Menopause strains workforce with some women planning to quit

January 18, 2022 | 10:09 pm

ALMOST a fifth of the female workforce who are experiencing the menopause are considering leaving their jobs, a survey shows.

The study commissioned by the childcare service Koru Kids showed that most women don’t get any support at work for their symptoms, and almost a quarter of them aged are unhappy in their jobs because of it. About 18% are thinking about quitting all together, the survey of 2,000 women between the ages of 45 to 67 showed.

“Women should never be pushed out of the workplace because of their biology,” said Rachel Carrell, the founder of Koru Kids. “We need to support older women with flexible working and health support so they don’t fall out of the workplace needlessly.”

The symptoms caused by menopause and the time leading up to it, perimenopause, include loss of sleep, mood swings, and flashes. They can be so debilitating that it has a bigger impact on women’s careers than anything else except having children.

It also adds to strains on the UK labor market, where job vacancies are going unfilled because of a shortage of qualified staff, increasing wages and concerns about inflation.

Women looking to quit listed pressure along with not being able to work flexibly and a lack of understanding from management as the key reasons they wanted to leave.

Fully 63% of the women surveyed who were going through menopause said that their employer hadn’t introduced any policy to support those struggling with symptoms. An even higher proportion of those who had taken time off because of their symptoms hadn’t told their employer the real reason why. — Bloomberg

UN chief urges business to help poor nations in ‘hour of need’

January 18, 2022 | 10:05 pm

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to business leaders on Monday to support developing countries “in their hour of need” with access to COVID-19 vaccines, help to combat the climate crisis and reform of the global financial system.

Speaking virtually to the World Economic Forum, Mr. Guterres said: “Across all three of these areas, we need the support, the ideas, the financing and the voice of the global business community.”

He said there has been a “global inability to support developing countries in their hour of need” and warned that without immediate action inequalities and poverty would deepen, fueling more social unrest and more violence.

“We cannot afford this kind of instability,” said Mr. Guterres, who began a second five-year term as U.N. chief on Jan. 1.

He has long been pushing for more global action to address COVID-19 vaccine inequity and climate change and for reform of the global financial system.

“We need a global financial system that is fit-for-purpose. This means urgent debt restructuring and reforms of the long-term debt architecture,” Mr. Guterres said.

The World Health Organization last year set targets for 40% of people in all countries to be vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the end of 2021 and 70 per cent by the middle of this year.

“We are nowhere near these targets. Vaccination rates in high-income countries are — shamefully — seven times higher than in African countries. We need vaccine equity, now,” Mr. Guterres said.

He also warned of a lopsided recovery from the pandemic with low-income countries at a huge disadvantage.

“They’re experiencing their slowest growth in a generation,” Mr. Guterres said. “The burdens of record inflation, shrinking fiscal space, high interest rates and soaring energy and food prices are hitting every corner of the world and blocking recovery — especially in low- and some middle-income countries.” — Reuters

Robert Lewandowski wins FIFA Best awards with Alexia Putellas

January 18, 2022 | 9:57 pm

BAYERN Munich’s Polish striker Robert Lewandowski won the FIFA Best Men’s Player award for 2021 with Barcelona’s Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas winning the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Best Women’s Player prize at Monday’s ceremony.

The prolific Lewandowski won the award for the second straight year after a season in which he beat Gerd Mueller’s 49-year old record of 40 goals in a single Bundesliga campaign.

“Robert is someone special. He is the greatest footballer in the history of our country. The best Polish ambassador and a role model for young people, not only those playing football,” said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Facebook.

The 27-year-old Putellas was at the heart of the Barcelona women’s team which won the Spanish league and the UEFA Champions League.

Chelsea won both the awards for best coach, with Thomas Tuchel winning the men’s award and Emma Hayes named the best women’s coach.

Tuchel had guided Chelsea to the Champions League title after taking over the club in January while Hayes won the Women’s Super League, FA Cup and League Cup treble in England.

The West London club enjoyed further recognition with their Senegal international Edouard Mendy winning the Best Men’s Goalkeeper award.

Chile and Olympique Lyonnais’ Christiane Endler was named The Best Women’s Goalkeeper.

The Puskas Award for best goal of the year was won by Argentine Erik Lamela, now with Spanish club Sevilla, for his goal for Tottenham Hotspur against Arsenal.

