Answers to 10 of your biggest exercise questions

 General
Jan 262015
 
Answers to 10 of your biggest exercise questions

Exercise offers a multitude of rewards. Done properly and regularly, it can lower your blood pressure, improve blood cholesterol levels, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.  It helps prevent and treat diabetes, enhances the immune system, improves sleep, and may even reduce the risk of some cancers. Staying physically active is vital for maintaining strong muscles, healthy bones, and limber joints, enabling us to carry out our daily tasks with vigor. It reduces falls among older people and can help relieve arthritis pain.  And it’s as important for your brain as for the rest of your body.  If that weren’t enough, it can help control weight — which is important as obesity itself raises the risk of many chronic diseases. Starting to exercise can be a marker for a “turning-over-a-new-leaf” mentality — the desire to take better care of yourself.  Even if exercise is already an essential part of your life, I hope you learn a thing or two from today’s article, which can improve your workouts. Here are 10 of the most common questions asked about exercise. 1. Q. How can I tell if I’m working out intensely enough — or too intensely? A. There are several ways. For one, you can measure your heart rate.  Start by getting a rough estimate of your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220.  If you’ve been mostly sedentary, aim for a target heart rate of 50 to 60 percent of the result. If you’re fairly well-trained, you can Read More …

Del Monte adjusts timetable for $180-M stock rights

 General
Jan 262015
 
Del Monte adjusts timetable for $180-M stock rights

MANILA, Philippines – Food processing giant Del Monte Pacific Ltd. (DMPL) has revised the timetable of its planned stock rights offering that will be simultaneously conducted in the Philippines and Singapore. In a disclosure to the local bourse, DMPL said the schedule of its $180-million stock rights offering of ordinary shares has now been moved to a slightly later date next month. DMPL said the offer period would now run from Feb.10 to Feb. 26. The earlier plan was for the offer to start on Feb. 5 and end on Feb. 23. Likewise, listing of the shares in both the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd. has been changed to March 9 from an earlier tentative date of March 4.  “Please be advised that the timetable we provided earlier was only indicative of the timing of the company’s receipt of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd.’s (SGX-ST) approval in principle for the Singapore rights offer could only be estimated,” DMPL said.  “Based on our current assessment, we expect to obtain the SGX-ST’s approval in principle on Jan. 28,” the firm listed in Singapore and the Philippines added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 DMPL is looking at gross proceeds of up to $180 million from the stock rights offer of up to 641.90 million new ordinary shares held by its shareholders. One rights share will be offered for every 2.029 ordinary shares held by an existing investor. Proceeds of the proposed rights issue Read More …

7-Eleven hikes capex to P3 B this year

 Economy
Jan 262015
 
7-Eleven hikes capex to P3 B this year

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC), the exclusive local licensee of convenience store chain 7-Eleven, is hiking its spending this year by more than 50 percent to support its aggressive store expansion plans. PSC said it would be increasing its capital expenditures budget to P3 billion this year from about P2 billion in 2014. Last year’s capex was used for the opening of new 7-Eleven stores and remodeling of existing ones. For this year, the listed firm said the higher budget would support its accelerated store expansion strategy that entails the opening of 500 new stores. Jose Victor Paterno, PSC president and chief executive officer, said the long-term growth prospects for the convenience store industry in the country are favorable and the company could sustain its momentum to meet earnings and store expansion goals. “PSC has taken steps to protect and expand its leadership in light of increased competition, recognizing that rewards for market share are especially strong in the convenience store sector,” Paterno said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 PSC ended last year with 1,282 7-Eleven stores across the country, 273 stores or 27 percent more compared to its store count a year earlier. PSC said it opened 286 new stores and closed down 13 stores last year. This year, the company is eyeing to ramp up its presence in major cities of Mindanao and other major cities in the Visayas such as Dumaguete, Capiz and Aklan. In the Visayas, the company said it Read More …

MPIC to study SCTEX O&M offers

 Economy
Jan 262015
 
MPIC to study SCTEX O&M offers

MANILA, Philippines – Infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is set to carefully evaluate the offers for operation and maintenance of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac expressway (SCTEX) under the Swiss challenge process being undertaken by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA). MPIC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said in an interview that Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) has the right to match any offer submitted by the interested groups to operate and maintain the 94-kilometer tollroad.  “We have the right to match. I think we will just have to wait for the number and look, consider, and assess it carefully,” Pangilinan said. Although SCTEX plays an important role in MPIC’s toll road business,he stressed the need to carefully study and evaluate the offers made in the price challenge.  “It is important but we don’t want to just pay for any price,” Pangilinan said. Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) and a group represented by the law firm of Aguirre, Abano, Pamfilo, Paras, Pineda, and Agustin have expressed interest in the toll road. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 BCDA has given interested companies until Jan. 30 to submit their bids and is set to award the toll road to the winning bidder in March. Interested companies would have to match the P3.5-billion offer made by MNTC and at the same time share 50 percent of the gross toll revenues with the BCDA. The winning bidder for the concession valid until 2043 would continue the integration of SCTEX with Read More …

