Bianca Pagdanganan jumps to 46^th in third round of US Women’s Open

June 6, 2022 | 12:03 am

THE Philippines’ Bianca Pagdanganan shot a one-over 72 and jumped to joint 46^th with one round left in the US Women’s Open on Sunday in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

The 24-year-old Ms. Pagdanganan birdied two of the last four holes to be at 4-over 217 through 54 holes and move 13 places up after barely making the Top 60 halfway cut.

Ms. Pagdanganan, the last Philippine ace standing following the early elimination of 2021 champion Yuka Saso and Dottie Ardina, stood 17 strokes off Australian leader Minjee Lee (67).

The Tokyo Olympics veteran Ms. Pagdanganan opened her round with a birdie on the first hole but encountered trouble and dropped shots in three of the next four holes.

Ms. Pagdanganan recovered a shot on No. 15 and canceled out a bogey on the 16^th with a birdie on the final hole.

The power-hitting Pinay averaged 267 yards off the tee in the third round. She missed five fairways and seven greens and needed 30 putts to finish her 35-37 card.

Minjee Lee moved up the leaderboard with a 5-under-par 66 on Friday. — Olmin Leyba

Uniqlo parties with Marni

June 6, 2022 | 12:03 am

phgoods_57_449637 — MARNI oversized printed open collar short sleeve shirt — PHOTO FROM UNIQLO.COM

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BALLOONS, suits, and pajamas sounds like the brief for a whimsical party, but it is these concepts that anchor luxury Italian brand Marni’s collaboration with Asian fast fashion giant Uniqlo.

Founded in the 1990s, Marni was acquired by the OTB Group in 2015, making it a sister brand of Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni, Viktor&Rolf, and Jil Sander.

This is Uniqlo’s first collaboration with Marni, though the Asian brand has collaborated with several big names in the past. This illustrious list includes Jil Sander (the person, not the brand), JW Anderson, and Ines de la Fressange.

In a statement, Fast Retailing Group Senior Executive Officer and Head of R&D for Uniqlo Yukihiro Katsuta commented on why this relationship with Marni makes sense. “The Uniqlo philosophy of clothing that is simple, high quality, functional, and ingenious in detail, imbued with Marni’s creative vitality, has produced bold and innovative LifeWear. I am extremely pleased that we are able to offer this essential LifeWear collection that accentuates individual character and feelings in a positive way.”

Media guests viewed the collection on May 26, a day in advance of its official release in the Philippines at the Uniqlo Philippines flagship store in Glorietta.

Our attention was drawn to tailored jackets in olive green and cornflower blue; but then the “pajamas” were also interesting as well. Tiptoeing the line between dressy and casual, the windowpane pattern in satin or relaxed cotton can either look like flannel or tweed depending on how one styles it.

Playing with lines seems to be a theme in the collection, seen in striped T-shirts, gingham jackets, and checked shirts and jackets. These can be boldly paired with floral pieces that form the Balloons line. These are flowy and relaxed pieces made with stylized flowers that might remind one of Hawaiian shirts. The clothes collectively have a boxy and loose feel, falling just so on the body.

“Marni is about colors and prints, and always has been. For this collection, we wanted to inject our floral prints with a slight nostalgia and our signature ginghams with an artistic flair, transposing Marni’s creative energy in brush-stroked lines,” said Marni’s Creative Director Francesco Risso in an interview with Uniqlo posted on their website. “Prints punctuate the range, connecting the collection chromatically in a mix of textures and monochromes,” said Mr. Risso.

“I really hope that they feel good, that they feel like themselves, that they feel free, and that they live their best summer in these clothes!,” he said.

The collection is available online and in select Uniqlo stores. — J.L. Garcia

Analysts’ May 2022 inflation rate estimates

June 6, 2022 | 12:02 am

INFLATION likely surged past 5% in May as food and oil prices continued to climb amid tight global supply, according to analysts. Read the full story.

UN aid chief had ‘frank, constructive’ talks in Moscow on Ukraine grain

June 6, 2022 | 12:02 am

UNITED NATIONS — UN aid chief Martin Griffiths “had frank and constructive discussions” with Russian officials in Moscow on facilitating exports of Ukraine grain from Black Sea ports, a UN spokesman said on Friday.

Griffiths met with Russian foreign affairs and defense officials on Thursday and Friday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian grain shipments from its Black Sea ports have stalled and more than 20 million tons of grain are stuck in silos.

