Incomes will be under pressure soon: PM Lee

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Wednesday that the incomes of low-end and white-collar workers will be under pressure soon.

PM Lee told CNBC in an interview that Singapore's economy is slowing down and will continue to do so going into 2012. This is due to global economic conditions getting tough.

According to a Sept 1 economic report by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, economic activity in Singapore is likely to grow modestly in the second half of this year.

Statistics provided by the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed that Singapore's economy grew by 1.3 per cent from July to September after contracting by 6.3 per cent in the previous quarter.

This is on a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter annualised basis.

PM Lee also told CNBC there will be uncertainties because the economic cycles are shorter.

For the Singapore economy to continue growing at a strong pace, he said Singapore needed more workers, more skills and more talent.

Mr Lee also spoke on the economic situation in Europe.

When questioned by CNBC, he said the problem was deep and involved not just Greece but also other countries like Italy and Spain.

"It's not just the immediate problems but there're also longer term structural questions about the Euro, and whether it will go forward or it'll go backwards.

"They have to make sure that the problem does not spread beyond Greece and cause a run on Italy for example, which would have an implication for the whole world," he said.

Seriously great job. Our pay is always decreasing and our 'fine' leaders pay is always increasing. This is really work together to secure our leaders' future....

3 Easy Exercises To Correct Bad Posture

Your body isn’t meant to be seated eight hours a day. But you can offset some of the damage by performing this exercise circuit 3 times a day to beat bad posture. Workout gear is optional.

 

Standing Hip-Extension Stretch  Why It's Good Loosens the hip flexors and strengthens the glutes. How To Do It Stand and place your left foot on a chair with your knee bent 90 degrees. Tighten your right buttock and reach overhead as high as you can with your right  arm. Side-bend slightly to the left. Hold 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
Scapular Wall Slide Why It's Good Prevents rounded shoulders. How To Do It Stand with your back and head against a wall. Place your arms against the wall so they form a W. Slide your arms upwards into a Y. Hold for a count of 3, and then lower them. Do this 12 times.
Chair Mobilisation Why It's Good Prevents the hunchback look. How To Do It Sit so the back of your chair is just below shoulder blade level. Place your hands behind your head and bring your elbows towards each other. Arch back and push your elbows upwards as you exhale. Hold for a count of 3. Do this 12 times. Extracted: http://www.menshealth.com.sg/fitness/3-easy-exercises-correct-bad-posture

Facebook Use By Country: See Who Spends The Most Time Social Networking (STUDY)

An international study into the use of social networks by Experian®, the global information services company, reveals just how much time people living in different countries spend on Facebook. Singaporeans emerge from the study as those who spend the longest on the social network site, with an average of 38 minutes and 46 seconds per session, while people living in Brazil spend less than half that with an average of 18 minutes and 19 seconds per Facebook session.

According to the analysis by Experian Hitwise, the average session time on Facebook in August 2011 across the eight countries varied significantly as highlighted in table 1 below:

Market

Average time spent on Facebook in August 2011 per session

1st
Singapore
38 mins 46 sec

2nd
New Zealand
30 mins 31 sec

3rd
Australia
26 mins 27 sec

4th
UK
25 mins 33 sec

5th
US
20 mins 46 sec

6th
France
21 mins 53 sec

7th
India
20 mins 21 sec

8th
Brazil
18 mins 19 sec

Understanding average time spent on Facebook, the world’s most widely used social network, illustrates the importance of brands needing to be on social networks. By knowing that an average social network user in Singapore, will for example, spend an average of 38 minutes on Facebook means that a brand can increase the likelihood of capturing an individual's attention by running digital marketing campaigns through Facebook. Content and advertising which is compelling will ultimately lead to greater engagement in social networks and consequently greater sales, whether on the brand's own website or indeed within Facebook.

Ankur Shah, CEO and co-founder, Techlightenment, an Experian company, commented: “The power of social networks like Facebook is that in some respects they don’t have any boundaries and make the world a much smaller place. Knowing the market share social networks have in each country and the level of usage is key to social networking success. However, our research shows that the way individuals use social media can and does change according to cultural and personal backgrounds – therefore ‘one size definitely doesn’t fit all’ when it comes to digital. For any international brands to be successful in their digital campaigns, they must understand the local, digital and personal nuances that exist.”

