THE PHILIPPINES stands to gain $10 billion worth of “co-benefits” annually from slashing 50% from its carbon emissions by 2050, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report launched yesterday.
Jan 112016
Jan 112016
It is day 12 of 2016. Corporations, partnerships, professionals and sole proprietorships should already be working on the renewal of their respective business registration/permits with the local government units (LGUs). I’m sharing in this article some issues that business establishments may encounter in the renewal of their business registration.
Jan 112016
Chinkee Tan First and foremost, allow me to greet you a Happy New Year this 2016. Let us start it off with an intriguing statement, “Do you know that God answers all our prayers.” “If this statement was true, then how come nothing has happened yet and I have been praying for a long time already?” Let me ask you this. When your son asks you for a new toy or gadget, do you say YES right away? When your husband requests to buy a new car, do you say YES right away? When an officemate requests you to do some extra work for him or her that is not within your scope, do you say YES right away? We have to remember that “yes” is not the only answer, that there is ANOTHER answer from God. Just like when we respond to the requests of our children, spouse, sibling, parent, friend or officemate, God won’t always say, “YES”. God does answer all our prayers, but it may not be the answer that we are expecting. It may be… “YES, BUT NOT NOW!” Perhaps you are praying for a promotion, a big contract, additional income, but it still hasn’t happened. You are now annoyed and are almost out of patience. Exactly! Perhaps the reason why God hasn’t answered your prayer is because you are not yet ready. Maybe God wants to teach you about being MORE PATIENT. We have become very impatient and we want to achieve or attain things Read More …
Jan 102016
PREPARATIONS made ahead of the “severe” El Niño are expected to provide a boost to the economy, even with the dry spell posing a downside risk to growth, the Budget secretary said.
Jan 102016
THE GOVERNMENT extended more subsidies to state-owned firms in November, supporting mostly agencies involved with agriculture, water and health as El Niño ravaged the countryside.
Jan 102016
Action Plan 6 of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) final reports identifies treaty abuse, particularly treaty shopping, as one of the most significant causes of BEPS. It recognizes that existing domestic and international tax rules, including double taxation treaties, should be modified to include sufficient safeguards against practices that take advantage of the differences in domestic tax systems of countries and the gaps in the implementation of tax treaties. Countries have therefore agreed to include anti-abuse provisions in their tax treaties, including a minimum standard to counter treaty shopping.
Jan 092016
MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) trimmed its losses in the first 10 months of last year as it continued to book gains on foreign exchange fluctuations. According to official data on the BSP website, the central bank’s net losses amounted to P4.41 billion from January to October, 11.8 percent down from P5 billion the previous year. Revenues jumped 12.9 percent to P447.87 billion from P42.39 billion, while expenses rose 5.2 percent to P59.9 billion from P56.92 billion. The BSP booked gains on foreign exchange fluctuations amounting to P7.63 billion during the period, although a fifth lower compared with P9.54 billion in 2014. Gains or losses from fluctuations in foreign exchange rates are recorded from matured, sold, paid and/or exchanged or settled foreign exchange assets and liabilities. Broken down, bulk of revenues came from interest earnings, which rose 17.7 percent to P32.08 billion. Meanwhile, miscellaneous income from reduced trading gains from domestic and foreign currency securities reached 15.79 billion, up 4.2 percent. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 On expenditures, interest expense on loans and other foreign currency deposits, including cost of minting or printing of currencies increased 6.6 percent to P40.75 billion in the first 10 months last year. The BSP’s primary objective is to promote price and financial stability conducive to balanced and sustainable economic growth. It also seeks to maintain monetary stability and the convertibility of the peso by performing a wide range of functions involving money, banking and Read More …
Jan 092016
MANILA, Philippines – The Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) said the move towards the use of environment-friendly vehicles is running at full speed globally as more electric vehicles are set be introduced this year. “Finally, the big names in the auto industry are joining the electric vehicle bandwagon. Mainstream auto manufacturers are now betting big on electric vehicles as climate change mitigation is becoming a priority agenda among developed nations after the Paris Summit where several major countries agreed on a reduction in global temperature by two degrees,” EVAP said. According to EVAP, several major automotive companies are finally launching their electric cars to the public for sale and not just for lease as in the past. These include the Tesla Model S, BMW X5 eDrive, BMW Series 3 Plug In, VW Passat GTE Plug in, Audi A3 E-tron, Audi Q7 Plug In, Chevy Volt 2.0, Volvo XC90 T8, Volvo S60 Plug In, Mercedes Benz GLE, E and C class Plug in, Mitsubishi Outlander Plug In, BYD Tang and Rimac Concept One. “It is understandable that big manufacturers will be quite slow on the uptake since they have already invested heavily in the old internal combustion engines technology which has not drastically changed during the last 100 years. It is now common knowledge that electric vehicles are more economical to operate since electricity worldwide is cheaper than petroleum products and EVs are virtually almost maintenance free,” the EVAP said.
Jan 092016
MANILA, Philippines – Television giant GMA Network dominated nationwide TV ratings last year particularly in Urban Luzon and Mega Manila, a report by AGB Nielsen showed. Citing Nielsen’s 2015 National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM) report, GMA said it topped the daytime and prime-time slots. Urban Luzon continued to be a strong area for GMA as it registered 39.7 percent audience share, besting ABS-CBN’s 30.6 percent share and TV5’s 8.2 percent share. GMA also secured its dominant position in Mega Manila with its 41.7 percent audience share, up 14.7 points from ABS-CBN’s 27 percent and 33.2 points from TV5’s 8.5 percent. Urban Luzon accounts for 77 percent of all urban TV households in the country while Mega Manila comprises 59 percent. For December 2015 alone, GMA posted a stronger total day lead (38.9 percent) compared with ABS-CBN’s 33.6 percent and TV5’s 7.8 percent. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The report also showed that more viewers across the country tuned in to GMA during the Christmas break covering Dec. 24 to 31 as revealed by its 38.4 percent audience share, 5.9 points higher than ABS-CBN’s 32.5 percent. Since September last year, GMA has overtaken its closest rival ABS-CBN in NUTAM and sustained nationwide ratings leadership until yearend. Nielsen has a nationwide urban sample size of 2,000 homes while it has increased its sample size to 1,200 homes this year for Mega Manila. It has a total of 31 clients and subscribers including eight local TV networks, four Read More …
Jan 092016
MANILA, Philippines – PLDT and Smart Communications, the country’s leading telecommunications and digital services providers, have teamed up to offer the Philippines’ first data plan that enables subscribers to a home DSL service to share their data allocation with mobile phones of their family. Under its new Speedster Fam Plan 1299, PLDT Home DSL offers five times faster speeds of up to 10 megabits per second (Mbps) and a monthly data allocation of 50 gigabytes (GB). Moreover, subscribers who upgrade their Speedster Plan with a Smart mobile plan 399 or plan 600 can share six GB of the 50 GB monthly data allocation to their mobile phone lines which they can use even outside the home. Customers may get up to four Smart mobile phone lines bundled with their Speedster Fam Plan all conveniently billed under one subscription. PLDT and Smart EVP and Consumer Business Group head Ariel P. Fermin said this new service takes off from the Filipino value of sharing. “Sharing is at the core of every Filipino family. We share everything, from food to stories, and memories, and now, data connectivity,” he said. “Now, more than ever, the strongest connections truly begin at home. With this unrivaled and powerful convergence of the country’s number one broadband provider, PLDT Home; and the undisputed leader in mobile services, Smart, we are going beyond the home and enriching mobile experiences of our subscribers. It’s certainly not just about the shared gigabytes but we humanize technology by empowering our customers to Read More …