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this is the trend. land alone already cost smelly smelly $500+ psf after build up + landscape + profit + this&that ... no $1,000+ psf no talk simi curb also no use la ... http://www.todayonline.com/business/tampin...pite-loan-curbs

Source http://therealsingapore.com/content/ava-ki...-they-would-not THIS IS A PICTURE OF AN 11 YEAR-OLD GOLDEN RETRIEVER THAT AVA PUT DOWN JUST LAST WEEK despite my family's best efforts against it. AVA has left my family and I distressed and very angry. In the span of three weeks, they have shown that they are an organisation that is not to be trusted, disorganized and negligent toward the care for the animals that they take in. We approached the organisation to help us find the owners of a lost Golden Retriever we had found along Upper Changi Road on February 27. The dog was dirty, with prominent skin irritations and no collar. She was clearly in need of care, so we took her home to bathe and feed her. We then brought her to the vet to check if she was micro-chipped With the serial number, we contacted AVA's customer service and reported the found dog. Our first intention was to return the dog to her owners. Since she was found around our neighborhood it was apparent to us that she belonged to a home nearby. Due to regulations, AVA was unable to disclose the owner's details. We have two dogs of our own and decided to have AVA take the dog in till the owner was contacted. We clearly stated our interest in helping the dog get re-homed or even adopting her ourselves. We were told the AVA service staff would pick her up within the day. On the phone, there was even mention of them visiting the dog owner's home because it was around the area. When they arrived to take her, we TOLD THEM SPECIFICALLY NOT TO PUT HER DOWN, and to contact us if they were unable to reach the owner. The Chinese gentleman who came to pick her up, assured us that they would not put her down. He even cancelled the "disposal" off the

Auntie seemed to be made the bad guy by the STOMPer. The young lady also not 省油的灯。 And now the whole Singapore knows the two of them taking part in the inaugural MRT Super Saliva Fight 2012 IMO priority seats are for the needy so please do not occupy them if you are not someone in need of them. Check out the 3 videos embedded in the website. [shakehead] From STOMP: http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sg...e_priority.html Posted on 19 Jun 2012 Auntie picks fight with girl despite being given Reserved Seat STOMPer Khair captured this video of a middle-aged woman quarrelling with a girl over a priority seat while on a train heading towards Marina Bay. The older woman had said she had a leg injury, which the younger woman claims she did not see. The older woman to take issue with how the younger woman kept 'staring at her for how many hours' after being asked for the seat, insinuating how she may be 'from China'. Later in the video, the older woman then tries to take a photo of the younger woman, to which the younger woman gets upset and questions why the older woman is 'causing trouble' despite already being given her seat. Throughout the video, vulgarities were continuously shouted at each other as the older woman accuses the younger woman of not having 'honesty'. The confrontation finally ends with the younger woman alighting at her stop at Raffles Place.

STOMP Woman 'defiantly' eats on bus despite reminders from other passengers

ST Forum Stuck in housing limbo despite higher ceiling MY WIFE and I were delighted when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the income ceiling would be raised to $10,000 and $12,000 for new build-to-order (BTO) flats and executive condominiums (ECs) respectively ('HDB raises income ceiling to $10,000'; Aug 15). We checked the HDB website several days later but discovered that we were once again ineligible to apply for ECs even though our combined income falls below $12,000. That is because of a clause stating that an applicant cannot own any private property 30 months prior to EC application. We are prepared to sell our private property to apply for an EC. However, requiring us to sell it 30 months before applying for an EC does not make sense. Where will we stay for 21/2 years? In fact, if one includes the time taken for construction of the EC, we would have to spend at least five years renting a place or living with our parents. We have a toddler and plan on having another child. The waiting period will surely disrupt their education and childcare. Two years ago, we did not qualify because our combined income exceeded $8,000. With sellers seeking cash-over- valuations of between $60,000 and $90,000 in our preferred location - near both our parents' homes - we were forced to buy a small private condominium apartment that was selling at valuation as we did not have enough cash. The inescapable irony was that we qualified for a bank loan to buy a private property but did not have enough cash to buy a subsidised public flat. Being forced to buy a private home saddled us with a whopping $600,000 loan. We are toying with the idea of selling our private property as our joint income is just below the income ceiling for now, but we are uncertain if we will still be earning the same income 30 months from now. All we want is to live in a home we can afford and, yet, we are caught in a predicament. We think this could be our last chance to buy a Housing Board flat. We hope the Government would consider revising this rule for the sandwiched class. Lim Chong Wee

