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after US ...now Malaysia … The leaders of Thailand and Malaysia agreed on Friday to boost security cooperation and consider building a border wall to combat transnational crime and smuggling, an idea that appears to be gaining popularity elsewhere in the world. People-trafficking and the smuggling of contraband, including drugs and petrol, have flourished along the Thai-Malay border for years until a crackdown by Thai officials on human traffickers caused some of the routes to shut down last year. Analysts say separatist insurgents operating in Thailand’s deep south use Malaysia as a base to launch and plan their attacks. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters that security remained “a very important matter” for both countries and there was an agreement to step up intelligence gathering and sharing to rein in cross-border terrorism. “We both face security issues including the fight against terrorism, human trafficking and illegal smuggling, that is why we need to address these issues seriously,” said Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. Najib said both sides had discussed the construction and extension of a border wall but details remained to be worked out.

Starhub give this 4G Speed boost supposedly for free on my line. I didn't bother too much if it's for free. Suddenly this month, I noticed they charged me $2 for it, after I compared to my previous months bill. I didn't sign up for this. They thrust it to me and now quietly charged $2 bcuz I didn't say NO. This is really underhanded. Just to charge you $2 without you even knowing, if you have not checked. What stupid speed boost? I don't really care about it in the first place. Do check all your telco bills. They are all suckers and playing dirty tricks.

Ferrari will limit sales of its high-performance street cars this year to protect the brand's aura of exclusivity, chairman Luca Montezemolo said on Wednesday. Wealthy people around the world are snapping up Ferrari's and the company is worried the brand might lose its appeal as a symbol of rarefied luxury. As a result, it will scale back production to below 7,000 units this year, compared with 7,318 last year. "The exclusivity of Ferrari is fundamental for the value of our products," Mr Montezemolo told journalists at the company headquarters near Modena, in northern Italy. "We don't sell a normal product. We sell a dream." Ferrari sales were up 4 per cent in the first quarter, to 1,800 units. Montezemolo said he will provide a detailed outlook in the coming months but estimated the drop in unit sales this year will be greater than 1 per cent or 2 per cent. Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/...sivity-20130509

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/...502-419777.html hmm... how come he cry ? didnt he say that wages remained stagnant? That's despite those years of growth? http://www.tnp.sg/content/lim-boon-heng-gets-emotional

Rising property prices boost Singapore households' wealth Rising property prices have boosted Singapore's households to their wealthiest, according to a report released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Household wealth stood at a record high of $1.471 trillion in the three months leading up to September. This is an increase of 8.6 per cent from $1.354 trillion in the same period last year. Property made up approximately 50.2 per cent of household assets. Cash, Central Provident Fund balances, insurance and stocks and shares made up the other half. Companies and banks also showed good profits, with a strong base of funding and healthy balance sheets. However, not everything's in the pink of health for Singapore. The global economy and financial system are at their most fragile state since the global economic crisis of 2007, warned the MAS. MAS said that financial stability risks increased significantly in the second half of the year. In its annual report, it also highlighted key risks facing Singapore. These include a protracted global economic slowdown, financial contagion and pressures in the property market. A protracted global slowdown could weigh on the domestic economy, cause corporate earnings to fall, with knock-on effects on employment and wage growth, warned MAS. It also said that external shocks and financial contagion could trigger funding stresses and cause financial institutions to reprice risks. This could, in turn, lead to higher borrowing costs and curtail lending, especially in foreign currencies. While cooling measures have been implemented by the government, there is also a need to be cautious and vigilant about the property market. MAS is monitoring developments closely and stands ready to address such concerns. It said that Singapore's economy and financial system have been resilient, and that Singapore's financial sector had negligible exposures to the peripheral euro zone countries. MAS expects Singapore's economy to grow below its 3 per cent to 5 per cent potential in 2012, after expanding by about 5 per cent this year. http://business.asiaone.com/Business/News/...118-311363.html Hey all you Richie Rich! 50% of wealth in a property wor................

Will this help? or it is another form of subsidizing company as long as they sign up since 2005, no significant result and it got worst in some area. But today when i board the bus, the driver greet you, and when we alight he say "Thank you, good bye, and have a nice day", he does it at EVERY stop.

