Singapore Companies need to offer more flexibility to attract employees

Singapore Companies need to offer more flexibility to attract employees

By Pamela Almeda
SINGAPORE : Companies in Singapore may have to offer more flexibility in order to attract and retain their employees.

According to human resources consultant, Michael Page International, employers will increasingly need to consider a total package. And this includes elements such as compensation, benefits and flexibility.

Employees these days are not only attracted by monetary rewards for their work but are looking to carve a promising career.

Michael Page International believes companies can benefit from the changing employment trends if they offer a more holistic and attractive package to retain talent.

Beyond the obvious money issue, companies should also chart their employees’ training, personal development and career growth.

Florence Ng, MD - Singapore, Michael Page International, says: “Someone could say to you, ‘today, I’m a manager but in two years’ time or three years’ time I want to be a director. Now how do you get this person from being a manager to a director? It also means you have to provide a sensible and a comprehensive learning and development structure so that you can actually get them from point A to point B.”

But Michael Page also points out that financial rewards remain an important strategy in attracting and retaining the right talent.

It says employees who are generally satisfied with their pay cheques and other benefits tend to have higher productivity and help companies raise their bottomlines.

But such a reward scheme must be easily understood, consistent across all business units and, above all, be based on merit and performance.

Ms Ng says: “To get high achievers, to encourage performance, and to encourage meritocracy, you need to move towards one where you know a bigger portion of the total comps (compensation) is pegged to performance. In other words, pay them a lesser base but a much higher potential if they achieve, (or) if they over achieve their targets.”

But experts also point to what appears to be a developing trend when economies are booming. Companies may choose to out-bid their rivals as they compete for talent, possibly to the extent of having wages out-strip productivity.

Ms Ng says: “I think that a price-determined war for talent is going to end in tears for all at the end of the day because it would just keep going up. How much is enough? So I think that the best way to keep your people if you were the employer would be to focus on the reward scheme, the financial rewards scheme but let’s not forget to factor in the learning and development.”

Going forward, experts say companies will need to be more flexible in their remuneration strategies.

One key area to consider is to stagger the payment of bonuses throughout a financial year. For example, instead of paying bonuses once a year, firms could spread them out and have a payout every six months or every quarter.

Consultants say this is one strategy to reduce the possibility of employees leaving in large numbers at the same time, thereby affecting a company’s operations. - CNA/ch

Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 07 Jan 2008

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Discovered: How bird flu virus that infects humans

Discovered: How bird flu virus that infects humans

PARIS - SCIENTISTS said yesterday they had figured out how influenza viruses carried by birds latch on to humans.

The discovery may open the way to a vaccine against not just the deadly bird flu, but also against all types of flu.

The new findings, published in the British journal Nature, overhaul scientific understanding of how viruses attach themselves to cells inside human lungs.

Researchers have long known that whether an influenza strain infects humans depends on the ability of a protein on the surface of the virus, called hemagglutinin, to bind to a sugar receptor in the respiratory tract.

But the study, led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Ram Sasisekharan, says that the big factor is the shape of the sugar receptors in human lung cells, rather than a genetic switch in the virus, that affects the virus’ ability to infect humans.

‘This work enables researchers to look at flu viruses in an entirely new way,’ said Mr Jeremy Berg, director of the National Institute for General Medical Sciences, which funded the research.

At the very least, the new discovery will help scientists rapidly identify strains that may develop the capacity to attack human respiratory systems.

‘Now that we know what we are looking for, this could help us not only monitor the bird flu virus, but also aid in the development of potentially improved therapeutic interventions for both avian and seasonal flu,’ said Prof Sasisekharan.

There are many strains of flu virus, but only a few have succeeded in crossing the species barrier from animals to humans.

The H5 strain, which usually remains confined to birds, is often lethal when it infects humans.

Of 348 confirmed cases of H5N1 avian flu in the past five years, 216 victims - more than 60 per cent - have died as a result, according to the World Health Organisation.

What health officials fear most is the emergence of a new H5 strain that could easily ‘jump’ from birds to humans, or humans to humans, potentially unleashing a pandemic on the scale of the ‘Spanish flu’ of 1918 that killed tens of millions of people.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Source : Straits Times  - 07 Jan 2008

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Is a coming US recession fully priced in yet?

Is a coming US recession fully priced in yet?

