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New Orleans, Jacksonville advance

LOS ANGELES — New Orleans downed Carolina for the third time this season to reach the second round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday while the Jacksonville Jaguars edged Buffalo to advance as well.

Drew Brees threw for 376 yards and two touchdowns to lead the host Saints over Carolina, 31-26, New Orleans holding off the Panthers with a late defensive stand to seal the victory.

“This win is special,” Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan said. “They came back late in the fourth quarter, made this a game. We had to finish out the game.

“We put it on our defense and we responded the way we were supposed to. We wanted it more. We had to fight today to play next week.”

The Saints will visit Minnesota next Sunday in a National Conference semi-final game with Atlanta at top seed Philadelphia next Saturday.

Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles threw for 87 yards and a touchdown and ran for a career-high 88 yards to lead the host Jaguars over Buffalo, 10-3, in a defensively dominated American Conference first-round game.

The Jaguars managed only 230 yards, 33 less than the Bills, in their first playoff game since 2007. It was the first post-season contest for Buffalo since 1999.

“We prepare hard. We’re battle tested. We know if we keep playing ball, good things will happen,” Jaguars defensive end Calais Campbell said.

The Jaguars visit Pittsburgh next Sunday in an American Conference second-round matchup while the Tennessee Titans visit New England in next Saturday’s other American Conference semifinal.

Jacksonville routed Pittsburgh, 30-9, in early October on the Steelers’ home field.

“We’ve done it before so we know we can do it,” Campbell said. “We just have to hunker down and get it done.”

SAINTS HANG ON LATE
At New Orleans, Brees connected with Michael Thomas on a 46-yard pass play late in the fourth quarter to put the Saints on the doorstep of Carolina’s end zone and two plays later, Alvin Kamera scored on a 2-yard run as New Orleans jumped ahead, 31-19.

Cam Newton answered with a 56-yard touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey, the Panthers climbing within the final margin with 4:09 remaining, and after Mike Adams intercepted a fourth-down Brees pass, Carolina had one final chance at victory.

Newton guided the Panthers into Saints territory but two throws into the end zone fell incomplete and he was sacked on fourth down to end Carolina’s hopes.

Brees connected with Ted Ginn on an 80-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring.

Carolina answered on a 27-yard Graham Gano field goal but Brees then marched New Orleans 75 yards in nine plays, completing the five-minute drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Josh Hill for a 14-3 Saints lead.

After Gano booted a 39-yard field goal to nudge the Panthers nearer, Brees guided the Saints on an eight-play, 75-yard trek capped by Zach Line’s 1-yard touchdown run to put New Orleans ahead, 21-6.

Gano hit field goals of 29 and 58 yards but Wil Lutz answered for the Saints with a 57-yard field goal to put the hosts ahead, 24-12.

Carolina finally found the end zone with 12:47 remaining when Newton hit Greg Olsen on a 14-yard touchdown pass, the Panthers pulling within, 24-19, to set up the late drama.

BORTLES TOSSES WINNING TD
Buffalo’s Stephen Hauschka kicked a 31-yard field goal and Jacksonville’s Josh Lambo answered from 44 yards in the final two minutes of the second quarter to leave the clubs deadlocked 3-3 at halftime.

The winning points came on a tension-packed fourth-down play, Bortles flipping a 1-yard touchdown pass to Ben Koyack with only 42 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The dramatic score capped a 15-play, 86-yard march by the Jaguars that took nearly nine minutes.

The Bills moved into Jaguars territory in the final seconds but Buffalo quarterback Tyrod Taylor was seriously injured and replaced by reserve Nathan Peterman, who tossed an interception to Jacksonville’s Jalen Ramsey that sealed the outcome.

