Globe’s real estate platform plans more features to help boost sales

January 9, 2024 | 12:01 am

GLOBE Telecom, Inc. announced on Monday that its corporate venture builder 917Ventures is expanding its Housify real estate management platform to help brokers increase sales.

“In partnering with Housify, our objective is to provide brokers with the necessary tools to streamline their workflows and establish more efficient processes, enabling them to capitalize on sales opportunities,” said Ina Jacinto-Gervasio, Housify entrepreneur-in-residence at 917Ventures, in a media release on Monday.

Housify, a real estate marketplace and proptech (property technology) startup under 917Ventures, is set to introduce a new platform feature by integrating customer relationship management, offering brokers and realtors a “more efficient way to manage leads and convert them to sales.”

This year, the company anticipates onboarding over 2,000 brokers and realtors, driven by increased interest in the real estate sector due to the shift to hybrid work setups and improved financial habits.

Housify will also implement several enhancements on its platform, allowing users to effectively manage their portfolios.

To recall, 917Ventures is targeting to build generative artificial intelligence products as Globe taps into more technologies for its telco-to-techno strategy.

Globe’s telco-to-techno strategy refers to its plan to enter financial technology, health technology, educational technology, climate technology, shared services, investments, and entertainment.

At the stock exchange on Monday, shares in the company declined by P6 or 0.35% to end at P1,720 apiece. — A.E.O. Jose

Entertainment News (01/09/24)

January 9, 2024 | 12:01 am

1 of 4

Former King & Prince members reunite on new single

FORMER members of the J-pop group King & Prince have reunited to form a new music trio, Number_I. Composed of Sho Hirano, Yuta Jinguji, and Yuta Kishi, the group is under the TOBE record label. Number_I have released their first digital single, “GOAT.” It is now available on various streaming platforms, along with a music video unveiled on the official Number_I YouTube channel.

Robinsons opens luxury cinema in NUSTAR Cebu

Cinema operator Robinsons Movieworld has opened the NUSTAR Premier Cinema in Cebu, the first luxury cinema in the Visayas. With a Dolby Atmos digital surround sound system and Christie Digital Laser projection on a 15×6 meter screen, the cinema will have state-of-the-art technology and amenities, including fully reclining leather seats. It accommodates private screenings and allows moviegoers premium food and beverage choices from partner Nustar Resort and Mall outlets.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom returns to cinemas

Jason Momoa returns to Philippine cinemas as the King of Atlantis. After a two-week break from most local cinemas during the Metro Manila Film Festival, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom returned to the big screen on Jan. 8. The James Wan-directed superhero sequel, which also stars Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Kidman, and Amber Heard, has so far grossed more than $255 million at the global box office. It is now showing in cinemas nationwide.

GMA Public Affairs premieres revenge series Makiling

To kick off 2024, GMA Public Affairs is presenting a mystery and revenge series, Makiling, airing weekdays starting Jan. 8. Headlined by Elle Villanueva and Derrick Monasterio, the show tells the story of a provincial lass struggling to pay off her family’s debts by working in Manila. There, she finds herself the unfortunate target of a group of rich, powerful, and sadistic bullies that eventually drive her to seek vengeance for all the suffering that they caused. It airs on GMA on weekdays at 4 p.m., while those abroad can catch it via GMA Pinoy TV.

Animé Synduality Noir returns with new episodes

After ending part one with a cliffhanger, Synduality Noir has returned with new episodes starting Jan. 8. Set in the year 2242, the animé series follows a group of humans forced deep underground in the wake of a terrible catastrophe known as the “Tears of the New Moon” incident. They are pushed to the surface when a threat known as the Enders arrive, looking to kill any humans they can discover. The series is now streaming on Disney+.

Gen Z real estate agents really want to sell you a house

January 9, 2024 | 12:01 am

Woman house buyer-bloomberg — A prospective buyer attends an open house at a home in San Francisco, California. — MICHAELA VATCHEVA/BLOOMBERG

AS FAR as jobs go, being a real estate agent looked like a no-brainer for Gen Z.

