TOYOTA has rolled out its crystal ball and showed a glimpse of the future with the unveiling of plans to build a prototype “city of the future” on a 70-hectare site on no less than the base of spectacular Mt. Fuji in Japan.

ISUZU PHILIPPINES Corporation (IPC) early this week donated one unit of Isuzu D-MAX 4x4 LS MT to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), Laguna Chapter, at the IPC Plant in Biñan Laguna, for the Taal Volcano eruption relief efforts mobilization. Additional supplies were also provided such as bottled water, toiletries, clothes and other essentials to alleviate the condition of evacuees and affected individual.

ALPHALAND Corp. owner Roberto V. Ongpin is considering a return for the operator of Balesin Island Club to the stock market soon, its incoming president said.

HYUNDAI Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of the leading Korean automotive brand in the Philippines, ended the year strong with 2.9% growth in December 2019 or 3,163 units sold versus the same month last year.

IT’S A season of change as the earth seeks to shrug off the snows of winter -- the same can be said about the appointment of two new names at two fashion powerhouses. BusinessWorld saw the shows at Paris Haute Couture Week last week (via a video stream), and chose three shows that shared something in common. While each is a flex of their maison’s muscles, the haute couture shows also dictate where fashions might go. Yes, trickle-up inspirations and Hollywood exist to do the same, but you might expect a few fast-fashion factories to copy these looks, thus bringing them to the middle classes. The collections revert to a sort of innocence and a return to basics -- a timely response to the complications of our world.

ILOILO CITY -- The town of Maasin, Iloilo, which is being positioned as a center of the bamboo industry, supplied most of the kiosks for this year’s Ilonggo Food Festival in a bid to highlight the town’s design talent.

FILIPINO designer Josie Natori wore a minimalist black outfit that showed off her statement jewelry perfectly -- dangling dragon earrings in midnight silver accented with a white gemstone at the center.

NIKE’S thrust of providing consumers with quality products by tapping the latest in technology continues with the launch of its new running and basketball shoes -- the Nike React Infinity Run and Nike Adapt BB 2.0 shoes.

YIELDS ON THE Treasury bills (T-bills) to be auctioned off on Monday will likely move sideways amid strong liquidity.

KUALA LUMPUR/NEW DELHI -- Indonesia has agreed to immediately increase imports of Indian buffalo meat, sugar and auto parts after India boosted purchases of Indonesian palm oil amid a spat with rival supplier Malaysia, two Indian government sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday.

MAKURDI, NIGERIA -- Thomas Tyavwva Maji is planting rice on more of his land in Nigeria’s Benue State than ever to take advantage of a surge in prices since the country shut its land borders in August.

THE LOCAL BOURSE is seen to attract bargain hunters this week amid the decline in share prices of blue chips.