very day we open up the newspapers, we are hit by depressing news - what with retrenchments (DBS axes 900, NOL ships out 1000, Citigroup eliminates 52000 worldwide, etc) and pay cuts (Temasek staff and Cabinet ministers). Taken together, the “contributions” from DBS and NOL are close to surpassing the retrenchment figures for third quarter.

Something to take our minds off the economy’s downward spiral - consumers are not forgoing their favorite movies and the entertainment industry is alive and kicking. In fact, box-office records are falling like nine-pins.
The new Batman movie “The Dark Knight,” smashed the weekend record held by “Spider-Man 3″, achieving $155.3 million worth of ticket sales […]

In the recent survey of 2,300 Singaporeans conducted by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, it was found that 60 per cent among those earning under $1,000 gambled, up from 50 per cent in 2005.
Three-quarters of respondents started gambling as early as 24 or younger and most view gambling as a leisure activity. […]