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New-generation Continental GT is latest Bentley in PHL


FUSING together sport and opulence, speed and long-distance coziness, has been the Bentley Continental GT’s brief from Day One — or since 2003, when the original model debuted. Three generations later, the car faithfully keeps to its reason for being, all while packing the latest in car-making technologies. The all-new Continental GT, launched in September last year at the Frankfurt Motor Show, is a rolling-sculpture proof of this. And, now, it has arrived in the Philippines (it’s now available at the newly refurbished Bentley Manila showroom in Bonifacio Global City).
The Continental GT gets a body wholly crafted from aluminum, which Bentley said has allowed its coach builders to sculpt the car’s iconic shape, not to mention its “power line,” which originates from between the head lamps, spears through the doors, and fades out as it reaches the rear haunches. This feature is an evolution of that which also graced the body of the R Type Continental from 1952.
Rakish than ever, the new Continental GT wears a swept-back silhouette, and is also lower and wider than the model it replaced. But the car retains the nameplate’s signature cues, albeit reinterpreted, such as the matrix grille that’s flanked by a pair of round head lamps on either side. The head lamp units are pieces of automotive jewelry — they’re made up of 82 LEDs, creating a cut-crystal effect. This treatment is echoed at the back by the elliptical tail lights.
The car’s cabin is a mixture of Old World craftsmanship and new technologies — think swaths of quilted leather and the finest forest veneers combined with touch screen panels, instrument displays that can switch between digital or analog readouts, and a 2,200-watt Naim audio unit that pump out tunes to 20 speakers scattered around the interior, including an active pair embedded in the seats. Every piece of furniture in there is power-operated, too.
Propelling the Continental GT is a 6.0-liter W12 — that’s 12 cylinders in a “W” formation — engine that, through two turbochargers, produces 635 hp and 900 Nm. An eight-speed dual-clutch transmission sends this output over to all four wheels. Top speed? 333 kph.
In Mulliner spec, the Continental GT is hauled down from speed by the largest brake discs ever to be fitted on a production car, which are grabbed by 10-piston calipers. The car rolls on 22-inch, open-spoke, hand-polished alloy wheels, which are suspended by Bentley’s Dynamic Ride System. This feature lets the car ride as comfortably as possible, yet still be agile to drive.
When Bentley said the Continental GT is designed and engineered to be the best grand touring car in the world, it was not spouting empty marketing slogans. The Continental GT is the best grand touring car in the world. — Brian M. Afuang

Cars and crustaceans (or what Volvo has to do with crayfish)

APPARENTLY, the idea for creating Volvo was hatched over a seafood meal.
According to Volvo Cars, company founders Gustaf Larson and Assar Gabrielsson had a chance meeting at seafood place Sturehof in Stockholm. Larson was drawn to the restaurant because it served crayfish, and once inside saw his friend Gabrielsson. Over a meal of crayfish, the two men’s conversation turned towards cars, with Larson supposedly wondering: “Couldn’t Sweden produce its own cars?” This meeting took place in August (some accounts put it in July) of 1924.
Actually, the Volvo name, derived from the Latin word “volvere,” or “I roll,” was registered as a trademark as early as May 1911. The name was not intended for a car though, but for a new line of ball bearings for the SKF brand.
It was not used on any SKF product though, and somehow Gabrielsson, a sales manager at SKF, managed to convince SKF to use the Volvo name for the car company he and Larson, an engineer, would start in 1924. The two men’s idea was to build cars specifically designed for Sweden’s rough roads and cold temperature, and by August 1926, Volvo started developing cars within the SKF group.
A year later the first Volvo car, called the OV 4, rolled off the production line in Gothenburg — Volvo considers this as the year it officially started as car company.
Volvo continues to toast the meal over which its founders began developing the idea of starting an auto company through a Crayfish Party. In the Philippines, the most recent was the one held on Sept. 8 together with the Nordic Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines at a Pasay City hotel. Displayed during the event were the Volvo S90 and XC60.

