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Sunday’s Oscars viewership hits four-year high on ABC

—WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

LOS ANGELES — Sunday’s Oscars telecast that honored atomic bomb drama Oppenheimer reached a four-year high in viewership with an average audience of roughly 19.5 million on ABC, the Walt Disney-owned network said on Monday.

The audience grew 4% from last year, when 18.8 million people watched the film industry’s highest honors.

Oppenheimer, the blockbuster biopic about the race to build the first atomic bomb, won seven awards on Sunday, including best picture.

On social media, the Oscars ranked as the No. 1 program on Sunday night, generating 28.5 million interactions, also roughly 4% above last year, ABC said.

The #Oscars hashtag was the top trending topic in the United States on X throughout the telecast, and the most-used hashtag on X worldwide on Sunday, the network added.

Jimmy Kimmel returned to host the ceremony, and the show earned generally positive reviews. The festivities started an hour earlier than usual, a move designed to capture more viewers.

“It turns out that great wins, emotional speeches, Ryan Gosling singing, and John Cena getting naked are all you need to produce a great Academy Awards ceremony,” wrote Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast.

The show celebrated two of last year’s highest-grossing films, Oppenheimer and feminist doll adventure Barbie. It featured memorable musical numbers, including Mr. Gosling dressed in hot pink to perform “I’m Just Ken,” and comedy bits such as John Cena’s appearing naked to present best costume design.

Viewership of many awards ceremonies has dropped in recent years as audiences have ditched traditional television for streaming and social media.

The highest-rated Academy Awards telecast was in 1998, when megahit Titanic swept the honors. More than 57 million people tuned in that year.

In 2021, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oscar ratings hit their low point with 10.5 million viewers. — Reuters

Liquid Death valued at $1.4B in new financing round

A WATER BRAND with a popular social media following is now a billion-dollar company. Los Angeles-based Liquid Death has raised new capital that values the startup at $1.4 billion, double its $700 million valuation in 2022.

The business has seen its momentum continue with newer categories such as iced tea and flavored waters, Chief Executive Officer Mike Cessario said in an interview.

Liquid Death raised $67 million in capital from strategic investors such as distribution partners, as well as from actor Josh Brolin, National Football League player DeAndre Hopkins and Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., which sells the products at its concert venues. SuRo Capital, Science, Inc. and Gray’s Creek Capital Partners also participated.

The funding will go toward product development, including new flavors for its product lines. Liquid Death, which launched its iced tea last year, has already climbed to the top spot for bottled iced tea sales on Amazon.com, according to the company’s website.

Mr. Cessario said the flavored water products have also gained significant early traction and the group recently introduced flavored drinking powders under the Death Dust name. 

The company attributes much of its sales growth to its marketing, counting 7.9 million followers across TikTok and Instagram.

“If you have a valuable brand, it means that people have a reason to care about you beyond the small functional difference,” Mr. Cessario said.

He said the company initially was inspired by beer brands. “There’s no reason that only beer is allowed to look cool and do funny things,” he said.

When it comes to a liquidity event, such as an initial public offering or a sale of the company, Mr. Cessario said, “We want optionality.” At the moment, the company is “not focused on any specific outcome,” he added.

Liquid Death is “laser focused on profitability and profitable growth.” — Bloomberg News

France plans measures to lure private equity, bankers

PARIS — France wants to make it easier for private equity funds to invest in listed companies and less costly for finance firms to let go of traders, part of a new push to make Paris more appealing for financial services, a lawmaker said on Monday.

France has been trying to lure high-paying finance jobs to the French capital since Britain’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union, and it has had some success.

Between 2017 and 2022, more than 7,000 jobs were created in the sector, according to a draft of a new bill, which was released on Monday and will go to parliament next month.

Wall Street banks including Bank of America, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, as well as European banks such as Barclays, are among those that have expanded their headcount in France.

Notably, the new bill aims to make an exception under French law, which is generally highly protective of employees, for dismissing highly paid traders so that their severance packages are less costly for their employers.

