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Top US regulator frets crypto markets could be full of manipulation

Add a top U.S. financial regulator to the list of people concerned that lightly policed cryptocurrency markets make easy targets for manipulators.

Warding off market cheaters in digital currencies is among the Securities and Exchange Commission’s major concerns as it monitors those assets, according to Brett Redfearn, head of the regulator’s Division of Trading and Markets.

“We are concerned about a lot of the issues around manipulation, whether it’s spoofing, or any other forms of market manipulation that are out there,” he said Thursday at an event in New York. “ Spoofing, front running, wash trading, pump-and-dump, insider trading — there’s a question of, how are they being watched out for?”

Few cops are currently on the beat watching for rigging, in part because regulators are still trying to work out who’s responsible for what and also because it’s not clear they can do much until the exchanges register with them. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who run the Gemini exchange for Bitcoin and Ether, recently proposed that the industry start self-policing to help fill in the vacuum.

U.S. regulators are grappling with the “Wild West” of trading digital assets including Bitcoin, Ether and digital tokens. The SEC is examining a range of businesses in the nascent industry, including initial coin offerings — or digital token sales that allow buyers to take a stake in companies — as well as cryptocurrency-focused hedge funds and trading venues.

The trading behaviors Redfearn mentioned are all banned in traditional financial markets — ways of fooling the market about the right price for securities and pocketing ill-gotten gains or, in the case of insider trading, making a trading decision based on non-public information. While laws around these kinds of activities are clear when it comes to trading traditional securities, in cryptocurrencies the lines appear to be blurred.

Other priorities when it comes to digital assets include preventing fraud, money laundering and theft, Redfearn said. He compared the nascent industry to the early days of electronic equity trading in the U.S., when certain rules were still unclear and electronic platforms weren’t all linked to one another. Regulators eventually stepped in to create new rules around how trading should happen in the new landscape.

“There was a lot of evolution that had to take place,” Redfearn said. “And there’s no doubt in my mind that there’s more evolution that needs to take place in this space.” — Bloomberg

World’s best and cleanest airports are found in Asia

Asia has the world’s best airports. Still.

That’s according to the latest ranking by Skytrax, which sees Singapore’s Changi taking the top spot for the sixth year in a row. It’s followed by Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, Tokyo’s Haneda, Hong Kong International Airport, and Doha’s Hamad International Airport. Munich Airport, in sixth place, was the highest ranked among airfields in Europe.

U.S. hubs were absent from the top 10 list based on an airport customer survey that’s been conducted annually since 1999. Changi Airport — which handled a record 62.2 million passengers last year — has been expanding its capacity to meet rising demand for air travel. The airport is building its fifth terminal, a third runway, as well as a shopping-and-dining facility called the Jewel as passengers increase.

At number 14, Vancouver was the highest ranked airport in North America. Denver, down one spot to 29th, was the best placed among U.S. airports, while New York’s JFK fell six places to 69th.

Asia also dominated Skytrax’s list of the world’s cleanest airports, led by Haneda, Nagoya in Japan, and Incheon.

In a separate ranking of airport terminals, London Heathrow’s terminal 2 placed first, followed by Munich’s terminal 2 and Changi’s terminal 3. — Bloomberg

Gold rallies as trade-war risks fire up demand

Gold’s sizzling. Investors pushed prices of the haven higher as the U.S. and China exchanged blows on trade, and President Donald Trump installed the hawkish John Bolton as his new national security adviser, ratcheting up geopolitical tensions and fueling gains in crude oil.

“Having a ‘neo-con’ back in the White House took the geopolitical risk monitor to another level,” said Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia Pacific at Oanda Corp., referring to Bolton and the neo-conservative tag. “Trump is taking a no-holds-barred approach to diplomacy as well. So yes, this appointment, in my view, was the most significant factor in this morning’s gold ramp.”

