CNA938 Rewind - From waste to worth: Are more Singaporeans going for ugly food?
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Independent Singapore
42 minutes ago
- Independent Singapore
'I don't know how to help anymore': Woman opens up about nearly three years of job hunt support and financial aid for best friend
SINGAPORE: After nearly three years of helping her best friend with both money and job hunting, a woman shared on Reddit that she's now unsure how to support her any further. Opening up on the r/askSingapore forum on Saturday (Aug 9), the woman explained that when her best friend lost her job, she stepped in to help. She assisted with the job search, went through her resume to improve it, and even offered to speak to her own bosses to see if there were any suitable openings. Working in the public sector herself, she also encouraged her best friend to take advantage of government initiatives like SkillsFuture and e2i. Unfortunately, despite her efforts, nothing worked out. Her best friend also brushed off her suggestion about taking steps to upgrade her skills, choosing instead to 'complain about how tough the job market is' and 'blame the companies who didn't hire her.' She also noticed that in nearly three years of unemployment, her best friend had only submitted about '100 applications and attended 10 interviews.' Over time, another issue began to weigh on her. The woman revealed that she, along with two other close friends, has been quietly covering her best friend's expenses whenever they go out. 'When we go out, my best friend rarely pays for anything. In the beginning, she would still insist on paying her share, but we would always convince her to let us cover it.' 'After a while, she stopped offering altogether. When we travelled together last year, we paid for her hotel, transport, and meals too,' she wrote, adding that while these gestures were meant to help, they have now become an unspoken expectation. The woman admitted she is beginning to question whether her friend is genuinely putting in the effort to find work or is simply in denial about her situation. 'It's really sad to see her like this. I honestly don't know how to help anymore. She still hasn't found a job, and I know it's affecting her relationships with her family and boyfriend, too. Sometimes I wonder if we should continue supporting her financially, but it feels weird to just stop now,' she wrote. The woman also mentioned that when she brought up the financial issue with her close friends, they agreed that it had indeed 'become a problem.' However, none of them had the heart to confront her. 'When I brought this up with my close friends, they agreed it's a problem, but none of us really feel comfortable talking about it. Honestly, I feel conflicted and feel like a bad friend for posting this.' See also MOM reports decrease in retrenchments, growth in employment for Q3 Seeking advice, she asked the Reddit community, 'How do I help my best friend?? Despite what's happened in the past few years, she's been a really dear friend and has helped me through some difficult heartbreaks.' 'Willingness to change has to come from her.' In the comments, many Singaporean Redditors praised the woman for being such a caring and supportive friend, saying it's rare for someone to stick by another through years of unemployment. At the same time, they cautioned her about the risks of helping too much for too long, pointing out that it could eventually hurt her own finances, mental health, and even the friendship itself. Several suggested that she set clear boundaries and have an open, honest talk with her friend about the situation, even if it feels awkward. One Redditor wrote, 'I suggest you sit her down and give it to her straight – let her know it's not sustainable for y'all to be paying for her and that she needs to woman up and change her mindset or upskill. Sounds harsh but I believe that you have to be honest, because if not, you'll enable this behaviour. If she's worth her salt as your friend, she'll eventually thank you.' Another commented, 'You and your friends have been enabling her lifestyle. Why? If y'all keep helping, your friend won't feel the need to change. The best thing y'all can do is cut her off financially ASAP. Once your friend realises that her lifestyle is no longer subsidised, she will look for opportunities to earn to upkeep the lifestyle.' A third remarked, 'Paying for her is supporting her bad behaviour. Tough love is needed, as others have said. Now it is like she is rewarded for being jobless. Willingness to change has to come from her.' In other news, a fresh graduate took to social media on Monday (Aug 4) to express his frustration with his job search, saying that many of the positions he is aiming for appear to have already been filled by foreigners In an anonymous post on the r/singaporeraw subreddit, he shared that he has followed the conventional path diligently. He enrolled in one of Singapore's top three universities, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), earned an engineering degree, did internships to build up experience, and graduated with Honours with Merit. Read more: 'Really buey tahan': NTU graduate says job opportunities are going to foreigners
