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Metro Pacific Investments Corp chair and president Manuel V. Pangilinan and Solar Philippines founder and CEO Leandro Leviste shake hands after signing the share purchase agreement. MANILA  -Tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is buying into businessman Leandro Leviste’s SP New Energy Corp., announcing on Tuesday  the infusion of a P2-billion investment in the company plus an option that could make it the solar energy startup’s single largest shareholder. In a stock exchange filing on Tuesday, Metro Pacific said it signed definitive agreements to acquire 1.6 billion common shares or a 16 -percent stake in SP New Energy, which is aggressively raising money to bankroll an ambitious pipeline of solar power projects. Solar Philippines aims to build world’s largest solar farm Pangilinan will also replace Leviste, son of Sen. Loren Legarda, as chair of SP New Energy. Leviste will remain president and CEO of the company. “Our thrust of pursuing … [Read more...] about Metro Pacific invests P2B in Leandro Leviste’s solar power firm

Key Takeaways U.S. equities jumped, boosted by bank stocks and by comments from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that smaller banks that fail could get a government backstop for uninsured deposits. Moody’s raised the rating on Tesla’s ( TSLA ) debt from junk to investment grade, and that sent shares of the electric carmaker up almost 8%. Utility companies were among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500. Falling gold prices drove down shares of Newmont Corporation ( NEM ) and rival gold miners. U.S. equities jumped, boosted by bank stocks on reports of another industry effort to assist struggling First Republic Bank ( FRC ), and by comments from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that if needed, smaller banks that fail could get a government backstop for uninsured deposits. All that came a day before the Federal Reserve is set to announce whether it will continue raising interest rates to fight inflation, or hold off because of the turmoil in the banking sector. … [Read more...] about Bank Optimism and Yellen’s Comments Lift Markets

Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s is telling me a story about smoking pot. We’re on Zoom, and he says: “The idea came about when I was on a camping trip with a friend of mine, sitting around a fire, smoking a joint. And we were saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have pot like the old days?’” The idea Cohen is referring to is his latest venture, the eponymously named Ben’s Best Blnz , or B3. The just-launched company is a bright, bold cannabis brand that offers low-THC pre-rolls and full-spectrum vapes. Much like his endeavors in ice cream, Cohen set out to use B3’s platform as a conduit for what he refers to as “social benefit.” B3 is registered as a nonprofit, with 100% of its profits split between three entities: 10% will go to the Last Prisoner Project , an organization dedicated to freeing individuals impacted by cannabis criminalization; another 10% will be donated to the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance , whose mission is to “secure sustainable power, ensure … [Read more...] about Ben of Ben & Jerry trades ice cream for cannabis

This 2016 photo provided by Netflix shows writer/producer Marta Kauffman, from left, Jane Fonda, as Grace Hanson, and Lily Tomlin, as Frankie Bergstein, in a scene from “Grace and Frankie”. Image: Netflix/Melissa Mosley via AP Ask Marta Kauffman if there will be a “Friends” reunion someday, and the answer is a crisp “nope.” Kauffman, who created the enduringly popular sitcom with David Crane and was an executive producer from start to finish, is focused on what’s now and next, not what’s past. She’s moved on from the 1994-2004 network-airbrushed adventures of young New York pals to the unvarnished pains and pleasures of older women — and, subordinately, men — in “Grace and Frankie”. The Netflix comedy is in the hunt to add 2019 Emmy Award nominations to those earned in its first four seasons by stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, who also have received Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe and other nods of recognition. “Friends” can boast of nabbing a best comedy series Emmy in … [Read more...] about ‘Friends’, ‘Grace and Frankie’ creator outfoxes sexism