By R SIVANITHY
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
BY NOW, you’d have to wonder whether an aggressive cutting of US interest rates really is the answer or, instead of inflating yet more bubbles, perhaps the best medicine for an ailing US economy is to simply let its excesses and imbalances correct themselves, lengthy though the process may be.
But financial markets, like funds managers, are typically short-sighted when it comes to suffering pain. So for now, the pressure is on the US Federal Reserve to cut its Fed funds rate by 50 points at the Jan 30 Open Market Committee meeting - after Friday’s rout on Wall Street, the futures market has priced in a 60 per cent probability of this occurring.

You’d have to wonder if this would really be of any help - given that though rates have already been lowered by 75 points in the fourth quarter, markets have not recovered.

You’d then have to wonder whether it’s the economy that comes first for the Fed, or the stock market. Though this is an election year, propping up both must surely be priorities because there’s nothing like those large plus signs next to the major indicators and indices to inject confidence into the population, even if it is misplaced.

Speaking of which, you’d have to conclude that the large plus signs next to the Straits Times Index in 2007’s final fortnight were, most probably, the result of a combination of window-dressing and the ‘buy in anticipation of window-dressing’ which we suggested would take place in this column a fortnight ago.

Readers might also recall that the full suggestion made back then was to buy in anticipation the large index blue chips such as SingTel, the banks, SGX and Keppel, but to quickly sell into strength because the likelihood of a rally heading into the new year was slim.

In other words, the best bet for the time being is to trade the market, buying selectively into dips but selling as quickly as possible into strength.

It goes without saying that the same strategy should apply for at least the next two weeks - at least until the days leading up to the Jan 30 FOMC meeting when another ‘buy in anticipation, sell on news or into strength’ window presents itself.

One main reason for this is that by now, 50-75 basis point interest-rate cuts during the first six months of 2008 must surely already be factored into the prices. Markets have for a long time been clamouring for aggressive cuts and, as stated earlier, this being a US election year, it’s difficult to see the Fed resisting. So even though there will be interest rate-led bounces before and after each FOMC, it’s likely they will not last long.

The second reason is an extended recoupling with Wall Street, or rather no sign of any decoupling as some analysts had predicted. Linked by program trades, all markets in this part of the world have shown an increasing - not decreasing - dependency on the US for direction over the past six months. And there’s no reason to expect any change soon.

Recoupling is, in fact, very much a theme in Morgan Stanley’s Critical Macro Investment Themes report dated Jan 3, written by its chief economist Richard Berner.

‘Although it has yet to begin, our call for a mild US recession is intact: we expect domestic demand to contract significantly in each of the next three quarters, essentially no growth in overall GDP for the year ending 3Q 2008 and earnings to contract by 5-10 per cent over that period… global recoupling may well be a dominant theme this year,’ wrote Mr Berner who, unlike most other analysts, believes the US dollar will strengthen in 2008.

One problem is that Wall Street may not have fully priced in the risk to earnings brought on by the coming slowdown - and other markets are still overly complacent about their own impending slowdowns and earnings forecasts.

Still, the volatility that is very likely to result from all this uncertainty will create plenty of trading opportunities (structured warrant issuers, whose instruments thrive in volatile markets, must be rubbing their hands in glee) for those with the stomach for heightened risk.

The upshot of all this is that all markets will be stuck in a trading range for a while. There is no decoupling from Wall Street yet on the horizon, even as technical factors like supports and resistances rise in importance.

The strong likelihood of a coming US slowdown is not yet factored in local prices - and investors should take overly bullish calls to keep buying with a healthy dose of salt.

Source : Business Times  - 07 Jan 2008

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More golf technology introduced in Asia as popularity of sport grows-Singapore

More golf technology introduced in Asia as popularity of sport grows-Singapore

By Patwant Singh,

SINGAPORE: Playing better golf is not always about practice and skill – it is increasingly about the technology available to correct your game.

A new system, said to be the first in the world, can help to correct a golfer’s swing.

Mal Tongue, founder of Cymicon System, said: “We are the world’s first. We have developed a system that allows us to teach people in a totally unique way with three cameras and digital animation.”

Unlike other golf softwares that are already available in the market, Cymicon claims that its system analyses your swing and helps you to improve.

This is done by talking and guiding players through, with clear animation and instant feedback. The developers also claim that the system can be customised.

It is developed in New Zealand, but Singapore is where the product has been launched for the Asian market.

Jonathan Woodhams, managing director of Cymicon System, said: “In the last 20 years, golf has seen improvements in clubs and balls, but not in the golf coaching. We are using Cymicon module, we are able to bring in new methodologies and a new era to golf culture.”

Another gadget used to help golfers is one that is being tried out at the Sentosa golf course.

