Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 12695

Miciano gets IM norm

9th Penang Heritage City Open
Red Rock Hotel, Penang, Malaysia
Dec. 4-9, 2017

Final Top Standings

1-2. IM K Rathnakaran IND 2307, GM Karen H Grigoryan ARM 2571, 8.0/9

3-4. FM Novendra Priasmoro INA 2423, IM Yeoh Li Tian MAS 2480, 7.0/9

5-8. IM Oliver Dimakiling PHI 2425, FM Dang Hoang Son VIE 2340, GM Alexei Barsov UZB 2416, GM RR Laxman IND 2413, 6.5/9

9-23. GM Nguyen Duc Hoa VIE 2504, IM Hamed Nouri PHI 2355, FM Pitra Andyka INA 2297, FM Arjun Erigaisi IND 2359, IM Lioe Dede INA 2328, GM Gerhard Schebler GER 2415, Daniel Hermawan Lumban Tobin INA 1899, IM Roy Prantik IND 2366, John Marvin Miciano PHI 2224, IM Haridas Pascua PHI 2424, IM Ronny Gunawan INA 2281, FM Yoseph Theolifus Taher INA 2368, GM Cerdas Barus INA 2320, Ma Lin CHN 2152, CM Mittal Aditya IND 2288, 6.0/9

Total of 134 Participants

Time Control: 90 minutes for entire game with 30 seconds added after every move starting move 1.

IM Kantholi Rathnakaran (born 1981) created a stir by winning the 9th Penang Heritage City International Chess Open over 7 Grandmasters and 17 other International Masters. He was the 26th seed but remained undefeated throughout the tournament and coupled that with wins over GMs Gerhard Schebler and Karen Grigoryan and IMs Yeoh Li Tian (the Zonal Champion), Ronny Gunawan and Pitra Andyka and came through with a deserved victory.

The Philippines’ IM Oliver Dimakiling finished in 5th place with 5 wins, 3 draws and a single loss to Indonesia’s IM Ronny Gunawan.

John Marvin Miciano
John Marvin Miciano

The big story for us though is the National Master John Marvin Miciano, the Philippines’ reigning National Junior Champion, got his FIDE Master title as well as an International Master norm. He still needs two other IM norms to qualify for the full title. It is also a requirement that his FIDE rating touch the 2400 plateau but theoretically and mathematically if he does achieve two more IM norms his rating would have climbed up to that level.

John Marvin Miciano is 17 years old, a senior high school student of Far Eastern University Diliman and hails from Davao City.

He defeated IM Haridas Pascua in round 2. You will recall that in the last Philippine National Championship John Miciano was brilliantly taking down Haridas when he slipped up at the end and fell into inevitable mate. Here is that game.

Miciano, John Marvin (2212) — Pascua, Haridas (2427) [B70]
PHI-Ch 2017 Makati (3.4), 07.09.2017

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.g3 Bg7 7.Bg2 0–0 8.0–0 Nc6 9.Nde2 Rb8 10.a4 a6 11.h3 b5 12.axb5 axb5 13.Nd5 Nd7 14.c3 e6 15.Ne3 Qc7 16.Nd4 Nxd4 17.cxd4 Bb7 18.Qb3 e5 19.d5 Nc5 20.Qc2 b4 21.Bd2 b3 22.Qb1 Qd7 23.Rc1 f5 24.Bb4 Nxe4 25.Bxe4 fxe4 26.Qxe4 Bh6 27.Rc3 Bxe3 28.Rxe3 Rf6 29.Rxb3 Qxh3 30.Be1 Rf4 31.Rxb7! Rxe4 32.Rxb8+ Kg7 33.Ra7+ Kf6 34.Bd2 Kf5 35.Rf7+ Kg4 36.Rb3

Miciano was short of time or else he would no doubt have found the coup de grace 36.Rb4! with the point that 36…Rxb4 allows White to mate with 37.f3+ Kxg3 38.Be1# but no harm done yet for after the text White is still winning.

36…Rf4 37.Bxf4?

[37.f3+!]

37…exf4 38.Rxf4+ Kg5 39.Rb6 Qd7 40.b4 Qe7 41.Kh2 Qe5 42.Rb8 Qxd5 43.b5 Qc5 44.b6 Qa5 45.Rf7 Kg4 46.b7 Qh5+ 47.Kg1??

After 47.Kg2 John is still winning.

47…Kh3! 0–1

Against all the rules of getting-what-you-deserve, White is going to be mated.