“That was an incredible play,” Campbell said. “But he does that all the time. That was huge.” — AFP

Duterte’s ouster is movement’s ‘most important task’ — CPP

“THE DOWNFALL of (President Rodrigo) Duterte is the most important task of the revolutionary forces,” crucial both to the “rapid strengthening and expansion” of the movement and to “defending the people from the unrelenting attacks of the regime,” the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said. The editorial of the Jan. 7 issue of the CPP’s official publication, Ang Bayan, predicted that Duterte would become “increasingly isolated” from the people from the combined impacts of the continued killings in both his war on drugs and the counterinsurgency campaign, the predicted increase in the prices of basic necessities brought about by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion, or TRAIN, law, and the push for Charter change and federalism — including the possible scrapping of the 2019 elections — which critics of government suspect is intended to establish dictatorship. — interaksyon.com

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HSBC sees inflation peaking near 4% by midyear before receding

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez,
Senior Reporter

INFLATION will likely peak in June at close to 4%, a level that could prod the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to raise rates sometime during the second quarter to keep prices at bay, analysts at a global bank said.

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) said the full impact of the tax reform package implemented on Jan. 1 will be felt during the first half, which will drive inflation upward in the coming months.

“Headline inflation will also come close to the 4% upper bound of [the target band] in June, before descending below 3% by end-2018. This is partly driven by second round impacts of tax reform — which will add a total of 0.4-0.7 ppt (percentage points) to headline inflation as per BSP forecasts,” bank economists said in a Jan. 8 report, noting that they are “slightly concerned” about the pace of price increases.

The tax reform law, signed as Republic Act 10963, reduces personal income taxes for those earning below P2 million, alongside a simpler system for computing donor and estate taxes. Foregone revenue will be offset by the removal of some exemptions to value-added tax as well as higher duties for fuel, cars, tobacco, coal and sugar-sweetened drinks, among others.

The central bank has acknowledged that inflation will rise this year due to tax reform, although BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said the higher duties will add less than one ppt to inflation this year.

Higher duties to be imposed under the tax reform package will likewise have a “transitory” impact on consumer prices, BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. said, as he assured that the central bank is ready to step in “to ward off any threat” to the 2-4% inflation target.

Inflation is expected to average 3.4% in 2018, slightly higher than last year’s 3.2%.

Despite these comments, HSBC said it still expects several policy responses from the central bank to keep up with rising inflation, with current benchmark rates capped at 3.5%.

“The BSP has made clear its preference not to adjust monetary policy in the absence of pressing inflation risks. However, we forecast one 25bp hike in 2Q18 to defend the upper bound of the inflation target,” the report read.

The policy tightening will be accompanied by a reduction of the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) imposed on banks within the first semester. A cut worth 100 basis points is expected to “keep liquidity flush, and fulfil policy goals to deepen financial markets,” the bank said.

Mr. Espenilla has said that he personally wants to see the RRR reduced to single-digit levels, but such a change will be gradual and will be considered given emerging liquidity conditions. Big banks have said that they also favor an RRR cut as it would unlock more funds and boost their lending activity, which in turn will support robust economic growth.

HSBC expects the Philippine economy to expand 6.7% this year, matching the pace expected for 2017 although below the government’s 7-8% growth goal.

Bank economists expect investment and consumption to drive growth further, particularly with an infrastructure spending boost from the government’s “Build, Build, Build” initiative.

Meanwhile, consumer spending in the Philippines will likely recover in 2018 despite slower growth last year, amid greater scope for increased retail lending at a time of bigger disposable incomes.

“In the Philippines we expect a recovery in private consumption in 2018, partly fuelled by a likely acceleration in remittances in 4Q (more than seasonality usually suggests),” HSBC said.

If realized, this would reverse the slower growth in household spending between July and September at 4.5% from the previous year, compared with an 8.3% climb in government spending. Bank economists attribute the slowdown to a “temporary” pullback in remittances and a transitional pickup in the number of jobless Filipino men.

Consumption is expected to grow faster during the year ahead.

“[T]he outlook for domestic job creation is strong: construction sector employment is likely to increase, tourism flows are recovering, and the BPO sector seems to have resumed a fast pace of hiring after a lull in 2016,” the report read.

“Over the medium term, thanks to having Asia’s lowest stock of household debt, there is significant room for expansion in the mortgage and consumer loan markets.”

BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi G. Fonacier said the retail segment will be the battleground for banks this year, with a stronger middle-class segment and as the corporate sector grows saturated.

HSBC, however, noted that the domestic economy has been “slightly less dependent” on private consumption given a sustained increased in infrastructure investment. Still, private spending accounts for roughly 70% of gross domestic product.

