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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

PSEi back at 6,700 level

4:58 pm | Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The local stock index climbed back to the 6,700 level on Wednesday, aided by strong regional markets and upbeat prospects for the gaming sector.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index racked up 71.46 points or 1.08 percent to close at 6,707.91.

All counters were up, led by the financial, services, mining/oil and property counters which all gained over 1 percent.

Turnover for the day amounted to P10.3 billion.

There were 122 advancers against 51 decliners while 44 stocks were unchanged.

“It’s been a gaming week,” said Jose Mari Lacson, head of research at Campos Lanuza & Co. “Earnings from Bloomberry was a positive surprise.”

Lacson said this had in turn likewise boosted shares of Travellers (RWM) and AGI.

Both AGI and Bloomberry are part of the main-share PSEi. AGI was up by 1.64 percent and Travellers by 2.54 percent while Bloomberry has dipped by 0.33 percent on profit-taking.

Bloomberry earlier reported a net income of P1.46 billion for the first quarter, reversing the net loss of P1.06 billion in the previous year. Gross revenues surged by 1,016 percent year-on-year to P7.38 billion in the first three months.

Megaworld rose by 4.49 percent while PLDT, SM Prime, Metrobank and Meralco all gained by over 2 percent. URC, AC, ALI, ICTSI, SMIC and LTG also contributed to the day’s gains.

Outside of the main index, a notable gainer was Security Bank (+6.1 percent).

PSEi recovers slightly

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Kingson Sian, AGI president and chief operating officer. FILE PHOTO

Alliance Global nets P17.2 B in 2013

Lopez nets P1.94B in 2013

Workers unload a shipment of imported Malaysian lumber for the Philippine market in this file photo. AFP FILE PHOTO

Asean integration not happening in 2015

Specialist Glenn Carell calls out prices before Twitter begins trading during its IPO, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. US stocks Thursday tumbled despite a successful launch of trading in Twitter stock and report on US economic growth that bested expectations by a wide margin. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW

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Tags: Business , economy , PSEi , Stock Activity , Stock Market

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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Alliance Global nets P17.2 B in 2013

1:32 pm | Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

Kingson Sian, AGI president and chief operating officer. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Alliance Global Group Inc. grew its net profit attributable to equity holders of parent firm by about 24 percent to P17.2 billion led by growth in its beverage, property integrated gaming, consumer and tourism businesses.

Including earnings attributed to minority interest, AGI’s net profit last year rose by almost 13 percent to P23.1 billion, making 2013 a banner year for the conglomerate. Consolidated revenues expanded by 21 percent to P123.4 billion.

“We are elated that the group continues to show robust financial performance. We believe that all the ongoing expansion happening at the major subsidiaries of AGI will provide the impetus for sustained growth in the long run,” said Kingson Sian, AGI president and chief operating officer.

In a press statement, AGI said its growth was led by the following subsidiaries: liquor-maker Emperador Inc., property developer Megaworld Corp., integrated gaming and Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc., McDonald’s local master franchise-holder Golden Arches Development Corp. (GADC) and Global-Estate Resorts Inc. (GERI).

Attributable earnings from majority-owned Emperador Inc. totaled P5.3 billion, while Megaworld, also majority-owned by AGI, contributed another P5.3 billion. Travellers accounted for almost P1.2 billion while GADC and GERI contributed P387 million and P224 million, respectively.

AGI’s total assets went up by 22 percent to P332.4 billion as of end-2013 from the previous year.

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Tags: Alliance Global Group Inc , Beverage , Business , Gaming , Real Estate , Tourism

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Apple versus Samsung case goes to California jury

FILE PHOTO

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA— It was Apple versus Samsung but Google loomed large Tuesday during closing arguments at the month-long federal trial involving claims of patent infringement exchanged by the world’s two largest smartphone makers.

A lawyer for Apple accused Samsung of “slavishly” copying key features of its iPhone and iPad products and demanded $2.2 billion in damages.

An attorney for Samsung denied the allegations and argued that its Google-developed software differs from Apple’s operating system.

In his closing argument, lawyer William Price referred to an email from Apple founder Steve Jobs indicating that he had ordered employees to wage a “holy war” against Google and its Android system, believing it was a rip-off of Apple’s operating system.

Price said that was the sole reason Apple filed the lawsuit against Samsung.

“We don’t think we owe Apple a nickel,” added John Quinn, one of four Samsung lawyers involved in the company’s closing argument.

Quinn also said Apple wants to monopolize the industry.

“They want to attack Google and Android by attacking the most successful Android maker,” he said.

Apple lawyer Harold McElhinny told jurors that Samsung’s “illegal strategy has been wildly successful” and insisted that Google had nothing to do with the case.

“Despite all the times Samsung mentioned it, you will not find a single question about Google in your jury form,” McElhinny said. “Google is not a defendant in this case.”

Google spokesman Matt Kallman declined comment on the proceedings.

The four men and four women on the jury began deliberating Tuesday but did not reach a verdict. They will resume Wednesday.

