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What ancient feng shui says about arranging a space

THE Chinese zodiac has switched into the Year of the Dog — it’s that time of the year in ancient Chinese when believers of feng shui rearrange spaces to maximize harmony and attract good luck.

Riding that wave of traditional interest in feng shui, Federal Land, in a statement issued over the weekend, has some advice on feng shui which literally means “wind-water”:

• Mind the site. For Feng Shui practitioners, one of the most auspicious sites for a residential building is within the belly of the dragon, a place that’s higher than plains but below strong winds, striking a balance between wind and water. Symbolically, the belly is considered the center of the dragon — a place of sustenance and nourishment. People living in the area are in the good position to prosper, accumulate wealth and attract luck.

• Check the unit. A unit located in the higher floors is greatly associated with good fortune because you get a lighter energy when there are fewer condo units encumbering your space. Also, natural light is more available in top floors, bringing more positive energy. Ideally, go for units that are shaped regularly and evoke balance. Hallways and elevators should be wide enough and obstruction-free as they are considered an internal gateway of energy.

• Feel the flow. Feng Shui stresses the importance of organizing spaces so that positive energy flows and circulates. Space should be properly divided but sans barriers that restrict the stream of energy. Open, uncluttered areas are endorsed because cramped corners trap stagnant energy which begets negativity and malaise as it prevents life to flow freely.

Self-defense for women at TACS Expo Manila

WOMEN who want to step up their self-defense game and be ready for any distressing situations may want to check out and take part in the “Modern Combative Solutions” seminar, which is part of the Tactical, Survival and Arms (TACS) Expo happening from Feb. 22 to 25 at the SMX Convention Center AURA, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

To be handled by Erika Fernandez of Kalis Ilustrisimo, the seminar aims to equip women with the right knowledge of self-defense that they can use to protect themselves from various forms of abuse.

They intend to do it by teaching techniques, through different martial arts, to combat rape, abduction and being held up at gunpoint or knife-point, among other situations.

“Self-defense is one of the things TACS stands for. I think people should be prepared, especially women. Often times when you talk about self-defense, firearms and ammunitions women are forgotten because it has been a male-dominated sector or point of conversation. And it is about time that women take more responsibility for their protection through martial arts or shooting sports,” said Martin Tuason, president and CEO of ARMSCOR Global Defense, Inc., prime sponsor of TACS Expo, as he highlighted the dimension that the seminar on self-defense for women brings to the upcoming expo.

Other highlights of TACS Expo, now on its second year of staging, are the showcase of traditional weapons, survival gear, and preparedness stuff as well as firearms and accessories from various manufacturers, inventors, builders, initiators, proponents, distributors, and dealers.

The TACS Expo, proponents said, is geared towards making people aware of the significance of being ready across all forms and eventualities as well as promote the firearms and weapons industry in the country.

Admission to the TACS Expo is free with online or on-site pre-registration. For more information on the event, check out its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TACSandArmsExpo/. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

LBC will kick-start Ronda Pilipinas 2018 in Vigan, Ilocos Sur on March 3

GEORGE OCONER of Go for Gold guns for his very first Ronda Pilipinas title when the 2018 edition presented by LBC unfurls in Vigan, Ilocos Sur on March 3.

Back after missing last year’s race to focus on the national team’s Southeast Asian Games preparation, the 26-year-old Oconer will be one of the favorites to win it all the country’s biggest cycling race staking P1 million.

“I’m happy to be competing again in Ronda and I’m focused on winning it this year,” said Oconer, whose best came in 2015 when he wound up second to eventual champion Santy Barnachea, in Filipino.

Oconer is seeking to join an elite company composed of former winners Morales (2015, 2016), Barnachea of Team Franzia (2011, 2015), Irish Valenzuela of CCN Superteam (2012), Mark Galedo (2013) and Reimon Lapaza (2014).