Addictive gaming to be recognized as disease — WHO

GENEVA — “Gaming disorder” will be recognized as a disease later this year following expert consensus over the addictive risks associated with playing electronic games, the World Health Organization said Friday.

The disorder will be listed in the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), to be published in June, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told reporters in Geneva.

WHO is leading the process of updating ICD-11, which includes input from global health practitioners.

The current working definition of the disorder is “a pattern of gaming behavior, that can be digital gaming or video gaming, characterized by impaired control over gaming, increased priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests,” Jasarevic said.

Other symptoms include “the continuation and escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.”

The provisional guidelines say that an individual should demonstrate an abnormal fixation on gaming for at least a year before being diagnosed with the disorder, which will be classified as an “addictive behavior,” Jasarevic said.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the condition disproportionately effects younger people more connected to the ever-expanding online gaming world.

But the WHO spokesman cautioned that it was premature to speculate on the scope of the problem.

“Gaming disorder is a relatively new concept and epidemiological data at the population level are yet to be generated,” he said.

Despite the lack of hard data, “health experts basically agree that there is an issue” and that official inclusion in the ICD is the next appropriate step, Jasarevic said.

“There are people who are asking for help,” he added, noting that formal recognition of the condition will help spur further research and resources committed to combatting the problem. — AFP

Music’s loss: Moody Blues’ Ray Thomas, 76, and French singer France Gall, 70

LONDON/PARIS — Musician and singer Ray Thomas, a founding member of the band Moody Blues, has died at the age of 76, his record label said on Sunday.

Thomas, a flautist and vocalist, died suddenly at home in Surrey, England, on Thursday, according to a statement released by Cherry Red Records and Esoteric Recordings.

“We are deeply shocked by his passing and will miss his warmth, humor and kindness,” the label said.

“It was a privilege to have known and worked with him and our thoughts are with his family and his wife Lee at this sad time.”

Thomas revealed on his Web site in 2014 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer the previous year.

“My cancer was inoperable but I have a fantastic doctor who immediately started me on a new treatment that has had [a] 90% success rate,” he wrote.

“The cancer is being held in remission but I’ll be receiving this treatment for the rest of my life.”

Thomas rose to fame in the 1960s and ’70s after founding The Moody Blues with bandmates Mike Pinder, Denny Laine, Graeme Edge, and Clint Warwick.

The band — whose hits included “Go Now,” “Nights In White Satin,” and “Question” — have been chosen to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

Thomas, who started out in blues and soul music groups, also enjoyed some solo success with the albums From Mighty Oaks and Hopes Wishes And Dreams.

FRANCE GALL, 70
French singer France Gall, who shot to fame in the 1960s with a series of hits and a sexually suggestive song about lollipops written by Serge Gainsbourg, died Sunday aged 70, her spokeswoman announced.

Gall, who became a star in 1965 when she won the Eurovision song contest as a strikingly blond and slightly awkward teenager, had been battling cancer for two years and died in a hospital west of Paris.

With her blond bob and eyeliner she became an icon at home of the swinging sixties, while internationally she was the little-known inspiration behind the Frank Sinatra classic “My Way.”

Sinatra’s hit was an English adaptation of the 1968 song “Comme d’Habitude” which was written by French glam-rocker Francois about his break-up with the Parisian singer.

During the early part of her career in the 1960s and ’70s she formed partnerships with some of the most famed French musicians of the era, notably Gainsbourg, but also Claude Francois and Michel Berger.

Tributes poured in Sunday for Gall, originally named Isabelle and born to a successful musician father, while radio and television channels aired special commemoration shows.

“France Gall has traveled through the ages thanks to her sincerity and generosity,” said President Emmanuel Macron in a statement. “She leaves behind songs known by every French person and the example of a life that was oriented towards others, those that she loved and those that she helped.”

British actress and singer Jane Birkin, whose collaborations with Gainsbourg also propelled her to 1960s stardom, said Gall was “surprising, candid, mysterious… it’s sad, really sad.”

French star Mireille Mathieu, who worked with Gall early in her career, said “her songs are part of our life.”

Singers Charles Aznavour, Mireille Mathieu, and Patrick Bruel also paid tribute.