“We’ve said clearly what we can do and what we cannot do,” Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told Reuters on Friday. “We have not installed mines in the coastal area, that was the Ukrainians. If they demine the area we are prepared to provide the safe passage for the ships carrying grain.”

When asked if a security arrangement could be reached to allow for the demining, Nebenzia said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov planned to discuss the issue when he visits Turkey next week.

Griffiths’ visit to Russia came days after another senior UN official, Rebeca Grynspan, had “constructive” talks in Moscow on expediting Russian grain and fertilizer exports.

Russia says those exports have been hurt by the chilling effect of Western sanctions. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is trying to broker what he calls a “package deal” to resume both Ukrainian food exports and Russian food and fertilizer exports.

He said on Wednesday that any agreement to unblock shipments of commodities such as grain was still some way off. “There are a lot of moving pieces in this puzzle,” Dujarric said on Friday. “We have seen a lot of positive comments come from various capitals, which is heartening.”

Russia’s war in Ukraine has fuelled a global food crisis with prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertilizer soaring. Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat supplies. Russia is also a fertilizer exporter and Ukraine is a major exporter of corn and sunflower oil.

Guterres also spoke with Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko on Friday. “Broadly, they discussed the ongoing situation relating to grain and fertilizer and trying to get those things onto the global markets,” Dujarric said.

The Belta news agency quoted Lukashenko as telling Guterres that Belarus is ready to allow the transit of Ukraine’s grain to Baltic Sea ports via Belarus if it is allowed to ship Belarusian goods from these ports.

Belarus — which has backed Russia in its war on Ukraine — is also a key global exporter of fertilizer, but the United States sanctioned the exporting arm of Belarusian state potash producer in December to punish Lukashenko for alleged election rigging and cracking down on the opposition. — Reuters

Debt yields mixed on hawkish Fed

June 6, 2022 | 12:02 am

YIELDS on government securities (GS) ended mixed last week due to hawkish statements from US Federal Reserve officials and ahead of the release of likely above 5% local inflation print for May, which could build the case for the central bank to raise benchmark rates anew this month.

Debt yields, which move opposite to prices, increased by an average of 3.23 basis points (bps) week on week, based on the PHP Bloomberg Valuation (BVAL) Service Reference Rates as of June 3 published on the Philippine Dealing System’s website.

Yields ended mixed across the board on Friday, with the short end of the curve seeing some increases. The rate of the 364-day Treasury bill (T-bill) rose by 18.02 bps to 2.2203%, while that of the 182-day T-bill climbed by 4.17 bps (1.8098%). Meanwhile, the 91-day paper dipped by 0.69 bp week on week to 1.4464%.

On the other hand, tenors in the belly of the curve mostly edged lower, except for the two-year debt, whose yield increased by 1.74 bps to 4.1414%. Rates of the three-, four-, five-, and seven-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) decreased by 0.15 bp (to 4.8106%), 0.78 bp (5.3559%), 3.65 bps (5.7658%), and 4.19 bps (6.3108%), respectively.

Meanwhile, the end of the curve moved upwards as yields on the 10-, 20-, and 25-year papers gained 3.24 bps (to 6.7312%), 9.08 bps (6.702%), and 8.74 bps (6.7097%).

GS volume reached P13.58 billion on Friday, slightly thinner than P13.677 billion seen on May 27.

A bond trader said in a Viber message that market players were defensive last week due to continuous hawkish rhetoric from the Fed officials, the depreciation of the peso against the US dollar, and a likely “hot” Philippine May inflation print.

“[M]arket players traded defensively. Bear sellers took the chance to reduce bond holdings and capitalized every time bargain hunters are present,” the trader said.

The Fed plans to hike rates aggressively for the rest of the year to control inflation and with the labor market showing recovery, Reuters reported. It has raised borrowing costs by a cumulative 75 bps.

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard last week said that while rate hikes from the previous months seemed to help tame inflation, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the China lockdown’s effects can still overturn the progress.

Amid this uncertainty, Fed Governor Christopher J. Waller said he backs more 50-bp hikes in the coming months.

“I am not taking 50-basis-point hikes off the table until I see inflation coming down closer to our 2% target,” he said in his speech last May 30 at the Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability in Frankfurt, Germany.

Similarly, in the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and analysts expect May headline inflation to have breached 5% amid higher fuel and food prices.