Using wi-fi technology, the system provides a list of vital information to a golfer, on what is likely to be the biggest screen possible, in a buggy.

Glen Goh, GPSi Representative, said: “First of all, it gives the layout of the hole instantly. It tells you whether the hole is straight or dog leg, and then it gives you the actual distances to the hazards and areas that a golfer is concerned about, so the golfer can make better decisions and if he makes better decisions, he shoots a better score.”

The screen also allows you to get the latest sports scores and even order refreshments while on the course.

“Our system is designed to assist golf courses to make more profits. There is a whole menu of revenue-producing features for the golf club to adopt,” said Goh.

During competitions, the screen can display an automated scoring system, so all golfers can keep track of one another’s scores live.
Source : Channel NewsAsia  - 07 Jan 2008

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For Sale Singapore Apartment / Condo, District 01-28 , 07.01.2008

For Sale Singapore Apartment / Condo, District 01-28 , 07.01.2008

Choa Chu Kang HDB Flat for Sales - 07.01.2008

Choa Chu Kang HDB Flat for Sales - 07.01.2008

TYPE : [2]Rm [3]Rm [4]Rm [5]Rm [EA]Ex Apt [EM]Ex Mais [6]Rm

TNR=Tenure, DT=District, BDRM=Bedroom, AREA=Built-In, STR=Storey, Price $K=In Thousand

Price are subject to changes , please call (+65) 91002985 for lastest update
Type — 4
District — 23
Estate — CHOA CHU KANG, BLK 244 #04
Area — 0
Age –
Bedroom — 3
Psf — null
PRICE$ — 300000
Type — 4
District — 23
Estate — CHOA CHU KANG, BLK 627 #08
Area — 1076
Age –
Bedroom — 3
Psf — 0
PRICE$ — 0
Type — 4A
District — 23
Estate — CHOA CHU KANG, BLK 297A #05 ABOVE
Area — 1130
Age –
Bedroom — 3
Psf — 0
PRICE$ — 0
Type — 5
District — 23
Estate — CHOA CHU KANG, BLK 658 #08
Area — 1323
Age — 6
Bedroom — 3
Psf — 0
PRICE$ — 0
Type — 5A
District — 23
Estate — CHOA CHU KANG, BLK 502 #02
Area — 1419
Age — 13
Bedroom — 3
Psf — 247
PRICE$ — 350000
Type — 5I
District — 23
Estate — CHOA CHU KANG, BLK 684B #04
Area — 1189
Age –
Bedroom — 3
Psf — 278
PRICE$ — 330000
Type — EA
District — 23
Estate — CHOA CHU KANG, BLK 602 #08
Area — 0
Age –
Bedroom — 4
Psf — null
PRICE$ — 460000
Type — EA
District — 23
Estate — CHOA CHU KANG, BLK 674A #07
Area — 1500
Age –
Bedroom — 3
Psf — 320
PRICE$ — 480000
Type — EA
District — 23
Estate — CHOA CHU KANG, BLK 753 #05
Area — 1571
Age — 11
Bedroom — 4
Psf — 0
PRICE$ — 0

Singapore Real Estate - Buy , Sell , Rent ,invest Singapore Property

Buy, sell and rent Singapore real estate: private property, residential apartments, commercial and industrial properties. HDB flats for sale and rental. Foreign investors, buyers, tenants or relocating expats can easily find their ideal landed house, bungalow, semi-d, terrace, condominium, townhouse, private apartment, HDB, HUDC, office, shop, factory, warehouse & land right here.

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Boon Lay / Jurong HDB Flat for Sales - 07.01.2008

Boon Lay / Jurong HDB Flat for Sales - 07.01.2008

TYPE : [2]Rm [3]Rm [4]Rm [5]Rm [EA]Ex Apt [EM]Ex Mais [6]Rm

TNR=Tenure, DT=District, BDRM=Bedroom, AREA=Built-In, STR=Storey, Price $K=In Thousand