After Gall’s first breakthrough at Eurovision with “Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son” (Wax Doll, Rag Doll), Gainsbourg wrote her 1966 follow-up, the scandalous “Les Sucettes” (The Lollipops) which she sang with childish innocence.

As an 18-year-old, Gall said she hadn’t understood that the lyrics could be interpreted as referring to oral sex and later said she would never have performed the song if she’d known.

“I was humiliated,” she said.

After ending her collaboration with Gainsbourg, she began a hugely successful partnership with Michel Berger in 1974 and would go on to marry the songwriter two years later in a relationship that would be marked by tragedy. He died of a heart attack aged 44 in 1992 and the eldest of their two children, daughter Pauline, who was born with cystic fibrosis, passed away five years later.

Gall disappeared from the public eye after Pauline’s death in 1997, only to reappear in 2015 for a musical stage show featuring her numerous hits with her late husband.

These include the 1981 classic “Resiste” and the 1987 tribute to jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald “Ella, Elle l’a.” — AFP

Seoul to bring up family reunions in NoKor talks

SEOUL — South Korea will seek discussions on resuming reunions of separated families at this week’s inter-Korean talks, Seoul’s top delegate said Monday, as North Korea (NoKor) trumpeted the importance of achieving reunification.

The two Koreas agreed last week to hold their first official dialogue in more than two years and will meet Tuesday at the border truce village of Panmunjom.

The talks will largely focus on the North’s participation in next month’s Winter Olympics in the South, but the two sides are also expected to bring up their own issues of interest.

“We will prepare for discussions on the issue of separated families and ways to ease military tensions,” Unification Minister Cho Myoung-Gyon told reporters, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a formal peace treaty, the two Koreas remain technically at war.

Tensions soared last year as the North made rapid progress on its banned weapons programs, launching ballistic missiles it said are capable of reaching the United States and carrying out its sixth nuclear test, by far its most powerful.

Their tentative rapprochement comes after North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un warned in his New Year speech that he had a nuclear button on his desk — but also said Pyongyang could send a team to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Seoul responded with an offer of talks, and last week the hot line between the neighbors was restored after being suspended for almost two years.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-Wha said the North’s participation in Pyeongchang would strengthen the Games’ profile as “a peace Olympics,” Yonhap reported, and could lead to further progress.

North Korea’s state media has stopped condemning the South and instead called for “independent reunification” without relying on other countries such as the United States.

“The master of improved inter-Korean relations is not the outsiders but the Korean nation itself,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said at the weekend.

“The flunkeyism and idea of dependence on outside forces are the venom which makes the nation slavish and spiritless,” it added.

US President Donald J. Trump said at the weekend that the rare talks between the two Koreas would go “beyond the Olympics” and that Washington could join the process at a later stage.

Also in recent days, the United States and South Korea agreed to delay annual joint military exercises until after the Games, apparently to help calm nerves.

The regular joint drills have been criticized by some as heightening regional tensions. Beijing and Moscow have both called for them to be suspended.

But Kim Yong-Hyun, a political science professor at Dongguk University, warned that the talks “will become difficult if North Korea makes unreasonable demands.”

US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said there was “no turnaround” in the US stance, reiterating that the North must stop nuclear tests for talks with Washington.

The divided families are one of the most emotive outcomes of the Korean War, which saw the peninsula formally partitioned in 1953. Around 60,000 increasingly elderly South Koreans still hope to meet their relatives again.

The last round of reunions — in which relatives meet for a few days — were held in 2015 and the number of aging divided family members is dwindling.

North Korean officials have previously told AFP they would not consider further reunions unless several of its citizens are returned by the South. — AFP

Victoria Azarenka pulls out of Australian Open

MELBOURNE — Former champion Victoria Azarenka, who has been locked in a custody battle over her young son, pulled out of the Australian Open on Monday.

The two-time winner had been handed a wildcard into the opening Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne, starting on Jan. 15, but will not be making the trip.

“It’s unfortunate that Azarenka is unable to travel to Australia this year,” tournament director Craig Tiley tweeted.

“The Australian Open is her favorite tournament and she’s looking forward to returning to Melbourne next year.”

Azarenka returned from maternity leave in the middle of last year but skipped the US Open after a Los Angeles judge presiding in a custody case over her son Leo ruled she could not leave California until the matter had been settled.