The Denmark national team and their medical staff won the Fair Play award for their swift response after Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field during the Euro 2020 game with Finland. — Reuters

Fernandez loses to Aussie wild-card Maddison Inglis at Australian Open first round

January 18, 2022 | 9:57 pm

MELBOURNE — US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez lost 6-4, 6-2 to local wild-card Maddison Inglis at the Australian Open on Tuesday to continue her run of first-round exits at Melbourne Park.

Fernandez had exited the hardcourt major without a win in her two previous appearances, but the world number 24 would have hoped to get past the first obstacle this time around against her 133^rd ranked opponent whom she beat in both prior meetings.

But Inglis seized the advantage with a break in the seventh game to take the opening set and then opened up a 4-0 lead in the second with a double break.

The 19-year-old Canadian, who accumulated 30 unforced errors, had two of her three breakpoint opportunities in the sixth game of the second set but failed to convert as Inglis stayed solid to secure victory on her third match point.

It was the first Grand Slam main draw win at the fifth attempt for the 24-year-old from Perth. — Reuters

Luka Dončić triple-double helps Mavs edge Thunder

January 18, 2022 | 9:56 pm

LUKA Dončić had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists as the Dallas Mavericks held on for a 104-102 win over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.

Dončić struggled from the field, making just 4 of 17 shots, his worst shooting night of the season in both percentage and made shots. However, he still managed to record his fifth triple-double of the season.

Dončić now has 41 career triple-doubles, more than half of the 81 triple-doubles in franchise history.

The Thunder, who trailed by 22 points in the third quarter, had a chance to tie or take the lead in the final seconds after the Mavericks’ Josh Green missed two free throws with 2.6 seconds left.

However, Dallas’ Tim Hardaway, Jr. wrestled the inbounds pass away from Mike Muscala, giving the Mavericks the win.

The Thunder lost for the seventh time in eight games. Dallas extended its winning streak to three and won for the ninth time in its last 10 games.

The victory wasn’t easy for the Mavericks, though.

Dallas turned ice cold from the floor in the middle of the third quarter, letting Oklahoma City get back into the game with a 22-2 run that trimmed the deficit to 72-70 in the final minute of the period.

The Mavericks were just 1 of 11 from the field during that span before Trey Burke’s 3-pointer helped Dallas steady itself a bit heading into the fourth.

The Thunder had been struggling on offense before the stretch that saw them make 7 of 8 from the floor, including four 3-pointers, to close the gap.

With 20 seconds left in the third, Oklahoma City had the ball down by three. However, the Thunder committed a turnover, and Green’s layup extended the lead to five.

Dorian Finney-Smith added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks. Jalen Brunson had 14 points, eight in the fourth quarter, and eight assists.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 34 points, while Luguentz Dort added 18 points and seven rebounds.

Dallas’ Reggie Bullock missed the game with right knee soreness, and Maxi Kleber left the game early in the third quarter after injuring his left knee on an alley-oop dunk. — Reuters

Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams cruise past Arizona Cardinals, 34-11

January 18, 2022 | 9:56 pm

MATTHEW Stafford rushed for one touchdown (TD) and passed for two more as the Los Angeles Rams advanced to the National Football Conference (NFC) divisional playoff round with a convincing 34-11 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night in Inglewood, CA.

Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham, Jr. had touchdown receptions for the Rams, who used a dominating performance from their defense to earn an appearance in the divisional round for the third time in the past four seasons.

Stafford threw for 202 yards on 13-of-17 passing while the Rams had 140 rushing yards, led by Sony Michel (13 carries, 58 yards) and Cam Akers (17, 55).

Fourth-seeded Los Angeles will hit the road to face the second-seeded Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, with the winner advancing to the NFC Championship Game.

Quarterback Kyler Murray had just 137 passing yards and two interceptions as the Cardinals lost for the fifth time in their last six games dating back to Week 14, when they took a 30-23 home loss to the Rams.

Arizona had minus-1 net yards near the midway point of the second quarter, following its first five drives of the game, and finished with 183 total yards. Cardinals running backs Chase Edmonds and James Conner combined for just 47 yards on 12 carries.

Rams coach Sean McVay said of his defensive players, “They played really well overall, but what they did in the first half, they held them to 40 yards. I think it was one of the best performances in playoff history being able to hold (down) an explosive offense like that, to be able to get a defensive touchdown, a couple of turnovers. Just so pleased with those guys.”

