By Elena Johnson Watermelon has always been a summertime favorite and studies confirm that the Beta-Carotene and Lycopene found in watermelon make it as nutrient-rich as it is delicious. To gain the full potential of its health benefits, make sure you allow your watermelon to fully ripen – the redder the melon’s flesh, the better! […]
YNNA Asistio has decided to call it quits with actor Mark Herras. The actress said that contrary to rumors spreading around show biz circle, money was not involved in the break-up. She said all is well between her and Mark but it’s difficult to put into words the reason why they decided to end the […]
MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) signaled yesterday it could maintain policy rates at their historic low levels as inflation remains manageable. “There is no urgency to change the policy because inflation remains under control,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. told reporters on the sidelines of central bank’s stakeholders’ awarding ceremony. Policy rates – which serve as banks’ benchmarks in charging their loans – have been kept at their record lows of 3.5 percent and 5.5 percent for overnight borrowing and lending, respectively. They have been at that level since October last year. So far this year, the BSP only chose to tweak the return it offers on special deposit accounts (SDA), parked funds by lenders and trust departments, by a total of 150 basis points to two percent from 3.5 percent. But for the next policy meeting slated on July 25, Tetangco said he also sees “no urgency to change the status” of the SDA rate, which when lowered thrice reduced idle money with the BSP from a high of P1.98 trillion to just P1.738 trillion as of June 28. The central bank said efforts to push out funds of the SDA are meant to support economic growth amid a benign inflation environment that gives more capacity to boost money supply in the system. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Economic expansion hit 7.8 percent in the first quarter, beating market expectations, as an inflation rate of three percent gave more capacity to Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The China Outstanding Business Leaders Forum held the 4th “Outstanding Chinese Business Leader Award” recently at the Beijing National People’s Congress (NPC) Centre, in Beijing, China. Fifty business leaders from all over the world were screened of which 16 were chosen as awardees through an open voting system. All 16 awardees were described as inspiring individuals who epitomize strength, ingenuity, knowledge, vision and represent the “best of the best” in China. Dr. James G. Dy, President of Philippine Chinese Charitable Association Inc. (PCCAI), owner and operator of Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center, and chairman of the Filipino Chinese General Chamber of Commerce Inc., (FCGCCI), was chosen as the lone Filipino-Chinese awardee for this year. The award was presented to Dr. Dy by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries chairman Chen Hao su, son of Marshal Chen Yi. Dr. Dy expressed hope that the recognition will promote better friendship between the Philippines and China and foster unity for the Filipino Chinese community. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Dr. Dy credits the countless hardships and struggles he hurdled as a businessman as the foundation of his success. He recalled that in the past decades, since he started his exploits in the business society; his only capital was blood, sweat and tears which translated into pure hard work. He said his motivation for success is his desire to contribute to society and the Filipino-Chinese community through social services, and the tireless promotion Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) has secured the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue as much as P21 billion worth of bonds. This development will allow the property arm of the Ayala conglomerate to conduct its largest fundraising in the capital market. In a disclosure, ALI said it has received SEC approval to sell up to P21 billion in bonds. “The company will issue the initial tranche of the bonds as soon as all other necessary documents are submitted and all the required approvals are secured, which hopefully will be completed before the end of the month,” ALI said. Last week, ALI chief finance officer Jaime Ysmael said the fundraising will “partly finance our capital expenditures program for the year.” In June, ALI’s board of directors approved the sale of up to P21 billion in long-term, fixed-rate corporate bonds through a general public offering. It will be the largest fundraising of ALI thus far, eclipsing the P15 billion it secured from a retail bond offering in April last year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Philippine companies have been tapping funds from different channels like bonds and banks amid low interest rates and high liquidity. The property firm allotted P65.5 billion in capital expenditures this year as it plans to launch 69 new projects worth P129 billion to ensure continuous growth in the coming years. It launched 67 new projects last year worth P110 billion. In the first quarter, Read More …
People keep on asking me why the P-Noy administration has fallen flat on its face in the area of constructing vital infrastructure. The only major project they are claiming to have completed, the Laguindingan Airport in Cagayan de Oro was initiated during the Ate Glue watch. The portion that was the responsibility of the P-Noy watch was even botched by DOTC. They forgot the airport needs air navigation and night landing facilities. So they inaugurated the airport with only visual flight rule in place. The ILS (Instrument Landing System) and other vital facilities will come later. Another agency under DOTC forgot that the new airport needs a good public transport system. LTFRB should have been issuing franchises for buses and jeepneys but they thought of doing that too late. I was told of a Manila-bound Cebu Pacific passenger who had to pay a taxi P800 to get to the airport. His plane ticket was P300. In answer to my question, I am inclined to believe that incompetence is the basic reason why P-Noy’s boys have failed to put up infrastructure projects over the past three years. But there are those who say it is an acute case of risk aversion… as in a fear of signing any contract that may end up with the Ombudsman and will bug them way after they are out