Through the kindness of his coach GM Jayson Gonzales I am presenting this game from the Penang Open to our readers. FM Miciano was graceful enough to write-in some comments to the game.

Miciano, John Marvin (2224) — Pascua, Haridas (2424) [B40]
9th Penang Heritage City Open Penang (2) [Miciano]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6!?

A surprise. From my database it seems that Haridas only plays 2…Nc6 or 2…d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 as Black in the Sicilian.

3.g3!?

My idea was to hold the move d2–d4 in reserve as I guessed that he must have prepared for my King’s Indian Attack formation. 3.d3 is what I normally play and I believe that is the best setup against the Taimanov.

3…Nc6 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.Nc3!?

Still not inclined to play d3. I am hoping to grab the psychological advantage in the opening.

5…d5 6.exd5 exd5 7.d4 Bg4 8.0–0 cxd4

[8…Nxd4 is answered by 9.Bg5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.Re1+ Kf8 12.h3 Nxf3+ 13.Bxf3 Bxf3 14.Qxf3 Bxc3 15.bxc3 g6 16.c4 and I think white should have more than enough compensation]

9.Nb5?!

This bad move is unexploited. 9.Re1+ should be better as …Bc5 is not available.

9…Be7?!

I think because he is uncomfortable with his position he didn’t see 9…Bc5. This should be better holding his dear pawn 10.Bf4 Rc8 11.a3 a6 12.b4 axb5 13.bxc5 and this should be equal.

10.Nbxd4 0–0 11.h3?!

Weakening move that isn’t necessary. 11.c3 or 11.Re1 are obvious enough.

11…Bxf3 12.Bxf3 Qc8

[12…Nxd4 13.Qxd4 Qc8 is just answered by 14.Bf4 Qxh3 15.Rae1 after which the pawn snatch is more like time wasted]

13.Nxc6!?

This of course should not be bad, but I should have created a granite pawn structure against my light squared bishop 13.Kg2 Nxd4 14.Qxd4 Qxc2 15.Be3 should be ok.

13…bxc6 14.Kg2 Rb8 15.b3

Of course this move is obvious.

15…Rd8 16.Bb2 Ne8

He wants to remove one of my bishops.

17.Re1 Bf6 18.Bxf6 Nxf6 19.Qd4 Qc7?!

I was expecting 19…c5 20.Qd3 after which he will not have problems on my break c4 later on.

20.b4!

Fixing the pawns.

20…a5 21.a3 Qb6

He bails out into a draw, but I still am fighting for a win.

22.Qxb6 Rxb6 23.c3 Kf8 24.Kf1 c5!?

This move actually does not give away the draw but it makes the defense difficult.

25.bxc5 Rb5 <D>

POSITION AFTER 25…RB5

26.c4!

Creating a passed pawn.

26…dxc4

[26…Rxc5 isn’t possible because of the pin on the d-file 27.cxd5 Nxd5 28.Re5 f6 29.Rh5 and a pawn goes loose]

27.c6 Rc5 28.Rac1 g6 29.Re3 Rd4 30.Ke1

And now my opponent blunders with…

30…Nd5?

[30…Ng8 as he pointed out after the game is a dead draw 31.Rb1 c3 32.Rc1 c2 33.Re2 Rdc4 34.Be4 Ne7 35.Rcxc2 Rxc2 36.Bxc2 Nxc6=]

31.Re5 Rd3 32.Rxd5 Rcxd5 33.Bxd5 Rxd5 34.Rxc4 Rd8 35.c7 Rc8 36.Kd2 Ke7 37.Ke3 Kd6 38.Kd4 1–0

John’s passion for the game and huge desire to continuously work on and improve his level of play gives hope for Philippine chess to produce another Grandmaster in the next two years if not in the year 2018. His participation in the latest international events is supported by NCFP, PSC and Far Eastern University. FEU might be the only institution of higher learning which actively supports its chess team and players to compete in international competition. Given the results being shown by their players we can all see how crucial this is.

 

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

bobby@cpamd.net

Florida orange industry hit by hurricane, disease

HIT by Hurricane Irma and a citrus ailment known as “Yellow Dragon Disease,” Florida orange growers are bracing for potentially the worst harvest in more than a half century.

Forecasters are projecting a yield of 46 million boxes of oranges for the 2017-2018 Florida orange season, a drop of 33% from last year and the lowest output since at least 1944-1945, according to the US Agriculture department.