It was the height of the pandemic-era asset boom and home prices were heading “to the moon.” Buyers were moving fast, sometimes paying cash for properties sight unseen, and TikTok was flooded with tips about how to flip and sell properties. Gen Z’s digital know-how set them apart.

But just as the newest crop of real estate agents was settling into the business, the broader market — as well as the industry at large — got walloped by surging mortgage rates that froze the market and fueled layoffs at brokerages in 2023. Now, the industry’s new generation is in a frosty corner of a chilled labor market, exposed to unsettling early career turbulence.

Gila Goodman got in when times were good. She’d previously tried acting and was serving coffee on Hollywood sets, making “at most” $2,500 a month. But in 2021, when house prices were soaring, the 25-year-old met an agent. This time, he worked in real estate.

“He had a [Mercedes] G-wagon and was really put together,” Ms. Goodman remembers. “I was like, ‘All you do is show beautiful homes and talk to people.’ That got my mind turning.”

She pivoted. Ms. Goodman got her real-estate license, retooled her social-media accounts to focus on property content and left LA for Las Vegas, where home prices were on fire. Even with mortgage rates now near 20-year highs, Vegas remains “somewhat competitive,” according to the real estate company Redfin. Ms. Goodman said she sold 10 properties this October and earned almost $100,000 in commissions.

It’s an enviable story that has been hard to replicate for other young agents. Home sales slid last year as buyers balked at the higher borrowing costs and many potential sellers decided not to list their houses, fueling a shortage of available properties that has been building for years.

In recent weeks, there have been signs of a thaw. For one, there’s plenty of pent-up demand from first-time buyers stuck on the sidelines and current owners who want to move. And mortgage rates slid in the final weeks of 2023, dipping under 7% as the Federal Reserve eyes rate cuts in 2024.

COMMISSION SCRUTINY
But the challenges go beyond the market, with agents facing existential questions about the commission-based compensation that has long underpinned US real estate. In a bombshell verdict in October, a jury in Missouri found that the National Association of Realtors and others colluded to keep commissions — usually about 5-6% of a sale price split between the buyers’ and sellers’ agents — artificially high.

A larger class-action lawsuit focusing on the same central issue is expected to go to court in Illinois later this year and the Department of Justice has also been scrutinizing such practices. An end to the system could mean young agents struggle to bring in the income such commissions offered previous generations in an industry that is known for its boom-and-bust cycles.

That’s been a concern for Sabrina Powell, a 26-year-old agent in Los Angeles. After studying business in college, she met her boss through TikTok after he commented on one of her viral videos.

“I didn’t realize the issues with the real estate market until I was signing with a brokerage,” she said. “It wasn’t until I was in the field that I thought, ‘I missed the mark.’”

Ms. Powell said potential buyers have been telling her they don’t want to go through an agent, not realizing the amount of work she puts into a transaction. Despite her concerns, Ms. Powell maintains that the market is cyclical and is pushing to build up her practice.

Older agents have been through troughs before. And in part, age is what’s making the latest market downdrift difficult for younger real estate professionals. According to the National Association of Realtors, the typical member is “a 60-year-old white female who attended college and is a homeowner.” More broadly, people tend to think of real estate agents as older than twenty-something. And some buyers have a difficult time entrusting what is often the largest financial transaction of their life with a relative newcomer.

“When people see me, they think I’m 17 or 18,” said Amber Perkins, a 27-year-old agent in Los Angeles who is just on the cusp of the Gen Z age cutoff. “I’ve had people in my comment section say, ‘She’s young and inexperienced, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.’”

CATCH-22
Ms. Perkins and her peers are grappling with a Catch-22 of early career real estate: You need deals to get experience, but you only get deals with experience. That’s especially hard in a market that abruptly turned down from historic highs that is now offering few transactions.

To deal with it, Ms. Perkins said she leans into her strengths as a digital native and pushes hard on social media. That’s where she gets most of her leads anyways.

