Person who worries a lot

- A + A (June 23): Glossy, cosmopolitan Singapore is playing host to a very unusual balancing act. The city is one of Asia’s most expensive property markets — and at the same time, boasts one of the highest home ownership rates in the world. Liu Thai Ker, “the architect of modern Singapore,” is a big part of the reason why. As the chief architect of Singapore’s Housing Development Board, Liu was instrumental in establishing a housing model that has underpinned decades of astonishing economic growth. The 84-year-old Yale graduate personally oversaw the development of more than half a million public housing units. Now, almost 90% of the city’s residents own the well-designed, government-built apartments they live in. Since its independence in 1965, citizens have been able to buy these units at a steep discount, turning homeownership into a key way for Singaporeans to grow their wealth. But in the past few years — and especially since the pandemic, which plunged the … [Read more...] about The man who helped create Singapore’s housing boom is getting worried

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin College may be an important first step into many profitable careers, but the growing costs of higher education can make you wonder if it’s worth the investment. You could go with the status quo and leave school with an average student loan debt of around $29,900 according to recent statistics , but you could also enter a profitable trade and potentially get paid while you complete an apprenticeship. There’s also the option to attend a community college or start a business instead, but I digress. These days, it’s all about attending college without a concrete plan then figuring out your next steps after you’ve racked up considerable student loan debt. But since student loan debt can almost never be discharged in bankruptcy, you really have few options to consider other than getting on a government-backed repayment plan or refinancing your loans so you can score a lower monthly payment, a lower interest rate, or both. … [Read more...] about The Must-Read Rules Of Student Loan Refinancing

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin If you're currently enrolled in college, planning to start college this fall, or you are approaching college age, you're right to worry about the future of student loans. After all, college costs keep going up every year, and all the proposed "fixes" seem to deal with having debt forgiven instead of dealing with the source of the problem. The government is busy coming up with more solutions to the college debt crisis. In fact, the Biden administration seems to be mulling over a forgiveness plan that would erase up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower. The thing is, those who are struggling to pay student loans the most tend to have a lot more than $10,000 in student debt to begin with. Not only that, but forgiveness is only expected to apply to federal student loans (and not private student loans ), and income caps will limit who can qualify. With all this in mind, wouldn't it be great to pay for college … [Read more...] about How To Pay For College Without Student Loans

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The typical advice for parents today is that you should save for your children's college in a 529 savings plan. This may make sense for a lot of families, but is it always the best option? The biggest alternative to saving in a 529 plan is to have parents simply save for themselves, and then pay out of pocket for their children's college tuition and other costs. So what are the benefits and downsides of each version? Let's look at some details. The Pros And Cons Of Saving For Your Children's College When it comes to saving for your children's college, a 529 plan is typically the best way to go. It's an education savings account setup for the benefit of one child, where you or someone you designate acts as the custodian of the account. These accounts offer a lot of benefits for both parents and students. First, the biggest benefit is the tax deferred nature of the account. All money inside the account grows tax free … [Read more...] about The Pros And Cons Of Saving For Your Children’s College

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin TSMC's Morris Chang It was 2005, and Morris Chang, at age 74, had earned his retirement: the global economy had bounced back from a postmillennial downturn, and his Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, or TSMC, was back leading a wave of change in the electronics industry. Before the 1980s suppliers of chips for everything from computers to radios mostly spent big sums to design chips themselves and churn them out in their own factories. Chang in the middle of the decade came up with a niche: specialized factory services (also called a "foundry") for companies willing to outsource manufacturing to an unknown Taiwan company. The option erased an enormous financial barrier to entry for engineer entrepreneurs, led to a wave of innovations and lower costs for consumers, and created fortunes for young outfits such as Qualcomm and Broadcom . Older industry giants like Philips and AMD turned to TSMC, too. … [Read more...] about Ageless And Peerless In An Era Of Fabless