Los Angeles Pro Bowl defensive tackle Aaron Donald added, “I feel like we were dominant out there. I feel like the quarterback wasn’t comfortable at all… That was the game plan. We stuck to it, and we had some success out there.”

The Rams took a 7-0 lead with 3:50 remaining in the first quarter when Stafford lobbed a 4-yard TD pass to Beckham in the back, left corner of the end zone. Stafford’s 1-yard quarterback sneak with 11:58 remaining in the second quarter made it a 14-0 advantage.

Things only got worse on offense for the Cardinals when the Rams’ David Long, Jr. intercepted a bobbled Murray screen pass and returned it 3 yards for a TD and a 21-0 lead with 7:59 remaining before the half.

Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said, “You come out against a really good team and don’t do anything right for the first two quarters, that’s what’s going to happen. You have to give them credit. They played a great game and we didn’t do much right, coaching or playing, in the first half.”

The Rams made it 28-0 on Kupp’s 7-yard TD reception early in the third quarter before the Cardinals finally got on the scoreboard. Connor rushed for a 2-yard TD with 4:11 remaining in the third quarter, and Arizona added a two-point conversion to trail 28-8.

Stafford earned his first playoff victory in four tries after three prior defeats with the Detroit Lions.

Murray completed 19 of 34 passes in his first career playoff game, capping his third season.

Kingsbury said, “We have to use this as motivation and come back stronger from it, because that’s not indicative of who we want to be and unfortunately, that’s what showed up tonight.” — Reuters

Spezia strikes at the death to stun title-chasing AC Milan

January 18, 2022 | 9:56 pm

ROME — Emmanuel Gyasi scored a stunning 96^th-minute winner as relegation battling Spezia came from behind to beat AC Milan (2-1) in a controversial match at San Siro on Monday, putting a dent in the home side’s Serie A title hopes.

In-form Milan winger Rafael Leao put his side in front at the end of the first half after Theo Hernandez missed a penalty, but the visitors struck back through substitute Kevin Agudelo.

Junior Messias thought he had won it for the hosts when he curled home in stoppage time, but the referee’s whistle had already sounded for an earlier foul on Milan’s Ante Rebic, and Spezia then hit on the break to win it at the death.

The decision left Milan furious as referee Marco Serra left hardly any time for advantage to be played, with around two seconds passing between the foul on Rebic and Messias’ shot.

“I tried to calm down the players but couldn’t,” Milan coach Stefano Pioli told DAZN.

“We know we have suffered an injustice. It’s a shame, the responsibility is ours for the goal we conceded but that must be shared with the referee.”

It was a missed opportunity for Pioli’s side, who went into the game knowing a win would send them top, but remain two points behind leaders Inter Milan, who have a game in hand.

Spezia climbed to 14^th place on 22 points, six clear of the relegation zone.

“The guys were great, they knew it was a difficult game against a team that is fighting for the title. We did well right to the end,” Spezia coach Thiago Motta said.

Elsewhere, third-placed Napoli narrowed the gap to the top two as Hirving Lozano scored twice in a 2-0 win at Bologna, leaving Luciano Spalletti’s side two points behind Milan.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Milan went into the game on a run of three consecutive league wins, despite missing a string of key players through injury and Africa Cup of Nations commitments.

The hosts started strongly as Leao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexis Saelemaekers tested Ivan Provedel.

But the goalkeeper was at fault when he kicked Leao to concede a spot kick, which Hernandez steered wide.

Within two minutes Leao put them in front, racing onto a long pass to guide a lob over the outrushing Provedel.

Spezia was improved after the break and was rewarded when Agudelo fired home from close range on the 64^th minute.

Milan piled forward late on and thought they had won it with Messias’ curler but the referee had called a free kick, which Ibrahimovic got on target to force another save from the impressive Provedel.

Spezia struck on the break in the final minute to clinch it, Viktor Kovalenko picking out Gyasi to finish.

In Bologna, Napoli earned a comfortable 2-0 win thanks to Mexican winger Lozano.

He fired in his first after 20 minutes, before rounding the goalkeeper to tap in a second early in the second half.

Lozano’s two goals were as many as he had scored in his previous 21 Serie A games.

In the late game, Fiorentina thrashed managerless Genoa 6-0 in Florence to go sixth, in the Grifone’s first game since sacking coach Andriy Shevchenko.

