SINGAPORE, Jan 30, 2009 (AFP) – Companies in Singapore laid off 7,000 workers in the last three months of 2008, as the economy slipped deeper into recession, the government said Friday.

More than half of the layoffs were in the key manufacturing sector, which has been hit by a sharp decline in demand for the city-state's exports, the Ministry of Manpower said in a statement citing preliminary estimates.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 2.6 percent in December, up from 2.2 percent in September and 1.7 percent in December 2007, it said.

The 7,000 workers laid off in the December quarter compared with 2,346 employees who lost their jobs in the preceding three months and 1,966 for the same period in 2007, the ministry said.

For the whole of 2008, there were 13,400 workers laid off, up from 7,675 the year before.

Employment also slowed significantly to 26,900 in the fourth quarter of last year, from 55,700 people who were hired in the preceding quarter and 62,500 in the same period in 2007.

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam warned last week the country is facing its worst recession since independence 44 years ago and announced a record stimulus package of more than 13 billion US dollars.

Singapore in October became the first Asian economy to enter recession, falling victim to a global slowdown sparked by a crisis in the US housing market.

Sigh…. The economy is really so big.

I wish for the $10 million of Toto. I just need $1 million.

My house is shabby, but it is comfortable. There is no end to wanting – after the Ferrari and theBirkin bag, what next? by Lee Wei Ling

In 2007, in an end-of-year message to the staff of the National Neuroscience Institute, I wrote: 'Whilst boom time in the public sector is never as booming as in the private sector, let us not forget that boom time is eventually followed by slump time. Slump time in the public sector is always less painful compared to the private sector.Slump time has arrived with a bang. While I worry about the poorer Singaporeans who will be hit hard, perhaps this recession has come at an opportune time for many of us. It will give us an incentive to reconsider our priorities in life. Decades of the good life have made us soft. The wealthy especially, but also the middle class in Singapore, have had it so good for so long, what they once considered luxuries, they now think of as necessities. A mobile phone, for instance, is now a statement about who you are, not just a piece of equipment for communication.> Hence many people buy the latest model though their existing mobile phones are still in perfect working order.A Mercedes-Benz is no longer adequate as a status symbol. For millionaires who wish to show the world they have taste, a Ferrari or a Porsche is deemed more appropriate. The same attitude influences the choice of attire and> accessories. I still find it hard to believe that there are people carrying handbags that cost more than thrice the monthly income of a bus driver, and many more times that of the foreign worker labouring in the hot sun, risking his life to construct luxury condominiums he will never have a chance to live in. The media encourages and amplifies this ostentatious consumption. Perhaps it is good to encourage people to spend more because this will prevent the recession from gettingworse. I am not an economist, but wasn't that the root cause of the current crisis – Americans spending more than they could afford to? I am not a particularly spiritual person. I don't believe in the supernatural and I don't think I have a> soul that will survive my death. But as I view the crass materialism around me, I am reminded of what my mother once told me: 'Suffering and deprivation is good for the soul.'

My family is not poor, but we have been brought up to be frugal. My parents and I live in the same house that my> paternal grandparents and their children moved into after World War II in 1945. It is a big house by today's standards, but it is simple – in fact, almost to the point of being shabby.

Those who see it for the first time are astonished that Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's home is so humble. But it is a comfortable house, a home we have got used to. Though it does look shabby compared to the new mansions on our street, we are not bothered by the comparison.

Most of the world and much of Singapore will lament the economic downturn. We have been told to tighten our belts.> There will undoubtedly be suffering, which we must try our best to ameliorate.

But I personally think the hard times will hold a timely lesson for many Singaporeans, especially those born after 1970 who have never lived through difficult times.

No matter how poor you are in Singapore, the authorities and social groups do try to ensure you have shelter and food. Nobody starves in Singapore. Many of those who are currently living in mansions and enjoying a luxurious lifestyle will probably still be able to do so, even if they might have to downgrade from wines costing $20,000 a bottle to $10,000 a bottle. They would hardly notice the difference.