http://business.asiaone.com/Business/News/...627-286238.html

How many of them will eventually vote for them? Talking about talk is cheap and actions always speak louder than words.

How come sgd so strong against usd but cannot defray rising crude oil? In 2007/2008, crude is usd140+, usd/ sgd 1.44+, ron95 petroleum in sg cost $2 per liter. Now crude is usd120, usd/sgd 1.26, but ron95 also at $2 per liter. Is this bec petrol operating cost increase 30% in singapore or authority totally never do anything?

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1112147/1/.html SINGAPORE: Singapore car registrations dipped almost 40 per cent in 2010, as sky-rocketing Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums put off prospective buyers. COE premiums saw a record jump last year, with a 163 per cent increase for vehicles with engine capacity of more than 1600cc. Premiums rose 96 per cent for vehicles below 1600cc and more than 200 per cent for the open category in the same period. However, registrations for luxury cars moved in the opposite direction last year and January data shows more high-earners here are keeping up with a speeding economy. Luxury car dealerships are seeing more buyers, bucking sluggish demand in the broader auto market. BMW registrations in Singapore grew 21.4 per cent last year; Mercedes Benz saw a 17.7 per cent jump. Registrations for luxury sport autos have seen an even bigger increase. Car registrations for Porsche rose 48 per cent last year, while those for Ferrari went up a whopping 116 per cent. This compares with a 39 per cent drop in registrations in the overall auto market in Singapore. Karsono Kwee, Executive Chairman of Stuttgart Auto (Porsche), said: "I've been in the Porsche business for the last 25 years. Last year was a record year for us." According to luxury sports auto dealerships, the bulk of demand came from high-earners, such as lawyers and bankers. And these individuals may have spent their year-end bonuses chasing speed. Last month saw 97 registrations for Porsche, almost six times the December figure of 17. James Bond's favourite Aston Martin saw five registrations in January, compared with just two in December. Analysts said that with the economy growing strongly, pay packages for top executives will rise further, giving them more spending power. Pan Zai Xian, Director of Financial Services and Legal at Robert Walters, said: "A lot of compensation has been raised in the last year. I think last year has been a great year when people spend...like upgrading their vehicles before the COE prices come up. I think that's quite typical, in luxury brands we see that as well." And with pay packages expected to rise again this year, especially for those in the higher-income bracket, demand for luxury cars like these may just continue to go up. - CNA

Hello all, I rarely post here, but would appreciate if any more experienced bros here know what i'm in for. Anyways, I drive a run-off-the-mill CS5 Ralliart Lancer. The old one..with the sucky GDI turbo... I've recently changed to Brembos from an Evo 9 front and back (stock, the car already comes with discs front and rear) expecting the braking to be way better. To my horror, it became WORSE. Now this, despite the steel brake lines, WELL-BLED (multiple times, 4 bottles of Ferrodo brake fluid) hydraulics, alignment and installation checks, etc etc... I'm starting to suspect the brake pump doesn't have enough power to distribute the fluid around. A look into an Evo's bonnet reveals that the pump is indeed bigger (double layer, one line to the rear, one to the front) as compared to my car (two lines to the front and one line to the rear) Are there any after-market master servos/pumps/etc etc that you guys know of that will fit? Gunna try to buy an Evo master cylinder and pump tomo to see if it helps...any input is much appreciated.

