S1E90: Have we hit the panic button over the Iran war?

After US President Donald Trump walked back his threats to wipe Iran off the map, there’s now a two-week ceasefire in place. Hours before this kicked in, the Singapore Government announced in Parliament on April 7 support measures to help cushion the cost increases resulting from the Middle East conflict. These include disbursing $500 in CDC vouchers half a year early and a $200 increase in the Cost-of-Living Special Payment. Six weeks into this war, the question now is: Will things get better from here, or are we just having a moment of respite before the knock-on effects continue to worsen? In this podcast episode, I chat with economists Danny Quah, Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and Sheana Yue, a senior economist at global economic advisory firm Oxford Economics, about what else we should brace ourselves for. Highlights (click/tap above): 4:12 Iran war uncertainty’s impact on Singapore 10:53 Singapore’s 1973 oil crisis lessons 17:21 Better placed to handle this war? 20:12 “We have a bit of breathing space.” 23:30 Do we need more handouts? 29:21 Is Singapore headed for a recession? 32:01 Stagflation a worry for all countries 35:55 Should we throw out the old diplomacy rulebook? 43:39 The worst-case Iran war scenario Host: Natasha Ann Zachariah ([email protected]) Read Natasha’s articles: https://str.sg/iSXm Follow The Usual Place podcast on IG: https://str.sg/8KNT Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN Filmed by: Studio+65 Edited by: Eden Soh, Amirul Karim & Natasha Liew Executive producer: Danson Cheong  Editorial producer: Elizabeth Law Follow The Usual Place Podcast and get notified for new episode drops every Thursday: Channel: https://str.sg/5nfm Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/9ijX Spotify: https://str.sg/cd2P YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast Feedback to: [email protected] --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts --- Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX -- #tup #tuptrfSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.