Back in 2004, when selling CD-ROMs was still a lucrative business, BenQ Materials Corp. thought it was time to get out. In the years that followed, the technology became less mainstream, overtaken by everything from flash drives to online downloads.
Now, the Taiwanese electronics parts maker is doing it again. This time, it’s cutting back on a different cash cow: a component that it produces for liquid crystal displays. And it’s getting into parts for electric-vehicle batteries.
While BenQ is a small company, with a market value of just $199 million, and some might argue that getting out of CD-ROMs in 2004 wasn’t that prescient, its move is emblematic of the difficulties facing the industry. LCD panels have been under pressure from the emergence of newer technologies such as OLED, with Apple Inc., for example, adopting those screens for some of its phones. At the same time, a glut of Chinese supply is causing prices to slump as LCDs become commoditized.
“Change is painful,” Z.C. Chen, BenQ’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in an interview. But “I don’t see much room for this business to grow.”
In 2004, Chen and other executives decided to risk severing ties with Japanese giant Sony Corp., to which it supplied CD-ROMs. At that time, the discs were a key part of BenQ’s business. But the company decided to become a maker of polarizer films for LCDs for Taiwanese electronics maker AU Optronics Corp. BenQ discontinued CD-ROM production entirely in 2011.
BenQ now relies on the films, which are crucial for controlling light transmission in LCD panels, for 90% of its revenue. It plans to cut this initially to 70 percent, and may go lower over time, Chen said.
In a shift in focus, BenQ is hoping to get into the electric-vehicle supply chain. Chen says the company has approached a major Japanese auto parts maker about supplying components for rechargeable batteries.
Chen’s move away from LCD parts comes as slumping prices deal a blow to the industry. Prices of 55-inch ultra high-definition LCD screens, for example, fell 4.8% as of July 5 compared with the previous month, accelerating from an average 2 percent decline in the previous six months, according to data compiled by Witsview Technology. That comes as Chinese companies pump billions of dollars into building factories that churn out large LCD panels for TVs.
Shares of South Korea’s LG Display Inc., the world’s largest maker of LCDs, have fallen 32 percent this year, poised for their worst annual decline since 2011. Analysts estimate that the company will post a 476 billion won ($425 million) operating loss in 2018.
BenQ Materials, which is listed in Taipei, has also felt some impact. The company’s stock is down 5.3 percent in 2018 after surging 34 percent the year before. It’s perhaps not that surprising that the company is choosing to act again.
“As long as there’s no technology advance, then the price drop will be very severe,” Chen said, referring to both LCDs and its polarizer films. “We have to keep moving to other areas.” — Bloomberg
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo Senior Reporter
A TALL Batang Gilas team bannered by twin towers begins its 2018 FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship campaign this weekend in Thailand.
Seven-footer Kai Sotto and 6’11 Filipino-Nigerian AJ Edu are part of the squad that will carry the Philippine cause in the biennial U18 tournament happening from Aug. 5 to 11 and against 15 other teams from around the region.
The tournament will be the first time that the two will join forces for the national team and both are excited for the opportunity.
“I’m looking forward to playing with Kai Sotto. I watched the tournament in Argentina. I think it can work out really well I believe. So I think they have the right idea to be excited,” Edu was quoted as saying by the FIBA website in an interview, referring to the FIBA U17 World Cup in Argentina last month where Sotto helped the Philippines to a 13th-place finish, the country’s highest placing in the history of the tournament.
In the U17, Ateneo’s Sotto, 16, proved himself a force to be reckoned with, averaging 16.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks.
His splendid play has many looking at him as the face of the future for Philippine basketball, something the second-generation player said he is determined “to live up to.”
Edu, 18, meanwhile, will don the national colors once again after getting the chance the first time at the FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup last year in China, in tandem with Rhayyan Amsali, Juan Gomez De Liano and Florencio Serrano, where they wound up at 7th place.
Joining Sotto and Edu in the U18 Batang Gilas team coached by Josh Reyes are Miguel Oczon (Nazareth School of National University), Dalph Panopio (Italy-based), Gerry Abadiano (NU), Xyrus Torres (Far Eastern University-Diliman), Joshua Ramirez (Chiang Kai Shek), Amsali (San Beda High School), Sean Ildefonso (NU), Raven Cortez (De La Salle Zobel), Carl Tamayo (NU) and Shaun Chiu (Ateneo).