of office. They are most likely thinking they cannot be sued for corruption if they do nothing… but they risk a Sandiganbayan case if they signed Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – A group of bakery owners and bread producers warned that prices of Pinoy pandesal, other bread products, biscuits and noodles would increase by 10 to 15 percent, if the government gives in to the demand of an influential lobby group to restrict the entry of affordable flour from Turkey. The Filipino-Chinese Bakery Association Inc. (FCBA), the group of bakery owners or producers of bread, noodles, cakes, pastries, pizza, siopao, pandesal, cookies, and biscuits from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, said imposing a higher tariff on flour imported from Turkey would increase the price of Pinoy pandesal by 50 centavos to P3.50 per piece from the current P3 apiece. Pinoy pandesal is the brand of affordable bread products produced by small community bakers. “Because of cheaper Turkish flour, Filipino consumers enjoy lower priced breads and other flour-based products such as dry noodles, biscuits and fishballs,” the FCBA said. The FCBA said flour represents more than 50 percent of the total cost of bread production, and an increase in the price of flour would automatically translate to higher prices of bread. “There are 25,000 bakeries operating in the Philippines and many small and medium-sized bakeries are using lower priced flour for them to offer breads within the reach of the Filipino consumers,” the FCBA said. The FCBA said the Philippine Association of Flour Millers Inc. (PAFMIL), which has monopoly of the local flour market, is using its influence on the government to push the Turkish flour out of the country Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Wolfgang (photo) is headed for US and Canada this July and August for a series of shows. It’s been more than a decade since the iconic band embarked on a North American tour, having pounded the Middle East and Asian circuit these past few years. Wolfgang is composed of vocalist Basti Artadi, guitarist Manuel Legarda, bassist Mon Legaspi and drummer Francis “The Beast” Aquino. The band has won numerous accolades from NU107 Rock Awards, Awit Awards and the biggest indie awards group, the Malaysia-based AsiaVoize. The North American schedule billed as Rock Summer 2013 kicks off on July 19 at Broadway Studios, San Francisco, California. (For tickets, call [408] 655-9102.) The band heads to L.A. on July 20 at the Beyond the Stars Palace (with tel. no. [323] 201-1029.) It hits the East Coast on July 27 at the Laboom Lounge, Woodside, New York ([551] 998-6020.) Chicago’s Hard Rock Café is the place to be on Aug. 23, at 63 W. Ontario Street. ([224] 545-0304.) In Canada, Wolfgang will be at Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theater on July 26 ([647] 505-7644); Winnipeg on Aug. 3 at the Garrick Center ([204] 962-2903); and Alberta on Aug. 4 at the River Cree Resort & Casino ([780] 707-0824). Also featured on the tour are Kamikazee and Kitchie Nadal. Spearheading the productions is a consortium composed of Nosaj Entertainment, Diamond Productions and Alyas Galo Productions. Entertainment ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 For complete schedule of Wolfgang’s Philippine and international shows, check out Wolfgang Philippines on Facebook.
Seven children and four other hostages caught up in a decades-old southern Philippines clan war have been freed in a straight swap by the feuding families, the military said Tuesday. The hostages, aged as young as two, were snatched last week in tit-for-tat kidnappings on the remote southern island of Basilan, a hotbed of Muslim guerrillas and other militants that the government does not fully control. The crisis ended when a Muslim clan leader known as “Commander Hassan” agreed to release his eight hostages on Monday, said Lieutenant-Colonel Paolo Perez, commander of an army battalion stationed on Basilan. A rival Muslim clan leader known in the area as “Jiabrin” had freed Commander Hassan’s three daughters late on Sunday, according to Perez, who said the clan dispute had been going on for the past 30 years. “The feud ranges from previous disputes over property, aggravated by killings on both sides,” said Perez, who took part in the negotiations that led to the release of the hostages including the seven children aged between two and 14. About 20 people are believed to have died in battles between the clans over the years, a regional military spokesman said last week. Hassan is a member of the Moro National Liberation Front, a former Muslim separatist rebel group, while Jiabrin is a member of the rival Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the military said. Authorities will not seek to lay charges against those involved in the kidnappings, according to Colonel Carlito Galvez, a local military commander Read More …
Muslim students and teachers pray inside a conference room at the Romulo Hall in the University of the Philippines …(Conclusion) By Jon Lindley Agustin, Katria Ayanna Alampay, Jhesset Thrina Enano, Elizabeth Escaño and Luis Adrian Hidalgo VERA Files Within the University of the Philippines-Diliman campus already stand two churches: the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice for Catholics and the Church of the Risen Lord for Protestants. Members of the UP Muslim community advocating for a proper worship area have used the cases of the two churches to push for their right to establish their own prayer place. But for many times and several reasons, they were denied. The 1987 Constitution mandates the separation of the Church and State. As a state university that is secular in nature, can UP have a masjid or mosque within its campus without violating the Constitution? Lawyer Theodore Te, former vice president for legal affairs of the UP system and current chief of the Public Information Office of the Supreme Court, said the possible objection to the establishment of a mosque at UP would be that the university might “either be favoring or establishing a religion.” But he also said, “I think the argument already loses force because there is already a Catholic church (and) a Protestant chapel.” Established in 1955, the Holy Sacrifice was originally a chaplaincy, giving spiritual service and religious instruction, but not catering to a specific denomination. That is no longer the case. Occupying a 10,000-square-meter lot, the parish under the Roman Read More …