Hong Leong Finance woos bungalow buyers

Straits Times Singapore, December 8, 2009, Tuesday By Joyce Teo   Good class bungalows, generally priced at more than $15 million, number only about 2,400 here, forming a small and exclusive market. — ST FILE PHOTO BUYERS looking for a grand landed home with sprawling grounds in central Singapore can now take up a special package from Hong [...]

Er, what is a credit rating report?

Sunday Times Singapore, December 6, 2009, Sunday   FINANCIAL QUOTIENT     Where do you see this? In newspaper articles on personal finances and teaching material on debt management. What does it mean? A credit rating report is produced by a local credit bureau. It has your credit payment history, compiled from different financial institutions that you have a [...]

HDB rents ‘holding steady’

Sunday Times Singapore, December 6, 2009, Sunday Plenty of flats available to meet demand by IRs’ foreign employees By Joyce Teo Owners of public flats not far from Sentosa, and with rooms to spare, take note.  Foreigners slotted to work at the soon-to-open integrated resort (IR) there are scouting for rental units.  But property agencies say that given the [...]

Income up by just 0.5 per cent last year

Straits Times Singapore, December 1, 2009, Tuesday   THE income of Singapore workers has hardly moved, climbing a paltry $10 in one year to $2,600 this June. This rise in the median monthly income of full-time workers works out to a mere 0.5 per cent. In contrast, their income last year soared by 11 per cent and in [...]

Pregnant? Stand up for your rights at work

Straits Times Singapore, Novemeber 13, 2009 Friday Women given raw deal by employers should not suffer in silence By Radha Basu, Senior Correspondent BUSINESS development executive Jennyfer Aw, 27, was four months pregnant when she shared the news with her bosses at the small IT firm at which she worked. It was a Friday evening. At the end [...]

Off-peak car e-licences on sale

Straits Times Singapore, Novemeber 10, 2009 Tuesday     OWNERS of off-peak cars can now buy an electronic version of that unwieldy paper coupon that lets them drive during the day. They can buy the e-licence before their intended drive outside the hours prescribed for red-plate cars. Or they can buy it after they have driven – as [...]

HLF stirs waters, cuts HDB home loan rates

Business Times Singapore, Novemeber 10, 2009 Tuesday by Siow Li Sen   (SINGAPORE) Hong Leong Finance (HLF) has slashed its HDB home loan rates in a bid to undercut the competition amid a low interest rate environment, but it seems some banks might have been even quicker on the draw. Yesterday, HLF said its latest HDB home loan rates [...]

Pregnant? You’re fired

Sunday Times Singapore, Novemeber 8, 2009 Sunday   MOM gets record number of pregnancy- related complaints from workers        By Radha Basu, Senior Correspondent       Some women said they were sacked under the pretence of poor performance or other work-related issues. — ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW   The tough economic times – and more [...]

HDB: Divorcee should be able to get loan

Sunday Times Singapore, Novemeber 8, 2009 Sunday YOUR LETTERS   We refer to the letter from Ms Norliah Abu, ‘Divorced and can’t afford a flat’ (Oct11). We have looked into Ms Norliah’s circumstances. She has enjoyed housing subsidies in the form of a Central Provident Fund (CPF) housing grant and HDB concessionary loan. She transferred her executive flat [...]

That new HSBC loan: too clever by half?

Business Times Singapore, Novemeber 6, 2009  Friday by Siow Li Sen That new HSBC loan: too clever by half? Why not give customers the money outright?   LAST Friday, when given the HSBC press release on its new Sibor plus equity-linked mortgage, I spent at least 15 minutes trying to figure out how it worked. The result was that [...]