Batang Gilas is grouped along with China, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.
Other groupings have 2016 winner Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan and Indonesia in Group A, Australia, New Zealand, Bahrain and Thailand in Group C, and South Korea, Chinese Taipei, India and Syria in Group D.
The top teams in the grouping advance outright to the quarterfinals while the second and third place teams go through a playoff to determine who get to advance to the quarters.
The Philippines will begin its campaign against Lebanon first on Aug. 5, then UAE on Aug. 6 and China on Aug. 7.
Before leaving for Thailand, the Batang Gilas U18 team will be having a send-off hosted by backer Chooks-To-Go today.
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo Senior Reporter
AFTER successfully building its legs in mixed martial arts, ONE Championship’s evolution continues, turning its sights on other ventures that would help it enhance its standing as the “true home of martial arts.”
One of its latest foray is in boxing, entering recently in a co-promotion partnership with Thailand-based Nakornloung Promotion.
The organizations are co-promoting the world title defense of WBC super flyweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in the main event of ONE: Kingdom of Heroes, which is set to take place at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on Oct. 6.
They hope that through the collaboration they get to do their part in infusing some life back in the somewhat ebbing interest in, and popularity of, the sport, especially in this part of the world.
The idea for ONE to dip its hand in boxing was already known months ago when it launched the Super Series, which it said was created with the purpose of showcasing the purest forms of striking arts such as muay thai and kickboxing on the biggest and most prestigious stage of competition.
ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong said then that boxing is also part of their plans moving forward, hinting at plans to establish a professional boxing league in addition to the ONE Super Series, and inviting boxers from all over the globe to join the promotion.
“When we started seven years ago, nobody wanted to talk to us. They didn’t even want to work with us. Of course, that changed eventually. We have experienced such exponential growth in all areas. If we could do for it mixed martial arts, we can do it for boxing as well,” said Mr. Sityodtong as they unveiled the partnership with Nakornloung Promotion.
He went on to highlight the huge boxing history in Asia that has seen world champions like Manny Pacquiao, Gerry Peñalosa, Pancho Villa, Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, Chang Jung-Koo, Yoko Gushiken and Yuh Myung-Woo, among others, rise from it.
With ONE Championship trying its hand in boxing, Mr. Sityodtong said he believes that the organization will breathe new life into the sport in Asia to produce more topnotch fighters.
“I consider ONE Championship as the caretaker of every form of martial arts in the world, including boxing. We will make sure that the new generation of boxers in Asia will be fully nurtured. The legacy that Manny Pacquiao and other boxing greats have created must continue. We are reaching out. We shall grow together,” he said.
Incidentally, ONE has offered to co-promote the next fight of Mr. Pacquiao, who returned to form against Argentinean Lucas Matthysse last month in seizing the WBA world welterweight title by way of technical knockout in the seventh round.
NEW YORK — The NBA, concerned with integrity after a US Supreme Court ruling that could allow sport gambling in every state, announced Tuesday a partnership with sports betting operator MGM Resorts International.
The landmark multi-year deal makes the NBA the first American sports league with an official betting partner.
The deal, which ESPN reported was for three years and worth at least $25 million, allows MGM Reports to use official NBA and Women’s NBA data and branding on a non-exclusive basis across its US sports betting offerings.
The NBA and MGM Resorts will also unite to protect the integrity of NBA and WNBA games, including anonymized real-time data sharing and integrations across NBA platforms, including a special digital content series.
In May, the Supreme Court struck down a 1992 US law that banned sports betting in most states, opening the door to Internet bets with the support of many who had worried that sports gambling would jeopardize the integrity of game results.
“As the landscape for sports betting in the US continues to evolve at a rapid pace, MGM Resorts is a proven gaming leader for us to work with on this groundbreaking partnership,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
In 2007, NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to charges related to an FBI investigation that accused him of betting on games which he officiated in the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons.
The new deal follows prior MGM deals with the NBA and WNBA. MGM Resorts has been title partner of the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas for the past two years.
