Wealth Wise - Family budgeting: Having a solid financial structure to stay debt-free
Wealth Wise
Managing a monthly family budget? What do you need to know to take better control of your finances and to stop you sinking into debt? Lance Alexander finds out from Assistant Professor Ruan Tian Yue, Department of Finance, NUS Business School.
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CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
BOJ to postpone rate hike to Q1 next year, tiny majority of economists say
TOKYO: The Bank of Japan will forego another interest rate hike this year due to uncertainty over US tariff policy, according to a slight majority of economists in a Reuters poll who expect the next 25-basis-point increase in early 2026. Japan's central bank will slow the pace of tapering its government bond purchases from next fiscal year, a majority also said, while three in four surveyed expect the government to cut down on issuance of super-long bonds. The latest results reflect policymakers' apprehension at a time when US President Donald Trump's erratic tariff policies are threatening the economic outlook and as investors are increasingly concerned about Japan's public finances. The BOJ is still pushing for tighter monetary conditions, contrasting with its peers tilting for rate cuts, with its governor Kazuo Ueda stressing the central bank's readiness to keep raising interest rates if underlying inflation approaches its 2 per cent target. "If trade negotiations between the United States and other countries progress, global economic activity is likely to pick up," said Takumi Tsunoda, senior economist at Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute. "The timing of policy interest rate hikes is now more likely to be delayed compared to previous projections, but the BOJ is expected to implement an additional rate hike in the first quarter of 2026." None of the 60 economists in the Jun 2-10 survey expected the BOJ to raise rates at its upcoming policy meeting on Jun 16-17. Specifically, 52 per cent of economists, 30 of 58, expected borrowing costs to stay at 0.50 per cent at year-end, the reverse of a poll in May when 52 per cent expected rates at 0.75 per cent by end-2025. Interest rate futures are only pricing in about 17 basis points more of tightening from the BOJ by year-end. More than three-quarters of respondents, 40 of 51, now expect at least one 25-basis-point increase by end-March, the poll showed. Of 35 economists who specified a month for when the BOJ will next hike rates, January 2025 was the top choice at 37 per cent, followed by 23 per cent for October this year and 9 per cent saying March 2025. The BOJ exited a massive stimulus programme in March last year and pushed up short-term interest rates to 0.25 per cent in July and 0.50 per cent in January. Just over half of respondents, 17 of 31, said the BOJ would decelerate its pace of tapering JGB purchases from the current roughly ¥400 billion per quarter beyond April next year. Of those respondents the quarterly taper size prediction ranged from ¥200 billion to ¥370 billion. The BOJ began tapering its huge bond buying last year to wean the economy off decades of massive stimulus even though it still owns roughly half of outstanding JGBs. Three-quarters of economists, 21 of 28, said the government would trim issuance of super-long bonds while the rest said the amount would not change. Yields on super-long JGBs rose to record levels last month due to dwindling demand from traditional buyers like life insurers and concern over steadily rising debt levels. Reuters reported on Monday the government is considering buying back some super-long bonds it issued at low interest rates on top of an expected government plan to trim issuance of super-long bonds in the wake of sharp rises in yields. Seventeen said the issuance of 30-year JGBs would be reduced, followed by 16 selecting 40-year and 10 choosing 20-year bonds. Survey respondents were allowed to give multiple responses. "With the auction results consistently weak, the finance ministry is facing strong pressure to reduce the amount of super-long JGBs issued from July onwards," said Kazutaka Maeda, economist at Meiji Yasuda Research Institute.