Some areas have lost as much as 90% of their fruit due to winds from Irma, or root damage due to flooding.

“It may take months for growers to gauge the true scale of the impact of Hurricane Irma and years to fully recover,” said Shelley Rossetter, a spokeswoman for the Florida Citrus Department.

Florida oranges aren’t the only casualty of 2017, an unusually busy year for natural disasters in North America.

The massive “Thomas” wildfire, considered the second biggest fire ever in California, has damaged lemon and avocado crops in the region north of Los Angeles.

Hundreds of acres of producing land have burned, said Ken Melban, vice-president of industry affairs at the California Avocado Commission.

“It’s a very unusual fire, some areas have been burned several times,” Mr. Melban said. “It has a tremendous impact on growers impacted by the fire.”

But Mr. Melban said it was difficult to determine the full impact on avocado prices because of higher imports and the supply from California growers not touched by the fire.

But in Florida, where the orange industry employs 45,000 and an economic impact in the state of $8.6 billion, the outlook is grim, especially since the industry already faced myriad challenges even before Irma hit in September. 

Citrus greening disease — otherwise known as Yellow Dragon Disease — is a bacterial malady spread by insects that has begun to ravage crops, killing some orange trees and rendering other fruit small and sour.

Orange production in Florida, which peaked at 244 million cartons in 1998, fell last year to 67 million.

There is no cure, so growers are focusing on ways to limit the spread of the disease, and on technologies and growing practices that could build resistant to the disease.

“Things were starting to turn around,” Ms. Rossetter said. “Before Hurricane Irma, Florida citrus growers were expecting 75 million boxes, the first crop size increase in years.”

But she warned that in the wake of the storm, “Without support from state and federal government, some growers may go out of business.”

The state orange industry also has come under pressure due to declining demand for orange juice as Americans turn to less sweet drinks and other alternatives. About 90% of Florida’s oranges are used for juice.

US consumption of fresh orange juice has fallen 18% in just four years, according to Nielsen data.

At the same time, rising imports offer unwelcome competition. Brazil, a big producer of oranges for orange juice, could see an increase in output of 55% this year amid favorable weather conditions, according to USDA.  — AFP

Aerospace dev’t firm may face axe in GOCC rationalization

THE Philippine Aerospace Development Corp. (PADC) will be among the government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) which may be shut down next year.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, an ex-officio member of the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG), said that the agency has not fulfilled its mandate.

“We just had a GCG meeting. One was Philippine Aerospace Development Corp.,” Mr. Dominguez told reporters earlier this month when asked what GOCCs are being considered for rationalization in 2018.

“They are supposed to design a plane. It’s been 45 years already, and they have not designed a plane yet. Their record is unblemished by accomplishment,” he added.

The agency was created in September 1973, under Presidential Decree No. 286.

The PADC is tasked with developing the Philippine aerospace industry by designing and manufacturing aircraft, while developing domestic capability in aircraft maintenance and repair.

The status of North Luzon Railways Corp. (Northrail) is also up for review, he said.

The agency was created primarily to handle the Northrail project connecting Metro Manila to Central Luzon, and eventually northern Luzon. The project never got off the ground due to a corruption scandal.

The government is also currently working on the merger of GOCCs with guarantee services functions into a single unit under the Philippine Export-Import Credit Agency (PhilEXIM) — to streamline processes.

Part of the merger will include the Home Guaranty Corp., Small Business Corp., and Quedan & Rural Guarantee Corp.

GOCCs are required by law to remit half of their earnings back to the national government as dividends.

In the nine months to September, GOCCs remitted a total of P21.62 billion in dividends. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Refs missed fouls

On Christmas Day last year, the Warriors lost to the Cavaliers by a point after Kevin Durant failed to get a good last-second shot up off an inbounds play gone awry. In the aftermath, he noted that defender Richard Jefferson should have been called for a foul as he curled from the baseline to accept the pass, with the ensuing trip forcing him to stumble to the floor. “I was trying to make a move,” he argued. “I didn’t fall on my own.” And, as things turned out, he was right; in its Last Two Minute Report, then issued whenever scores are within five points of each other at the specific point of a given match, the National Basketball Association disclosed that the “foot-to-foot contact” he illegally absorbed affected his “SQBR,” defined as “Speed, Quickness, Balance, Rhythm.”

