My thoughts on the Mid-year exams removal

There are quite a few people in my circle asking me what I think of this news here. This news is regarding the planned removal of the mid-year exams for primary 3 and 5, as well as secondary 1 and 3. The intention is to withdraw from the narrow focus on grades so that students can discover the joy of learning. I can put on two hats to analyse this. One is that of a parent and the other is that of a tutor. As a parent: 1) My first...

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The returns of OCBC 5.1% preference shares

I bought the OCBC preference shares, OCC 5.1% NCPS, a while ago for my parent's retirement funds. I didn't even know that OCBC had redeemed back the perp on their first call date until I saw the capital returned to my bank account. Another one bites the dust... So how had it performed? Let's take a look at the details: 1st tranche: Buy date: 3rd-Feb-2014 A) Buy price: $106.10 B) Quantity: 100 shares C) Comms paid for buying: $37.19 D) Dividend...

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