Satellite imagery shows closer view of reactors at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Ukraine, August 29, 2022. — MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS
UKRAINIAN electricity supplies are under control despite a series of Russian attacks on power-generating infrastructure and there is no need to panic, the energy ministry said on Saturday.
Separately, the head of DTEK, the country’s largest private energy company, said there was no need for people to leave Ukraine.
Russian missile strikes have crippled almost half of Ukraine’s energy system and Kyiv authorities said on Friday that a complete shutdown of the capital’s power grid was possible.
“Denying the panicky statements spread by social networks and online media, we assure you that the situation with the energy supply is difficult, but under control,” the energy ministry said in a statement.
Authorities across the country have scheduled blackouts to help the repair effort, it said, urging families to cut their energy consumption by at least 25%.
Ukraine’s national grid operator Ukrenergo said while planned blackouts will take place in all regions on Sunday, it does not envisage unexpected emergency shutdowns of electricity.
“We continue to work to return the light to Ukrainians,” the company said in a statement late on Saturday on the Telegram messaging app.
“It is difficult, sometimes longer than we expected, but we find solutions.”
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia last month of trying to destabilize the country by forcing millions to flee westwards, creating a refugee crisis for the European Union.
DTEK CEO Maxim Timchenko said the armed forces, the energy industry and individual Ukrainians were working miracles to maintain supplies.
“That is why there is no need to leave Ukraine today,” a company statement cited him as saying.
Mr. Zelenskiy said on Saturday the supply problems were worst in and around Kyiv as well as in six other regions.
“We are working throughout the country to stabilize the situation,” he said in a video address. — Reuters
DONALD TRUMP on Saturday said he had no interest in returning to Twitter even as a slim majority voted in favor of reinstating the former US president, who was banned from the social media service for inciting violence, in a poll organized by new owner Elon Musk.
Slightly over 15 million Twitter users voted in the poll with 51.8% voting in favor of reinstatement.
“The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated,” Mr. Musk tweeted.
Trump’s Twitter account, which had over 88 million followers before he was banned on Jan. 8, 2021, began accumulating followers and had nearly 100,000 followers by 10 p.m. ET Saturday. Some users initially reported being unable to follow the reinstated account on Saturday evening.
Mr. Trump had appeared less than keen earlier in the day.
“I don’t see any reason for it,” the former president said via video when asked whether he planned to return to Twitter by a panel at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting.
He said he would stick with his new platform Truth Social, the app developed by his Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) startup, which he said had better user engagement than Twitter and was doing “phenomenally well.”
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Trump, who on Tuesday launched a bid to regain the White House in 2024, praised Mr. Musk and said he had always liked him. But Mr. Trump also said Twitter suffered from bots, fake accounts and that the problems it faced were “incredible.”
Mr. Musk first said in May he planned to reverse the ban on Mr. Trump, and the timing of any return by Mr. Trump was closely watched — and feared — by many of Twitter’s advertisers.
The billionaire has since sought to reassure users and advertisers that such a decision would be made with consideration by a content moderation council composed of people with “widely diverse viewpoints” and no-account reinstatements would happen before the council convened.
He also said Twitter would not reinstate any banned users until there was a “clear process for doing so.”
But this week, Mr. Musk reinstated comedian Kathy Griffin, who had been banned for changing her profile name to “Elon Musk” which violated his new rule against impersonation without indicating it was a parody account. There has been no new information about process or the moderation council.
NO REASON TO RETURN A no-show by Mr. Trump could reduce concerns among major advertisers, who are already rattled by Mr. Musk’s drastic reshaping of Twitter.
He has halved the workforce and severely cut the company’s trust and safety team, which is responsible for preventing the spread of misinformation and harmful content.
These actions and Mr. Musk’s tweeting have pushed major companies to halt advertising on the site as they monitor how the platform handles hate speech.
On Saturday, Bloomberg reported Twitter could fire more employees in its sales and partnership divisions, citing unnamed sources, just days after a mass resignation of engineers.
If Trump returned to Twitter, the move would raise questions about his commitment to Truth Social, which launched on Apple’s App Store in February and Google’s Play Store in October. Mr. Trump has some 4.57 million followers on Truth Social.