Early shift to EMV chip technology seen

 Economy
Jan 262015
 
Early shift to EMV chip technology seen

MANILA, Philippines – The shift to EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) chip cards may happen earlier than 2017, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said, as more local banks move to protect their systems and consumers from fraud. EMV chip is the new global standard for chip-based credit and debit transactions that is considered more secure than magnetic stripe cards. “The migration to EMV may actually happen as a practical reality earlier than 2017 because of commercial reasons. Banks are motivated to have EMV chips because of all these skimming (incidents),” BSP Deputy Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. told reporters. The central bank in November last year released the guidelines for the replacement of magnetic-stripe cards in favor of EMV-chip carrying ones in preparation for the required adoption of the new technology by 2017. “It’s because when there are problems with an ATM card, let’s say it has been skimmed, the banks shoulder the cost. So it’s costing them more money to maintain a weaker technology,” Espenilla said. “It makes more sense for them to adopt the EMV technology sooner than the regulatory timeline and that’s actually what we expect to happen,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 EMV-chip enabled cards carry unique codes for every transaction, making thieves unable to use stolen information for a separate business deal. Consumers will not necessarily be charged for new cards although Espenilla stressed that since this is a business decision for banks, it may vary from one lender to Read More …

Etihad offers United States preclearance

 Economy
Jan 262015
 
Etihad offers United States preclearance

MANILA, Philippines – Air travellers on all Etihad Airways flights to the United States can now experience the benefits of arriving in the US having precleared US Customs and Border Protection at Abu Dhabi Airport. US preclearance at Abu Dhabi is open for flight EY103 to New York JFK which conveniently connects with inbound services from Manila, Philippines. The new early​ morning US preclearance operation complements the mid-morning one which caters to Etihad Airways passengers on flights to Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York JFK, and Washington DC, who all proceed through the facility. Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ chief commercial officer, said: “We’re delighted that all air travellers flying to the United States from Abu Dhabi will enjoy the benefits that US customs and immigration preclearance offers. “Since its opening in January last year, the US preclearance has been extremely popular with air travellers, particularly those from the Indian subcontinent and Middle East region. More than 325,000 people have passed through the facility, arriving in the United States as domestic passengers.” The preclearance process provides passengers with the unique opportunity to pass through all required checks including US customs, immigration and security conveniently while in Abu Dhabi before they board their flight to the US, enabling them to avoid queues on arrival. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Another key benefit of US preclearance is that baggage security screening meets United States TSA security standards, allowing air travellers who connect onto a US domestic flight to have their baggage checked through from Read More …

Princess Leia wears Oliver Tolentino at SAG Awards

 General
Jan 262015
 
Princess Leia wears Oliver Tolentino at SAG Awards

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino designer Oliver Tolentino adds a Star Wars icon to the long list of Hollywood celebrities to wear his creations. Last Sunday at the SAG Awards, Carrie Fisher wore Oliver’s gown to present her mother, film legend Debbie Reynolds, with the Screen Actors Guild’s 51st Life Achievement Award during the live telecast. Reynolds has appeared in countless films but is perhaps best known for her breakout role in Singin’ in the Rain at the young age of 20. Fisher, who played the iconic role of Princess Leia in the Star Wars films franchise, chose a flattering black silk chiffon, empire-cut gown that featured a hand-beaded bodice and beaded lace sleeves. (For more info, call [02] 8567088 or visit www.OliverTolentino.com.)

Euro hits 11-year low on Greece fears, Asian equities muted

 General
Jan 262015
 
Euro hits 11-year low on Greece fears, Asian equities muted

A woman walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo Monday, Jan. 26, 2015. Asian stocks and the euro were weaker Monday after Greece’s anti-austerity opposition party won a big victory in national elections, renewing fears the European common currency bloc could unravel. AP PHOTO/KOJI SASAHARA HONG KONG–The euro sank to an 11-year low Monday but Asian equities largely recovered from early losses after an anti-austerity party won Greece’s election, throwing its international bailout into doubt and raising fears it could leave the eurozone. Oil prices resumed their downward trend after rallying on Friday in response to the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, which fueled uncertainty in the crude market. The far-left Syriza party was two seats short of winning an outright majority in Sunday’s polls, giving it more bargaining power to take a hard line on rowing back austerity measures. The group had campaigned on renegotiating the 240-billion-euro European Union-International Monetary Fund bailout that imposed strict spending and taxation rules on Athens. The possibility of Greece defaulting on its debt repayments is likely to spark renewed fears it could be forced to leave the eurozone. As the result became clear, party leader Alexis Tsipras told thousands of flag-waving supporters in Athens: “Greece is leaving behind disastrous austerity.” The news hit the single currency in early Asian trade. The euro dived at one point to $1.1088, its lowest level since September 2003, before recovering slightly to $1.1200. That compares with $1.208 Friday in New York. Read More …

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