Being wealthy is not a sin. It cannot be in a capitalist> market economy. Enjoying the fruits of one's own labour is one's prerogative and I have no right to chastise those who choose to live luxuriously. But if one is blinded by materialism, there would be no end to wanting and hankering. After the Ferrari, what next? An Aston Martin? After the Hermes Birkin handbag, what can one upgrade to?

Neither an Aston Martin nor an Hermes Birkin can make us truly happy or contented. They are like dust, a fog obscuring the true meaning of life, and can be blown away in the twinkling of an eye.

When the end approaches and we look back on our lives, will we regret the latest mobile phone or luxury car that we did not acquire? Or would we prefer to die at peace with ourselves, knowing that we have lived lives filled with love, friendship and goodwill, that we have helped some of our fellow voyagers along the way and that we have tried our best to leave this world a slightly better place than how we found it?

We know which is the correct choice – and it is within our power to make that choice.

In this new year, burdened as it is with the problems of the year that has just ended, let us again try to choose wisely.

To a considerable degree, our happiness is within our own control, and we should not follow the herd blindly. 

The writer is director of the National Neuroscience Institute.

Singapore's economy may suffer its worst annual contraction on record this year amid a slump in exports, increasing pressure on the government to take steps to help businesses and consumers.
    Gross domestic product may shrink as much as 5 percent this year, the trade ministry said today, cutting its forecast for the second time in less than three weeks. It predicted a contraction of as much as 2 percent on Jan. 2. The economy grew
1.2 percent last year, less than earlier estimated.
    Singapore will unveil this year's budget plan tomorrow, as it attempts to speed up aid to companies hurt by the global recession and minimize job cuts. More than 10,000 people were retrenched last year and a worsening economy may result in job losses tripling in 2009, reaching numbers not seen since the Asian financial crisis a decade ago, the government said.
    "All the government can do is to ensure that citizens and businesses cope with the recession because it's not possible to counteract the drop in external demand," said Chow Penn Nee, an economist at United Overseas Bank Ltd. in Singapore. "The situation may start to improve only in the fourth quarter" of 2009.
    The Southeast Asian economy has contracted for three straight quarters, sliding into recession along with Japan, Hong Kong and New Zealand.
    Gross domestic product declined an annualized 16.9 percent last quarter from the previous three months, after shrinking a revised 5.1 percent between July and September, the trade ministry said. The contraction in the fourth quarter was worse than a Jan. 2 estimate of 12.5 percent.
    Singapore is facing unprecedented conditions in this recession and little can be done to mitigate the slowdown, Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang said this week.
    "The economic downturn has spread to all the key sectors of the economy," Lim said Jan. 19. "Our manufacturing sector is likely to continue facing a slowdown this year."

Green tea is believed to be a potential agent, which can help you to lose weight. Weight loss has become a serious matter in the present world. The possible reasons for weight loss can be many such as lifestyle factors, the diet and stress and strain the modern life. Let me start of by saying that the number one question I am asked regarding green tea has to be whether or not it will help one to lose weight. I mean, I get this daily. So does it? Well, kind of. It has caffeine in it, and caffeine does give your metabolism a slight boost. The effect is known as "thermogenesis." To quote Wikipedia: Thermogenesis is the process of heat production in organisms.

If however you are healthy and are looking for an edge to help you make your weight loss goals happen in an easier and faster way, then consider green tea supplements in one form or another. You'll be glad you did.

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Green Tea Helps You Lose Weight

Green tea is believed to be a potential agent, which can help you to lose weight. Weight loss has become a serious matter in the present world. The possible reasons for weight loss can be many such as lifestyle factors, the diet and stress and strain the modern life. Irrespective of the possible reasons, there is a need for an ultimate solution since the weight gain or obesity can lead to many serious health hazards such as diabetes, and the heart diseases. Green tea is projected as an effective weight loss remedy since many of the reports show positive effects.

