The Business Times

#BTLifestyle: Foreign philanthropists lend buzz to Singapore’s art scene These men and women are not born in Singapore, but are nonetheless pouring money, time and resources to enrich the city’s cultural life.

#BTLifestyle: Dive into authentic Sri Lankan cooking at Kunthaville The appam, jackfruit rolls and the signature coconut rice (S$28) are the three must-haves at this homey eatery, says our resident food critic Jaime Ee.

Singapore F&B scene remains festive despite surge in outbound travel Hospitality and F&B players say steady performance has been driven by locals, as tourist numbers are not back to pre-Covid levels.

#Brunch: Grape expectations adapt to climate change "Rising temperatures have forced wines from certain regions to not taste like what they were before 20 years ago... People start thinking, ‘Oh, why does this taste so d…

CSA consults public on proposed amendments to Cybersecurity Bill The amendments will ensure that Singapore’s cybersecurity laws remain fit for purpose, and can address the emerging challenges in cyberspace.

New private home sales more than treble in November to highest in four months Developers’ sales were up by 286.2% from the 203 units in October and up 201.5% year on year.

Prosecution considers more charges against money laundering accused Su Baolin; defence restates cancer risk The police is considering additional charges for forgery, fraud, cheating or other money laundering-related offe…

Singapore consumer spending to slow next year: Mastercard Singapore consumers in 2023 allocated a smaller share of their money to discretionary spending compared to 2019, and spent more on essentials than they did pre-Co…

A feast for all the senses Organised by BT and ST, ChildAid 2023 raised over $2 million with its first musical dinner theatre.

Singapore’s tourist arrivals fall again to 1.1 million in November It marks the fourth straight month of declines.

Singapore government cuts FY22 emissions by 3.5% on incineration plant closure Leading among the top emitters was the Ministry of Transport, which emitted 6.1% more greenhouse gases in FY2022 from a year ago.

The Japanese ‘weirdo’ who built a cool toaster and changed the way we heat bread Would you pay S$539 for the Balmuda toaster - known as the Rolls-Royce of toasters? Its product designer Gen Terao believes in elevating th…

Market uncertainty, recession risks could pave way for record gold prices in 2024 Market watchers expect the commodity’s price to fall in US$1,900-US$2,350 per ounce range, breaking the record of US$2,100 set on Dec 4 th…

Investors remain cautious even as tap for startup funding flows again Some late-stage investors who were previously gung-ho about the situation last year now say that they aren’t interested in anything currently.

GoTo struck Tiktok deal to halt market share slide: CEO GoTo becomes a passive backer of the venture, relinquishing control of its Tokopedia e-commerce arm.

Not enough affordable housing around the world Housing in most big urban areas is now considered out of reach for the average worker.

Do new HDB estates outperform on resale? Punggol data suggests so Four-room flat resale prices there rose about 42% in those eight years – from a median S$420,000 in 2015 to S$595,000 in 2023.

Hospitality, retail sectors to gain from freer Singapore-China visa rules While the volume of Chinese passengers might grow, SIA could face competitive pressure on airfare and yields from Chinese carriers – which are als…

SNEF proposes Budget 2024 to extend existing support schemes, introduce corporate grants for AI adoption The Singapore National Employers Federation suggested extending existing support schemes to ease employers’ wage co…

Citigroup offers partial early bonuses to encourage staff departures Executives hope offering staffers a portion of their annual bonus will coax more of them to leave voluntarily rather than having to rely solely on layo…

Asia markets rally amid Fed’s dovish sentiments, rate hike pause When markets in Asia opened on Thursday, most key indices in the region joined a global rally in stocks, including the STI rising 0.8%. ➡️ Bulls return as…

Rise in long-term unemployment to 0.7% in September ‘bears close monitoring’: MOM The number of layoffs grows to 4,110 in Q3, a 28% increase from the previous quarter.

Industry body makes S$15 million push to enlarge pool of Singapore chartered accountants It has budgeted this amount for the next three years to administer the Singapore Chartered Accountant Qualification programme and s…

Cordlife accepts suspension notice, ceases new sample collection for six months Cordlife says since the investigation outcome is uncertain, it cannot assess the financial impact on its performance for the current financi…

US Fed flags end of rate hikes, sees drop in borrowing costs in 2024 Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that while Fed officials “do not view it as likely to be appropriate to raise interest rates further, neither do they want…

Three Arrows’ Zhu Su probed in Singapore court as liquidators step up hunt for assets The two-day court hearing this week required Zhu to respond to lawyers for the liquidator, Teneo, sources say.

Dubai summit adopts world-first 'transition' from fossil fuels After 13 days of talks, the Emirati leadership of the COP28 summit announced that the world had reached a consensus.

Technical issue disrupts clearing of Singdollar cheques deposited on Dec 12 The Association of Banks in Singapore says customers should expect a delay in the crediting and receipt of Singapore-dollar funds on Wednesday.

JPMorgan client’s US$50 million battle is instructive for the legions of ageing baby boomers The bank claims it was acting on an investor's wishes to take risks. His family and doctors say he was slipping into dementia.