February 04, 03:02 AM 
514 Chai Chee Lane 03-16, Singapore 469029 Sound Smarter in Sixty Seconds (SSISS) is a new column by Mothership where we brief you on the important headlines of the day. We will also contribute our views on the issues at hand.
Straits Times Index down nearly 5 per cent so far for 2014
Stocks in Singapore took a beating over the past week after the US Federal Reserve announced a further reduction of its monthly bond purchases from US$75 billion to US$65 billion. This is further exacerbated by news of China's slowdown in its economy.
Tapering of the bond purchases stems some of the flow of investment from overseas. Stocks and property prices may see further adjustments downwards. The cash-rich in Singapore may be taking this opportunity to enter the market.
Coca-Cola ad featuring diversity stirs xenophobic and racist sentiment
During this year's SuperBowl, Coca-Cola's commercial presented the song, "America, the Beautiful" in seven different languages, including Hindi, Hebrew and Tagalog. Social media exploded with outrage and a Twitter hashtag #SpeakAmerican and #BoycottCoke started trending.
Mainstream perception here tends to view the United States as the land of the free and always at the forefront of change and openness. Incidents like Coca-Cola's show that embracing change is still a minefield when many people are not ready for it even for the eagles. The heartening thing is, the blow-back reactions slamming the racist and xenophobic remarks on Twitter have now drowned out the initial outrage.
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Top photo is a screen capture from YouTube.
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