Truth Social has been Mr. Trump’s main source of direct communication with his followers since he began posting on the app regularly in May. He has used Truth Social to promote his allies, criticize opponents and defend his reputation amid legal scrutiny from state, congressional and federal investigators.
His agreement with the company, however, opens the door for Trump to engage extensively on other platforms. Trump is obligated to give Truth Social a six-hour exclusive on any post – but is free to post “political messaging, political fundraising or get-out-the vote efforts” on any site, at any time, according to a May SEC filing. — Reuters
BOSTON — For all the tumult and disruptions of the coronavirus pandemic, US labor markets have come out on the other side not far from the strong conditions that prevailed before the crisis, a paper presented at a Boston Fed research conference said.
Almost all of the hit the US labor market took in 2020, when COVID-19 struck, was tied to temporary layoffs which were swiftly escinded, said the paper presented on Saturday.
Adjusted for these temporary shifts, “the labor market remained surprisingly tight throughout the crisis, despite the dramatic job losses” and by the spring of this year had recovered and returned to extremely tight conditions.
“I think if we were going to see large scale changes, we would have seen them by this point,” said Lisa Kahn, an economics professor at the University of Rochester, who was one of the co-authors.
The US unemployment rate rode a virtual rollercoaster in 2020. From a 3.5% reading in February of that year, it spiked to 14.7% in April of that year, before undergoing a much faster than expected recovery that has resulted in very low rates of unemployment — it stood at 3.7% last month — and very robust levels of job creation.
Fears the pandemic would cause deep and lasting damage to the economy generated a historically aggressive campaign of stimulus by the government and the Federal Reserve, as elected officials and central bankers were mindful that the weaker policy response to the Great Recession over a decade ago led to a slow recovery for the economy.
That policy response is now seen as a key driver in the massive surge of inflation following the most acute phase of the pandemic. Faced with the highest levels of inflation in forty years, the Fed is aggressively raising its short-term rate target to help lower price pressures. As part of that effort Fed officials recognize their actions could push the economy into recession and will very likely drive up the unemployment rate.
“By raising rates, we are aiming to slow the economy and bring labor demand into better balance with supply. The intent is not a significant downturn,” Boston Fed leader Susan Collins said on Friday in remarks that opened the conference at her bank. Collins was optimistic there is a pathway to price stability that entails only a modest unemployment rate increase.
Lawrence Summers, a Harvard University professor and one time contender to lead the central bank, renewed his criticism of the Fed while discussing the paper on Saturday and said the idea the labor market was only temporarily upended by the pandemic is correct.
He reiterated that the Fed and the broader government erred in providing massive levels of stimulus and that is why inflation is so high now.
Given what the government did, “it is hard to imagine how that could have led to anything other than a substantially inflationary situation,” Mr. Summers said. — Reuters
BEIJING — Michael Bloomberg apologized last week at a business forum hosted by the news agency he founded for remarks by British former Prime Minister Boris Johnson criticizing China as autocratic.
The controversy highlights China’s influence in Asia and sensitivities about overt criticism of Beijing.
Bloomberg, a former New York mayor who ran for president in 2020, apologized on Thursday at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, a business gathering whose speakers included Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan and whose delegates included Chinese businessmen.
“Some may have been insulted or offended last night by parts of the speaker’s remarks referencing certain countries and their duly elected leaders,” Bloomberg said in remarks posted on Twitter.
Referring to Mr. Johnson, Bloomberg said: “Those were his thoughts and his thoughts alone, not cleared in advance by anyone or shared with me personally… To those of you who were upset and concerned by what the speaker said, you have my apologies.”
A spokesman for Bloomberg LP, which includes Bloomberg News and where Michael Bloomberg is the CEO, declined to comment to Reuters.
Mr. Johnson, who stepped down as Britain’s leader in September, had sharply criticized China’s and Russia’s political system and leaders in his Wednesday speech.
“Let’s look at Russia and China, the two former communist tyrannies in which power has once again been concentrated in the hands of a single ruler, two monocultural states that have been traditionally hostile to immigration and that are becoming increasingly nationalist in their attitudes,” Mr. Johnson said, according to his spokesman.
Mr. Johnson said Beijing and Moscow were “willing to show a candid disregard for the rule of international law” and had over the past year “demonstrated the immense limitations of their political systems by the disastrous mistakes they have made.”