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. lauded Pag-IBIG Fund’s highest dividend rates since the Covid-19 pandemic, as its Regular Savings dividend rate for 2022 reached 6.53 percent and its Modified Pag-IBIG 2 (MP2) Savings surged to 7.03 percent per annum The dividend rates on the members’ savings of the agency were the highlights of the Pag-IBIG Fund Chairman’s Report for 2022, where the president spoke before a gathering of agency members, partners and stakeholders at the SMX Convention Center, Tuesday (March 28). “It makes me proud that your agency’s stewardship of our national savings program has successfully provided affordable shelter financing for our people. Let me thank all of you, the members who are the owners of Pag-IBIG Fund, including concerned housing developers, partners, and other key stakeholders who have been instrumental in fulfilling the Pag-IBIG Fund’s mandate, of serving the Filipino workforce,” the President said. “As the Pag-IBIG Fund was established under the … [Read more...] about PBBM lauds highest Pag-IBIG dividend rates since pandemic: 6.53% for Regular Savings, 7.03% for MP2

But the group is still mired in a war of nerves with the government over management affairs. Former CEO Koo Hyun-mo was appointed under the liberal Moon Jae-in administration. But he gave up a bid for another term under pressure from the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration. Yun’s withdrawal underscores how the KT management remains under political influence. As Koo’s term ends at the end of March, KT could be doing business without CEO for a while. Finding the next candidate for the top post is not easy. The government opposed Yun as the new head of KT, not to mention three other candidates shortlisted by the KT board of directors. The government more or less displayed its disapproval of the current KT management, accusing it of being “a cartel group.” While resigning from the nomination, Yun said that the new CEO should be able to improve the governance structure that can exceed the expectations of major stakeholders. Given that Yun’s nomination was approved by minority … [Read more...] about [Editorial] A critical leadership vacuum at KT

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin North Carolina’s First Citizens Bank doubled its size with the stroke of a pen in the early hours of Monday morning with its landmark FDIC-assisted acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank , and nobody will reap the rewards more than the family that has orchestrated its growth for the last century. Chairman and CEO Frank Holding Jr. and his four sisters Olivia Holding, Hope Bryant, Carson Brice and Claire Bristow collectively own about 20% of First Citizens’ stock and have close to 50% voting power in the company, according to SEC filings, for a cumulative stake worth $2.7 billion thanks to Monday’s 54% stock gain following the deal. The surge erased all of the stock’s year-to-date losses in the regional bank selloff stemming from SVB’s failure and contagion fears. Raleigh-based First Citizens and the Holding family have kept a low profile for decades, but the family-owned bank has been on a mission to expand nationwide via … [Read more...] about SVB’s New Owners, The Billionaire North Carolina Family Behind First Citizens, Are Quietly Building A Banking Empire

PHOTO: The TAT has joined up with four online platforms to promote Thailand tourism. (via TAT) Tourism Authority of Thailand has joined forces with Agoda, Alipay, Klook and KKDay in a new joint marketing initiative aimed at increasing tourism in the kingdom. Each of the platforms will launch promotions and campaigns to boost tourism in Thailand and enhance awareness of experience-based tourism activities in major and secondary Thai destinations. Representatives from the four online platforms joined TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn and other top-level TAT executives for a press conference to announce the partnership . The TAT governor spoke of the importance of the Internet for modern travel. “TAT recognises the world online platform as an important information source that influences tourists’ decision-making process on airline, hotel, and destination selection, through to sharing their travel experiences during and after the trip. This joint marketing initiative … [Read more...] about Tourism Authority of Thailand partners with Agoda, Alipay, Klook and KKDay

By NICOLAS GARRIGA and JOHN LEICESTER (Associated Press) PARIS — Protests and strikes against unpopular pension reforms kicked off again Tuesday across France, with police security ramped up against feared violence and government warnings that radical demonstrators intend “to destroy, to injure and to kill.” Fears that violence could mar the demonstrations prompted what Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin described as an unprecedented deployment of 13,000 officers, nearly half of them concentrated in the French capital. Protests got underway peacefully Tuesday morning, with large crowds in multiple cities. In Paris, striking railway workers with burning flares and flags invaded and blocked train tracks serving one of the capital’s main stations, Gare de Lyon. Police were braced for violence later in the day. The interior minister said more than 1,000 “radical” troublemakers, some from overseas, could latch on to marches planned in Paris and elsewhere. “They come to destroy, … [Read more...] about France braces for violence in new wave of pension protests