Food prices up 4.3% but some dips too

From The Straits Times, Feb 14 2008.

By Jessica Lim

PRICES of items commonly found in kitchen larders have generally gone up by 4.3 per cent since last April.

That is more than twice the 2 percentage point increase in the goods and services tax which kicked in last July, a survey by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) has revealed.

Varsities up tuition fees by 4% to 20%

From The Straits Times, Feb 14 2008.

NUS, NTU, SMU to cushion effect with more financial aid and ‘lock-in’ system

By Jane Ng

TUITION fees at the three local universities will go up by between 4 per cent and 20 per cent for the new batch of undergraduates entering in August.

But to cushion their effect, all the varsities will introduce more financial help schemes, as well as a ‘lock-in’ fee structure first pioneered by the Singapore Management University (SMU), where students pay a set fee and will not be affected by future increases.

Go for frozen food and cut up to 50% off bill

From The Straits Times, Feb 14 2008.

Supermarkets seeing more sales of frozen foods but some people still reluctant to switch

By Jermyn Chow & Jessica Lim

CHOOSE frozen over chilled pork and lop off about half your marketing bill. Ditto when you go for frozen over fresh chicken wings.

Here are the numbers: Chilled pork fillets cost $16 per kg at the market, but frozen ones cost $8; chilled chicken wings go at $7 per kg, but just $4.60 frozen. Price- conscious as Singaporeans are, they have seemed slow to see the math.

Household incomes up but rich-poor gap widens

From The Straits Times, Feb 14 2008

By Bryan Lee, Economics Correspondent

THANKS to a booming economy and rising salaries, the average family in Singapore saw its household income rise by 9.6 per cent last year, the biggest increase in at least a decade.

But the rich again got richer in 2007. Higher-income households generally enjoyed bigger pay hikes than lower-income ones, widening the income gap between the rich and poor.

NUS, NTU tuition fees to go up by 4%

From The Straits Times, Feb 13 2008

TUITION fees for the new intake of National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) students will go up by 4 per cent in the new academic year to meet rising manpower and operating costs.

The increase is much higher for permanent residents and foreign students to reflect greater fee differentiation between local undergraduates and others at both universities.

The last time the universities raised their fees was in 2006 when tuition fees went up by three per cent.

Only way to contain costs

From Asia One, Feb 4 2008

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PRUDENCE again underlies the latest tweak to health financing. Higher MediShield premiums Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan announced last week may be untimely when prices of almost everything are rising. But it is better to act before affordability starts to erode.

Prices up everywhere, but inflation rate for food low here

From The Straits Times, Feb 4 2008

Govt casting net wider to source for food; businesses also helping to limit price hikes

By Theresa Tan

FACTORY operator Loke Yew Whye, a 54-year-old father of three school-going children, is finding it hard to cope with rising food prices.

The family, which survives on about $2,000 a month, which he and his wife earn, has been buying house brands from one of supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice’s Bedok branches to save money.

Most hawkers refrain from upping prices

From The Straits Times, Feb 4 2008

Only one in four has raised prices to cope with higher costs; but some now serve smaller portions

By Tania Tan& Lim Wei Chean

THOSE who sell cooked food are usually not keen on raising their prices, but Madam Chen Yi Ye had to bite the bullet.

Annuity scheme could start in 2013

From The Straits Times, Feb 4 2008

By Keith Lin

THE compulsory annuity scheme that will provide elderly Singaporeans with a regular income for as long as they live will be introduced in 2013 once approved by the Government, Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen has disclosed.

PM: Let’s tackle cost fears together

From The Straits Times, Feb 4 2008

Govt will play part, including in Budget; S’poreans must also make adjustments

By Li Xueying

PRIME MINISTER Lee Hsien Loong assured Singaporeans yesterday that their concerns about the rising cost of living, including food prices, have been heard – and are being addressed.