DBS, OCBC, UOB lead losses; STI retreat close to plunge during US subprime mortgage crisis and Covid pandemic crash   The Straits Times index plummeted by 8.5%, falling below 3,500 with a drop of more than 325 points, on Monday morning. PHOTO: BT FILE [SINGAPORE] The sell-off continued as Asian markets tumbled on Monday (Apr 7) morning, following US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement last Wednesday. The Straits Times Index (STI) plummeted by 8.5 per cent, falling below 3,500 with a drop of more than 325 points. This marked the largest intraday decline since the STI crashed 8.9 per cent during the subprime mortgage crisis on Oct 24, 2008, and surpassed the 8.4 per cent tumble that the index took during the Covid pandemic-induced crash on Mar 23, 2020. In morning trading, DBS : D05 -10.05%was down more than 10.6 per cent, with OCBC : O39 -7.4%declining more than 7 per cent, while UOB : U11 -5.98%slid 8.8 per cent. Among the largest decliners were maritime stocks Seatrium : 5E2 -13.4%tumbling 10.3 per cent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding : BS6 -11.52% down 7.8 per cent, and Keppel : BN4 -10.84%falling 7.6 per cent. Meanwhile, local bourse SGX : S68 -10.14% fell by more than 7.7 per cent. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan fell about 8.6 per cent shortly after trading opened, following a 5.4 per cent drop last week in the two days following the announcement on Wednesday. The yen strengthened against the Singapore dollar by 2.3 per cent. In Australia, despite the country only being hit with 10 per cent baseline tariffs, the ASX 200 index slid more than 6 per cent in the morning. The Australian dollar plummeted to just 81 Singapore cents, a level that was last seen in April 2020 during the Covid pandemic-induced crash. South Korea saw the Kospi index retreat by up to 5.2 per cent, falling almost 100 points since closing on Friday. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slid more than 2,000 points in a 9.3 per cent decline. US stocks, which lost over US$5 trillion over two days last week, are likely to fall further, going by the latest performance of key index futures. Dow futures dropped more than 1,400 points, or 3.7 per cent, while S&P futures shed more than 4.8 per cent. The US dollar has strengthened more than 1 per cent against the Singapore dollar since Friday, last fetching S$1.3464 on Monday morning. Commodities including gold also took a beating.   Seismic shock Global markets and economies are still struggling to deal with the “seismic” tariff shock triggered last week, said DBS chief economist Taimur Baig in a report on Monday. “Despite the spate of announcements, there is still substantial fear that more measures are to come,” Baig said. “Perhaps more critical is the notion that nations trying to do a deal with the US will not be able to rest easy upon signing agreements, as no deal with US seems to be reliable any longer,” he noted. Trump’s announcement, which his administration had previously branded a “Liberation Day” for the US, slapped baseline tariffs of 10 per cent on all countries, and additional country-specific reciprocal tariffs on roughly 60 “worst offenders”. These include Cambodia with 49 per cent, Vietnam facing 46 per cent and Thailand with 36 per cent. The tariffs also included a 34 per cent reciprocal tariff imposed on China, prompting Beijing to respond with an identical tariff of 34 per cent on Friday. While Singapore has only been hit with the 10 per cent baseline tariffs, the Monetary Authority of Singapore is expected to ease its monetary policy during its upcoming policy review in April, said DBS economist Chua Han Teng. Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong told reporters on Thursday that Singapore’s official gross domestic product growth forecast may be downgraded from the current range of between 1 and 3 per cent, as the situation has “turned out to be worse” than expected when the projection was made. “Singapore’s deep integration in the global supply chain makes it vulnerable to a broader global trade and manufacturing slowdown,” said Chua. However, he noted that the negative impact on the country might be mitigated by the exemption of pharmaceutical and semiconductor products from the reciprocal tariffs.     https://www.facebook.com/thebusinesstimes/posts/969123045435724?  

picture is here.  https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/5517222/+60

Ex-student exposes alleged inappropriate relationship with primary school teacher when she was 12, MOE investigating Teacher-student romance exposed by woman, Ministry of Education investigating a 23-year-old woman has come forward with claims that when she was in primary school, she had a “teacher-student romance” with a female teacher that lasted for a year. She now feels that it was inappropriate and has decided to expose it to the Ministry of Education (MOE). MOE has intervened and stated that the involved female staff member is no longer employed at any school. Former student shares evidence of teacher-student romance Speaking to Shin Min Daily News (SMDN), the woman revealed that the relationship allegedly took place between 2014 and 2015, when she was a 12-year-old in Primary 6 and her teacher was 26 years old. She shared chat logs, handwritten cards, and photographs that she claims were from that time. The woman shared that she struggled with interacting with classmates back then, and the teacher’s particular attention towards her gradually brought them closer. “We would often text each other until 3am or 4am and gave each other nicknames. We would hold hands, and the teacher would my forehead, stroke my hair, and hug me.” According to the woman, their conversations included affectionate phrases like “I love you” and heart emojis. They would also exchange handmade gifts and cards. Student & teacher ‘break up’ after teacher gets married Things shifted when the teacher began dating a man and eventually got married in 2017. The entire class was reportedly invited to her wedding. After what the woman described as a “breakup”, the teacher allegedly grew distant, rarely replying to messages — except during significant life events like her divorce or relocation. She said the last time she saw the teacher was in June 2023, which reportedly didn’t clarify anything. Attempts to reconnect and get answers failed — the teacher either said she was too busy or did not reply. For the past 10 years, this “relationship” has left the woman feeling confused and frustrated, as she never understood the true reason for the “breakup” and has been afraid to start a new relationship. Teacher promoted to vice principal last year The woman only decided to report the incident after learning that the teacher had been promoted to vice principal last year. The promotion triggered what she described as a “sudden realisation” about the nature of their past relationship. She submitted new evidence to the authorities and reported the matter to MOE. In response to media queries, MOE confirmed it is re-examining the case in light of the new information. The ministry emphasised that the individual is no longer working at any school. MOE will also continue to stay in contact with the complainant. Woman suffering from depression for five years According to the woman, she has been struggling with depression for five years and has been on medication since 2020. Even after entering university, she said she often finds herself thinking about the teacher, unable to move on. “I find it difficult to start a new relationship. This is something both my future partner and I must learn to accept,” she said. “I am still living in her shadow, and I don’t know how to deal with these traumas.” The woman stressed that, as a minor at the time, she was not in a position to understand the nature of the relationship — but the teacher should have known better. She said she isn’t looking for a public apology. Rather, she hopes for a private conversation where the teacher can acknowledge what happened. “I hope the teacher can tell me if she has been as troubled by this matter as I have,” she said. Last October, the authorities had arranged for a meeting between the two parties. However, the woman said it was called off after the school principal asked to join in. https://mustsharenews.com/teacher-student-romance/

Cc did not mention race or religion. He only said those who want to help should fly over and don’t come back. This was in response to the fuckers who jammed up MPS.   In fact a lot of non Muslims also blindly show support for watermelons but only the Muslims took offence   Hope he sues them. Or he gets cancelled and pawned. I just eat popcorn watch them fight it out

Bbfa belly spotted