That exception had been sought by some US banks which say potential layoff costs have made it harder to expand headcount of very senior staff in Paris, industry sources told Reuters.

Some bankers, however, are doubtful that the exception will make it into the final legislation because it could be deemed to go against the principle of equality in the French constitution, the sources said previously.

Lawmaker Alexander Holroyd, a member of President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling party, acknowledged on Monday that it would be far from easy to make legislation singling out certain employees for exceptional legal treatment, but said the measure targeted traders at banks and hedge funds as well as commodity and energy trading companies.

Outlining the bill, Mr. Holroyd said that French law needed to be adapted for companies to secure more financing while making Paris a more attractive financial hub. 

For private equity firms, the bill would allow them to invest in French firms with a market capitalization of up to €500 million ($547 million), raised from a limit of €150 million currently.

That potentially meant private equity could invest in 88 more French firms than currently, Mr. Holroyd said.

The bill would also introduce multi-voting rights as part of initial public offerings on the Paris stock exchange, following in the footsteps of London and Amsterdam.

Among other measures, the bill aims to ease rules for raising fresh capital to better align French law with norms in some other European countries and the United States.

“Europe’s true existential problem is how we finance our economy,” Mr. Holroyd told journalists. “If we are able to resolve this problem, we will attract investors.”

Other proposed changes in the new bill include giving companies more leeway in setting the price when they seek to raise fresh capital, a measure sought by startups in particular, and reducing the paperwork for banks in trade finance. — Reuters

SEC approves P7.9-B IPO of OceanaGold’s PHL unit

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the P7.88-billion initial public offering (IPO) of the Philippine unit of Australian-Canadian mining company OceanaGold Corp.

In a statement on Tuesday, the SEC said the commission en banc has cleared the registration statement of OceanaGold Philippines, Inc. (OGPI) covering 2.28 billion common shares during a March 12 meeting, subject to the company’s compliance with certain remaining requirements.

OGPI’s IPO will consist of up to 456 million common shares owned by selling shareholder OceanaGold Philippines Holdings, Inc. (OGPHI) at up to P17.28 per share.

The IPO is expected to generate P7.8 billion worth of net proceeds, which will go directly to OGPHI.

OceanaGold Corp. will not receive any proceeds from the offer.

The offer period will be from April 22 to 26, with listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange set for May 7, based on the timetable submitted by OceanaGold Corp.

OceanaGold Corp. selected BDO Capital & Investment Corp. as the domestic underwriter and bookrunner for the offer, while CLSA Limited will serve as international underwriter.

OGPI, a unit of OceanaGold Corp., operates the Didipio gold and copper mine in Nueva Vizcaya under a financial or technical assistance agreement with the government. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Beyond and within borders: PHL’s participation in the BEPS Inclusive Framework may need reconsidering

FREEPIK

As digital technologies evolve and reshape the global economy, they pose increasingly complex taxation challenges. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) seeks to address these tax challenges through the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) 2.0 project, the Two-Pillar Approach: Pillar One (re-allocation of taxing rights) and Pillar Two (global minimum taxation). The Two-Pillar Approach aims to ensure that profits are subject to taxation in locations where economic activities occur and value is created to promote equitable distribution of taxing rights among countries.

Under Pillar One, the largest Multinational Entities (MNEs) that have at least €20 billion in revenue are to re-allocate some taxing rights from their home countries to the markets where they have business activities and earn profits, regardless of whether firms there have a physical presence there. This will thus ensure a fairer distribution of profits and taxing rights among countries. The key elements of Pillar One can be grouped into three components:

• A new taxing right for market jurisdictions over a share of residual profit calculated at a MNEs group (or segment) level (Amount A).

• A fixed return for defined baseline marketing and distribution activities taking place physically in a market jurisdiction, in line with the arm’s length principle (Amount B).

• Improved tax certainty processes to improve tax certainty through innovative dispute prevention and dispute resolution mechanisms (Tax certainty component).