My car manual recommendations for fuel is at minimum 91 RON. I am to have a long trip to Thailand and found out that Thailand mostly selling Gasohol 95 E10 ( 10% ethanol ) except for a few stations selling pure Benzene . The highest the sell is 91 RON. In Singapore, I normally fill up my car 95 or 98. And the manufacturer told me Gasohol will not be allowed for my car. So I was thinking, if I head North, I have to pump 91 RON for my entire trip but definitely the performance will be very sluggish. I was wondering, any bros have experience pumping lower grade fuel and pump in some Octane booster to boost up? If so, what brand is recommendable and how much must I fill for a 80 Lit tank? thank you very much and any inputs appreciate!!!

I recently installed a china made HU and the radio reception is not very good. Was wondering if there are signal boosters which I can install to help improve the reception. Changing to another HU is not an option.

Hi Bro and Sis,may I know is there any way to boost driving confidence?My gf driving sometimes ok,sometimes not ok.She keep complaining my car too big,cannot see bonnet,got boot.I was wondering,1.6 Altis big?Then what's camry or Mercs?Now comtemplating to rent a smaller car for her to practice for a few days.Ladies and gentleman,any pointer to take not?She's very forgetful.

Hi Gurus with TC cars, I'm sure many of you have play with your TC engines and most probably one of the most popular device is to add a Electronic Boost Controller like HKS EVC and similar. My ride is relatively stock 1.5 turbo with a stock boost of 0.6bar, I avoided putting a EVC due to warranty issues. But I would want to know if putting a EVC really make a big difference. (say configuration the EVC to allow up to 0.8bar to 1bar boost) Currently, I DIYed removing a resistor pill from the solenoid allowing it to peak at 0.9bar, holding at 0.8bar boost. But maybe I'm used to the boost and didn't felt much of a difference. In fact the turbo lag seem to be slightly longer. Of perhaps removing the pill only trick the meters to boost at 0.8bar while the engine ECU is smart enough to offset the boost, hence output power is same. I know boosting up the car doesn't mean the horsepower gains will be exponential and removing the solenoid pill may not be the best solution, but I'm afraid by putting back the pill and buying the EVC to set it to boost at 0.8bar will make no difference. Since mine ride is stock setup with stock muffler/stock SMIC and stock plastic dump valve, ECU, etc. Any Gurus done both, both anyone here can share the difference and whether the EVC is really worth investing.

STB developing new blueprint to boost tourist growth By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 12 October 2009 2050 hrs SINGAPORE: The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is developing a new road map for 2020. It is also looking for ideas from the public. Singapore's tourism industry has taken a hit with the economic downturn. Latest figures showed tourist arrivals from January to August fell 9.2 per cent over the same period last year to 6.23 million. There was one silver lining though - the rate of decline has slowed since June. The STB had previously set as its 2015 target 17 million visitor arrivals and S$30 billion in tourism receipts. But it now said that would be a challenge. Looking forward to 2020, the STB has put together a steering committee to chart strategic directions for the future of an industry that contributed 5.8 per cent to GDP last year. Five taskforces have been set up to look into specific areas - Business, Enrichment, Lifestyle, Marketing plus Travel and Hospitality. Industry leaders heading these taskforces know they face an uphill task. Dennis Foo, co-chair of Lifestyle Taskforce and CEO of St James Power Station, said: "... very exciting years ahead, with the two IRs (integrated resorts). But the big challenge is really to have the right software - essentially, it's the people. Hospitality is about people." Loh Lik Peng, co-chair of Business Taskforce and director of KMC Holdings, said: "A lot of it is looking ahead and seeing the growth opportunities in markets like China, India, Indonesia. "If you look at the wealth creation in those countries, the size of the middle class and the people who will travel for work and will want to come for events in Singapore or hold a conference here will increase exponentially. "We want to position ourselves so that we get a fair share of that market. We don't want to be marginalised by their own capital cities." About 70 per cent of Singapore's visitor arrivals are from Asia. For its new road map, the STB wants to tap on ideas from the public through this website. The public can submit their ideas over the next four months. STB's chief executive, Aw Kah Peng, said: "Everyone who has a good idea, who can contribute, we want to hear them. If we can take even a small number of these ideas and turn them into something that works for us, that will be tremendously powerful." The new road map and targets are expected to be ready by March next year. - CNA/ir It's funny to see this comment. Hospitality is about people. Sometimes ppl forget to see themselves in the mirror. imo, st james got the worst service standard among all clubs. Lol. sulky and impatient wait staff, long wait, bouncer who thinks they own the world, hard selling promoters etc. how can someone who cant even manage a club's service standard be managing a stb project to attract more tourist? it just make my day. lol

I own a stock Airtrek Turbo and feel as though I need that extra bit of oomph... I've read a bit on boost controllers and think this maybe my easiest way of achieving this. Questions: 1. Will this definately increase my performance e.g. 0-100kph? 2. Is it illegal to install one in Singapore? 3. If installed can it easily be disconnected/reconnected from dash (inspection reasons)? 4. Best type to buy, something small,easy to use but would like features such as scramble, overboost warning, allow different boost at different rpm? 5. Any other advise you wish to share? Thanks!