On Christmas Day this year, the Cavaliers lost to the Warriors by nine after LeBron James twice failed to score on Durant after drives gone awry in the crunch. In the aftermath, he noted that the reigning Finals Most Valuable Player should have been called for fouls as he made his way to the rim. With a minute and 12 seconds left in the match, he lost the ball as he was being hip-checked. And with a 25 and six-tenths seconds left, he again turned the ball over after an attempted dunk was foiled by an armbar. In both situations, the deficit was three points. The second case, though, was far more damaging; with time running out, the wine and gold were forced to foul and essentially gift Klay Thompson, an 88% free-throw shooter, with two points in order to regain possession.

Needless to say, Durant contended that he simply played great defense. “It felt clean,” he insisted. “That ain’t no foul.” Well, the NBA has begged to disagree. In its Last Two Minute Report, issued under a revised rule that now requires scores to be within three points of each other anytime inside the specific point of a given match, it acknowledged that he committed personals in both plays, and twice in the pivotal instance. Not that the admission of the mistakes will change the outcome; on the contrary, all it does for the Cavaliers, and particularly for James, is rub salt on open wounds.

Parenthetically, the Warriors will say, with reason, that referees will not always get calls — or non-calls — right. They will add, again with reason, that other more important factors contributed to the final tally. Nonetheless, there can be no disputing the value of continuous improvement, thus underscoring the very purpose of the Last Two Minute report. There can also be no underestimating the motivational worth of seemingly undeserved turns of events. And for fans, the good news is that the wait for the rematch won’t be long; how much the Cavaliers are amped will be seen in two weeks. The Q will be rocking, and the rivalry that keeps on giving should prove its generosity anew.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.

EM assets’ dream run may see bumpier ride next year

BULLS will retain the upper hand in  emerging markets (EM) next year, though some assets may face a bumpier ride than in 2017.

Bonds and equities in developing countries will continue to streak ahead, outpacing their developed-nation peers into next year, according to a Bloomberg survey of 20 investors, traders and strategists. Currencies, however, may struggle to stay in front. The survey was conducted Dec. 5-14.

And while the Federal Reserve’s actions will remain key in determining the fate of what has been the strongest equity rally for emerging-market stocks in eight years, geopolitical risks will be less of a focus as investors zero in on Donald Trump and the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy: China.

“The environment for emerging markets was great in 2017 with the Goldilocks factors of economic growth and low inflation in industrialized countries,” said Hideo Shimomura, chief fund manager in Tokyo at Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co., which oversees the equivalent of $114 billion. “The EM rally we saw this year will probably extend into 2018, but after a period of strong growth and low inflation, some adjustment will be inevitable.”

Investor darlings in 2017 thanks to their high yields and buoyant growth prospects, emerging markets have weathered Trump’s protectionist rhetoric and a swathe of geopolitical brush fires — from the Middle East to the Korean peninsula.

But while stocks and currencies in developing nations are on track for their best year since 2009, investors may become more selective in 2018 as headwinds like Fed tightening weaken the appeal of emerging markets.

Consistent with a survey in October, market watchers continue to see the Fed and President Trump’s policy moves to be key for developing-country assets in the new year.

What happens with China — where authorities are waging a battle against debt and President Xi Jinping is cementing his power — has edged up in the rankings.

Going forward, Mexico’s peso and bond market as well as Brazilian equities are among the most-favored emerging-market assets, while Turkey’s assets ranked low given the country’s persistent political uncertainty.

The lira, on track to become one of the worst emerging-market currency performers this year, will remain in the doldrums in 2018. The currency plunged to a record low as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the central bank in November, saying it was on the “wrong path” in tackling soaring inflation.

But in general, the stars will continue to align from a macroeconomic perspective, with global growth expected to be steady and inflation subdued, said Colin Harte, a London-based fund manager and strategist for multi-asset solutions at BNP Paribas Asset Management, which oversaw the equivalent of $673 billion at the end of September. — Bloomberg

Catch a wave

By Menchu Aquino Sarmiento

Movie review
Siargao
Directed by Paul Soriano

THERE ARE several love stories going on among the attractive bunch of young people populating this light romantic romp, but the main object of director Paul Soriano’s affections is the island of Siargao, best known for its amazing surfing. Surfing celebs Luke Landrigan and Wilmar Melindo appear in the film as themselves. After the end credits, the stars do a public service announcement on preserving Siargao’s beauty by caring for the environment. There are scenic drone shots of its natural wonders — lush jungle foliage, fiery sunsets, golden sand, and aquamarine surf — and also an abundance of tight shots of trim, tanned human physiques, sleek abs, for both male and female, and tons of cleavage for the latter. After all, being at the beach is a good enough reason to get nearly naked.

