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PSEi climbs to 6,500 level amid easing tensions

THE MAIN INDEX returned to the 6,500 level on Tuesday amid easing tensions in the Middle East and expectations of slower Philippine inflation this month. 

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.97% or 62.72 points to end at 6,506.80 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index improved by 0.61% or 21.19 points to close at 3,446.90. 

“This Tuesday, the local market rose by 62.72 points (0.97%) to 6,506.80 as investors took positive cues from Wall Street overnight. Investors cheered Iran’s statement that it will not further escalate its conflict with Israel as it lifted worries over higher oil prices,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research and Engagement Officer Mikhail Philippe Q. Plopenio said in a Viber message. 

“Philippine shares settled above the 6,500 mark as investors showed renewed interest in stocks following a recent dip from the Israel-Iran geopolitical tensions last week,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan likewise said in a Viber message. 

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 253.58 points or 0.67% to 38,239.98; the S&P 500 gained 43.37 points or 0.87% to 5,010.60; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 169.30 points or 1.11% to 15,451.31, Reuters reported. 

Iran said on Friday that it had no plan to retaliate following an apparent Israeli drone attack within its borders, which in turn followed an Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel days before. 

“The statement from National Economic and Development Authority Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon saying that an uptick in inflation for April is unlikely as the country is already in the harvest season also boosted sentiment,” Mr. Plopenio said. 

Inflation accelerated for the second straight month in March to 3.7%, as prices of food products continued to rise. In particular, rice inflation quickened to 24.4% in March, the highest since 24.6% in February 2009. 

The Philippine Statistics Authority will release April inflation data on May 7.  

All sectoral indices rose on Tuesday, led by industrials, which went up by 1.50% or 126.57 points to 8,526.01. Property climbed by 1.23% or 30.28 points to 2,488.65; services rose by 1.19% or 21.62 points to 1,831.52; mining and oil went up by 0.97% or 82.80 points to 8,559.95; financials gained 0.61% or 12.55 points to end at 2,047.78; and holding firms added 0.58% or 34.60 points to close at 5,951.62. 

“Among the index members, Century Pacific Foods Inc. was at the top, rising 5.63% to P37.50. BDO Unibank, Inc. lost the most, dropping 2.18% to P143.60,” Mr. Plopenio said. 

Value turnover went up to P5.11 billion on Tuesday with 554.76 million issues changing hands from the P3.64 billion with 564.35 million shares traded on Monday. 

Advancers beat decliners, 102 against 73, while 51 names were unchanged. 

Net foreign selling dropped to P508.35 million on Tuesday from P795.73 million on Monday. — R.M.D. Ochave with Reuters 

UPHSD Lady Altas rally to beat San Beda, regain top four slot

Games Wednesday
(Filoil EcoOil Arena)
7:30 a.m. — LPU vs EAC (men)
10 a.m. — LPU vs EAC (women)
2 p.m. — CSB vs AU (women)
5 p.m. — CSB vs AU (men)

UNIVERSITY of Perpetual Help System Dalta (UPHSD) played composed late in the game as it outlasted San Beda University, 20-25, 25-13, 22-25, 25-17, 15-6, Tuesday to resuscitate its Final Four hopes in NCAA Season 99 women’s volleyball at the Filoil EcoOil Arena.

Trailing a set to two, the Lady Altas regrouped and seized the last two sets thanks to the high-scoring duo of Shai Omipon and reigning MVP Mary Rhose Dapol, who took turns in willing their team to their third win in five outings.

That catapulted the Las Piñas-based school back into the top four alongside Arellano University (AU).

College of St. Benilde (CSB) remained unflappable at No. 1 with a 5-0 record while Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) stayed close at No. 2 with an equally perfect 4-0 mark. San Juan de Letran University is at No. 3 with a 4-1 slate.

The result also came as a soothing balm to hurting UPHSD following its stinging 25-21, 24-26, 18-25, 25-22, 15-11 defeat to LPU Saturday in a game where Ms. Dapol unleashed a 35-point juggernaut.