Last year, MGM Resorts purchased the Women’s NBA’s San Antonio team and moved it to Las Vegas, rebranding the club the Las Vegas Aces. The team plays home games at the MGM Resorts-owned Mandalay Bay Events Center.
“The NBA has always been an innovator at the forefront of sports evolution and MGM Resorts is thrilled to partner with the league to revolutionize sports betting in the United States,” said MGM Resorts International chairman Jim Murren.
MGM Resorts will be promoted across the NBA’s television network, website, app and social media platforms with the NBA being promoted across the sports betting platforms of MGM Resorts. — AFP
THE Letran Knights go for their third victory in four games in Season 94 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) when they take on the College of St. Benilde Blazers in “NCAA on Tour” action at the Knights’ home in Intramuros in Manila.
Lumped in the middle of the standings early in the season, Letran (2-1) and St. Benilde (2-2) try to fortify their spot in the top half with a victory in their 4 p.m. encounter at the Letran Gym.
The Knights are fresh from their 74-58 victory over the Jose Rizal University (JRU) Bombers on July 27, which saw Larry Muyang and Chris Fajarito leading the charge.
Muyang and Fajarito, transferees from La Salle and St. Benilde, respectively, lorded it over inside as they finished with 14 points apiece en route to the one-sided triumph.
Owing to their size and heft advantage, the Knights are the league’s second-best team in points allowed to date, limiting their opponents to 70.67 points a game, second only to San Beda’s league-best 60 points an outing.
“We hope to continue to take advantage of our size the way we did in our past games,” said Letran coach Jeff Napa heading into today’s game.
Standing in the way of the Knights are the Blazers, winners in their last game over JRU, 81-66, on Tuesday.
St. Benilde rode the efforts of Cameroonian Clement Leutcheu to complete the mastery of struggling JRU.
Leutcheu finished with a solid double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds to help his team get back on the winning track and improve to 2-2 for the season.
Held a narrow 16-15 lead over the Bombers at the end of the first 10 minutes, the Blazers cranked things up in the second quarter, led by Leutcheu, to stretch their lead to 37-27 by the halftime break and never look back the rest of the way.
Against Letran, St. Benilde coach TY Tang said they hope for a better outcome after losing to the Knights also on tour at the latter’s home last season.
“We lost to them last year also in Letran and it was a close game. Hopefully, it would be a different turnout on Thursday,” said Mr. Tang. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
THE National Basketball Association’s grassroots event program NBA 3X makes its return to the country for an eighth straight year with the 2018 edition set to take place from Aug. 25-26.
Happening at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall, NBA 3X Philippines will once again showcase a 3-on-3 tournament both for men and women, with the event to be graced by NBA personalities.
Registration for NBA 3X Philippines 2018 runs until Aug. 8 at www.nba3x.com/philippines, or until all slots are full.
The tournament will stage a preliminary tournament in North Luzon on Aug. 11-12 and Metro Manila on Aug. 18-19, with the top teams in each division advancing to the finals at the SM Mall of Asia.
The competitive 3-on-3 tournament includes divisions for boys (under-13, under-16, under-18, and open category), girls (under-18 and open category), an invitation-only Celebrity Division featuring popular local personalities, and a division exclusive to presenting partner AXA Philippines employees and distributors.
In a recent interview with BusinessWorld, NBA Philippines Managing Director Carlo Singson said NBA 3X Philippines is one of the more successful programs they have in the country, cultivating further passion for the sport while at the same time enhancing the growth of the league among the Filipino fans.
“Jr. NBA and NBA 3X allow Filipino fans to not only showcase their basketball skills but also do it within the context of the sport they love and within the context of the NBA which gives them an extra push and elevate the passion that they have,” the NBA executive said.
All participants in NBA 3X Philippines 2018 will receive an NBA 3X jersey with special prizes for the overall winners of each division. Registration fees for the age divisions cost P1,000 per team, while open divisions are P1,600 per team.
For more information on NBA 3X Philippines 2018 and the registration process, fans can visit www.nba3x.com/philippines, Facebook.com/philsnba and @NBA_Philippines on Twitter. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
LOS ANGELES — The red-hot Pittsburgh Pirates bolstered their Major League Baseball playoff run on Tuesday by acquiring all-star pitcher Chris Archer from Tampa Bay in exchange for three prospects.