“I’m young,” she said. “But I’m confident in my abilities and what I can do to get deals done.” — Bloomberg

PSA: Births increase in 2022

January 9, 2024 | 12:00 am

Registered births in 2022 increased by 6.6% year on year to 1,455,393, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed. This is equivalent to a crude birth rate of 13% or 13 births per 1,000. By region, Calabarzon had the highest number of recorded births with 205,265, accounting for 14.1% of the total births in the country. This was followed by National Capital Region (11.8% share) and Central Luzon (11.7%).

How PSEi member stocks performed — January 8, 2024

January 9, 2024 | 12:00 am

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Monday, January 8, 2024.

Peso down on dovish BSP

January 8, 2024 | 9:00 pm

THE PESO depreciated against the dollar on Monday after Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the central bank could cut benchmark rates by as much as 100 basis points (bps) this year.

The local unit closed at P55.69 per dollar on Monday, weakening by 12 centavos from its P55.57 finish on Friday, based on Bankers Association of the Philippines data.

The peso opened Monday’s session stronger at P55.50 against the dollar. Its intraday best was at P55.44, while its weakest showing was at P55.708 versus the greenback.

Dollars exchanged went down to $1.54 billion on Monday from $2.05 billion on Friday.

The peso was dragged lower by dovish signals from Mr. Diokno, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

Mr. Diokno, who sits on the central bank’s policy-setting Monetary Board, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) could mirror the US Federal Reserve’s cuts this year.

“Right now, the policy rate is at 6.5% so I see something like 5.5% by the end of 2024. The timing, of course, would be data dependent and probably towards the second semester,” Mr. Diokno said

The BSP raised borrowing costs by a cumulative 450 bps from May 2022 to October 2023, bringing the policy rate to a 16-year high of 6.5%.

The Monetary Board will hold its first policy meeting of the year on Feb. 15.

“The peso weakened amid the stronger-than-expected US employment and nonfarm payrolls reports for December 2023,” a trader added in an e-mail.

For Tuesday, the trader sees the peso moving between P55.55 and P55.80 per dollar, while Mr. Ricafort expects it to range from P55.60 to P55.80 — AMCS

Shares decline on Fed bets after US jobs report

January 8, 2024 | 9:00 pm

LOCAL SHARES closed in negative territory on Monday following strong US jobs data, which caused Federal Reserve rate cut expectations to ease, and as investors pocketed profits after the market’s climb earlier in the day.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 20.42 points or 0.3% to end at 6,609.22 on Monday, while the broader all shares index decreased by 3.01 points or 0.08% to finish at 3,499.51.

“The market started the week on a cautious tone with persistently thin volume. The negative sentiment was fueled, in part, by a surprising surge in US jobs data, setting off a chain reaction across international markets,” AB Capital Securities, Inc. Vice-President Jovis L. Vistan said in a Viber message.

Value turnover dropped to P4.28 billion on Monday with 412.88 million issues changing hands from the P5.26 billion with 520.19 million shares seen on Friday.

The monthly nonfarm payrolls report showed the US economy added 216,000 new jobs in December, Reuters reported.

The jobless rate held steady at 3.7%, down from most forecasters’ expectations for it to rise, prompting concerns that the Fed’s long battle to tame inflation may have further to run.

“Investors also adopted a prudent approach, opted for a “wait-and-see” strategy in anticipation of the release of the latest US consumer price index figures scheduled for Thursday. It is expected to provide insights into the trajectory of future US interest rate cuts throughout the remainder of the year,” Mr. Vistan said.

“A low inflation figure would reinforce expectations that the Fed will start cutting interest rates,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

The US central bank last month kept the fed funds rate steady at 5.25-5.5% for a third straight meeting after hiking borrowing costs by a cumulative 525 basis points from March 2022 to July 2023.

The Federal Open Market Committee will hold its first policy meeting for the year on Jan. 30-31.

“Philippine shares succumbed to profit taking at the end of session after trading in the green for most of the day,” Mr. Limlingan added.

