How PSEi member stocks performed — March 11, 2022
Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Friday, March 11, 2022.
Jordan Clarkson’s 45 points push Jazz past Kings
JORDAN Clarkson and De’Aaron Fox engaged in an entertaining scoring duel on Saturday night in Salt Lake City, combining for 86 points in the Utah Jazz’s 134-125 victory over the visiting Sacramento Kings.
Clarkson scored a career-high 45 points to lead Utah to its fourth win over the Kings this season. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year hit 15 of 21 shots, drained 7 of 13 3-pointers and made all eight free-throw attempts.
Clarkson, whose previous career-best was 42 points, surpassed John Drew’s franchise record of 38 bench points.
Fox wasn’t quite as efficient as Clarkson, but still had a monster night by shooting 15-for-32 with five treys and dishing out 11 assists in the loss.
Harrison Barnes added 18 points and the Kings lost despite shooting 50% from the field. — Reuters
Diaz and Salah strikes help Liverpool to sink Brighton
LIVERPOOL forward Luis Diaz scored in the first half before Mohamed Salah struck from the penalty spot after the hour mark as the team comfortably beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.
Liverpool’s win at Brighton’s Amex Stadium was their eighth straight victory in the competition as Jürgen Klopp’s second-placed side cut the gap between themselves and league leaders Manchester City to three points.
City, who has 69 points, can restore their advantage when they travel to Crystal Palace on Monday.
“It’s always the same, you expect City to win every game when you watch them play,” Klopp told BT Sport. “The only thing we can do is as win as many games as possible. We’re ready, we don’t need to call it a title race, we just want to win games.”
Diaz put the visitors in front by heading in a lofted pass from Joel Matip, but collided with Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who avoided a booking for his heavy challenge.
“He did what a striker had to do,” Klopp said of Diaz’s header. “I didn’t see it back but it was spectacular enough in the first moment. To get in there with his head it was really brave. A great goal.”
Salah scored from the spot in the 61st minute, following a handball by midfielder Yves Bissouma, for Liverpool’s 2,000th Premier League goal.
It was the Egyptian international’s 20th league goal of the season but he was substituted four minutes after scoring due to an apparent foot injury.
“He thinks it’s not serious but you can see when Salah is sitting down then something is not 100% right,” Klopp added.
“I think it was the situation before when he hit the ball and got blocked — he wanted to shoot and got blocked and I think the foot got slightly over-stretched. We have to see.”
Liverpool endured some nervy moments towards the end of the match, but goalkeeper Alisson kept out efforts from substitutes Danny Welbeck and Solly March. — Reuters
Ronaldo lays claim to all-time leading scorer record on 807 goals
MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo etched his name in the record books as professional football’s all-time leading scorer with 807 goals after a brilliant hat trick against Premier League rival Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
The all-time top goalscorer title in football is much contested and International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) does not keep an official record, but the world governing body estimates that Austro-Czech Josef Bican netted 805 goals during a career that lasted from 1931 to ‘55.
Ronaldo’s 12th-minute opener at Old Trafford was a superb strike from distance that helped him equal the record.
The Portugal international then went past Bican with a tap in from Jadon Sancho’s neat pass to put United 2-1 in front before powerfully heading home his third to spark wild celebrations in the stands as United won 3-2.
It was the 59th treble of Ronaldo’s career and his first for the Old Trafford side since 2008 following his return.
“Tremendously happy with my first hat-trick since I came back to Old Trafford!” Ronaldo wrote on Instagram. “Nothing beats the feeling of being back on the pitch and helping the team with goals and effort.”
Ronaldo’s goals have been scored for Sporting, United, Real Madrid, Juventus and the Portugal national team.
The Czech FA has said that Bican’s total was actually 821 goals following a review of his statistics.
Brazilian strikers Pele and Romario each scored more than 1,000 goals during their careers, but those statistics include strikes in amateur, unofficial and friendly matches. — Reuters
Players Championship suspends play partway through second round
THE Players Championship continued to have weather-related difficulties on Saturday, as second-round play at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, was suspended due to darkness at 6:29 p.m. ET. Play is scheduled to resume on Sunday at 8:15 a.m. ET.
Just 48 of 143 golfers managed to turn in their second-round cards on what was originally supposed to be Day 3 of the tournament. Instead, after a suspension of play on Day 1 on Thursday and no competition held on Friday because of rain and poor course conditions, Saturday was all about getting as much golf in as possible despite swirling winds that sent scores soaring.
Tommy Fleetwood and Tom Hoge shared the first-round lead at 6-under 66, but Fleetwood was even-par through the three holes he played on Saturday and Hoge never got started. Among players who’ve completed two rounds, Justin Thomas and Bubba Watson are at 3-under, with four players — Russell Henley, Kevin Kisner, Daniel Berger and Dustin Johnson — at 2-under.
“It was very weird, obviously hard to get into a rhythm,” Thomas said. “Had a lot of different emotions; first off thinking it looks like we were on the right side of the draw and being pretty excited about that, and then realizing that was very much not the fact and then just having to get over that as quick as I could because it’s obviously frustrating, especially when I feel like I’m playing well, kind of getting just thrown into something like that.