A BusinessWorld poll of 16 analysts held last week yielded a median estimate of 5.4% for May inflation, matching the midpoint of the BSP’s 5% to 5.8% estimate.

If realized, this would be faster than the 4.9% in April and the 4.1% print in May 2021. This would also be well above the central bank’s 2-4% target for the year.

Headline inflation last hit the 5% level in December 2018 and stood at 5.2% that month.

The Philippine Statistics Authority will release the May inflation data on Tuesday, June 7.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno last month said the central bank is likely to raise key interest rates by another 25 bps at its next policy review on June 23 following a hike of the same magnitude at its May 19 meeting to curb growing inflationary pressures.

At the May meeting, the central bank upwardly revised its average inflation forecast for 2022 to 4.6% from the previous forecast of 4.3%, above the 2-4% target band. For 2023, the BSP’s inflation forecast was hiked to 3.9% from 3.6% previously.

For this week, analysts said May inflation data will drive trading as this could cement expectations of another hike at the BSP’s policy meeting this month.

“[The] direction of yields could move generally higher across the curve for the week as inflation and the forecast hikes will continue to weigh on investor sentiment,” the first bond trader said.

“Although BSP projected that inflation will fall between 5% and 5.8%, the implication of a hike in June has already been made by both outgoing and incoming BSP governors,” the second bond trader said in a Viber message.

“We’ll likely keep an eye on the continuing increase of local debt and how the BTr (Bureau of the Treasury) will manage its upcoming auctions to meet its borrowing targets,” a second bond trader added. — Bernadette Therese M. Gadon with Reuters

AXA gives preferential insurance rates for Honda Sensing-equipped models

June 6, 2022 | 12:02 am

VELO_DASH_AXA_image7 — Honda Civic — PHOTO BY KAP MACEDA AGUILA

A RELEASE from AXA Philippines, one of the country’s leading insurance providers, cited a Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System revelation that there were 65,032 road accidents (with 337 deaths) in 2020 in Metro Manila alone. To help promote road safety, AXA recently partnered with Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) to provide comprehensive car insurance with “preferential rates” for Honda Sensing-equipped vehicles.

Honda Sensing is a suite of driver-assistive technology that employs a wide-angle camera and high-speed processing chip to enhance safety. The AXA Comprehensive Car Insurance product is said to “complement the innovative (Honda) vehicles by providing first-class protection.” Customers also benefit from easy claims processing and access to the AXA Rescue Line for free 24/7 emergency assistance, including police, fire, ambulance and roadside assistance available through the Emma by AXA Philippines app.

Said AXA Philippines Chief Customer Officer Nandy Villar, “We’re thrilled to partner with Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. to help their customers feel even more safe and secure on the road with our Comprehensive Car Insurance. Owning a state-of-the-art vehicle deserves equally top-notch protection, which we are happy to provide for Honda Sensing car owners and their families.”

With the AXA Comprehensive Car Insurance, customers can also become a part of the AXA Motor Club, which offers “exclusive VIP privileges and value-added services,” such as emergency towing, vehicle removal with a crane, minor onsite repairs, and other auto-related personal services — in addition to alternative travel assistance, hotel referral and reservation assistance, and LTO registration assistance. Being an AXA Motor Club member is free; with membership valid with an active AXA motor insurance policy, and is automatically extended every time the car insurance policy is renewed.

Meanwhile, HCPI President Masahiko Nakamura said, “We envision a collision-free society where everyone can share the road safely. With our partnership with AXA Philippines, we not only help motorists become road-ready, but we also accelerate their safety on the road by providing first-class driving experiences through AXA’s services.”

For more information, visit axa.com.ph/motor, or download the free Emma by AXA Philippines app at axa.com.ph/emma.

ABS-CBN, TV5 in ‘evolving’ talks — Pangilinan

June 6, 2022 | 12:02 am

THE PHILIPPINES’ free-to-air television network TV5 and ABS-CBN Corp. are in an “evolving and dynamic” discussion over a partnership, tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan said on Saturday.

“Nothing definitive or final has been reached at this time,” Mr. Pangilinan, chairman of TV5 Network, Inc., said in a mobile-phone text message, in response to a Media Newser Philippines report which said the two media companies are in advanced talks for a 50-50 venture.