Oconer, whose father is two-time Olympian Norberto, said he will bring in a fearsome team capable of challenging a heavily favored Navy Standard Insurance in this race presented by LBC and supported by MVP Sports Foundation, CCN, Petron, Versa.ph, 3Q Sports Event Management, Inc., Boy Kanin, Franzia, Standard Insurance, Bike Xtreme, SH+, Guerciotti, Prolite, Green Planet, Maynilad, NLEX Cycling, Lightwater, LBC Foundation and PhilCycling.

Boots Ryan Cayubit, John Renee Mier, Jerry Aquino, Jr., Elmer Navarro, Orlie Villanueva, Arjay Arbastro and daredevil Jonel Carcueva.

Carcueva, a 22-year-old native of Minganilla, Cebu who debuted by finishing 12th overall in last year’s race, showed flashes of brilliance by finishing second to Navy’s Junrey Navarra in the second of two-leg qualifying race in Mandaue City, Cebu late last year.

“He’s talented, strong and fearless, he will be a big part of our campaign,” said Oconer of Carcueva.

A cool P1 million will be at stake in this 12-stage race that will be jump-started by the 40-kilometer Vigan criterium Stage One on March 3 and the 155.4-km. Vigan-Pagudpud Stage Two the next day.

PHL office market to grow by 40% in next 6 years — Leechiu

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter

THE Philippine office market is seen to grow by 40% in the next six years, driven by the continued expansion of information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) companies in the country, according to a real estate service firm.

Data released by Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) showed that 4.5 million square meters (sq.m.) of office spaces are in the pipeline from 2018 to 2023. Of this, 71% or 3.2 million sq.m. are being built in Metro Manila, while 29% or 1.3 million sq.m. are in provincial areas.

This will be added to the current supply of 11.5 million sq.m. across the country, 86% of which are in Metro Manila and 14% in the provinces.

“BPM players already invested in the Philippines will continue to dominate the Metro Manila office sector… In the meantime, they are also expanding to provincial locations such as Clark in Pampanga, Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, and notably, Cebu City,” LPC Chief Executive Officer David Leechiu said.

The country’s largest property developers will be delivering the bulk of the office supply in the next five years, with Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) contributing 21% of 667,000 sq.m. in the pipeline, followed by SM Development Corp. with 15% or 480,000 sq.m.

Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI), Megaworld Corp., and Robinsons Land Corp. will account for 11%, 7%, and 5% of the upcoming office supply, respectively.

Other property developers set to expand during this period include DoubleDragon Properties, Corp., Century Properties Group, Aseana Holdings, Inc., and Eton Properties Corp.

Meanwhile, FLI will account for the biggest chunk of office supply in the provinces, with 204,000 sq.m. to be delivered from 2018 to 2023, while ALI will contribute 9% or 117,000 sq.m. to the supply.

Cebu remains to be the top option for IT-BPM firms expanding outside Metro Manila, cornering 451,000 sq.m. of the total supply in the provinces.

“The efforts of the national government to fund infrastructure projects positively impact cities in nearby Metro Manila such as Cavite, Laguna, and Pampanga as these cities become more accessible,” LPC said.

In Metro Manila alone, at least one million sq.m. of office spaces are expected to go online this year, versus a projected take-up of 937,000 sq.m. With 415,000 sq.m. already pre-committed since the start of January, Mr. Leechiu noted this projected take-up is achievable.

The 2018 projection tops the actual take-up of office spaces seen in 2017, which was recorded at 775,000 sq.m., according to LPC. Of this, the IT-BPM industry accounted for 46% of total space, while online gaming firms took up 30%.

Mr. Leechiu noted online gaming firms as stable tenants as long as the Philippine government maintains good relations with China.

Metro Manila’s office supply currently stands at 9.92 million square meters. The vacancy rate stands at 5.44% or 539,781 sq.m., which LPC noted is still healthy for the market.

Most of these vacancies are across the Quezon City, Ortigas, Pasig, and Mandaluyong districts. This translates to an average vacant space of 3,969 sq.m. per building in 136 buildings.

Three Billboards tops Baftas as Time’s Up campaign shares stage

LONDON — Crime drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri captured five British Bafta film awards on Sunday, including best film, topping an emotionally charged ceremony that featured fashion and rhetoric in support of the fight against sexual harassment sweeping Hollywood.