Nature green tea is better than artificial greens tea product

Green tea is primarily appreciated for the weight loss since it is a natural substance. Now, many artificial products are available in the market, claiming that are effective for weight loss. Since most of them manifested side effects, people have started searching for reliable natural products. Green tea is an herbal decoction, which is made from the unfermented leaves of Camellia sinensis. It is a proven stimulant that is regularly used as a beverage in the eastern countries. It is postulated that the green tea have medicinal properties and the traditional medicinal systems support the argument with evidences. It can be used to protect the heart, liver, skin, pancreas, oral systems and most importantly as a curative for cancer. However, the effectiveness of the green tea to lose weight cannot be proved from the medicinal properties. But, the scientific crowd is relying on the active ingredients of the green tea.

How green tea promote weight loss

Green tea is recommended for the diet aid mainly because of its multifaceted effects on health. The major active component that attributes the properties to the green tea are the polyphenols such as catechin, epicatechin, epicatechin gallate, gallaogatechin, epigallocatechin, and apigallocatechin gallate (known as EGCG). Even though it have alkaloids such as caffeine, the EGCG is effective to compensate their effect and trigger the metabolism rate. The studies show that EGCG, which is a natural antioxidant, is also an effective thermogenic that can burn off the calories. Using the green tea, energy expenditure and metabolic rate is hiked at a rate of 4%, which will certainly help you for weight loss.

Green tea catechins will also acts as a glucose regulator. It regulates the insulin level in the body and inhibits the sudden rise of insulin in the body after the food, which may initiate the fat conversion. The lowering of the insulin level prevents the sugar level rise and the fat storage, which ultimately prevent the weight gain. And, the influence in blood sugar level has proven some effect in the appetite level, also. The continuous intake of green tea is suspected to decrease the appetite, which naturally contribute to the weight loss.

To add on, if you do not even count any of the above attributes of herbal green tea too, a simple factor will certainly add a cutting edge to green tea. If you are lenient enough to just substitute the usual morning drink, which is rich with calories, with a cup of green tea itself can definitely help you lose weight.

How to use green tea for your diet

The easiest way to include green tea in your diet is to drink it. However, you could also use green tea extract pill and green tea patch.

Drink green tea – This is the best way and the most effect way to get the full benefit from green tea. Since it is still unknown which anti-oxide in green tea encourage fat loss, it is the best to take it with its original form. The easiest way is to put green tea bag in hot water and let it rest for 3 to 4 minutes. However, you could also try LIPTON Diet Green Tea with Citrus or LIPTON Diet Green Tea with mix barriers (most believe commercial tea product contain only small amount of tea)

Green tea patch – it is a patch that contain some ingredient of green tea. All you have to do is to put the patch on your body for a few hours and your skin will absorb. The manufacture claim it equal 20 cup of green tea with only 63 gram of caffeine (around one cup of coffee). That mean the green tea diet patch is not nature and some anti – oxide might loss during the manufacture process.

Green tea diet pill – these diet pills contain green tea as active ingredient. It is a safer alternative for more hardcore diet pill. The pill contain more than just green tea so I would not recommend you to take these green tea diet pills

Hey babes,

I heard this from a friend about this study in US called ‘Beer Goggles’

Beer goggles is an effect that takes place in human beings after at least 5 mugs of beer within a month.

This effect caused us to lower our perception of beauty.

Which means to say, you may find this guy normal looking but with beer goggles effect in you, he could become super charming!!!

Worst part is the effect will stay in us for at least 6 months!!

So can you imagine if you are constantly drinking, beer goggles effect will stay in you for the rest of your life! Gosh!

So babes, please hit my head real hard and forbid me from drinking ever again if you hear me telling you that Mr A is cute! 

http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2008/12/sexual-health-news-beer-goggle.html

Now I wonder is it cos of beer that I find Mr R charming. -_-"