Cristiano Biraghi scored from two direct free kicks, while Alvaro Odriozola, Giacomo Bonaventura, Dusan Vlahovic and Lucas Torreira were also on target in a rout against the 19^th-placed visitors, led by interim boss Abdoulay Konko. — Reuters

Durant-less Nets

January 18, 2022 | 9:55 pm

The first in a stretch of 11 road games interrupted by three homestands over the next three and a half weeks didn’t quite go as planned for the Nets. Despite having part-time All-Star Kyrie Irving on board, they fell to the upstart Cavaliers in a match they actually led a third into the final quarter. That they faltered down the stretch speaks volumes about their relative lack of cohesiveness, although admittedly not unexpected given the susceptibility of the Big Three to injury and, yes, the vagaries of the National Basketball Association’s health protocols.

Speaking of injury, the medial collateral ligament sprain that acknowledged top dog Kevin Durant suffered in the Nets’ previous outing figures to sideline him for four to six weeks. It’s the latest in a series of setbacks that has prevented him from sharing the court with James Harden and Irving for more than 10% of possible matches since the former Most Valuable Player awardee parted ways with the Rockets last year.

The good news is that the Nets will have Irving present for the 11 matches away from Barclays Center. He’ll be aiming to get his sea legs with Harden by his side, and Durant’s absence may yet prove to be a boon. Not that the wins will come easier as a result; as he himself noted, “You can’t replace Kev. It’s impossible.” That said, the development enables them to rely on their leader less; not for nothing is the latter on pace to norm the highest number of minutes on the court in eight years.

Bottom line, however, the Nets need Durant, Harden, and Irving to be at their level best, together, in order to contend for the championship. Else, they may well find themselves lost in the shuffle given the continued competitiveness of the usual suspects and the accompanying rise of upstarts also casting moist eyes on the hardware. In a wide-open race where any advantage is welcome, three is most definitely not a crowd.

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

Peso sinks on higher oil prices, US yields

January 18, 2022 | 9:45 pm

THE PESO retreated versus the greenback on Tuesday on cautious sentiment due to higher US yields and oil prices.

The local unit ended trading at P51.488 per dollar on Tuesday, weakening by 23.3 centavos from its P51.255 close on Monday, based on data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

The peso opened Tuesday’s session stronger at P51.20 per dollar, which was also its intraday best. Its weakest showing was its close of P51.488 against the greenback.

Dollars exchanged went up to $841.60 million on Tuesday from $820.90 million on Monday.

The peso was down on cautious sentiment amid higher US Treasury yields, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

Reuters reported that US two-year yields, which track short-term rate expectations, crossed 1% for the first time since February 2020.

Meanwhile, a trader attributed the peso’s weakness to “lingering inflationary concerns amid the continued increase in international crude oil prices.”

Oil prices increased by more than $1 to more than seven-year high on Tuesday amid concerns about probably supply disruptions after an attack by Yemen’s Houthi group to the United Arab Emirates.

Brent crude futures inched up by $1.37 or 1.6% to $87.85 a barrel by 0738 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed by $1.71 or 2% from Friday’s settlement to $85.53 a barrel.

Both benchmarks surged to their highest since October 2014.

For Wednesday, Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P51.30 to P51.50 per dollar, while the trader expects the local unit to move within P51.35 to P51.60. — L.W.T. Noble with Reuters

PSE index rebounds as investors pick up bargains

January 18, 2022 | 9:43 pm

PHILIPPINE SHARES rebounded on Tuesday after two days of decline as investors went bargain hunting following a slight improvement in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation in Metro Manila.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed 120.13 points or 1.66% to end at 7,343.96 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index gained 37.16 points or 0.96% to close at 3,882.40.

“Market went on bargain hunting today after down for two days with the transmission rate on negative trend indicative of the slowing transmission rate after the uptrend prior to this week entry though infection rates remain at record levels,” Diversified Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Aniceto K. Pangan said in a text message on Tuesday.

Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said sentiment turned positive amid signs of improvement in the National Capital Region’s (NCR) COVID-19 situation.

Independent research firm OCTA Research Group on Tuesday said the virus’ spread in the NCR region, suspected to be caused by the Omicron variant, is slowing down.

OCTA Research fellow and University of the Philippines professor Fredegusto Guido P. David also said during the government’s Laging Handa press briefing that based on the trend in South Africa, where the new variant was first detected, the cases declined after two weeks since its surge.

Mr. Tantiangco noted that market activity has weakened, with value turnover at just P4.95 billion with 850.25 million issues traded on Tuesday versus the P5.78 billion with 1.13 million shares logged on Monday.

