When asked by journalists if the new measures had to do with the upcoming general election, Mr Mah said: “Housing has been a hot topic for as long as I can remember. (It is a) hot topic before all elections, and will be a hot topic in the next election, whenever that is.” Indeed,...
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On 30 August 2010, the government announced new curbs to deter property speculators and investors – especially those who may be overstretching themselves financially – from dominating the market and pushing up home prices.
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“Casino ban for top execs of listed company”, reads a Straits Times headline. Surely such an exclusion order smacks in the face of liberty, but this raises 2 substantial questions: (1) Is the casino levy working? (2) Does imposing limits on credit lines skew the casino operator's incentive?
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The recent flooding has seemingly boosted the auto repair industry but the folks who made these comments neglected the loss incurred by the car owners. This article attempts to debunk the common misguided economic thinking of most people.
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In part 2, we shall take a closer look at the causes of hazardous behaviour in the private sector of modern banking, i.e. mortgage broking, securitization and credit rating.
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Take cover when you hear a political leader talking about economic affairs. You can bet a bad decision is incoming. Luckily for the leaders, their meddling usually has a slow, erosive effect on the economy. Every so often, however, the great ones manage to land a real whopper that takes them down along with...
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With the wide array of financial services today, moral hazards that arise from these activities increased in tandem. In part 1, Christopher will highlight the hazardous behaviour encouraged by the public sector, namely the central bank and deposit insurance.
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To the layperson with no specialized knowledge in the business of street lights, it is understandable that to conceive the idea of how a private company is to manage street lights is a daunting, and perhaps impossible, task. What is needed is a little imagination, not specialized knowledge.
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Price-fixing is harmful to competitive markets, price guidelines in general are also harmful. This is because price guidelines may reduce the incentive for businesses to compete on prices. For new market entrants, if a majority of industry players are controlling the market prices, this will result in a very uneven level playing field for...
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Are we are in a recovery stage or are we still caught in the recession? Regardless of how “improved” the state of the global economy as indicated by economic data, there are questions that still need to be answered.
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