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Aetrex: 70 years of focusing on keeping feet healthy

PEOPLE who consider the comfort of their feet important may want to check out the products and services offered by Aetrex.
A global leader when it comes to comfort and wellness footwear products, Aetrex, which was officially launched in the country in February, seeks to cater to Filipinos who are working on having a well-rounded lifestyle juggling work and play, but not at the expense of proper foot health.
Boasting of its landmark and medically oriented arch supports, Aetrex, founded in 1946 in the United States, is offering an extensive collection of products including insoles, flips and slides, and sandals.
For those who are looking to enhance their performance during rigorous activities in and beyond the gym, Aetrex offers the Lynco Compete insoles to avoid injuries during intense exercises thanks to its superior cushioning, shock absorption, and arch support. It has a CopperGuard top cover which helps prevent the proliferation of bacteria, fungi, and odor for a healthy foot environment.
The Lynco Speed insoles, meanwhile, were specifically created for runners. With its unique ExoFoam layer, the Lynco Speed is guaranteed to promote high-energy return and maximized peak performance in every step. Another key feature is its strategically placed arch support that will biomechanically align one’s body and help prevent common injuries such as plantar fasciitis, arch pain, and metatarsalgia. Lightweight and anti-microbial, the Lynco Speed also serves to keep one’s feet healthy, clean, and protected without compromising one’s performance.
And then there are the Lynco Casual insoles which boast of a soft memory foam layer and anti-bacterial copper technology to help keep one’s feet comfortable, healthy, and clean without cramping one’s style in and out of the work place. It also uses the same arch support features to help avoid common foot ailments.
The flips, slides, and sandals also share the comfort and healthy features that Aetrex has become known for while, at the same time, incorporating fashion-forward styles.
ISTEP TECHNOLOGY
To help one in selecting the Lynco Orthotic variety that is most appropriate for a person’s foot health needs, Aetrex has the iStep foot scanning system available for free in shops and kiosks where its products are available.
The iStep accurately determines one’s foot size, arch type, and pressure points in a matter of seconds.
Once the iStep has provided all the necessary information, customers simply have to choose which type of Lynco Orthotic they prefer.
“Aetrex has an APMA (American Podiatric Medical Association) seal. It can help in back pains, heel pains, and proper posture. It has been in existence for seven decades now and has partnered with other big brands as well like New Balance and Rockport for their insoles,” Kim Catungal, brand senior officer of Primer Group (which is handling Aetrex in the country) told BusinessWorld in an interview.
“Since February, Aetrex has been doing well, which is why we have decided to make it available to more stores and areas,” she added.
Aetrex products are available at kiosks in TriNoma, Glorietta 3, Alabang Town Center, and selected Res|Toe|Run stores.
For more information, follow Aetrex Philippines on Facebook and @aetrexph on Instagram. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Urban farmer pushes for regular training to help reduce waste

DAVAO CITY — An urban farming advocate is pushing for regular training sessions in the city not just to promote home gardening but to help reduce trash by turning biodegradable wastes into fertilizers.
Perfecto B. Rom, author of UCG A Home Farming Manual-With an Introduction to Household-based Waste Management and Food Security System, said he hopes to have a permanent learning garden with satellite sites in the communities, especially those that will be affected by the coastal road project.
“With gardening, you are not only solving the problem of waste but the food security and health and nutrition as well,” said Mr. Rom, who organized an Urban Container Gardening (UCG) Hands-On Seminar Workshop on July 14-15.
The concept involves teaching households to grow vegetables for their consumption and produce organic fertilizer, with the surplus to be collected and sold to commercial farmers.
By reducing garbage collected at the household level, the city might be able to delay the plan to build a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant to replace the existing sanitary landfill that is expected to be at full capacity in two years.
It is not yet time for a WTE, Mr. Rom said. “This is my opinion, food is a form of energy, biodegradable waste is a form of energy. If we keep burning that, we keep burning the energy to produce energy?… Why don’t we compost that and use micro-organisms to degrade that and bring that back to the mountains where those came from.”
Mr. Rom is referring to the proposed WTE project, which can accommodate about 600 metric tons of waste daily. The project is eyed as a joint venture between Nippon Steel, the city government, and Japan’s Kitakyusho City, which already uses the system.
“The reduction of waste is equivalent to the reduction of budget because with every one liter of waste collected, 50 centavos is thrown away,” said Mr. Rom, an agriculture degree graduate from Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro, with a major in crop science.
His UCG training covers container preparation and designing, a basic guide to sustainable home farming, organic bio-solid/liquid fertilizer and pesticide preparation, physical and chemical soil composition, planting/transplanting techniques, home farm planning exercises, and crop care and maintenance.
“We are excited to share to others the benefits of urban gardening… We will simplify sciences that are related to this urban container gardening.” — Maya M. Padillo