The movie, chronicling a grieving mother’s campaign for justice, won for original screenplay and outstanding British film, while Frances McDormand bagged best actress and Sam Rockwell best supporting actor prizes.

The Shape of Water — the most heavily nominated film of the night with 12 nods — came away with only three awards, including best director for Guillermo del Toro, while Darkest Hour claimed two prizes, including for Gary Oldman as best actor.

With Hollywood still reeling from the fallout of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the resulting anti-sexual harassment campaigns were reflected in the mood of the evening.

“Our film is a hopeful one in lots of ways but it’s also an angry one,” Martin McDonagh, writer and director of Three Billboards, said in his acceptance speech.

“And as we’ve seen this year, sometimes anger is the only way to get people to listen and to change, so we’re thrilled that Bafta has recognized this.”

Stars arrived at London’s Royal Albert Hall predominantly dressed in black in solidarity with the #MeToo and Time’s Up campaigns, mirroring other recent American red carpets including last month’s Golden Globes.

Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lawrence, and Kristin Scott Thomas were among the stars who wore black.

British royals avoid making overtly political statements or gestures, so there was little surprise when the Duchess of Cambridge chose to wear a dark green dress, by British designer Jenny Packham, as she accompanied husband Prince William, president of Bafta, to the ceremony.

‘BRAVE REVELATIONS’
Jane Lush, chair of Bafta, opened the evening soberly telling the star-studded audience it was important to acknowledge a “difficult” past year, and noted efforts to tackle gender inequality.

“Brave revelations have followed brave revelations of bullying and sexual harassment, and which to all our shame has been hidden in plain sight for decades,” she said.

“This is a moment in history, it should be a watershed, a catalyst for lasting change.”

Host Joanna Lumley, a British film and TV star, also praised the gender equality movement as a continuation of the work of the Suffragettes a century ago.

She hailed the “determination to eradicate the abuse of women the world over” as she took to the stage.

Meanwhile in an open letter published Sunday before the awards, almost 200 British and Irish stars backed a new fund to help women facing sexual harassment and abuse at work.

It echoes a similar initiative launched in Hollywood last month, and was kick-started with a £1-million ($1.4 million) donation from actress and activist Emma Watson.

‘THANK YOU, SIR WINSTON’
Choices at the Baftas, which fall between the Globes and the Oscars, often mirror those of the American heavyweights.

The Shape of Water, a story of love between a mute cleaning woman and a mystery merman-like creature, led the pack just as it has across the Atlantic, where it has topped the list of Oscar nominations with 13 nods, including for best picture.

As well as director Del Toro’s award for direction, composer Alexandre Desplat collected the original music award — his third BAFTA win — and the film also won best production design.

Allison Janney won best supporting actress for her role as the mother of controversial figure skater Tonya Harding in biopic I, Tonya.

“I loved doing this crazy part and finding her humanity, that’s what I try and do in all roles,” she said backstage.

Gary Oldman’s turn as Churchill in Darkest Hour has so far won him a Golden Globe, a Bafta and the chance of an Oscar on March 4.

He paid tribute to the wartime British leader, saying: “In those dark, uncertain days in 1940, he held the line for honor, for integrity and freedom for his nation and the world, so I thank you, Sir Winston.”

Accepting her best actress accolade, McDormand, who chose not to wear black, quoted her onscreen character who has “a little trouble with compliance.”

“But I want you to know I stand in full solidarity with my sisters tonight in black,” she added. — AFP

For London housing, it’s the ‘End of the Boom’

LONDON — London’s property market has moved out of its boom phase and home sellers need to be more realistic about their price demands, according to Rightmove.

The February report from the home-listing Web site shows that asking prices were down 1% from a year earlier, a sixth consecutive fall. They rose 4.4% on the month, reflecting the usual jump at the start of the spring season.

While multiple reports point to a cooling in London housing, the damage is being limited by cautious sellers, who aren’t flooding the market in a panic to dump property. That means the long-running supply-demand imbalance in the city is providing some support to prices.