For effective result, the cost of bring up these new babies must be totally born by the government. From womb to at least complete Polytechnics education. Since all other previous methods and policies had gone into waste, I feel our leaders must be bold and firm to carry out these new initiatives generously and without reservations. Do not talk and talk and no action or take the easy way out by importing new citizens from other countries. These new imported citizens come easy go also easy and they also bring along with them many social illnesses. Besides social illnesses, they also cause a lot of unhappiness among our families and social cohesiveness.

June 22, 2008 Saudi king announces oil production boost JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) - SAUDI ARABIA'S King Abdullah announced on Sunday that his country has increased output to 9.7 million barrels a day as he opened a summit on the soaring international price of crude. The king also said Saudi Arabia would give one billion dollars to an Opec fund for developing countries and give 500 million dollars in soft loans for poor countries to finance energy and development projects. Earlier on, consumer nations stepped up pressure on the oil powers on Sunday to increase production at an international summit on spiralling crude prices in the Saudi city of Jeddah. Divisions within Opec were exposed as Saudi Arabia was to increase production by 200,000 barrels a day and Kuwait said it was ready to follow, but the cartel's president insisted that opening the taps further is not the answer to the price crisis. The summit started with roundtable talks among the 36 countries and top international institutions and 30 major oil companies on the causes of the surge to nearly 140 dollars (S$191) a barrel. The United States, Germany, India, Australia and other major consumers came to the meeting, called by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, appealing for greater supplies to slake the world economy's thirst for oil. But the summit hosts and other top providers are also demanding action against 'speculators' that they blame for the astonishing rise over the past year. US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman insisted that 'there is no evidence that we can find that speculators are driving futures prices' to current record heights. 'Market fundamentals show us that production has not kept pace with growing demand for oil, resulting in increasing prices and increasingly volatile prices,' he told a press briefing late on Saturday. 'Even despite higher global production for oil so far this year, inventories have been drawn down and production capacity is below historic levels.' Warning that prices would almost certainly rise further, Mr Bodman said: 'In the absence of any additional crude supply, for every one percent increase in demand we would expect a 20 per cent increase in price in order to balance the market.' German Economy Minister Michael Glos said: 'We need more oil in the world market quickly in order to stop the spiralling prices at the gas pumps'. He wrote in an article for the Sunday newspaper Bild am Sonntag that prices have passed the 'limit' acceptable to consumers. India's Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Australia's Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson also called for oil producing nations to increase their output, diplomats said. Saudi Arabia has said it will step up production by 200,000 barrels to 9.65 million barrels a day from July. And Kuwaiti Oil Minister Mohammed al-Olaim said on Sunday that Opec members 'will not hesitate' to increase production if the market needs it. But Opec president Chakib Khelil insisted there is enough oil to supply the market. 'We believe that the market is in equilibrium. The price is disconnected from fundamentals. It is not a problem of supply,' the Algerian oil minister told a briefing. 'Why would you have a supply problem when demand is going down,' he said. Mr Khelil said the 13-nation Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries had decided no special meeting on production was needed now and that a decision would be made at a regular Opec meeting in September. 'We believe speculation, in its noble and not noble terms, has its impact,' the Opec chief said. Mr Khelil refused to answer questions about why Saudi Arabia has decided to increase its output. He said much of the price explosion can be explained by turmoil around the dollar. 'A lot of people are talking about the uncertainties about the reserves. But what about the uncertainties on the dollar?' he said. Before the summit, Saudi Deputy Petroleum Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said: 'What is bringing us together is a sincere wish to be responsible. 'We will meet demand,' the prince vowed. 'If demand requires more crude, we shall sell it.' A Saudi source said there is scope for other countries to follow his country's example as there is up to three million barrels of spare capacity within Opec nations. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the senior western leader at the summit, has called for a 'new deal' between consumers and producers. He wants producer nations to 'invest in countries like ours, and oil consumers like us with good companies, with good technology and skills can invest in the oil-producing countries.' Mr Brown said in an interview with The Guardian newspaper that the world was going through 'the biggest of all three oil shocks' and called it 'the downside of globalisation.' -- AFP http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/...ory_250544.html 10,000 blessing for his Highness for his magnimous help, may he live to 1000 year old He can bring the price of oil down and dun just use his mouth...