The majority of sectoral indices declined on Monday. Holding firms dropped by 33.88 points or 0.52% to 6,386.39; financials went down by 8.05 points or 0.45% to 1,766.66; services declined by 7.09 points or 0.43% to 1,641.73; and mining and oil retreated by 40.44 points or 0.41% to 9,736.97.

Meanwhile, industrials rose by 16.14 points or 0.17% to 9,258.45, and property climbed by 5.06 points or 0.17% to 2,879.44.

Advancers edged out decliners, 99 to 93, while 51 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign buying dropped to P160.66 million on Monday from P420.61 million on Friday.

Mr. Vistan put the PSEi’s immediate support at 6,550 and immediate resistance at 6,700. — RMDO with Reuters

Howard-led imports of Strong Group brace for Dubai tourney

January 8, 2024 | 8:53 pm

THE REINFORCEMENTS have arrived as Strong Group Athletics braces for a redemption tour in the 33^rd Dubai International Basketball Championships.

NBA legend Dwight Howard and Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player Andray Blatche landed in the country on Sunday night after the first arrival of fellow NBAer Andre Robinson and seasoned import McKenzie Moore.

All four players will serve as imports of Strong Group when it slugs it out against the world’s best ball clubs in the bustling United Arab Emirates city on January 19 to 28.

“Welcome to Manila, Dwight Howard. Let’s win this championship with Strong Group,” said head coach Charles Tiu.

“We finally made it to the Philippines. We finally made it,” said Mr. Howard, who arrived with Mr. Blatche, after a delayed flight from the United States.

Expectations are high for the 38-year-old Mr. Howard, who had an illustrious NBA career highlighted by three Defensive Player of the Year awards and a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers before claiming Most Valuable Player (MVP) honor in Taiwan’s T1 League. Aside from a bumper crop of fellow reinforcements, the hulking center will join a stacked local cast led by UAAP Season 86 MVP and Finals MVP Kevin Quiambao of De La Salle University.

Sniper Francis Escandor of the DLSU Green Archers is also in the fray with College of St. Benilde’s Allen Liwag, Tony Ynot and Justine Sanchez.

De La Salle head coach Topex Robinson, along with Australia head coach and former Bay Area mentor Brian Goorjian, have also been tapped to boost Mr. Tiu’s coaching staff.

Strong Group, owned by Frank and Jacob Lao, is out to avenge a quarterfinal finish last edition and replicate the feat of Mighty Sports as the first non-Middle Eastern champion team in Dubai in 2020.

More players from the collegiate and pro leagues are anticipated to be announced this week as Strong Group hits training camp before trooping to Dubai. — John Bryan Ulanday

Meralco sweeps its way to PBA 3×3 Leg 2 quarterfinals

January 8, 2024 | 8:53 pm

MERALCO dialed to full power and swept its way to the quarterfinals of Leg 2 of the PBA 3×3 Season 3 Third Conference yesterday at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay.

Starting their back-to-back bid with a bang, the Bolts banked on the 13-point explosion of Joseph Sedurifa to dominate TNT, 21-14, then followed up with a 21-13 beatdown of Ginebra in the elims.

With 2-0, Meralco’s Mr. Sedurifa, Jeff Manday, Alfred Batino and Reymar Caduyac took Pool A’s No. 1 seeding going to today’s KO rounds.

TNT followed the Bolts to the next round as No. 2 in the three-team group. Almond Vosotros, Ping Exciminiano, Gryann Mendoza and Chester Saldua secured their entry with a 21-7 romp over the Gin Kings (0-2).

Cavitex emerged as the top quarterfinalist from Pool C after going 3-for-3.

The Braves opened things up with a 22-15 verdict over Terrafirma then crushed NorthPort, 21-9, before closing the elims with a thrilling 21-19 escape act over Purefoods off Jorey Napoles’ winning two-ball.