China’s foreign ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Mr. Johnson’s spokesman said the former leader had been invited to speak by Bloomberg himself and that his criticism was aimed at the Chinese government, not the nation or its people.
“Mr. Johnson is robust in his criticism of authoritarianism and autocracy -— including in Russia and China — and will continue to be so,” the spokesman said. “He will continue to make the case for freedom and democracy on the world stage.”
Bloomberg did not specify whether his apology was aimed at Chinese or Russian people. But he sported a small Ukrainian flag badge on his suit, criticized President Vladimir Putin’s “brutal invasion” of Russia’s neighbor and announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would address the forum remotely.
There were no Russian government speakers listed on the forum’s program. — Reuters
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To spice up the FIFA World Cup viewing this month, SportsPlus is the way to go.
Of all the events where the world gets together to compete, only the FIFA World Cup can hold any sort of candle to the Olympics when it comes to international excitement. This year’s iteration of the global soccer tournament looks to be no different, as 32 teams look to turn Qatar into their battleground as they fight for the most prestigious prize in all of football.
This year’s FIFA World Cup looks to be one of the most exciting ones in years. While Kylian Mbappe and France are still poised to repeat as champions, every one of the 31 other teams will come into the tournament guns blazing. Teams like Kevin de Bruyne’s Belgium and Lionel Messi’s Argentina are antsy to get to Doha and remove the chips on their shoulders; while other returning teams like Canada and Saudi Arabia come into the games with a lot of momentum and underdog spirit.
FIFA enthusiasts can now try their luck at betting on the results of the upcoming World Cup matches.
Yet, regardless of which team will win, one thing is for certain – the World Cup is more fun when you ride along the highs and lows of your favorite team. And with the Philippines Men’s National Football Team still having never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, many Filipinos are looking for a way to substantiate the excitement of rooting for their chosen team.
That’s why, with a mission to help Filipino sports fans immerse themselves in the sports world, sportsbooking site SportsPlus presents itself as the premier sportsbooking option to follow the FIFA World Cup and win the game.
SportsPlus gives Filipino fans a direct glimpse into the exciting crests and troughs of following a FIFA World Cup Team. This means that while Filipino football fans might not be rooting for their home country at Qatar 2022, they can still have a full, immersive experience and win the game alongside their favorite football teams and players.
Plus, with a competitive line of odds, football fans aged 21 and up can make the most of their experience with SportsPlus. The competitive odds mean users will have a sweeter experience whenever their favorite players and teams get those goals.
SportsPlus also takes pride in its easy-to-use interface and customer-friendly service. Alongside a sleek user interface that works on any mobile browser, SportsPlus users can also look forward to 24/7 customer service as they win the game. GCash integration of the site is also a fun feature for soccer nuts, as they can simply cash in and cash out through one of the most popular e-wallets on the market.
So for all Filipinos aged 21 and up looking to make the FIFA World Cup even more enjoyable, they should take a gander at SportsPlus, and try their hand at winning the game.
Gaming for 21 years old and above only. Keep it Fun. Game Responsibly.
Spotlight is BusinessWorld’s sponsored section that allows advertisers to amplify their brand and connect with BusinessWorld’s audience by enabling them to publish their stories directly on the BusinessWorld Web site. For more information, send an email to online@bworldonline.com.
PMIEA Validators are joined by TVIRD field officers during the site inspection of Migligilian Tree Nursery where they witnessed the ongoing transformation of Bayog’s forest. To date, the Company has planted and grown 405 thousand trees, earning for itself the recognition of Best Mining Forest – Second Runner-Up.
Joins the ranks of TVIRD’s Platinum-awarded Canatuan Project and Presidential awardee, Agata Nickel Project
On its first full year of commercial operations, the Balabag Gold and Silver Project of TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. (TVIRD) in Bayog Municipality, Zamboanga del Sur was recently honored with the Presidential Mineral Industry Environment Award (PMIEA) – the country’s highest accolade for excellence in environmental, social, and health and safety practices.
Balabag follows the celebrated tradition of its sister projects under the TVIRD Group – the PMIEA Platinum-awarded Canatuan Gold-Silver / Copper-Zinc Project, and the Agata Nickel Project, which was thrice feted with the PMIEA Presidential Award as well as an ASEAN Mineral Award.
