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Reputable = Exquisite = $$$? [laugh] Jokes aside, Samantha & her fiance should look for restaurants instead of hotels which typically charges higher for everything: food, ambience, service, venue, etc And probably they are looking at weekends which explains the $1,450/table charge , excluding taxes some more. Unless they expect their guests to all bao BIG BIG ang pows to help pay for or subsidise the cost, they should really source for cheaper alternatives or even none at all. Have known couples to squabble over everything leading up to the wedding which is regrettable Last thing they need is a glaring deficit over the wedding dinner budget which could not be recovered by the red packets collected. From ST Forum: http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-...-point-20130226 Hefty price hikes for wedding banquet WHEN my fiance and I inquired with several reputable hotels about the cost of holding a wedding banquet, we were told that the cost of a table for 10 guests averaged about $1,450 (excluding taxes). What was more shocking was that prices were set to increase by 5 per cent if we did not act fast. Friends working in the hospitality industry confirmed that prices for banquet tables increase by an average of 5 per cent every year. However, the quality of the food does not differ. Even the rate of inflation does not justify such a yearly increase. What industry regulations are in place to ensure that hotels and restaurants do not overcharge? Samantha Chan Wei Bing (Ms)

the reasoning.. ---

look at what this crybaby is saying... surely one of the worst reasons given for transport fare hikes the transport companies are acting like any other profit-oriented companies where high management receive huge bonuses every year while ordinary workers get pathetic increment or even pay freezes i'm really disgusted by them

Premier Taxis has announced that it will implement a 50-cent fuel surcharge to its fares, starting from next Wednesday Premier Taxis, which sees about 2,000 cabs, will start charging passengers 50 cents more starting from next Wednesday, in a move which it says will help its drivers cope with rising fuel prices. Other companies are expected to follow suit, but most said they have no immediate plans as yet to implement the surcharge. Mr Teo Kiang Ang, managing director of Trans-Cab, the second-biggest operator here, said: "We should [implement the surcharge], because fuel price is so high. We're waiting for 'big brother'," referring to the biggest player, ComfortDelgro, which has indicated that it has no plans as yet to impose the surcharge. Premier Taxis managing director Lim Chong Boo explained that diesel prices have increased by 22 cents a litre since a year ago, which translates to a $9.90 increase in daily fuel costs for its drivers, and the new surcharge will help its driver cope with the rising fuel costs. They are covering with this lame excuse when they know that oil futures are rising in part due to speculators and even with the largest oil producer Saudi Arabia promising to ramp up production if needed... If they need to cover their ass from the recent COE hikes they need to come up with a better excuse to cover up!!! This sort of news is enuff to make the dead stir... No wonder their big brother CEO have been worshipping some other ppl's dead parents Karma man!!!!h

Hope your salary increase is at least keeping pace with inflation. http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNew...208-262367.html

Before we make an impulse purchase on a new car or accessory, let this thread be a reminder on why we should tighten our purse strings. 1. Utility Bills (+22%) 2. Singtel Fixed Lines (+14%) Anything else please add on.

Then ppl will say...ok lah...only a few cents.....tio bo? Business Times - 15 Jul 2008 Commuter fare hikes could be less than 1.8% SINGAPORE'S Public Transport Council said commuters here are likely to face fare hikes of less than 1.8 per cent. A Channel News Asia (CNA) report yesterday said that chairman Gerard Ee had given this assurance as bus and train commuters brace themselves for a fare hike to be announced in two months' time. He was quoted as saying: 'I think commuters will experience a spectrum of net fare adjustments. If we work carefully, I expect the increases to be below last year's increase of 1.8 per cent, and there's a possibility we can keep it within one per cent.' Separately, Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced that a second generation In-vehicle Unit (IU) will be introduced from August, starting with motorcycles, before being rolled out early next year for cars and other vehicles. The new IU will allow motorists to use not just the current Nets CashCards but also Contactless E-Purse Application Standard (CEPAS) smart cards when they are released. Mr Lim said that with the new IU, motorists will have more choices in paying ERP charges, reported CNA.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080611/tap-...on-0193655.html KUALA LUMPUR, June 11, 2008 (AFP) - Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Wednesday there would be no more fuel price hikes for the rest of the year. ADVERTISEMENT Abdullah said that because Malaysians were still coping with the impact of last week's 41 percent fuel price increase, the government would absorb the cost of soaring crude oil costs. "There will be no more fuel price hikes for this year," he said in a statement. Malaysia, a net oil exporter, heavily subsidises petrol and diesel but said it was forced to implement the deeply unpopular price hike as the cost of subsidies would have ballooned to 17 billion dollars this year. The government last week raised the price of fuel by 41 percent to 2.70 ringgit (0.84 dollars) per litre. To ease the impact on motorists, it will give cash rebates of 625 ringgit for owners of small- and medium-sized vehicles, which will cost the government 5.0 billion ringgit. Abdullah said the government would also pay salaries of government workers and officers fortnightly from August, to help them organise their expenses and cash flow to cope with the fuel price increase. Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop warned Wednesday that if world crude oil prices hit 150 dollars in the short-term it could impact on the country's projected 3.1 percent budget deficit.