Yields on gov’t debt climb

YIELDS on government securities (GS) traded in the secondary market went up slightly last week over Philippine and US inflation results and “lingering” trade tensions between the United States and China.
On average, GS yields — which move opposite to prices — rose 9.16 basis points (bp), data from the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. as of July 13 showed.
“GS yields increased overall, despite some downward bias mid-week, as upbeat US inflation data [last Thursday] kept the US Federal Reserve on track to raising policy rates again in September this year,” said Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) market economist Guian Angelo S. Dumalagan.
“The rise in yields was capped by safe-haven buying amid lingering US-China trade tension,” he added.
A bond trader concurred: “Local GS yields rose, tracking the move of Treasury yields in reaction to higher inflation rates in the United States and fading fears for a trade war between the United States and China.”
Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at UnionBank of the Philippines, said: “There was demand on shorter-term bonds. This still indicates the general cautiousness brought about by the lingering uncertainty of trade protectionism espoused by US President Trump and China’s consequent response.”
Mr. Asuncion added this may also be related to the higher-than-expected inflation data and the possibility of further rate hikes by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Michael L. Ricafort, economics and industry research division head at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), said expectations of further rate hikes here after the release of June inflation results caused upward adjustments in interest rates.
“Furthermore, the USD/peso exchange rate lingering among 12-year highs this week that could still lead to higher import prices and overall inflation, as well as increase the odds of further hike/s in local policy rates, have also caused the latest increase in local interest rates,” Mr. Ricafort added.
The Philippine Statistics Authority said prices of widely used goods rose 5.2% in June, the highest in at least five years. Year-to-date, headline inflation averaged 4.3%, exceeding the BSP’s 2-4% target for the year.
Meanwhile, US inflation was recorded at 2.9% in June — the highest since February 2012 — data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed.
At the secondary market on Friday, in the short end of the curve, the 91-day and 182-day Treasury bills (T-bills) went up by 1.38 bps and 18.31 bps to 3.2777% and 4.0085%, respectively. The 364-day paper also increased by 7.02 bps to 4.6327%.
In the belly, yields on the two-, five-, and seven-year Treasury bonds rose by 31.02 bps, 22.07 bps and 5.82 bps to 5.1161%, 6.0107% and 6.3490%. Meanwhile, the rates of the three-, and four-year bonds lost 1.18 bps (4.9648%) and 1.61 bps (5.6375%), respectively.
At the long end, 10-year T-bond saw its yield go up by 9.13 bps to 6.4461% while yield on the 20-year tenor was slightly down by 0.36 bps to 7.3589%.
Looking forward, RCBC’s Mr. Ricafort said: “Local interest rates could move sideways to slightly higher [this] week, especially if the USD/Peso exchange rate continues to hover among 12-year highs.”
“I expect more of the same [this] week, but I would like to anticipate the brewing trade war to result to a return to negotiations and finding a better way to address the US demands of China,” UnionBank’s Mr. Asuncion said.
For LANDBANK’s Mr. Dumalagan, “GS yields are still expected to move with an upward bias amid continued expectations of more US rate hikes ahead. Likely higher inflation readings from the Eurozone and Japan may also push yields higher by fuelling hawkish policy expectations.”
“The increase in yields might be capped by possibly mixed US economic data on retail sales and housing as well as continued safe-haven buying amid persistent trade war concerns,” Mr. Dumalagan added. — Christine Joyce S. Castañeda