“End-of-the-boom prices normally readjust more quickly if there is an over supply,” Miles Shipside, Rightmove director, said in the report. However, “some would-be sellers are holding back, preventing a glut of competition from forcing prices downward,” he said.

The capital’s housing market was the worst performing in the UK in 2017 and there’s little to suggest any upturn is in store. Brexit uncertainty has damped demand, while years of rampant inflation has pushed ownership out of reach for many. The mean asking price in London this month was almost £630,000 ($885,000), more than 20 times average UK earnings.

For those who need a fast sale, Shipside’s advice is to “sacrifice some of the substantial price gains of the last few years.” The average time to sell a property in London is now 83 days, up from 73 days a year ago.

Nationally, asking prices increased 0.8% in February from January, though that was below the 10-year average for the time of year. The average price of £300,000 is up 1.5% year on year. That compares with gains of about 6% seen less than two years ago. — Bloomberg

CNN Philippines goes after millennials with digital shows

LOCAL Filipino channels have begun utilizing the digital platforms as a way to bring more programs to the millennial market, with GMA and ABS-CBN launching lifestyle programs on their respective digital properties early in the year. Now, CNN Philippines is also taking the same route with the launch of its Digi-Pinoy series which starts airing at the end of March.

“It’s going to be our first digital series — the first of a number of digital series that we will be launching this quarter,” Armie Jarin-Bennett, CNN Philippines president, told BusinessWorld during the launch on Feb. 6 at the Mind Museum in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

Ms. Jarin-Bennett explained that since millennials are constantly on their devices, it makes sense that the network bring its programs to where they are.

“I will never be able to convince a millennial to watch TV because they are constantly on their phones, on their laptops and other gadgets. And because the are a very important part of the society, I need to be able to reach them, touch them, understand them, bring the content to them,” she explained.

Digi-Pinoy will be a short series — running for three minutes or so per episode — about “how information technology has changed the Filipino way of life,” said a company press release. It will be hosted by CNN Philippines anchor and correspondent, Mitzi Borromeo.

Among the topics to be discussed in the series are how Filipinos fall in love using mobile apps, how OFW (overseas Filipino workers) communicate with their families using technology, and how Filipinos shop and travel with technology.

Ms. Jarin-Bennett described the show as a cross between Ms. Borromeo’s show Profiles, where she talks to “inspiring people, institutions or places,” and a mini-documentary series.

Profiles won a KBP Golden Dove Award for Best TV Magazine Program in 2017.

Though a formal airing date is yet to be announced, she said that they plan on putting out an episode once every two weeks and that Digi-Pinoy is just one of several digital programs CNN Philippines plans to launch this quarter, which includes a lifestyle series, though she declined to say more about it. — ZBC

Trump Park Avenue sues Saudi Prince for not paying over $1.8-M rent

NEW YORK — Trump Park Avenue sued a Saudi royal for not paying more than $1.8 million in rent on a penthouse in the Upper East Side tower over the past year.

The 7,132 square-foot unit is one of 11 with a penthouse designation in the building, New York property records show. The Trump Organization still owns about 20 units in the condominium building worth a combined $170 million, according to a Bloomberg assessment last year.

Faisal bin Abdul Majeed al-Saud leased Penthouse 21 in 2013 and stopped paying rent in or about January 2017, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Friday in New York state court in Manhattan. A lawyer for the tenant said last month that he had moved out, according to the complaint.

The tenant had agreed in June 2014 to extend the lease through June 2019, according to the complaint. Trump Park Avenue seeks more than $1.8 million in back rent and more than $1.9 million in future rent. The lease modification agreement set a schedule for rent hikes through 2019, and called for rent of $115,762.50 per month beginning in July 2017, according to the lawsuit. That’s far in excess of the $75,000-per-month the unit was listed for that same month on the Web site StreetEasy.

The 35-storey building, located at 59th Street and Park Avenue, once housed the Hotel Delmonico. It was converted into 120 condominium units in 2002.

