Too many reasons. Maybe market already priced in the effects. Maybe, when the price went slightly down, REITs saw it as the right price to repurchase their shares. Maybe the panic buying means malls will make more money Maybe Market already gotten out before this whole Virus hoo haa. Maybe Market thinks the Singapore Budget measures are enough to stop the decline in performance of REITs. Maybe quarterly report of REITs not out, so Market can't know whether it will go down or not. The thing is, no one knows why it didn't go down, just because there are too many maybes.

Hopefully, there is some synergy and cost may go down,e.g REITs manager fees, share's fee). Another benefit would be that they are able to go for bigger projects since they can have more debt. (REITs has a cap to their gearing ratio, so if there is a bigger base, there can be more debt). I think these would be the main benefits. Deal-wise, they seem to be paying fair value for it, rather than a premium. But hey, at least they are not undercutting it.

What's left is not left.

It is still worth it to start, no matter how small. Your returns are small because your initial capital injection is small. So in a way, your returns are small because your risks are small! Besides, it is good to start small and see how you would psychologically react to the market, such as what happens when a dividend get cut, or there are additional special dividends declared, or when share price goes up/down. Hopefully, your dividend amount will grow and it can trigger your endorphins which in turn, spur you to be a better investor.

Squeezing time out should not be too difficult. A hobby or a catch up with friends may have to take a hit for that one time off to learn. Alternatively, during travelling time, one can choose to read up on investing. Last resort would be to take leave to learn. One of the fastest way to learn is through someone who has been there, done that. It will likely shorten the amount of time needed, depending on how active one is during Q&A sessions. Lastly, you never know which is the right way. You can only know which is the suitable way after going through it. Just like one never knew salted egg would be such a huge trend and quite a few stores can actually make a business out of selling salted egg related products.

Like what most others have mentioned, adequate essential insurance, e.g. Hospitalisation. In the meantime, the current arrangement you have with your money seems okay. High risk doesn't mean high rewards. It can be low, no, or even negative returns(e.g. Leverage). What you want is calculated risk with decent returns. In order to take calculated risks, you need to know what you are doing and thus, learn more about the different investment strategies, e.g. Stock, Property, Royalties, Derivatives, Forex, etc etc.

Well, if used only on its own, probably can survive without it. If used in conjunction with others, would be better, e.g. High yield savings account usually requires you to have a credit card spending.

Yes and no, though mostly no. This is a question you have to truthfully answer to yourself. Having a car usually have the main benefit of being able to go wherever you want, anytime you want without being at the mercy of someone else, e.g. Bus, Taxi. The cons of having a car is that it adds to your monthly expenses, with all the things such as petrol, insurance, road tax, repairs, inspections, etc. Now, as to whether it is worthwhile depends on what do you do with the car. The most common reason for having a car is “my job needs it.“ This depends on a few things, such as whether your salary is a fixed salary, or variable one, does your client need to see you in a certain perspective, or are you buying the car to lease out (something like ride-sharing)? The first two points mentioned are more intangible, but can still be verified. Compared to you before owning a car, are you making more money, after paying for the car? Is the increased income consistent, sustainable?

Unlikely to lose jobs, but have to adapt to new job landscape. If a job is removed/deleted, then another job wil take its place. It is like the Steam revolution of the past. When steam powered engines were created, people no longer depended on transport tools such as horses, trishaws, etc. So people who do these jobs for a living technically lose thei jobs due to technological advancements. However, from the loss of jobs comes the creation of new ones, such as horse racing, maintenance of said steam engines, etc. What about AI? Well, for one, there needs to be someone who would test-proof the AI to ensure that the script runs properly, the data do not get stolen, defence against ransomeware, etc. I feel that in future, there would be more open source coding for people to play around with, so white hackers could be one area, along with people who can mix the code to customise software for specific niches. Highly personalised services, such as standup comedians, personal shoppers, modeling are less likely to be affected by AI advancement. So jobs in the area of AI process, and highly personalised services are here to stay, where routine jobs such as petty cash claims are in danger of being automated. As for foreign talents, there is not so much of a threat per se. If anything, it goes to show that you are exposed to different people and more culture. What if, for current job, instead of the foreigners coming to steal the jobs, it became that one is seconded to overseas? As long as one have the ability, one should not be afraid of healthy competition.

Investing Go and read up and find out about the different styles of investing. See which one would suit you, and what are the pros and cons. E.g. Index investing VS income investing, rebound trading VS momentum trading, property investing VS REITs investing, etc etc. Bank account I would think DBS Multiplier is quite decent for fresh graduates, as a starting high yield account. Reason being, the salary credited, which is a mandatory criteria for higher interest, is not specified. Also, the credit card spending has no minimum, meaning you would be less likely to spend just to reach the minimum spend. Credit card I would think cashback cards would be better suited, as opposed to miles card. As you are just starting out, you wouldn’t really know what your expenditure is like. Besides, not all things are chargeable to credit cards, e.g. Hawker centre food, parents allowance. Cash back is also given in the following month, while miles have an expiry date. I would say OCBC Cashflow card would be a good card, since it automatically splits payment above $100 into 3 installment, interest free. This feature would save you in case you accidentally over swipe your card. =P