The Pirates beefed up their pitching rotation by adding Archer and sending the Rays outfielder Austin Meadows, pitcher Tyler Glasnow and another player who will be named in the future.
Two-time all-star Archer is 3-5 with a 4.31 ERA in 17 starts this season for the Rays.
“Black & yellow, black & yellow!!!!” Archer wrote on Twitter, referring to the new colors he will be wearing on the mound.
The 29-year-old joins a young starting rotation that also includes Jameson Taillon, Trevor Williams and Joe Musgrove.
Archer will be paid $7.5 million next season by the Pirates, who have won seven of their past 10 games and are third in the National League’s Central Division.
Elsewhere, the Baltimore Orioles sent right-handed starters Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day to the Atlanta Braves.
In return, Baltimore is getting four minor leaguers — right-hander Evan Phillips, infielder Jean Carlos Encarnacion, catcher Brett Cumberland and left-hander Bruce Zimmermann.
The 27-year-old Gausman is 5-8 with a 4.43 ERA for the Orioles this season. He is under contract through the 2020 season. — AFP
According to Wikipedia, a Google doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google’s homepages that commemorates holidays, events, achievements, and people. By 2014, Google had published over 2,000 regional and international doodles throughout its homepages, often featuring guest artists, musicians, and personalities.
Last July 27, the Google doodle for the day featured a picture of former Women’s World Champion Lyudmila Rudenko. I am not sure if I am allowed to reproduce the doodle here but anyway here is that portion with the picture: WGM Lyudmila Rudenko
Many of our readers might not be familiar with the women’s world championship, so here is a quick enumeration of our champions:
1. Vera Menchik CZE 1927-1944 (her death)
2. Lyudmila Rudenko UKR 1950-1953
3. Elisaveta Bykova RUS 1953-1956, 1958-1962
4. Olga Rubtsova RUS 1956-1958
5. Nona Gaprindashvili GEO 1962-1978
6. Maia Chiburdanidze GEO 1978-1991
7. Xie Jun CHN 1991-1996, 1999-2001
8. Susan Polgar HUN 1996-1999
9. Zhu Chen CHN 2001-2004
10. Antoaneta Stefanova BUL 2004-2006
11. Xu Yuhua CHN 2006-2008
12. Alexandra Kosteniuk RUS 2008-2010
13. Hou Yifan CHN 2010-2012, 2013-2015, 2016-2017
14. Anna Ushenina UKR 2012-2013
15. Mariya Muzychuk UKR 2015-2016
16. Tan Zhongyi CHN 2017-2018
17. Jun Wenjun CHN 2018-present
Vera Menchik was the first woman player who competed on equal terms with the world’s leading male chess masters. Have you ever heard of the “Vera Menchik Club?” During the 1929 Carlsbad tournament the Viennese master Albert Becker, who also wrote a very influential chess column, ridiculed her entry and proposed that any player who lost to her should be indicuted into the “Vera Menchik Club.” Well, he became the very first member. In the following years the other members “inducted” would include future world champion Max Euwe, Mir Sultan Khan, the famous English C.H.O.D. Alexander, Samuel Reshevsky, and many more.
Vera Menchik did in an air raid bomb attack which destroyed her home in London in 1944. At that time she was still world women’s champion and so the title became vacant for a number of years after the war.
In the winter of 1949-1950 the World Chess Federation (FIDE) held a tournament in Moscow to determine the new Women’s World Champion.
Women’s World Chess Championship
Moscow, Russia
Dec. 20, 1949-Jan. 16, 1950
Final Standings
1. Lyudmila Rudenko UKR 11.5/15
2. Olga Rubtsova RUS 10.5/15
3-4. Elisaveta Bykova RUS, Valentina Borisenko RUS, 10.0/15
5-7. Edith Keller Hermann GER, Eileen Betsy Tranmer ENG, Chantal Chaude de Silans FRA, 9.5/15
8. Fenny Heemskerek NED, 8.0/15
9. Clarice Benini ITA, 7.0/15
10-11. Jozsa Langos HUN, Maria Teresa Mora Iturralde CUB, 6.0/15
12-14. Gisela Gresser USA, Nina Hruskova-Belska CZE, Mona May Karff USA, 5.0/15
15. Ingrid Larsen DEN, 4.5/15
16. Roza Maria Hermanowa POL, 3.0/15
Lyudmila Rudenko was born on July 27, 1904 in Lubny, Ukraine. During her youth she was an avid swimmer as well as chessplayer.
