Singapore Retail Traders Shun Stocks at Home for Buzzy US Market
Kelvin Tan began investing online in 2018, and like many Singaporeans, put all of his money into local stocks. Two years later, he had switched entirely into US equities.
'The US market was going very high — individual stocks were just flying up,' said Tan, a 38-year-old content creator who trades on Interactive Brokers. 'I realized Singapore stocks' returns were not as good.'
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11 hours ago
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‘Consultants' luring debtors to borrow more to exploit government bankruptcy avoidance scheme
SINGAPORE – TikTokers advertising themselves as debt consultants are charging debtors thousands of dollars to exploit a government bankruptcy avoidance scheme. Checks by The Straits Times showed that there are at least a dozen such consultants on the social media platform. One consultant said that for a fee, he can guide debtors through the Debt Repayment Scheme (DRS) to help them secure a discount on their debt. He said he had helped a client clear a debt of more than $100,000 with a repayment of only one-third of what he owed, or $35,000. 'That's $65,000 savings, no shiok meh? (sic),' the man added. ST understands such firms charge debtors between $1,000 and $5,000 for their services. Credit Counselling Singapore (CCS), a non-profit organisation and registered charity, said it has seen a number of debtors falling prey to exploitative debt consultancy firms. CCS general manager Tan Huey Min said it had a debtor who approached the organisation after he paid a consultancy firm in hopes of getting on the DRS. The man had debts of more than $150,000, above the threshold for the bankruptcy avoidance scheme. Ms Tan said that when the debtor was deemed ineligible for the scheme, the debt consultancy firm did nothing to help him. 'When these debtors go to some of these firms, they are told they have to first fork out several thousand for their services. 'They already have no money, where do you expect them to find a few thousand?' she said. 'What some of them have done is unethical, because they call themselves a consultancy firm, but they don't provide comprehensive information even though they claim to be professionals. 'Then you tell people about the DRS to lure them and get them to borrow even more money to pay you, encouraging them to be irresponsible. It is not right,' she added. The DRS is a pre-bankruptcy programme administered by the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) that the Government introduced in 2009. The voluntary scheme aims to help working debtors avoid bankruptcy, and help creditors get higher repayments than they would otherwise receive in the event of insolvency. Under the DRS, debtors with unsecured debts not exceeding $150,000 can enter a debt repayment plan of not more than five years and avoid bankruptcy. The structured repayment plan is under the supervision of an Official Assignee (OA), an officer of the court appointed by the Law Minister. When the debtor meets his financial obligations under the DRS, he will be released from his debts. MinLaw said on June 10 that it has noticed an increasing number of debtors engaging the services of consultancy firms that encourage debtors to self-petition for bankruptcy with the objective of being placed on the DRS. The ministry said this puts the debtor at risk of being pushed further into debt or being declared bankrupt, as they are not guaranteed to be eligible for the DRS. MinLaw data showed that 2,928 bankruptcy applications were filed by debtors in 2024. That represents 59 per cent of all applications made that year. It was the fifth consecutive year since 2020 that the number of self-filed applications was higher than applications by creditors. The firms are also encouraging debtors to borrow even more money from creditors to pay for their services, causing them to rack up more debt, MinLaw said. The ministry is proposing to make it an offence for debt consultancy firms to solicit for clients to file for bankruptcy, among other proposals. Ms Tan noted that the MinLaw proposal would exempt professionals like lawyers and accountants and charities like CCS. This is because such entities are regulated. 'Debt consultancy firms are not regulated. They are profit-making (organisations), and may not be thinking about the best interests of debtors,' said Ms Tan. 'The DRS is meant for genuine debtors who are sincere but unable to make payments under their creditors' existing terms and conditions. It is not meant to be abused to circumvent making full repayment of debts.' Lawyer Tris Xavier, an associate director at Yuen Law, said there have been cases of debt consultancy firms filing proofs of debt against their own clients to claim money owed to them by these debtors. He said: 'We have seen some cases where the debt consultancy firms in question filed proofs of debt against the debtor, which dilutes the repayment to other legitimate creditors.' Mr Xavier said debtors do not receive proper advice from some debt consultancy firms. He added: 'There is a risk that the debtor might end up in bankruptcy. Individuals may also fail out of the DRS if they do not make regular payments, and