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IN FOCUS: A story of how a team poured their heart and soul into enhancing Singapore’s water supply and what’s next for NEWater
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IN FOCUS: A story of how a team poured their heart and soul into enhancing Singapore’s water supply and what’s next for NEWater

As a result, the plant was unstable, creating issues with costs and reliability. Recalling the early days of the project, he said his team would often end up working through the night, racing to get the plant up and running. "In those days, the plant was like my first home, I would only go home for dinner and then run back to the plant," he said. Problems continued to plague the plant even after it officially opened in May 2000. "It was three months of hell because it seemed like everything we did was wrong, and everyone was just working day and night, like there was no tomorrow, to fix the problems." For Mr Peck, whose son had just been born, it also meant having to juggle being a new parent and operating a plant at the same time. But despite the challenges, the team never gave up a...
Stash Review: Is the all-in-one financial services app worth the money?
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Stash Review: Is the all-in-one financial services app worth the money?

Subscribe to the Select Newsletter! Our best selections in your inbox. Shopping recommendations that help upgrade your life, delivered weekly. Sign-up here. Stash review Stash Learn More Minimum deposit and balance Bank account: no minimum; Smart Portfolio: $5; Brokerage, Roth and traditional IRAs: $0.01 Fees Fees vary based on the pricing tier: Stash Growth is $3 a month and Stash+ is $9 a month Investment vehicles offered Robo-advisor, Traditional and Roth IRAs, Brokerage account, Custodial Accounts, Bank account Investment options Stocks and ETFs Pros Access to a robo-advisor, brokerage account, bank account and retirement accounts in one app Variety of stocks from different companies and ETFs Cons Hefty annual fee of at least $36 Learn More View More Stash's pricing options and ...
Second COVID-19 booster now recommended for people aged 60 and above: MOH
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Second COVID-19 booster now recommended for people aged 60 and above: MOH

BETTER PROTECTION The first booster provides good protection against hospitalisation and severe COVID-19 in people aged 60 to 79, MOH said. However, the ministry expects the protection to gradually wane, given that it has been more than a year since the first booster was administered to this age group. “We need to keep our vaccinations up-to-date, to prepare for possible future infection waves,” it said. MOH added that the latest evidence indicates that a second booster increased vaccine effectiveness against severe diseases from 94 per cent to 97 per cent for those aged 70 to 79. For those aged 60 to 69, this effectiveness went up from 97 per cent to 98 per cent. Speaking at the press conference, MOH director of medical services Kenneth Mak said that a second mRNA booster dose reduc...
Elon Musk wants to cut this ‘terrible habit’ from his morning routine: ‘I suspect a lot of people do [this]’
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Elon Musk wants to cut this ‘terrible habit’ from his morning routine: ‘I suspect a lot of people do [this]’

Despite being a multibillionaire with plans to colonize Mars, Elon Musk has surprisingly relatable daily goals. For starters, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO wants to revamp his daily routine, beginning with the moment he wakes up. In a recent interview with Full Send Podcast, Musk said he checks his phone first thing in the morning — and he thinks it could be detrimental to his health. "I have a bad habit — which I suspect a lot of people do — of immediately checking my phone [in the morning]," Musk said on the show. "It's a terrible habit, actually." Musk, who previously told Auto Bild – a German automobile magazine – that he spends the first 30 minutes of every day checking emails, now says he wants to replace the habit with a workout. "I [need] to work out and be in better shape," Musk sa...
Inside Tesla’s drive to keep Musk’s battery promise
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Inside Tesla’s drive to keep Musk’s battery promise

The secret behind Elon Musk's goal of selling 20 million Tesla's a year by 2030 lies in its pioneering battery technology. The good news is that by using bigger cells and a new process to dry-coat electrodes, Tesla could halve the cost of a Model Y battery, saving more than 8 per cent of the car's U.S. starting price, battery experts with ties to the company said. The bad news is that it's only halfway there, according to 12 experts close to Tesla or familiar with its new technology. That's because the dry-coating technique used to produce the bigger cells in Tesla's 4680 battery is so new and unproven the company is having trouble scaling up manufacturing to the point where the big cost savings kick in, the experts told Reuters. "They just aren't ready for mass production," said one o...
China pares back holdings of US Treasuries for 7th month
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China pares back holdings of US Treasuries for 7th month