i nv photoshop hor! anybody wan to buy? lolol.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20090812/tbs-...ty-0b9af05.html Not yet sleeping so I thought of sharing my view on the current property boom...I was in the east looking for a small apartment...Why?? I just need a small apartment to stay....If I buy a 3-room HDB...It's probably something which is quite old...If I am going to buy a 4 or 5 room in a more centralise area....It's probably going to cost me 70% of the money I required to get a freehold 2 bedder in the east/west or north etc....So why not i pay 30% more and buy something that can last for a long time... I went into the showroom...The salesman very helpful....explained to me the project...bring me look around....then tell me he got colleague that can discussed further with me....yes....it's going to be money talk I guess!!! Anyway since no more 2 bedder is available...I told him I got all the information I required....should i am intersted in the left over 2+1....I will let him know...He immediately told me to wait and bring out a piece of those seem like triple 5 notebook paper...and tell me he got customer whom are willing to let go....minimum 5 units in the paper I saw....I just ask him if that's the case....won't I be buying at a more expensive price? He brush off my question by rattling off again what unit he have to let go... 1 person have already at least 5 units of would be willing to sell units...simple maths...if there is only 20 sales pple and each have also 5 units on hand ready to let go....5 x 20 = 100 buyers whom are willing to give up their units at a profit...The development have a total of 300+ units...I think speculation is really getting hot !!!! Price are really being driven up....

NEW car sales slowed by nearly 30 per cent last year on the back of a big cut in COE supply. According to Land Transport Authority data, 68,862 new cars rolled off showroom floors last year, 29.3 per cent fewer than in 2008 and the lowest number in seven years. But because far fewer cars were scrapped or exported, the car population grew despite the drop in sales. Car numbers rose by 4.8 per cent to 566,608 by end-December, busting the Government's 1.5 per cent growth cap. Overall, the vehicle population inched upwards by 3.4 per cent to 925,518. Car owners have put the brakes on buying - choosing to hold on to their current vehicles - in recent years. Reasons include the financial turmoil that gripped the world from the second half of 2008 to late last year, as well as the huge loans that many had incurred on cars between 2003 and 2008. As 80 per cent of cars here are below four years old, dealers said there is naturally a lower demand for replacements, which in turn reduced the supply of certificates of entitlement (COEs). Related links: Top 10 Selling Brands This contrasts with sales only 10 years ago when Singapore motorists were trading in their vehicles which were as new as two years old. COE supply is largely determined by the number of vehicles taken off the road. Based on this factor, supply this year is expected to dip again. 'I think the quota will be cut by at least 15 per cent,' said Mr Neo Nam Heng, president of the Automotive Importers and Exporters Association. He said the fact that the car population grew despite a 29.3 per cent shrinkage in COE supply last year is a clear sign that the quota could be reduced further. But other motor traders said determination of the supply must be tempered by the fact that the demand for replacement vehicles could accelerate in the near future. Mr Ron Lim, general manager of Nissan agent Tan Chong Motors, said: 'When the economy really picks up, those with four-, five-, six-year-old cars will come back onto the market with a vengeance. And there could be a real shortage of COEs then.' The Government said last year that it was reviewing the formula by which COE supply is determined. It is expected to announce a new formula soon. Last year's sizeable shrinkage in the quota has led to fierce competition among motor firms, a trend that is likely to escalate this year. Toyota agent Borneo Motors was first off the block when it cut $6,000 off its Corolla and Vios tags over Christmas. The offer is good till Jan 20. Rivals have responded, but Mazda Singapore is probably the most aggressive. It slashed about $8,000 off its Mazda 3 cars, bringing the price to $65,600. 'This is below cost,' said Mazda Singapore marketing manager Philip Lu. 'But we have no choice. We have to fight the market.' Meanwhile, Borneo Motors secured Toyota's pole position in the sales race for the seventh year running in 2009 with 13,419 cars sold. Hyundai followed as a distant second, with 6,628 units. Volkswagen made it to the top 10 bestsellers' list for the first time by doubling sales to 2,421 units. But the brand that chalked the biggest growth in the list was Kia - up 116 per cent to 4,299 cars. Mercedes-Benz and BMW remained the only luxury brands in the top ranking. A star performer in the super high-end segment was Lamborghini, which outsold Ferrari once again. It sold 50 cars, versus 32 Ferraris. Lamborghini Singapore managing director Melvin Goh, however, played down his triumph, saying: 'It was a walkover because Ferrari had a change of dealership last year, and there were no cars from the factory for a while.' Mr Goh nevertheless expects to match last year's sales this year. source http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/...118-192523.html