In addition to its notable history, the Company draws confidence from lessons learned and Agata’s core philosophy of “Starting it Right, Keeping the End in Mind” – a set of future-oriented values that instill environmental responsibility way before mining operations even began.
But it was not always smooth sailing for TVIRD in Balabag. And to say that the Company had to navigate through rough waters may be the greatest understatement yet.
BAYOG: A CHECKERED PAST
BIRD’S EYE VIEW. TVIRD’s field office and processing plant sit at the crest of Balabag Hill, which provides a good vantage point for monitoring its mining operations and progressive rehabilitation as well as a proper slope for directing effluents to its tailings impoundment and storage facility down below.
In September last year, Bayog’s mining stakeholders were jubilant that TVIRD finally commenced its mining operations in Sitio Balabag. The news also brought a smile to the late Timuay Casiano Edal – a member of the Subanen tribal council called Pigsalabukan Gokum de Bayog (PGB) and one of the signatories of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by the tribe and TVIRD.
“After many years of waiting, TVIRD is finally operational. I never thought I would still witness its mining operations,” said the chieftain who was among the many Subanens that welcomed the Company’s geologists who explored Balabag in the early days.
In 2012 – prior to TVIRD’s entry – the provincial government of Zamboanga del Sur dismantled illegal mining operations that plundered the environment and contaminated the bodies of water in the area. A Cease-and-Desist Order was implemented by a multi-agency task force, led by the DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau for this purpose.
Under the MGB’s supervision, TVIRD embarked on a major clean-up activity to address the indiscriminate cutting of trees, un-engineered tunnels and earth-moving, and mine waste laced with mercury, cyanide, nitric acid, and other hazardous chemicals left by the illegal operators.
Some TVIRD employees recall how they were forced into child labor under the illegal miners back then. It was for “livelihood,” they said, and like the others, it was their only way to earn a living.
TVIRD Community Facilitator Marvin Edal, grandson of the late chieftain, cringes at his former life working in the tunnels: “We manually carried rocks out of tunnels and hammered on them to fit into the operator’s ballmill. They also cut down trees without permits and used the rivers and streams as their makeshift tailings ponds.”
“But now with TVIRD, every tree is replaced several times over and employees are provided with hard hats, gloves, and protective equipment. The focus on environment and safety is the big difference – and I am grateful for this,” Edal said.
PROTECTING INDIGENOUS CULTURAL COMMUNITIES
“We firmly believe we can do more if we have the community’s participation,” said TVIRD President Yulo E. Perez on TVIRD’s vigorous IEC Campaigns that have encouraged locals to actively participate in the Company’s reforestation efforts – a shared responsibility for the conservation of Bayog’s natural environment.
The Subanens whom the illegal mining operators hired as laborers for their processing plants were not treated with dignity nor paid just wages. Instead, they were exploited in their own homelands.
Prior to the Philippines’ enactment of the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA Law) in 1997, TVIRD signed a MOA with the indigenous Subanons for its maiden project in Canatuan, town of Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.
Also prior to operating in Balabag, TVIRD signed an MOA with its host Subanen tribe in 2015, securing a “social license” to operate in the area. The Company likewise received social licenses to operate via signed resolutions from Bayog’s twenty-eight (28) barangays, its Municipal Government as well as the Provincial Government of Zamboanga del Sur.
Today, under the leadership of Timuays Lucenio Manda and Tony Edal who succeeded his father, the collective tribe receives royalties from TVIRD’s mining operations and are now able to invest in their future. And with the implementation of the Community Royalty Development Program – a common development roadmap for the Company and the indigenous Subanens – they are able to chart their own path to self-determination.
TVIRD’s security personnel, aside from being trained on the Voluntary Principles on Human Rights and detailed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, have also assisted TVIRD’s host communities as they likewise come from those communities – and some being indigenous people themselves.
RESPONSIBILITY AND COEXISTENCE
Marvin Edal, grandson of the late Subanen Chieftain Casiano Edal, inspects Abaca fiber that is hung out to dry. Potentially, the tribe’s abaca livelihood can make them part of an industry that earns over Php4.7 billion for the country.