Nov 2, 2007 Expect steep hikes in tyre, wheel and battery prices Tyre dealers group cites costlier raw materials; Case keeps watchful eye By Christopher Tan BESIDES record fuel prices and higher Electronic Road Pricing rates, motorists must prepare to pay more for batteries, tyres and wheels. The Singapore Motor Tyre Dealers Association is preparing to announce sizeable price hikes, with battery prices going up by as much as 50 to 70 per cent. Tyre prices will go up by 20 to 30 per cent, and wheels by 10 to 20 per cent, the association's assistant secretary, Mr Robert Tng, told The Straits Times. He blamed higher raw material costs, singling out the rising price of lead, which accounts for around 60 per cent of the material cost for a battery. On the London Metal Exchange, lead hit a record US$3,866 (S$5,606) per tonne last Friday, from US$1,550 a year ago, and US$930 in 2005. Prices of other metals, such as nickel, copper, platinum and gold, are also rising fast, and observers blame insatiable demand from fast-industrialising China for this. 'We have stood by for long enough. As an association, we have to do something for our members,'' Mr Tng said. The move to raise prices follows similar action by the Singapore Noodles Manufacturers Association, which announced last week it had recommended that members raise prices by up to 30 per cent, given the higher cost of flour. Bakeries are poised to raise bread prices by 20 per cent. These announcements have caught the attention of the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case). 'We are of the view that price adjustments should be left to the individual dealers to decide, as each one of them has a different cost structure and different sources of supply,' said Case executive director Seah Seng Choon. 'Associations engaging in price hike pronouncements will have to account for their own action if such activities are found to be in breach of the competition law.' He said consumers will expect the Competition Commission of Singapore to act if business associations run afoul of the Competition Act. When asked if the move by the motor tyre dealers is tantamount to price signalling - a price collusion practice illegal in the United States - the Competition Commission was unable to answer specifically. 'Whether a recommendation restricts the independence of individual firms and raises competition concerns will depend on various factors,'' a spokesman said. 'These include the nature of the recommendation, its context and its effects.' But the tyre dealers' association, which has over 100 members, said it was merely alerting motorists to expect a price increase. 'It's a free market - we're not forcing our members to raise prices,' Mr Tng said. Some of his association's members, however, have already started to adjust prices. Tyre and wheel supplier YHI International has upped battery prices by around 20 per cent in the last 10 months. YHI senior manager Raymond Chan said the company has not decided on further rises, but added that the situation 'doesn't look good'. Non-member ComfortDelGro Engineering, a major car workshop operator, said its tyre and wheel prices have risen by 5 to 10 per cent in the past year, while batteries have lept 40 per cent. Motorists seem resigned to the price hikes. Senior manager Gavin Yeo, 46, said: 'I guess with crude oil at over US$90 a barrel, everything will be costlier soon.'

