Diwali (or Deepavali) is the Hindu festival of lights, which celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.
There’s a lot more bad news than the good, partly because newshounds gravitate towards the former. Similarly, credit headlines tend to be dominated by defaults, disputes and debt restructurings.
I created Bright Spot after getting feedback from a friend that my newsletters depressed her. Eight editions later, it’s become a fixed feature at Acrostics Asia. I’ve also expanded it to include interesting stories with a human angle – because life’s not all about debt!
This week, India bets on Diwali tax cuts to fuel consumer spending, while Mongolia gets a rating upgrade. Rounding it up, who says that dating in Singapore has to empty out your pockets? A Singaporean couple had their first date at a subway station and returned to take their wedding photos.
🕯️ Diwali Discounts
Shoppers have long been lured by discounts during the run-up to the annual Diwali festival, but this year’s festivities have been turbocharged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s overhaul of national GST rates.
🐎 Mongolia’s Gallop
Moody’s upgraded Mongolia to B1 from B2 with a stable outlook, citing steps to diversify its commodity mix and policy improvements.
🚇 Singapore’s Wedding Tracks
Yvette Tow and Adrian Neo were too shy to sit down for a dinner date, so they met at the Somerset MRT station. “If it’s awkward, you can always hop on the train!” Tow’s friend said. Six years later, the couple went back to the same station for their pre-wedding photoshoot.