Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

The rise of rental prices in Singapore has been on a streak.  HDB rents are on a 2-year rising streak since the Covid-19 pandemic started while condo rents are on a 1.5-year rising streak. The heated rental market is also accompanied by rising home prices as well. But are these high prices sustainable, and what does it mean for the outlook of the rental market for the rest of the year? In Powering Your Property, Prime Time's Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish spoke with Nicholas Mak, Head of Research and Consultancy at ERA Realty to find out more.

More than 35,000 teachers will get a pay hike of between 5 per cent and 10 per cent from Oct 1 as part of efforts to attract and retain talent.  The pay increase will also apply to about 1,600 allied educators and 800 pre-school teachers in Ministry of Education kindergartens. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Multimedia Journalist Hairianto Dirman spoke with Education correspondent Amelia Teng to find out if the pay increase for teachers is enough to attract and retain talent in the teaching sector.

Food sustainability and alternative protein companies have gained increased attention from investors these days as the world races to find ways to feed a growing population. For one thing, plant-based food companies in the US raised more than US$741 million in venture capital in the first three months of 2020 alone. But how do VCs identify which startups to invest in, and how can we as retail investors also hop on the bandwagon? On Market View, Prime Time's Finance Presenter spoke with Yip Hon Mun. He’s an Investor in Sustainability and Alternative Protein, and has over thirty years of investment, operations, and board level experience with PE funds, family offices and start-ups.

In the Spotlight, the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo will meet in Brussels on Aug. 18 to discuss a flare-up of tensions between the neighbouring western Balkan nations.  Bharati Jagdish and Timothy Go speak with BBC's Producer/Presenter, Peter Ross, to discuss what to expect from the talks, plus the Brazilian Presidential election as well as the latest developments of the heatwave in Europe.

It's going to be a heavy week for markets in the US and Europe. For one thing, investors in the US are looking to the FOMC's minutes for its July meeting for clues on how the US Federal Reserve is set to move interest rates. Meanwhile, the energy crisis continues in Europe with prices surging to fresh records. So what should investors in both regions look out for this week? On Market View, Financial Presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Silvia Dall’Angelo, Senior Economist, Federated Hermes Limited.

As technology continues to evolve with full force, how will the future of marketing after Covid-19 shift? Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish spoke with Prashant Kumar, Founder & Senior Partner at Entropia and author of 'Made in Future' to delve into the principles and applications of marketing strategy in the new age.

Local retail workers are set to get salary increases of 8.4 per cent to 8.5 per cent annually over the next three years under a proposed wage ladder to boost low wages in the sector. This is expected to take effect from Sept 1 this year to Aug 31, 2025. The wage increase is one of the recommendations announced by the Tripartite Cluster for Retail Industry  on Monday under the Progressive Wage Model. Other key recommendations include minimum training requirements for all retail job roles under the model and a clear career progression pathway. In The Straits Times The Big Story, Multimedia journalist Hairianto Dirman spoke with Scanteak CEO Jamie Lim to find out what these recommendations mean to retail employers, and the possible challenges in implementing them.

The Covid-19 pandemic was a disaster for the cruise ship industry. Images of “plague ships” with stranded passengers and crew, many ill with the virus, travelled around the globe. In The Spotlight, Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Melissa Hyak speak with Angie Stephen, APAC MD & VP of Royal Caribbean International to discuss the state of the cruise industry in 2022 and beyond.

According to a recent report by J.P. Morgan, the working capital of the S&P 1500 companies returned in 2021 to levels prior to the COVID-19 outbreak led by a recovery in the global economy.  The report also found cash levels amongst corporates reducing last year as firms deploy funds strategically after a period of cash preservation. But how will all that weigh on firms performance for the rest of this year? On Market View, Prime Time's Finance Presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke with Gourang Shah, Global Advisory Head for Payments at J.P. Morgan, and author of the report for more.