“I’m thrilled with how I played and how I competed today. It was a very, very tough day, and I just stayed very patient and executed well.”
Scores were notably higher on Saturday, with high winds and difficult course conditions making things challenging. Among those who’ve finished two rounds, only Watson (4-under 68) and Thomas (3-under 69) were able to break par on Saturday.
“It was one of those days you had to trust and you had to be committed to your shots, even if they go wild,” Watson said. “The key for me, though, is making putts. When I can start making some putts, which I did today, that’s really the key to any round for me.
“I hit some wayward shots, maybe not because of me but because of the conditions. But I made the putts, and that’s really what kept the whole round going all the time.”
Though more high winds are expected on Sunday, tournament organizers hope to wrap Round 2 and complete the final two rounds on Monday. — Reuters
Fundamentals
It’s hard to blame the Lakers for clinging to the slightest of hopes that their 2021-22 campaign will have an ending markedly different from what they seem dated to experience. Even at eight games under .500 with just 16 matches to go, they continue to believe they have a chance to make a significant dent in the playoffs. Considering that they’ve won in only three of their last 10 outings, and that their two victories in three weeks needed otherworldly efforts from 37-year-old LeBron James and overwhelming support from partisan fans at crypto.com
That said, what else can the Lakers do? Far be it for them to throw in the proverbial towel when their wounds have been largely self-inflicted. Fresh off a season in which their bid to defend their championship in the bubble was derailed by a cacophony of injuries to vital cogs, they went about upending their roster in an all-or-nothing gamble. Never mind that history appeared to telegraph the results. They forgot the aphorism about glitter and gold not always going hand in hand. And, in the case of Russell Westbrook, the fact that they do not was in plain sight. But James was so blinded by prospects as to turn away from proof, and the purple and gold have been paying for it.
The signs are clear, though. Even assuming for a moment that Anthony Davis, the other member of the so-called Big Three, is able to recover fully from a right ankle sprain that has had him sidelined since the middle of last month, the Lakers don’t stand a chance against the league elite. They hadn’t claimed half their games with him around, and there’s no reason to insist that they’ll suddenly be greater than the sum of their parts with out without him in uniform. The problems are fundamental; Westbrook’s weaknesses are accentuated by his close-to-nonexistent chemistry with James. In their set-to against the otherwise-hapless Wizards, example, they thrived best in the crunch with him on the bench.
What a waste, really, and one the Lakers can ill afford with James close to succumbing to the ravages of time. He’s doing his best to fend off the inevitable, to be sure, hence his offensive binges and flirtation with the scoring title. But because recovery from grueling battles takes longer at his age, he comes up with clunkers as well. His two half-century marks, for instance, sandwiched a relatively poor performance that had him passing up the game-winning shot while under the basket.
And therein lies the rub. Given the state of the Lakers, James cannot have an off-night. He simply has to be at his best just for them to have an opportunity to walk away with the win. Who’s to say how they would have done had they not pulled the trigger on the supposed deal of the off-season? Nonetheless, they would most definitely not be fighting for survival this late were they able to stay put. The good news is that he’s not giving up. The bad news is that, at this point, even his best may not be good enough.
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.
Investors lukewarm to Marcos presidency
PHILIPPINE investors are lukewarm to the prospect of a Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. presidency, with Vice-President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo emerging as their top pick to oversee an economic rebound, according to a Bloomberg poll.
A survey of 28 investors and analysts gave Ms. Robredo the highest score of 106, followed by Senator Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson with a score of 91 and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” M. Domagoso with 81.
Mr. Marcos and Senator and boxing champion Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao were at the bottom with a score of 46 and 44, respectively.
Investors who were asked who they think is the best person to lead the Philippine economy ranked the five candidates on a scale of 5 to 1, with 5 as the top score.
Ms. Robredo, who trails Mr. Marcos in most voter polls for the May 9 presidential election, has pledged to prioritize stamping out corruption and enabling pandemic recovery and job creation.
Mr. Marcos, the son and namesake of the late dictator who ran the Philippines when it declared bankruptcy in 1983, vowed to aid the farm sector, improve traffic flow on Manila’s roads, push for the use of renewable energy and fight communist insurgency.
At stake is the revival of the Philippine economy, among the fastest-growing in the world in the last decade until the pandemic cut hundreds of thousands of jobs and triggered a record contraction.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte, who is limited by law to a single six-year term, is targeting expansion of as much as 9% this year.
“What we need is a captain who will bring us out of the storm,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at BDO Unibank, Inc. “The next leader must be able to address the economic and social crises we are confronting, to put us back on the path to faster growth. How our markets will perform will depend greatly on that.”
Almost all the respondents in the poll conducted from late February to early March predicted that an economic expansion of at least 6% could be sustained in the next six years. Managing the pandemic and cooling inflation are the biggest priorities for the next government, according to poll results.
