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Tesla names Elon Musk ‘Technoking’ in cryptic regulatory filing

elean 16 3 月

2 minutes

BENGALURU (REUTERS) - Tesla added "Technoking of Tesla" to billionaire chief executive officer Elon Musk's list of official titles on Monday (March 15), in a regulatory filing that also named finance chief Zachary Kirkhorn "Master of Coin." The electric-car maker did not explain the reasons for the cryptic new titles. Last month, Tesla revealed it had purchased US$1.5 billion (S$2 billion) of bitcoin and would soon accept it as a form of payment for cars, sending the price of the world's most popular cryptocurrency soaring. Later on Monday, Mr Musk tweeted an animation depicting what appeared to be a golden trophy decorated with coins and accompanied by a pulsing electronic soundtrack. "I'm selling this song about NFTs as an NFT," the tweet said. Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are a new type of digital asset that is authenticated by blockchain, which certifies its originality and ownership. Their popularity has exploded during the pandemic, as enthusiasts and investors scramble to spend enormous sums of money on items that only exist online. The buyer of a US$70 million digital-only artwork was named last week by auction house Christie's as a crypto asset investor who goes by the ps...

Dovish Fed standing firm on inflation fears

elean 15 3 月

4 minutes

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Skittish investors have see-sawed between celebration about the expected US economic recovery and nail-biting over a possible price spiral, but the Federal Reserve is standing firm on keeping interest rates low. In the balance between allowing faster growth - and rising prices - in order to restore some of the more than nine million jobs still missing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Fed Chair Jerome Powell's message has been clear: he wants to see more people back to work. Analysts are expecting the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to maintain its very "dovish" stance when it holds its two-day policy meeting starting on Tuesday (March 16). Mr Powell on Wednesday is expected to stress once again that the Fed is willing to accept higher inflation to get back to full employment, a goal that took a decade to achieve following the 2008 global financial crisis. "I think it's 'markets be damned' at this point," said Robert Frick of Navy Federal Credit Union. "The Fed has said that until the real improvement in employment and in the economy, they're not going to budge," Mr Frick told AFP. "I really don't think they're going to waver." From a 50-yea...

Singapore recalls eggs from Malaysian farm over salmonella contamination

aseanpr 14 3 月

2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Eggs from the Lay Hong Berhad Layer Farm Jeram in Malaysia have been recalled by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) after it detected the presence of bacteria that can cause food-bourne illness. The SFA has directed several importers to recall these eggs, which have the farm code "CES008" on them, after discovering the presence of Salmonella enteritidis (SE), which may cause illness if food is consumed raw or undercooked. Malaysian authorities said on Sunday (March 14) that they are monitoring the situation. The importers are Ang Seng Eggs Supplier, Dasoon, Heng Guan Food Industrial and Lam Leng Trading. "The farm is also suspended and SFA will lift the suspension only when the farm has rectified the SE contamination issue," the agency said in a statement. The bacteria can be present inside the egg as well as on its shell, and the SFA advised those who have already purchased these eggs to cook them thoroughly before consumption, as heat destroys the bacteria. SE can survive in raw and undercooked eggs and may cause foodborne illness, noted the agency. Symptoms include diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fever, nausea and vomiting. Said the agency: "While we cannot tell if eggs are ...

Not possible for S’pore, many countries, to choose between US and China, PM Lee tells BBC

aseanpr 14 3 月

6 minutes

SINGAPORE - It will not be possible for Singapore to choose between the United States and China, given the extensive ties the Republic has with both superpowers, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday (March 14). Many other countries are in a similar situation, he added during an interview with the BBC, saying they would be hard pressed if forced to pick a side. "I hope the time does not come," he said when asked which one Singapore will choose when the time comes. "I do not think this is a dilemma only for Singapore. It is a problem for many countries, which is why we are all hoping and encouraging the two large powers to think very carefully before deciding that the other one is an adversary which has to be kept down, if not put down." The past few years have seen a significant deterioration in ties between the US and China, with their rivalry set to continue in spite of the change in administration in Washington. With both sides exerting their influence on allies and partners, it has become harder for countries to stay in the middle. The administration of US President Joe Biden, for instance, has called for a review of how the country buys strategic goods, saying that it ...