AN EXPECTED rebound in demand for premium cars as the economy recovers has not materialised. In fact, some distributors of high-end makes say that the market has softened instead. 'When the good news about the global economy began trickling in from July and August, we expected demand to strengthen and the momentum to build up,' said the boss of a small luxury dealership. 'But that didn't carry through to the end of the year.' In fact, the last three or four months of this year were unusually quiet. Together with a cut in the number of certificates of entitlement available, the overall luxury segment shrank every quarter in 2009 compared with a year earlier. This segment includes Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Jaguar, Volvo and Mini but excludes super luxury brands such as Lamborghini, Ferrari and Bentley. New car registrations in Q3 this year numbered 2,315 - down 17.3 per cent from Q3 2008. Quarterly registrations are taken to even out any stock and delivery fluctuations. 'Sales of most luxury brands are trending down. They are definitely not as strong as in the middle of this year,' said the general manager of a mid-size luxury dealership. The overall market is expected to shrink more than a quarter as a result of the cut in the COE quota, and only a couple of premium makes will be in positive territory. One of them is Audi, whose aggressive marketing efforts and strong model line-up have reaped dividends. 'We have achieved our target and will have a 9 per cent increase year on year to about 1,420 to 1,450 cars in 2009,' said Audi Singapore managing director Reinhold Carl. 'We have had quarterly increases this year. Only January was a very poor month because that was the depth of the crisis.' Mr Carl said that demand for Audi cars remains high and delivery times for some popular models have stretched until March. 'We have nothing to complain about,' he said with a laugh. But sales of other premium brands could drop more than the market average. For some, only their cheaper entry-level models are currently doing any business. 'The low-end is okay, but the high-end has come to a stop - unless you have a new product,' said the sales manager of a popular luxury brand. 'It is the same with expensive watches. It's like someone pulled the hand-brake in November.' He blamed this largely on the absence of a year-end bonus for civil servants. 'The general public takes the cue from there. Suddenly, reality sets in,' he said. 'You may be in senior management but you realise there is not going to be any extra money to spend, so you are not in a mood to buy. You are not poor, but you are feeling poor, so you pull back.' But since the bonus announcement was relatively recent, a sportscar distributor reckons that the poor sentiment is a result of economic uncertainty. And a lack of confidence isn't conducive to the purchase of high-end products, which are often impulse buys. 'Many of my customers are businessmen who own SMEs,' said the distributor. 'If the general market is not doing well, then they are not doing well - and so they won't be buying a new car. There is a knock-on effect.' But one interesting result of the bad economy this year is that more people seem to be going away on holiday. 'Some people tell me they have given up on 2009 and just want to get it over with,' said the distributor. 'So this December, it seems that fewer are chasing targets for better year-end results - and more are taking a break.' As for when he expects the slump to end for the luxury business, he said: 'The government says the economy will grow 5 per cent next year, but unless your company announces a salary increment, it won't make you more confident. I think this segment will be affected until at least Q1 next year.' source http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/...226-188115.html

