Plus the Magalona brothers Frank and Elmo, JaDine, Enching Dee in costumes
Oct 292015
Oct 292015
Check out Paolo Ballesteros’s latest celebrity make-up transformations.
Oct 292015
In August, cash remittances coursed through banks dipped 0.6 percent to $2.04 billion. File photo MANILA, Philippines – The US dollar’s strength is cutting through remittance earnings of overseas Filipinos, but the recent drop in inflows could prove to be “temporary,” the chief economist of the Department of Finance said. “Overseas remittances will continue to be a positive factor in Philippine GDP (gross domestic product) growth and recent slowdown may be temporary as the US dollar strengthens,” Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said on Thursday. In August, cash remittances coursed through banks dipped 0.6 percent to $2.04 billion, the first monthly drop recorded in 12 years. For the first eight months though, inflows remained up 4.1 percent year-on-year. In an economic bulletin, Beltran said the dollar’s recent appreciation against major currencies lowered the value of remittances sent by Filipinos to their families. The greenback, he said, is garnering strength from expectations that the US Federal Reserve would hike key rates before the year ends. On Wednesday, the Fed kept its near-zero policy rates steady after its two-day meet. “If remittances were valued in respective local currencies, growth would have been double-digit or close to double-digit in many countries,” Beltran pointed out. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 That includes countries “mired in recession, except Italy, and the petroleum exporters which were adversely affected by steep oil price drop,” he added. A strong dollar strips the value of remittances in other currencies if the value being sent remains constant. Read More …
Oct 292015
SM Supermalls recognize its tenant partners at the first SM Partners Summit. SM Supermalls MANILA, Philippines – SM partners and tenants gathered together to celebrate SM Supermalls’ 30th year leading the retail industry through the first ever SM Partners Summit. Participants were treated to a forward-looking conference for retail industry players and business owners that provided practical and inspiring knowledge through discussions of new and innovative ways to elevate the customer experience into a memorable one. The two-day summit included a Retail Summit forum and SM Partners Awards Night, and was held at the SMX Convention Center of the Mall of Asia Complex. With the market’s adaptation to digital shopping, traditional retail businesses find it important to keep with the consumer’s growing needs and demands for shopping experience beyond the brick-and-mortar concept. To create a venue for deep discussion among retailers and business partners, SM leveraged on this big idea for the forum “Bricks Click: Creating the New Marketplace”. Invited retailers and tenants had the opportunity to gain insights from esteemed guest speakers including entrepreneur and inspirational speaker Francis Kong, Disney Institute Regional Business Development Manager Wing-Hoe Tan and Samsung Electronics Vice President for Online David Kang. Panel discussions further elaborated the topics, with executives and veterans of known companies such as Samsung, Max’s, McDonald’s and Google contributing their insights and business experiences. Kong explained that a business should learn to utilize social media and technology not to compete with the traditional way of retail, but to enhance and further develop Read More …
Oct 292015
From January to September, Customs raked in P268.229 billion. File photo MANILA, Philippines – Depressed import prices pulled down the Bureau of Customs’s revenue collections by more than a fifth last month, although the agency remained optimistic it could meet its target by year-end. In a statement on Thursday, Customs said it collected P32.65 billion in September, down 0.8 percent from last year’s P32.9 billion. The bureau was also down by 20.6 percent against that month’s P41.109-billion target. The figures are based on the final tally for September. Last week, preliminary figures obtained by The STAR showed the bureau collected P32.1 billion in September. “Overall, the decline in collection was driven by a drop in the total value of imports,” Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina was quoted in the statement as saying. From January to September, Customs raked in P268.229 billion, up 0.9 percent year-on-year, but below the P314.171-billion target for the first three quarters.
Oct 282015
THE GOVERNMENT has opened its call to local government units (LGUs) to pitch projects aimed at disaster resilience, with authorities eyeing a month-long processing scheme to fast-track its implementation.
Oct 282015
DAVAO CITY — The Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (CanCham) has started conducting consultations on the proposed Canada-Philippines free trade agreement (FTA) as the private sector remains confident of moving forward with the economic partnership despite recent and forthcoming changes in the two countries’ leaderships.
Oct 282015
With the presidential election barely six months away, we can already see the candidates trying to position themselves vis-à-vis each other, and in the public’s mind. The stakes for the Philippines have never been higher. The next administration has the potential to shape the economic landscape of the country for the next 20 years. This might be the most hotly contested presidential election since after Martial Law.
Oct 282015
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) settled lower at 7,289.26 points, while the broader All Shares index slid 12.29 points, or 0.29 percent, to end at 4,189.25. Philstar.com/File MANILA, Philippines – Share prices took a breather yesterday, declining 36.50 points as investors took their cue from regional slump ahead of the US Fed meeting. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) settled lower at 7,289.26 points, while the broader All Shares index slid 12.29 points, or 0.29 percent, to end at 4,189.25. Total value turnover reached P39.152 billion in a session that saw a close race between decliners and advancers, 87 to 84, in favor of advancers. Thirty eight stocks were left unchanged. Analysts attributed the decline to the regional slump ahead of the US Federal meeting. The US Fed is expected to issue a policy statement at the conclusion of a two-day meeting on Wednesday and is again expected to hold off its first rate hike in nearly a decade until next year. Analysts said the Fed would have a difficult time convincing investors that it can tighten monetary policy before the end of the year in the face of US and global economic headwinds. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Many investors had expected the rate hike last September but the US Fed decided to keep rates unchanged. Elsewhere in the region, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6 percent while South Korea’s Kospi declined 0.4 percent and Shanghai stocks also shed 0.7 percent.
Oct 282015
Lovi reveals fashion tips to achieve Instagram-worthy #OOTDs!