Although Ms. Dapol didn’t produce as much on this one, her contribution came when her team needed it most as the crisp-spiking hitter accounted for three of their last three hits that sealed the deal.

Crisp-hitting Angel Habacon was cherubic for San Beda as she wound up with a match-high 27 points.

It didn’t go their way though as the Red Spikers stumbled to 4-1. — Joey Villar

Peso rises further as markets monitor Iran-Israel rift

BW FILE PHOTO

THE PESO rose further against the dollar on Tuesday amid easing tensions in the Middle East.

The local unit closed at P57.51 per dollar on Tuesday, strengthening by three centavos from its P57.54 finish on Monday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

The peso opened Tuesday’s session stronger at P57.50 against the dollar. Its intraday best was at P57.39, while its weakest showing was its close of P57.51 versus the greenback.

Dollars exchanged went up to $1.18 billion on Tuesday from $1.16 billion on Monday.

“The peso gained amid continued easing of market concerns on the conflict between Israel and Iran,” a trader said in an e-mail.

Easing tensions in the Middle East also resulted in lower crude prices on Tuesday, which could help reduce inflationary pressures, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

Oil prices recovered some of the sharp losses overnight as investors continued to assess the situation in Middle East, Reuters reported. Brent futures rose 0.4% to $87.34 a barrel, while US crude gained 0.4% to $82.25 a barrel.

Nuclear weapons have no place in Iran’s nuclear doctrine, the country’s foreign ministry said on Monday, days after a Revolutionary Guards commander warned that Tehran might change its nuclear policy if pressured by Israeli threats.

“Iran has repeatedly said its nuclear program only serves peaceful purposes. Nuclear weapons have no place in our nuclear doctrine,” ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said during a press conference in Tehran.

Following a spike in tensions with Israel, the Guards commander in charge of nuclear security Ahmad Haghtalab said last week that Israeli threats could push Tehran to “review its nuclear doctrine and deviate from its previous considerations.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last say on Tehran’s nuclear program, banned the development of nuclear weapons in a fatwa, or religious decree, in the early 2000s.

For Wednesday, the trader said the peso could depreciate anew ahead of a likely robust US durable goods order report.

The trader sees the peso moving between P57.35 and 57.60 on Wednesday, while Mr. Ricafort expects it to range from P57.40 to P57.60 per dollar. — A.M.C. Sy with Reuters

Saint Clare outlasts CCI-Yengskivel in PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup

GO Torakku-St. Clare fended off CCI-Yengskivel, 114-106, to complete the Final Four cast in the 2024 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) D-League Aspirants’ Cup late Monday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

The fourth-ranked Saints, with a twice-to-beat edge, relinquished a 21-point lead but held on just enough for the gritty quarterfinal victory to barge into the best-of-three semifinals starting Thursday.

Saint Clare will face unbeaten and reigning champion EcoOil-La Salle while No. 3 seed Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda and second-ranked Centro Escolar University clash in the other bracket.

Megan Galang fired 19 points, five rebounds and an assist while Charles Burgos and Babacar Ndong contributed 14 points apiece in the Saints’ mastery of the Crusaders after a 118-84 win in the elims.

Luiz Tapenio (13), JM Estacio (12), Ezekiel Russel (10) and Simone De Guzman (10) were also instrumental.

But the Saints needed everything they could handle this time around despite erecting an early 21-point lead, 45-24.

Jhone Amansec and Julius Valderama had 19 and 17 points, respectively, for the Crusaders en route to elimination. — John Bryan Ulanday

 

The Scores:

Go Torraku-St.Clare 114 – Galang 19, Burgos 14, Ndong 14, Tapenio 13, Estacio 12, De Guzman 10, Russel 10, Sual 9, Decano 7, Yu 3, Cabauatan 3.

