The Evening Runway with Hongbin Jeong and Chua Tian Tian

We're going to be talking all about K-POP today. Earlier this month, a company called Contents Technologies launched a new exchange traded fund focused on listed firms in Korea that benefits from the Kpop culture.  Companies include big names such as HYBE - the agency behind South Korean boy band phenomenon BTS, SM Entertainment - who’s managing Girls Generation and YG Entertainment which is behind girl group BlackPink. But how do entertainment businesses work in the first place? What are the sunk costs involved and how do they ensure stable cash flow? On Market View, Prime Time's finance presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke with Alan Chan, Chief Executive Officer, iGet Entertainment International. He’s the man that launched the first Singapore-Korean Kpop Group SKarf back in 2012 and has over a decade of experience in the Kpop industry.

Phase two of the Cross Island MRT line will comprise six stations from Turf City to Jurong Lake District. CRL phase two is slated to open by 2032, with construction works expected to begin in 2023. In The Straits Times’ The Big Story, Multimedia journalist Hairianto Dirman speaks with Senior transport correspondent Christopher Tan for more on these developments. 

How can investors prepare their portfolios for a recession? Prime Time's Bharati Jagdish speaks with William Lim, Financial Services Manager, PhillipCapital for the implications of a recession for retail investors, the challenges and risks that a recession may pose to investors, as well as how financial institutions can help investors safeguard their investments.

After days of lying-in-state, the body of the late Queen Elizabeth II has started its final journey on Monday, as part of a grand state funeral. Life will come to a standstill for millions as the UK says goodbye to the Queen. It will be a day of emotion, pomp and ceremony, the likes of which has not been seen since the last state funeral, of Winston Churchill, almost 60 years ago.  Buckingham Palace has said the Queen made personal additions to the plans. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharati Jagdish speaks with Rich Preston, Senior World News Reporter / Presenter, at the BBC in London, for a breakdown of the day's events. 

Employment in the second quarter of this year has recovered to near pre-pandemic levels, but  the Ministry of Manpower has warned of uncertainty ahead. Resident employment grew to 4.2 per cent above the pre-pandemic level in June. While non-resident employment remained 10 per cent below the pre-pandemic level, it increased significantly from the first quarter of the year following the relaxation of border restrictions. Prime Time's Bharati Jagdish speaks with Adrian Choo, CEO and Founder, Career Agility International for his outlook for the labour market in the months ahead. 

Central bank action continues to dominate the headlines this week with the US Federal Reserve set to announce its rate decision midweek, and the Bank of Japan and Bank of England following suit thereafter. Investors in the meantime will also face a slew of August inflation reports coming out of countries such as Japan and back home in Singapore. How would these developments weigh on major economies and markets? What can we do to improve the resilience of our portfolios, and how can wealthtech help?  On Market View, Prime Time's finance presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke with Samuel Rhee, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Endowus for more. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mao Ning, has urged the US to “fully understand the extremely important and highly sensitive nature of the Taiwan question and abide by the one China principle” at a news briefing in Beijing. His comments came after US President Joe Biden said that its military forces will defend Taiwan if there is “an unprecedented attack”, underscoring America’s commitment to the island as Chinese incursions mount near its shores. On the Straits Times The Big Story, Multimedia Correspondent, Hairianto Diman, speaks with China correspondent Danson Cheong for more from the briefing. 

Global equity markets have been rather volatile mid-week after stronger-than-expected US inflation data triggered fears of more aggressive rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. But where exactly would the Fed go? While the US is expected to be tackling inflation head on, China is holding its key rate or the one-year medium-term lending facility unchanged at 2.75% - what does this mean for its economy?  But how will all of that weigh on the economy and stock market in Singapore? On Market View, Prime Time's Finance Presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke with Carmen Lee, Head of OCBC Investment Research to find out.

The gaming market here is expected to be worth US$138 million by 2024, and the Singapore Tourism Board has even taken notice of this growth as it implements a tour of gaming hotspots in Singapore. In the Spotlight on Prime Time, Bharati Jagdish speaks with Jonathan Ye, the founder of Lockdown Escape - one of Singapore's premier destinations for escape room games and one of the few companies in the world that designs its own VR games and board games, to find out more.