with due respect to those that criticizing your homeland (sounds like no hope in your country) and with so much of ill feelings, has anyone of you in the process of giving up your nationality ? if yes, it is understood. If not, why then ? Perhaps mind to share ? Thanks.

Is Goldman Sachs Going Soft?
2013-10-29 21:22:12.264 GMT
By Matthew C. Klein

    Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg News reports that the life of a young investment banker may be getting a lot better, at least for those who work at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Instead of demanding 100-hour work weeks that include frequent all-nighters and weekends, the bank is now discouraging fresh college grads from coming into the office on Saturdays and Sundays and aiming to "give analysts more-predictable working hours."

    The simple explanation is that Goldman is trying to retain its best talent. Bloomberg News quotes Goldman's co-head of investment banking as saying that he wants "our analysts to be here for a career." Right now, top investment banks pay their young pups as much as $140,000 a year only to have the best of them leave for the sunlit uplands of private equity and hedge funds as soon as they start getting good at their jobs.

    Banks find this trade worthwhile because, as my colleague Matt Levine notes, they work their analysts like dogs. It does tend to encourage the most capable workers to leave as soon as possible, however. Those who remain, or those who join banks after business school as associates, may not be as talented.

    From this perspective, making life better for the best entry- level employees in exchange for decades of committed service would be a good example of Goldman's tendency to be "long-term greedy."

    Assuming the higher-ups actually enforce the new policy -- "Don't kill yourself working this weekend, but I still need that pitch book by Monday morning," says the managing director on a Friday afternoon before walking out the door -- it isn't clear whether the analysts would get paid as much under the new regime. Cutting hours by as much as half while keeping compensation constant would be a huge pay increase. Cutting both hours and pay (with lower bonuses), on the other hand, might be a clever way to help the bank adjust to coming structural changes in the market for big expensive deals.

    There is some evidence to suggest that this may be a consideration behind Goldman's push for fewer working hours.
Andrew Ross Sorkin's latest column describes the falling value and volume of global mergers and acquisitions. One possibility is that companies have finally realized that many mergers are a bad idea. After all, when academics studied more than 12,000 deals made by public companies from 1980 to 2001, they found that these deals ended up destroying a total of $218 billion of shareholder value. Most of that value was destroyed by the biggest combinations, which also happen to be the most profitable ones for investment bankers.

    This global trend might be affecting the section of Goldman's investment banking division that handles mergers and acquisitions. The financial advisory unit, which also advises companies on, among other things, divestitures and risk management, brought in less net revenue over the past four quarters than over any other comparable period since the recession ended.

    Investment banking as a whole has been sustained by a white hot debt underwriting business, although rising interest rates and an increasingly cautious Federal Reserve don't bode well for the future. Goldman has been cutting costs -- especially compensation -- just to prevent profits from shrinking. (The bulk of those cuts have probably been concentrated in Goldman's trading business, which is much larger than its advisory and underwriting businesses.)

    Paying workers less -- and cutting their hours -- would be a reasonable response to a world in which there is less work to be done.

(Matthew C. Klein is a writer for Bloomberg View. Follow him on Twitter.)

About that Chicken rice at Chatter Box. S$32 for chicken rice is a rip off no matter how good it is or if it is at a hotel. There are better things to eat for $32.

Even for the cheapest HDB's kopitiam you can get, I would say the material cost price is only 20 to 30 per cent of what you paying if you cook yourself at home. The 70 per cent you paying for the extra oil, salt and unknown chemicals. Only the rich and healthy can dine out everyday hehe.

I would see it as my health is more valuable than anything else money can buy. Strong believer of "you are what you eat", who knows what ingredients they are serving outside.

On weekdays, we probably spent around 2 hours preparing, cooking, eating and dish washing for 2/3 dishes and 1 soup. Money spent roughly about 300 for 2 person per month, 5 days per week. I don't know how much I need to earn to make spending 2 hours to cook more valuable than eating outside. 5 dollar per hour?

Waiting for the chicken soup to be done then have our 30 minutes dinner and 10 minutes to put all the plates in the dish washer and press a button. Those who have time or place to cook should try, its fun and worth it, plus next time the children no need grow up eating McD all the time.

taking taxi in sg is not bad. readily available, no need to pay for coe petrol erp etc etc. i am enjoying my time taking taxis -.-

prayer rooms in office? No. Never seen one. Space is a premium and they are not going to pay a premium so that a minority few can pray.
If yr a muslim and expect the same convenience or treatments u get in msia, you are in for a wake up call. Even halal food is hard to find (but not impossible unless its fast food). Mosque don't appear in every neighbourhood and taking time off for prayers on fri is frowned upon. And if you think the non muslims in msia are anti muslims wait till you hear what ordinary sgians say about muslims.

I'm a realist, but most importantly, I'm not a hypocrite.

Salary Increases: Likely to Be More of the Same in 2014
http://www.cfoinnovation.com/content/salar...-more-same-2014

What about Singapore? “Projected salary increases after inflation will amount to 1.8% in 2014,” reports Quane. “This is down from the 2.2% real wage increases that employees in Singapore are currently experiencing.” This number is based on ECA’s survey of 129 companies in the Lion City.

My cousin just manage to get an EP approved by MOM after appeal by his company (being rejected the first time.)
And he has >8 years working experience and earns >SGD6k p.m.
So you tell me easy or hard.

Singapore graduates gets $6k?
So high?

I thought its dependant on the number of years of experience, the sector and the position (whether management or not)

I quite sure degree holder in Singapore in the Manufacturing sector, <10 years experience and not in management postition for example, do not earn an average of SGD7k.

Hence, what I can brain is, I should include accomodation + living expenses into the salary that could be 5k~ SGD? And with the job being a contract position, I should increase it even further?

Just a question to all,
How does Johor weekend moving from Sat-Sun to Fri-Sat affect us who are working in Singapore?
In terms of traffic, lifestyle etc.?
Do you like it?

Hey all, need some guidance here since I got an offer to work in SG. Below is the details:

Basic Pay: SGD 10,000/month
Car allowance: SGD 1,000/month
CPF employer part: SGD 775/month
Sign on bonus: SGD 10,000 with one year bond.

Vs my current pay in Malaysia:
Basic Pay: RM 13,000/month
Bonus: 6 months for 2012.

The only downside about the SG offer is I will downgrade my job scope & title compare to my level in Malaysia.

1. What is the tax rate for my income in SG?
2. What is the average rental for a studio house in SG?
3. My office located at Newton road, where should I rent?

Thanks for the advice. At least help me in decision making. Anyone know where to rent if I want close to Newton Road?

Thanks! I am really hoping to get this job inSG. However I have heard that it is now a lot harder for foreigners to work there cuz of all the new regulations. There is also the quota system right? I am looking to do finance and entering in as a fresh grad. So i dont have to worry about levy but what about quota? Will have interview soon and knowing all these will help!

BTW, just asking around. Banking AVPs are equivalent to assistant manager isn't it?

I'm finally moving out of audit. *yay*