During its period of care and maintenance, and eventual project development, TVIRD contributed significantly to various livelihood projects in the Bayog Municipality and its surrounding communities. The people of Bayog were finally on the path to a meaningful and sustainable development after decades of unwanted illegal mining.
The Municipal Government likewise anticipates increased economic activity that will uplift the town, hopefully to a first-class municipality as TVIRD’s Canatuan model has proven.
During its years of conducting exploration and pre-development activities in Bayog – and its established track record of safe and responsible mining in Canatuan – TVIRD has demonstrated a genuine commitment that goes beyond business alone. The immediate community and the townspeople are a living testament to this.
BEYOND COMPLIANCE, BEYOND BUSINESS
Eco-tourism is made a reality through the Company’s thematic landscaping within its MPSA.
Since bringing its operations on-stream in 2021, TVIRD has successfully completed thirty (30) shipments of gold and silver dore to refineries in Australia, Hong Kong, and Zurich, Switzerland. It has also ramped-up its operations, and the delivery of direct benefits to its host and nearby communities.
Also, since then, TVIRD adhered to all applicable laws and regulations as evidenced by its outstanding Tenement, Health and Safety, Environment, and Social Performance in the past fiscal year. Aside from having no Notices of Violation, it likewise has Zero Fatal Accidents and garnered the top spot as the Safest Mine under PMIEA’s Surface Mining Operations category. The Company’s responders also train with the Philippine National Red Cross and the Bureau of Fire Protection with whom they team up in emergency situations.
Its associates, Rachel Pingkian and Edwin Loreno were respectively named Best Mine Safety Supervisor, and Best Safety Inspector for their commitment to their chosen profession.
In terms of reforestation, the Company has thus far planted and grown 405,822 trees in over 346 hectares, earning for itself the recognition of Best Mining Forest – Second Runner-Up. Its aggressive Plant Plant Plant Greening Program promotes biodiversity complemented by the creation of SIDLAK (Sustainable Integrated Diversified Livelihood Agricultural Knowledge) – the only farm school run by a mining Company in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
In close collaboration with the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and the Department of Agriculture, the Company’s SIDLAK Demo Farm School teaches locals the proper methods for gardening, tree planting, raising livestock, managing their farms and marketing their products.
To date, its thematic landscaping program has introduced the eco-tourism concept to its beneficiaries – an alternative source of income that will eventually go beyond the life of the mine.
The Company’s mining operations created vast opportunities for all its stakeholders. Despite operating for barely a year, its programs have already laid the groundwork for leaving a meaningful legacy.
At the height of the pandemic, the TVIRD Group played an active role in helping those who were affected by Covid-19 and provided PPEs and food packs to individuals whose livelihood were curtailed. The group also sourced rice and vegetables from community organic farms that it helped create through its partnership with TESDA.
In times of natural calamities, the TVIRD Group has been a first responder and extended its assistance to those who are affected in the Zamboanga Peninsula and Caraga Regions during recent typhoons
And every time the community needs help, TVIRD’s synergistic response – through Balabag, Agata, Greenstone, and the help of VillarSIPAG Foundation – the TVIRD Group is now able to roll-out an even more integrated response with even wider coverage. All for the benefit of the communities it serves.
TEN YEARS HENCE
PROPER BENCHING. TVIRD employees place coconut mats and planted grass to protect and stabilize the slopes and prevent soil erosion. The slopes are also “benched” to add more stability.
A decade after the dismantling of illegal mining operations in Bayog, the town’s natural environment has grown into lush, forested areas that thrive around TVIRD’s gold and silver operations. The town itself has experienced a rebirth: new roads, a four-story school building, community stores and livelihood programs as well as a bustling downstream economy.
“We operate under business ethics that never compromise the safety and health of our employees, communities and the environment,” said TVIRD President Yulo E. Perez. “We are opening our doors for everyone to see what we’re doing so our stakeholders are informed. Because we firmly believe we can do more if we have the community’s participation.”
“We likewise keep an eye on the future. The overall plan is geared towards life after mining and that the Subanen farmers can still grow and produce farm products in their mined-out ancestral lands long after TVIRD has concluded its project,” according to the executive.
From a social perspective, TVIRD is confident that its chosen roadmap for the future is the right one. Its social programs have been crafted in consultation with its beneficiaries to help both parties navigate the future together.
