News Today

Hefty spending on defence justified
I AGREE with Mr Quek Soo Beng ('Examine the old sacred cow of defence spending'; ST, Jan 27) that there is a continuous need to review budgetary allocations for the various sectors of Government, including defence, to get the best out... [Read more]

Fund managers hail removal of 80:20 tax exemption rule
SMALL or 'boutique' fund managers in Singapore yesterday cheered the long-awaited removal of an unwieldy rule on tax exemptions for foreign investors.Under the rule, introduced in 2005, fund managers based here have had to ensure that at least 80 per cent... [Read more]

Indian firms finding match with Western partners
NEW DELHI - A FLURRY of big-ticket cross-border acquisitions involving Indian companies over the past fortnight may amount to more than the US$29 billion (S$44 billion) that the deals were worth. Britain's Vodafone said on Sunday that it had offered US$11... [Read more]

Crash landings
PHOTO: REUTERS French policemen inspecting an airplane (above) after it overran the airport runway in Pau, southern France, slamming into a truck and killing its driver on Thursday. The 50-plus passengers on board the plane, belonging to Air France subsidiary Regional... [Read more]

UBS moves top wealth manager to S'pore
UBS has relocated its vice-president of global wealth management, Mr Carlo Grigioni, from Switzerland to Singapore.The move reflects the growing importance of the Asia-Pacific region to the Swiss private banking giant. Mr Grigioni, a Swiss national who had previously worked in... [Read more]

S'pore urged to grab larger slice of Islamic banking pie
SINGAPORE has made a start at offering Islamic financial products - but must do more to get a significant slice of the estimated US$450 billion (S$690.5 billion) invested globally. Speakers at a conference here on this fast-emerging niche sector said wealthy... [Read more]

Window on new Vista
IT HAS been five years in the making, but Windows Vista has finally landed here.The new operating system has a snazzier interface and improved security, but all this comes at a price.Today's Digital Life gives you the lowdown on what you... [Read more]

YouTube post shouldn't trifle with religion
I WAS upset when I was forwarded a hyperlink to a sound file posted on YouTube by 'Ximiwakoz'.The recording, entitled 'RK House - No PORK', featured some boys who apparently visited a prata shop at Serangoon Gardens. They repeatedly asked for... [Read more]

Suicide bomber kills 3 in Israeli resort town
EILAT (ISRAEL) - A PALESTINIAN suicide bomber attacked a bakery in the southern Israeli resort town of Eilat yesterday, killing himself and three others, police said. It was the first suicide attack in Israel in nine months and the first ever... [Read more]

Wenger blasts the Blues' big losses
LONDON - ONCE again, Chelsea have reported a massive loss. Once again, they have been slammed for operating with a huge deficit. On Monday, the English champions reported an £80 million (S$239 million) loss for the last financial year. It was... [Read more]

Expired cards add to SMRT's 9-month gains
TRANSPORT operator SMRT Corp posted a decent 19.2 per cent rise in net earnings to $99.64 million for the nine months ended Dec 31, 2006.The improvement was fuelled by a number of factors, including a $4.85 million rise in other income... [Read more]