On the other hand, Pillar Two introduces a Global Anti-Base Erosion Rule wherein a 15% global minimum effective tax rate (ETR) is imposed to MNEs with Group Revenues of over €750 million in each country in which they operate. It ensures that large internationally operating businesses pay a minimum level of tax regardless of where they are headquartered or the jurisdictions they operate in. Additionally, this rule is complemented by the Undertaxed Payments Rule, Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax, Subject to Tax rule, and Switch-over rule.

On November 8, 2023, the Philippines joined the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS, among others, on allocation of taxation rights on cross-border/digital economy transactions meeting certain established thresholds (Pillar One Commitment) by undertaking to work on and adopt appropriate legislation consistent with the BEPS framework.

Notably, it is interesting how the Philippines’ participation in the BEPS Inclusive Framework will affect registered business enterprises who could fall under defined MNEs under BEPS. In 2021, the Philippine government granted tax incentives pursuant to its passage of the CREATE (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises) Act. Registered Business Enterprises (RBEs) are offered tax incentives to attract foreign investment considering that the Philippines is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The incentives include an income tax holiday (ITH), to be followed by a 10-year 5% special corporate income tax (SCIT) on gross income earned for export enterprises or enhanced deductions (ED) for both export and domestic market enterprises.

Thus, if the Philippines adopts the Pillar Two Commitment, the offered tax incentives through CREATE Act may, in a sense, lose its significance for the affected RBEs. Under Pillar Two, affected RBEs will have to pay top-up taxes if their Effective Tax Rate falls below 15%. On the other hand, if this is implemented, Philippines will have its share of the allocation of the top-up taxes.

Certainly, while the objectives of the Two-Pillar Approach is laudable from a global perspective, it may be best that its implementation be aligned with the country’s policy and objectives of encouraging foreign investments and trade in the Philippines, especially at this time when it is still recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. This article is for general informational and educational purposes only and not offered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.

 

Kaye Geozen T. Ebuengan is an associate of the Tax department of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala Cruz Law Offices.

(02) 8830-8000

ktebuengan@accralaw.com

Vinyl revival rocks Britain’s inflation basket

LONDON — Vinyl records will re-enter Britain’s inflation charts for the first time in 32 years this month, as part of the annual shake-up of the basket of goods and services used to calculate the pace of price rises.

The change in the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) inflation basket offers a snapshot of shifts in Britons’ tastes and needs.

“Often the basket reflects the adoption of new technology, but the return of vinyl records shows how cultural revivals can affect our spending,” ONS statistician Matt Corder said.

Records return to the inflation basket for the first time since 1992, joining compact discs, music streaming subscriptions and digital downloads after a resurgence in demand for more tangible forms of music.

Leaving the basket this year is hand sanitizer, as the ONS reported “a vast reduction in shelf space dedicated to this product as demand has fallen since the pandemic.”

Hot rotisserie chickens also left the basket, as some supermarkets discontinued the product in favor of freshly cooked chicken thighs and legs for the lunchtime food market.

Joining the basket are air fryers — small countertop electric ovens that aim to replace a deep-fat fryer, minus the oil — which the ONS said had seen a 30% rise in demand between 2021 and 2022.

Other signs of a trend towards healthier or more fastidious eating include the addition of sprayable cooking oil, rice cakes and gluten-free bread.

In total, the ONS added 16 items and removed 15 from the basket of 744 different goods and services. — Reuters

US-based brain-implant companies create group to support nascent industry

UNSPLASH

MAJOR implanted brain-computer interface companies are creating an industry group to address issues facing the nascent field as it tries to build confidence among patients, regulators and the general public.

The Implanted Brain Computer-Interface Collaborative Community, or iBCI-CC, also includes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a member, according to an announcement on Monday. The FDA regulates medical devices, including brain implants.

The iBCI-CC will work on topics ranging from interoperability to ethics to data privacy, according to its website, subjects that have taken on new urgency as the field grows closer to commercialization. Earlier this year, Elon Musk said that Neuralink Corp. — a startup he co-founded — had implanted a device in a human patient. Synchron, Inc., meanwhile, has several devices in human brains.