In February 2017, Mr. Trump sold one of the penthouses to Angela Chen, who previously lived on the building’s fifth floor. From there, she ran Global Alliance Associates LLC, which specializes in establishing “influential relationships with key decision makers” in China for its clients, according to the firm’s Web site.

Ms. Chen bought the unit at a premium, Bloomberg reported at the time. The unit went for $15.9 million — almost $2 million more than what a larger unit sold for a year earlier.

Attorneys for Trump Park Avenue LLC didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking further comment.

The case is Trump Park Avenue LLC v. Faisal Bin Abdul Majeed Al Saud, 650799/2018, New York State Supreme Court, New York County. — Bloomberg

The Old and The New

Gibraltar Masters 2018
Caleta, England
Jan. 22-Feb. 1, 2018

Final Top Standings

1-7. GM Hikaru Nakamura USA 2781, GM Richard Rapport HUN 2700, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 2793, Levon Aronian ARM 2797, GM Nikita Vitiugov RUS 2732, GM Michael Adams ENG 2709, GM Le Quang Liem VIE 2737, 7.5/10

8-25. GM David Howell ENG 2682, GM Abhijeet Gupta IND 2610, GM Debashis Das IND 2501, GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda POL 2724, GM Grigoriy Oparin RUS 2607, GM Wang Hao CHN 2711, GM Daniele Vocaturo ITA 2609, GM Boris Gelfand ISR 2697, GM S.P. Sethuraman IND 2646, GM Emil Sutovsky ISR 2673, GM Daniil Dubov RUS 2696, Lance Henderson dela Fuente ESP 2429, GM Ori Kobo ISR 2477, GM Ivan Cheparinov BUL 2699, GM Alexander Motylev RUS 2673, GM S.L. Narayanan IND 2573, GM Vladimir Epishin RUS 2536, GM Falko Bindrich GER 2605, 7.0/10

Total of 276 players

Time Control: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 50 minutes for the next 20 moves then 15 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1.

Gladys Knight:

“Hey you know everybody’s talkin’ about the good old days. Everybody the good old days the good old days. Well, let’s talk about the good old days.

“Come to think about it as bad as we think they are these will become the good old days of our children. Why don’t we try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh so mellow. Try to remember and if you remember then follow.

“Why does it always seem the past is better. We look back and think the winters were warmer, the grass was greener, the skies were bluer and the smiles were brighter.”

I recently watched a video of Gladys Knight and, boy, past 70 years of age she can still really sing and belt out a good one. She is listed on Rolling Stone’s list of the greatest singers of all time.

But talking about memories, it is quite the opposite in chess. Many people believe that the old masters would not be able to compete with the top players of today. I am not so sure about that. Carl Schlechter, for example, someone who many young players do not know, tied a match for the world championship against Emanuel Lasker in 1910. He was the one who prepared the eighth and final edition of the famous Handbuch des Schachspiels openings treatise, which was published in eleven parts between 1912 and 1916 and totaled 1,040 pages. Do you think he is inferior in opening knowledge to these whiz kids today?

Let us look at the following game played between Maxime Vachier Lagrave and Nino Batsiashvili, and compare it against Bogoljubow vs Alexander Alekhine.

I have always had a great deal of respect for “the Frenchman with two names” GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave (FRA 2793, ranked no. 6 in the world). Still only 27 years old, he is an aggressive matador, the world’s greatest authority in the Sicilian Najdorf, and no matter how good, bad, boring the position on the board might be he always has some hidden tactic you have to watch out for.

Vachier Lagrave, Maxime (2793) — Batsiashvili, Nino (2504) [C76]
Gibraltar Masters 2018 Catalan Bay GIB (4.4), 26.01.2018

WGM Nino Batsiashvili is a Woman Grandmaster (WGM), former Women’s Champion of Georgia, the strongest chess country for women in the world, and, in 2015, 2nd placer in the Women’s European Individual Chess Championship.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 Bd7 6.d4 g6 7.Bg5

Bogoljubow played his move against Alekhine in the 22nd game of their 1929 match and he himself gave it a question mark. Why? Because in their game Alekhine responded f7–f6, Ng8–h6–f7, Bg7 and Black had no problems in the opening. I will be showing you that game later.