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
Small to mid-cap stocks book highest net institutional inflows in Q3 2025
[SINGAPORE] In the first five weeks of the third quarter of 2025 till Aug 7, institutions net bought S$130 million worth of Singapore-listed stocks. More than 90 stocks with market capitalisations above S$1 billion accounted for S$95.4 million of this inflow, though that represented just 0.01 per cent of their combined S$845 billion market value. Meanwhile, stocks with market capitalisations below S$100 million had a combined net institutional outflow of S$7.7 million. Sitting between these two tranches of market capitalisation were 161 stocks, that span all sectors, with market capitalisations from S$100 million to S$1 billion and a combined value of S$54 billion. The segment of 161 stocks booked S$42.3 million in net institutional inflow, representing 0.08 per cent of its combined market capitalisation – eight times the net inflow rate of the large-cap group when adjusted for size. Just over a quarter of these 161 stocks belong to the industrials sector which booked the most net institutional inflow over the period, with the technology sector a close second. Frencken Group, CSE Global and Wee Hur Holdings booked the highest net institutional inflows among Singapore-listed stocks during the period. Proportional to the market capitalisation, CSE Global , and Frencken Group also led the highest net institutional inflows along with Envictus International . The table details the stocks with market capitalisations from S$100 million to S$1 billion that booked the highest net institutional inflow proportional to market capitalisation in the first five weeks of Q3 2025 till Aug 7. Envictus International Envictus International booked S$4.3 million of net institutional inflow, which represented 4.1 per cent of its S$105 million market capitalisation as at Aug 7. The stock has a 29 per cent return on equity and price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 7x. The established food and beverage group listed on Catalist in 2004, and upgraded to the mainboard in 2009. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up As reported on May 9, Envictus International recorded a net profit of RM16.1 million (S$4.87 million) for its H1 FY2025 (ended Mar 31), driven by 17.7 per cent revenue growth to RM369.8 million. This was led by strong gains in its food services division, particularly from Texas Chicken. Gross profit margin improved to 44.7 per cent, supported by broad-based sales growth, operational efficiency and market expansion across all divisions. On Jul 29, Venice Concepts entered into a sale and purchase agreement with JAG Capital Holdings to acquire 85,170,779 ordinary shares in Envictus International Holdings. This represented 28 per cent of the outstanding shares of the company. Venice Concepts is a wholly owned subsidiary of Paramount Corporation, listed on Bursa Malaysia. The acquisition supports Paramount Corporation's strategy to expand its footprint in the F&B sector. CSE Global CSE Global booked S$16.5 million of net institutional inflow, which represented 3.3 per cent of its S$497 million market capitalisation as at Aug 7. At the same time, the stock rallied 23 per cent, while analysts at UOB Kay Hian Research and Maybank Investment Banking Group increased their target price on the stock. The 23 per cent gain extended the rally from the end of May to 64 per cent as at Aug 7. The gains since end-May have lifted the P/E ratio of the leading systems integrator and global provider of electrification, communications and automation solutions from 11x to 17x. On Aug 6, CSE Global announced it had secured S$211.3 million in new orders for Q2 FY2025 (ended Jun 30), reflecting a 3.8 per cent increase from Q2 FY 2024 (or 7.8 per cent on a constant currency basis). The group highlighted that the electrification segment remained the largest contributor, mainly due to higher demand from the data centre market. This saw the group close H1 FY 2025 with an order book of S$573.8 million. On May 14, CSE Global reported its Q1 FY2025 revenue increased 4 per cent from Q1 FY2024 to S$205.5 million, primarily