Singapore will use Covid-19 vaccines from any source, as long as they are safe and effective, PM Lee says in BBC interview

aseanpr 14 3 月

5 minutes

SINGAPORE - Singapore will use Covid-19 vaccines no matter where they are made, as long as they are safe and effective, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in an interview with the BBC broadcast on Sunday (March 14). "We will use vaccines from any source. Vaccines do not carry a nationality. Is it good or is it no good? Does it work? If it does, then we will use it," he added. Singapore has placed orders for vaccines against the Sars-CoV-2 virus from multiple suppliers to hedge its bets, and has received supplies of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which have been approved for use. Late last month, it received its first shipment of China's Sinovac vaccine, which has not yet been authorised by the Health Sciences Authority for use in Singapore. The agency is in the process of evaluating it for safety and efficacy. With mass vaccination campaigns under way around the world giving rise to vaccine diplomacy - countries using vaccines as instruments of influence - some commentators have suggested that China may be pushing for Singapore to approve the Sinovac product. Asked by BBC World News Asia Business correspondent Karishma Vaswani if Singapore was under pressure to use a Ch...

US tech stocks lose tug-of-war amid inflation worries

elean 13 3 月

2 minutes

NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street closed out a volatile week mostly higher on Friday (March 12), but tech shares once again lost the battle between optimism over a stronger economy and concerns about inflation. US Treasury yields jumped again, returning to the pre-pandemic levels of February 2020, as the 10-year note rose above 1.6 per cent. That is a sign of growing investor fears that the Federal Reserve will have to raise borrowing rates sooner than expected to contain inflation - despite the central bank's assurances to the contrary. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index recovered from the lowest point of the day, closing down 0.6 per cent at 13,319.87. The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.9 per cent to 32,778.64, setting another record, while broad-based S&P 500 edged up 0.1 per cent to 3,943.34, adding four points to the all-time high set Thursday. "There is a tug of war in the market regarding where inflation will settle," Quincy Krosby of Prudential Financial said, with traders watching how President Joe Biden's US$1.9 trillion (S$2.5 trillion) stimulus package will impact the economy, as well as the infrastructure package he's pushing. "No one is suggesting at th...

Revamped job redesign scheme to aid in workforce transformation in Singapore’s hotel industry

aseanpr 12 3 月

6 minutes

SINGAPORE - In a hotel in the future, front office staff will be experts in tailoring personalised tour itineraries, while housekeepers will be able track room cleanliness using mobile applications and robots are used for cleaning. In the kitchen, chefs will be proficient in food waste management and sensors will track stock levels. This is the vision for the Covid-19 battered hotel industry in Singapore, thanks to a revamp of the Job Redesign Reskilling (JRR) Programme. The revamp was announced by the Workforce Singapore (WSG) on Friday (March 12), along with the release of the 19th edition of the jobs situation report. Sixteen job roles, which would require tech know-how, have been identified. These include rank-and-file positions such as guest experience designers and food and beverage ambassadors, as well as professionals such as managers, executives and technician roles from technician sustainability specialists to human resource generalists. Hotels looking to participate in the revamped programme must offer job redesign projects that involve the adoption of technology. Previously, the programme was open to all job roles and covered three types of job redesign projects: cross-...

Travel corridors for vaccinated passengers could open in 2nd half of 2021: Ong Ye Kung

aseanpr 12 3 月

5 minutes

SINGAPORE - Bilateral travel corridors for vaccinated passengers from places with low to moderate infection rates may well happen in the second half of this year, said Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung on Friday (March 12) as Singapore continues to explore ways to open up its borders and revive air travel. In an interview with Money FM 89.3, Mr Ong said stay-home notices and other quarantine measures will kill travel. Singapore, he added, needs to find ways to get rid of such requirements, a point he also made last week during the debate on his ministry's budget. "Nobody is going to come to Singapore and stay for 14 days," he told radio DJ Elliott Danker. While vaccinations are changing the game, this needs to work in tandem with other measures such as testing, movement restrictions and identifying countries that are "safe" and have successfully controlled the virus, Mr Ong said. For example, Singapore could open up to travellers from places with moderate Covid-19 infection rates but have ongoing vaccination programmes. "(Combine that) with testing, and you can possibly open up a safe travel corridor," he added. On air travel bubbles, Mr Ong said such arrangements require reciprocity,...