Investor interest in bullion is regaining momentum as the long-expected trade fight stokes concern global growth will slow, and Bolton’s ascent adds to risks of a more muscular U.S. approach to some of the world’s hotspots, especially Iran and North Korea. Friday’s interest in bullion follows midweek gains as the Federal Reserve stuck with plans to raise rates three times this year, defusing concern that more hikes may be in the offing.

“It’s been a good week for precious metal bulls, with multiple factors supporting the yellow metal,” said Jordan Eliseo, chief economist at Australian Bullion Co. “As it often does, gold rallied after the Fed pushed through with their anticipated rate hike, whilst the troubling rhetoric around tariffs, and the sharp sell off in risk assets, is also providing some safe-haven demand.”

Bullion for immediate delivery jumped as much as 1.1 percent to $1,343.27 an ounce, the highest since Feb. 20, and was at $1,340.71 at 8:37 a.m. in London. Gold’s up 2 percent this week, heading for the biggest gain since the period to Feb. 16. It surged 1.6 percent on Wednesday after the Fed signaled the pace of tightening won’t accelerate this year.

There are other strong signs that bullion is winning favor with investors again. Global holdings in exchange-traded funds have expanded to the highest level since 2013, while traders and analysts in a Bloomberg survey are the most bullish on the metal’s outlook in almost two months.

Bolton — a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations who’s famed for his hawkish views, blunt comments, and role as a strong supporter of the U.S. invasion of Iraq — will replace H.R. McMaster in the national security adviser’s position. On energy markets, Brent crude hit $70 a barrel.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.7 percent this week, while equity markets in the U.S. and Asia tumbled after tariffs were announced. While there’d been concern among some investors the Fed may favor four hikes in 2018, the bank’s guidance signaled policy makers are still sticking at three. — Bloomberg

Philippine stocks dive as US-China trade tensions rise

The main index fell Friday, March 23, along with regional counterparts as economic fears are stoked by the United States’ and China’s aggravating trade war.

The local bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index slid 1.89% or 153.65 points to 7,970.80 points. The broader all-shares index shed 1.35% or 66.01 points to 4,824.16 points.

All counters finished red. Holding firms were hit the hardest, plunging 2.04% or 165.15 points to 7,923.41 points; property slumped 2.02% or 74.71 points to 3,629.06 points; financials decreased 1.89% or 39.46 points to 2,053.15 points; services dropped 1.38% or 23.52 points to 1,679.98 points; and mining and oil fell 1.03% or 112.59 points to 10,827.03 points.

“Trade war fear brought down the value of Philippine shares,” Regina Capital Development, Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.

“All major regional indexes dropped broadly and volatility spiked as the Trump administration’s plans to announce new trade restraints against China renewed fears about a potential trade war that could dent economic growth,” he added.

After President Donald J. Trump unveiled on Thursday extensive new trade restrictions that would effectively block $50 billion in Chinese imports from entering the United States. China cited it will “fight to the end” in any trade war over US tariffs, with measures against $3 billion worth of US Steel, aluminum, pork and wine import. — Janina C. Lim

Peso weakens on latest trade war fears

The peso slumped against the dollar on Friday, March 23, as President Donald J. Trump imposed tariffs against China.

The local currency closed at P52.39 against the greenback on Friday, 19 centavos weaker than the P52.20 finish on Thursday.

The peso traded weaker the whole day, opening the session at its best showing at P52.25. Its intraday low, meanwhile, stood at its P52.39-per-dollar finish.

Dollars traded decreased slightly to $701.2 million from the $717.4 million traded on Thursday.

“The downward pressure may have come from… the probable impact of [Mr.] Trump’s move penalize China for various alleged trade violations,” Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist of UnionBank of the Philippines said in a text message.

On Thursday, Mr. Trump slapped new tariffs on Chinese goods worth about $50 billion following a seven-month investigation on alleged intellectual property theft.

After this, the US is also looking at imposing investment restrictions as well as retaliatory actions at the World Trade Organization.