Here is a quick enumeration of her accomplishments:
1925 — became the swimming champion of Odessa in the 400-meter breakstroke. She then started a career as an economic planner for the Soviet Union and moved to Moscow.
1928 — won the Moscow women’s championship and then moved to Leningrad where she married and had a son.
1929 — started training with the famous Leningrad master Peter Romanovsky. She won the Leningrad women’s championship three times.
1941-1944, the Siege of Leningrad. The siege lasted almost 900 days and resulted in the deaths of more than one million civilians. She was at that time working in an armament factory in that city which was evacuated ahead of the advancing German troops but the workers’ children were left behind. As the siege started she was placed in charge of rescuing them and organized a special train which saved thousands of childrens’ lives. She has described this as the most important accomplishment in her life, and the main reason why she now has her own Google doodle.
1950 — won the women’s world championship and held it until 1953 where she lost in a match to Elisaveta Bykova with a score of 5 wins 2 draws and 7 losses.
2015 — was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame.
In the “Soviet School of Chess” the authors Kotov and Yudovich describe Rudenko as a master of combinative play and offer up her game with Maria Teresa Mora Iturralde of Cuba, played during the 1950 world championship.
Mora Iturralde, Maria Teresa — Rudenko, Liudmila [C41]
World Women-ch Moscow (Russia) (10), 06.01.1950
Nowadays when you speak of the Philidor Defense the prescribed move order is 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 rather than the one used in the game. I will explain in the notes. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nd7 4.Bc4 c6
Some pitfalls Black has fallen for:
4…Be7? 5.dxe5 Nxe5 (5…dxe5 6.Qd5 Black loses a piece) 6.Nxe5 dxe5 7.Qh5!± with a double attack on e5 and f7;
4…h6? 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Nxe5+± Kf6 8.Nc3! White’s attack is winning. The king cannot take the knight because of 8…Kxe5 9.Qd5+ Kf6 10.Qf5+ Ke7 11.Nd5+ Kd6 12.Bf4+ Kc6 13.Qe6+ you get the picture;
Would you believe that 4…Ngf6? also loses? Here is why: 5.dxe5 Nxe5 (5…Nxe4 6.Qd5; 5…dxe5 6.Ng5) 6.Nxe5 dxe5 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qxd8 Bb4+ 9.Qd2! Bxd2+ 10.Nxd2 Black is a pawn down with no compensation;
Still another pitfall: 4…exd4 5.Nxd4 Be7? (5…Ngf6 is correct, but did you want your opening play to lead to this position?) 6.Bxf7+!! Kxf7 7.Ne6!! Qe8 (7…Kxe6 8.Qd5+ Kf6 9.Qf5#) 8.Nxc7 Qd8 9.Qd5+ Kf8 10.Ne6+ Ke8 11.Nxg7+ Kf8 12.Ne6+ Ke8 13.Qh5# 5.dxe5
The reason why people avoid the move order in this game is that with 5.0–0 Be7 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.Ng5 Bxg5 8.Qh5 Qe7 9.Bxg5 Ngf6 10.Qe2. The theoreticians give White a stable advantage here, since Black has no compensation at all for the two bishops. 5…dxe5 6.0–0 Be7 7.Nc3
White lets slip the opportunity to play 7.Ng5! Nh6 (7…Bxg5 8.Qh5 is also nice for White) 8.Ne6!! fxe6 9.Bxh6 Nb6 (9…gxh6? 10.Qh5+ Kf8 11.Bxe6 Qe8 12.Qxh6#) 10.Qh5+! Kf8? (Best is 10…g6 11.Qe2 but even here White is clearly better) 11.f4!! 1–0 A. Mende-M.Tyrtania, 2nd Bundesliga 1987-1988.