HSBC bosses try to quell banker anger over bonus cuts

elean 12 3 月

4 minutes

LONDON (BLOOMBERG) - HSBC Holdings' chief executive officer Noel Quinn and his top lieutenants were forced to defend bonus cuts to unhappy investment bankers and traders after a year marked by hectic dealmaking and volatile markets. On calls last week with staff at its global banking and markets division, Mr Quinn, along with the unit's co-heads, Georges Elhedery and Greg Guyett, had to justify why the pool had to be scaled back at the only division that saw revenue increase last year, according to people familiar with the situation. The executives told employees that the pandemic had eroded the bank's overall performance and, combined with the stark economic backdrop, meant it couldn't pay more, said the people, declining to be named detailing a private call. Even some bankers who gained top marks for their performance were told that their bonuses would be cut and that they shouldn't expect a pay increase, they said. A spokesman for HSBC declined to comment. European lenders have been made acutely aware of the consequences of attempting to pay large sums to traders and bankers against the backdrop of the worst economic conditions in decades. Deutsche Bank scaled back plans for its...

BuzzFeed in talks to go public via Spac merger

elean 11 3 月

2 minutes

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - BuzzFeed, the digital-media outlet founded in 2006, is in talks to go public through a merger with 890 5th Avenue Partners, a special purpose acquisition company (Spac), according to people with knowledge of the matter. Once public, the company may use its currency to target future acquisitions, said one of the people, who requested anonymity because the talks are private. A transaction value couldn't immediately be learned. As with any deal that hasn't been finalized, it's possible terms change or talks fall apart. 890 5th Avenue - named after the fictional Avengers mansion - is led by executive chairman Adam Rothstein and CEO Emiliano Calemzuk. The blank-cheque firm raised US$287.5 million (S$386.5 million) in a January initial public offering and has said it's focused on technology, media and telecommunications. Representatives of BuzzFeed and 890 5th Avenue didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. The deal talks follow a tumultuous year for BuzzFeed, which laid off employees during the pandemic and lost revenue from advertising and live events. The company's balance sheet had improved by last November, when it agreed to buy the HuffPost online ...

China’s $5,700 electric cars tap huge market Tesla can’t reach

elean 11 3 月

5 minutes

BIEJING (BLOOMBERG) - Chinese factory worker Weng Changqing knew he wanted an electric car before he even had his driver's license. Living in a small town in eastern China and looking to start a family, he figured the savings on gas and maintenance would allow him to afford to buy his first ride. He wasn't in the market for a Tesla Model 3, which starts at about US$38,000 (S$51,000) in China. Instead, the 37-year-old bought a 66,900 yuan (S$13,800) crossover from local electric-vehicle maker Hozon Auto. It's one of a growing number of vehicles that run on batteries and electric motors gaining popularity in lower-income parts of the country because of their modest prices and lower running costs. (EVs don't need oil changes, spark plugs, or the various belts that have to be replaced periodically on gasoline cars.) Cheap, reliable EVs like Changqing's have the potential to open car ownership - and the increased mobility that brings - to a whole class of people who previously couldn't afford to have their own wheels. Changqing estimates the cost of electricity to charge his car for an entire year to be less than US$400, which would buy only 377 litres of petrol in China - enough to dri...

Roblox, after winning over kids, becomes hit on Wall Street

elean 11 3 月

4 minutes

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - The Roblox game world that has won over children around the world and became a pandemic hit scored big on Wall Street on Wednesday (March 10), as newly-listed shares surged. The company's shares listed under the symbol RBLX on the New York Stock Exchange closed the trading day up 54 per cent to US$69.50, from a reference price of US$45 as part of so-called direct listing. That gave the gaming platform and pandemic star a valuation of some US$40 billion (S$53.75 billion). "We are deeply humbled by the overwhelming support for @Roblox and our public offering today," co-founder and chief executive David "Builderman" Baszucki said in a tweet. "We recognise the potential ahead of us: to build the platform where billions of people come together to learn, work, and play." With its Lego-like avatars and easy-to-learn coding for budding programmers, the online gaming app has become a thriving clubhouse for young gamers, most of them no older than 16. By late last year, more than 31 million users daily were diving into Roblox on mobile, desktop, or console devices and cumulatively spending billions of hours there, according to the Silicon Valley based company. "In an in...