In response, China, through the Web site of its commerce ministry, announced it might launch reciprocal imposition of tariffs on 128 American products including wine, dried fruits and nuts and steel pipes. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Aegis Juris members linked to Atio Castillo case now in NBI custody

Members of Aegis Juris fraternity linked to the death of University of Santo Tomas (UST) law student Horacio “Atio” Castillo III during the fraternity’s initiation rites last year are now in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

NBI Deputy Director Ferdinand M. Lavin told reporters on Friday, March 23, that Min Wei Chan, Jose Miguel Salamat, John Robin G. Ramos, Marcelino Bagtang, Jr., Arvin A. Balag, Ralph Trangia, Axel Munro Hipe, Oliver Onofre, Joshua Joriel Macabali and Hans Matthew Rodrigo were “picked up” by agents at around 11 a.m.

This comes after the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 40 issued warrants of arrest against the members on Thursday, March 22 after finding probably cause in the non-bailable offenses of Section 4(a) of Republic Act No. 8049, or the Anti Hazing Law. — Dane Angelo M. Enerio

Megaworld plans more museums for its townships

Megaworld Corp. plans to include museums in its integrated townships, in a bid to promote local culture and tourism which would, in turn, drive more foot traffic into its developments.

In a statement issued Friday, the Andrew L. Tan-led firm said it recently opened the P110-million Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art (ILOMOCA) inside the 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

The 3,000-square meter museum has three main galleries that feature art by national artists and Ilonggo artists.

“ILOMOCA is a concrete manifestation of our goal to create urban townships that have their own charm and character. We want to curate our developments in such a way that they seamlessly blend with the local culture and promote tourism,” Megaworld Senior Vice-President Kevin Andrew L. Tan said in a statement.

Mr. Tan noted that incorporating such features beyond shopping and dining concepts drive more people into Megaworld’s developments.

“During the past years, we saw the influx of tourists in our townships, particularly in our lifestyle malls, because of what we offer beyond shopping and dining. At Venice Grand Canal in McKinley Hill, for example, visitors from various parts of the country and the world have come to see the beautiful architecture, and they end up dining and shopping in the mall,” he said.

Following ILOMOCA, the company will open museums in its 35.6-hectare township called Capital Town in San Fernando, Pampanga, and in the 30-hectare Mactan Newtown in Mactan, Cebu.

The mixed-use estate in San Fernando rises on what used to be the estate of the Pampanga Sugar Development Co., so its museum will focus on the sugar company and and will showcase artifacts of the old sugar central. The structure will be integrated with the proposed mall in Capital Town.

For the museum in Mactan Newtown, Megaworld will focus on the events surrounding the Battle of Mactan, given its proximity to the Lapu-Lapu and Mactan Shrines.

Aside from museums, Megaworld has also been putting up art installations across its integrated townships to promote art and design.

“In every township that we build, we want to see arts, culture, history and heritage to be part of the development’s overall character. This way, we don’t only build communities. We build destinations that promote tourism,” Mr. Tan said.

Megaworld is the real estate arm of Alliance Global Group, Inc. In the first nine months of 2017, the company booked an 11% increase in attributable profit to P9.98 billion, on the back of a 5.45% increase in revenues to P35.43 billion during the period.

Shares in Megaworld shed 10 centavos or 2.1% to close at P4.66 apiece at the stock exchange on Friday. — Arra B. Francia

Prime Orion to venture into industrial parks via share swap deal

Ayala Land, Inc. will swap P3 billion worth of shares in Laguna Technopark, Inc. (LTI) with Prime Orion Philippines, Inc. (POPI), allowing the latter to venture into the development of industrial parks.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Friday, March 23, ALI said its executive committee has approved the exchange of shares with POPI.

Under the deal, POPI will issue 1.225 billion common shares to ALI in exchange for 30,186 LTI common shares, resulting in POPI acquiring a 75% equity interest in LTI.

