Sunday, April 20, 2008

Singapore STI slumps 2.68% amid regional market sell-down

Global giant General Electric (GE) threw the first punch last Friday, a surprise 6 percent drop on its 1st-quarter earnings, a weak consumer data, a slump in Wall Street apparently sent regional markets into a tailspin day.

That bolt from GE and report showing comsumer sentiment at a 26-year low, did sent Wall Street reeling by more than 250 points on Friday. Consumer spending makes up about 60 percent of the US gross domestic product.

investors in Singapore also sold sharply, sending STI down 2.1 percent at opening and finally ended the day down to 2.68 percent at 3,042.96, its biggest one-day fall in a month.
The lastest check on Friday, 18 April 2008 - STI up 3,124.87

China was not spared with Shanghai Composite Index plunging 5.62 percent
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 3.47 percent
Tokyo's Nikkei was 3.05 percent, were not much better.

GE's lst-quarter results provided more of a wake-up call that the US ecomony is not doing well. For the records :
1) Keppel Corp - down 36 cents to $10.14
2) City Developments retreated 62 cents to $11.30
3) Singtel fell 11 cents to $3.97
4) UOB was down 58 cents to $20.20
5) DBS Group Holdings slipped 48 cents to $19.18
6) SGX came under pressure also slumping 35 cents to $7.93

May to July period is traditionally quiet and more vulnerable to swings said a report by NetResearch Asia and recommended to stay sidelined until the second half of July 2008, by which time it should have more clarity in the economic and earnings cycle both in the US and Singapore markets.

Friday, April 18, 2008

World's largest Flyer in Singapore


Official opening on 15 April 2008 - Singapore Flyer takes you up to 165 metres in the sky. It is a perfect location to enjoy unobstructed views of Singapore skyline and even parts of neighbouring Malaysia.

Operating hours :
Open daily : 8.30 am - 10.30 pm
Free shuttle services are available every 30 minutes between 10.00am - 11.00pm ( except 1.15pm - 1.30pm and 4.15 - 4.30pm). Pick up and drop-off point is located at the bus stop between St. Andrew's Cathedral and The Adelphi ( along Coleman Street).

Admission prices :
Adult : S$29.50 Child : $20.65 ( age3 - 12)
Call 6333 3311, visit www.singaporeflyer.com.sg/st

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Do women age faster than men ?

Compared to men, do women age faster & mature earlier ?
As early as at the age of 36, hormone levels of women start to decline. Upon reaching menopause around the age of 50, hormone levels can have a significant effect on their appearance as they start to age.

What are the effects ?

1) Skin becomes less supple, leading to lines & wrinkles.
2) Breast shrink; fat deposit on the waist and abdoman.
3) Feeling of fatigue and tiredness.
4) Decrease in sexual interest.
5) Common symptoms, such as hot flush, mood swings.

Women have a higher risk of losing bone mass as compared to men.
After the age of 30, women start to lose about 1% of calcium in the body every year. The loss rate increases as they grow older, especially after menopause, reaching as high as 2-3% every year.

In term of maturity, a common saying that most 17-year-old females can function as adults whereas most 17-year-old males are still trading baseball cards and giving each other wedgies after gym class.

Is it the nurturing instincts of women that turn them into more responsible human beings early on in life as quoted by some reports?

Men, on the other hand, tend to have the natural need to be nurtured ?
Is this the beauty part of nature that creates this balance ? In fact, the differences between men and women are what make them a perfect combination.

What is your response on these differences ?

Read the following article by Saneesh Michael

Its not surprising therefore that men often find themselves attracted to women slightly older than they are. There is something enigmatic about mature women that they find irresistible. It is the same with women too; they prefer a slightly older life partner. It is from the feeling that a guy of the similar age may not be as mature as the women is, therefore they go for guys older than them to be equal in emotional status and maturity.

It is best to remember that getting older doesn't actually mean that one has wizened up with the years. There are some women who have the same concept about life as when they were younger. While maturity sometimes comes with age, not all women grasp this. Hence, maturity also is a byproduct of the struggles one has gone through in life and how these were handled either head-on or running in circles.

Experience, after all, is the best teacher, and until you get what you needed to learn, the lessons will keep repeating themselves to the point of driving you up the wall or downhill. Women in general, are better at this because they have the natural tendency to want to fix things as soon as something goes awry. Thus their chances of maturing faster is higher than men. They will also keep at it until everything is as near to perfection as possible. Their obsessive-compulsive tendencies to make everything okay whether at work, at home or anywhere else are something men will find annoying and endearing at the same time.

The supporters of male superiority say that men need more time to be mature enough because they possess a much more complex organism than women. But it is not a scientific fact; in terms of maturity both men and women possess equal physical status, but it is the social situations of the day today life that urges women to be mature faster than men.

Let me hear yours.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Yoga helps older woman stand taller


After a nine-week yoga programme - elderly woman showed measurable improvements in their walking speed and balance. They gained a centimetre in height on average, Philadephia researchers have reported.

Accordingly to the report, the programme was designed for older people. Study chief Jinsup Song of Temple University, along with colleague and yoga expect designed this programme.

Elderly womaen walked faster, used longer strides and could stand for a longer time on one leg, after going through the programme. THey also felt more confident in their ability to balance while walking and standing.

Do drop me your comment or share your experience with us. Hope to hear from you.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Social Networking Sites is now the in thing.

Individual end-users are now actively collaborating to create content, share information and form communities using blogs, wikis and social networking sites (SNS). Dubbed web 2.0. the Web is now more social & powerful media.

SNS are slightly less familiar. Unlike search engines (dominated by Google) and video-sharing (by Youtube). Different forms of SNS rule in different regions. It is also human habit that people won't move to a new SNS unless their existing networks of friends also follow.

1)In the US, Facebook and MySpace are the most popular SNS.
2)Friendster rules in Singapore and elsewhere in the region, except Thailand where Hi-5is loved.
3)Orkut dominates the Indian subcontinent.
4) QQ is king in China, mixi in Japan and Cyworld in South Korea.

What is your favourite SNS ? Drop me a line and share with me your view on the latest social media and how it affect you.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Tomatoes : 6 things to know

1) The tomato is the world's most popular fruit. Yes, botanically,like the brinjal, it's a fruit not a vegetable.

2) Tomatoes are rich in fibre and in vitamins A and C. They are also cholesterol free. An average-size tomato (about 150gm)has only 35 calaries.

3) There are more than 10,000 varieties of tomatoes.

4) New medical research suggests that hycopene - the stuff that makes tomatoes red - may prevent several types of cancer such as lung types of cancer such as lung, prostate, cervical, digestive tract and breast.

5) Cooked tomatoes have higher concentrations of hycopene than non-cooked tomatoes.

6) When you eat tomatoes which are cooked with a bit of olive oil, the nutrient aspects of the tomato are absorbed more effectively.