Singapore, the most expensive city

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The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) survey compares prices, converted into U.S. dollars, across 160 products and services in various countries, taking into consideration the costs of food, clothing, personal care items, rents, transportation, private schools, domestic help and recreation.

The 2016 annual survey found that Singapore remains the most expensive city globally for the third year in a row.  Paris got cheaper whereas Hong Kong climbed seven places to tie for second place with Zurich.

Paris is the only euro-zone city this year to stay in the top-ten, but it slipped three places to rank as the world's fifth most expensive city, the survey found, citing weak confidence in the euro.

"The stronger U.S. dollar and weaker euro has pushed euro zone cities further down the ranking" the EIU said.  But it noted that even with a weaker euro, "Paris remains structurally extremely expensive to live in, with only alcohol and tobacco offering value for money compared with other European cities."

The EIU's basket of prices says the average price for a ready-to-wear, mid-priced daytime women's dress is a whopping $552.80 for Singapore, well above the $244.40 in Paris, but still below the more than $1,000 in London.

The cost of a family car in Singapore is about $153,000, well above the $22,000 rough cost in New York or about $37,800 in Paris. But not many residents of Singapore buy cars, preferring to use taxis  or the well-developed mass-transit system.

The average price for a bottle of 750ml table wine is US$22.39 (S$30.90) in Singapore, higher than US$16.47 in Hong Kong and US$14.03 in New York, but lower than US$25.43 in Seoul.

Geneva came in at No.3, rising by three places in the rankings, to land just behind Zurich.

Australian cities Sydney and Melbourne are out of the top ten this year.

London also joined the top-ten this year, climbing five places to rank No.6, as non-euro-zone European cities became more expensive relative to euro-using peers.

U.S. cities saw some of the biggest moves, with New York climbing 15 places to No.7 -- after falling as low as No.49 in 2011 -- and Los Angeles rising 19 slots to No.10. 

Below is a chart from the EIU with the top-10 most expensive cities globally:

 edited from CNBC 

Prince's iconic Super Bowl Show through a rainstorm (video)

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Prince has died at the age of 57.

American pop icon Prince has died at the age of 57.

The shocking news was confirmed by the artist's publicist after reports that police were investigating a death at his home outside the northern city of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Carver County Sheriff's Department told ABC News in a statement that sheriff's deputies found the singer unresponsive Thursday morning in an elevator inside his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota after they were summoned to his suburban compound. He was pronounced dead at 10.07 AM after their attempts to revive him failed.

"It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer Prince Rogers Nelson has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning at the age of 57," publicist Yvette Noel-Schure said Thursday. "There are no further details as to the cause of death at this time."

Prince was hospitalized last week. His private plane reportedly made an emergency landing in Illinois following concerts in Georgia. No details were released at the time regarding his health.

Prince was just 19 when he released his first album, For You, in 1978. In the decades that followed, the multi-talented musician released "1999," "Little Red Corvette" and "Purple Rain," the title track of his breakthrough 1984 album and movie.

He sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, won seven Grammys and picked up an Oscar for Best Original Song score for “Purple Rain."

Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. 

"He rewrote the rulebook, forging a synthesis of black funk and white rock that served as a blueprint for cutting-edge music in the ‘80s," said a posting on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website. "Prince made dance music that rocked and rock music that had a bristling, funky backbone."

Musicians, artists and fans took to Twitter to express their shock and sadness at the news of Prince's death.

U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement, "As one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time, Prince did it all. Funk. R&B. Rock and roll. He was a virtuoso instrumentalist, a brilliant bandleader, and an electrifying performer."

"Numb. Stunned. This can't be real," pop star Justin Timberlake wrote. 

"And just like that ... the world lost a lot of magic. Rest in peace, Prince! Thanks for giving us so much ..." said Katy Perry.

Filmmaker Spike Lee posted a photo on Instagram and wrote, "I miss my brother."

Rapper MC Hammer wrote, "I loved this man. Too soon. Can't comprehend it but it's unfortunately true. Heaven is yours. RIP #Prince #RIPPrince."

"The greatest live act I ever saw. Genius, poet, sexy [expletive]. RIP Prince," mourned actor Russell Crowe.

"Today is the worst day ever. Prince, R.I.P., I am crying!" said singer Boy George.

Sales of Prince's music have soared since news broke of the pop star's death.

Three of his songs "Purple Rain,'' "Little Red Corvette,'' and "When Doves Cry,'' surged to seventh, ninth and 10th on iTunes' Top Songs chart.