Price are subject to changes , please call (+65) 91002985 for lastest update

Type — 3
District — 22
Estate — BOON LAY, BLK 207 #03
Area — 699
Age –
Bedroom — 2
Psf — 217
PRICE$ — 152000
Type — 3
District — 22
Estate — BOON LAY, BLK 209 #09
Area — 699
Age –
Bedroom — 2
Psf — 272
PRICE$ — 190000
Type — 3I
District — 22
Estate — BOON LAY, BLK 213 #09
Area — 699
Age –
Bedroom — 2
Psf — 262
PRICE$ — 183000
Type — 3S
District — 22
Estate — JURONG WEST, BLK 418 #01
Area — 763
Age — 20+
Bedroom — 2
Psf — 236
PRICE$ — 180000
Type — 4
District — 22
Estate — JURONG WEST, BLK 661B #02
Area — 978
Age — 7
Bedroom — 3
Psf — 312
PRICE$ — 305000
Type — 4S
District — 22
Estate — JURONG EAST, BLK 228 #12
Area — 0
Age –
Bedroom — 3
Psf — null
PRICE$ — 240000
Type — 5
District — 22
Estate — JURONG EAST, BLK 263 #02
Area — 1302
Age –
Bedroom — 3
Psf — 0
PRICE$ — 0
Type — 5
District — 22
Estate — JURONG WEST, BLK 659A #04
Area — 0
Age –
Bedroom — 3
Psf — null
PRICE$ — 350000
Type — 5I
District — 22
Estate — JURONG EAST, BLK 103 #18
Area — 0
Age –
Bedroom — 3
Psf — null
PRICE$ — 458000
Type — 5I
District — 22
Estate — JURONG EAST, BLK 226 #06
Area — 0
Age –
Bedroom — 3
Psf — null
PRICE$ — 0
Type — 5I
District — 22
Estate — JURONG WEST, BLK 645 #03
Area — 1312
Age –
Bedroom — 3
Psf — 0
PRICE$ — 0
Type — 5I
District — 22
Estate — JURONG WEST, BLK 687 #06
Area — 0
Age –
Bedroom — 3
Psf — null
PRICE$ — 0
Type — 5I
District — 22
Estate — TOH GUAN RD, BLK 270 #13
Area — 1301
Age — 09+
Bedroom — 3
Psf — 307
PRICE$ — 400000
Type — 5I
District — 22
Estate — YUNG AN RD, BLK 361 #09
Area — 0
Age –
Bedroom — 3
Psf — null
PRICE$ — 0
Type — EA
District — 22
Estate — JURONG EAST, BLK 216 #04 ABOVE
Area — 1500
Age — 20+
Bedroom — 3
Psf — 280
PRICE$ — 420000
Type — EA
District — 22
Estate — JURONG EAST, BLK 216 #05
Area — 1500
Age — 10+
Bedroom — 3
Psf — 280
PRICE$ — 420000
Type — EA
District — 22
Estate — JURONG WEST, BLK 656C #06
Area — 1419
Age — 5
Bedroom — 4
Psf — 282
PRICE$ — 400000
Type — EA
District — 22
Estate — KANG CHING RD, BLK 334 #14
Area — 1496
Age — 10
Bedroom — 3
Psf — 274
PRICE$ — 410000
Type — EM
District — 22
Estate — JURONG WEST, BLK 549 #10
Area — 1592
Age — 21
Bedroom — 3
Psf — 283
PRICE$ — 450000
Type — EM
District — 22
Estate — JURONG WEST, BLK 559 #06
Area — 1496
Age — 22
Bedroom — 4
Psf — 231
PRICE$ — 345000

Singapore Real Estate - Buy , Sell , Rent ,invest Singapore Property

Buy, sell and rent Singapore real estate: private property, residential apartments, commercial and industrial properties. HDB flats for sale and rental. Foreign investors, buyers, tenants or relocating expats can easily find their ideal landed house, bungalow, semi-d, terrace, condominium, townhouse, private apartment, HDB, HUDC, office, shop, factory, warehouse & land right here.

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Buffett’s new bond insurer to enter top markets soon

Buffett’s new bond insurer to enter top markets soon
(NEW YORK) Warren Buffett’s new municipal bond insurer may enter the top dozen markets within a few months, according to Ajit Jain, head of the Berkshire Hathaway Inc reinsurance unit in charge of the new venture.

Mr Buffett: The Berkshire Hathaway unit will insure only municipal bonds
Berkshire is filing for a licence in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico, and plans to do so in California, Florida and Texas, Mr Jain said in an interview last week.

The new company hopes to be operating in the largest states within a few months and nationwide within two years, he said.

‘I’ve been pleasantly surprised the New York Insurance Department gave us a licence in four weeks,’ Mr Jain said. ‘I don’t think we’ll get the same kind of treatment from the other states, but they are under pressure because a number of bonds are going uninsured.’

Berkshire, which gets half its profit from insurance, is challenging bond insurers such as Armonk, New York-based MBIA Inc and New York-based Ambac Financial Group. The two largest existing firms are struggling to retain the AAA credit ratings that allow them to guarantee about US$1.2 trillion of municipal bonds.