CCI-Yengskivel 106 – Amansec 19, Valderama 17, Buenaflor 16, Galvez 12, Tener 11, Nuarin 10, Guray 7, Dela Cruz 6, Esguerra 6, Puzon 2, Laran 0, Palma 0, Dever 0.

Quarterscores: 27-16, 54-39, 87-83, 114-106.

Spain’s Bonmati and Djokovic win top Laureus awards

MADRID — Spain’s World Cup winning midfielder Aitana Bonmati was named the Sportswoman of the Year, while Serbia’s Novak Djokovic captured the top men’s honor at the Laureus awards ceremony on Monday.

Ms. Bonmati, who has cemented her place at the top of women’s football by winning FIFA’s The Best, Ballon d’Or and World Cup MVP among other accomplishments, made her way on to the stage for a second time on Monday as the Span-ish women’s football team were named Team of the Year, the first female squad to win the award.

Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady handed Mr. Djokovic his fifth Laureus award after the top ranked tennis player enjoyed a remarkable 2023.

The Serb equaled Margaret Court’s all time record haul of 24 Grand Slam titles after winning US Open last September.

Mr. Djokovic contested all four major finals in 2023, also winning the Australian and French Opens. He was the runner-up at Wimbledon.

England midfielder Jude Bellingham, who has taken LaLiga by storm in his first season with Real Madrid, was named the Breakthrough Player of the Year, the first footballer to win this award.

Gymnast Simone Biles won Comeback of the Year award after winning four gold medals at last year’s world championships, her first international event since competing at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Ms. Biles headed to the Tokyo Games eyeing a record haul of six gold medals but returned home with just a silver and a bronze after suffering a crisis of confidence that saw the American drop out of multiple events due to “the twisties,” a type of mental block where gymnasts are disoriented.

Ms. Biles, who is the most decorated gymnast with 37 world and Olympic medals, then took a two-year break from the sport to protect her mental health before making her triumphant comeback last year.

The Laureus World Sports Awards nominees are selected by the global media, while the winners are determined by the 69 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy. The awards have been presented annually since 2000. — Reuters

Sixers, Lakers lose

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS FB PAGE

It’s often said that a National Basketball Association Playoff series does not actually start until the road team gets a win. For all the demerits of the reductive statement, it, if nothing else, underscores the importance of home-court advantage. After all, if the protagonists are able to emerge triumphant in familiar territory every time out, the higher seeds would inevitably advance. Which was why the setbacks suffered by the Sixers and Lakers yester-day hurt them far more than the bottom line indicated.

It wasn’t simply that victory was denied the Sixers and Lakers yesterday. It was that they appeared to be in control, only for fate to intervene in the end. True, a loss is a loss regardless of the final score. On the other hand, the close ones invariably linger because of the countless What Ifs the vanquished are thereafter compelled to ask over and over again. What if the ball went one way instead of the other? What if the rebound was corralled? What if the shot was blocked? And the queries go on and on, and multiply to the point of demoralization.

For the Sixers, cruel twists intervened in the last quarter-minute of Game Two. Up by five and seemingly in the clear even with Joel Embiid hobbled by injury, they found themselves grasping for air after surrendering a three by Jalen Brunson — to that juncture an atrocious seven of 28 from the field — that looked short and yet somehow bounced forward into the rim. They then turned the ball over after a poor inbounds pass and allowed Donte DiVin-cenco two open tries from behind the arc. The second was good, all but ensuring the outcome.

For the Lakers, evident fatigue creeped in after the halftime break. The Nuggets, down by as high as 20 early in the third period, made full use of the mile-high altitude at the Ball Arena to mount a comeback that ultimately re-sulted in a last-second game winner from otherwise-misfiring Jamal Murray. The bowed heads of the purple and gold as they left the court and trekked to the locker room told the tale; they played well enough to cast moist eyes on a series tie, only to falter amid the self-assured gait of their longtime foils. The turn of events will, no doubt, weigh heavily on them as they prepare to host the defending champions at Crypto.com Arena. At 10 straight losses and counting, they are hard-pressed to come up with something — anything — to have the higher number in a final score.