One key area issue is deciding on the objectives of the technology, said Paradromics, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Matt Angle. When it’s meant to improve a patient’s communication, for instance, “how do you know it’s working well enough?” he said. “Is it words per minute? Is it how happy the patient is?”

Paradromics plans to join the group, he said. And he expects Neuralink, Blackrock Neurotech, Precision Neuroscience Corp. and Synchron to sign onto the endeavor as well, Mr. Angle said. Patient advocates and ethicists are also part of the initiative, according to the announcement.

The group came together after key players in the field met last year at a conference hosted by the US Commerce Department, Mr. Angle said.

Neurologist Leigh Hochberg — principal investigator at BrainGate, a consortium working on an implanted BCI system — is a key organizer, along with neurotechnology patient advocate Jennifer French and BostonGene Chief Scientific Officer Joe Lennerz. Health care provider Mass General Brigham convened the group. — Bloomberg News

How PSEi member stocks performed — March 12, 2024

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, March 12, 2024.

Philippine Merchandise Trade Performance (January 2024)

THE PHILIPPINES’ trade deficit in goods narrowed sharply in January, as exports returned to positive territory while imports growth contracted, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday. Read the full story.

 

Philippine Merchandise Trade Performance (January 2024)

PHL shares rebound as investors buy bargains

BW FILE PHOTO

PHILIPPINE SHARES recovered on Tuesday on bargain hunting and following foreign direct investments (FDI) data for December and full-year 2023.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.1% or 7.35 points to end at 6,879.59, while the broader all shares index climbed by 0.15% or 5.59 points to close at 3,580.31.

“The local bourse inched up by 7.35 points (0.1%) to 6,879.59 as investors hunted for bargains. Many also cheered the December 2023 FDI figures which posted a 29.9% year-on-year surge in net inflows,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research and Engagement Officer Mikhail Philippe Q. Plopenio said in a Viber message.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed FDI net inflows dropped by 6.6% to $8.9 billion last year from $9.5 billion in 2022.

Despite the annual decline, FDI net inflows exceeded the BSP’s projection of $8 billion for the full year.

In December alone, FDI net inflows jumped by 30% to $826 million from $636 million in the same month in 2022.

Month on month, it was 29.9% lower than the $1.056 billion in November.

“Still the market closed with trimmed gains, implying that investors are being cautious ahead of the US inflation data,” Mr. Plopenio added.

“The market is still on… and consolidation in light of a hawkish Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and jitters ahead of US consumer inflation data for last month,” First Metro Investment Corp. Head of Research Cristina S. Ulang likewise said in a Viber message.

February US consumer price index (CPI) data were set to be released overnight.

US CPI increased 0.3% in January after gaining 0.2% in December. In the 12 months through January, the CPI increased 3.1% after rising by 3.4% in December.

Majority of the market’s sectoral indices closed higher on Tuesday, led by services, which rose by 2.04% or 36.65 points to 1,831.02. Holding firms climbed by 0.13% or 8.85 points to 6,598.95; property went up by 0.11% or 3.08 points to 2,770.55; and mining and oil increased by 0.03% or 2.60 points to 8,324.07.

Meanwhile, financials dropped by 1.07% or 21.75 points to 1,996.05, and industrials fell by 0.07% or 6.75 points to 9,024.13.

“Among the index members, PLDT, Inc. achieved the top spot, jumping by 6.3% while Wilcon Depot, Inc. was at the bottom, losing 4.06%,” Mr. Plopenio said.

Value turnover rose to P5.53 billion on Tuesday with 945.76 million issues changing hands from P3.76 billion with 507.92 million shares traded on Monday.

Advancers beat decliners, 109 against 72, while 54 names were unchanged.

Net foreign buying stood at P348.86 million on Tuesday versus the P277.68 million in net selling recorded on Monday. — R.M.D. Ochave

Peso climbs to three-month high

BW FILE PHOTO

THE PESO climbed to a three-month high against the dollar on Tuesday on expectations of softer US consumer price index (CPI) data for February.

The local unit closed at P55.31 per dollar on Tuesday, strengthening by six centavos from its P55.37 finish on Monday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

This was the peso’s strongest close in more than three months or since its P55.30-per-dollar finish on Dec. 7.