Shell brings out toy cars fueled by saltwater

SHELL has released toy cars propelled by electric motors with lithium batteries juiced by saltwater.
A chemical reaction creating electricity comes from the electrolytes supplied by the saltwater. The electricity produced then powers the cars’ motors. So included in every car, called Shell Saltwater Supercars, are two lithium batteries, a salt and water mixer, and a dropper.
Shell said the toy cars show children “an alternative source of energy in action.”
The four Saltwater Supercar models are also offered with customizable racetracks, which are made from Bagasse, fully biodegradable organic material containing no additive or chemicals, according to Shell. The company added it donates P2 to the Plastic Bank for every Saltwater Supercar or racetrack sold.
“At Shell, we champion innovation and new energy solutions. With the new Saltwater Supercars we hope to offer an elevated experience with toy cars, bringing cutting-edge technology to our loyal customers, and for all ages to enjoy,” said Mark Malabanan, Shell V-Power brand manager.
The Shell Saltwater Supercars and racetracks are available until Nov. 30 at participating Shell stations. They can be bought after purchasing Shell fuels and lubricants.

If you’re 40 years old and above, you would want to read this

In January this year, the official Facebook page of the local MG distributor posted the following declaration: “Only for the young. If you’re 40 and above, please buy other brands.”
As a 46-year-old person, my first thought was: WTF. My second thought was: The days of this company as the official Philippine importer and seller of MG cars are numbered.
I mean, what straight-thinking business organization would alienate the very age group that has ever heard of its brand (and has the actual means to purchase its products)? If you ever needed a concrete illustration of the idiom “shooting oneself in the foot,” this would be it.
To be fair to MG Philippines — and its very affable president, Morgan Say — the cocksure assertion seemed like an innocent attempt at going viral and making more people aware of the not-so-popular British automotive brand. Mr. Say told me at the time: “Without any intent to offend anyone, we prefer to market MG cars to the younger millennial generation. The MG brand image we are building on is to manage its client base among those who are still dynamic and innovative in their way of life and thinking. We are not after volume selling but for advising the old-fashioned generation that this is not the car brand for them. It may sound offensive if people are sensitive, and we sincerely apologize for that. However, we hope that people will respect our direction to be selective and exclusive with our client preference.”
That was it. That statement erased any doubt in my mind that the distributor didn’t have an iota of clue about what it was doing. Well-meaning, yes. Competent, no. My 40-plus-year-old self was 100% sure that Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (or SAIC), the Chinese automaker that now owns MG, would take back whatever license it had granted to its Philippine distributor — like a concerned mother would sternly confiscate the iPad she had bought her eight-year-old kid.
Well, my gut feel just came true. On Monday, Oct. 1, the MG brand in our market was officially turned over to The Covenant Car Company, Inc. (TCCCI). If the latter sounds familiar, that’s because it’s also the authorized distributor of Chevrolet in the country. So this makes TCCCI a two-brand operation.
An inside source tells me that “TCCCI received an invitation to meet with the representatives of MG Global to explore the possibility of distributing their products in the Philippines. After evaluating the business potential of the brand, TCCCI saw how MG could complement its overall business strategy and growth plans.”
My mental translation: “SAIC got fed up with its clueless Philippine distributor and started shopping the MG brand around.”
But seriously, SAIC is the business and technical partner of General Motors (GM) — the parent company of Chevrolet — in the very important market of China. While my source maintains that GM and MG (what a coincidence) are totally independent of each other, I am betting my well-used Corvette shirt that this deal is indeed an agreement between SAIC and GM.
Anyway, my informant also shares with me some of TCCCI’s grand plans for MG: “An independent operational team will be established to focus solely on the MG brand. Independent dealer partners will construct and establish MG showrooms nationwide. The first phase of the dealer network plan will cover Metro Manila, regional Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. All are expected to be completed by the first semester of 2019. To address any after-sales service concerns the motoring public may have while the dealer network is being established, independent service outlets and mobile service caravans will be accredited and designated by TCCCI, and made easily accessible. Exciting sales pop-up stores and road shows are already scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2018, so the public can have a close encounter with all the exciting, new MG products.”
The formal brand re-launch will take place on Oct. 11, where three new MG models will be introduced to our market. I hear car buyers older than 40 will like these cars.
Maybe there’s a lesson to be learned here: Do not take a dig at the age bracket of the big bosses that decide the fate of your business.