SMIC ‘extremely strong’ debt rating retained

LOCAL DEBT watcher Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings) retained its PRS Aaa rating for SM Investment Corp. (SMIC)’s outstanding bonds worth P47.3 billion.
The rating is the highest on PhilRatings’ credit scale, indicating that SMIC has an “extremely strong” capacity to meet its financial commitment. The debt watcher also gave the rating a stable outlook, which means that it is unlikely to change in the next 12 months.
PhilRatings took into account SMIC’s solid financial profile, leading market position in its core businesses, and progressive growth strategy, among others, in coming up with the ratings.
SMIC is the holding firm of the country’s richest man Henry Sy, Sr., with core interests in property, retail, and banking.
SM Prime Holdings, Inc., which handles the group’s interest in malls, residences, offices, hotels and convention centers, operates the most number of malls in the country at 67 covering over eight million square meters (sq.m.) by the end of 2017. SM Prime also has seven malls in China with a gross floor area (GFA) of 1.3 million sq.m.
The company is slated to end the year with 73 malls in the Philippines, with all the new ones to be built in the provinces, namely SM Center Imus in Cavite, SM City Urdaneta Central in Pangasinan, SM City Legazpi in Albay, SM City Ormoc, and SM City Dagupan.
Combined with the seven malls in China, SM Prime expects to end the year with a GFA of 9.7 million sq.m.
SMIC is also the leading player in the domestic retail market through SM Retail, with a total of 1,674 stores under its portfolio by the end of March 2018. The store network includes 59 SM Stores, 53 SM Supermarkets, 186 SaveMore stores, 47 SM Hypermarkets, 46 Walter Mart stores, and 1,283 specialty stores such as Miniso, Pet Express, Watsons, and Surplus.
The company noted that around 80% of the new stores under SM Retail are located outside Metro Manila.
Meanwhile, the Sy group’s banking unit, BDO Unibank, Inc., is considered the largest bank in the country in terms of consolidated resources, customer loans, deposits, assets under management and capital, as well as branch and ATM network. — Arra B. Francia

Ivanka Trump out of fashion at Canadian retailer

MONTREAL — Ivanka Trump’s clothing line is disappearing from the shelves of Canadian retailer Hudson’s Bay Company, the firm says, more than a year after some US department stores dropped the items.
“Hudson’s Bay is phasing out this brand through the fall based on its performance,” the company said in an e-mail to AFP.
“As part of our regular course of business, we review our merchandise offerings and make appropriate changes,” it said, without providing other details.
Along with its Canadian stores, Hudson’s Bay holdings in Europe and North America include US retailers Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor.
In February last year, the US fashion chain Nordstrom said it had dropped Ivanka Trump’s line of shoes and clothing. It cited slow sales after a campaign to boycott stores doing business with the family of US President Donald Trump.
Neiman Marcus stores similarly discontinued the line.
Ivanka Trump serves as an adviser to her father.
The US president sparked outrage among many Canadians when, at the conclusion of a G7 summit hosted by Canada, he tweeted that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was “very dishonest and weak.” — AFP