Considering the razor-thin margins by which the Sixers and Lakers lost, it’s no wonder they lamented the state of the officiating in the aftermath; already with their hands full, the last thing they want is an iffy whistle. Unfortu-nately, hindsight provides no respite from the Sisyphean nature of the task at hand. And, certainly, they need to stay focused on their imperatives. They cannot keep on looking back with regret. There are still challenges left to overcome, and though their work is much harder now than it was when the first round began, they also know that success becomes sweeter the harder it is to carve.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Musk decries Australian court ‘censorship’ of terror video posts on X

FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, France, June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

SYDNEY — Elon Musk lashed out at Australia’s prime minister (PM) on Tuesday after a court ordered his social media company X to take down footage of an alleged terrorist attack in Sydney, and said the ruling meant any country could control “the entire internet.”

At a hearing overnight, Australia’s Federal Court ordered X, formerly called Twitter, to temporarily hide posts showing video of the incident a week earlier, in which a teenager was charged with terrorism for knifing an Assyrian priest and others.

X said it had already blocked the posts from Australian users, but Australia’s e-Safety Commissioner had said the content should be taken down since it showed explicit violence.

“Does the PM think he should have jurisdiction over all of Earth?” Mr. Musk wrote in a post, referring to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The billionaire, who bought X in 2022 with a declared mission to save free speech, posted a meme on the platform that showed X stood for “free speech and truth” while other social media platforms represented “censorship and propaganda.”

Mr. Musk also wrote that “if ANY country is allowed to censor content for ALL countries, which is what the Australian ‘eSafety Commissar’ is demanding, then what is to stop any country from controlling the entire internet?”

The pushback by the world’s third-richest person sets up a new front in the battle between the world’s largest internet platforms and countries and nonprofits seeking more oversight of the content hosted on them.

Last month, a US judge threw out a lawsuit by X against the hate speech watchdog, Center for Countering Digital Hate. In Australia, the e-Safety Commissioner fined X A$610,500 last year for failing to cooperate with a probe on anti-child abuse practices; X is fighting that penalty in court.

Albanese hit back at Mr. Musk, saying the country would “do what’s necessary to take on this arrogant billionaire who thinks he’s above the law, but also above common decency.”

“The idea that someone would go to court for the right to put up violent content on a platform shows how out-of-touch Mr. Musk is,” Mr. Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Spokespeople for X and the e-Safety Commissioner were not immediately available for comment.

Although Mr. Musk wrote in another post that X had “blocked the content in question for Australian IP addresses,” the video could be seen on the platform by a Reuters journalist in Australia. A far-right senator also reposted the video on his X account.

On Tuesday, Facebook and Instagram owner Meta said it had used “internal tools” to detect and block copies of videos of the church attack and an unrelated, deadly stabbing at a shopping mall in Sydney two days earlier.

Meta said it was removing posts containing “any glorification or praise” of the incidents.

Alice Dawkins, executive director of internet policy non-profit Reset.Tech Australia, said Mr. Musk’s comments fit “the company’s chaotic and negligent approach to the most basic user safety considerations that under previous leadership, the platform used to take seriously.” — Reuters

US to take aim at Chinese banks aiding Russia war effort — WSJ

A RUSSIAN FLAG flies with the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin in the background in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 27, 2019. — REUTERS

The U.S. is drafting sanctions that threaten to cut some Chinese banks off from the global financial system, which officials hope will stop Beijing’s commercial support of Russia’s military production, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

As Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits China this week, the question is whether this potent financial threat can dent the China-Russia trade enabling Moscow to rebuild its military after losses in Ukraine, the report says.

Blinken on Friday criticized Chinese support for Russia’s defense industry, saying Beijing was the primary contributor to Moscow’s war in Ukraine through its provision of critical components for weaponry.