might end up in bankruptcy anyway.' Debtors who file for bankruptcy on their own in the High Court have to pay $1,850 as a deposit. This will not be refunded if the application is successful. The High Court will then determine if these individuals should be referred to the OA, to be assessed for their suitability for the DRS. Debtors referred for the DRS have to pay preliminary fees of $600 for assessment and administrative costs. The consultants on TikTok falsely claim that a debtor can apply for the DRS 'to solve all the issues', with one even claiming the scheme could help settle their debts 'three times faster and save thousands of dollars'. Another claims '100% approval during application'. On its website, MinLaw says it is not possible to directly sign up or apply for the DRS. ST reached out to three debt consultancy firms, which said they are supportive of MinLaw's proposals but argued against a blanket rule for the industry. A spokesman for Viv Associates said: 'We do hope MinLaw will consider making room for selected debt consultancy firms, those with a strong compliance history and client care infrastructure, to be exempted from the blanket restriction. Ultimately, this is about protecting the public and preserving access to quality guidance. We believe that balance is possible and necessary.' Two of the firms contacted said that debtors are free to go ahead and file the paperwork themselves if they so wish. A spokesman for EDUdebt said: 'Our services exist for debtors who prefer professional support with their DRS documentation. We offer full transparency – and our fees only apply after the debtor independently decides to file for bankruptcy and is considered for DRS by the court.' Aside from making it unlawful for debt consultancy firms to solicit for business in such a manner, MinLaw is also making two other proposals. These are to add a new ground of failure for individuals who incur debts with no reasonable ground of expectation of being able to pay, and to impose a four-week time limit for creditors to file their proofs of debt under the DRS. Members of the public are invited to provide their feedback on the proposed key amendments after viewing the full consultation paper at Those who wish to submit their views and feedback may do so by June 27 at Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction Discover how to enjoy other premium articles here
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19 hours ago
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College Dropout Entrepreneur Boasts That Peter Thiel's Book Is "Probably the Best Book I've Read, and I've Only Read a Few Pages"
Ever since college dropouts Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak began pedaling the romantic tale of founding Apple in Jobs' parents' Los Altos garage, college-age tech bros have longed to follow in their footsteps. But there's just one tiny thorn: the "founder's story" of late-night struggles and coffee-fueled breadboarding is mostly a capitalist fairy tale. Still, it's a mythos tech billionaire overlord Peter Thiel is all too eager to stoke. His empire is built on image — even the stereotypical "evil mastermind" vibe is a carefully groomed persona — which he disseminates across Silicon Valley hopefuls via the almighty Thiel Fellowship. Each year, Thiel selects up to 20 "Thiel fellows" to each receive $200,000 and drop out of college in order to pursuit a tech startup. Though some come straight out of high school, many Thiel fellows historically come from Ivy league schools, which isn't exactly the kind of background that screams "all or nothing." Thanks to Thiel's massive profile and political influence, a number of Thiel fellows have watched their startups soar to billion dollar valuations. Though tech hopefuls are said to have just .01 percent of a chance to snag a Thiel Fellowship, that isn't stopping scores of wannabe founders from dropping out of college anyway. In a profile of the growing anti-college movement festering in Silicon Valley, Business Insider's Julia Hornstein sat down with a number of young dropouts to figure out just what the hell is going on. Sebastian Tan, one of over 500 students who applied for an internship at Thiel's surveillance and spying company Palantir, dreamed of being an entrepreneur. The billionaire's book, "Zero to One," is basically a tech monopolists' manifesto, and "probably the best book I've read," according to Tan, along with a laughable addendum that underscores exactly how undercooked his worldview is: "And I've only read a few pages." In April, Hornstein writes, Tan got the offer from Palantir, which he accepted, deferring his undergraduate degree until 2026. "In college, you don't learn the building skills that you need for a startup," he confidently declared. Tan's is an interesting story, especially for his early success — but he's far from alone. In 2022, there were 2.1 million college dropouts in the US. According to a World Economic Forum survey in that same year, 28 percent of dropouts did so to start a business. That's a lot of startups. But while the country's tech bros might be agog at the idea of dropping out, the reality is that very few startups succeed without advanced degree holders, let alone people who've completed