Global trade war to be a boon for Black Sea grain

MOSCOW/BEIJING — Trade conflict between the United States and China could further boost already booming grain and oilseed exports from the Black Sea region, traders and analysts said.
New opportunities to sell wheat, corn and soybeans to China and even the European Union are set to open up for the region’s main exporters Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, whose recent ascendancy has already ended full US dominance in markets such as Nigeria and Mexico.
The United States and China slapped tit-for-tat duties on $34 billion of each other’s imports on Friday, with Beijing accusing Washington of triggering the “largest-scale trade war.”
The Black Sea region’s share of the international wheat market climbed to about 37 percent in 2017-2018, according to the International Grains Council, comfortably topping the United States and Canada combined.
China is the world’s top wheat producer but still imports about 4 million tons of the grain each year.
In the 2017-2018 season (June-May) the United States exported 902,400 tons of wheat to China, down from 1.56 million in the prior season, according to US government data.
For Kazakh wheat, the pick-up in Chinese imports started due to Beijing’s Belt Road policy and before the trade dispute took off, but the tariff row accentuates the trend.
“We have just started buying wheat from Kazakhstan this year. Our first order was for several thousand tons,” a Chinese wheat trader said. “We will see about sales and profits. If they’re good, we will increase imports for sure. It is related to the current trade war.”
“Now that you can’t bring in American wheat, it gives us more incentive to buy from Kazakhstan. And once your trading of Kazakh wheat reaches a certain volume, you get government preferential support,” the trader added.
Among the risks for this strategy are difficult logistics and unstable quality seen in Kazakh and Russian wheat, said another trader who has been looking for more Kazakh wheat deals.
Black Sea wheat may not be able fully to replace its US counterpart due to different quality grades, meaning some traders will also turn to Canadian wheat, he added.
According to statistical data, Russia and Ukraine, whose traditional buyers had been in North Africa and the Middle East, boosted wheat supplies to Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Spain, Tunisia, Tanzania, Sudan, Oman, Mexico and Kenya in the 2017-2018 season.
One location in which Russia has taken away from US wheat market share is Nigeria, which like Brazil traditionally favors a higher-protein grain such as US hard red winter.
In a sign that may worry some US wheat traders further, Brazil bought Russian wheat in July for the first time in eight years.
“In this new era of trade wars, prices talk louder than words,” said Swithun Still, director of Solaris, which specializes in trading Russian agricultural commodities.
“It’s likely that China will aim to buy more grains and oilseeds from the Black Sea and more beans from South America. Mexico has been buying lots of Russian wheat and will continue as prices are attractive compared to US wheat,” he added.
The trade spat could also boost exports of Black Sea corn and soybeans.
Russian authorities recently reported a record 850,000 tons of soybean exports to China in July 2017-May 2018, more than double the 340,000 tons a year earlier, Svetlana Malysh, Kiev-based Black Sea agriculture market analyst at Thomson Reuters, said.
“Black Sea countries, mainly Russia, may intensify their soybean shipments to China in case of any US deliveries’ disruption,” she added.
The trade conflict is also a chance for Ukraine to boost supplies of its corn to the European Union, which imposed a 25% import duty on US corn in June, Malysh said.
China can also turn to Ukraine and Russia for corn in case it reduces purchases from the United States, according to Matt Ammermann, commodity risk manager with INTL FCStone. — Reuters

Shares to move within tight range on thin volume

SHARE PRICES are seen to move within a narrow range in the week ahead, with analysts banking on an increase in trading volume for the main index to sustain its upward trajectory.
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 0.66% or 48.60 points to close at 7,399.18 on Friday, marking a 2.96% or 212.47-point improvement from the week before. Holding firms and financials supported the market last week, rising 4% and 3%, respectively.
Despite the increase, the PSEi still saw little participation as turnover only reached P24.59 billion, flat from a week ago. Foreign net selling reached P1.62 billion, slightly higher than the P1.59-billion net outflow recorded from July 2-6.
“The month of July is looking brighter and brighter as the index had another good week… We are looking at two scenarios next week. The first is that we start to see volume come in, and the index is going to try and test the next resistance at 7,500,” Eagle Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in a weekly market report.
Mr. Mangun noted that reaching the 7,500 resistance will confirm the PSEi’s reversal, as well as put an end to the bear market.
“The second scenario is that investors will take gains as several blue chips have gained 10% in the last two weeks and we will see the index come back down to support at 7,185… Based on the market sentiment, the latter scenario is more likely to take place. However, the pullback that we may see next week is a great opportunity for more investors to test the waters,” Mr. Mangun said.
Meanwhile, online brokerage 2TradeAsia.com said investors will focus on developments in the escalating trade war between the United States and China. US President Donald J. Trump last week announced additional dues on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. China has yet to retaliate from this fresh round of tariffs.
“Resolutions that would put clearer guidelines in resolving the US-China trade row will be a boost for equities, having regressed from its recent high this year. This issue is something that investors will have to deal with on a daily basis, pending clearer outcomes of talks,” 2TradeAsia.com said.
It added that earnings results for the first half are soon to be released, advising investors to hunt for stocks with “good fundamental merits and solid upside potential.”
Eagle Equities’ Mr. Mangun expects support to be at 7,340 down to 7,185, while resistance could reach 7,400 to 7,500.
US stocks rose slightly on Friday, putting the S&P 500 at its highest closing level in more than five months, as gains in industrials and other areas offset a drop in financials after results from three of the big banks mostly disappointed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94.52 points or 0.38% to 25,019.41; the S&P 500 gained 3.02 points or 0.11% to 2,801.31; and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.06 points or 0.03% to 7,825.98. — Arra B. Francia with Reuters