In recent weeks, U.S. officials have intensified pressure on China, warning Washington stands ready to take action against Chinese financial institutions facilitating trade in goods that have both civilian and military applications.

The People’s Bank of China and the National Financial Regulatory Administration, China’s top banking regulator, didn’t immediately reply to Reuters’ requests for comments.

China and Russia have fostered more trade in yuan instead of dollar in the wake of the Ukraine war, an effort that could shield their economies from potential escalating U.S. sanctions. — Reuters

Prosecutors say Trump corrupted 2016 election

NEW YORK — New York prosecutors said on the first day of Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial that the former president broke the law and corrupted the 2016 election by trying to cover up sexual encounters with a porn star and a Playboy model, while his defense lawyer said he committed no crime.

Jurors in the historic trial also heard briefly from the prosecution’s first witness: former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who prosecutors say participated in a “catch and kill” scheme to suppress unflattering stories about Mr. Trump and help him get elected.

In the first-ever trial of a former US president, Mr. Trump is charged with falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she says they had 10 years earlier. Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies the encounter took place.

Prosecutors portrayed the payment as a criminal effort to deceive voters at a time when Mr. Trump was facing other accusations of crude sexual behavior.

“This was a planned, coordinated, long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election, to help Donald Trump get elected through illegal expenditures to silence people who had something bad to say about his behavior,” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said. “It was election fraud, pure and simple.”

Mr. Colangelo told the jury that they would hear Mr. Trump working out the details of the scheme in recorded conversations and see an extensive paper trail to back up the testimony of witnesses.

Mr. Trump’s lawyer told the jury that the former president did not commit any crimes and said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg should not have brought the case.

“There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It’s called democracy. They put something sinister on this idea, as if it’s a crime,” Mr. Trump lawyer Todd Blanche said.

Wearing a blue tie and dark blue suit, the Republican presidential candidate watched the court proceedings and occasionally spoke to his lawyer. A Secret Service agent wearing an earpiece sat directly behind him.

The lawyers made their opening statements in what may be the only one of Trump’s four criminal prosecutions to go to trial before his Nov. 5 election rematch with Democratic President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

The case is seen by many legal experts as the least consequential of the Trump prosecutions, based on facts that have been public since 2018. A guilty verdict would not bar him from taking office, but it could hurt his candidacy.

Reuters/Ipsos polling shows half of independent voters and one in four Republicans say they would not vote for Mr. Trump if he is convicted of a crime.

Before proceedings got under way, Mr. Trump called on his supporters to peacefully protest nationwide, but few greeted him when he arrived at the downtown Manhattan courthouse. Mr. Trump blamed security restrictions for the poor turnout, though the surrounding streets were open to the public.

Mr. Trump faces three other criminal indictments stemming from his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House in 2021.

Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty in those cases, and he portrays all of them as a broad-based effort by Mr. Biden’s Democratic allies to undercut his campaign.

With the 2024 election campaign in full swing, Mr. Trump now must juggle courtroom appearances and rallies.

34 CRIMINAL COUNTS
Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors say he falsified checks and invoices to disguise $420,000 in payments to his personal lawyer Michael Cohen as legal services, when in fact they were meant to reimburse him for paying off Ms. Daniels.

Mr. Colangelo said those payments were part of a broader pattern by Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen and Mr. Pecker to tamp down other unflattering stories and help him defeat Democrat Hillary R. Clinton.

According to prosecutors, Mr. Pecker agreed during an August 2015 meeting with Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen to act as the campaign’s “eyes and ears” by looking out for negative stories about Mr. Trump.

“Pecker was not acting as a publisher, he was acting as a co-conspirator,” Mr. Colangelo said.

Mr. Pecker has not been charged with a crime.

American Media, which published the National Enquirer, in 2018 admitted that it paid $150,000 to former Playboy magazine model Karen McDougal for rights to her story about a months-long affair with Mr. Trump in 2006 and 2007. American Media said it worked “in concert” with Mr. Trump’s campaign, and it never published a story.