Urban, religious violence spike in Bangsamoro: Study

By Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
THE Bangsamoro region of Mindanao saw a spike in urban violence as well as inter- and intra- religious identity violence last year, a new report found. This, despite the drop in rebellion-related violence.
International Alert Philippines’ Conflict Report 2018 pointed to a string of increasing conflict caused and reinforced “by the cycle of violence in the Bangsamoro.”
The study also noted that there is a “newly-emerging strand of violence extremism” due to these combatants having experienced struggles in the past, mostly related to politics, land disputes, and identity.
The study cited the recently-formed Maute Group/Dawlah Islamiya and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters as having branched out from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Moro National Liberation Front, shifting their alliance to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
International Alert Senior Peace and Conflict Adviser for Asia Francisco J. Lara Jr. said in a Tuesday press briefing at the World Bank office in Taguig City that last year’s five-month siege in Marawi City was a “product” of the unrest in the region, not a cause.
“We need to look at conflict as a string of violence running alongside the main cause,” Mr. Lara said.
“We saw the case of BIFF and the Maute which had not been resolved despite having been neutralized,” he added.
International Alert Country Manager Nikki de la Rosa noted that there should still be ongoing consultations among the government, traditional leaders and clans in the region to ensure lasting peace amid the ongoing Bangsamoro transition.

Facebook just had a giant security breach. No, you don’t need to panic.

Another day, another giant privacy and security controversy, care of our friends at Facebook.
On Sept. 28, Facebook quietly published an update outlining a security issue their engineering team had discovered that affected the access tokens of nearly 50 million accounts.
Cybersecurity expert Kaspersky Labs was quick to chime in on the breach, assuaging fears that users’ accounts had been irrevocably compromised.
Whether or not Facebook is a responsible steward of the literal terabytes of data they have on each of its over two billion users is largely debatable. But as far as this security breach is concerned: your account is likely fine.
Here’s what Kaspersky had to say:
What you need to do about the recent Facebook security breach:

  • Nothing.

What you don’t need to do about the recent Facebook security breach:

  • Don’t rush to change your password. Passwords were not affected during the breach, so they’re as safe as you’ve made them.
  • Don’t panic. Even if you find yourself logged out of Facebook for some reason, Facebook says there’s no need to worry; it will have already reset the authentication token for you so that nobody but you can gain access to your account. You’ll need to log in again by entering your password and 2FA (that is, Two-Factor Authentication) code (if you have enabled it), but that’s all.
  • Don’t delete your Facebook account. Well, of course you can always do that, but this breach is not a reason to be quite that worried.

Here’s what happened:
An access token is, as Facebook describes it, basically a key to your account. If a person has it, Facebook considers that person authorized to enter that account and doesn’t request login, password, and 2FA codes. So, having stolen 50,000,000 user access tokens, the malefactors could potentially access those 50,000,000 accounts. But that doesn’t mean they got access to your passwords or somehow broke the two-factor authentication mechanism. Your password is secure and 2FA is still working as intended. But stealing a token is a way to bypass those defenses.

Facebook explains that investigation of the incident is in the very early stages, but for now they suspect that somebody found a vulnerability in their “View as” feature and exploited it, gaining access to 50 million account tokens. That’s why they have turned the feature off, reset the user authentication tokens for those accounts, and are in the process of resetting those tokens for another 40 million users who have used this feature in the past year. The last part seems like just a precaution, but at the moment, they can hardly be too careful.

When the token is reset, the person who has it can no longer access the account and will need to log in again. The malefactors don’t have your login or password, so even if you were affected initially, they can no longer pretend to be you and access the account.

Facebook promises to update the post once it’s clear what exactly happened and whether any of the affected accounts were somehow misused, but for now we suggest doing what we described in the beginning of the post: nothing.
 