The transaction will bring down ALI’s direct ownership in POPI to 63.90% from 54.91%. — Arra B. Francia

Robinsons Land, Shang Properties to pour P10 billion into joint condo project in Taguig

Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) and Shang Properties, Inc. (SPI) will be pouring in at least P10 billion for the development of a residential condominium project in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Friday, March 23, RLC said it will be forming a 50-50 joint venture company with SPI for the project. The companies look to develop a 9,118-square meter property owned by RLC at McKinley Parkway corner 5th Avenue in BGC.

RLC said the development will feature a mix of residential condominium units, serviced apartments, and commercial retail outlets.

The Philippine Competition Commission, mandated to review merger and acquisition transactions valued at over P2 billion, cleared the deal earlier this week. — Arra B. Francia

Western Union Expands Digital Distribution: Money Transfers Now Paid into GCash Mobile Wallets in the Philippines

Western Union, a leader in cross-border and cross-currency money transfer, and G-Xchange, Inc. have enabled consumers to receive Western Union® international or domestic money transfers into their registered GCash wallets 24/7– providing consumers with convenient access at their finger-tips.

Following an agreement between the two companies, Western Union’s global cross-border platform was integrated with G-Xchange, Inc’s world class e-commerce platform to enable GCash users to direct money transfers into their GCash wallets from almost anywhere around the world and from within the Philippines.

“We want to offer the best services to Filipinos abroad and their families in the Philippines,” said Anthony Thomas, CEO of Mynt. “We are confident that collaborating with Western Union will provide a reliable and convenient mobile wallet-based money transfer platform for our customers. Two leading companies in their respective sectors having the same vision of helping people and businesses move money can definitely help grow economies and realize a better world”.

GCash is an internationally-acclaimed micro payment service that transforms a mobile phone into a virtual wallet for fast and convenient money transfers as well as to purchase goods, pay bills, buy airtime load, and donate. Usage of GCash mobile wallets is high with unbanked consumers in the Philippines, it lets them store, spend or cash-out as they wish.

“Western Union is delivering on our pledge to expand more digital and physical channels for money transfers to provide choice and more convenience for our customers,” said Bassem Awada, Western Union Regional Vice President for Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines and Brunei. “Our collaboration with G-Xchange is inspiring and together we are advancing financial inclusion, a key objective of the Government of the Philippines.”

In line with the regulations of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, prior to the first use of the Western Union service, consumers are required to register on the GCash app and provide a valid ID for verification. After registration, consumers can conveniently receive Western Union money transfers into their GCash wallets by simply inputting the unique tracking number (MTCN). Consumers within minutes can receive up to USD500 per transaction (approximately Php25,000) or USD1,500 per day (approximately Php75,000), up to a maximum GCash wallet capacity of Php100,000 (approximately US$2,000).

###

About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. As of December 31, 2017, the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined network of over 550,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories and over 150,000 ATMs and kiosks, and included the capability to send money to billions of accounts. In 2017, The Western Union Company completed 276 million consumer-to consumer transactions worldwide, moving $82 billion of principal between consumers, and 547 million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

About GXI
G-Xchange Inc. is an operating company under Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt). It offers GCash, an internationally acclaimed micropayment service that transforms the mobile phone into a virtual wallet for secure, fast, and convenient payments and money transfers. GCash can be used to buy prepaid load, pay bills, send money, shop online, and purchase goods via QR – all without the need to bring any cash. For more information, please visit https://www.gcash.com.

About Mynt
Mynt is a partnership between Globe Telecom, the Ayala Corporation, and Ant Financial, that provides innovative and first-in-world fintech solutions to consumers, merchants, and organizations. Its vision is to enable financial access for consumers and merchants by disrupting traditional channels through digital financial technology services. It operates two fintech companies: GCash, a micropayment service that transforms the mobile phone into a virtual wallet for secure, fast, and convenient money transfer, and Fuse, a tech-based lending company that enables Filipinos to get microloans to business loans without the traditional requirements set by banks and other lending institutions. For more information, visit mynt.xyz.