undergraduate programs. Recent research found that 56 percent of startup executives hold a graduate degree, while the average age of a successful startup founder is 45. The trouble here isn't necessarily that it's "college or nothing," but rather the values, methods, and myths that startups engender — like that regulation stifles innovation, or that Silicon Valley startups exist separate of the massive economic inequality we see in the world today (on the contrary, startups have been key players in building that world.) With the kind of failure rate startups engender, there'll inevitably be a flood of unskilled, untrained labor trickling back into the economy — the kind of people who've been trained to think of themselves as "high agency individuals." That's something Arbaaz Mahmood, a would-be physicist who skipped college to do a startup developing an "AI tool for car dealerships," seems to at least acknowledge. "Honestly, nobody goes to college thinking they're going to change the world," he tells BI. "That's a vacuous lie we tell VCs to get their money. Nobody builds startups to change the world. It's just bullshit." When it comes to startups, Benjamin Shestakofsky, author of "Behind the Startup," summarizes it well: "Our relationship with technology is socially constructed. Yes, we do make choices as individuals, but our choices are embedded in broader structures that create different sorts of opportunities and constraints for us." More on startups: Columbia Student Kicked Out for Creating AI to Cheat, Raises Millions to Turn It Into a Startup
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Is Intel the Turnaround Stock of 2025 and a Buy Now?
Intel Corporation INTC stock plunged 70% post chip foundry venture, yet Lip-Bu Tan's appointment as new CEO and recent 10% stock rise hint at a potential turnaround. Is it a good buy now? Let's see. Both Intel and NVIDIA Corporation NVDA produce graphics processing units (GPUs) that are essential for modern computing, including machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). However, NVIDIA's CUDA software and Blackwell chips are highly sought after by developers and customers. The superior products from NVIDIA have allowed the company to secure a substantial share in most major AI segments, including data centers (read more: Is NVIDIA's Rise in Value a Sign to Invest in NVDA Stock?). Of course, it's challenging for Intel to compete with NVIDIA, but the former has more room to grow with a market capitalization of under $100 billion compared to NVIDIA's $3 trillion plus. Moreover, Intel's affordable AI accelerators can rival NVIDIA's. Intel is spending billions of dollars on enhancing its AI capabilities and may enter the market with energy-efficient chips. In the last two years, Intel has spent over $50 billion on upgrading its chip-manufacturing facilities. Such staggering infrastructure costs have made investors nervous due to the unprofitable foundry business. Intel's foundry business continues to face tough competition from the likes of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited TSM, or TSMC, and Samsung. However, TSMC and Samsung located in Southeast Asia, have manufacturing centers in China. The ongoing trade tensions between the United States and China could disrupt their business. In contrast, Intel's chip-making hubs are primarily in the United States, allowing domestic semiconductor companies to send chip orders to these facilities and bypass trade restrictions. Despite losing the top semiconductor title, Intel generated revenues of $12.7 billion in the first quarter of 2025, outpacing arch-rival Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.'s AMD $7.4 billion. This serves as a clear indication that Intel is making strides in the semiconductor industry and is well-positioned for a comeback. Last but not least, Lip-Bu Tan's appointment as the CEO of Intel has been well-received by market pundits, as his stint in the semiconductor industry has been productive. Tan's initiatives to streamline operations, deliver a competitive AI platform, and spin-off assets would restore stability at Intel and help the company return to its past glory. With Lip-Bu Tan leading Intel's foundry recovery and AI accelerators gaining ground among competitors through cost advantages, holding onto INTC stock seems judicious. Intel's business revival is becoming more probable, and brokers are showing optimism by increasing the short-term price target for INTC to $22.42 (up 9.5%) from $20.48. The highest target is $62, indicating a potential 202.7% upside. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research However, Intel's net profit margin is negative at 36.2%, while the Semiconductor - General industries have a margin of 49.5%, suggesting financial instability due to expenses surpassing revenues. Therefore, new entrants, for now, should wait for improved financials before considering INTC stock. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Intel has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Intel Corporation (INTC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) : Free Stock Analysis Report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (TSM) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