The case marks the latest legal fight between Samsung and Apple as each tries to dominate the $330 billion annual market for smartphones.

Samsung has captured about 31 percent of the smartphone market while Apple retains a 15 percent share.

A different jury in San Jose presiding over a previous trial regarding older technology ordered Samsung to pay Apple $930 million. Samsung has appealed that ruling.

Google may not be a defendant in the current trial, but evidence introduced by Apple attorneys showed the Internet search giant has agreed to reimburse Samsung if the South Korean company is ordered to pay damages on two of the five patents at issue.

In addition, Samsung lawyers called three Google engineers to the witness stand to testify.

The trial involves five Apple patents that the company accuses Samsung of using to create nine newer smartphones and a tablet. The features in question include slide-to-lock, universal searching, quick linking, background syncing and automatic word correction.

Samsung, meanwhile, has alleged that Apple infringed two of its patents related to camera use and video transmission. Samsung is seeking $6.2 million in damages.

Jobs, who died in 2011, is a Silicon Valley legend revered for launching Apple in his family’s garage in 1976. The Cupertino headquarters of the tech giant is a 15-mile (25-kilometer) drive from the San Jose federal courthouse where the patent case is playing.

Prospective jurors were closely questioned before the trial about connections and views about Apple, which employs about 80,000 workers worldwide.

Lopez nets P1.94B in 2013

By Doris C. Dumlao

9:41 am | Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

MANILA, Philippines – Lopez Holdings posted a 55-percent decline in 2013 net income attributable to equity holders of parent firm to P1.94 billion in the absence of one-time gains that boosted earnings in the previous year.

To recall, subsidiary First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) sold a 2.66 percent stake in Manila Electric Co. in January 2012 and recorded a gain on business combination following the listing of property unit Rockwell Land Corp. in May 2012.

For 2013, Lopez’ consolidated revenues decreased by 6 percent year-on-year to P94.62 billion following declines in the sale of electricity (-8 percent) and in the sale of merchandise (-61 percent) by FPH. A fire damaged the San Lorenzo Power Plant’s main transformer in May 2013, halving its production until the transformer was replaced before the end of 2013.

“The decision of FPH unit First Gen Corp. to fly in the replacement transformer, even if it required hiring the world’s largest aircraft, showed its solid commitment to providing sufficient, safe and reliable electricity to its customers,” said Lopez president, chief operating officer and chief finance officer Salvador Tirona.

“Meanwhile, ABS-CBN reported strong revenues from both regular and election-advocacy advertising in 2013, which was a mid-term election year. We expect stable operations from both FPH and ABS-CBN this year, before their investments in new ventures gain traction in 2015 to 2016,” Tirona added.

Formerly Benpres Holdings Corp., Lopez was incorporated in 1993 by the Lopez family to serve as the holding company for investments in major development sectors. It is the controlling shareholder of publicly listed First Philippine Holdings Corp. and holds its interest in ABS-CBN Corp. through Lopez Inc. Philippine depository receipts (PDRs).

As of end-2013, Lopez Holdings owned 46 percent of FPH and held a 56 percent economic interest in ABS-CBN.

Under Philippine Accounting Standards adopted on January 1, 2013, Lopez Holdings de-consolidated ABS-CBN and consolidated FPH and in its financial statements. Comparative financial statements for 2012 were restated to reflect the change.

FPH reported a 74 percent decrease in net income attributable to equity holders of the Parent to P2.35 billion in 2013 primarily due to the absence of a gain from sale of investment. For its part, ABS-CBN reported a 25 percent increase in net income for 2013 to P2.03 billion.

Lopez Holdings invested in P197 million worth of preferred shares and P1.5 billion worth of common shares issued by ABS-CBN through Lopez PDRs.

US stocks finish higher following mixed earnings, data

In this Monday, April 28, 2014, file photo, traders gather at the post of specialist Jason Hardzewicz, center, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. US stocks Tuesday finished higher after mixed economic data and corporate earnings as a two-day US Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting got under way. AP

NEW YORK—US stocks Tuesday finished higher after mixed economic data and corporate earnings as a two-day US Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting got under way.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 86.63 (0.53 percent) to 16,535.37.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 8.90 (0.48 percent) at 1,878.33, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tacked on 29.14 (0.72 percent) to 4,103.54.

Some tech stocks such as Facebook (+3.6 percent) and Netflix (1.8 percent) that fell on Monday scored solid gains.

“I think we’re still in this pattern of one day up and one day down,” said Mace Blicksilver, director of Marblehead Asset Management.

The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence dipped to 82.3 in April, below the 83.6 forecast by analysts.

Meanwhile, the S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices showed a rise of 12.9 percent in February from a year ago. However, February marked the fourth consecutive month of slowing annual price gains.

Investors believe the Fed will strike an “accommodative” tone in its policy statement Wednesday, said Gregori Volokhine, president of Meeschaert Capital Markets. The central bank is expected to leave its key interest rate near zero and reduce its bond-purchase stimulus by $10 to $55 billion a month.

