Money Matters with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

Ahmad Danial Mohamed Rafa'ee, the man accused of killing 19-year-old Felicia Teo Wei Ling in 2007, has been given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal for the murder charge. However, he is expected to plead guilty next week to unlawfully depositing her corpse in a public place. On the Straits Times The Big Story, Assistant Video Editor, Olivia Quay spoke to court correspondent Shaffiq Alkhatib to find out more about this case's twists and turns.

John Lee will officially step up as chief executive on July 1st, which is also the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China from the British coloniser. Challenges regarding division in politics and society in terms of housing price surge and Covid-19 restrictions are foreseeable for the incoming leader.  In The Spotlight, Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish spoke with Pushan Dutt, Professor of economics and political sciences, INSEAD to find out more. 

US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had given his most explicit acknowledgement to date that steep interest rate hikes could tip the economy into a recession, and it would be very challenging to achieve a soft landing. He also reiterated the Fed's resolve to get inflation back to the two per cent mark, adding that ongoing rate hikes will be appropriate to cool the hottest price pressures in four decades. But have markets been given enough time to react to the recent rate hikes, before the Fed is expected to further raise rates next month? And to what extent are markets expected to perform in the meantime? When will the US economy slip into a recession? In Market View, Prime Time’s Finance Presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Steve Brice, Chief Investment Officer, Standard Chartered Wealth Management. 

Taking a taxi from Changi Airport will be $3 more expensive until the end of the year, with the extra location surcharge extending by another six months. Taxi rides starting from the airport, Changi Air Freight Centre, the Airport Police Station and the Airport Logistics Park of Singapore, will cost an additional $8 every day from 5pm to 11.59pm, and an additional $6 at all other times. Before the fare hike, the airport surcharge was $5 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 5pm to 11.59pm, and $3 at all other times. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Assistant video editor Olivia Quay spoke with transport correspondent Kok Yufeng on the reasons for the extension.

Amid the possible growth of Covid-19 Omicron subvariant waves, Singapore still determines not to go back to the strict Covid-19 safety measures. It is believed that the country has been on the fine track since the ease of Covid-19 restrictions. On SGExtra, Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish spoke with Linette Lai, Health Correspondent, The Straits Times to find out more.

Tightened tax rules have stricken Greater China, which forces the super wealthy to plan to obtain permanent citizenship in Singapore through the Global Investor Programme. However, due to the complications of growing scams related to cyber security, data breach has become more common. In The Spotlight, Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish spoke with Desmond Teo, Leader, EY Asia-Pacific Family Enterprise to find out more. 

Global supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine have pushed up food prices and induced shortages in many countries. Most recently, we saw Malaysia restricting chicken exports. And before that, Indonesia was imposing palm oil export bans to meet domestic demand. Such examples have reinforced the importance of food sustainability. Analysts say achieving food sustainability would require huge capital input from the private market. So what does this mean for retail investors? In Market View, Prime Time’s Finance Presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke with Christy Tan, Investment Strategist, Franklin Templeton Institute to find out more.

The 13th edition of HardwareZone Tech Awards returns, recognizing the outperforming brands and products related to computing, gaming, consumer electronics, communications and services launched in the past year.nThe Tech Awards consists of two segments, Readers’ Choice determines the best brands as voted by our readers, while the Editor’s Choice segment identifies the best tech products as tested by the review team. From gadgets and services to communication and gaming, Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish spoke with Vijay Anand, editor-in-chief, HardwareZone.com to find out more about the best in consumer technology.

Singapore's core consumer prices in May surged at the fastest rate in more than 13 years, led by the rising costs of food, electricity and gas. Core inflation - which excludes accommodation and private transport costs - jumped to 3.6 per cent in May on a year-on-year basis, up from 3.3 per cent in April. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Assistant video editor Olivia Quay spoke with Lee Ju Ye, economist, Maybank Investment Banking Group on what this means for household budgets in the coming months, and whether Singapore is heading for a recession as prices continue to rise.

Fears of potential mass greenwashing are growing among businesses as countries, cities and companies have reached net-zero emissions promises recently. The aim of ensuring carbon offsets was launched last year to help developing nations access the climate finance of the market.  In The Spotlight, Prime Time’s Timothy Go and Bharati Jagdish spoke with Dr Bo Bai, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of digital exchange, MetaVerse Green Exchange to find out more.