(This Aug 15 story removes incorrect reference in paragraph 11 to 10-year Treasury yield falling in June) By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK : China slashed holdings of U.S. Treasuries for a seventh consecutive month in June, Treasury department data released on Monday showed, with investors closely tracking this measure in the wake of tensions between the world's two largest economies involving Taiwan. China's stash of U.S. government debt dropped to $967.8 billion in June, the lowest since May 2010 when it held $843.7 billion. In May, the world's second biggest economy had $980.8 billion in Treasuries, data showed. China's hoard of U.S. debt has seen multiple 12-year lows the last few months. "This looks more likely a function of Chinese FX intervention to keep USD/CNY stable in a ...
A U.S. recession will likely hurt Asia. These Southeast Asian countries are most vulnerable
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A U.S. recession will likely hurt Asia. These Southeast Asian countries are most vulnerable

Singapore is the most vulnerable and will be the first in Southeast Asia to get hit if the U.S. falls into a recession, says Chua Hak Bin of Maybank. Roslan Rahman | Afp | Getty Images SINGAPORE — Asia will not escape unscathed if the U.S. falls into recession, but some countries in Southeast Asia will be more badly hit than others, economists warn. The tug-of-war between inflation and recession in the United States continues as the Federal Reserve sticks to its hawkish stance on interest rate hikes. The U.S. has already reported two consecutive quarters of negative growth in the first two quarters of 2022 — what some consider a "technical" recession. Still, there's little consensus on when a full-blown recession might happen. Economists told CNBC that among countries in Southeast Asia, S...
Wearing a mask to be optional from Aug 29, except on public transport and in healthcare facilities
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Wearing a mask to be optional from Aug 29, except on public transport and in healthcare facilities

WORKPLACES CAN SET THEIR OWN MASK POLICIES Responding to a reporter's question about whether employers can mandate masks at the workplace, Mr Wong said businesses have the discretion to decide. "That option remains because we are lifting the mandatory requirement for mask-wearing. But it is optional, employers may choose to decide. For that matter, in certain settings, industry regulators might also decide that it is a safety requirement." For example, food handlers will still have to wear masks or a spit guard. Face shields, which are not considered an "effective physical barrier" due to a large gap at the bottom of the shield that can cause food contamination, are not approved for use, said the Singapore Food Agency. This applies to all workers who sell or prepare food and drinks, in...
China investors hedge US delisting risk with Hong Kong play
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China investors hedge US delisting risk with Hong Kong play

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG: Global fund managers holding US-listed Chinese stocks are steadily shifting towards their Hong Kong-traded peers, even as they remain hopeful Beijing and Washington will eventually resolve an audit dispute to keep Chinese firms on American exchanges. The pace of migration will likely accelerate, as more Chinese firms listed in New York are expected to follow technology giant Alibaba's intent to launch so-called primary listings in Hong Kong, potentially boosting liquidity there to smooth the transition. KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB), a New York-listed fund focused on Chinese tech plays, started swapping American Deposit Receipts (Rs) into Hong Kong shares in December, when US securities regulators finalised rules to prohibit trading of Chinese companies no...
3 ways to avoid mindless spending so you can start buying things that actually matter to you
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3 ways to avoid mindless spending so you can start buying things that actually matter to you

Finding ways to maximize what you can do with your income is an important part of money management. While it's easy to assume that involves sticking to strict budgets, improving your finances doesn't necessarily mean you have to stop buying non-necessities altogether — you just have to make sure you're avoiding frivolous, mindless spending so you have room to make purchases you genuinely love and care about. Of course, not every single purchase has to have meaning behind it, but it can be easy to fall into the trap of making impulse buys for instant gratification that you won't even care about after a short period of time. All that money can really add up and before you know it, you won't have enough cash left over for the experiences and things you truly value. "Spending based on your val...