For more information, please contact:
FleishmanHillard
Raul Ramon Lopez-Vito Bucoy
ram.bucoy@fleishman.com

First solar, then steel: Is Trump’s next trade target nuclear?

On Thursday, as President Donald Trump ordered tariffs on Chinese goods, he warned, “This is the first of many.”

Well, if he’s serious, here’s another potential trade target: uranium. In January, the administration imposed tariffs on solar equipment being shipped into the U.S. A little over a month later, Trump announced taxes on steel and aluminum imports. U.S. uranium companies are fighting for similar relief as America’s nuclear power generators increasingly turn to supplies overseas to fuel their plants.

The uranium suppliers are invoking the same section of the Trade Expansion Act that the Trump administration used to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. If they’re successful, America’s nuclear power generators could face higher costs for uranium imports that account for almost 90 percent of their total supplies.

“The uranium issue is certainly something that would appeal to the Trump administration,” said Bryan Riley, director of the National Taxpayers Union’s Free Trade Initiative in Washington. “Their willingness to impose restrictions on steel and aluminum based on national security allegations that were thin at best would lead me to think they are looking for other industries making similar claims.”

A trade group for the U.S. nuclear industry fired back on Thursday, warning that utilities are already struggling to deal with “depressed” power markets, competition from cheap natural gas and the onslaught of renewable energy. “The potential remedies of the petition may put even more units at risk for premature closure,” the Nuclear Energy Institute said by email.

Trade War?

Meanwhile, a trade war with China already poses a threat to uranium supplies, said Dan McGroarty, founder of rare-earth minerals consultancy Carmot Strategic Group. “I’m kind of worried about that if it would hit uranium.” China has already announced plans to hit back with reciprocal tariffs on $3 billion of imports from the U.S., including products from steel to pork.

To be sure, Trump may decide to steer clear of the uranium debate. The uranium sector doesn’t employ a ton of people, and Wyoming — where much of fuel is domestically produced — already supports Trump, said Kevin Book, managing director at the research and analysis firm Clearview Energy Partners LLC in Washington.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that its Bureau of Industry and Security is still reviewing the petition from uranium producers. The White House has meanwhile already proposed increasing the department’s budget, in part to support the enforcement of “fair and secure trade.” — Bloomberg

Google searches show passive investors are driving emerging-market returns

Passive investors are driving returns in emerging-market debt like never before.

Want proof? Check Google.

Bank of America Corp. says online searches are a leading indicator of performance in developing-market bonds, with the relationship particularly pronounced in dollar debt.

The logic behind these striking claims runs like this. As exchange-traded funds have doubled in size over the past two years, asset prices are moving to the ebbs and flows of passive allocations amid relentless uptake from retail and institutional investors. Trawls on Google, surprisingly, are a bellwether for both flows and returns, the bank argues.

“We find external debt to be most affected by ETF flows,” strategists led by David Hauner wrote in a report Tuesday. “Our statistical analysis suggests that ‘Google’ searches for ‘emerging markets’ are a leading indicator of returns of EM asset classes.”

The relationship between Google searches and performance is especially notable in dollar-denominated EM debt, which is dominated by offshore investors and can prove particularly illiquid. That explains why the asset class is likely to be more sensitive to internet inquiries and flows of the ETF variety, according to the bank.

Credits like Pakistan, Mexico, the Philippines and Ukraine stand out for their particularly high correlations as passive instruments hold a larger share of their outstanding debt, the strategists said.

Passive ETFs don’t have the same flexibility as active funds when it comes to positioning against rising bond yields, making them vulnerable to outflows, the bank warns. This could spell trouble should markets turn.

“As the credit cycle matures, outflows from debt ETFs are becoming an increasing risk for market liquidity,” Hauner and team wrote. “The bouts of outflows that interrupted the relentless inflow of the past couple of years highlighted that markets are not well positioned to absorb concerted ETF selling.” — Bloomberg

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