Breakfast with Ryan Huang, Emaad Akhtar and Audrey Siek

From stronger job support to more training opportunities, a slew of measures aimed at empowering workers at every stage of life with lifelong learning and career support were announced at Singapore’s Budget 2025. For example, mid-career workers (40 & above) who enroll in part-time training from early 2026, can receive a $300 monthly training allowance under the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme. For lower-wage workers (30 & above), the Workfare Skills Support scheme will also be enhanced, offering a training allowance of up to 50 per cent of their average monthly income for full-time training, and $300 per month for part-time courses. But, the one lingering question on many people’s minds - will I earn more after upskilling? On this episode of Morning Shot, Walter Theseira, Associate Professor, Economics Programme, Singapore University of Social Sciences shares his insights. Presented by: Audrey Siek & Emaad AkhtarProduced by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)Photo credits: Lim Yaohui / STSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michele Schneider, Chief Strategist at the MarketGauge Group shares her insights on how the major averages are moving, the latest on consumer index signalling some sluggishness, price movements that investors should be looking out for coming on the back of tariffs and where the pain points might be. She also weighs in on why IBM and Adobe are on her current stock shopping list. Presented by: Ryan HuangProduced by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)Photo credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mak Yuen Teen, Professor (Practice) of Accounting & Director at the Centre for Investor Protection, NUS Business School, National University of Singapore discusses his inaugural study reveal many gaps in the whistleblowing policies, raising concerns about their overall effectiveness in ensuring good corporate governance. He also shares how City Developments and SingPost stack up in the scoring, amid their recent respective dramas raising questions over corporate governance. Produced/Presented: Ryan HuangSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From planning a holiday itinerary to cooking up a recipe in seconds, it is fascinating how AI chatbots are changing the way we interact and consume information in this day and age. But beyond addressing the questions of the everyday man on the street, can AI chatbots empower companies to grow their business? Jingjing Zhong, Co-founder of Superbench joins the Breakfast Show to discuss how her proprietary AI model is revolutionizing how the businesses in the services landscape operate and the role of automation in empowering SMEs today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The world is keeping its eyes peeled as top lawmakers gather in Beijing to decide the policy direction during China’s annual parliamentary meetings this week. In the lead-up to the official opening of the “two sessions”, a new wave of optimism was sweeping through the world’s second-largest economy. Following last year’s market gloom, when stagnation seemed to be China’s inevitable future and international capital favouring other Asian markets such as India and Japan, analysts are now closely watching to see China’s next steps as it tries to reinvigorate the economy and China’s place in the global tech race. This comes as China swiftly retaliated against fresh US tariffs - a range of American agricultural and food products will face between 10 to 15 per cent hikes in import levies. On this episode of Morning Shot, Dr Chong Ja Ian, Associate Professor from the Department of Political Science at the NUS Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences shares his insights.  Presented by: Audrey Siek Produced by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)Photo credits: Chinese leader Xi Jinping, center, at a meeting in Beijing's Great Hall of the People during China's annual two sessions political gathering last March. Ju Peng/Xinhua/Getty ImagesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People are spending more than ever here in Singapore and it shows in the financial report of South-East Asia’s biggest e-commerce company! From a growth-at-all-costs company to one achieving profitable growth across all business segments, parent company Sea’s transformative story is nothing short of remarkable. Join Dan Koh and Emaad Akhtar as they browse through Sea’s latest report card to find out what’s fueling their exceptional growth in the recent quarter, what 2025 holds for them, and what the abbreviation S-e-a stands for.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’re you having for lunch? What’re you wearing to work today? Should you take the MRT, or get a car? We make quite a lot of choices everyday. So you may not be as surprised by this stat: but according to researchers, the average adult makes about 35,000 decisions a day. And that’s just the remotely conscious ones!  There’s a name to that feeling… It is choice overload or decision paralysis. Are you falling prey to too many choices? What does that do for your well being? Audrey and Emaad chat about the effects of choice overload, and how people choose to overcome it.   Presented by Audrey Siek & Emaad Akhtar Produced and edited by Audrey Siek Photo and music credits: Pixabay & its talented community of contributorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sonu Varghese, Vice President & Global Macro Strategist at the Carson Group shares his insights on the headwind of tariffs and uncertainty related to even more tariffs down the line, potential safe haven sectors, whether tariffs might derail the tentative rebound in US manufacturing and what the market's next concern might be. Presented by: Emaad AkhtarProduced by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg)Photo credits: NYSESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does a fractured world look like? That’s one of the economic scenarios painted by Oxford Economics in its latest study as it looks into the crystal ball for Key trends Shaping the Future. Innes McFee, Managing Director of Macro and Investor Services at Oxford Economics, discusses how these scenarios help businesses understand how they are affected by the long-term effects of key structural megatrends. Produced/Presented: Ryan HuangSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They say, the only constant is change. That might be true in some cases for businesses looking to radically improve their future prospects while reducing financial and operational risks. But did you know that according to a study by CB insights, approximately 10 percent of failed startup entrepreneurs surveyed attributed their failure at least partially to a "pivot gone bad"? Hazel Yap, Chief Operating Officer, Serious Media joins the Breakfast Show to discuss when a business is necessary, the right approach to take, and how she advanced from completing one campaign to successfully executing over 150 influencer campaigns. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.