The tabloid reached a similar deal to pay $30,000 to a doorman who was seeking to sell a story about Mr. Trump allegedly fathering a child out of wedlock, which turned out to be false, according to prosecutors.

Mr. Trump has said the payments were personal and did not violate election law. He has also denied the affair with Ms. McDougal.

Mr. Cohen’s credibility as a witness is likely to be a crucial aspect of the trial, which could last six to eight weeks. He has pleaded guilty and served prison time on federal campaign-finance charges related to his role in the scheme.

“He has a goal — an obsession — with getting Mr. Trump,” Mr. Blanche said, adding that Mr. Cohen had lied under oath in other cases. “I submit to you that he cannot be trusted.”

Mr. Trump has criticized Mr. Cohen and others involved in the case, including prosecutors, Justice Juan Merchan and his daughter.

Mr. Merchan has imposed a limited gag order and will consider on Tuesday whether to penalize Mr. Trump for violating that order.

On Monday evening, Mr. Trump said in an interview to Real America’s Voice that the jury “was picked so fast” and that the area was mostly Democrat. — Reuters

Asia is most climate disaster-impacted region, UN meteorological agency says

MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL PROVINCIAL POLICE

GENEVA – Asia was the world’s most disaster-hit region by climate related hazards last year, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said, with floods and storms causing the highest number of casualties.

In a report published on Tuesday, WMO said that 79 disasters linked to hydro-meteorological events had been reported in Asia in 2023. More than 80% of these were related to floods and storms that caused more than 2,000 deaths.

“Many countries in the region experienced their hottest year on record in 2023, along with a barrage of extreme conditions, from droughts and heatwaves to floods and storms,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

“Climate change exacerbated the frequency and severity of such events.”

Asia is warming faster than the global average, according to WMO. Last year, high average temperatures were recorded from western Siberia to central Asia, as well as from eastern China to Japan.

The report also highlighted that most glaciers in the high-mountain region in Asia had lost significant mass because of record-breaking high temperatures and dry conditions. – Reuters

US sues to block merger of Coach and Michael Kors handbag makers

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coach_New_Logo.svg

THE US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday sued to block Coach parent Tapestry’s $8.5-billion deal to buy Michael Kors owner Capri, saying it would eliminate “direct head-to-head competition” between the flagship brands of the two luxury handbag makers.

In a statement, the FTC said the tie-up, which would create a company with about 33,000 employees worldwide, could reduce wages and employee benefits.

“The proposed merger threatens to deprive millions of American consumers of the benefits of Tapestry and Capri’s head-to-head competition, which includes competition on price, discounts and promotions, innovation, design, marketing and advertising,” the FTC said.

The FTC’s rare antitrust challenge against a high-end fashion merger could set a precedent for luxury deal regulation, several antitrust lawyers said.

In an interview with Reuters, Tapestry CEO Joanne Crevoiserat said the company was “proud of the wages and benefits” it offers to employees and that the competition for talent goes beyond just the fashion industry.

“We see the FTC as fundamentally misunderstanding the marketplace and the way consumers shop today as well as the impact of this deal on employees and workers in our industry,” Ms. Crevoiserat said.

“We source talent and lose talent to a vast array of competitors,” she added.

The US luxury market is highly fragmented with several differentiated brands catering to a wide range of consumers, antitrust experts said, arguing that legacy fashion brands typically face healthy competition from labels launched every year.

“The FTC’s decision to sue is surprising because there’s no shortage of competition for fashion, apparel and accessories. The commission has latched onto a marketing term — ‘accessible luxury’ — and treats it like a unique market that exists in a vacuum,” said Howard Hogan, chair of the fashion, retail and consumer practice at law firm Gibson Dunn.

NEW GUIDELINES
US antitrust enforcers issued new merger guidelines in December to encourage fair, open and competitive markets.

