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Select’s editorial team works independently to review financial products and write articles we think our readers will find useful. We earn a commission from affiliate partners on many offers, but not all offers on Select are from affiliate partners. Welcome to Select's newest advice column, Getting Your Money Right. Once a month, financial advisor Kristin O'Keeffe Merrick will be answering your pressing money questions. (You can read her last installment here on how rising interest rates impact your investment portfolio.) Have a question you want to ask? Send us a note at AskSelect@nbcuni.com. Andrii Dodonov | Istock | Getty Images Dear Kristin, With the recent downturn in the stock market, I am trying to look for ways to protect my portfolio. I know of the adage, "diversify, diversify,...

Retail businesses in Singapore are grappling with higher costs as rents rise and energy prices soar, the Singapore Retailers Association said. Cost pressure is a big concern for many Singapore retailers which have not completely passed on price increases to consumers, and are currently feeling the "margin squeeze," Ernie Koh, the association's president told CNBC's Street Signs Asia Tuesday. Singapore utilities company SP Group announced that electricity tariffs will be bumped up by about 8% compared to the previous quarter from July to September. "The increase is mainly due to higher energy cost driven by rising global gas and oil prices exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine," SP Group said. Energy prices are likely to remain elevated over the second half of 2022 and residents should bra...

JAKARTA: Indonesian companies will start to export chicken products to Singapore “really soon”, said Indonesia’s Ministry of Agriculture in response to CNA’s queries on Wednesday (Jul 6). At the same time, the ministry said that it is working with more businesses to obtain permission to export chicken products to the neighbouring country. This comes after Singapore announced on Jun 30 that it has added Indonesia as a new source for the import of chilled, frozen and processed chicken. According to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), three companies from Indonesia were given permission to export chicken meat and chicken meat products into the country. Two of the companies are Indonesian subsidiaries of Thailand-based food conglomerate Charoen Pokphand, while the other is a subsidiary of Ind...

BEIJING :China will make great efforts to consolidate its economic recovery particularly in the crucial third quarter, putting a priority on stabilising employment and prices, state media reported on Friday after a regular cabinet meeting. The world's second-biggest economy narrowly missed a contraction in the second quarter, growing just 0.4 per cent year-on-year, weighed down by COVID-19 lockdowns, a weak property sector and cautious consumer sentiment. The government has set a 2022 growth target of around 5.5 per cent. Major hurdles in the second half include China's persistent zero-COVID policy that entails curbs and restrictions that could again disrupt local businesses, employment and consumption. To spur growth, authorities have dusted off an old playbook, issuing debt to fund big...

Delta Air Lines on Wednesday reported a quarterly profit thanks to travelers willing to pay up to fly, more than making up for higher costs. The carrier also vowed to improve reliability after an increase in delays and cancellations prompted it to scale back its summer schedule. The airline industry "was starved for revenue for the last two years," CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday after the carrier released results. "We pushed too hard. We scaled back a bit ... and in July we're running a great operation." Delta shares fell more than 4% Wednesday after its adjusted earnings fell short of analyst estimates. Rivals' shares also dropped more than the broader market, which slumped after inflation data came in higher than expected. Airfare represented one of the few decl...

HONG KONG : China International Capital Corp Ltd (CICC) has appointed veteran dealmaker Wang Shuguang to lead its investment banking business, said two people with knowledge of the matter. The appointment, effective July 11, comes as Wang Sheng, the bank's previous investment banking head, has moved to China Galaxy Securities to take over as chief executive of the smaller peer. The two have the same surname but are not related. CICC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Wang Shuguang joined the country's oldest investment bank in 1998, three years after it was founded, and has more than two decades of experience in dealmaking, according to an official biography. He established CICC's growth enterprise investment banking division, which focuses on serving China's fast-g...

Let's get you caught up on the day's top stories. ASEAN denounces Myanmar's 'highly reprehensible' executions ASEAN has rebuked Myanmar's junta over the execution of four political activists. The 10-member bloc says the executions are destructive to efforts to de-escalate crisis. "The implementation of the death sentences just a week before the 55th ASEAN ministerial meeting is highly reprehensible," says Cambodia, this year's ASEAN chair. Malaysia's Foreign Minister called for Myanmar to be barred from attending international ministerial level meetings. The men were executed for aiding "terror acts" by a civilian resistance movement. A junta spokesperson says the executed prisoners deserved "many death sentences". Singapore Elections Department to pilot portable lap booths for nurs...

ZERMATT: Way up in the snowy Alps, the border between Switzerland and Italy has shifted due to a melting glacier, putting the location of an Italian mountain lodge in dispute. The borderline runs along a drainage divide - the point at which meltwater will run down either side of the mountain towards one country or the other. But the Theodul Glacier's retreat means the watershed has crept towards the Rifugio Guide del Cervino, a refuge for visitors near the 3,480m Testa Grigia peak - and it is gradually sweeping underneath the building. Frederic, a 59-year-old tourist, opens the narrow wooden door to enter the refuge's restaurant, the light flooding in from outside. The menu is in Italian, not German, and priced in euros rather than Swiss francs. Nonetheless, at the counter, he orders a...

LONDON: Oil prices edged lower on Friday (May 27) but were on track for weekly gains, supported by the prospect of a tight market due to rising gasoline consumption in the United States in summer, and also the possibility of an EU ban on Russian oil. Brent crude was down 20 cents, or 0.2 per cent, at US$117.20 at 11.04am GMT (7.04pm, Singapore time), but was on track for a gain of about 4 per cent this week. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 40 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to US$113.69 a barrel. WTI is set for a weekly gain of about 0.5 per cent. "Oil prices have risen to the highest level since end of March, benefiting from renewed declines in US oil inventories," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo. US gasoline stocks fell by 482,000 barrels last week to 219.7 million barrels, US...

SINGAPORE: About 1.5 million Singaporeans will receive up to S$300 cash in a special GST Voucher payment in August, announced Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (Jun 21). This is on top of the regular GSTV-Cash amounts they were meant to receive in 2022. This will benefit about 1.5 million lower-income to middle-income workers, as well as retirees without income, said Mr Wong, who is also Deputy Prime Minister. Taken together, GSTV-Cash recipients will receive up to S$700 in August this year, he noted. All Singaporean households will also receive a S$100 utilities credit by September to help offset their bills, announced Mr Wong. “In the Budget, I’ve already provided a fair amount of U-Save rebates for those living in HDB flats, with more given to those living in smaller fl...