1 Japanese Yen = 0.0132 Singapore Dollar

Music Canada recently shared its latest report, “Closing the Value Gap: How to Fix Safe Harbours and Save the Creative Middle Class.” As the title suggests, the report examines the gap between revenues derived by online entertainment platforms - particularly YouTube - and the revenues returned to artists and labels, then offers five recommendations on how to address the issue.

On this week's podcast, Mike and Graham Henderson, Music Canada's President and CEO, dive into the report before getting into some important big picture conversations about philosophical shifts in how music is paid for, how the industry can make its case to the public and government, and even some politics.

Also, please visit www.friendsofjohncody.com and consider helping one of our own in dire circumstances.

Tim Moxam has partnered with Toronto's StopGap Foundation, which builds ramps for community spaces to increase accessibility, and launched StopGap on Tour. Moxam collaborated with some fellow songwriters and crafters to build a series of special-edition StopGap ramps, pre-ordered and spec'd to accommodate the needs of non-accessible venues, cafes, record stores, and other community hubs that Moxam would be visiting on his recent East Coast tour. Hear about this cool initiative, how you can get involved for the future, and some of the peripheral benefits that come with it.

We also chat with Michael "Wanz" Wansley, who spent his life as a working musician before a song he featured on from a local rapper blew up into a global phenomenon. The song was "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, with Wanz's distinctive voice featured prominently in the chorus. That led to a whirlwind couple years for Wanz, allowing him to fulfill a lot of his childhood dreams, before the song receded in the public consciousness and he had to figure out life after sudden and short-lived commercial success. In this inspiring conversation, Wanz discusses life before, during, and after "Thrift Shop" and how it changed his thinking about fame and success in music.

Singapore registered 876 new coronavirus infections, its health ministry said on Sunday, taking the city-state's total to 23,336 cases.

Singapore has reported 20 deaths and 22,460 COVID-19 cases as of Saturday, according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University.

Singapore registered 876 new coronavirus infections, its health ministry said on Sunday, taking the city-state's total to 23,336 cases.

In 2019, Moovaz secured an undisclosed amount of investment from Hustle Fund.

The post Singapore’s Quest Ventures leads $7m Series A round in Moovaz appeared first on DealStreetAsia.

All of the proceeds raised through the Ray of Hope platform will go directly to Beyond Social Services charity's COVID-19 Family Assistance Fund. 

The post Singapore venture investors, startup founders raising funds for low-income families appeared first on DealStreetAsia.

Ebates Korea will cease operations and its users will be directed to ShopBack Korea's beta site.

The post Singapore cashback app ShopBack acquires Rakuten-owned Ebates Korea appeared first on DealStreetAsia.

The company went into receivership in February after DBS appointed KPMG as the receiver.

The post Singapore’s Hontop Energy in talks with banks to manage debt appeared first on DealStreetAsia.

The deal marks ARA Asset Management's entry into the fintech sector.

The post Singapore’s ARA, tycoon John Lim buy 52.08% stake in crowdfunding platform Minterest appeared first on DealStreetAsia.

The property benefits from a prominent location in Jurong close to the upcoming Tuas Megaport.

The post Deutsche Bank unit DWS acquires warehouse in Singapore appeared first on DealStreetAsia.

The deal values the 50-storey office development at S$1.68 billion ($1.2 billion).

The post Alibaba unit buys 50% stake in Singapore’s AXA Tower appeared first on DealStreetAsia.

The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2020.

The post Everstone exits Singapore-based HR service provider Excelity Global appeared first on DealStreetAsia.

Most economists have cemented their expectations for the MAS to ease policy at its review scheduled for April.

The post Singapore inches towards first recession in two decades amid COVID-19, Malaysia travel ban appeared first on DealStreetAsia.

Women entrepreneurship is increasingly recognised as a key source of employment creation and innovation, and for addressing inequalities.

The objective of this paper is to shed light on some of the determinants of success in early-stage venture capital financing bids. In particular, the work focuses on the effect of founders’ gender on investors’ funding decisions. Results from empirical analysis show that start-ups with at least one woman in the team of founders are less likely to receive funding by 5-10%.

As one of the most dynamic regions in the world with an increasingly diversified economy, an expanding middle class, and a young and literate population, Southeast Asia is well positioned to embrace the ongoing global digital transformation. Digitalisation can spur the much needed innovation and productivity growth across many activities, transform public services, and improve well-being for all citizens.

Gaps in data covering refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and internally displaced populations are endangering the lives and well-being of millions of children on the move, warned five UN and partner agencies today.

As a further sign of international efforts to crack down on tax offenders, 12 more countries have signed, or committed to sign, the OECD’s Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. In addition, another 6 countries have ratified the Convention.

4-5 October 2018, Germany - Jointly organised by the OECD and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the conference aimed to discuss innovative applications of blended finance as the strategic use of development finance for the mobilisation of finance towards sustainable development in developing countries in the water sector.

This paper shows how women and men may use infrastructure differently according to their needs, social roles or preferences; and provides a framework to help countries align their infrastructure policies and projects with other societal and environmental goals, including supporting gender equality.