The film’s protagonist Diego “Jig” Punzalan (Jericho Rosales) has a sister, Karen, who runs clean-up campaigns on Cloud 9 Beach. Jig joins her in picking up plastic litter but he is actually a rock star. After a public falling out during a concert with his band mates which streamed live on social media, he decides to temporarily retreat to his family home in Siargao. His mother (Suzette Ranillo) is ecstatic at having him back although she worries he won’t stay long since he brought such a small bag. There’s a nice Pinoy touch with her showering kisses on her favorite son’s shoulders and arms.

The older son Kuya Step calls Jig their parents’ Golden Boy. No resentment simmering beneath the surface there. Kuya Step is so laid back that he doesn’t begrudge their late father’s leaving a commercial lot solely to Jig, even if Kuya Step himself has a young son to raise, while Jig is a carefree bachelor. Their mother is eager to use Jig’s inherited property to expand her resort business, but he is in no hurry to decide what he wants to do with it and keeps her in limbo.

Like a godling, Jig’s bedroom has been preserved in his absence while Step and his young son sleep on the living room floor. Jig throws out the boxes of childhood memorabilia which his father had kept for him, ordering his mother not to retrieve these from the rubbish heap because they just clutter up his bedroom. All that notwithstanding, he’s supposed to be a really nice guy.

While Jig sees Siargao as a refuge from an intrusive press and multitudes of fans (he has almost 2 million followers), Laura Molina (Erich Gonzales) is out to exploit the island’s many attractions to boost her social media presence. She is a vlogger who unabashedly uses her personal life, mainly her relationship with her devoted boy friend Mikey, to stoke her 22,000 followers. However, Laura has commitment issues, and Mikey’s surprise marriage proposal falls flat, to the disappointment of many of their followers. The solo trip to Siargao might establish her as a social media personality in her own right.

Gonzales plays it perkily straight and cute. She never delves into the gold mine of rich comic possibilities of her character’s clueless narcissism which would have been a more interesting path. Instead she seems like an overly eager-to-please tour guide or children’s party hostess, boringly brimful with earnest sincerity and with no mitigating sense of self-irony.

Early on, Jig lazily makes a move on Laura but she knows he still has feelings for Abi (Jasmin Curtis-Smith) who admittedly inspired all his songs. Yes, Kuya J sings and plays the guitar here. Jig and Abi used to be the LTNB (Love Team ng Bayan) till he moved to Manila to further his career and she got another boy friend, making her TOTGA (The One That Got Away). Curtis-Smith is one of our finest young actresses and one wishes that she were given more to do.

Anyway, there is no high drama at any point. Without giving away any spoilers, rest assured that everything and everyone ends up fine. Just like riding the waves, the characters stay pretty much on the surface. When they fall, they get back up, catch the next wave and try to stand again. If only real life were always that way.

MTRCB Rating: PG

This will be the year when the Internet collides with reality

By Tyler Cowen

THE onset of a new year brings plenty of predictions, and so I will hazard one: Many of the biggest events of 2018 will be bound together by a common theme, namely the collision of the virtual Internet with the real “flesh and blood” world. This integration is likely to steer our daily lives, our economy, and maybe even politics to an unprecedented degree.

For instance, the coming year will see a major expansion of the “Internet of things,” especially home and other smart devices subject to our commands. So much of our time with information technology has been taken up by texting and Facebook, pure communications of symbols and photos and videos. The next steps will be controlling our doors, heating systems, lights, stoves and refrigerators, and moving toward driverless cars. The virtual world will be managing our older physical processes more and more.

“Augmented reality” will become a better-known phrase, as a superior version of Google Glass arrives. Imagine walking into a store and putting on some techie glasses, and learning immediately about product bargains, quality ratings, and items you might want to buy, as you do now on the web with Amazon. That kind of useful information will seep into our public spaces, and you will be able to speak a command and have your favorite cheese waiting for you at the grocery checkout, at a discount of course.

Integration will shape the financial world too. Bitcoin has been an online sensation since its origin in 2009, but it has existed as a kind of closed universe, both intellectually and in terms of its impact on other financial markets. Late in 2017, futures contracts for bitcoin started on both the Chicago Board Options Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which means bitcoin now intersects with a world of collateral, margin requirements, potentially insolvent traders, and publicly verifiable values for contract settlement. So far this process has gone fine. But whatever your prediction for the future, this integration of real and virtual worlds will either make or break bitcoin and other crypto-assets.