driven by the communications and automation segments in the Americas region. This follows its FY 2024 revenue reaching a new high of S$861.2 million, which was up 18.8 per cent from FY 2023, and mainly driven by the electrification and automation segments. CSE Global noted that electrification, communications and automation will remain its core business focus areas, while it continually expands its engineering capabilities and technology solutions to adapt to evolving market demands. The group also believes that the urbanisation, electrification, decarbonisation and artificial intelligence megatrends present significant growth opportunities. Frencken Group In the first five weeks of Q3 2025, Frencken Group booked S$20.3 million of net institutional inflow, which represented 2.8 per cent of its S$713 million market capitalisation as at Aug 7. Over the period, the share price of Frencken Group rallied 35 per cent, while analysts from DBS Group Research and CGS International and Maybank Investment Banking Group increased their target price on the stock. Phillip Capital also initiated coverage in July. The global technology solutions provider to leading multinationals across aerospace, life sciences, automotive, healthcare, industrial and semiconductor sectors will release its H1 FY2025 results (ended Jun 30) on Aug 14. On Jun 3, Frencken Group's subsidiary ETLA entered into a land lease agreement with JTC Corporation to develop a new manufacturing facility in Singapore, aimed at expanding and consolidating its mechatronics operations while enhancing capacity, efficiency and long-term growth potential. The group said that the new facility will boost productivity and expand capacity, particularly for larger cleanrooms, to support programme transfers from Europe and scale up its business with key wafer fabrication equipment customers. On May 20, Frencken Group reported that its Q1 FY2025 (ended Mar 31) revenue rose 11.5 per cent from Q1 FY2024 to S$215.8 million, driven by stronger contributions from its mechatronics division, while net profit grew 12 per cent to S$10 million on improved operating leverage and a higher gross margin of 14.8 per cent. The writer is the market strategist at Singapore Exchange (SGX). To read SGX's market research reports, visit
Independent Singapore
3 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
'No, Thanks' is sold out?: Redditor shares being unable to checkout at a McDonald's kiosk without buying a lunch bag
Photo: Canva Free Image Library SINGAPORE: A viral image circulating on Reddit and other social platforms has drawn attention to a strange—and unintentionally hilarious—checkout experience at a McDonald's self-service kiosk in Singapore. The image shows a promotional screen offering a $7.90 lunch bag add-on, with two options: 'Lunch Bag' and 'No, thanks!' But here's the kicker: the 'No, thanks' button is greyed out, with the message 'Sold Out' displayed in it. Photo: Reddit At first glance, it seems like a simple UI bug. But to anyone familiar with point-of-sale (POS) systems or e-commerce software, this isn't just a humorous design oversight but a glimpse into how digital infrastructure can affect consumer interaction in surprising ways. It also gave netizens plenty of meme fuel. 'You know the economy is bad when they run out of 'No, Thanks!' to sell lol,' one commented. Another joked: 'What the? It's sold out to NOT buy something now!' How does a 'No' get sold out? POS systems often treat all selections—whether they add a product or not—as part of a structured item inventory logic. Typically, promotional add-ons (like a lunch bag or a toy) are entered into the system as products with stock-keeping units (SKUs). In this case, the 'Yes' option clearly corresponds to an actual item with inventory. However, what likely happened is that the 'No, thanks' button was also mistakenly configured as an item with limited stock—probably as a dummy placeholder with an assigned quantity, say 9999 units. This would make sense from a backend perspective, where each option (even refusal) is logged as a selection to complete the flow. But once enough users choose 'No,' that quantity could tick down like a regular product. Eventually, the system thinks the 'No' inventory has been depleted—and thus greys it out like any out-of-stock item. As one Redditor speculated: 'Did they put 9999 qty for that item or something?' This isn't the first time digital menus have come under scrutiny. Whether it's unskippable upsell pop-ups, default tip suggestions, or greyed-out cancellation options, customers are becoming increasingly savvy to how interface design can be used to steer behaviour. () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