She had been in doubt for Melbourne Park after pulling out of last week’s Auckland Classic.

The Belarusian is the latest top name to withdraw from the Australian Open.

Serena Williams, herself a new mother, opted out last week, saying she was still not at the level needed for a major tournament after giving birth.

Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori are also non-starters after succumbing to injury. — AFP

Political adviser wants Smartmatic out in next polls

PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER on political affairs Francis N. Tolentino said that Filipinos should facilitate the elections instead of foreign-owned companies like Smartmatic. “One of the ways to do this is to assert by legislation that service providers should be run and controlled by Filipino citizens. Not the other way around. Kung hindi, kawawa naman tayo (If not, we lose),” said Mr. Tolentino, who has an ongoing electoral protest against Senator Leila M. de Lima. The Venezuelan information technology company Smartmatic has been the service provider of the automated local and national elections from 2008 to 2016. Critics have time and again questioned the company’s operations, such as the alleged script alteration in the 2016 national elections, but the Commission on Elections has cleared Smartmatic.

Australian miner expresses interest in Diwalwal investment

DAVAO CITY — The Philippine Mining Development Corp. (PMDC) has received an expression of interest from an unidentified Australian miner as a possible first investor in the the Diwalwal Mineral Reservation Area (DMRA) in Mr. Diwata, Monkayo, Compostela Valley, which is intended to be a showcase for responsible mining practices and on-site ore processing.

“Very soon… Diwalwal will showcase responsible mining,” PMDC president and chief executive officer Alberto B. Sipaco, Jr., said. He added that the signing of an agreement between PMDC and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) will convert the 8,100-hectare DMRA into a mineral processing industry zone.

Mr. Sipaco said the company is currently negotiating with officials of the Australian firm. “They are willing to double the commitment fee to develop a six-by-six meter tunnel that will connect Victory Tunnel to Boston in Davao Oriental,” he added.

The government is eager to deter mining by small-scale operators who are less accountable when it comes to observing mining regulations, and also wants to extract ore value domestically from the country’s mineral wealth. By establishing a PEZA-accredited mineral processing plant in Diwalwal, he said, minerals can be processed locally into high-value products that can be exported.

Mr. Sipaco said the establishment of a mineral processing zone in Diwalwal will encourage investors to put up processing plants considering that raw materials are readily available

He said the development of the mining industry in Diwalwal will open up more economic opportunity, industrialize the gold industry, establish settlements in safe areas near the mining area and provide more funding for housing projects in the area. He said all these economic activities are expected to create revenue and tax opportunities for investors and the government.

“The timeline… will depend on how fast we can come up with the different aspects of the project; state mining means before we mine, we see to it that it is ripe for instituting measures and practices that would lead to responsible mining,” he said.

Mr. Sipaco said the company has identified about 150 hectares of land in Mt. Diwata where the investor can put up the gold refinery, gold processing plants and resorts in anticipation of more tourist arrivals in the area.

“We will make this project sustainable so that this will become a mining legacy for the area, Diwalwal being the gold find of the century,” he said.

While PMDC is banking on foreign partnerships to establish the mineral processing zone, it said it will not limit investment to foreign investors. “This is the condition I have given to investors who have signified their intention to invest in the area,” he added.

PMDC will lead the exploration and development of the gold-rush area. PMDC is a wholly owned and controlled government corporation 44% owned by the Natural Resources Development Corp. (NRDC), 36% by the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) and 20% by the National Development Corp. (NDC). DENR Administrative Order No. 2003-38 designates PMDC as the agency’s implementing arm in undertaking mining and mineral processing operations in the DMRA.

“The focus of exploitation and development of the gold-rush area is still the major obligation of the national government and this responsibility encompasses many engagements crucial to the protection of many stakeholders,” he said. PMDC’s mission includes the development of hosting communities, ensuring better reach of corporate social responsibility, extending royalties to the Indigenous Peoples (IPs), protecting key watersheds and reservoirs from destruction, desilting riverways affected by destructive mining and raising public funds to develop infrastructures.

PEZA Director General Charito Plaza has said the declaration of the DMRA as a mineral processing zone area is in line with the pronouncement made by President Rodrigo R. Duterte during his State-of-the-Nation Address “to stop illegal mining and smuggling of raw minerals.”