Stocks have also been lifted by a spate of merger and acquisition activity, Volokhine said.

Higher sales of antidiabetic drugs helped Dow component Merck offset the effects of patent expirations. Profits rose 7.0 percent, lifting shares 3.6 percent.

Bristol-Myers Squibb, another large drug company, also notched higher profits even as revenues fell 0.5 percent to $3.81 billion, below the $3.89 billion forecast by analysts. Shares lost 2.1 percent.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber slumped 7.7 percent after reporting a loss of $58 million on lower sales and a $132 million charge due to the impact of a change in Venezuela’s foreign exchange policy.

Handbag and accessory maker Coach suffered from an 18 percent decline in North American sales as it reported a 20 percent drop in earnings. Shares sank 9.3 percent.

Earnings at MGM Resorts International jumped to $108.2 million from $6.5 million in the year-ago period. Shares rose 8.5 percent.

Yahoo got a lift after a UBS note said the company was undervalued. UBS cited Yahoo’s stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba as a huge boon. Shares rose 5.4 percent.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.70 percent from 2.68 percent Monday, while the 30-year increased to 3.49 percent from 3.46 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

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Asean integration not happening in 2015

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will not likely achieve all the targets it had set out to have a fully integrated regional economy given the difficulties in implementing the measures to institute and harmonize the so-called “nontariff barriers.”

“It’s highly unlikely that the Asean will meet all the targets by 2015. That’s quite clear. Even the Asean scorecards show that. A more realistic deadline, keeping in mind the new member-countries, will be 2025,” said Jayant Menon, lead economist from the Office of Regional Economic Integration at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Speaking at the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) general membership meeting Tuesday, Menon noted that the tariff targets would likely be met as the Asean has already achieved about three quarters of the targets set out for the establishment of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) by the end of next year.

By virtue of the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (Atiga), most of the import duties in Asean have fallen to zero since January 2010. More than 99 percent of goods traded in Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei are already at zero tariff, while Cambodia, Laos, Burma (Myanmar) and Vietnam have been offering 0-5 percent duties on 98.6 percent of goods sourced within the region. Only a few products are still protected by tariffs within Asean, among them rice, sugar, swine and chicken.

The remaining targets, however, would be the hardest to complete as these pertain to the nontariff barriers, including the adequacy of infrastructure, intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, Customs automation and modernization, addressing red tape and other forms of corruption, streamlining business procedures and implementing a competition policy, Menon said.

The harmonization of such policies across the 10 member-states of Asean might prove to be difficult as in some cases, it would require a country to embark on constitutional changes, he further explained.

“In terms of nontariff barriers, it varies country by country. In the new member-countries, there is still a lot of red tape. A lot of the Customs procedures, for instance, are not yet automated, which leaves a lot of room for corruption,” Menon said. “In the Philippines, the biggest nontariff barrier would be infrastructure, which is still relatively weak so the trade costs associated with infrastructure remained high. And also, there is still a lot of red tape, while there are still business procedures that can be simplified.”

The establishment of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) by end-2015 is seen to herald “a new era for borderless competition” across industries. It is expected to transform the Asean countries into a single market and production base, to be characterized by the free flow of goods, services, skilled labor, investments and capital.

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PSEi recovers slightly

Philippine Daily Inquirer

12:10 am | Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

Local stocks recovered some lost ground Tuesday as positive sentiments overseas helped lift the local equities market.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 0.49 percent, or 32.1 points, to 6,636.45. The broader all-shares index was up 0.5 percent, or 19.84 points, to 4,010.04.

All subsectors closed in the green, led by property firms (+0.78 percent ) and followed by industrial companies (+0.76 percent ).

“Somewhat growing tired and weary of poring over recent risk factors and discounting these into share prices, markets turned focus on [corporate news], particularly on M&A activity. This provided a decent lift to share prices in the US and Europe overnight,” Justino Calaycay Jr. of Accord Capital Equities said in a report. “In turn, this gave local investors, as well as in the broader Asian region, reason to snap out of an extended decline.”

A total of 710.36 million shares changed hands yesterday valued at P6.46 billion. There were a total of 104 advancers versus 63 decliners while 50 companies closed unchanged. Miguel R. Camus

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A man stands outside a securities firm in Tokyo on Monday, April 28, 2014. Asian markets were mixed in edgy trade Tuesday following a pick-up on Wall Street as investors await key economic news from around the world later in the week. AP PHOTO/JUNJI KUROKAWA

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Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer's day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer's Reader's Advocate. Or write The Readers' Advocate:

c/o Philippine Daily Inquirer Chino Roces Avenue corner Yague and Mascardo Streets, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines Or fax nos. +63 2 8974793 to 94

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usd and usd

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

PSEi back at 6,700 level

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Alliance Global nets P17.2 B in 2013

Apple versus Samsung case goes to California jury

Lopez nets P1.94B in 2013

US stocks finish higher following mixed earnings, data

Asean integration not happening in 2015

PSEi recovers slightly

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