7…f6 8.Be3 Nh6 9.Bb3 Bg7

Black’s initiative quickly fizzles out after 9…Ng4 10.Bd2 Na5 11.Bc2 Nc4 12.Bc1 soon both the knight will ingloriously return home with the support of the other pieces.

10.a4 Qe7 11.0–0 Nd8 12.c4!

MVL is going to put his knight on d5.

12…Ng4 13.Bc1 exd4

Vacating the e5 square for her pieces.

14.Nxd4 Nc6?

The correct way is 14…Qe5!? 15.Nf3 (15.f4 inflicts on White a new weakness on the g1–a7 diagonal which Black can immediately exploit with 15…Qc5) 15…Qh5 and now Black completely equalizes after 16.h3 Ne5! 17.Nxe5 Qxd1 18.Rxd1 dxe5.

15.Nc3 Qe5

The same maneuver but this time with knights on c6 and c3. Does it make a difference?

16.Nf3 Qh5 <D>

Position after 16…Qh5

17.c5!!

The big difference. You will see the point next move.

17…Qxc5 18.Nd5

Now the Black’s queen cannot go back to the kingside and in fact may be in danger of being trapped.

18…Ne7

Here is one way the Black queen can get trapped: 18…0–0–0 19.h3 Nge5 20.Be3 Qa5 21.Nxe5 dxe5 22.Rc1! followed by Bd2.

19.h3 Nxd5

And here is another 19…Ne5 20.Be3 Qa5 21.Bd2 Nxf3+ 22.gxf3 Qc5 23.Rc1 Black has to give up her queen to destroy the White knight. Otherwise it will be a rout: 23…Qa7 24.Nxc7+ Kf8 25.Be3 Qb8 26.Qxd6 mate cannot be prevented.

20.Bxd5 c6 21.b4! Qb6

Taking the pawn 21…Qxb4 allows White to put his rook on the 7th rank. 22.Ba2 Ne5 23.Rb1 Qc3 24.Nxe5 Qxe5 25.Rxb7 Black is still up a pawn but her position is very bad, might be losing already.

22.Bb3 Ne5 23.Nxe5 fxe5

[23…dxe5 24.Bf7+! Ke7 (Or 24…Kxf7 25.Qxd7+ Kg8 26.Be3 Qxb4 27.Rab1) 25.Be3 Qc7 26.Qb3 b6 27.a5! White’s dark-squared bishop will soon be settling on c5]

24.Qxd6 Qd4 25.Qc7! Rf8

If 25…Qxa1 26.Rd1 Rd8 27.Bg5 Qxd1+ 28.Bxd1 0–0 29.Bb3+ Kh8 30.Bxd8.

26.Bg5 Bf6 27.Bxf6 Rxf6 28.Rad1 1–0

After Alexander Alekhine won the world championship against Jose Capablanca in 1927 he refused to give the great Cuban a rematch and instead defended his title against Efim Bogoljubow in 1929. Bogo was an extraordinarily strong player, but clearly Capa’s inferior. Alekhine outclassed him 15.5-9.5 (11 wins, 9 draws, 5 losses). The following was his final win.

Bogoljubow, Efim — Alekhine, Alexander [C76]
World Championship 14th GER/NLD (22), 03.11.1929

This match was scheduled in several venues in Germany and the Netherlands. This particular game was played in Amsterdam.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.c3 Bd7 6.d4 g6 7.Bg5

Alekhine had an interesting comment here: “As the following shows, White has no means of exploiting the b3–g8 diagonal, and, on the other hand, f7 will prove a suitable square for Black’s king knight. It looks as though, after 5.c3, White’s opening advantage is bound to vanish within a few moves and that, therefore, the usual 5.B×c6+, followed by 6.d4, offers him more fighting chances.”

7…f6 8.Be3 Nh6 9.0–0 Bg7 10.h3 Nf7 11.Nbd2 0–0 12.dxe5?!