ABS-CBN has been airing some of its productions on TV5 after Philippine lawmakers in 2020 rejected a bid by ABS-CBN to secure a new 25-year franchise, leading to losses. A company owned by billionaire Manuel B. Villar, Jr. in January won two channels previously assigned to ABS-CBN.

Mr. Pangilinan said TV5 has been in various discussions with ABS-CBN, which have led to partnership programs, co-production and talent sharing, adding these were “mutually productive.”

Representatives of ABS-CBN didn’t immediately respond to questions seeking comment.

Last year, ABS-CBN Chief Executive Officer Carlo L. Katigbak said the company had no plans to turn content collaboration with TV5 into a merger or acquisition. — Bloomberg

NCAA back to normal in Season 98

June 6, 2022 | 12:02 am

EXCEPT for some minor tweaks in the semifinal format, NCAA basketball will be back to normal in Season 98 unfurling on Sept. 10.

Season 97 Management Committee chairman Dax Castellano of host College of St. Benilde said the league is leaning towards returning to its double-round robin elimination format when Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) takes its turn to host.

In the last season topped by the Lettan Knights, the league opted to shorten the season to a single-round format.

“Back to two rounds,” said Mr. Castellano during the presser hosted by league television coveror GMA 7 to unveil the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-Star players at its main office in Quezon City on Sunday.

The season will open with Letran, which is heavily favored to claim a three-peat feat, battling host EAC and Mapua tackling San Beda in the only other game.

Interestingly, the country’s oldest collegiate league has set its All-Star Game on Oct. 14 at a still unspecified venue.

It will be the second All-Star Game the league will hold this year after staging one on Sunday at the Filoil Flying V Arena that was graced by not just the league’s best and brightest, but also some Kapuso Stars headed by Mark Herras, Jason Abalos and Rocco Nacino.

Other GMA talents who saw action were David Licauco, Mavy Legaspi, Luis Hontiveros, Eric Vijandre, Gil Cuerva, Pancho Magno, Jose Sarasola, Paul Salas and Kirst Viray. — Joey Villar

These sheets are made of bamboo fabric

June 6, 2022 | 12:02 am

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SHELLY and Ryan Tan married in 2017. While shopping during their honeymoon in the United States, they came across a store that sold bamboo fabric bedsheets. After purchasing and trying out the sheets, they were so impressed that they decided to open a business back home.

The brand was called Linen & Homes and offers products made of 100% viscose fabric from bamboo, and promises better sleep as a result.

“When we went on our honeymoon to the US, it was the last couple of days, we actually stumbled into a [home and décor] store,” Linen & Homes co-founder Shelly Tan said during an online press conference on June 1. “That was the first time that we invested in our own set of sheets. Because prior to that, if you’re living at home [your sheets are just] whatever your mom would buy for you… when you’re younger, it’s more about the design versus the feeling of it.”

“When we were laundering the set of bamboo sheets that we got, we changed back to our cotton sheets and it really made a difference in how we slept,” she added.

Realizing that products made from bamboo would be attractive to the Philippine market, co-founder Ryan Tan said that they made their brand’s mission “to offer bamboo sheets to the local market” and “help people achieve better sleep.”

According to Ms. Tan, they are happy to hear how much their products help people sleep better. “We didn’t want the benefits of better sleep to be limited to just our family,” she said. “We frequently get feedback from people that Linen & Homes helped them sleep better. It’s a nice feeling to know our brand has helped people out on something so important, yet often neglected.”

The hypoallergenic and antimicrobial bamboo sheets naturally have thermal regulating properties. This means the fabric avoids retaining heat, giving users a cool feeling throughout their sleep. The sheets come in various colors including neutrals, as well as patterns.

Linen & Homes also uses the bamboo material in other products such as pillowcases, towels, and loungewear sets.

“All our products are machine washable, and dryer safe. Bamboo is a bit more delicate because it’s a lot softer than cotton. So, we recommend the delicate cycle,” Ms. Tan said. “We do recommend sheets to be washed every one to two weeks.”

As for stains, Mrs. Tan advised to spot clean the fabric as soon as possible after a spill.

For more information, visit the Linen & Homes website at https://www.linenandhomes.com/. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

Vietnam develops ‘world’s first’ African Swine Fever vaccine for commercial use

June 6, 2022 | 12:01 am

HANOI — Vietnam said it successfully developed a vaccine to administer to pigs to fight African Swine Fever, with the aim of becoming the first country to commercially produce and export it.