The famous Bobby Fischer vs Reuben Fine skittles game which made its way to “My 60 Memorable Games” continued 7.Qe2 Ngf6 8.Rd1 Threatening 9 Nxe5. 8…Qc7 9.Ng5 0–0 10.Bxf7+! Black resigned on account of 10…Rxf7 11 Qc4 or 10…Kh8 11 Ne6. Fischer,R-Fine,R New York Blitz 1963. 7…Ngf6 8.Qe2 0–0 9.Rd1 Qc7 10.a3 Nc5 11.b4 Ne6 12.h3 b5 13.Bb3 a5
Now Black starts taking over the game. 14.bxa5 Qxa5 15.Bb2 Qc7 16.Nb1 Nf4 17.Qe3 Ng6 18.Nc3 Nd7 19.Ne2 Nc5 20.Rd2 Na4 21.Bxa4 Rxa4 22.Nc3 Ra8 23.Rad1 Be6 24.Rd3 Nf4 25.R3d2 f6 26.Kh2 Ra7 27.Ne1 Rfa8 28.Nb1 Qa5 29.Nd3 Nxd3 30.Rxd3 Qa4 31.R3d2 Qc4
Now Black will transfer her bishop from e7 to the g1–a7 diagonal. 32.f3 Bc5 33.Qd3 Qa2! <D> POSITION AFTER 33…QA2
Funny how putting a queen on a2 can paralyze your opponent’s forces so much. 34.c3 Bc4 35.Qc2 Bb3 36.Rd8+?
White impatiently lashes out. She could keep resisting by 36.Qc1 Bxd1 37.Qxd1 Bxa3 38.Bxa3 Qc4 although White’s position still remains difficult to defend. 36…Bf8 0–1
WGM Lyudmila Rudenko. She achieved the highest title in her passion for chess, and the highest accomplishment possible in her service to humankind. That is what you call a life well lived.
* * * * *
By the way, last Saturday on the kind invitation of Mr. Larry Murillo, I visited the Makati Gospel Church New Life Academy to meet with the coaches and members of their chess club to talk to them about computer chess, the various ways of using it in chess training and the tools available, some of them free, some of them not free.
I was very surprised with the facilities of the club, with DGT clocks, boards, air-conditioned training room and really nice facilities.
Mr. Murillo talked to me about how he would like to start on a grassroots program to develop grade school and high school students to achieve their potential in chess. His plans are quite impressive. If any of our BW readers are of like mind, that to develop the next Wesley So we need a program from grade school up, and would like to help, please e-mail me at my address and give me a shout-out. I will contact you and we will proceed from there.
Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant, he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies. bobby@cpamd.net
Dwight Howard has been there and done that — and, for that matter, so have his teams. Since being chosen first overall in the 2004 draft, he has built a career that already makes him a bona fide candidate for the Hall of Fame; he’s an eight-time All-Star, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, and, not too long ago, a legitimate anchor of squads that sought to go deep in the playoffs. These days, though, he’s a gamble, and in more ways than one; even as his talents have diminished with age, he likewise represents a question mark off the court given his playful but sensitive disposition. Which, in a nutshell, is why he has changed addresses four times in the last four years, burning bridges en route.
That said, Howard is from that specific batch of players who tantalize from a distance. He’s just 32 and with tons of experience, including a series in which he did battle for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. And he’s a physical specimen unlike any other; for all the athletes in the league, few, if any, can match his unique combine of strength and hops. Little wonder, then, that the Wizards came calling after the Nets dealt for him just to make him a tool for balancing the books. They’re in a state of flux, barely making the 2018 postseason and yet still harboring Big Franchise Dreams in light of their seemingly stacked roster.
Needless to say, Howard was flattered by the attention; from owner Ted Leonsis to top dog John Wall, the courtship was of the whirlwind type, open and brisk and founded on grandiose promises. And so he signed on the dotted line for the mid-level exception, a bargain by the numbers; after norming 16.6 points and 12.5 rebounds for the Hornets last season, he looks to be a steal at $5.3 million. At stake for him, and for them: the rejuvenation of their respective images.
