Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Singapore saw a slow growth of non-oil export by nine percent last month. Besides, the ECB meeting this coming Thursday with an expectation of raising lending rates is also being looked forward to. In Market View, Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish spoke with Song Seng Wun, Economist at CIMB Private Banking to find out more. 

Every household in Singapore will get a set of 10 antigen rapid test kits in their letterboxes as the third round of distribution kicked off on Monday (Jul 18), as the country rides through another wave of Covid-19 infections. In the Straits Times The Big Story, Multimedia Correspondent, Cheow Sue-Ann spoke to Dr Elly Sabrina, family physician and director of Banyan Clinic in Woodlands, on whether her clinic is seeing more Covid-19 patients and the symptoms they are exhibiting.

Being a freelancer brings up different benefits in terms of flexible working hours. However, challenges in this working mode are unique related to mental health. One tenth of freelance workers admit not taking time-off in the past 12 months, adding to their vulnerable mentality. Sadly, in immature sectors, these issues are hardly addressed. In Prime’s Time, Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish spoke with Anurag Bhalla, Managing Director and co-founder of Outsized to find out more. 

Around the world, policymakers in New Zealand, Canada, South Korea and Philippines have all announced rate hikes over the past week, fanning fears that policymakers could go too far and tip leading economies into a recession. Back home, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has made a surprise off cycle move to tighten its monetary policy, or put simply to strengthen the Singapore dollar and reduce imported inflation. What are the implications of these developments on global markets? And how should we invest in a bear market? In Market View, Prime Time’s Finance Presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke posed these questions to David Kuo, Co-Founder of The Smart Investor.

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the country's acting president today, with voting for the next president in parliament scheduled for July 20. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Multimedia journalist Hairianto Dirman spoke with Dr Chulanee Attanayake from the Institute of South Asian Studies at NUS to weigh in on the developments.

According to the country’s control of Covid-19, Singapore is expected to be well-prepared for any coming pandemic. A study by Institute of Policy Studies revealed that cost of living including healthcare, utilities and food is among the top concerns of the residents since the country moves on from the pandemic. On SGExtra, Prime Time’s Timothy Go spoke with Goh Yan Han, Political Correspondent at the Straits Times to find out more. 

Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 occupied 50-percent of Covid-19 cases reported in Singapore last Tuesday. On Wednesday, the number of  infected individuals tripled. WHO is giving out warnings that this pandemic is not expected to end anytime soon in the near future. In Prime’s Time, Timothy Go spoke with Dr Leong Hoe Nam, an infectious disease specialist at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital to find out more.  

Environmental, Social and Governance (EGS) investment strategies have progressed from fringe concerns to a core pillar of the industry. A picture of generational shift in attitudes to ESG investment is clearly painted. Prime Time’s Timothy Go spoke with Sylvia Chen, Senior Sustainable Officer, Amundi to find out more. 

Central banks around the ASEAN region are working to quell inflationary pressures. At home, the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced hours ago that it would re-centre the mid-point of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate or (S$NEER) policy band in a surprise off-cycle move after raising its full-year core inflation forecasts by 0.5 per cent to between 3 and 4 per cent. And earlier we saw Indonesia’s headline inflation for June spiked to a 5 year high of 4.4 per cent on-year, breaching Bank Indonesia’s 4 per cent target upper-bound. To what extent will central banks move to rein in soaring prices dampen growth? And what's the economic outlook for ASEAN? In Market View, Prime Time’s Finance Presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke with Suan Teck Kin, Head of Research at UOB for a detailed overview of the region.

The Singapore economy grew slower than expected in the second quarter this year, indicating weakening global and domestic demand for goods and services amid surging inflation. Meanwhile, the Monetary Authority of Singapore further tightened its policy stance, making room for a stronger Singapore dollar to douse the impact of rising global prices as it raised inflation forecasts for this year. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Multimedia journalist Hairianto Dirman spoke with Senior economist at DBS Irvin Seah to weigh in on the developments.