Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Airports in Europe are facing a crisis of staff shortage which forces some hubs to urge airlines to stop selling tickets. This issue adds on the chaos in travelling including luggages lost, travel disappointment in the post-pandemic tourism. Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish spoke with Lavinia Rajaram, APAC Head of Communications, Expedia Group to find out more. 

Investors are keeping their eyes on a raft of economic data from the US as they enter into the second half of the year. In the meantime, new developments are also coming out from the European Central Bank's forum in Sintra, Portugal. But how do we make sense of the information, and what implications do they have on the US and Europe? In Market View, Prime Time's Finance Presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke to Jeff Ng, Senior Currency Analyst at MUFG to find out.

The FBI says on its website that it estimates that seniors lose more than $3 billion each year to fraudsters. Scammers go after seniors because they believe older adults have a significant amount of money sitting in their accounts.  At home, the Singapore Police Force last year flagged the top three common scams involving seniors aged 60 and above as phishing scams, social media scams and investment scams.  Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky reported that almost one in three seniors in Southeast Asia experience anxiety when paying online. How can we help the seniors among us? In the Spotlight, Bharati Jagdish and Timothy Go speak with Sohini Rajola, Regional Head of Asia Pacific, Western Unionto find out more.

Electricity tariffs here will increase by an average of 8.1% for the July to September period compared with the previous quarter. On SGExtra, Prime Time's Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish spokewith Luke Pachymuthu. Senior Correspondent, The Straits Times to find out how long the upward trend will continue.

There is no reason to change the "one country, two systems" policy for Hong Kong and it must be adhered to over the long run, said Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday (July 1), at the 25th anniversary of the city's return to China. In a speech at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Mr Xi said the policy's underlying goal is to uphold China's national sovereignty, security, and development interests, and maintain long-term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macau. Earlier in the day, the president swore in Hong Kong's former security chief John Lee as the city's new chief executive, as well as the principal officials of the sixth-term government. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Assistant video editor Olivia Quay spoke with Associate Professor Alfred Wu, who is from NUS' Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy about the developments.

The global economy has endured a series of shocks over the last few years with COVID-19 shutdowns, unprecedented stimulus, supply chain seize-ups and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And as we move into the second half of the year - investors are seeking some clarity on when exactly inflation will peak and how they should be calibrating their portfolios for the remainder of the year. In Market View, Prime Time's Finance Presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke to Steven Wieting, Chief Investment Strategist and Chief Economist at Citi Global Wealth Investments to find out.

5G subscriptions are set to cross 1 billion this year. On Tech Talk, Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish spoke with Magnus Ewerbring, Chief Technology Officer, Asia Pacific, Ericsson to find out what is driving the rate of subscriptions in the region.

About half the households in Singapore will pay higher electricity bills for the next three months, with the electricity tariff for the next quarter going up by about 8 per cent compared to the previous quarter. The electricity tariff for the period July 1 to Sept 30 will be 30.17 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), excluding the goods and services tax (GST), said grid operator SP Group on Thursday (June 30). Meanwhile, producer and retailer of piped town gas City Energy also announced on Thursday that the gas tariff for households will go up from 21.66 cents per kWh before GST, to 23.09 cents per kWh.  In the Straits Times The Big Story, Assistant Video Editor, Olivia Quay spoke with Dr David Broadstock from the Energy Studies Institute, to find out what’s the impact on every household here.

Is it time for Singapore to have a 4 Day work week? Or is it feasible only for certain sectors and industries ? In the Spotlight, Bharati Jagdish and Timothy Go speak with the man behind the movement - Andrew Barnes, Founder, 4Day Week Global,to find out more. Hightlights :  2:26 : What’s the reason behind long working hours?  3:20 : How do we encourage companies to work smarter? 6:10 : What are the benefits of a 4Day work week?  8:04 : How does 4Day work week help with gender pay balance?  15:43 : How receptive are Singapore companies towards the idea of a 4 Day work week? 

The economy seems to be growing at a good pace for the first half of 2022. On Career360, Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish spoke with Adrian Choo, CEO and Founder, Career Agility International to find out what’s in store for the rest of the year, and what that means for the jobs outlook.