Another point of divergence. Most contemporary annotators have said that relieving the tension in the center is a mistake, but this is what Aleklhine has to say: “White — rightly — recognizes that a further maintaining of the tension in the center would be rather to Black’s advantage and aims at simplification. The problem of the defense has been solved in this game in quite a satisfactory way.”

12…dxe5 13.Bc5 Re8 14.Bb3 b6 15.Be3 Qe7 16.Qe2 Ncd8 17.Bd5 Bc6

[17…c6? loses a pawn to 18.Bxf7+ Nxf7 19.Bxb6]

18.c4 Bxd5 19.cxd5 f5 20.Nc4 Nb7 21.Rac1 Rad8

Alekhine: Deliberately permitting the following transaction that only apparently relieves White from his troubles in the center.

22.d6?! Nbxd6 23.Nxd6 Rxd6 24.Qxa6 Qd7! 25.Rc2 c5 26.a4 f4! 27.Bd2 g5

With the follow-up Rd6–g6, h7–h5 and g5–g4..

28.Qb5?! Qxb5 29.axb5 Rd3!

The idea behind this move is not so apparent, but it is to vacate the d6–square for his knight.

30.Ra1 Nd6 31.Ra6 Rb8 32.Bc3 Nxe4 33.Bxe5 Bxe5 34.Nxe5 Rd1+ 35.Kh2 Nd2!

Threatening mate starting with Nf1+.

36.h4 Re8! 37.Nf3 Nxf3+ 38.gxf3 Ree1 39.Kh3 h5! 0–1

Mate can no longer be prevented.

So what do you think? The old masters have a thing or two to say about “modern” opening theory as well.

 

Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant, he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.

bobby@cpamd.net

Maynilad sets P9-billion capex for 2018

METRO MANILA’S west zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. said on Monday it is setting aside P9 billion in 2018 as capital expenditure (capex) for its water and wastewater infrastructure projects for the year.

“Our record investments have contributed significantly to the government’s job generation efforts while also improving water services for our over 9 million customers. We will continue on this track so we can sustain service level improvements in the West Zone,” said Ramoncito S. Fernandez, Maynilad president and chief executive officer, in a statement on Monday.

Maynilad said two-thirds of the P9-billion capex or about P6.5 billion will be spent on the company’s infrastructure projects.

Of the P6.5-billion infrastructure budget, around P2.6 billion will go to water sources, operations support, and service expansion programs, Maynilad said, adding that the amount covers spending for the rehabilitation of water network facilities, upgrade and construction of pumping stations, and reservoirs for better supply and pressure management.

Also included are the installation of new primary, secondary and tertiary pipelines for water service expansion, and enhancements on the Ipo dam common-purpose facility.

Under the infrastructure budget, P3.9 billion is allotted for Maynilad’s water loss recovery or non-revenue water (NRW) management program. The program covers meter management, leak detection and repair, pipe replacements, and district metered area management.

At the same time, Maynilad said it will spend P1.7 billion this year for wastewater management projects to increase sewerage coverage and maintain network reliability. These projects include a sewer network for the sewage treatment plants in Las Piñas and Muntinlupa, and new sewer service connections.

“The rest of the budget will go to the company’s customer service and information program, which covers the modernization of data management and information systems that will help to improve service delivery,” the company said.

Funding for infrastructure investments will come from local and international bank loans, as well as from internally generated funds, Maynilad said.

The water company expects to generate more than 26,000 jobs from its P9-billion capex program for 2018.

Maynilad serves certain portions of the cities of Manila, Quezon and Makati. It also covers Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon in Metro Manila.

Outside the Philippine capital, it serves the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario, all in Cavite province.

Maynilad, the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base, is an agent and contractor of the state agency Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System for the west zone of the greater Manila area.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which has majority stake in Maynilad, is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Victor V. Saulon

Canadians can’t stop using their homes as piggy banks — analyst

OTTAWA — Canadians are borrowing against their houses at the fastest pace in more than five years, as home equity lines of credit (HELOC) emerge as a preferred means of accessing funds.