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
BOJ to postpone rate hike to Q1 next year, tiny majority of economists say: Reuters poll
TOKYO :The Bank of Japan will forego another interest rate hike this year due to uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy, according to a slight majority of economists in a Reuters poll who expect the next 25-basis-point increase in early 2026. Japan's central bank will slow the pace of tapering its government bond purchases from next fiscal year, a majority also said, while three in four surveyed expect the government to cut down on issuance of super-long bonds. The latest results reflect policymakers' apprehension at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump's erratic tariff policies are threatening the economic outlook and as investors are increasingly concerned about Japan's public finances. The BOJ is still pushing for tighter monetary conditions, contrasting with its peers tilting for rate cuts, with its governor Kazuo Ueda stressing the central bank's readiness to keep raising interest rates if underlying inflation approaches its 2 per cent target. "If trade negotiations between the United States and other countries progress, global economic activity is likely to pick up," said Takumi Tsunoda, senior economist at Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute. "The timing of policy interest rate hikes is now more likely to be delayed compared to previous projections, but the BOJ is expected to implement an additional rate hike in the first quarter of 2026." None of the 60 economists in the June 2-10 survey expected the BOJ to raise rates at its upcoming policy meeting on June 16-17. Specifically, 52 per cent of economists, 30 of 58, expected borrowing costs to stay at 0.50 per cent at year-end, the reverse of a poll in May when 52 per cent expected rates at 0.75 per cent by end-2025. Interest rate futures are only pricing in about 17 basis points more of tightening from the BOJ by year-end. More than three-quarters of respondents, 40 of 51, now expect at least one 25-basis-point increase by end-March, the poll showed. Of 35 economists who specified a month for when the BOJ will next hike rates, January 2025 was the top choice at 37 per cent, followed by 23 per cent for October this year and 9 per cent saying March 2025. The BOJ exited a massive stimulus programme in March last year and pushed up short-term interest rates to 0.25 per cent in July and 0.50 per cent in January. Just over half of respondents, 17 of 31, said the BOJ would decelerate its pace of tapering JGB purchases from the current roughly 400 billion yen per quarter beyond April next year. Of those respondents the quarterly taper size prediction ranged from 200 billion yen to 370 billion yen. The BOJ began tapering its huge bond buying last year to wean the economy off decades of massive stimulus even though it still owns roughly half of outstanding JGBs. Three-quarters of economists, 21 of 28, said the government would trim issuance of super-long bonds while the rest said the amount would not change. Yields on super-long JGBs rose to record levels last month due to dwindling demand from traditional buyers like life insurers and concern over steadily rising debt levels. Reuters reported on Monday the government is considering buying back some super-long bonds it issued at low interest rates on top of an expected government plan to trim issuance of super-long bonds in the wake of sharp rises in yields. Seventeen said the issuance of 30-year JGBs would be reduced, followed by 16 selecting 40-year and 10 choosing 20-year bonds. Survey respondents were allowed to give multiple responses. "With the auction results consistently weak, the finance ministry is facing strong pressure to reduce the amount of super-long JGBs issued from July onwards," said Kazutaka Maeda, economist at Meiji Yasuda Research Institute.
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
FAQ: What Jetstar Asia customers need to know about the airline's upcoming closure
SINGAPORE: With Jetstar Asia set to cease operations on Jul 31, what happens if you have a booking, a voucher or a membership? The Singapore-based budget airline, which is owned by Australia's Qantas, operates 16 intra-Asia routes that will be affected by the closure. What do I do if I have a booking to fly after Jul 31? The airline will contact you directly with the option of a full cash refund. It will reach customers through the email address provided when the booking was made. Customers who booked through a travel agent or another airline should contact them instead of Jetstar Asia. Some customers may be offered seats on an alternative flight offered by Qantas-owned airlines, depending on what is available. The company said customers with connecting flights to or from Australia, and those traveling between Singapore and Bali, Manila and Osaka may be offered alternative flights. The closure of Jetstar Asia does not affect flights operated by Jetstar Airways or Jetstar Japan. Jetstar Airways has flights between Australia and Southeast Asia. Jetstar Asia currently operates flights between Singapore and destinations in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, China, Sri Lanka, Japan and Australia. I have a Jetstar Asia flight before Jul 31. Will the flight still happen? That depends on whether the flight is affected by Jetstar Asia's "progressively reduced schedule" ahead of the closure. The airline will notify customers or their travel agents if the flight is affected by the closure. Those who have an active booking with Jetstar Asia can get the latest information through the airline's travel alert page. I don't want to take my Jetstar Asia flight anymore. Can I do that? The airline said it will offer "increased flexibility" for their customers before the closure. The latest schedule updates and travel advice will also be on Jetstar Asia's travel alert page. Can I get a refund for my Jetstar voucher? Yes, if you have a voucher related to Jetstar Asia travel. The airline will contact you in August to convert the voucher balance into a monetary refund. However, vouchers that expired before the closure announcement on Jun 11 are not eligible for refunds. If you used a voucher to make a booking within the last 18 months, the airline will automatically refund the amount to the card used for payment where possible. It will then inform you via email when the refund is completed. For all other bookings, the airline will contact customers with further instructions. "We will never ask you to provide us your credit card information," said Jetstar. If separate vouchers were issued for each passenger, the airline will email the person who made the booking to coordinate refunds for each voucher. Those who used vouchers for bookings through travel agents or third party sites will be contacted either by the airline or by the travel agent. I'm a Club Jetstar member. What happens to my membership? The membership will be cancelled, and the annual fee will be refunded for all Singapore-based Club Jetstar members. The refunds will be processed from August, and will be refunded to the card used to purchase the membership. If that is not possible, the airline will email you with further instructions. Memberships that expired before Jun 11 will not be refunded. I'm flying on a Jetstar Asia partner airline. Will the flight still happen? The partner airline will contact you about alternative arrangements if your flight will be affected, just as Jetstar will inform you if your Jetstar Asia flight is impacted. Partner airlines refer to airlines that Jetstar Asia works with. In such cases, customers book through Jetstar Asia but fly on a different airline. I booked my flight through a third-party website or travel agent. Who will contact me?