As for American foreign policy, so far it has been proceeding along two very separate lines. There is the process-oriented, expertise-based approach emanating from some of Trump’s advisers, such as National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, and also from the State department. Then there is Trump, who conducts much of his personalized, individualized foreign policy on Twitter, including threats to North Korea and insults to various allies. So far the process-oriented and Twitter-oriented foreign policies have coexisted, however uneasily. I see 2018 as the year where these two foreign policies converge in some manner. Either Trump’s tweets end up driving actual foreign policy and its concrete, “boots on the ground” realization, or the real-world policy prevails and the tweets become far less relevant.

As for conflict, cyberwar will escalate to the point where it is seen like an act of physical aggression, comparable to bombing civilians, rather than existing in its own separate sphere.

Yet more of the advances on the tech side are troubling, such as how artificial intelligence is being used for facial surveillance in China, and how Chinese social credit rating systems are assessing the suitability of individuals as both credit risks and loyal citizens. I expect many other autocracies to adopt similar technologies, and so “control of information” will mean “control of people” more and more.

One under-discussed feature of the Internet to date has been its role as an “add-on” in human affairs. Internet use brings extra benefits, but if you don’t want to use the Internet, you still can get most things done, in the physical world at least, though you probably are relying on other people to use the Internet for you. People therefore can partake in the Internet to varying degrees, while still intersecting broadly through the same common public institutions. Even without using e-mail you can vote, buy groceries, drive your car, and send your kids to school.

But the possibility of independence from Internet use is diminishing rapidly. The bright side, which is very bright indeed, is that the integration of the physical and the virtual will spread productivity gains throughout the American economy. The downside is that skill in virtual worlds will determine a person’s financial success and enjoyment of life more and more, to the disadvantage of those on the dwindling side of the digital divide.

I am struck by the recent decision of the French government to ban smartphones in schools for children 15 and younger. The government has said it wishes to subordinate information technology to face-to-face play time. I doubt if such a retrograde policy can swing the cultural tide, but again it’s a sign that the integration of the real and virtual will be a big theme for the year to come. In America, for better or worse, it’s likely to be full speed ahead.

 

BLOOMBERG

Russia eyes Saudi wheat market dominated by European suppliers

MOSCOW is lobbying Saudi Arabia to open its rapidly growing market to Russian wheat, giving it another destination to offload a record harvest and compete with supplies from the European Union (EU).

Russian wheat has largely been barred from entering the kingdom for the past decade due to strict bug-damage rules, but the two nations have begun talks on starting up trade. It’s the latest sign of increased collaboration between the two in global commodities markets — the nations are leading a group of 24 nations that have cut oil production to lift energy prices.

Already a superpower in oil and natural gas, Russia sees itself as a growing player in global crop markets. While now the world’s top wheat exporter after taking market share away from key suppliers such as the US, markets such as Saudi Arabia and Algeria have remained elusive due to quality rules. If Russia can access Saudi demand, that could pose significant competition to sales from the EU, the largest shipper to the Middle Eastern nation.

“There is huge potential for Russian wheat to be exported into Saudi Arabia,” said Swithun Still, director of grain trader Solaris Commodities SA in Morges, Switzerland.

Russian Deputy Agriculture Minister Sergei Levin has told Saudi officials that Russian firms want to start shipments. The Saudi agency that runs grain imports has also invited more Russian companies to register for the tenders, although it has yet to change the wheat import rules.

Germany, Canada, Poland and Lithuania are among the top shippers to Saudi Arabia, according to the nation’s state grains importer. While it only accepts wheat with zero bug damage, Russian cargoes typically contain 0.50% of grain damaged by insects, the Institute for Agriculture Market Studies said. That may mean a compromise needs to be reached.

“We need to solve this problem,” said Dmitry Rylko, director general at IKAR in Moscow. “They would have to lower their bar for bug damage. In the foreseeable future, Russia will hardly be able to guarantee no bug damage in exports from the Black Sea.”

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest importer of barley, ranks in the top 20 for wheat. It initially didn’t impose bug damage limits when starting wheat imports a decade ago, but quickly became wary of Russian cargoes after a now-defunct trading house supplied grain spoiled by weevils, according to traders who participate in Saudi deals. That prompted strict rules that have largely sidelined Russian wheat.

