Kopi With YP: Your Minimalist Morning Briefing 1 Mar

Get up to speed and stay smart with the latest business, tech, and local news in under 2 minutes.

Business

The Malaysian ringgit is set to break records. Malaysian ringgit hits an all-time low of S$1 to RM3.1728 around 1.50pm on Tuesday (Feb 28). This comes just 4 days after the Sing dollar passed the RM 3.16 mark.

4-storey building near Beauty World is up for grabs. This sees more than 80% of the building owners to be part of a collective sale. Each apartment owner is expected to pocket $6 million while shop owners will reap an excess $10 million each.

World

Russia vetoes a resolution against the usage of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime again. This is the 7th time in 6 years that Russia has used its Permanent member position to defend the cruelty of the Syrian regime, prolonging its socio-economic crisis.

Gen X and Millennials face 2-4 times higher risk of colon cancer than before. The cause for this, however, is not known. Colectoral cancers takes time to develop as such it is not common for younger patients to be infected. Studies have found that, currently 3 out of 10 patients are below the age of 55.

Local 

“Why should you presume to tell me how my country should run?” — said PM Lee during an interview with BBC. The interview was slightly awkward, as PM Lee completely downs the interviewer’s seemingly “insultive” question on the questionable nature of our media and rights.

Cyberattack all day everyday. MINDEF reported a break-in in their system that has caused the information of 850 servicemen and employees to be stolen. According to investigations, the attack was not the works of “casual hackers or criminal gangs” and was highly calibrated.

Spending on animal culling said to be insignificant. The government takes it seriously when it comes to animal management measures with its spending amounting up to $800,000. Culling is often the last resort as it would normally increase the costs for AVA.

DBS and UOB are offering home loans with zero spread to compete for the chance to fund the purchase of a minimum of 1,225 homes in this year’s first two property launches. The special promo is based on an 18 and 36 months fixed deposit respectively.

Tech

Let’s not forgot Fintech for businesses. UOB has officially launched a virtual payment scheme for local businesses which works just like a credit card for businesses. This allows SMEs to better manage their cashflow as they get paid faster.

YouTube wants you to pay $35 every month for its premium content. The service will be on a separate, stand-alone app with “a bundle of channels from the broadcast networks and some cable networks”. We don’t remember Youtube Red being very successful but nonetheless, all the best Youtube.