AN EXPECTED rebound in demand for premium cars as the economy recovers has not materialised. In fact, some distributors of high-end makes say that the market has softened instead. 'When the good news about the global economy began trickling in from July and August, we expected demand to strengthen and the momentum to build up,' said the boss of a small luxury dealership. 'But that didn't carry through to the end of the year.' In fact, the last three or four months of this year were unusually quiet. Together with a cut in the number of certificates of entitlement available, the overall luxury segment shrank every quarter in 2009 compared with a year earlier. This segment includes Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Jaguar, Volvo and Mini but excludes super luxury brands such as Lamborghini, Ferrari and Bentley. New car registrations in Q3 this year numbered 2,315 - down 17.3 per cent from Q3 2008. Quarterly registrations are taken to even out any stock and delivery fluctuations. 'Sales of most luxury brands are trending down. They are definitely not as strong as in the middle of this year,' said the general manager of a mid-size luxury dealership. The overall market is expected to shrink more than a quarter as a result of the cut in the COE quota, and only a couple of premium makes will be in positive territory. One of them is Audi, whose aggressive marketing efforts and strong model line-up have reaped dividends. 'We have achieved our target and will have a 9 per cent increase year on year to about 1,420 to 1,450 cars in 2009,' said Audi Singapore managing director Reinhold Carl. 'We have had quarterly increases this year. Only January was a very poor month because that was the depth of the crisis.' Mr Carl said that demand for Audi cars remains high and delivery times for some popular models have stretched until March. 'We have nothing to complain about,' he said with a laugh. But sales of other premium brands could drop more than the market average. For some, only their cheaper entry-level models are currently doing any business. 'The low-end is okay, but the high-end has come to a stop - unless you have a new product,' said the sales manager of a popular luxury brand. 'It is the same with expensive watches. It's like someone pulled the hand-brake in November.' He blamed this largely on the absence of a year-end bonus for civil servants. 'The general public takes the cue from there. Suddenly, reality sets in,' he said. 'You may be in senior management but you realise there is not going to be any extra money to spend, so you are not in a mood to buy. You are not poor, but you are feeling poor, so you pull back.' But since the bonus announcement was relatively recent, a sportscar distributor reckons that the poor sentiment is a result of economic uncertainty. And a lack of confidence isn't conducive to the purchase of high-end products, which are often impulse buys. 'Many of my customers are businessmen who own SMEs,' said the distributor. 'If the general market is not doing well, then they are not doing well - and so they won't be buying a new car. There is a knock-on effect.' But one interesting result of the bad economy this year is that more people seem to be going away on holiday. 'Some people tell me they have given up on 2009 and just want to get it over with,' said the distributor. 'So this December, it seems that fewer are chasing targets for better year-end results - and more are taking a break.' As for when he expects the slump to end for the luxury business, he said: 'The government says the economy will grow 5 per cent next year, but unless your company announces a salary increment, it won't make you more confident. I think this segment will be affected until at least Q1 next year.' source http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/...226-188115.html

Was driving back from aljunied via macpherson road... headed on to PIE ..Saw jam at pie after adam. Head out at upp thomson then to lornie. On top of adam road bridge, PIE was jammed all the way to BKE.. Every working day, the situation is the same and everyone just likes to use the road when arterial roads are much faster.

http://www.asiaone.com/Business/News/Offic...1006-91973.html MENTION 'unit trust' and 'insurance products' now and most people are likely to shake their heads. Mr Goh, who said that a relationship manager typically has a $1 million monthly sales target, added: 'We are constantly pressured for numbers, such that there is a fine line between keeping to our morals and meeting targets. how to sell $1 million woth of products every month is it impossible espcially when there are so many so call relationship manager around I understand from my colleagues that mamasan at karaoke bar also want to sell him insurance.

Anyone caught the new bikini show on channel 8?? Christopher Lee shown driving in the drama leh. Can??