Peso seen moving sideways

THE PESO is seen to move sideways against the dollar this week ahead of likely mixed economic data in the US as well as key summits abroad.
The local unit ended Friday’s session at P53.51 per dollar, a centavo weaker than its P53.50 finish the previous day.
Friday’s close was also weaker than the P53.42-per-dollar finish on July 6.
Guian Angelo S. Dumalagan, market economist at Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK), said the peso-dollar exchange might move sideways.
“The dollar is expected to move sideways this week, with a downward bias, as likely mixed economic and geopolitical signals abroad might prompt investors to lock in the dollar’s recent gains,” Mr. Dumalagan said in an e-mail over the weekend.
He said the peso might trade stronger in the first two days of the week as its US counterpart might depreciate following last Friday’s weaker-than-expected US consumer sentiment and ahead of “likely softer” US retail sales.
According to the University of Michigan’s monthly survey, consumer sentiment dropped to its six-month low of 97.1, lower than the 98.2 market consensus in a Reuters poll, on the back of rising concerns over trade spats between the US and its main trading partners.
“The dollar may also shed some of its recent gains, as critical meetings among world leaders could potentially end well, improving investors’ risk appetite,” Mr. Dumalagan said.
US President Donald J. Trump is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland today.
Meanwhile, the European Union will meet with Japan in Tokyo to sign a free trade accord. The bloc will also discuss trade and investments with China in a summit in Beijing.
“The three summits this week involving the US, EU, China and Japan are expected to receive mixed interpretations, although they may generally reinforce the message of greater economic cooperation among countries, despite ongoing trade issues,” Mr. Dumalagan added.
However, he noted the dollar’s decline might be tempered by “likely softer” gross domestic product growth of China as well as safe-haven buying due to lingering trade tensions.
Toward the end of the week, LANDBANK’s market economist said, the greenback may bounce back supported by likely hawkish speeches from Federal Reserve officials amid mixed US economic data and possible inflation uptick in the Eurozone.
“[Fed officials Jerome Powell and Randal Quarles] are expected to affirm views of two more US rate hikes this year,” Mr. Dumalagan said.
For this week, Mr. Dumalagan sees the peso moving between P52.95 and P53.65 versus the dollar, while a foreign currency trader gave a P53.30-P53.55 range.
“If the dollar globally will just range, the peso might just track that move,” the trader noted in a phone interview on Friday. — K.A.N. Vidal

How PSEi member stocks performed — July 13, 2018

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Friday, July 13, 2018.

