenter unpacked the key developments for the week with Thomas Rupf, CIO Asia & Head of Trading Execution, VP Bank Ltd Singapore Branch.

A report from Snap has shown that when researching gifts, Augmented Reality (AR) helps shoppers make decisions about what to add to their gifting list. Prime Time’s Bharatii Jagdish speaks with Kathryn Carter, General Manager, APAC at Snap Inc on the evolution of AR Shopping from past to present and how brands can harness the power of AR to engage their customers more effectively to generate growth and revenue. Produced and edited by Anthea Ng (nganthea@sph.com.sg)

Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said he may discuss the dissolution of Parliament in his audience with Malaysia's King on Thursday evening, but refused to be drawn into whether this would leave the scheduled presentation of next year's budget on Friday. On the Straits Times The Big Story, Multimedia Correspondent Hairianto Diman speaks with Malaysia bureau chief Shannon Teohon the development.

In land-scarce Singapore, the government has continuously emphasised the importance of space planning in providing a sustainable and high-quality living environment. Through its Space Optimisation business, LHN Group identifies old, unused and under-utilised spaces, converting and enhancing them to maximise the leasable area. They do so by transforming old buildings into co-living spaces and storage facilities that are branded under its Coliwoo and Work+Store subsidiaries, respectively. The Group is also part of a highly anticipated joint project, “The Bus Resort”, that features an upcoming resort made from 20 upcycled public buses.    Prime Time's Bharati Jagdisjh speaks with Kelvin Lim, Executive Chairman & Group Managing Director of LHN Group – a dual-listed real estate management company to find out more on how they are contributing to Singapore’s strategic and sustainable use of land in the long-term.