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Time to be a wise and informed shopper |
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Written by Administrator
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Monday, 16 March 2009 10:48 |
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AN ALLOCATION of RM674mil has been set aside under the recent stimulus package to subsidise prices of necessities such as sugar, bread and wheat flour. I hope this truly benefits consumers. But seeing what the prices of necessities are today, there is much more that the Government needs to do to assist the poor and those with fixed incomes, though I am glad that the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister has done much to urge emporiums/supermarkets to come real with their retail prices. But I see some traders still have not reduced the prices of essential food items, as was expected after the drop in fuel prices. I also agree that consumers with a monthly income of, say, RM700 and below, be given cash to help them, as we did when fuel prices shot up. Some consumers are having a really hard time. They do not have enough cash to buy essentials. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 16 March 2009 10:50 |
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Action needed to avoid world water crisis, UN says |
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Written by Administrator
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Friday, 13 March 2009 14:29 |
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 UNITED NATIONS (March 12, 2009): The world needs to act urgently to avoid a global water crisis due to increased population, rising living standards, dietary changes and more biofuels production, the United Nations warned on Thursday. By 2030, nearly half of the world's people will be living in areas of acute water shortage, said a report jointly produced by more than two dozen U.N. bodies and issued ahead of a major conference on water to be held in Istanbul next week. |
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Last Updated on Friday, 13 March 2009 14:34 |
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In a Recession, the Consumer Is Queen |
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Written by Administrator
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Friday, 06 March 2009 09:24 |
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 By NANCY GIBBS Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009 The first clue came when I got my hair cut. The stylist offered not just the usual coffee or tea but a complimentary nail-polish change while I waited for my hair to dry. Maybe she hoped this little amenity would slow the growing inclination of women to stretch each haircut to last four months while nursing our hair back to whatever natural color we long ago forgot. Then there was the appliance salesman who offered to carry my bags as we toured the microwave aisle. When I called my husband to ask him to check some specs online, the salesman offered a pre-emptive discount, lest the surfing turn up the same model cheaper at Best Buy. That night, for the first time, I saw the Hyundai ad promising shoppers that if they buy a car and then lose their job in the next year, they can return it. (See 25 people to blame for the financial crisis.) |
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Last Updated on Friday, 06 March 2009 09:29 |
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Conspicuous Consumption, a Casualty of Recession |
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 10 March 2009 09:24 |
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Published: March 9, 2009 ATLANTA — It is a sign of the times when Sacha Taylor, a fixture on the charity circuit in this gala-happy city, digs out a 10-year-old dress to wear to a recent society party. Or when Jennifer Riley, a corporate lawyer, starts patronizing restaurants that take coupons. Or when Ethel Knox, the wife of a pediatrician, cleans out her home and her storage unit, gives away an old car to a needy friend and cancels the family Christmas. “I just feel so decadent with all the stuff I’ve got,” she explained. In just the seven months since the stock market crash, the recession has aimed its death ray not just at the credit market, the Dow and Detroit, but at the very ethos of conspicuous consumption. Even those who still have a regular income are reassessing their spending habits, perhaps for the long term. They are shopping their closets, downscaling their vacations and holding off on trading in their cars. If the race to have the latest fashions and gadgets was like an endless, ever-faster video game, then someone has pushed the reset button. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 10 March 2009 09:35 |
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TV for Babies: Does It Help or Hurt? |
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Written by Administrator
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Friday, 06 March 2009 09:14 |
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 By Alice Park Tuesday, Mar. 03, 2009 Early parenting choices are never clear-cut, and deciding whether to allow your infant to watch television or DVDs ranks as one of the more perplexing. Thanks to marketing claims for TV shows and DVDs created for babies, many parents believe that watching educational programming will stimulate infants' brains and actually promote learning. It's a seductive line of reasoning. Certainly, exposing a baby to brain-engaging DVDs will put him on an early path to becoming, well, a baby Einstein, right? Maybe not. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no television time for toddlers younger than 2, in large part because no studies have yet established that TV exposure improves babies' learning. Now a new study published in the current issue of Pediatrics confirms that position. (See the 100 best TV shows of all time.) |
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Last Updated on Friday, 06 March 2009 09:24 |
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