From electric (car) dreams to reality

Published Thu, Feb 20, 2020 · 09:50 PM

IN ONE bold sweep, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat painted a progressive picture of the future for cars in Singapore. By 2040, our cars will all be electric, as cars with internal combustion engines will be "phased out", Mr Heng announced in the Budget 2020. In Brunch this Saturday in The Business Times Weekend, we look at how that singular vision might play out for the car industry and for consumers.

As businesses reach out to increasingly distracted customers amid the deluge of data, the need to listen to the customer - and for signals - becomes key in marketing. IBM Chief Marketing Officer Michelle Peluso shares why companies need to tell stories that matter, in The Raffles Conversation.

In sickness and in health, should your investing behaviour or style change? How does a global health emergency affect investors? This Time Is Different sets out a framework for investing in the current climate, with the coronavirus scare still firmly in our sights.

Research has shown that companies with higher women-in-leadership (WIL) metrics outperform on a range of financial and share price criteria. And a look at allocations of gender lens investors, who choose stocks based on performance in gender-based metrics, points to funds favouring the financial sector. Yet financial institutions are far from the paragons of pay parity or women's progress in leadership. CFA Singapore Insights minds the gap.

It's Bourbon Month at La Maison du Whisky. And the purveyor of fine whiskies is ready to challenge the notion that great spirits should only be drunk neat or on ice. Barfly is ready to put LMDW's range of bourbons to the test.

And in our Health page, a doctor explains the "cytokine storm" that is Covid-19, and what Singaporeans need to know so they can help themselves during these trying circumstances.