From an environmental perspective, mining is not forever. That is why programs were put in place – with the end in mind. The future success of TVIRD’s programs is a testament that there is life after mining.
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To further promote blockchain technology in the country, leaders from the industries of finance, marketing, and technology have formed the Blockchain Council of the Philippines.
Philippine Blockchain Week (PBW) lead convenor, Dr. Donald Lim, announced the formation of the council during a recent press conference held at the Manila Marriott Hotel in Pasay City.
The prestigious roster of council members include Lito Villanueva, executive vice president of RCBC and chairman of FinTech Alliance; Ida Tiongson, chairperson and independent director of PruLife UK and a trustee of Fintech Alliance; and tech lawyer Mark Gorriceta, managing partner and head of the technology media and telecommunications group of Gorriceta, Africa, Cauton, and Saavedra Law. They were also among the panelists of the presscon, whose discussion delved into the advantages of blockchain technology.
Henry Aguda, Chairman of the Board, UBX; Martha Sazon, president and chief executive officer (CEO), GCash; Chezka Gonzales, founder, Woman of Substance NFT; Sheree Gotuaco, CEO, Scarletbox.io; Kate Hancock, founder, Metaverse XYZ; Brian Poe Llamanzares, founder, Artifact; Gail Macapagal, country director, Dynaquest; Emman Navalan, CEO, Tetrix; Emmanuel Samson, founder and CEO, Impero Group; Paul Soliman, chairman and CEO, Bayanichain; Oscar Tan-Abing, Jr., CEO, Anotoys Collectiverse; and Dr. Lim, COO, DITO CME make up the rest of the council.
Dr. Lim said the council was formed to advocate blockchain education in the country and to help close the knowledge gap as Filipinos transition from Web2 to Web3. The council, he said, will actively pursue private sector and government cooperation to achieve the goal of making the Philippines the blockchain capital of Asia.
Blockchain is More Than Cryptocurrency
According to Villanueva, the objective of PBW is to help Juan Dela Cruz understand what blockchain is all about. He shared that the country is fortunate to have the most progressive and dynamic regulators.
“We thank the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for having an open mind in so far as welcoming innovations,” he said and emphasized that the end-goal of PBW is to provide Filipinos and the global community with an inclusive financial framework.
Gorriceta added that PBW will show the different uses of blockchain and address the negative news it has been receiving lately.
“Blockchain is the underlying technology of Bitcoin, Etherum, and the like. Basically, blockchain promotes decentralized finance. The purpose of PBW is to showcase the features of blockchain beyond Bitcoin and how the Blockchain Council of the Philippines will be able to promote, let’s say, how we can use this technology and how we can further enhance the Philippine economic agenda of our Central Bank,” he said.
Tiongson noted that while people often associate blockchain only with cryptocurrency, the technology can provide more to support industries and protect the integrity of data online.
“Blockchain is a technology,” she emphasized, and can be used in different ways. “You can also use it for digital asset offering as with NFTs, supply chain, payment system, medical tracing, and gaming,” she said.
Daniel Robbins, CEO of California-based IBH Media and co-founder of Metaverse Collective, called blockchain “the number one global impact on our economy that we’ve ever seen in our lifetime.”
“It’s great to understand the technology, but the next thing is (to learn) how you can implement that,” he said.
NFTs, the Metaverse, and More
With the press conference aimed at giving the attendees a glimpse of the upcoming week-long blockchain event, the second panel members were composed of three experts in the fields of NFT, AI, and the Metaverse. They are Gotuaco, Soliman and Hancock.
Blockchain and its relation to NFTs, Gaming, AI and the Metaverse will also be discussed during PBW. An NFT exhibition and gaming expo will likewise take place.
Dr. Lim also announced the launch of the Philippine Block Awards, one of the highlights of PBW that seeks to honor the people behind the blockchain ecosystem in the country.
Spotlight is BusinessWorld’s sponsored section that allows advertisers to amplify their brand and connect with BusinessWorld’s audience by enabling them to publish their stories directly on the BusinessWorld Web site. For more information, send an email to online@bworldonline.com.