San Miguel Beer (SMB) and Leg 1 runner-up MCFASolver, meanwhile, led the advance from Pool B with identical 2-1 win-loss cards. The Beermen beat the Tech Centrale, 21-19, and Pioneer, 21-12, before yielding to Blackwater, 15-17. In between the loss to SMB, MCFASolver picked up victories at the expense of the Smooth Razor, 17-15, and the Katibays, 21-20.

The race for the Final 8 continues today at the end of group play with Blackwater (1-1) and Pioneer (0-2) contesting the remaining ticket in Pool B and Purefoods (1-1) and NorthPort (0-2) eyeing to advance in Pool C. — Olmin Leyba

Nadal to skip Aussie Open due to fresh muscle injury

January 8, 2024 | 8:52 pm

RAFAEL NADAL will miss the Australian Open this month after the Spaniard suffered a small muscle tear during his comeback from a long injury layoff at the Brisbane International last week, the 22-times Grand Slam champion said on Sunday.

Mr. Nadal’s latest injury casts fresh doubts about the former world number one’s ability to compete at the elite level again after he previously said that he expects to finish his glittering but injury-plagued career in 2024.

He made his long-awaited return to competitive tennis in Brisbane after spending almost a year out on the sidelines with a hip flexor injury sustained during his second round defeat to Mackenzie McDonald in last year’s Australian Open.

7-year-old did not compete again last season after undergoing surgery in June and suffered an upper left leg issue during his defeat by Jordan Thompson in the quarter-finals of the tune-up event for the Jan. 14-28 Melbourne Park major.

“During my last match in Brisbane I had a small problem on a muscle that as you know made me worried,” Mr. Nadal said in a statement on X.

“Once I got to Melbourne I have had the chance to make an MRI and I have micro tear on a muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury and that’s good news.

“Right now I am not ready to compete at the maximum level of exigence in five sets matches. I’m flying back to Spain to see my doctor, get some treatment and rest.”

Mr. Nadal, who won the Australian Open in 2009 and 2022, said he had worked extremely hard to make his comeback during the year and stressed that despite the latest setback his goal was to be at his best in three months.

Mr. Nadal also said in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais recently that he was thinking about the French Open, where he has won 14 of his major titles.

“Within the sad news for me for not being able to play in front of the amazing Melbourne crowds, this isn’t very bad news and we all remain positive with the evolution for the season,” Mr. Nadal added.

“I really wanted to play here in Australia and I have had the chance to play a few matches that made me very happy and positive.” — Reuters

Playoff picture takes shape, GB Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers join the mix

January 8, 2024 | 8:52 pm

THE NATIONAL Football League (NFL) playoff picture came into sharper focus on Sunday as the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers kept their respective seasons and Super Bowl hopes alive.

The final day of the 18-week regular season began with 11 teams vying for the final four of 14 playoff spots available across the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC) and four of the eight division titles up for grabs.

All but one division title have since been decided ahead of Sunday’s NFL regular season finale, a pivotal primetime clash between AFC East rivals the Miami Dolphins and Bills.

Houston, who closed out their regular season with a win on Saturday, clinched the AFC South title for the first time since 2019 and the conference’s fourth seed thanks to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ surprise loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Houston, led by standout rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, will host the Cleveland Browns next week when the playoffs begin.

The Jacksonville loss also sent the Bills and Steelers, who kept their playoff hopes alive with a win over the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, into the postseason.

There is still plenty at stake when Miami host Buffalo later on Sunday as the outcome will have big playoff ramifications given the winner will earn the AFC East division title and second seed in the AFC playoffs.

A loss for Miami would mean they drop to the sixth seed and open the playoffs at the third seed and reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs while a Buffalo loss would drop them to the seventh seed and set up a rematch at the Dolphins.

Tampa Bay, in their first season without record-setting quarterback Tom Brady, beat the Carolina Panthers 9-0 to secure their third consecutive NFC South title and fourth consecutive playoff appearance.

The Buccaneers enter the postseason as the NFC’s fourth seed and will host last year’s Super Bowl runner-up, the Philadelphia Eagles, in their playoff opener.