There is no leadership crisis at RBL Bank and incoming chief R. Subramaniakumar will use his expertise to build RBL Bank 2.0, the bank management told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interview on June 15. In a candid conversation with Moneycontrol, RBL Bank’s new Managing Director and CEO (MD & CEO) R. Subramaniakumar and outgoing interim CEO Rajeev Ahuja open up on challenges related to the bank’s leadership transition and fall in share prices. The RBL Bank management also gave guidance on the bank’s asset quality, its microfinance and card portfolio, and business outlook for FY23. Edited excerpts: Q- The announcement naming you as the next CEO came Saturday. Were you tensed? Close Kumar - I caught up with my six and a half hours of sleep. Normally I sleep for up to seven hours a night. I could catch up on my sleep because both Rajeev and I and the team are very clear on the path forward. So, there was no need for me to get under much pressure. Q- Mr. … [Read more...] about Exclusive Interview| No leadership crisis at RBL Bank, RBI to take final call on board nominee, says management

File image of HDFC Bank HDFC Bank, India’s largest private sector lender, is on an aggressive drive to recover lost ground in the credit card business. On March 11, the Reserve Bank of India lifted a ban imposed on the bank in December 2020, allowing the lender to launch digital products. In an exclusive interview to Moneycontrol on March 16, HDFC Bank’s group head of payments, consumer finance and digital banking, Parag Rao, said the bank has used the interim period to relook at fault areas and revamp strategy. Rao is optimistic the bank can get back lost market share in cards in 2-3 quarters. Rao also spoke about digital initiative plans in FY23 and on forming a digital-only bank. Edited excerpts: Q: The RBI had barred HDFC Bank from issuing credit cards and launching fresh digital initiatives in December 2020. What are the lessons learned? A: We are thankful to the RBI for pointing out some of the areas where we needed to improve. HDFC Bank has consistently … [Read more...] about Exclusive Interview| After RBI green light, HDFC Bank will take 2-3 quarters to regain credit card market share, says Parag Rao

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Day 7. Monday is the last day of Bitcoin living and it’s off to an exhausting start. My first night in the Bitcoin-paid hostel was not especially restful due to noise filtering in from Mission Street and my body’s usual skepticism about an unfamiliar bed. I have plans to meet with security researcher Dan Kaminsky in the Mission in the afternoon so it would be silly to head to the office. I’d love to go to a cafe to work but none in the area take Bitcoin. I don’t think I can take Bitcoin seriously as a currency until tech-forward San Francisco has at least one BTC-friendly coffee shop. 20 Mission has Wi-Fi. I place a Skype call to Pyry Lehdonvirta who is in Helsinki. He is the 29-year-old CEO of SC5, a Finnish HTML5 software developer that started paying 20 of its full-time employees partially in Bitcoin last October when Bitcoin was valued at $40 USD. “The increase in [BTC’s] value has been bad for us,” says Lehdonvirta. … [Read more...] about Living On Bitcoin For A Week: Bitcoin Is The Internet Applied To Money (And I Survived It)

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin It USED to be a crackhouse. Now it's being renovated. Day 6. It’s Sunday morning. I have only two days left of living on Bitcoin. I can see the US-minted light at the end of the tunnel, but the end of my week is going to be an adventure. My landlord didn’t want to take Bitcoin for rent. Understandably. I think she’d be similarly put off if I offered to pay the rent in Starbucks gift cards or in the form of a week’s supply of succulents (which are all the planting rage in San Francisco). She’s willing to accept the rent late when I’m back to using greenbacks after the week is up, but that’s a time-traveling violation of my rule for this experiment: all transactions must happen in Bitcoin. It is May 5, the deadline for my rent payment. I have to move out. The Forbes E-book On Bitcoin Secret Money: Living on Bitcoin in the Real World , by Forbes staff writer Kashmir Hill, can be bought in Bitcoin or … [Read more...] about Living On Bitcoin For A Week: Can’t Pay The Rent

Mary Ziegler is the author of "Abortion and the Law in America: Roe v. Wade to the Present" and "Dollars for Life: The Anti-Abortion Movement and the Fall of the Republican Establishment." The views expressed in this commentary are her own. Read more opinion on CNN. (CNN) While there are plenty of people who have long sounded the alarm on the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and rolling back abortion rights, that does not make this moment any less dizzying. In recent years, numerous countries, including Mexico and South Korea , have liberalized laws and regulations on abortion. Only a handful of nations have gone in the other direction. Mary Zeigler With Friday's decision, the United States has joined that list. The Supreme Court held that there is no constitutional provision that protects the right to abortion and that Roe v. Wade was egregiously wrong the day it was decided. Read More The … [Read more...] about Opinion: The death of Roe is dizzying, disturbing and dangerous