OBSERVED: INCREASED BAD NEWS FLOW IN SINGAPORE MEDIA

There are a number of ways in which one can assess the health of the economy and observing the flow of business-related news is one such method.

The Singapore media have been pretty factual in its reporting of local business news. Which is to say nothing much's been censored or overtly glossed over. At least that's my assessment. But of course, Business Times' coverage do differ from Straits Times', especially in its nuancing by going for the throats.

In any case, these few weeks have seen financial reporters getting bylines in prominent the first five pages of the Straits Times. And most of the accompanying articles are reports of bad news in the local business realm. Retrenchment, dismal property sales figures, plunging exports. 

And that's not a good thing.

WHAT'S HAPPENING TO STI TODAY? 5 FEB 2016.

Nothing. 

Just an elevated pre-lunar new year short-covering by the various funds which had been shorting the STI happily in the past one month.

恭喜发财 everyone. May the Singapore bourse prosper on 初三!

P.S. Keep a lookout for non-farm payrolls tonight 9.30pm Singapore time.

THE 4-ROOM MATURED ESTATE SYNDROME

An ex-colleague recently lamented he failed to get a number in his 13th BTO attempt. I asked which estate he had applied for. Bidadari.

Having expressed my thoughts on Bidadari some posts earlier, I was familiar with the fervour in which potential applicants had favoured 4 and 5-rooms units there.

I asked why the decision to apply for a 4-room unit rather than a 3-room given there were no plans for children? The ex-colleague replied it was for the potential rental of the two additional bedrooms for income.

With the high number of applicants for the said 4 and 5-room units at Bidadari, I would say the chances of getting a queue number is small, but not impossible. 

For those who hankers after a 4 or 5-room unit in a matured estate, the wait can be long unless lady luck is smiling upon you. For those who need a flat for a small family of three or less, the 3-room units at Bidadari were expectedly less subscribed. 

Good luck in your future applications. Knowing where the betters odds lie will favour you.