The Philippines’ overall balance of payments (BoP) position was a surplus of $711 million in October, lower than the $1.1 billion surplus recorded in the same month last year, the central bank said on Friday.
The BoP surplus for October reduced the cumulative BOP deficit in January-October to $7.1 billion from a deficit of $7.8 billion in the first three quarters of the year, it said in a statement. — Reuters
JLL Philippines’ business line leaders are seasoned experts in real estate advisory, capital markets transactions, office leasing, sustainability, property asset management, research and strategic consulting, facilities management, and development services.
JLL Philippines’ business line leaders are seasoned experts in real estate advisory, capital markets transactions, office leasing, sustainability, property asset management, research and strategic consulting, facilities management, and development services.
The real estate firm’s anniversary heralds a brighter way in real estate as JLL unveils its new branding
As JLL celebrates its 25th year in the Philippines, the firm promises to see forward for clients, people, and communities. By combining innovative technology with world-renowned expertise, JLL is unveiling opportunities that create a brighter future for all.
JLL Philippines’ service offerings include:
Office Leasing Advisory (Tenant and Landlord Representation)
Capital Markets
Logistics and Industrial
Research and Strategic Consulting
Property and Asset Management
Energy and Sustainability Services
Project and Development Services
Work Dynamics
Leading real estate through the years
In the Philippines, JLL has been operating since 1997 and currently manages about 9.4 million square meters of real estate with a workforce of over 1,400 employees.
Real Capital Analytics (RCA) — JLL Philippines is named the number one investment advisor, providing consulting services to investment deals worth $139.6 million, achieving approximately 48% of the market share
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Awards — JLL wins Property & Asset Management Team of the year (2021 and 2022)
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) — JLL’s Integrated Facilities Management business is ISO 41001:2018-certified
Ethisphere — World’s Most Ethical Companies (2008-2022)
WELL pre-certified — JLL Philippines gets international nod for employee wellness-centered office
With more than two decades of local expertise working hand-in-hand with its global legacy, JLL offers to the Philippine real estate market an unparalleled synergy of services with a process-oriented approach.
See a brighter way
There’s the conventional way of doing things. And then, there’s the JLL way — a more innovative, intelligent, and human way. For the firm’s 25th year, JLL intends to translate this vision across the brand.
See a brighter way: JLL unveils new branding.
“JLL takes pride in doing things differently. We see the built environment as a powerful medium with which to change the world for the better. By combining innovative technology and data intelligence with our world-renowned expertise, we’re able to unveil untapped opportunities for success,” says Joey Radovan, Country Head of JLL Philippines.
Spotlight is BusinessWorld’s sponsored section that allows advertisers to amplify their brand and connect with BusinessWorld’s audience by enabling them to publish their stories directly on the BusinessWorld Web site. For more information, send an email to online@bworldonline.com.
Hundreds of Twitter employees are estimated to be leaving the beleaguered social media company following an ultimatum from new owner Elon Musk that staffers sign up for “long hours at high intensity,” or leave.
In a poll on the workplace app Blind, which verifies employees through their work email addresses and allows them to share information anonymously, 42% of 180 people chose the answer for “Taking exit option, I’m free!”
A quarter said they had chosen to stay “reluctantly,” and only 7% of the poll participants said they “clicked yes to stay, I’m hardcore.”
Musk was meeting some top employees to try and convince them to stay, said one current employee and a recently departed employee who is in touch with Twitter colleagues.
While it is unclear how many employees have chosen to stay, the numbers highlight the reluctance of some staffers to remain at a company where Musk has hastened to fire half its employees including top management, and is ruthlessly changing the culture to emphasize long hours and an intense pace.
The company notified employees that it will close its offices and cut badge access until Monday, according to two sources. Security officers have begun kicking employees out of
the office on Thursday evening, one source said.
Musk took to Twitter late on Thursday and said that he was not worried about resignations as “the best people are staying.”
The billionaire owner amid the flood of resignations also added that Twitter has hit all time high in usage.
“And we just hit another all time high in Twitter usage…,” he said in a tweet, without elaborating.
Twitter, which has lost many of its communication team members, did not respond to a request for comment.
PLATFORM STABILITY
The departures include many engineers responsible for fixing bugs and preventing service outages, raising questions about the stability of the platform amid the loss of employees.