The final playoff spot went to Green Bay, whose 17-9 win over the Chicago Bears ended the playoff hopes of the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints.

The Dallas Cowboys had already secured a playoff berth but with their 38-10 rout of the Washington Commanders on Sunday also locked up the NFC East title and will host their playoff opener against the Packers. The AFC’s Baltimore Ravens and NFC’s San Francisco 49ers, who last week secured their respective conference’s top seed — giving them a bye and home-field advantage for the postseason — will face the lowest-seeded team remaining in the Divisional Round. — Reuters

Liverpool strikes late to knock Arsenal out of FA Cup

January 8, 2024 | 8:51 pm

LONDON — An own goal by Jakub Kiwior and a thumping late strike by Luis Diaz sealed a 2-0 victory for Liverpool at Arsenal in the weekend’s headline Football Association (FA) Cup third round tie as the hosts’ dismal form extended into the New Year on Sunday.

Arsenal wasted a sackful of chances in the first half and were made to pay as Liverpool captain Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free kick glanced off the head of Kiwior in the 80^th minute.

Mr. Diaz then made sure of eight-time winners Liverpool’s place in the fourth round draw as he lashed home in stoppage time.

Earlier on Sunday holders Manchester City romped to a 5-0 victory over second-tier Huddersfield Town with Phil Foden scoring twice and Belgian playmaker Kevin De Bruyne returning to action after a four-month injury layoff. Arsenal have now lost three games in a row in all competitions and the wayward finishing that has seen them drop down to fourth in the Premier League was evident again as they squandered a flurry of first-half chances.

“The performance was there and the amount of chances too,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told reporters. “We just have to win the game, but we lost it and we are not capitalizing. To win games we need to capitalize.”

Reiss Nelson latched on to a punt forward by Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale in the fourth minute but could only shoot into the side netting and captain Martin Odegaard then rattled the crossbar with a fierce drive after a mistake by Joe Gomez.

Kai Havertz could not capitalize on two good chances as Arsenal failed to punish a lackluster Liverpool side who were without a host of players including Mohamed Salah who is on international duty and an ill Virgil van Dijk.

Arsenal continued to make chances in the second half with Bukayo Saka volleying clumsily over from Declan Rice’s cross.

Liverpool then woke up with Mr. Ramsdale saving from Mr. Diaz and Diogo Jota heading against the crossbar before the unfortunate Kiwior inadvertently glanced in Alexander-Arnold’s inswinging delivery from a free-kick.

Colombian winger Diaz then sent the 7,000 visiting fans wild as he slammed an unstoppable shot past Ramsdale.

“Everything was better in the second half,” Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp told reporters. “I’m really happy and proud we could win this game. Arsenal could have won it without a doubt. We finished it off and it spoke for the character of the boys.”

DE BRUYNE BACK
A strong Manchester City side suffered a setback when they lost defender Manuel Akanji to injury early on and Huddersfield were proving stubborn opponents until Foden fired them ahead and Julian Alvarez poked home a second before the interval.

Mr. De Bruyne entered the fray in the 57^th minute and City added their third a minute later as Norwegian winger Oscar Bobb tried to pick out the Belgian at the far post, only to see his deflected cross loop into the net to make it 3-0.

Mr. Foden added his second with a precise shot and Mr. De Bruyne teed up fellow substitute Jeremy Doku to complete the rout. “We are incredibly delighted to have him back, because Kevin helps to win games. It is so important to have him back after a long injury,” coach Pep Guardiola told the BBC.

Elsewhere Premier League sides struggled. Luton Town played out a scoreless draw at home against third-tier Bolton Wanderers while Nottingham Forest will also need a replay after a 2-2 draw at the City Ground against third-tier Blackpool.

West Ham United were held to a 1-1 draw at home to second-tier Bristol City.

Championship promotion hopefuls Leeds United had no such problems as striker Patrick Bamford netted a brilliant volley in a 3-0 hammering of Peterborough United, and West Bromwich Albion cruised to a 4-1 win at home to Aldershot Town. — Reuters