from STI Tyre dealers group cites costlier raw materials; Case keeps watchful eye By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent BESIDES record fuel prices and higher Electronic Road Pricing rates, motorists must prepare to pay more for batteries, tyres and wheels. The Singapore Motor Tyre Dealers Association is preparing to announce sizeable price hikes, with battery prices going up by as much as 50 to 70 per cent. Tyre prices will go up by 20 to 30 per cent, and wheels by 10 to 20 per cent, the association's assistant secretary, Mr Robert Tng, told The Straits Times. He blamed higher raw material costs, singling out the rising price of lead, which accounts for around 60 per cent of the material cost for a battery. On the London Metal Exchange, lead hit a record US$3,866 (S$5,606) per tonne last Friday, from US$1,550 a year ago, and US$930 in 2005. Prices of other metals, such as nickel, copper, platinum and gold, are also rising fast, and observers blame insatiable demand from fast-industrialising China for this. 'We have stood by for long enough. As an association, we have to do something for our members,'' Mr Tng said. The move to raise prices follows similar action by the Singapore Noodles Manufacturers Association, which announced last week it had recommended that members raise prices by up to 30 per cent, given the higher cost of flour. Bakeries are poised to raise bread prices by 20 per cent. These announcements have caught the attention of the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case). 'We are of the view that price adjustments should be left to the individual dealers to decide, as each one of them has a different cost structure and different sources of supply,' said Case executive director Seah Seng Choon. 'Associations engaging in price hike pronouncements will have to account for their own action if such activities are found to be in breach of the competition law.' He said consumers will expect the Competition Commission of Singapore to act if business associations run afoul of the Competition Act. When asked if the move by the motor tyre dealers is tantamount to price signalling - a price collusion practice illegal in the United States - the Competition Commission was unable to answer specifically. 'Whether a recommendation restricts the independence of individual firms and raises competition concerns will depend on various factors,'' a spokesman said. 'These include the nature of the recommendation, its context and its effects.' But the tyre dealers' association, which has over 100 members, said it was merely alerting motorists to expect a price increase. 'It's a free market - we're not forcing our members to raise prices,' Mr Tng said. Some of his association's members, however, have already started to adjust prices. Tyre and wheel supplier YHI International has upped battery prices by around 20 per cent in the last 10 months. YHI senior manager Raymond Chan said the company has not decided on further rises, but added that the situation 'doesn't look good'. Non-member ComfortDelGro Engineering, a major car workshop operator, said its tyre and wheel prices have risen by 5 to 10 per cent in the past year, while batteries have lept 40 per cent. Motorists seem resigned to the price hikes. Senior manager Gavin Yeo, 46, said: 'I guess with crude oil at over US$90 a barrel, everything will be costlier soon.'

BT 21/5 MOTORISTS face higher insurance premiums as insurers are suffering what they say are alarming losses. General Insurance Association president Derek Teo said yesterday: 'While there are some grounds for cautious optimism on some areas of our business in the first quarter of this year, the important motor account continues to produce underwriting losses at an alarming rate.' The GIA issued its quarterly report card on Friday, showing a 7.65 per cent rise in gross premiums in the first quarter. The gross premium income of GIA's 29 member companies was $670.66 million, against $623.02 million in the first quarter of 2006. But rising claims and expenses caused a fall in underwriting profits by 9.4 per cent or $54.5 million. Motor insurance, the largest single class of general insurance here, saw gross premium income stay flat at $195.7 million. But underwriting performance turned from a profit of $11 million in the first quarter of 2006 to a $13 million loss. 'We advise motor policyholders that our industry can no longer sustain these kinds of escalating losses in a market which is such a key component in our business. Motor insurance premiums have been too low for a considerable period and these unsustainable losses must be corrected. 'Singapore motorists can expect to pay more to insure their vehicles from now on.' GIA data showed that net incurred claims among its members climbed 14 per cent. Management expenses also rose by 10.9 per cent. In the fire segment, gross premium income fell by 6.4 per cent to $97.4 million. Underwriting profit was flat at $9.8 million. Workers compensation saw an 18 per cent jump in gross premium income to $60.7 million. Losses on the account were reduced from $4.4 million to just $182,000. There were some bright spots for some classes of insurance. In the marine hull sector, gross premium income was up at $18.3 million, and underwriting profit jumped 193 per cent to $6.6 million. Personal accident insurance recorded a gross premium income of $73.9 million, a 23 per cent rise. Underwriting profits doubled from $10.5 million to $21.1 million.