Let's Talk, Singapore

Can Singapore meet its “30 by 30” food sustainability goal? With the passing of the five-year mark since that goal was set - this question has been cast into the spotlight, following a series of delays, failures or re-configurations of high-tech farms of late. It hasn’t been easy for local producers, with indoor vegetable farm I.F.F.I shutting down, and VertiVegies abandoning plans to build a mega vertical vegetable farm - both of which had been awarded funding under the government’s 30 by 30 express grant. Other agri-food casualties include aquaculture, with the Barramundi Group ceasing sea bass farming, and novel protein, in particular with the cultivated meat industry seemingly in limbo. Despite those shake-ups, farmers and relevant stakeholders are still hard at work in pushing the little red dot towards its goal of producing 30% of its nutritional needs locally by 2030. On this episode of Climate Connections, we explore the issue with a range of stakeholders, including:  - Ma Chin Chew, CEO of N&N Agriculture, a local egg farm that has successfully tapped on technology to scale up its productions, and improve its yield and sustainability.  - Ken Cheong, CEO of Singapore Agro-Food Enterprises Federation (SAFEF), who dives into consumer demand trends, and how SAFEF is working hand-in-hand with local farmers to get their produce on the shelves and stay competitive. - Andy Chang, Director, Fresh and Frozen, FairPrice Group, who sheds light on what drives consumer choices in today's context, and what local farmers need in order to stay ahead of the game from a retail perspective. Special thanks to the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Photo credits: SFA website Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors 

Charu Chanana, Head of FX Strategy and Global Market Strategist at Saxo discusses how the market narrative has turned with the latest US jobs data in the form of a weaker than expected set of non-farm payrolls. She examines how that's raising questions about a recession, as well as the implications for investors. Produced/Presented: Ryan Huang 

Traffic lights - we all have a love-hate relationship with our tri-coloured friends. Traffic light systems were invented with the objective of helping to regulate congestion - and ultimately improve safety - on the world's roads. But in some countries, that hasn't always been the case. Tune in to Breakfast Bites on International Traffic Light Day to find out more! Presented by Emaad Akhtar, Ryan Huang & Audrey Siek  Produced and Edited by Emaad Akhtar Music and photo credits: Pixabay & its talented community of contributors 

Jakarta has officially launched a new long-term visa, which offers residency to wealthy investors, retirees and professionals with desired talents and skills. The five-year "Golden Visa" requires individual investors to set up a company worth US$2.5 million, while a 10-year visa requires a US$5 million investment. Following a trial last year, about 300 golden visas have been given out so far, with most of the applicants from China, the United States, Russia, Taiwan and Britain.  The programme is aimed at building investor confidence against possible headwinds, especially with some holding back while Southeast Asia’s largest economy enters a leadership transition period in the next few months. But experts have warned that such a programme could lead to risks like money laundering and housing inflation even as it brings in foreign investment and contributions that will inspire confidence in the country’s business and financial landscape. On this episode of Morning shot, Doris Liew, Economist and Assistant Research Manager at The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs shares her thoughts on whether this golden visa gamble will hit or miss the mark.  Presented by: Emaad Akhtar  Produced & Edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Assistant Producer: Simone Chuah Photo credits: Caregivers Alliance 

Investors are seeking for shelter overnight, and it seems that there is little place to hide. We have a set of weaker-than-expected US economic data giving rise to hard landing fears. Plus, there was a sell-off in megacap tech stocks overnight, as treasury yields weaken across the board. Yeap Junrong spoke to Francyne Mu, Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst, Franklin Equity Group. Presented by Yeap Junrong Edited by Audrey Siek

Are you a fan of spicy food? We here in Singapore generally like spicy foods of all kinds, and we don’t think that much when we tuck into all these spicy dishes. But now, questions have been raised on how good or bad spicy food is for us, after a well-loved South Korean instant noodle brand Buldak was banned in Denmark. Audrey did some research and gets to the bottom of whether or not it's good for us, and whether we should limit our spice intake. Presented by Audrey Siek  Produced and Edited by Audrey Siek Music and photo credits: Pixabay & its talented community of contributors

Nadine Terman, CEO & CIO, Solstein Capital shares her takeaways on the latest earnings revolving mega cap tech giants, Apple and Amazon, whether the economy is leaving elevated inflation blues behind, if she foresees debt further easing in 2025, and whether we'll be seeing further weakness in the US labour market moving forward. Presented by: Yeap Junrong Produced & Edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Assistant Producer: Simone Chuah Photo credits: Andrew Kelly/Reuters

Back in historical times, volcanoes played a crucial role in the evolution of the planet and early life, and are constantly reshaping the morphology of Planet Earth.  Today, about 500 active volcanoes presently exist on the Earth’s surface, with some 50 erupting each year, and more than 800 million people living within 100 kilometres (60 miles) of an active volcano. As populations continue to grow around volcanoes, these impact events will likely continue to affect communities.  With modern society heading into uncharted territory as the world grapples with unprecedented climate change effects, many concepts adopted by policymakers and scientists to deal with volcano-related hazards will quickly become outdated, and hence making ongoing research so crucial.  While extensive research has been done on explosive eruptions, there has been limited studies on how lava flows are impacting communities. These streams of molten rock are one of the most common volcanic hazards and can be disastrous for communities.  On this episode of Climate Connections, Dr Elinor Meredith, Research Fellow in Volcanic Risk, University of Twente and Susanna Jenkins, Associate Professor, Earth Observatory of Singapore, NTU share insights from their extensive study on the frequency and severity of these lava flow impact events, and whether they are an increasing threat to communities.  Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Assistant Producer: Simone Chuah Photo credits: Iceland Review Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors 

Mitul Kotecha, Head of Asia FX and Rates Strategy, Barclays discusses what the FOMC's latest meeting means for Asian markets, how it will impact the Yen and other Asian currencies, and whether we can expect a soft landing in the US. Presented by Yeap Junrong Edited by Audrey Siek

We celebrate World Wide Web Day today! Every August 1st, we commemorate its impact on the world, and how most of us rely heavily on the web to browse, access and upload content. Audrey goes through some fun facts about the web - like the most searched thing on Google, the most watched thing on the internet, and the most searched person of all time! Presented by Audrey Siek  Produced and Edited by Audrey Siek Music and photo credits: Pixabay & its talented community of contributors