Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

The couple allegedly involved in a luxury goods scam, related to undelivered items worth $32 million, were hauled to court on Friday afternoon (Aug 12). Pi Jiapeng, 26, and his wife, Thai national Pansuk Siriwipa, 27, were each handed two charges of cheating and an additional charge of leaving Singapore illegally. The couple were arrested at a budget hotel in Skudai, a 20-minute drive from the Causeway, as they were about to check into the hotel at about 11pm on Wednesday. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Multimedia journalist Hairianto Dirman spoke with Journalist Nadine Chua to find out more about the details of the case.

As countries move towards Covid-19 endemicity, participation for in-person MICE and business events is expected to grow and hit pre-pandemic levels in the next year or two. But how will rising inflation, supply chain bottlenecks, and increasing transportation costs of goods moving across international borders impact the MICE industry post-pandemic? Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Melissa Hyak spoke with Gernot Ringling, Managing Director, Messe Dusseldorf Asia to find out more. 

Have you wondered about the environmental cost of a pair of your favourite pair of jeans? In fact, how we make and buy clothes is hurting the planet. In The Spotlight, Prime TIme’s Timothy Go and Melissa Hyak speak with Edwin Keh, CEO of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel, to find out about the fashion crisis and sustainable solutions available to alleviate the environmental implications.

The US consumer price index for July came in at 8.5%, better than the 8.7% expected last night. This, contradicting an earlier report indicating that the US labour market added 528,000 jobs in July, more than double of a Dow Jones estimate. So what are the reasons behind the discrepancies? What is the state of the US economy right now, and how will the US Federal Reserve move interest rates when officials meet in September? On Market View, Prime Time's Finance Presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke with Aninda Mitra, Head of Asia Macro & Investment Strategy of BNY Mellon Investment Management for more.

The number of homeless people in Singapore fell slightly in 2021 despite the Covid-19 pandemic leading to homelessness spiking in many countries as unemployment and poverty rose. The second nationwide street count of the homeless here found about 1,000 people last year - 7% fewer than the first such count in 2019. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Multimedia Journalist Hairianto Dirman spoke withDr Ng Kok Hoe, a senior research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy to find out more about the findings.

Singapore is progressing in terms of developing its quantum safe communication technology, to counter the threat of quantum computing. In Tech Talk, Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Melissa Hyak speak with Wei Ling Neo, Vice president of Product Management at Fortinet about the potential and perils of quantum technology.

A Happiness Report by Oracle has revealed that only 1 out of 5 brands have done enough to deliver happiness to the local buyers. It found that brands that can create fresh experiences for customers and are up to their satisfaction, can achieve higher revenues.  So, why aren’t the rest of the brands doing more? Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Melissa Hyak speak with Jay Tuseth, Vice President, Applications, ASEAN and General Manager, Customer Experience (CX), Oracle, APAC, to find out more. 

Infrastructure investments have gained increased attention as broader equities weaken in 2022 due to inflation, rising interest rates, global supply chain disruptions from COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine. We’ve also seen equities trading on fast-moving events, making infrastructure’s long-term proposition has been looking more attractive to investors today. But where are the opportunities and potential income benefits for investors in this space?  On Market View today, Financial Presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke with Shane Hurst, Managing Director & Portfolio Manager of ClearBridge Investments, a specialist investment manager of Franklin Templeton, to find out more. 

A new virus, which can be transmitted to humans from animals, has infected 35 people in Shandong and Henan provinces. That’s according to a study by scientists from China, Singapore and Australia published in the New England Journal of Medicine. So far, there has been no evidence of human-to-human transmission. The Henipavirus (also called Langya henipavirus or LayV) was first detected in late 2018 but was formally identified by scientists only last week. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Multimedia journalist Hairianto Dirman spoke with Dr Zhu Feng, a research fellow from the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School about the study.

Globally, the cost of living is rising rapidly in many parts of the world amid high global inflation, and this follows two years of pandemic-related disruption to jobs. Given these uncertainties, should you ask for a pay raise? How then do you navigate this conversation with your employer? On Career 360, Prime Time's Timothy Go and Melissa Hyak spoke with Adrian Choo, CEO and Founder, Career Agility International to find out.  Highlights of the conversation: 01:40 : How do we know if our salaries are keeping up with inflation? 02:19 : Is salary benchmarking important? 03:11 : Looking for signs that you are underpaid and what to do about it 04:32 : Should employers address salary increases to keep up with inflation? 06:15 : It might be time to bring up inflation to negotiate a raise — here’s how to do it.