INTEREST rates have a wide and varied impact upon the economy. When interest rates are raised, the general effect is to slow down credit demand and contain inflationary pressures. It also makes borrowing money more expensive, which affects how consumers and businesses spend their money. Investors should understand how interest ... Read More

THE opening of several new Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts properties around the globe in 2012, will be leveraged on by its sister property in Penang to draw more visitors to the island state. Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa general manager Elaine Yue said the expansion of the group's properties, ... Read More

The steep increases seen in the last two years expected to sputter to a halt on weak global sentimentTHE overall weak global sentiment is expected to cast a pall over the property sector, which is expected to undergo some downward correction next year, agents, property consultants and developers say, with ... Read More

BEGINNING tomorrow, new guidelines from Bank Negara Malaysia to curb rising household debt are going to kick in. The guidelines cover all consumer loan products including housing, personal and car loans, credit card receivables as well as loans for the purchase of securities.Instead of loan approvals being based on gross ... Read More

DNP Land Sdn Bhd will spend RM10mil on a chic and trendy-looking community clubhouse within its upcoming Jesselton Hills mixed development project in Alma, Bukit Mertajam. Its northern region general manager K.C. Tan said property owners in the residential scheme would not be charged any membership fee to use the ... Read More

WITH less than a month away before Penangites usher in the Year of the Dragon, the state government has called on the public, individuals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to lend a hand to the upcoming ‘Spring Cleaning @ George Town World Heritage Site 2012’ programme. Unlike the state’s first gotong- royong programme ... Read More

GEORGE TOWN: Christmas may be over but until the school term commences next week, the narrow roads here are expected to be congested with an influx of vehicles from outside the state. This is because there is an estimated 40% increase in the entry of vehicles, as reported by Penang ... Read More

A PIECE of land covering the peak of Pearl Hill in Tanjung Bungah and its surrounding area in Penang will be transformed into a park with a viewing point for tourists. Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu said a 6.07ha piece of land where a Tua Pek Kong Temple is ... Read More

PHASE One of the road upgrades on Penang island by the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) is now 30% completed and it is expected to be fully completed by the end of 2013. The project involving several roads is aimed at reducing traffic congestion on the island. Six construction packages, at ... Read More

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian property market is likely tosee a gradual slowdown next year, taking into consideration the uncertainty in the global economic situation. President of Fiabci Malaysia, Yeow Thit Sang, said the high end residential units were already seeing a slowdown both in pricing and the take-up rate. "There ... Read More