On Thursday evening, the version of the Twitter app used by employees began slowing down, according to one source familiar
with the matter, who estimated that the public version of Twitter was at risk of breaking during the night.
“If it does break, there is no one left to fix things in many areas,” the person said, who declined to be named for fear of retribution.
Reports of Twitter outages rose sharply from less than 50 to about 350 reports on Thursday evening, according to website Downdetector, which tracks website and app outages.
In a private chat on Signal with about 50 Twitter staffers, nearly 40 said they had decided to leave, according to the former employee.
And in a private Slack group for Twitter’s current and former employees, about 360 people joined a new channel titled
“voluntary-layoff,” said a person with knowledge of the Slack group.
A separate poll on Blind asked staffers to estimate what percentage of people would leave Twitter based on their perception. More than half of respondents estimated at least 50% of employees would leave.
Blue hearts and salute emojis flooded Twitter and its internal chatrooms on Thursday, the second time in two weeks as Twitter employees said their goodbyes.
By 6 p.m. Eastern, over two dozen Twitter employees across the United States and Europe had announced their departures in public Twitter posts reviewed by Reuters, though each resignation could not be independently verified.
Early on Wednesday, Musk had emailed Twitter employees, saying: “Going forward, to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and
succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore.”
The email asked staff to click “yes” if they wanted to stick around. Those who did not respond by 5 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday would be considered to have quit and given a severance package, the email said.
As the deadline approached, employees scrambled to figure out what to do.
One team within Twitter decided to take the leap together and leave the company, one employee who is leaving told Reuters.
Notable departures included Tess Rinearson, who was tasked with building a cryptocurrency team at Twitter. Ms. Rinearson tweeted the blue heart and salute emojis.
In an apparent jab at Musk’s call for employees to be “hardcore,” the Twitter profile bios of several departing engineers on Thursday described themselves as “softcore engineers” or “ex-hardcore engineers.”
As the resignations rolled in, Mr. Musk cracked a joke on Twitter.
“How do you make a small fortune in social media?” he tweeted. “Start out with a large one.” — Reuters
Meta Platforms, Inc Chief. Executive Mark Zuckerberg told employees on Thursday that WhatsApp and Messenger would drive the company’s next wave of sales growth, as he sought to assuage concerns about Meta’s finances after its first mass layoffs.
Mr. Zuckerberg, addressing pointed questions at a company-wide meeting a week after Meta said it would lay off 11,000 workers, described the pair of messaging apps as being “very early in monetizing” compared to its advertising juggernauts Facebook and Instagram, according to remarks heard by Reuters.
“We talk a lot about the very long-term opportunities like the metaverse, but the reality is that business messaging is probably going to be the next major pillar of our business as we work to monetize WhatsApp and Messenger more,” he said.
Meta enables some consumers to speak and transact with merchants through the chat apps, including a new feature announced Thursday in Brazil.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday’s internal forum.
Mr. Zuckerberg’s comments there reflect a shift in tone and emphasis after focusing heavily on extended reality hardware and software investments since announcing a long-term ambition to build out an immersive metaverse last year.
Investors have questioned the wisdom of that decision as Meta’s core advertising business has struggled this year, more than halving its stock price.
In his remarks to employees, Mr. Zuckerberg played down how much the company was spending in Reality Labs, the unit responsible for its metaverse investments.
People were Meta’s biggest expense, followed by capital expenditure, the vast majority of which went to infrastructure to support its suite of social media apps, he said. About 20% of Meta’s budget was going to Reality Labs.
Within Reality Labs, the unit was spending over half of its budget on augmented reality (AR), with smart glasses products continuing to emerge “over the next few years” and some “truly great” AR glasses later in the decade, Mr. Zuckerberg said.
“This is in some ways is the most challenging work … but I also think it’s the most valuable potential part of the work over time,” he said.
About 40% of Reality Labs’ budget went toward virtual reality, while about 10% was spent on futuristic social platforms such as the virtual world it calls Horizon.
Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, who runs Reality Labs, said AR glasses need to be more useful than mobile phones to appeal to potential customers and meet a higher bar for attractiveness.
Mr. Bosworth said he was wary of developing “industrial applications” for the devices, describing that as “niche,” and wanted to stay focused on building for a broad audience. — Reuters