How credit cards boost gas prices Card companies take a percentage of sales from stations. As gas prices continue to soar, consumers may have to bear more of the costs. EMAIL | PRINT | DIGG | RSS Subscribe to Economy feed://rss.cnn.com/rss/money_news_economy.rss Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close) By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer May 14, 2008: 11:10 AM EDT Credit cards are eating into gas stations' profits, and the cost may be the consumer's to bear. Sneaky credit card rates More Videos NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Buying gasoline with a credit card could be hurting your local independent gas station owner - and you may have to pay for it. That's because credit cards charge merchant fees in the form of a percentage of sales - and those fees eat into the fixed per-gallon sum that gas retailers tack onto pump prices. Some stations raise prices in order to keep profit steady. But others are unwilling to risk the competitive disadvantage or unable due to contracts with suppliers, and absorb the hit. "In some instances, this credit card problem is turning to the straw that broke the camel's back," said Paul Fiore, vice president of Service Station Dealers of America and Allied Trades. Fiore said gas station closings are not yet wide-spread, but could turn into a bigger problem as gas prices continue to increase. In turn, Fiore said fewer gas stations could mean less competition, perhaps leading to higher gas prices for consumers - although he said he hasn't seen that happen yet. Different cards, different fees In the first quarter of 2008, retailers added an average of just under 9 cents per gallon of gasoline on top of their costs. But credit cards and issuing banks charge merchants a total of about 2% per purchase. That may have been more manageable when gasoline was around $2 or $2.50 a gallon. But with gas prices soaring to a national average of $3.76 Wednesday, according to motorist group AAA, those credit card fees add up to an average of 7.5 cents per gallon - taking away nearly 83% of gas stations' fuel profits. And different cards charge different rates. Debit cards charge merchants an average of 1.5% plus a 10 cent flat fee. But premium cards, which offer welcome cash-back or other rewards to users paying surging gas prices, charge the stations as much as 3%. "It's an oppressive system," said Bill Douglass, owner of 15 gas stations in Texas and CEO of a company that services and sells products to 150 gas stations. Not only do cards charge a variety of rates, but some retailers get charged different rates than others. "The rate credit card companies charge depends on the gas station's volume of sales," said Lowcards.com chief executive Bill Hardekopf. "Joe's gas station won't get the same rate deal that a national retailer does." Credit card company Visa Inc (V). said Big Oil is to blame for high merchant rates. "The cost of accepting card payments for service stations is generally set by the large oil companies, which negotiate a merchant discount with their financial institutions, and then in turn mark up the merchant discount to charge their franchisees," the company said in a statement issued to CNNMoney.com. "The merchant discount is not set by Visa." The Electronic Payment Coalition (EPC), a group representing credit card networks and financial services organizations, said it's impractical for card companies to negotiate with every single gas retailer. So, it said, gas station owners should put pressure on their parent oil companies to negotiate a better fee. Independent gas retailers may bear a Big Oil company's name, but station owners do not receive incentive payments or allowances from the oil companies. Discount gas may add to problem Gas station owners with deeper pockets can also afford to compete for drivers by lowering their prices to the point that they don't profit at all from gas revenue. About 80% of gas stations include convenience stores and, with rising credit card rates, station owners make nearly all their profit from the drinks, snacks and newspapers inside the store, not on fuel. Appearing before the House Judiciary Committee last week, Douglass testified that consumers are willing to drive an extra 10 minutes to save just 3 cents on a gallon of gas, putting added pressure on independent retailers. "Wal-Mart and Costco choose to sell below costs down to bring in traffic, but we have to have a product that at least breaks even," he said. That means that some gas retailers that are unable to compete are forced to close down - especially those that do not have an attached convenience store to remain profitable. Solutions Visa said that offering the ability to allow customers to pay for gasoline with a credit card is actually beneficial to the retailer. "Visa believes that the cost of accepting card payments is more than offset by the tangible benefits to stations and their customers, such as the ability to pay at the pump," said the credit card company. "Visa values our long-standing partnerships with service stations - a relationship that has helped drive their business and increase sales by maintaining a convenient, reliable and secure payments network." As credit card use has now become standardized, retailers don't have much choice but to accept the rate and take a hit to their profits rather than offer a two-tier paying structure. "Very few retailers will charge more for credit cards, because they're such a big part of society," said Hardekopf. But Congress has noticed, and is proposing action. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich, and Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, proposed the Credit Card Fair Fee Act to the House in March. If passed, the legislation would issue controls on rates charged to merchants. Some think that price controls are an affront to free markets, and it is dubious that retailers would pass their savings onto consumers. "It's a little bit preposterous," said EPC spokeswoman Trisha Wexler. "They're going to take the profits for themselves." But Douglass said that lower rates would allow him the ability to compete with bigger gas stations that are selling gas below costs. "Ultimately, we think we can lower the price to the consumer if we can negotiate with the credit card companies," said Douglass.