Again, Singaporean only know how to kpkb when price increase but in the end they will just get used to it over time. Nothing change and hence these people can anyhow increase their price as and when they like and we still buy . I am not refering to taxi alone, many thing in our daily life increase but we will not make alternative plan even when it is increase. April 25, 2008 FOUR MONTHS AFTER FARE HIKE Cabbies' earnings up despite initial fears Ridership also up as commuters return to taking taxis By Maria Almenoar THE chorus of complaints that came from the taxi industry after fares were raised in December last year seems to have died down. Although some customers initially stayed away from taxis, there has been a turnaround, and with it fears that the earnings of cabbies would drop seem to have eased, according to surveys done by the country's two biggest taxi companies. ComfortDelgro, the largest taxi operator here with about 15,000 of the country's 24,000 taxis, saw a 16 per cent increase in takings for a cabby's full day of work. For a full-day shift, cabbies are earning $187.92, up from $162 before the fare revision, after deducting the cost of fuel and renting the cab. SMRT, which has about 3,000 cabs on the road, said cabbies saw a 20 per cent increase in gross income in the first quarter of this year, compared with the last quarter of last year. The data came from a survey of about 300 taxi drivers. In a bid to alleviate a taxi shortage and raise the drivers' earnings, the six taxi companies increased their starting metered fare from $2.50 to $2.80 in December. The meter was also adjusted to tick faster, with 20 cents charged for every 385m up to 10km travelled, instead of 10 cents for every 210m. However, commuters were most peeved by a revised peak-hour surcharge which was tweaked from a flat $2 to 35 per cent of the metered fare. The surcharge for picking up passengers in the city centre also went up from $1 to $3. After first avoiding taxis in favour of public transport, more commuters seem to be going back to them. The average daily ridership for taxis for January was 855,000 while February's went up to 934,000. Last year, the average daily ridership was 945,000. Said 55-year-old cabby Haniff Mahbob, who has been on the job for 20 years: 'After fares went up, we had few customers. But luckily the new fares offset our lost business. Now, business is definitely picking up. I'm sure more drivers have bigger smiles on their faces.' Call bookings are also on the rise this year, according to ComfortDelgro. The company will also soon offer a service which allows passengers to book a cab by sending an SMS message with their postal code and pick-up location. The Taxi Operators' Associations, which represents drivers' associations of five of the six taxi companies, said: 'The situation seems to have stabilised and improved, but we are still quite concerned that rising fuel cost may eat into our drivers' income.' Oil prices hit a record US$117.50 (S$160) a barrel this week. On average, taxi drivers on a full-day shift spend close to $40 on diesel and about $90 on cab rental.

SINGAPORE: The government has no plans to lower the rate of petrol duty despite higher oil prices. Minister of State for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hua said this is because petrol duty is a vehicular usage tax aimed at discouraging the excessive use of cars and promoting the greater use of public transport, and these objectives remain relevant. Mrs Lim was replying to a question posed by MP for Aljunied GRC, Mrs Cynthia Phua, in parliament on Friday. Mrs Phua had asked if the government would review its tax policy on petrol, diesel and natural gas to help reduce business costs for transport operators, businesses, as well as commuters. Mrs Lim explained that higher pump prices do not mean that the government gets to collect more petrol duties. She said: "The excise duty on petroleum is imposed on volumetric bases of 41 cents a litre for 92 and 95-octane petrol, and 44 cents a litre for petrol rated 97-octane and above. The excise duty is therefore a fixed sum per litre of petrol." There is no excise duty on diesel, fuel oil and natural gas used for generating power.

from CB: http://www.carbuyer.com.sg/?s=news_main&id=516 November round 1: Slow sales, despite a COE rebound A rebound in Category A COEs sees them close to $17,000 again. So why is the motor trade worried? PRICES FOR CERTIFICATES Of Entitlement ended higher today, but not to the extent one would have expected of a healthy car market. Category A COEs (for cars up to 1.6-litres as well as taxis) ended today