“The lethargic trading shows that many investors are still staying out of the market while waiting for the COVID-19 uncertainties to clear,” he said.

First Metro Investment Corp. Head of Research Cristina S. Ulang said investors also priced in the peaking of the inoculation rate in the country and how infections seem close to a plateau.

The government last week said it has reached its initial target of fully vaccinating 54 million individuals. Vaccine czar Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. said during a taped Cabinet meeting on Monday night that the task force wants to inoculate 90 million people by June.

All sectoral indices ended in the green except for mining and oil, which lost 68.89 points or 0.66% to 10,249.94.

On the other hand, holding firms gained 130.97 points or 1.86% to 7,172.01; services climbed 36.25 points or 1.82% to 2,018.76; financials advanced 23.12 points or 1.40% to 1,672.27; property increased 42.52 points or 1.33% to 3,235.67; and industrials improved 70.39 points or 0.68% to 10,394.51.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 100 against 85, while 56 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign selling went down to P172.38 million from the P232.39 million recorded the previous trading day. — M.C. Lucenio

PHL Twitter users can now report misleading tweets

January 18, 2022 | 3:27 pm

Twitter users in the Philippines can now report a tweet containing misleading information by clicking on the three dots found at the upper right-hand corner, and then choosing “Report Tweet” and “It’s misleading” in the options.

The feature rolled out in the Philippines, Brazil, and Spain on Jan. 17. The countries were selected because of geographical diversity, and also because the upcoming elections in the Philippines and Brazil could further test the usefulness of the feature during civic events.

The reporting feature was first made available in the US, South Korea, and Australia in Aug. 2021 to examine if the tool was effective for the Twitter community to report misinformation in real time.

“The learnings garnered through the test was used to inform our efforts to potentially roll out a misinformation reporting feature more broadly. They also helped us better understand and identify misinformation trends and emerging narratives on Twitter,” according to a Twitter spokesperson in an e-mail.

The company added that it has a specially trained team that reviews each report — including those in Filipino — against the Twitter Rules and Terms of Service.

POTENTIAL VIOLATIONS
Over half of the violative content in the platform (such as COVID-19 misinformation, civic integrity, and synthetic and manipulated media) are surfaced by its automated systems. The rest are surfaced through its internal teams, and through work with trusted partners.

Since the 2021 launch of the reporting feature, Twitter has received 3.73 million reports of 1.95 million distinct tweets authored by 64 thousand distinct accounts.

A lot of the 3.73 million reports were “off-topic,” Twitter found, resulting in a low-violation rate of less than 10%. It also found that the reporting feature gave a sense of empowerment to users — most of whom would rather report a potentially misleading tweet than quote or reply to it.

The findings have revealed the company’s need to continue optimizing how it filters and prioritizes reports before it rolls out the option to everyone. It also revealed the value of the reports as a source of intelligence on emerging trends and narratives.

According to Twitter, it hopes the learnings gathered from the test of its reporting feature will help it “ultimately advance our ability to mitigate misleading content, as well as help protect civic integrity during the upcoming elections this year in the Philippines.” — Patricia B. Mirasol

U.S. Senate panel to debate app store reform bill

January 18, 2022 | 3:00 pm

WASHINGTON – A U.S. Senate panel is set on Thursday to debate a bill that aims to rein in app stores of companies that some lawmakers say exert too much market control, including Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google .

U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn said on Monday the Senate Judiciary Committee would consider the Open App Markets Act is backed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.

Blumenthal, a Democrat, said in a statement the bill aims to “stop Apple and Google from crushing competitors and undercutting consumers. Breaking the ironclad grip of these two behemoths on the multi-billion dollar app market is long overdue.”

Blackburn, a Republican, said the hearing “bring us one step closer to holding big tech companies like Apple and Google accountable.”

“Tech giants are forcing their own app stores on users at the expense of innovative start-ups,” she said.

Google and Apple did not immediately comment Monday.

Apple said earlier its app store was “an unprecedented engine of economic growth and innovation, one that now supports more than 2.1 million jobs across all 50 states.”

Google said previously that Android devices often come preloaded with two or more app stores and that app sellers can allow downloads without using Google’s Play Store.

The lawmakers have said the bill would bar big app stores from requiring app providers to use their payment system and prohibit them from punishing apps that offer different prices or conditions through another app store or payment system. – Reuters