Megaworld plans P500-M boutique hotel in Bacolod township

By Anna Gabriela A. Mogato
MEGAWORLD Corp. said it will be building a P500 million luxury boutique hotel in The Upper East Township, its 34-hectare property in Bacolod City, set to open by 2022.
In a disclosure to the Stock Market on Tuesday, Megaworld announced that the 48-room boutique hotel will be designed by heritage architect and conservationist Dominic Galicia to preserve the features of the heritage structures it will be built into.
The project will see the old Bacolod-Murcia Milling Co. compound’s “guest house” repurposed to serve as its main lobby.
“The entire hotel complex is anchored in the oldest structure, and it expands from this like wings, with the Ballroom Wing to the left, and the Guest Room Wing to the right,” Mr. Galicia said.
Mr. Galicia is most recently known for redesigning the much-celebrated National Museum of Natural History.
“As a landmark of Bacolod, it will express the noble intent of remembering and anchoring in a glorious past as we move towards what we dream to be a glorious future,” he added.
Megaworld Bacolod Vice President for Sales and Marketing Rachelle Peñaflorida, in the same disclosure, said that the hotel’s features can further help the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions tourism industry in Bacolod.
The hotel, to be situated along the Upper East Avenue, will house an all-day dining restaurant, ballroom, café, courtyard, swimming pool, fitness center,lanai, and a hotel bar concept Zabana Bar.

Facebook taps ‘News Feed’ head to run Instagram after founders leave

By Bloomberg
Instagram has a new boss: Adam Mosseri, who led Facebook Inc.’s news feed team for many years.
Mosseri takes on one of Facebook’s fastest-growing properties after Instagram founders, Chief Executive Officer Kevin Systrom and Chief Technology Officer Mike Krieger, resigned last week following tension with Facebook over the direction of the service, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mosseri, whose title will be Head of Instagram, announced his new role in an Instagram post posing with the founders.

Today in global market news

By Bloomberg
It took a while to get there, but the U.S., Canada and Mexico have struck a revised trade deal. Meanwhile, oil reached the highest level since 2014, and India vowed liquidity support to a debt-laden financier. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about.
Nafta 2.0
President Donald Trump celebrated a trade deal with Canada and Mexico to replace Nafta as a “historic” win that vindicated his strategy of threatening tariffs on trade partners. Trump called the accord “the most important trade deal we’ve ever made by far.” He predicted the renamed U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, would “easily” pass Congress after he signs it by late November. The pact could spell relief for car manufacturers including Toyota and Honda; here are some other highlights. U.S. stocks rose, as did the Canadian dollar.
Crude Surge
Oil jumped to the highest level in nearly four years as a slowdown in American drilling added to concern over supply losses from Iran and Venezuela. Crude futures gained more than 3 percent in New York on Monday. As U.S. sanctions dissuaded importers from purchasing Iranian oil, President Donald Trump and King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia discussed efforts to maintain supplies. Meanwhile, the number of rigs drilling for American crude dropped for a second week, signaling a potential slowdown in output growth.
Peak Steel
The world’s largest steel market is about to go into reverse. Production in China will peak in 2018 and then shrink next year as local demand drops, according to forecasts from the Australian government, which says the shift will add to headwinds for core ingredient iron ore. After topping out at 886 million metric tons, output is expected to drop to 861 million tons in 2019 and hit 842 million in 2020, the Department of Industry, Innovation & Science said. Over the same time frame, local demand is seen contracting by 34 million tons.
India’s IL&FS Move
The Indian government, which seized control of debt-laden financier Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd., has pledged to ensure the beleaguered lender has the money to prevent further defaults. Superseding the board of IL&FS, which has defaulted on more than five of its obligations, was essential to restore the confidence of the financial markets, according to a statement by the finance ministry on Monday. Government officials on Monday ousted IL&FS’s management and instituted a new six-member board. The dramatic move underscored the government’s concern that defaults at the systemically important shadow bank may spread to other lenders. The nation has sought to take control of a company on just two prior occasions, and only followed through once, with Satyam Computer Services Ltd. in 2009.
Defensives Lead Nikkei Charge
Japan’s blue-chip Nikkei 225 Stock Average soared to its highest in almost 27 years, but it’s not the usual suspects — the country’s giant exporters — that have been leading the charge this year. Retailers, drugmakers and other more defensive shares have been driving the increase. The Nikkei’s turnaround has been fast and decisive. It’s up almost 9 percent from a recent low on Sept. 7. But while the recent rally has been brisk, some money managers say it’s lacking in confidence. “People had doubts over whether the global economy will continue to fare well,” said Kiyoshi Ishigane, chief strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “They had little choice but to go for defensives.”