Canadian sculptor Dean Drever newest addition to the UREEQA Platform

indie 10 3 月

4 minutes

ONTARIO CA, Mar 10, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Dean Drever, the acclaimed Canadian sculptor whose minimalist and abstract work can be enjoyed at famous landmarks throughout the country, such as Edmonton's famed Epcor Tower or the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, is a particularly exciting addition to the UREEQA Collection of Pledged Assets, as he is the first artist working in a physical art medium welcomed to the platform.Drever's pledged work can help illustrate the versatility of the UREEQA platform to protect artists in a variety of backgrounds and mediums. As a Creator, Drever's primary reason for joining the UREEQA platform was to protect his work throughout its many iterations and during the development process. This is one of the many challenges that Creators like Drever face, and a real-life example of the problems that UREEQA can solve.A creation starts as an idea, that idea is yours, and it deserves protection.This is incredibly important to us and is at the forefront of our minds as we develop, launch and grow the platform. UREEQA will help alleviate the fear of bringing an idea to fruition, just for it to be stolen.Although Drever's work often ends up in physica...

Fujitsu Develops AI Model to Determine Concentration During Tasks Based on Facial Expression

ruth 10 3 月

6 minutes

KAWASAKI, Japan, Mar 10, 2021 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. announced the successful development of a new, general purpose AI model for estimating concentration levels that can capture and quantify with high accuracy the degree of concentration when a person is performing various tasks. The model accomplishes this by detecting subtle changes in muscle movements that reveal differences in facial expression that occur when a person is concentrating or not.Fig. 1 New method overviewFig. 2 Concentration Estimation OverviewConventionally, models that use AI to quantify concentration have been created by training algorithms to recognize the expressions and behaviors of people performing specific tasks, such as e-learning. Since facial expressions and behavior differ depending on the tasks involved and the cultural background in which each person grew up, however, the models created had to be individual models, and the challenge was to develop individual AI models for different, specific situations.Fujitsu has succeeded in the development of an AI solution that can identify common features that indicate concentration or non-concentration not easily influen...

Fujitsu Launches Data-Driven Social Creation Platform in Joint Project with 9 Universities and 2 Research Institutes

ruth 10 3 月

6 minutes

TOKYO, Mar 10, 2021 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Fujitsu today announced the completion of its Data-Driven Social Creation Platform to contribute to the realization of the Japanese government's Society 5.0 concept(1), which presents a vision of a new, data-intensive society. The new platform commenced operations on March 9, 2021, and will be jointly operated by 9 universities and 2 research institutes(2) in Japan.The new platform was installed in March 2021 in the Kashiwa II Campus Research Building of the University of Tokyo. In collaboration with the Academic Information Network "SINET(3)" operated by the National Institute of Informatics (NII), the new platform will provide a wide range of computing resources and data collection, storage, and analysis functions to universities and research institutions throughout Japan.The Data-Driven Social Creation Platform consists of 368 next generation Fujitsu Server PRIMERGY CX2550 units equipped with the latest CPU and 40 units of the next generation model of Fujitsu Server PRIMERGY GX2570 equipped with high-end GPUs(4), as well as a storage system with a total of 27 petabytes storage capacity, optimized for high-speed processing ...

Disney+ tops 100 million users in unprecedented growth run

elean 10 3 月

3 minutes

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Walt Disney's flagship streaming platform topped 100 million users just 16 months after its launch, quickly establishing the service as Netflix's most-formidable competitor. The company announced that it reached the milestone on Tuesday (March 9), just ahead of its annual meeting. The service, called Disney+, debuted in the US in November 2019 and rolled out to Canada, Australia, Latin America and Singapore in the following months. The rapid ascent of the service underscores the power of the Disney name, along with entertainment franchises that include Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar. Netflix, the pioneer in subscription streaming, finished 2020 with almost 204 million subscribers globally. The success has prompted Disney to increase the programming budget for Disney+. The company has set a target of more than 100 new titles per year. The service is now available in 59 countries. "Our direct-to-consumer business is the company's top priority," chief executive officer Bob Chapek said in a statement, "and our robust pipeline of content will continue to fuel its growth." The company also said Tuesday that the Disneyland resort in Southern California will reopen in l...