My friend just passed me a Blitz SSBC Boost Controller. Its one of those old school stuff that still works. Wanna install it in my tiny TC car. Where should I go to do it? Heard that some car ECU will not work with boost controller. How?

I was wondering, what is the use of a boost gauge? Why do you need to monitor it?

How, The radio reception for my 4 weeks old Mit Lancer is rather poor. Are there any ways I can boost the reception? Thanks and regards.

anyone knows how to change or remove the boost cut in a turbo charged car....i am driving a forester 2.5xt...any clue??

I've just DIY instaleld my Boost Guage and is tapped onto the Fuel Pressure Regulator line. Everything worked fine, except one repeatable problem. When the engine is started from cold, the guage worked perfectly. However, when the engine is shutted down and started while hot, the boost guage register "0" !!! It stays at "0" for ~30sec to 1min then jumped to life ! It is repeatable which make me rule out a faulty guage. One possibility is that the fuel pressure regulator probably has a valve that shuts the vacuum from the hose when engine is started hot .... it then has something that gotta do with the injectors right ? Should I tap another line instead?

In my effort to understand how bass boost works for my amplifier, i emailed my manufacturer. I got curious because the manual states that every boosting of 3dB up to a max of 18dB at the 45Hz level (called Bass Boost) requires twice the amount of power. I was worried because it may draw more power for the amp and pump too much and maybe blow speaker. --------------- The reply is as follows: To first understand the bass boost you must first understand that it is essentially a narrow Q single band equalizer, essentially when you increase the level it does in fact affect the levels of surrounding frequencies to some extent in a very narrow bandwidth. The next thing needed to know is the 3 db rule, 3db is a noticeable increase in output to the human ear, in order to gain 3db of output you must either double the power or double the speaker surface area. You are not sending more power to the given speaker you are just increasing the power which is focused at that specific signal range. As long as the amplifier is adjusted properly you will not have a problem with overpowering the sub, you will in fact have better control over it which results in greater dynamic range and accuracy. ------------- I suppose, as they say, think of it as a single channnel EQ and u'll appreciate what it does. does anyone else have comments about how they use bass boost in their car, how they tune their sub, and the sub-to-midbass transition/crossover ...?

Any bros here can advise what is the correct pressure for my 98' Ford Laser? I installed my PBV at Mcwell. It was set at 2 bar. My car's performance did improve. But I believe there is room for improvement. There is such a website for Nissan cars. It recommended that for Nissan Sunny 1.5, the pressure should be set to 2.9 bar. My friend tried out its recommendation and reported that his car's performance improved tremenduously. Thanks a million!

hi all.. juz like to ask which garage carry manual boost controller? been looking for it..seems like every garage only carry electronic bc.. thanx

I want to up the boost but hearing the Seimens 2000 ECU will boost cut. Will the boost cut still happen with a boost controller. I can live with the CEL. BTW, this my first post hear. I drive an EVO 3 Wagon. Pictures of the rear suspension differences. Literally no difference. If you are stuck with the fact that you are unable to get a Volvo suspension for the time being. A temporary solution is a Proton Wira rear or Lancer CC/CD. CD is the EVO 3. The rear tie down stud is exactly the same diameter. So you can reuse your hardware from the OE. This is a mirror image of the difference. The OE is a Left Side while the Cusco is the Right Side. This show the difference for the mounting of the knuckle. All dimensions including the clips for the ABS and Brake Hoses are the same position. Final pictures. The Pillow Mount is from an EVO 4 not EVO 3. But you must use the EVO 3 coilover. I can dial up to 4* negative camber at the front. Wow! Don't need to worry about PG eating the outside of the front tires. Look at the negative camber! IPD Rear Sway Bar comparison with the OE Sway Bar.

Saw a red mazda3 with a boost controller inside hmmm... I wonder if there's turbo... looks very suspicious. Are there many people in SG who dare do such things?