The peso opened Tuesday’s session weaker at P55.42 against the dollar. Its worst showing was at P55.51, while its intraday best was at P55.30 versus the greenback.

Dollars exchanged rose to $1.13 billion on Tuesday from $1.09 billion on Monday.

“The peso strengthened ahead of a likely softer US consumer inflation report overnight,” a trader said in an e-mail.

The dollar was also mostly weaker ahead of the US CPI release as it could affect the US Federal Reserve’s next move, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

For Wednesday, the trader sees the peso moving between P55.15 and P55.40 per dollar, while Mr. Ricafort sees it ranging from P55.25 to P55.45. — AMCS

Philippines says it spotted 50 Chinese ships within EEZ in South China Sea

SCREENGRAB FROM PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD FACEBOOK PAGE

THE PHILIPPINE military on Tuesday said it had spotted about 50 Chinese vessels within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea, many of them surrounding the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

Five Coast Guard ships, 18 maritime militia vessels and 10 fishing boats from China were seen near the shoal, which is a traditional fishing ground, AFP spokesperson Francel Margareth Padilla told a news briefing, citing monitoring data as of 4 p.m. on March 11.

Six Chinese fishing vessels and one coast guard ship were spotted at Second Thomas Shoal, and one coast guard ship and six fishing boats near Thitu Island, she added.

Ms. Padilla said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) would continue its rotation and resupply mission to all features in the western section of the country’s exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.
After the rotation and resupply mission at Patag and Lawak stations on Feb. 18 to 21, the military’s Western Command [conducted] another mission at Rizal Reef and Likas station on March 3 to 6, she said.
“The next rotation and resupply at Pag-asa (Thitu), Kota, Panatag and Parola will be conducted in the first week of April,” she added.

The Philippine vessels were part of a regular mission to deliver food and other supplies to Filipino troops stationed at a grounded World War II-era ship at Second Thomas Shoal.

China, which claims more than 80% of the South China Sea, has ignored a 2016 ruling by a United Nations-backed tribunal that voided the claim for being illegal.

Last week, two Chinese Coast Guard and four maritime militia vessels harassed and blocked Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel BRP Malabrigo while it was en route to Scarborough Shoal, Raymond M. Powell, a fellow at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said in an X post.

The Chinese ships “repeatedly employed dangerous swarming and bow-crossing maneuvers over 21 hours starting after midnight 7 March,” he added.

At least four Philippine Navy officers were injured early this month after China’s coast guard fired water cannons at one of two wooden civilian boats used in a resupply mission for Filipino troops at a remote outpost in the South China Sea, according to the Philippine National Security Council.

The water cannons from two Chinese Coast Guard vessels shattered the windshield of Unaizah Mae 4, causing minor injuries to at least four personnel on board, it said.

It also accused a Chinese coast guard vessel of executing “dangerous maneuvers” against the escort ship, leading to a minor collision that resulted in “superficial structural damage” to the hull of the Philippine Coast Guard vessel.

The incident happened while President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. was in Melbourne for a three-day summit between Australia and Southeast Asian nations. On March 4, he vowed to push back if China continues to violate Philippine sovereignty and sea rights.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Navy said it is set to take delivery of two guided missile corvettes being built at the HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea.

“The first corvette will be coming in during the second semester of next year,” navy spokesman John Percie Alcos told the same briefing.

They have been training officers who will man the new ship, he said.

Mr. Marcos told Australia’s Parliament on Feb. 29 he would not allow any foreign power to take “one square inch” of the country’s territory, and that Manila was firm in defending its sovereignty.

“I will not allow any attempt by any foreign power to take even one square inch of our sovereign territory,” he said in a speech.

Australia and the Philippines started their first joint sea and air patrols in the South China Sea in November, aimed at countering an increasingly assertive China, which claims the entire sea as its own.

The South China Sea is a conduit for more than $3 trillion (P168.5 trillion) worth of ship-borne commerce each year and is a major source of tension between the Philippines and China. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

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