The current grain talks also come after Brazil decided to open its market to Russian wheat, potentially increasing competition with US grain exports to the South American country.

Saudi Arabia has been increasing overseas wheat purchases after it halted growing the crop in the desert using water from fossil aquifers. Its imports are expected to total 3.8 million metric tons this season, up from just 75,000 tons a decade ago, US Department of Agriculture data show.

Saudi officials agreed on exchanging visits with Russia’s representatives “as soon as possible” to discuss grain trade, Saudi Grains Organization Governor Ahmad Al Fares, who attended the talks with Russia’s Mr. Levin, said by e-mail. Two Russian companies are now registered for competition in Saudi wheat and barley tenders, he said. — Bloomberg

Autonomous cars need tougher batteries, pioneer of lithium-ion says

BATTERY makers must rethink their technology if predictions for a wave of self-driving vehicles pan out, according to one of the inventors of the lithium-ion battery.

In addition to focusing on making batteries more powerful to extend the driving range of single-owner cars, manufacturers will also need to develop devices that can withstand the rigors of near-constant driving and short-range trips from the shared use expected of autonomous vehicles, said Akira Yoshino, who invented a prototype of the lithium-ion battery in 1985.

“A car shared by 10 people means it will be running 10 times more,” Yoshino, an honorary fellow at Asahi Kasei Corp., the world’s biggest maker of separators used in batteries, said in an interview at the company headquarters in Tokyo. “Durability will become very important.”

While producers should still focus on improving energy density and lowering costs, they will also need to create batteries using materials that can better withstand constant expansion and contraction, Yoshino said. The task becomes easier if there’s less need to simultaneously boost energy density, which is the biggest factor for driving range, he said. Lithium titanate, for example, can be used in the anode of the battery, where carbon is used commonly now.

“Cars are a completely new application, and we’ll have to wait until we find out what kind of batteries will really be needed,” Yoshino said. “The future of batteries depends on what will happen to the future of the automobile society.”

At Asahi Kasei’s laboratory in the early 1980s, Yoshino began researching polyacetylene, a conducting polymer discovered by the Japanese chemist and Nobel Prize winner Hideki Shirakawa. Although the material could be used in solar panels and semiconductors, Yoshino focused on batteries as a wave of small electronic devices requiring powerful, rechargeable energy sources began hitting the market.

He succeeded in building a lithium-ion battery using polyacetylene as the anode, later switching to carbon. But Sony Corp. beat Asahi Kasei in the race to commercialize it for mobile phones in 1991. The following year, Asahi Kasei formed a venture with Toshiba Corp. to make and sell their own batteries.

8-MM VIDEO
“I thought it would be a boon to tap into the 8 millimeter-video camera market,” Yoshino said, referring to an outdated format. “Mobile phones, laptops, and computers just kept multiplying, but no one was thinking about cars” at that time, he said.

That’s since changed. Bloomberg New Energy Finance projects electric vehicles will account for 54% of new car sales by 2040. Highly autonomous cars are expected around 2020, but technical and legal challenges to mass-market use of fully autonomous cars won’t be solved before 2030, BNEF said in a Dec. 1 report.

Yoshino was a recipient with three others of the 2014 Charles Stark Draper Prize for engineering for their contribution in the development of lithium-ion battery. — Bloomberg

Local stocks extend climb on window dressing

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter

LOCAL EQUITIES firmed up on the last trading week of 2017 on window dressing despite thinner trading volume.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 58.6 points or 0.69% to 8,490.91.

The broader all-shares index also increased by 0.40% or 20.1 points to 4,941.51.

“Today we were up by 58 points because start na ng window dressing for the closing of the books of the listed firms. Ganyan talaga ang mangyayari ngayon (That is really what’s going to happen now), the index is now expected to go up and maintain its 8,400 level,” A&A Securities, Inc. Analyst Jeng T. Calma said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s gains come amid a value turnover of only P3.6 billion after 1.23 billion issues changed hands, significantly lower than the P10.15-billion turnover the market recorded last Friday.

“In a holiday shortened week, with most global markets closed on Monday, volumes stayed low given many traders will be away until after New Year,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

Mr. Limlingan added that there was little market moving news to boost the bourse until the end of the year.

Meanwhile, A&A’s Ms. Calma noted that with the continued window dressing among investors, the bellwether index could close within the 8,500 to 8,600 level by the end of 2017.

