THE luxury demands of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) are increasingly expanding from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Gone are the days when HNWIs merely sought personal assistance in run-of-the-mill tasks, such as making restaurant reservations or arranging airport transfers.
Companies
IMITATION may be the best form of flattery, but for Singapore Airlines, it has turned out to be something of a nightmare. Faced with low cost upstarts on regional routes and competitors on long haul services - particularly deep-pocketed players from the Middle East, who have copied its model - the airline has seen its yields compressed and margins eroded in recent years.
Singapore
JOHN is attending a Chinese tuition lesson. He sees his classmates in front of him. His teacher is so close that it is almost as if she is speaking right into his ears. She then calls him up to write on the whiteboard.
Sports
NOT content with running Asia's top mixed martial arts (MMA) school, Chatri Sityodtong is betting big on the Internet to grow his Evolve brand across Asia and beyond.
World
AFTERSHOCKS from the tremors that rocked stock, bond and currency markets around the world on Thursday continued yesterday, especially in the epicentre of Japan, but there were few signs of the panic selling that sent Tokyo's Nikkei average crashing by 7.3 per cent and other markets tumbling sharply the previous day.
Perspective
I HAD learnt a lot from the International Monetary Fund's conference on rethinking macroeconomic policy held in mid-April and I'm very thankful to all the speakers. Do I have an image of the whole thing?
Week in Review / Week Ahead
MAPLETREE Investments, which recently announced a record net profit of $931.7 million for its latest financial year, is looking to ramp up its overseas business and potentially list a real estate investment trust (Reit) made up of office assets in Japan in two years.
From the Desk Of
MANY transport routes around the world have become congested. A rapidly growing urban city such as Singapore is no exception. As a major transshipment and logistics hub - and one that is always bustling with construction projects - freight transport is integral to the city-state, contributing much to the economy.
BT Living
FOR artist Sherman Ong, a visit to Java to find craftsmen who could teach him sculpting skills became the start of a vintage furniture business.
Motoring
THE glamour quotient gets amped up this weekend when the Formula One circus travels to Monaco to race on its tight and twisty streets. The tiny principality, which makes Singapore look like a continent, hosts a heritage race that every driver wants to win.
Travel
IF a food lover were to die and go to heaven - foodie heaven would probably look a lot like the Noosa Food and Wine festival.
Home & Garden
JUST how different is designing a condominium from a sports car? Little, it seems, according to Paolo Pininfarina, chairman of the Pininfarina Group.
Dining
THE times, they are a-changin'. Some people hoard vintage furniture in protest. Others scribble down their grandfather's recipes in remembrance of a fast-fading past.
BizIT
F5 Networks, which provides solutions that optimise delivery of network-based applications and security for servers and other network devices, is looking for a location...
SME Inc
ECONOMISTS traditionally assume that consumers' preferences are fixed and stable over time.
Executive Money
A LOOK at US equity ownership, investor sentiment and historical valuation reveals a compelling case for investors to have more exposure to stocks. Stocks are "under-...
Property
[NEW YORK] New media is replacing old in Times Square. Yahoo, the giant Web company that agreed on Sunday to buy Tumblr for US$1.1 billion, is moving its New York...
Raffles Conversation
IN 1998, British entrepreneur Peter Ogden - now Sir Peter; he was knighted by the Queen in 2005 - listed Computacenter, the computer services giant he had co-founded, on...
Views From the Top
How do you view Malaysia from a business viewpoint after the election? What opportunities do you see, and what risks?