HELOC balances jumped 7.2% in December from a year earlier, the fastest annual growth since 2012, reaching a record C$230 billion ($184 billion), the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) reported Thursday. All other types of consumer debt such as personal loans, credit card balances, car loans and overdrafts climbed just 3.2% over the same period, less than half the pace of HELOC growth.

Borrowers can tap HELOCs for up to 65% of the value of their homes, and the funds are most commonly used for making renovations, investing and consolidating debt, according to a June 2017 report by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC). “Houses are becoming piggy banks,” said Paul Gulberg, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. It’s “either greed based or need based.”

HELOCs can also be a red flag for policy makers.

It’s a type of borrowing that may contribute to increased household vulnerabilities because it typically doesn’t require the principal to be repaid on a fixed schedule, the Bank of Canada said in its most recent financial system review. About 40% of HELOC borrowers don’t regularly pay down the principal.

Of total loans secured to individuals for non-business purposes, those secured by residential property represent about 46%, the OSFI data show.

Compared to other loan types, such as auto loans and credit cards, rates on HELOCs are typically cheaper, making them more attractive to consumers. They also tend to be more sensitive to fluctuations in borrowing costs, because they’re usually tied to prime rates.

“It’s a rising risk factor because it’s something that reprices more rapidly than a typical mortgage pool,” said Mr. Gulberg, adding the risk is rising “in conjunction with the fact that it’s fueling overall consumer credit, which is considered to be an issue.”

Canadians have about 3 million HELOC accounts and the average outstanding balance is C$70,000, the FCAC said, which also warned HELOC borrowers are increasingly vulnerable to rising interest rates and a housing market correction. — Bloomberg

Moving on: Tiu’s AgriNurture to conduct stock rights offering

AGRINURTURE, Inc. is ready to put the past behind with a plan to raise nearly P300 million through a stock rights offer, laying the groundwork for the entry of new foreign investors keen on taking advantage of the growth in the agricultural sector.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday, the company owned by Antonio L. Tiu said its board of directors authorized the conduct of a stock rights offer to eligible investors, who are entitled to one share for every 2.5 shares held.

The company intends to offer 283.76 million shares to eligible investors at a price equivalent to the stock’s par value of P1 apiece. The board has yet to determine the record date for the rights offer.

“It is a perk for shareholders with the stock trading at P13. They can subscribe at P1 so basically it is a gain for shareholders including the minority,” Mr. Tiu, who is also the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a phone interview.

Shares in AgriNurture added 12 centavos or 0.93% to close at P13 apiece on Monday.

The principal shareholders pledged to subscribe not just to their entitlement, but also to the unsubscribed shares after the mandatory rounds of the stock rights offer.

“The primary objective of the stock rights offer is to subscribe to the increase in authorized capital stock of the company,” Mr. Tiu said, referring to the approval of the board and its shareholders in 2014 to hike the firm’s authorized capital stock to P2 billion from P1 billion.

“There has been very aggressive grown in agriculture sector. There has been lots of ongoing discussions so this is a preparation for the entry of foreign investors,” Mr. Tiu said.

Beefing up the company’s capital has taken a backseat after Mr. Tiu was tagged in an investigation launched by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee in 2015 on the ownership of his 350-hectare estate in Rosario, Batangas. The AgriNurture executive had denied allegations that the property is owned by then Vice-President Jejomar C. Binay.

“We have to move on. Damage has been made, but life goes on. We are happy we have survived,” Mr. Tiu said.

Proceeds from the rights issue will fund additional working capital to support the growth and strategic initiatives of the company’s businesses, such as export, local distribution, and retail and franchising.

AgriNurture is in the business of farming, selling fresh fruits and vegetables, and producing canned, frozen and dried fruits and vegetables. The company ventured into the importation and trading of rice in the first quarter of 2015.

AgriNurture doubled its net profit to P14.50 million in the first nine months of 2017 as sales grew by half on the strength of its local distribution business. — Krista Angela M. Montealegre

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