PHL regains ASEAN factory lead

By Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
Reporter
IMPROVEMENT of Philippine manufacturing activity remained “modest” in September, according to a monthly survey IHS Markit conducted for Nikkei, Inc., but “robust” domestic consumption, a “solid” rise in new orders and “upbeat business confidence” offset muted foreign demand and “strong” inflation to propel the country back to fore among major economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Philippines’ Nikkei Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) notched up to 52 in September from 51.9 in August, higher than the 50.5 average of the seven major ASEAN markets tracked by the regional report that was down from the preceding month’s 51.
The Philippines last topped the region in December last year.
A PMI reading above 50 indicates an improvement in business conditions from the preceding month, while a score below that mark signals deterioration. The manufacturing PMI is composed of five sub-indices, with new orders weighing 30%, output at 25%, employment at 20%, suppliers’ delivery times at 15% and stocks of purchases at 10%.
“Manufacturing conditions in the Philippines improved further at the end of the third quarter, with the latest PMI data continuing to signal robust demand and upbeat business confidence,” the report read.
September took the third quarter’s pace of improvement to 51.6, “suggesting that growth had moderated from [53.1] the previous quarter,” the report added.
UNDER PRESSURE
Output growth accelerated in September, while the rise in new orders “remained solid” overall.
Export orders, however, fell, capping six straight months of expansion.
That, the report noted, means demand that fueled overall improvement was largely from locals.
It noted that September marked the second straight month of net employment gains amid the need “to raise staff numbers to meet increased demand.”
At the same time, Nikkei said that firms continued to feel inflation pressures, which they passed on to customers.
“Filipino goods producers continued to face strong cost increases as the third quarter concluded. Input price inflation remained steep and well above the historical average. A combination of factors contributed to inflation, including a strong dollar, higher prices for raw materials (such as steel, electronic and electrical components, plastics, paper, sugar, and fuel), effects of the TRAIN laws and supply shortages,” the report read, referring to Republic Act No. 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act.
“Firms, in turn, passed on higher costs to customers in order to preserve profit margins. Prices charged for Filipino manufactured products were raised at the second-highest rate in the survey history during September.”
Business confidence about output in the next 12 months remained elevated in September, though slightly lower than in August, the report added.
GROWING SECTORS
Sought for comment, Michael L. Ricafort, economist at the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. said in an e-mail yesterday that the pickup in manufacturing activity was due to the “sustained growth in real estate and construction, and the positive effects of allied industries that are related to both real estate and construction such as construction materials.”
He attributed the sustained growth of purchases amid high inflation to expectation of further price increases.
“The rising trend in inflation may have also prompted some manufacturers to front-load production as a hedge vs. any further increase in prices/inflation in the future,” said Mr. Ricafort.
He added that reconstruction in northern Luzon in the wake of the typhoon that struck last month could further spur construction-related manufacturing activity.
RESILIENT DESPITE INFLATION
IHS Markit Principal Economist Bernard Aw was quoted in the report as saying that the outlook remains positive despite high inflation.
“September survey data suggest that growth in coming months is likely to be resilient, while strong cost inflation remains a key concern. In general, Filipino manufacturing firms are optimistic about the business outlook in the year ahead,” he said.
Inflation in August clocked in at a nine-year high of 6.4% and is expected to accelerate further in September to 6.8% according to BusinessWorld’s poll last week of 13 economists, while the central bank has given a 6.3 – 7.1% estimate range.
Noting that “inflation was partly driven by typhoon-related factors,” Mr. Aw said “a weaker peso, supply shortages, higher global commodity prices and the TRAIN laws continued to drive inflation higher.
“As such, the latest PMI price gauges raised doubts about prospects that consumer inflation will reach a peak in September, suggesting instead that inflation could remain elevated in the months ahead.”
ASEAN manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, September (2018)