Student who tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from UK on trial for breaching SHN

aseanpr 9 3 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A student who returned to Singapore from Britain with flu-like symptoms allegedly breached her stay-home notice (SHN) to dine at a foodcourt at Terminal 1 of Changi Airport. Esther Tan Ling Ying, who later tested positive for Covid-19, is said to have also lied about her travel history when she saw a doctor in Clementi that same day. The 24-year-old had returned on March 23 last year and was issued an SHN, requiring her to remain in her place of residence for a 14-day period. But before heading home, she purportedly ate at the foodcourt with her parents. She also went to the Clementi Family and Aesthetic Clinic in Clementi Avenue 3, near her home, to get some medicine. On Tuesday (March 9), Deputy Public Prosecutor Sanjiv Vaswani called Tan's conduct abhorrent, and told the court she had flu-like symptoms before her departure from Britain. She tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after returning here. In his opening statement on the first day of the trial, the DPP said that everyone has a part to play in combating the pandemic, and the majority have played by the rules. "But a small number of people do not think the rules apply to them... the accused Esther Tan is one s...

Oil settles lower, shrugs off Saudi attack after climbing above US$70/barrel

elean 9 3 月

2 minutes

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Oil prices settled lower on Monday (March 9), retreating from a session peak above US$70 a barrel after attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia lifted prices that high for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Yemen's Houthi forces fired drones and missiles at the heart of the Saudi oil industry on Sunday, including a Saudi Aramco facility at Ras Tanura vital to petroleum exports. Riyadh said there were no casualties or loss of property. "The situation evaporated when it became obvious that there was no damage to the largest oil facility in the world," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho. Brent climbed as high as US$71.38 a barrel in early Asian trade, its highest since Jan 8, 2020. It settled down US$1.12 or 1.6 per cent at US$68.24. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled down US$1.04 or 1.6 per cent at US$65.05. The session high was US$67.98 a barrel, its highest since October 2018. Brent and WTI prices have climbed for four consecutive sessions. The United States expressed alarm at "genuine security threats" to Saudi Arabia and said it would look at improving support for Saudi defences. "The activity is worthy of some ...

Nasdaq hits correction, Dow advances as US stimulus Bill nears finish line

elean 9 3 月

4 minutes

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Technology-related shares sold off on Monday (March 8) in a big downturn that pushed the Nasdaq into corrective territory and offset stocks that rose on hopes the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief Bill will spur the US economy. The big technology stocks that have led Wall Street to scale successive peaks over the past year's rally fell with the Nasdaq closing down 2.41%, roughly 10.5% below its Feb 12 record close of 14,095.47. Financial shares and restaurant and travel-related stocks that are expected to do well when the economy reopens rose but were unable to offset the weight of the bigger tech shares that dominate the US stock market. After the legislation won US Senate approval on Saturday, President Joe Biden said he hoped for a quick passage of the revised coronavirus relief package by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives so he could sign it and send $1,400 direct payments to Americans. Prospects of more government spending and faster economic growth have stoked fears of a spike in inflation, sending the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield to near one-year highs. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, however, said on Monday the package would fuel a "v...

MPs tackle topics from high-risk youth to hawker culture

aseanpr 9 3 月

5 minutes

Shahira Abdullah (Nominated MP) Mentoring for high-risk youth Providing specialised mentoring to high-risk youth who might not have sufficient role models at home would help them do well, said Dr Shahira. She noted that these young people usually have low confidence, owing to their poor performance in school, and can then become involved in activities that may lead them to commit crimes. She added that mentoring can be done with specialised training and close collaboration with social workers as well as probation officers. Sembawang GRC MP Mariam Jaafar in Parliament on March 8, 2021. PHOTO: GOV.SG Mariam Jaafar (Sembawang GRC) Make M3 relevant Many in the Malay/Muslim community do not know what M3 stands for, even though the collaboration between three key Malay/Muslim organisations was established two years ago, said Ms Mariam, who called for more to be done to increase its effectiveness. She suggested that M3 use digital data and analytics to increase the impact of its initiatives. Given limited resources, she said, there is scope for M3 to strengthen its partnerships with other agencies like non-profit organisations to reach those who need help the most. MacPherson MP Tin Pei L...

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