ST Headstart: Savvy investments to make in 2026

Investing smart in 2026

Welcome to the latest edition of ST Headstart, bringing you the best of The Straits Times’ career, personal finance and lifestyle coverage every Tuesday noon. Sign up here to get weekly tips right into your inbox.


2026 is beckoning and heres how we can get a headstart for a better year in terms of money and overall health. The markets look set for another turbulent year, but tech stocks are still a bright spot despite talk of an AI bubble. Investors can also find long-term gains in industries like healthcare. 

Health is wealth, as they say. And a vital part of it is having sufficient sleep. If youre anything like me, you might often feel like you never have enough sleep, and according to experts, quality sleep is needed for a healthy brain. Here are tips to improve your sleep. 

And as this is the last edition of this newsletter for 2025, I invite you to listen again to our Headstart on Record podcasts, which also give insights into the gold rally and its continued shine for investors, as well as how to pivot into new careers. 

Happy new year and stay hydrated!

 

 

Blind boxes: Is cute here to stay?

The appetite for all things cute remains high.

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Bag charms: Recession-proof way to flex personal style

Bag charms sit neatly within this generation’s little treat culture of indulging in small luxuries.

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ChatGPT: Everyone’s minion... and boss?

More than 18 billion messages are sent to ChatGPT every week, most of them personal.

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He turns his love of motorbikes into a roaring business

At first, he was unsure if he could make a living with it, so he continued studying to keep his options open.

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How to train for Hyrox and prevent injuries

As Hyrox grows in popularity here, so have injuries. Follow this expert guide to train safely.

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The best place I travelled to in 2025 was a nunnery

Instead of the usual vacation places, this writer tried to find silence in the Malling Abbey, founded in the late 12th century.

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