Extracted from: http://www.experianplc.com/news/company-news/2011/27-09-2011.aspx

Feeling very lazy this weekend

I had been feeling so lazy today. Hope I will be fine on Sunday. Just wasted one day of my life away doing almost nothing. No motivation to do anything

Exceeded my 12 GB Data Plan !

Oh dear ! I didn't realised that i'm able to exceed the 12GB so easily. Looks like I will have to cut down on entertainment and food to compensate for this extra amount. So sad :(

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 goes on sale at BestBuy

OMG OMG OMG !!! Its here ! Finally here !! Can't wait to land into our shores !

Singapore's IT sector still facing a talent shortage

Singapore’s IT sector is facing a talent shortage and a large number of roles are being filled by foreign or imported talent.

Apart from “in- demand” technically skills such as web/mobile based technologies, cloud computing and virtualization, organizations are also increasingly looking for a combination of IT skills and strong industry specific business appreciation and knowledge. Skills such as project management, architecture, risk management, and development and support (cross-platform/technology) are generally highly sought after by employers.

According to Brian Richards, Head of Kelly IT Resources, techno-functional roles that require business acumen along with technical expertise, as well as cross-technology roles that require expertise in a number of technologies, tend to be more attractive to potential candidates rather than pure vanilla technology roles that require only specific technical skills.

Richards notes that organizations preferred by job hunters tend to be banks, consulting companies and organizations (especially with Gen Y) that tend to be (or are at least be perceived as) more fun, creative, dynamic, flexible and technologically savvy/advanced and fast growing such as Google, Yahoo, and Apple.

“From our data, in general, 78% of Gen X and 70% of Gen Y are willing to spend their own money on training to upgrade their skills,” said Richards.

Personal Branding

A growing number of Singapore’s employees are developing their own personal “brands” as part of a trend toward taking greater control over their careers, including steps to help differentiate themselves in a fast-changing workplace, according to the latest survey results from workforce solutions leader Kelly Services.

The findings are part of the Kelly Global Workforce Index, which obtained the views of approximately 134,000 people in 29 countries, including more than 2,700 in Singapore.

Personal marketing, or branding, has become a feature of the modern workplace, with respondents identifying the elements they regard as most important in building their identities - verbal communication skills (66%), résumés (60%), technical knowledge (60%), written communications (55%), personal attire (52%), and use of social media (35%).

“As many individuals are moving out of the typical employment relationship, they are thinking about how to promote themselves and stand-out in the crowded workforce,” said Mark Sparrow, Managing Director, Kelly Services Singapore. “There is also a high degree of awareness about the pace of change in the workplace and the ability to manage this change.”

The research also shows almost three-quarters of respondents are prepared to spend their own money on upgrading their skills - not waiting on their employer to do it for them - while a similar number believe they will change their career and re-invent themselves in the future.

In Singapore, 78% of Gen X are prepared to spend their own money on training to upgrade their skills, higher than for Gen Y (70%) and baby boomers (68%). More than half (70%) of Gen X cite verbal communication skills among the most important elements in personal branding, compared with Gen Y (65%) and baby boomers (59%).

Extracted From: http://www.networksasia.net/content/singapores-it-sector-still-facing-talent-shortage

OMG OMG I'm having fats stored all around my body..

Oh dear ! I'm really getting fatter each day if I keep having such lifestyle, sitting down all day at home, in office and bus.. As the picture refers, I'm gotta stand out in the crowd. Thats obviously not what I want to be.

It is time for me to work out an intensive plan on exercising and have diet meals regularly. I wonder if stress will contribute to the weight gained. 

Eighth major release of Android to be named 'Jelly Bean'

Just as the Gingerbread going to evolve into Ice Cream Sandwich, a major release 'Jelly bean' is coming out soon ! It is never ending chase for the Android OS. Its improving every single moments ! Therefore is it a good sign or not? One of the bad sign is that consumers will never get the latest because they would had to spend lots of money to GET THEM ALL !

Google releases Android 3.2 Honeycomb SDK

Cool ! Google just released another update and this update actually eliminates the restriction of this OS to higher-end tablets. Now the 7-inch tablet can enjoy this great OS just for TABLETS !!