All sectoral indices moved to positive territory by the end of the trading day, with the property sector leading the charge with a 1.19% increase or 46.44 points to 3,950.50. Financials climbed 0.72% or 15.64 points to 2,174.59; services rose 0.59% or 9.51 points to 1,613.82; while industrials increased 0.56% or 62.70 points to 11,189.06.

The holding firms counter increased 0.37% or 32.32 points to 8,620.46, while mining and oil saw a 0.09% uptick or 10.31 points to 11,385.27.

Decliners and advancers were almost equally split, 104 to 103, while 43 names were flat.

Net foreign buying widened to P349.46 million on Wednesday, up from the P185.23-million net inflow recorded last Friday. Markets were closed on Monday and Tuesday for the Christmas holidays.

The local market defied the movement of US stocks, which declined on Tuesday as Apple and shares of its parts suppliers weakened on a report of soft iPhone X demand, which pulled technology shares lower.

According to Taiwan’s Economic Daily, citing unidentified sources, Apple will slash its sales forecast for its flagship phone in the current quarter to 30 million units, down from what it said was an initial plan of 50 million units.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7.85 points or 0.03% to 24,746.21; the S&P 500 lost 2.84 points or 0.11% to 2,680.50; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 23.71 points or 0.34% to 6,936.25. — with Reuters

CSC resets exam in Iligan City on March 18, 2018

THE Civil Service Commission (CSC) has announced the resetting of the suspended Aug. 6 Career Service Examination-Pen and Paper Test (CSE-PPT) in Iligan City Testing Center to March 18, 2018, simultaneous with the first schedule of CSE-PPT next year, the agency said in a statement. Affected examinees need not register for the March 18, 2018 exam, and shall only be given one chance to take the reset examination free of charge. Those who would not be able to take the March 18 exam shall have their examination fee and slot forfeited. CSC ARMM shall send notifications to the affected examinees through the contact numbers and/or e-mail addresses appearing on the examinees’ application forms that were submitted for the suspended Aug. 6, 2017 CSE-PPT. Affected examinees may also directly coordinate with the CSC ARMM regarding changes in school assignments through telephone nos. (064) 552-0512, 552-0327, and 552-1855. Otherwise, they may access the Online Notice of School Assignment (ONSA) on CSC’s Web site. Meanwhile, the CSC reminds all other interested exam applicants that the deadline for application is on Jan. 31, 2018. The commission said this is on a first-come, first-served basis, meaning, that the CSC Regional/Field Office may cease accepting applications once it has reached its target number of registered examinees. Applications must be personally submitted at the CSC Regional Office (CSC RO), or at any of the CSC RO’s field offices where applicants intend to take the examination. Interested parties may access CSC Examination Announcement No. 04, s. 2017 now posted on the CSC Web site, www.csc.gov.ph. Examination fee is P500.

Nonstop Manila-Toronto flights to give PAL an advantage — CAPA

LAUNCHING of direct Manila-Toronto flights gives Philippine Airlines (PAL) a competitive advantage, an aviation market intelligence provider said.

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines launched this month its direct Manila-Toronto flights, replacing previous flights operated via Vancouver. Its return flight was the first ultra-long polar flight from Toronto nonstop to Manila, the first crossing of the Polar region by a Filipino airline.

“By introducing a nonstop option in the Toronto-Manila market, PAL has gained a competitive advantage over the nine airlines that offer a one-stop product. Several of these airlines offered similar, or shorter, total transit times than PAL before PAL introduced a nonstop service,” CAPA-Centre for Aviation said on its Web site.

For the Manila-Toronto flight, PAL used a Boeing 777-300ER that crossed Canada, Greenland, the Arctic Circle, Russia, Mongolia and parts of China.

The Manila-Toronto route is now one of the 20 longest routes in the world, with a block time of 16 hours and 30 minutes on the westbound leg, and 14 hours and 40 minutes on the eastbound leg. The nonstop flight is 4.5 hours shorter than PAL’s previous one-stop service, which had a total transit time of 21 hours on the westbound sector.

Other airlines which offer the Manila-Toronto route are Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (via Hong Kong), and China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited (via Shanghai).

PAL plans to follow up with another polar crossing service on a longer nonstop route, over 17 hours, within the second half of 2018, from Manila to New York (JFK Airport) and from New York to Manila, using the A350. — P.P.C. Marcelo

1...12,69412,69512,696...13,687Page 12,695 of 13,687
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube