DBS deal to bring banking back to Singapore post offices
Tuesday, November 15th, 2011
Singapore Post has formed a major partnership with the largest bank in south-east Asia, which will see basic banking services offered at all Singapore post offices from January.
The alliance with DBS Bank is the first ever tie-up between SingPost and a bank, and will see the bank’s retail outreach within the city-state expanding from 80 branches to 140….
If I can remember, POSB was part of Singpost which was then known as Singapore Post Office. And the Post Office Savings Bank was then providing some banking services to the people, for the convenience of the people before it was divorced and subsequently become the mistress of DBS. Now Singpost is getting engaged with POSB one more time to serve the customers better.
Will the $2 banking charges be discontinued with this second marriage?
11/16/2011
The endless and futile debate
Yesterday was Jessica Cheam I think. Today Esther Teo added another half page article in the ST on the rising property prices and how to protect Singaporeans from the speculators. Just ask a simple question, what is the main objective of these foreign speculators? To make profit. Period. And where does the profit come from? If they make profits, who is losing their money?
This is like inviting the big and sophisticated funds to play in our stock market with their high speed computers. They are here for one simple reason, profit. And the Singaporeans are paying for their profits.
So, what is the discussion all about? Jessica was suggesting more controls, cannot buy, cannot sell, with more regulations. Esther was trying to say it is ok and it is not ok for the speculators to buy our properties.
My position in protecting Singaporeans is fairly straight forward. Keep public housing to Singaporeans and build as many as long as there are Singaporeans who need the flats. No need to have all the cumbersome and ridiculous rules and regulations. The private property sector can be less regulated, to let those who have the money to speculate to their hearts content. But the primary aim of building for every Singaporean without all the silly restrictions must be observed and practiced. Also be careful about being Singaporeans as tomorrow all the foreigners can become Singaporeans. In fact all the screwed up statistics on citizens and foreigners buying properties are deceiving in this aspect. Quite a number are new citizens, which means foreigners yesterday.
On the other hand, just sell everything as I have suggested earlier. Sell the whole island for money and divide them among the Singaporeans. Then everyone will have all the money and can decide to stay or to go somewhere else. Everything that has a price can be sold. Everything is just a gambling chip. Forget about the angst about nationhood, loyalty, citizens first craps. Commercialise everything and put everything up for sale. The best!
This is like inviting the big and sophisticated funds to play in our stock market with their high speed computers. They are here for one simple reason, profit. And the Singaporeans are paying for their profits.
So, what is the discussion all about? Jessica was suggesting more controls, cannot buy, cannot sell, with more regulations. Esther was trying to say it is ok and it is not ok for the speculators to buy our properties.
My position in protecting Singaporeans is fairly straight forward. Keep public housing to Singaporeans and build as many as long as there are Singaporeans who need the flats. No need to have all the cumbersome and ridiculous rules and regulations. The private property sector can be less regulated, to let those who have the money to speculate to their hearts content. But the primary aim of building for every Singaporean without all the silly restrictions must be observed and practiced. Also be careful about being Singaporeans as tomorrow all the foreigners can become Singaporeans. In fact all the screwed up statistics on citizens and foreigners buying properties are deceiving in this aspect. Quite a number are new citizens, which means foreigners yesterday.
On the other hand, just sell everything as I have suggested earlier. Sell the whole island for money and divide them among the Singaporeans. Then everyone will have all the money and can decide to stay or to go somewhere else. Everything that has a price can be sold. Everything is just a gambling chip. Forget about the angst about nationhood, loyalty, citizens first craps. Commercialise everything and put everything up for sale. The best!
11/15/2011
Discrimination in Singapore is no laughing matter
In every country, there is always some discrimination, and Singapore is not spared from this disease. The discrimination is so serious in Singapore that ministers have come out to make a stand, that discrimination must be stopped.
The joke is that in every country, the discrimination is always against foreigners in matters between citizens and non citizens. In Singapore, it is discrimination against Singaporeans practised by foreigners in the country. If this is not nauseating, just listen to the govt’s plea with the foreigners not to discriminate against the locals.
Where on earth can one find the citizens being discriminated by guests who were in the country with the blessings and consent of the citizens? Now, what is going on? The foreigners are acting like masters of the island and the victims are the meek citizens who are at the mercy of foreigners. I can’t believe it but it is true. And the best the govt could do is to make a plea to the foreigners to be nicer to the citizens. Contrast to many countries whereby foreigners tremble at the sight of the locals. It is now a common occurrence that foreigners will beat up locals or talk down to the locals.
This is what is happening when the citizens did not know of their rights to the country and by default allowed foreigners to think the citizens owed the foreigners a living. Is this the new variation of modern day colonialism, when the colonised gave up their rights to their country without fighting, and in a silver platter to the foreigners? If this is going to be the norm, then Singaporeans should prepare themselves to call the foreigners masters. The picture will be complete when the foreigners have bought up everything in the island.
The joke is that in every country, the discrimination is always against foreigners in matters between citizens and non citizens. In Singapore, it is discrimination against Singaporeans practised by foreigners in the country. If this is not nauseating, just listen to the govt’s plea with the foreigners not to discriminate against the locals.
Where on earth can one find the citizens being discriminated by guests who were in the country with the blessings and consent of the citizens? Now, what is going on? The foreigners are acting like masters of the island and the victims are the meek citizens who are at the mercy of foreigners. I can’t believe it but it is true. And the best the govt could do is to make a plea to the foreigners to be nicer to the citizens. Contrast to many countries whereby foreigners tremble at the sight of the locals. It is now a common occurrence that foreigners will beat up locals or talk down to the locals.
This is what is happening when the citizens did not know of their rights to the country and by default allowed foreigners to think the citizens owed the foreigners a living. Is this the new variation of modern day colonialism, when the colonised gave up their rights to their country without fighting, and in a silver platter to the foreigners? If this is going to be the norm, then Singaporeans should prepare themselves to call the foreigners masters. The picture will be complete when the foreigners have bought up everything in the island.
When interest rate for savings was 6%
Could that be true or just my imagination? If I remember it correctly, it was the prevailing interest rate that banks used to pay many eons ago. The banks were rich and able to pay savers good returns. And they must have reinvested them wisely to be able to afford that kind of interest rate.
Today the banks are big time in gambling. They called it investments and tradings or fund management. They manage a great lot more money than before and took greater risks for greater returns. They even charge small savers a $2 fee and pay them negligible interests. The banks must be grotesquely profitable and rich.
Why can’t they pay higher interest rate? One major reason is that the whole financial system is flooded with banana currencies, and plenty of them. But that should not be that difficult to pay a bit more as the banks will simply transfer whatever is their cost to the borrowers. And the big gambling, sorry, mis statement, the great investments in all the great funds with all the great fund managers and private client managers, the banks must be making more money than the old conservative banks by unimaginable amount.
Now where did all the big incomes go to? Or the banks are losing money all the way? The American banks are losing big time and needed bailouts. They are now claiming to be making big times and paying themselves crazy like before. Are the gains real or more cook book fairy tales? Asians banks are steadier, and making profits after profits. Making a few hundred million lesser is a crime and the analysts will instantly recommend a sell on their stocks.
Where have all the profits gone? They can’t be paying themselves all the big salaries and unable to pay a little more to the savers?
PS. Britain is going to curb all the excessive compensation for the robbers in top management. The legislation is coming to end the looting.
Today the banks are big time in gambling. They called it investments and tradings or fund management. They manage a great lot more money than before and took greater risks for greater returns. They even charge small savers a $2 fee and pay them negligible interests. The banks must be grotesquely profitable and rich.
Why can’t they pay higher interest rate? One major reason is that the whole financial system is flooded with banana currencies, and plenty of them. But that should not be that difficult to pay a bit more as the banks will simply transfer whatever is their cost to the borrowers. And the big gambling, sorry, mis statement, the great investments in all the great funds with all the great fund managers and private client managers, the banks must be making more money than the old conservative banks by unimaginable amount.
Now where did all the big incomes go to? Or the banks are losing money all the way? The American banks are losing big time and needed bailouts. They are now claiming to be making big times and paying themselves crazy like before. Are the gains real or more cook book fairy tales? Asians banks are steadier, and making profits after profits. Making a few hundred million lesser is a crime and the analysts will instantly recommend a sell on their stocks.
Where have all the profits gone? They can’t be paying themselves all the big salaries and unable to pay a little more to the savers?
PS. Britain is going to curb all the excessive compensation for the robbers in top management. The legislation is coming to end the looting.
11/14/2011
Angry to be spoken to in Mandarin
I read the discussion about a Daniel Chua posting his encounter with a Chinese waiter at Harbour Front. He was unhappy to be taken for granted, that a waiter had the audacity to choose to speak to him in Mandarin. He snapped back at the waiter with the ‘Do I look like a Chinaman’ act. To add insults to injury, the waiter replied that he should be proud of China as his ancestor also came from China too. And this talented Sinkie replied smugly that his ancestors came from Singapore.
Many China Chinese have this wrong imprssion of Sinkie Chinese. They did not know that the ancestors of Sinkie Chinese did not come from China, maybe from Europe or even America, anywhere else but definitely not from China. Singapore is the perfect answer. And it is rude to assume that they can speak Mandarin. Their mother tongue is English.
Now, why should the waiter want to speak to him in Mandarin? This really beats me. How could a China Chinese mistook a Sinkie Chinese as Chinese from his appearance? So ridiculous! I also fuming.
From the appearance one can easily tell that a Sinkie Chinese is likely to be of non Chinese origin. Look at his slant eyes, flat nose, high cheek bones, and the colour of his skin and hair, every inch is so non Chinese, but Sinkie. Absolutely no doubt about it.
To make things easier for the China Chinese, Sinkies should wear a tag on their chest with the Chinese characters, ‘wo bu shi zhong guo ren.’ See , look at me, I am Daniel, my name is Daniel, not ‘da niau’.
Many China Chinese have this wrong imprssion of Sinkie Chinese. They did not know that the ancestors of Sinkie Chinese did not come from China, maybe from Europe or even America, anywhere else but definitely not from China. Singapore is the perfect answer. And it is rude to assume that they can speak Mandarin. Their mother tongue is English.
Now, why should the waiter want to speak to him in Mandarin? This really beats me. How could a China Chinese mistook a Sinkie Chinese as Chinese from his appearance? So ridiculous! I also fuming.
From the appearance one can easily tell that a Sinkie Chinese is likely to be of non Chinese origin. Look at his slant eyes, flat nose, high cheek bones, and the colour of his skin and hair, every inch is so non Chinese, but Sinkie. Absolutely no doubt about it.
To make things easier for the China Chinese, Sinkies should wear a tag on their chest with the Chinese characters, ‘wo bu shi zhong guo ren.’ See , look at me, I am Daniel, my name is Daniel, not ‘da niau’.
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