African Swine Fever, one of the most devastating livestock diseases, was first detected in Vietnam in February 2019 and forced the country to cull around 20% of its hog herd last year.

It originated in Africa before spreading to Europe and Asia and has killed hundreds of millions of pigs globally. African Swine Fever is harmless to humans.

“This is a milestone of the veterinary industry,” Deputy Agriculture Minister Phung Duc Tien said in a statement. “With immunity lasting six months, the vaccine will be a shield for hog-raising industry and pig production globally.”

The vaccine has been in development since November 2019 in partnership with United States experts, with five clinical trials held. Its safety and efficacy was confirmed by the Agricultural Research Service under the US Department of Agriculture, Tien said.

“This success opens great expectations and the room to export African Swine Fever vaccine produced in Vietnam is huge,” Tien added. He did not provide a timeframe for when the vaccine could be exported or estimate of Vietnam’s production capacity.

Although the swine fever outbreak has subsided in Vietnam, allowing farmers to rebuild hog herds, the virus is still hurting farms in some countries. — Reuters

Peso may drop further versus the greenback

June 6, 2022 | 12:01 am

THE PESO could depreciate versus the dollar this week on expectations that inflation went beyond 5% last month.

The local unit closed at P52.86 per dollar on Friday, losing six centavos from its P52.80 finish on Friday, based on Bankers Association of the Philippines data.

It also dropped by 54 centavos from its P52.32 close a week earlier.

The peso opened Friday’s session at P52.82 per dollar. Its weakest showing was at P52.92, while its intraday best was at P52.70 versus the greenback.

Dollars exchanged rose to $1.128 billion on Friday from $1.099 billion on Thursday.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort attributed the local unit’s depreciation last week to high global oil prices.

Oil prices settled higher, buoyed by expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ decision to increase production targets by slightly more than planned will not affect tight global supply much and by rising demand as China eases the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-related restrictions, Reuters reported.

Brent crude rose by 1.8% to settle at $119.72 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude advanced by 1.7% to $118.87 last week. Both benchmarks were up by more than $3 in after-hours trading.

For this week, UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said trading will likely be driven by US and Philippine inflation data.

The US consumer price index (CPI) for the 12 months through April rose by 8.3%, down from an 8.5% annual rate reported in the prior month, which was the largest year-on-year gain in 40 years. Friday’s inflation report for May is one of the last key pieces of data before the US Federal Reserve’s June 14-15 meeting, at which the central bank is widely expected to raise rates by another 50 basis points (bps), Reuters reported.

The CPI report comes as investors gauge how the 75 bps of monetary tightening already delivered by the Fed this year is affecting growth. Employment data released Friday showed that US employers hired more workers than expected in May and maintained a strong pace of wage increases, signs of strength that could keep the Fed on an aggressive monetary policy tightening path.

In the Philippines, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and analysts expect May headline inflation to have breached 5% amid higher fuel and food prices.

A BusinessWorld poll of 16 analysts held last week yielded a median estimate of 5.4% for May inflation, matching the midpoint of the BSP’s 5% to 5.8% estimate.

If realized, this would be faster than the 4.9% in April and the 4.1% print in May 2021. This would also be well above the central bank’s 2-4% target for the year.

Headline inflation last hit the 5% level in December 2018 and stood at 5.2% that month.

The Philippine Statistics Authority will release the May CPI report on Tuesday, June 7.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno last month said the central bank is likely to raise key interest rates by another 25 bps at its next policy review on June 23 following a hike of the same magnitude at its May 19 meeting to curb growing inflationary pressures.

At the May meeting, the central bank upwardly revised its average inflation forecast for 2022 to 4.6% from the previous forecast of 4.3%, above the 2-4% target band. For 2023, the BSP’s inflation forecast was hiked to 3.9% from 3.6% previously.

Mr. Ricafort and Mr. Asuncion said other reports that could drive peso-dollar trading this week include trade, employment and reserves data.

Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P52.50 to P53 per dollar, while Mr. Asuncion expects the local unit to move within P52.40 to P53. — K.B. Ta-asan with Reuters

Consumers spending more upbeat in the next 3 months

June 6, 2022 | 12:01 am

CONSUMER sentiment deteriorated in the second quarter due to concerns about inflation, low incomes, and persistent high unemployment, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said, though it noted that the outlook is more positive over the next 12 months. Read the full story.