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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

JOHANNESBURG  -China spent $240 billion bailing out 22 developing countries between 2008 and 2021, with the amount soaring in recent years as more have struggled to repay loans spent building “Belt and Road” infrastructure, a study published on Tuesday showed. Almost 80 percent of the lending was made between 2016 and 2021, mainly to middle-income countries including Argentina, Mongolia and Pakistan, according to the report by researchers from the World Bank, Harvard Kennedy School, AidData and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. China has lent hundreds of billions of dollars to build infrastructure in developing countries, but lending has tailed off since 2016 as many projects have failed to pay the expected financial dividends. “Beijing is ultimately trying to rescue its own banks. That’s why it has gotten into the risky business of international bailout lending,” said Carmen Reinhart, a former World Bank chief economist and one of the study’s authors. Chinese loans to … [Read more...] about China spent $240B bailing out ‘Belt and Road’ countries, study shows

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

The film would be a live performance of the show at New York’s Richard Rodgers Theatre that comprised the original cast. Image: Hamilton/Official Broadway Site A big-screen version of the smash-hit musical “Hamilton” is coming to movie theaters in 2021, its creator announced on Monday. The show — which has become one of the highest-grossing Broadway musicals of all time since its 2015 debut — tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the United States. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also stars in “Hamilton”, said the film would be a live performance of the show at New York’s Richard Rodgers Theatre that comprised the original cast. It will be distributed by Disney and released on Oct. 15, 2021, he said in a tweet. Variety magazine said it would get theatrical runs in the U.S. and Canada. “Hamilton” has made $633 million (P32.1 billion) in box office receipts and has been seen by 2.5 million people in New York alone since arriving on Broadway in … [Read more...] about ‘Hamilton’ musical to be released in cinemas

My first-ever performance review was for a huge consulting firm. It felt like drinking water from a firehose: How could I condense everything I’d done and learned into a few paragraphs? I stayed up all night, hacking together a list. But when I was done, I realized I’d missed the mark. All I had created was a record of the activities I’d done. The “so what?” wasn’t there. It wasn’t an ideal way to kick off my career. So, I developed a system that helped me track and celebrate my milestones and prepare for my reviews—without subjecting myself to disgusting coffee and all-nighters. Here’s my system, and how you can adapt it for your performance reviews. Step 1: Identify your metrics A successful performance review connects your accomplishments to metrics that matter. So, how do you identify the most important metrics? Pull verbs from your job description When you boil down a job description down, the verbs are what matter. Those words—along with … [Read more...] about A simple 5-step system to ace performance reviews

HONG KONG  -Asian and European markets traded higher on Tuesday, as fears of a banking crisis eased thanks to the sale of fallen lender Silicon Valley Bank. News that North Carolina-based First Citizens Bank had agreed to take over most of SVB boosted European stocks and Wall Street on Monday. The gains were led by banking shares, following a rout last week over concerns that the turmoil in the sector could hit other major institutions, such as German giant Deutsche Bank. Hong Kong and Tokyo closed higher, while Sydney, Singapore and Seoul also gained. Shanghai was down, however. European equities were also higher in early trade, with London, Frankfurt and Paris all in positive territory. Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank, said Tuesday that the acquisition by First Citizens had “helped set a positive tone” in global markets. SVB deal helps to steady banks amid credit crunch concerns “Together with the absence of new scare stories over … [Read more...] about Asian, European markets rise as banking crisis fears ease

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

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is planning to split its business into six main units covering e-commerce, media and the cloud, the company said on Tuesday, adding that each of the units will explore fundraising or initial public offerings. U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba rose 3.5 percent in trading before the bell. The six units will include Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, Local Services Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics Group, Global Digital Commerce Group and Digital Media and Entertainment Group. Each of the six will be managed by its own CEO and board of directors. Daniel Zhang will continue to serve as chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group, which will follow a holding company management model, the company said in a statement. Zhang will also serve as CEO of Cloud Intelligence Group, as previously announced. Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. … [Read more...] about Alibaba to split into six units, explore IPOs

Globe is setting a new trend with women outnumbering their male counterparts in leadership positions. This comes at a time when most Philippine boardrooms are still dominated by men. Some 52% of Globe’s executive roster are women, with 49 holding the top two ranks in the corporate hierarchy, compared to 45 men as of end 2022. This marks the first time in at least five years that there were more female executives in Globe’s core business. Women ranked managers and directors have also been increasing in the last five years, rising from 958 in 2018 to 1,193 as of end 2022. Even while there are still more men in middle management, the female population is catching up. These figures buck the trend as cited in a March 2019 study by the Makati Business Club that was supported by UN Women, the European Union and Women Empower Asia. The study “Women in the Philippine C-Suite” found that only about three percent of C-Suite positions in business across the country are … [Read more...] about Globe keeps diversity and gender balance strong with women in leadership team

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian and Philippine offshore gaming operation. PHOTO: INQUIRER FILES, SENATE PRIB MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian claimed Tuesday that a Senate panel recommendation to permanently ban the Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) in the country already has the support of the majority of its members. “Hindi ko muna idi-disclose sa inyo but meron na tayong nadagdagan especially after nung privilege speech,” Gatchalian said in an interview at the Senate. (I will not disclose it to you for now, but we have gained additional support, especially after the privilege speech.) “Mare-report out na natin ‘yun,” added the senator, who, as chairman of the Senate committee on ways and means, led the probe on the impact of the offshore gaming operations in the country. (We can already report it.) If the Senate adopts the committee report, Gatchalian said it would send a strong message to the executive. However, he also stressed that whether or … [Read more...] about Gatchalian says panel report vs Pogos gaining support from senators