She said minerals from Diwalwal are being smuggled out to Hong Kong, among other places. Inviting investors to set up processing plants in Diwalwal will help PMDC put a stop to illegal extraction and smuggling of gold. — Carmencita A. Carillo

Johnson dominates Tournament of Champions

LOS ANGELES — World number one Dustin Johnson powered to an eight-shot triumph at the US PGA Tour Tournament of Champions in Hawaii on Sunday.

Johnson’s masterful display off the tee at the par-73 Plantation Course at Kapalua included a near hole-in-one at the par-four 12th hole — where his drive left him a six-inch tap-in for eagle.

He carded an eight-under par 65 for 24-under 268 and his 17th US PGA Tour triumph.

Spain’s Jon Rahm was second after a 69 for 276 and is projected to rise to number three in the world thanks to his runner-up finish.

Brian Harman, who started the day two shots behind Johnson atop the leaderboard, closed with a one-under 72 for sole possession of third place on 277.

It was a further stroke back to Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (66) and Americans Pat Perez (69) and Rickie Fowler (70).

But it was Johnson who dominated. He raced away from the field with four birdies on the front nine.

His only miscue of the day was at the par-three 11th, where he was in a bunker off the tee en route to a bogey.

He responded in magnificent style with his monster drive setting up his eagle at the 12th, and he padded his lead with three straight birdies at 14, 15, and 16. — AFP

Ayala to buy out MCT’s minority shareholders

AYALA LAND, Inc. (ALI) has launched an offer to buy out the minority shareholders of MCT Bhd. after securing control of the Malaysian developer.

The real estate arm of the Ayala group said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday its subsidiary Regent Wise Investments Limited (RWIL) issued a notice of an unconditional mandatory takeover offer to the board of directors of MCT to acquire all the remaining shares of the company that are not owned by the ALI unit.

RWIL is required to undertake the offer in accordance to the Capital Markets and Services Act and the Malaysian Code on Take-Overs & Mergers after breaching the 33% trigger point.

Last week, RWIL entered into conditional share purchase agreement with MCT non-executive director Tan Sri Goh Ming Choo for the acquisition of his 17.24% stake in the Malaysian company for RM 202.50 million.

The deal effectively raised Ayala Land’s interest in MCT to 50.19%, cementing the Philippine real estate giant’s control over the latter.

Ayala Land kicked off the offer after the agreement became unconditional following the receipt of a waiver from Bursa Malaysia to allow for 51% of the cash consideration to be settled in tranches, MCT said in a separate filing.

Securing control of MCT will strengthen Ayala Land’s commitment to expand the developer and provide the Philippine company to participate in the favorable prospects of the real estate sector in Malaysia, its first investment in Southeast Asia.

Ayala Land bought a 9.16% interest in MCT in April 2015 then exercised its option to buy additional shares and boost its stake to 32.95% eight months later.

Under its 2020 Vision, Ayala Land is targeting a 20% annual growth rate to hit a net income of P40 billion.

For the first nine months of 2017, ALI saw an 18% increase in earnings to P17.8 billion, on the back of a 16% growth in revenues to P98.9 billion.

Shares in Ayala Land shed 30 centavos or 0.66% to close at P45.20 apiece on Monday. — Krista Angela M. Montealegre

Met’s The Pearl Fishers screened

GEORGES Bizet’s opera The Pearl Fishers, the second offering for the CCP Met Opera in HD Season 5, will be screened on Jan. 9, 6:30 p.m., at the Greenbelt 3 Cinema 3 in Makati City. The opera tells about Nadir and Zurga whose friendship is tested when both fall in love with Leila, a Hindu priestess. The opera stars soprano Diana Damrau (photo) as Leïla, and Matthew Polenzani and Mariusz Kwiecien portray Nadir and Zurga. The CCP Met Opera in HD series features screenings of the latest operatic productions of the Metropolitan Opera of New York through the high-definition digital video technology and Dolby sound recreating the experience of watching an opera production at the Met “live.” For inquiries, call CCP Sales and Promotions at 832-3706, or e-mail ccpsalesandpromo@gmail.com, Greenbelt 3 Cinema Customer Service Hotline at 757-7883. or visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.

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