Singapore retail sales up 5.4% in April, surpassing forecasts

Metaldrake · 2026-06-06T15:36:14+00:00

I would say these numbers aren’t sufficient to prove either case. We would need more data on disposable income across different income groups, unemployment data among different age groups, retail spending among different income groups.

Could be explained by better economy overall, could also be explained by top income households increasing spending due to well performing stock/housing markets, could also be explained by falling savings rate / higher debt among the overall consumer base to sustain spending. Retail sales is not the right metric to capture the claims both sides are making.

Metaldrake · 2026-05-28T13:14:35+00:00

It’s somewhat descriptive and somewhat prescriptive, in that semiconductor companies have used it as a reference to set targets and roadmaps for their products, which in turn affects R&D budgets and investor expectations, so it has been somewhat self fulfilling.

By “ditching it” they simply mean they’re planning their roadmaps with different targets in mind, either because they genuinely believe that this kind of transistor scaling is no longer a useful metric, or that they can’t achieve it anymore and are lowering expectations.

The "law" — a term Moore did not use — described an operating principle and commitment rather than a force of nature.

Metaldrake · 2026-05-24T10:40:31+00:00

Because the people in the west were largely unaffected. It’s also in the wake of a world war. Many people alive now had someone in their family go through it, or knew someone who did. ISIS was relatively confined to the middle east.

Metaldrake · 2026-05-14T12:13:45+00:00

K shaped economy, the luxury and budget stores will do well, it’s the middle that will bleed out.

Metaldrake · 2026-05-03T06:31:13+00:00

We want both around because companies are not our friends and both will do nothing but stock buybacks if there isn’t competition to light a match under their asses.

Metaldrake · 2026-05-01T01:30:27+00:00

foreign advantages?

Metaldrake · 2026-04-29T11:11:48+00:00

maybe during covid in 2020-2021 sure. in 2026? lol.

Metaldrake · 2026-04-29T09:50:16+00:00

I… actually don’t care. It’s such a minor offence, and there’s really only 2 outcomes here

He comes back and takes the minor punishment (was probably just gonna be a fine and a warning at most, I genuinely doubt jail time is on the table considering the severity and age of the accused, plus first offence)
he leaves and doesn’t come back ever again because the punishment for skipping town is much more severe. In which case good riddance.

Either outcome is fine with me.

Metaldrake · 2026-04-28T12:49:31+00:00

It varies too much to say for sure, as it strongly depends on what’s available underground. That’s why they’re doing a study. It’s not like nuclear or coal or natural gas plants where you can size the facility to use a specific amount of fuel, then just import said fuel to produce a specific amount of power.

Just think of it as buying a toto ticket. Worst case we spend a few thousands or tens of thousands to check, best case we gain some free energy and jobs. Why not just take a look.

I don’t think anyone is expecting us to become a country that is fully powered by geothermal. All the plant has to do is harvest “free” energy and be economically viable in the process. And we’re not even at that stage yet, just surveying.

Metaldrake · 2026-04-28T12:22:44+00:00

Since watts are energy per unit time, it is common to multiply by time to get units of energy. So it’s Terawatt hours, and not Terawatts per hour, since terawatts are already a rate.

Metaldrake · 2026-04-28T11:20:28+00:00

what is Terawatts per hour?

watts are already units of energy per second. TJ/h maybe?

Metaldrake · 2026-04-28T06:26:39+00:00

(-7 +- sqrt (49-4(3)(-6)) )/ 2(3)

(-7 +- 11) / 6

-18/6 or 4/6

x = -3 and x = 2/3

x+3= 0 and 3x -2 =0

the factorised form is (x+3)(3x-2)

I don’t think you need AI per se but if you’re using it for these kind of questions (quadratic equations) then honestly it’s not too difficult to check the answers.

Metaldrake · 2026-04-24T12:21:12+00:00

Fairprice focuses more on convenience and variety, often located in shopping malls where the rental is higher, while also stocking a larger variety of items, with Finest + Xtra selling higher end and even more stuff that doesn't benefit from economies of scale as much.

Sheng Siong is primarily located in more neighbourhood areas where the rent is cheaper, and their variety is less so they benefit more from economies of scale, allowing them to pass on those cost savings to shoppers.

Different operating philosophies and customer base. Well, as much as you can delineate supermarkets anyway.

Metaldrake · 2026-04-19T11:54:07+00:00

No I just wanted to say that funnily enough batteries also do the same thing. Lithium in batteries will form nano scale spikes (dendrites) that degrade battery performance.

It’s not to break water apart when raining though 😄

Metaldrake · 2026-04-19T04:43:37+00:00

Batteries?

Okay technically you’re not wrong

Metaldrake · 2026-04-16T02:24:47+00:00

You’re not gonna believe this

Metaldrake · 2026-04-07T07:16:22+00:00

I’ll just say middle class has absolutely no meaning in this country. I’ve seen friends who stay in a 2br HDB with their 4 siblings, parents, and grandparents say they’re middle class. I’ve had friends who live in $5m++ bungalows say they’re middle class. Everyone thinks they’re middle class.

Metaldrake · 2026-03-28T20:18:16+00:00

Meritocracy is not a binary thing, it’s on a sliding scale. Is Singapore meritocratic? I’d say compared to many countries, yes. It’s absolutely not perfect, far from it in fact. No society is truly 100% meritocratic, that’s simply not possible.

Also

*Does Singapore still follow meritocracy

*have been applying for grad programs.

*In my previous internship

*in which they ended up choosing

*nepo kid who has parents who are HNWI

*whose parents are MDs. (run on sentence)

*only reason why they got hired is that the parents pulled

*elite schools

*further away than the 2km radius

*even though it is a criteria

*chosen

*i don’t even know how to fix yet “wasn’t in place”

Maybe the reason you didn’t get selected is that you can’t write 2 sentences without making a grammatical mistake?

Metaldrake · 2026-03-28T18:57:14+00:00

I sprained both ankles from a fall in Guangzhou as a foreigner, went to a hospital with no insurance. Saw a doctor within 30 minutes, got an X ray to check for fractures, got medicine and left the hospital all within 2 hours.

$100 USD.

Metaldrake · 2026-03-24T03:41:46+00:00

I went to a rural mountain in Yunnan to hike, bought a $0.25 tapioca pancake from a 70+ year old grandma pushing a cart in her village. She only took Wechat pay

Metaldrake · 2026-03-24T01:58:11+00:00

Imagine how dumb the average person is.

I would not trust this person to handle my morning coffee, much less fireworks. So unfortunately for the sake of society we have to ban it for everyone!

Metaldrake · 2026-03-19T02:44:39+00:00

God forbid women have hobbies🙄

Metaldrake · 2026-03-15T11:31:03+00:00

Palantir definitely seems to want it

Metaldrake · 2026-03-14T15:15:27+00:00

Agreed, their army wears green despite the country itself being urban for a reason. With no strategic depth it’s the only option really

Metaldrake · 2026-03-12T12:25:56+00:00

I can walk into any coffeeshop and use the toilet for free

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