Antitrust lawyers noted that the FTC is using a new tactic under the guidelines by arguing that the merger would directly affect hourly workers who may lose out on higher wages due to reduced competition for employees.

“The revised federal merger guidelines outlined that potential effects on labor like lowering wages or work conditions is a basis to challenge a merger, so that is a newer trend. It’s not surprising since the agencies announced they’d do that but it is something new to test in court,” said Jennifer Lada, litigation attorney at Holland & Knight.

Tapestry had offered to buy Capri in August, hoping to create a US fashion behemoth that could effectively battle bigger European rivals such as Louis Vuitton parent LVMH and potentially win more share in the global luxury market.

But the FTC requested more information from the firms on their deal in November.

“Capri Holdings strongly disagrees with the FTC’s decision,” the company said in a statement. “The market realities, which the government’s challenge ignores, overwhelmingly demonstrate that this transaction will not limit, reduce, or constrain competition.”

Earlier in April, the companies received regulatory clearance from the European Union and Japan for their deal, which would bring top luxury labels such as Kate Spade and Jimmy Choo under one roof.

While investors are skeptical of the deal winning approval, most analysts expect the deal to close before Aug. 10, the deadline for the two companies to complete the transaction. Capri’s stock closed at $37.96 on Monday, well below the $57-per-share price Tapestry has offered to pay.

 

“In our view, we do not believe consumers would be harmed with a combination given the competitive nature of the category and varying degrees of cultural relevance,” analysts at TD Cowen wrote in a note earlier in April. — Reuters

Filipinos can now use Globe Rewards to redeem Singlife insurance

Globe subscribers can leverage their hard-earned Globe Rewards points to access Singlife's comprehensive 3-in-1 Protection Plan.

Globe Telecom and Singlife Philippines, a mobile-first life insurer, are igniting a revolution in rewards redemption with a groundbreaking partnership.

This historic collaboration empowers millions of Filipinos to unlock healthcare protection with just a few taps on their mobile phones. With this partnership, Globe subscribers can leverage their hard-earned Globe Rewards points to access Singlife’s comprehensive 3-in-1 Protection Plan.

Democratizing healthcare access for a healthier nation

Previously costing 50 points, the 3-in-1 Protection Plan is now dramatically more affordable, requiring only 5 Globe Rewards points. This shift in accessibility empowers Filipinos nationwide to prioritize their well-being and build a financial safety net against unforeseen medical emergencies due to Dengue, COVID-19 and accidents.

Expanding reach, elevating rewards

“At Singlife, we are driven by a relentless pursuit of empowering Filipinos to not only dream of a healthier future but actively build it. This groundbreaking partnership with Globe Telecom is a monumental leap forward. By leveraging the vast reach of Globe and dramatically reducing the cost of essential healthcare protection, we are unlocking a healthier future for millions of Filipinos,” says Sherie Ng, executive director of Singlife Philippines.

“This is more than just a rewards program; it’s a social movement that dismantles barriers and paves the way for a nation where financial security and physical well-being go hand-in-hand.”

Jerome Patalud, head of Globe Rewards, adds: “This collaboration with Singlife elevates the value of your Globe Rewards points. Now, our subscribers can unlock valuable and affordable financial protection plans for themselves and their families with just 5 Globe Rewards points—no cash out, no paperwork required. This is a truly unique offering made possible through our partnership with Singlife.”

Empowering a healthier future for all Filipinos

This groundbreaking collaboration between Singlife and Globe Telecom demonstrates the power of collaboration in democratizing access to essential services.

Globe customers can redeem their Singlife 3-in-1 Protection Plan using their Globe rewards points until May 15 through the Globe One App.

To see how easy it is to claim your 3-in-1 Protection Plan using Globe rewards points, watch this video.

To learn more about Singlife Philippines, visit www.singlife.com.ph or view the products on GCash under GInsure.

 

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