Comparative daily minimum wages of select Asian economies

Comparative daily minimum wages of select Asian economies

DoF open to LGUs takeover of nat’l gov’t functions

THE FINANCE department is open to devolving some functions of the national government to local government units (LGUs) to comply with the Supreme Court ruling on internal revenue allotments (IRAs).
“We need to sit down with the LGUs and work out what programs they will implement… we will look at the proposals and then we have to ask the cabinet (to determine) how we will divide the functions,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters late Thursday.
Luzon Regional Development Committee Chairman Hermilando I. Mandanas, a former Batangas governor and for representative for the province’s 2nd district, proposed to devolve some of the national government’s functions to LGUs.
Mr. Mandanas, who filed the petition with the Supreme Court that led to a ruling expanding LGU entitlements to national government revenue, proposed that the implementation of conditional cash transfers, farm-to-market roads, fertilizer subsidies, and medical equipment procurement, among others, be transferred to LGUs.
However, Mr. Dominguez said: “I don’t know if the President will agree.”
He noted that the department will wait for the final resolution from the high court before making any moves.
“The motion for reconsideration (MR) depends on what comes out… The court might say that the rulling applies 10 years from now so why will we file an MR? But we can’t afford a one-time payment. For sure we cannot afford that,” he said, referring to the possibility that the national government may have to pay arrears to LGUs dating back to the 1992 enactment of the Local Government Code.
“The key actor here is not us, the key actor here is DBM (Department of Budget and Management). They are the ones to determine who is going to be affected. If there’s money, it’s fine. Then they can allocate the budget,” Mr. Dominguez added.
He said that the Finance department estimates the total liability of the national government at between P1-1.5 trillion since 1992, the effectivity date of the Local Government Code, or Republic Act No. 7160.
The estimates are similar to those provided by Mr. Mandanas and Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno.
The court expanded the definition of national government revenue to which LGUs are entitled. The national government pays out the LGU share of national revenue via IRAs.
The high court, sitting en banc, announced on July 3 that it voted 10-3 in favor of including all national taxes in the calculation of IRAs, not just those collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Mr. Dominguez also expressed doubts about some LGUs’ capacity to deliver their own programs, and noted that devolving some functions should not affect other national government projects.
“We also don’t know what functions they will take over. We cannot just give them the money and say: ‘We’re leaving you in charge.’ I don’t think we can do that,” he said.
“This is a lot of money. It will not really starve (the government of revenue), but it will be difficult. And again, we have to make sure that the national projects, like the roads, are going to be coordinated,” he added.
Many LGUs are dependent on IRAs as their primary source of revenue, even though the law allows them to generate taxes on real property and on businesses, among other fees and charges.
“Not everybody is created equal. Some are very good. Some are not, some have political problems,” Mr. Dominguez said. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

End of Kuwait OFW ban to raise May remittances — HSBC

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez
Senior Reporter
REMITTANCES may have grown by over 9% in May following the lifting of a deployment ban on overseas workers to Kuwait, HSBC Global Research said.
Bank economists estimate a 9.2% increase in remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for the month. If realized, this will follow a 12.7% increase posted in April, when money sent home by OFWs hit $2.347 billion.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will report latest remittances data today. Remittances totaled $2.31 billion in May 2017, up 5.5% year on year.
HSBC expects a sustained recovery for these cash transfers, sustaining year-on-year growth since a 9.8% contraction recorded in March. Month-on-month growth for May is expected to come in at 7.5%.
“Remittances growth has been robust across regions with the exception of the Middle East, where remittances have declined on a yearly basis since the beginning of the year due partly to restrictions on Overseas Filipino Workers’ deployment to Kuwait at the start of the year,” HSBC said in a report released over the weekend.
“We expect this to recover toward the end of the year now that the ban has been lifted and for remittances growth to remain broadly in line with its historical trend of 5-6%.”
Remittances from the Middle East dropped 10.5% over the past few months to $2.249 billion from $2.512 billion during the same year-earlier period after a repatriation order issued by President Rodrigo R. Duterte for Filipinos in Kuwait in February, followed by a deployment ban amid reports of abuse.
The ban was in place for several weeks until the two nations signed an agreement in early May. In the interim, remittances from Kuwait declined by 8.9% from a year earlier.
Cash transfers from OFWs provide extra money for their families back home, supporting domestic activity and overall economic growth. The remittances also help offset imports and help improve global trade balances.
Remittances have totaled $9.353 billion as of the end of April, up 3.5% from a year earlier.
The central bank expects remittances to hit another all-time high and grow by another four percent in 2018, a record $28.06 billion in 2017.
In the four months to April, the United States remained the biggest source of remittances with a total of $3.167 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia ($745.771 million), United Arab Emirates ($733.906 million), Singapore ($581.005 million) and Japan ($510.665 million), according to BSP data.

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