Four of his albums — The Very Best of Prince, Purple Rain, The Hits / The B-Sides and 1999 — had jumped to first, second, third and eighth on iTunes' Top Albums chart by Thursday afternoon.

• Who was Prince?

Born: Prince Rogers Nelson, named after Prince Roger Trio, a jazz band his father performed with

When: June 7, 1958

Where: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Died: April 21, at his home in Paisley Park, a Minneapolis suburb

Aliases: Briefly used others names, including an unpronounceable symbol O(+>, which led to him often being referred to as "the artist formerly known as Prince"

Debut album: For You, 1978 

Several hit albums and songs, including: albums 1999 and Purple Rain, which was later made into a movie, Sign O' the Times, The Black Album; songs Little Red Corvette, Kiss, Raspberry Beret, Emancipation and When Doves Cry

Career: Sold more than 100 million records, won seven Grammy awards, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, performed during 2007 Super Bowl XLI halftime show

Known for: His songs and albums often created controversy for their sexually charged lyrics

  

edited from VOA and ABC

USA hourly wage

USA restaurant and retail workers are pushing for a national minimum wage of $15 an hour, but some CEOs in the industry have pay packages worth $9,000 an hour or more.

It would take an employee earning $15 an hour nearly 23 days to earn as much as the median CEOs in these industries do in one hour.

The average CEO in the Standard & Poor's 500 earned 204 times more than the median employee at the same companies did in 2014, according to an analysis by job information service Glassdoor.com.

Starting next year the Security and Exchange Commission will begin requiring companies to disclose this gap between CEO and worker pay.

Debate Over Brexit Heats Up (video)

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Explaining Brexit

Britain will hold a referendum on June 23 on whether the country will leave the European Union, a process often referred to as Brexit. How did we get to this point?

What is Britain deciding?

The referendum will ask voters whether the country should “remain a member of the European Union” or “leave the European Union.”

What is the history?

The European Union began in 1951 as the European Coal and Steel Community, an effort by six nations to heal the fissures of World War II through duty-free trade. In 1957, the Treaty of Rome created the European Economic Community, or Common Market.

Britain tried to join later, but President Charles de Gaulle of France vetoed its application in 1963 and in 1967. Britain finally joined in 1973.

Has a vote like this happened before?

A referendum was held in 1975, two years after Britain joined the European Economic Community, on whether it should stay.  More than 67 percent of Britons voted in favor.  

The arguments for and against

Those who favor leaving argue that the European Union has changed enormously over the last four decades with regard to the size and the reach of its bureaucracy, diminishing British influence and sovereignty.

Those who want to stay say that a medium-size island needs to be part of a larger bloc of like-minded countries to have real influence and security in the world, and that leaving would be economically costly.

Who is voting?

British citizens older than 18 can vote, as can citizens abroad who have been registered to vote at home in the last 15 years. Also eligible are residents of Britain who are citizens of Ireland or of the Commonwealth, which consists of 53 countries, including Australia, Canada, India and South Africa.

Unlike in general elections, members of the House of Lords may vote, as can Commonwealth citizens in Gibraltar, a British overseas territory. Citizens of the European Union living in Britain cannot vote, unless they are citizens of Cyprus, Ireland or Malta.

Why the name?

The referendum is often called Brexit, for British exit from the European Union. It is a variant of the label Grexit, invented during the Greek debt crisis.

Is this vote final?

Yes, at least for the foreseeable future. If Britons vote to leave, there will be an initial two-year negotiation with the European Union about the terms of the divorce, which is unlikely to be amicable.

The negotiation will decide Britain’s relationship with the bloc. The major issues would surround trade. If Britain wants to remain in the European Union’s common market — the world’s largest trading bloc, with 500 million people — Brussels is expected to exact a steep price, in particular to discourage other countries from leaving.

What impact would an exit have on Britain’s economy?

This is an essential and divisive question. The economic effect of an exit would depend on what settlement is negotiated, especially on whether Britain would retain access to the single market for duty-free trade and financial services. But that would probably require accepting freedom of movement and labor for European Union citizens, which is one of the main complaints the “leave” camp has about bloc membership.

Most economists favor remaining in the bloc and say that an exit would cut growth, weaken the pound and hurt the City of London, Britain’s financial center. Even economists who favor an exit say that growth would be affected in the short and medium term, though they also say that Britain would be better off by 2030.

What is likely to happen?

Broadly speaking, opinion polls show the population evenly divided. Market analysts and betting shops estimate that voters will vote to remain in the bloc.

Betfair, the online betting exchange, gives the “remain” vote a 66 percent probability, with “leave” at 34 percent and showing upward movement.

from The New York Times