Daily Briefing: What Singapore needs to do to become fully cashless; Are million-dollar HDBs the new normal?

And here’s how to profit from your moribund stocks.

Quite a few retail outlets like 7-11 now accept payment by EZ-Link, and with the rise of Apple Pay and Android Pay, losing your smartphone will become even more of a nightmare. Experts predict that we’ll someday be paying for stuff with other items like tokens or even our thumbprints. Here’s what needs to happen before we get there. Read more here.

The Clementi unit, part of a HDB mixed-use development above Clementi Mall, sold for just over $1 million. The Boon Keng unit sold for $1.1 million, the current record for a 5-room HDB flat. These prices run counter to the argument that only rare, city centre flats like Pinnacle @ Duxton can command such prices. These headlines make the news because the numbers are simply mind-boggling. Read more here.

Singapore stocks have lost money for investors so far this year. The Straits Times has by no means been the worst performer in Asia—the much bigger markets of China and Japan have fallen a lot more, plunging 20% and 22% respectively year-to-date. But clearly the ongoing concerns about the slowdown in China, together with the accompanying downdraft of weaker commodities, as well as a moribund property market, all seem to be taking their toll. Read more here.