Gains in female education attainment have contributed to a worldwide increase in women’s participation in the labour force, but considerable gaps remain in working hours, conditions of employment and earnings.  More specific data for Germany are available in this country note.

The gap between rich and poor in OECD countries has reached its highest level for over over 30 years, and governments must act quickly to tackle inequality, according to a new OECD report.

Breaking down barriers to gender equality in education, employment and entrepreneurship would create new sources of economic growth and help make better use of everyone’s skills, according to a new OECD report.

A large and persistent shortfall in the number and quality of the jobs being created in G20 countries is affecting prospects for re-igniting economic growth, according to a report prepared by the ILO, the OECD and the World Bank Group for the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers meeting taking place in Melbourne this week.

Education systems have made major strides to close gender gaps in student performance but girls and boys remain deeply divided in career choices, which are being made much earlier than commonly thought, according to a new OECD report.

Income inequality has reached record highs in most OECD countries and remains at even higher levels in many emerging economies. The richest 10 per cent of the population in the OECD now earn 9.6 times the income of the poorest 10 per cent, up from 7:1 in the 1980s and 9:1 in the 2000s, according to a new OECD report.

Despite unprecedented progress over the past century, gender gaps in the labour market persist throughout the world and are especially marked in emerging economies. While the quantity of jobs held by women has increased in many countries, female workers continue to have worse jobs than men.

Despite unprecedented progress over the past century, gender gaps in the labour market persist throughout the emerging world and are accompanied by important skill gaps. Women tend to perform worse in STEM subjects, have lower financial literacy and business knowledge than men. The OECD Employment Outlook 2016 paints an up-to-date picture of gender gaps in 16 emerging economies and outlines a comprehensive set of policy recommendations.

The job market continues to improve in the OECD area, with the employment rate finally returning to pre-crisis levels. But people on low and middle incomes have seen their wages stagnate and the share of middle-skilled jobs has fallen, contributing to rising inequality, according to a new OECD report.

Today, global leaders from governments, private sector companies, trade unions and civil society pledged to take concrete action towards closing the gender pay gap by 2030. The global commitments – to ensure women in every sector of the workforce are paid equally to men for doing work of equal value – were made at the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) Pledging event held during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Dr Barbara Ischinger, Director of Education and Skills, OECD, France - Better Skills, Better Lives (Tackling the global talent gap - Global Skills Exchange, Leipzig Germany, 6th July 2013)

Students who know how to summarise information tend to perform better in reading. If disadvantaged students used effective learning strategies to the same extent as students from more advantaged backgrounds do, the performance gap between the two groups would be almost 20% narrower.

Note summarising the performance of 15-year-old students in Singapore in the PISA 2012 assessment of problem solving.

Students from Singapore and Korea have performed best in the first OECD PISA assessment of creative problem-solving. Students in these countries are quick learners, highly inquisitive and able to solve unstructured problems in unfamiliar contexts.

Education systems have made major strides to close gender gaps in student performance but girls and boys remain deeply divided in career choices, which are being made much earlier than commonly thought, according to a new OECD report.

The share of students with an immigrant background increased between 2003 and 2012, both in traditional and new destination countries. The performance difference in mathematics between immigrant and non-immigrant students decreased, on average, between 2003 and 2012.

The OECD-Singapore Conference on Higher Education Futures will explore forward-looking themes in the global higher education landscape. The Conference will bring together some 500 participants from over 40 countries, representing senior government officials, higher education administrators, academics and practitioners, for an engaging exchange of ideas and best practices.

One of the most remarkable consequences of the expansion of education in OECD countries over the past decades is the reversal of the gender gap in education. From outright exclusion and discrimination in educational institutions less than a century ago, girls and young women have conquered schools and colleges.

Employer engagement in education and training has become a hot topic for policy makers and practitioners around the world.

Singapore outperforms the rest of the world in the OECD’s latest PISA survey, which evaluates the quality, equity and efficiency of school systems. The top OECD countries were Japan, Estonia, Finland and Canada.

Register for a webinar "PISA 2015: Q&A Session Closing the Achievement Gap" with Andreas Schleicher (December 15th, 14h Paris time)

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines not just what students know in science, reading and mathematics, but what they can do with what they know. Results from PISA show educators and policy makers the quality and equity of learning outcomes achieved elsewhere, and allow them to learn from the policies and practices applied in other countries.

Inequality has been growing in most OECD countries since the 1980s and is currently at its highest level in 30 years. Forecasts for 2060 suggest that gross earnings inequality could continue to rise dramatically across the OECD if current trends persist.

Education plays a dual role when it comes to social inequality and social mobility. It is the main way for societies to foster equality of opportunity and support upward social mobility for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. But the evidence is overwhelming that education often reproduces social divides in societies, through the impact that parents’ economic, social and cultural status has on children’s learning outcomes.

Improvements in health, access to basic services and housing have contributed most to raising standards of living of Mexicans over the past 15 years but further advances are needed to bring well-being indicators closer to the average of OECD countries, according to a new report.

Qantas flights from Sydney to Shanghai will remain suspended until at least the end of May as the coronavirus claims more lives. Services to Hong Kong and Singapore will be reduced.