Perhaps it’s a marriage of convenience. Perhaps it’s borne of mutual need. Both Howard and the Wizards can’t get any worse, and if the partnership fails, they can at least say they tried. But what if it works? What if, for considerations only the hoops gods are privy to at this point, they do wind up coaxing the best from and of each other? Certainly, the possibilities are what give fans cause for hope. At a time when LeBron James has gone West, when the Celtics have gotten better by staying put, and when the Raptors are an even bigger IF, they have the chance to change their fate.
And if for no other reason than because they’re taking that chance, they deserve the benefit of the doubt.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
Solar Philippines Tarlac Corp. has offered to sell electricity to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) at P2.34 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), challenging a previous offer from a competitor at P2.98 per kWh in a move that could become the latest benchmark in pricing solar energy.
“The first year is P2.34 [per kWh], and there’s an escalation and the levelized cost is still significantly below the original offer of P2.98,” Solar Philippines President Leandro L. Leviste told reporters.
“We submitted our offer many months ago and it had taken Meralco a long time to evaluate it. But now we’re hopeful that the proceedings will end soon since they have accepted it as the lowest price in the CSP (competitive selection process),” he said.
CSP is the government scheme aimed at lowering power costs by subjecting a power supply agreement to a price challenge. The original proponent is allowed to exercise a right to match the price offered by the challenger.
“Now [it’s] just subject to the original proponent’s exercise or non-exercise of the right to match,” said Mr. Leviste.
Mr. Leviste said the CSP was delayed because of a new regulation from the Department of Energy that called for new power supply agreements to be redone, this time with the distribution utility calling on power suppliers to submit their competitive bids.
He said Meralco had sought for clarification from the Energy department on whether the new rule covered the offer made to Meralco earlier this year.
“Overall, we just hope that this is yet another signal to the market that solar is the cheapest form of energy in the Philippines, and even with [battery] storage,” he said, adding that his offer could result in the country having one of Asia’s lowest cost of electricity. — Victor V. Saulon
BDO Leasing and Finance, Inc. (BDO Leasing) saw a decline in its net income in the first half of the year on the back of higher funding and operating costs.
In a regulatory filing Wednesday, the listed leasing and financing arm of Sy-led BDO Unibank, Inc. said it booked a net profit of P178 million in the January-June period, 36.9% lower than the P282 million tallied in the same period last year.
BDO Leasing attributed its lower profit to “higher funding and operating costs.”
Despite logging lower net income in the first semester of the year, the firm’s gross revenues climbed 4% year-on-year.
This was mainly driven by the P34-billion interest income from its lease and finance portfolio augmented by service fees and other income.
However, BDO Leasing said this was tempered by higher financing charges and lower interest margins.
Higher documentary stamp tax on its commercial paper issue also helped temper its revenue growth. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal
Asian equities rose and the dollar strengthened as investors sifted through the latest news on the U.S.-China trade front and positive results from Apple Inc. Bonds fell as Japanese yields climbed higher after the central bank said it would allow more flexibility in yield movements.
Stocks climbed in Japan and South Korea, while they drifted elsewhere in the region. In a move seen as pressuring China back to the negotiating table, the Trump administration will propose raising to 25 percent its planned 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports, three people familiar with the internal deliberations said. Earlier, the S&P 500 Index capped a fourth monthly gain after Bloomberg reported that the U.S. and China were trying to restart talks aimed at averting a full-blown trade war. The offshore yuan slipped as China weakened its fixing for the currency to the lowest since May 2017.
“The tariff issue is ongoing, I think it’s a negotiating tactic,” Nick Griffin, chief investment officer at Munro Partners, said on Bloomberg Television. “How much we take of this as real and affecting earnings is questionable at this stage. In terms of an actual earnings effect, it’s not that big at the moment, it’s mainly just sentiment and risk appetite and for that it’s a moving feast.”
Central banks remained in focus after the Bank of Japan tweaked its policy settings Tuesday, with the Bank of England expected to hike rates Thursday. The yen held most of its losses from yesterday, when the BOJ move disappointed those who had seen a chance of an outright hike in the bond-yield target. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is expected to hold its fire at its meeting Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Apple’s Taiwanese suppliers such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. advanced after the company projected sales that beat analysts’ estimates. Crude added to a monthly decline on wagers for higher production. — Bloomberg