MBIA and Ambac are among guarantors under scrutiny amid concern they lack enough capital to cover potential losses on bonds linked to sub-prime mortgages. Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire’s new unit will insure only municipal bonds.

New York granted Berkshire Hathaway Assurance Corp its first state licence on Dec 28, prompting Rhode Island Treasurer Frank Caprio to contact the billionaire investor.

‘At a time when a number of existing bond insurers are facing extensive losses due to their decisions to insure mortgage-related bonds, Berkshire Hathaway’s entry into this market would be a very positive development for the state and all of Rhode Island’s cities and towns,’ Mr Caprio said in his letter, according to a press release.

Mr Buffett wasn’t available to comment, Berkshire spokeswoman Jackie Wilson said. The company has an AAA credit rating and more than US$40 billion in cash.

MBIA spokesman Willard Hill and Ambac spokesman Peter Poillon weren’t immediately available for comment.

‘People have learned their lesson in terms of repricing risk in general,’ giving Berkshire the opportunity to get an attractive return, Mr Jain said. — Bloomberg

Source : Business Times  - 07 Jan 2008

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US$100 oil price not very high: Opec

US$100 oil price not very high: Opec
Taking into account inflation, the current price is below 1980 record, cartel says
(PARIS) The price of US$100 for a barrel of crude oil is ‘not necessarily very high’ given the high demand of oil and higher production costs, the president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) said yesterday.
On Wednesday, the price of a barrel of crude reached US$100.09 in New York, before retreating at the close to US$99.18.

Algeria’s Energy Minister Chakib Khelil - who took over the rotating presidency of Opec on Jan 1 - told AFP that the current surge must be seen ‘in relation to the real price’, that is taking into account inflation.

The current oil price was therefore below its 1980 record of ‘between US$102 and US$110 depending on estimates’, he said.

Mr Khelil said that high oil demand was not only being pushed by ‘China and India but also by the Middle East whose consumption has risen immensely’.

‘When you take that into account, US$100 is not necessarily very high,’ he said.

Mr Khelil said on Saturday: ‘The surge in price will probably go on until the end of the first quarter of 2008, before stabilising during the second quarter.’

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference on the security of hydrocarbon pipelines in the Algerian capital, Mr Khelil said to members of the press that a second-quarter stabilisation was ‘probable’.

Mr Khelil said on Saturday that the steady rise in prices was due to tension in Pakistan, escalating violence in Nigeria and a fall in oil inventories in the United States.

In Riyadh, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said the record prices have been set by the market.

‘The market fixes the price of oil,’ Mr Naimi told reporters at an energy conference in Riyadh when he was asked to comment on the surge of oil to a record above US$100 last week.

Mr Naimi declined further comment on the price or what Opec would decide at its next meeting on Feb 1 in Vienna.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter and the most influential voice in Opec.

High energy costs have caused concern among some members of Opec regarding the potential impact on the global economy.

But ministers say there is little they can do to tame the price, which is driven by political tension and speculators and not supply and demand fundamentals.

An official of Saudi state oil giant Saudi Aramco is on track to hit its oil production capacity target of 12 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2009.

The start of Aramco’s 500,000 bpd Khursaniyah oilfield was delayed a few months to the first quarter this year from December last year.

Other expansion projects remain on schedule, Aramco’s senior vice-president of exploration and production Amin al-Nasser said.

‘We are going up to 12 million bpd (oil production capacity) in 2009,’ Mr Nasser said at a presentation to an energy conference in Riyadh.

Aramco’s total output capacity does not include the Saudi share of capacity in the neutral zone which is between the kingdom and Kuwait.

Saudi Arabia is aiming for total output capacity, including the neutral zone, of 12.5 million barrels per day in 2009.

Saudi Arabia is spending billions on projects to meet growing world demand and maintain spare capacity of 1.5-2 million bpd of oil to deal with any unexpected outages in global supply.

A 250,000 bpd expansion at the Shaybah oilfield and the development of the 100,000 bpd Nuayyim field will add another 350,000 bpd of capacity by the end of 2008, Mr Nasser said.

The planned 1.2 million-bpd Khurais oilfield is expected to start production by mid-2009.

The 900,000-bpd Moneefa oilfield will start production in September 2011, three months later than Aramco’s initial schedule.

Aramco also aims to boost gas output capacity to 12 billion cubic feet per day (cfd) in 2011 from 9.5 billion cfd, he said. — AFP

Source : Business Times  - 07 Jan 2008

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