ASEAN manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, September (2018)

IMPROVEMENT of Philippine manufacturing activity remained “modest” in September, according to a monthly survey IHS Markit conducted for Nikkei, Inc., but “robust” domestic consumption, a “solid” rise in new orders and “upbeat business confidence” offset muted foreign demand and “strong” inflation to propel the country back to fore among major economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Read the full story.
ASEAN manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, September (2018)

Fitch Solutions sees continuing peso weakness

THE PESO’S WEAKNESS is likely to persist amid external headwinds, Fitch Solutions Macro Research said, even as robust domestic growth and a hawkish monetary policy should help buoy the local currency.
“The Philippine peso is looking technically bearish in the near term and we believe that fears of contagion from other EMs (emerging markets) and rising US interest rates will weigh on the currency further despite the Philippines central bank’s policy actions,” Fitch Solutions said in a commentary published on Monday.
The peso has been trading at fresh 12-year lows in recent weeks after it weakened past the P54 mark versus the dollar in September. Fitch Solutions has revised its full-year forecast for the peso, as it now expects the currency to hit P54.80 versus the greenback by yearend, weaker than its previous P54 forecast.
By end-2019, the local unit could weaken even further to P56.33 per dollar.
“[W]e believe that fears of contagion from the financial crisis in Turkey and Argentina, coupled with rising US interest rates, will continue to fuel broader risk-off sentiment in EMs, resulting in further flight to safety by portfolio investors,” the report read.
“Fundamentally, the peso remains vulnerable due to negative real interest rates differentials vis-a-vis the US, but it does not warrant such a sharp sell-off in our view given the strong economic fundamentals and a hawkish BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas).”
The central bank has raised rates by a total of 150 basis points (bp) since May, with last week’s monetary policy review resulting in a second 50-bp hike amid expectations that inflation could have clocked a fresh multi-year high in September.
In a related development, yields under the BSP’s rediscount window have been raised to 5.0625% for loans maturing in up to 90 days, while a higher 5.125% rate will be charged for borrowings with 91- to 180-day tenors. The rediscount window allows banks to tap additional money supply by posting their collectibles as collateral. The banks may use the fresh cash — expressed in the peso, dollar or yen — to grant more loans or service unexpected withdrawals.
Fitch Solutions also expects another tightening move of 25 bp in the last three months of 2018, while another 75bp is on the table next year.
Fitch solutions added that the peso can be expected to remain under pressure as Philippine inflation will likely continue to average higher compared to overall price hikes in the US.
“The main drivers of inflation are the sustained rapid credit growth (18.7% year-on-year in August), incremental implementation of fuel excise tax hikes and the expansionary fiscal stance of the Duterte administration,” the research group added.
The aggressive infrastructure spending program of the government will also exert pressure on the peso by way of a worsening twin (budget and current account) deficit, as the construction drive would require more imports of capital goods.
“In the absence of a corresponding increase in FDI (foreign direct investments) and portfolio inflows or higher domestic savings, which is looking increasingly likely as central banks in developed markets turn more hawkish, a wider current account deficit would put downside pressure on foreign reserves and the peso,” Fitch Solutions added.
Closer ties with China could also expose the Philippines to rising trade tensions between Beijing and Washington. “With the Chinese yuan on a weakening trajectory, Beijing could tighten capital controls, leading to a drying up of external financing from China,” Fitch Solutions said. “Furthermore, the outbreak of a full-blown trade war between the world’s largest and second-largest economy would lead to further risk-off sentiment.” — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

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