“If Marcos is elected, it would only reinforce our view that the economy will continue to underperform over the coming years,” Alex Holmes, Asia economist at Capital Economics Ltd., wrote in a February note, citing his tax case and a lack of achievements when he was senator. Mr. Marcos’s camp said he is qualified to be president despite the tax conviction.
The former senator led a January poll by Pulse Asia Research, Inc. with six of 10 Filipinos voting for him. Ms. Robredo was a far second with 16%, while Messrs. Moreno, Pacquiao and Lacson got less than 10%.
Ms. Robredo narrowly defeated Mr. Marcos in the 2016 vice-presidential election, which he protested. The Supreme Court eventually rejected his claim of rampant fraud in some provinces.
“Marcos, in our view, will likely be regarded as less market-friendly than Robredo, particularly when it comes to experience at the national level and in articulating a strategy for the country to recover from the pandemic,” Nomura Holdings, Inc. economists including Sonal Varma wrote in a January report.
Domestic factors such as the policies of the next government will be the biggest drivers of the performance of Philippine markets. The peso, the worst performer in Southeast Asia this month, will likely stay below the 52-a-dollar level by the end of the year, according to the Bloomberg poll. The peso, which has weakened by 2.5% this year, traded near its Sept. 2019 low at 52.29 on Friday.
The benchmark stock index, which has fallen by almost 10% since Mr. Duterte took office in 2016, is forecast to rise above the 7,500 level by the end of the year, while 10-year bond yields are expected to hold at above 5%, according to the poll.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index closed at 7,112.19 on Friday, while the 10-year rate on the secondary market was 5.4801%.
Mr. Duterte said at the weekend his successor should be a lawyer who is compassionate and decisive.
“I’m not saying it’s the best quality, but one of the good qualities of a president — hopefully a lawyer,” he said in a taped interview with his spiritual adviser Apollo C. Quiboloy, who is wanted in the US for sex trafficking and other charges.
Mr. Duterte said a lawyer would know the repercussions of his decisions. The tough-talking leader, whose war on drugs has killed thousands, also said the next president should be compassionate and pro-people.
Ms. Robredo and Jose Montemayor, Jr. are the only lawyers among the 10 presidential bets this year.
Mr. Duterte, who canceled his vice-presidential bid last year, has said he would not endorse Mr. Marcos even if he’s the running mate of his daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio. — Bloomberg with Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
Robredo draws supporters in Marcos bailiwick
VICE-PRESIDENT Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo capped her campaign sorties in the Cagayan region in northern Philippines on Saturday with a rally attended by thousands of supporters, mostly young voters, her office said on Sunday.
Her visit to two provinces in the north — a bailiwick of her main rival Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. — culminated in a grand rally in Echague, Isabela where the crowd was estimated at 10,000.
The opposition leader was “nervous about her trip to Cagayan and Isabela because they are part of the so-called solid north,” according to the statement.
“But as Robredo barnstormed in these two provinces, people came out to show their unwavering support for her and chanted ‘There is no solid north,’” it said.
“The erosion of the solid north is not just happening today,” Maria Ela L. Atienza, a political science professor from the University of the Philippines, said in a Viber message.
She said the youth and other organized sectors are now challenging traditional campaign strategies in the regional bloc. “They are no longer beholden to regionalistic loyalties and the dictates of local politicians.”
Ms. Atienza said the “solid north” notion is a concept that could easily be dissolved. “Voters change over time through generational change, access to education and information, as well as the rise of new issues, among other factors.”
Ms. Atienza noted that young voters account for a big chunk of total voters this year. “If they are more inclined to vote against the leading presidential candidate based on surveys and they actually vote on May 9, this could change the election results not only in the north but also nationwide.”
Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco, a research fellow at the Ateneo de Manila University Policy Center, said transactional politics “precludes the possibility of any regional block voting.”
“The north may appear solid in some elections, but this has nothing to do with the Marcos brand,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “It is more about having the resources to consolidate alliances with many of the powerbrokers in the region.”
He said it remains to be seen whether Ms. Robredo has consolidated support from the north. “The crowd turnout there is impressive, but if the next surveys do not reflect this, then it will be difficult to project that the tide has turned to their favor.”
A day before her campaign sorties in northern Philippines, Ms. Robredo visited Negros Occidental in central Philippines, where more than 70,000 supporters showed up at a grand rally in Bacolod City, according to her office, citing police data. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
Tribunal puts dirty money cases in special courts
THE SUPREME COURT has ordered special commercial courts to exclusively handle money laundering cases including forfeiture of dirty money, and other lawsuits under various special laws.
In a Nov. 9, 2021 resolution published in a newspaper on Sunday, the tribunal also said these special trial courts would now handle lawsuits involving bank secrecy, foreign investments, e-commerce and data privacy.
Special commercial courts will also exclusively hear cases involving violations of the Securities Regulation Code, Consumer Act, Price Act and Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, Chief Justice. Alexander G. Gesmundo said in the order.
The transfer of these lawsuits from regular branches of regional trial courts to special commercial courts, which are supposed to be more proficient in corporate disputes, would be “in the interest of a speedy and efficient administration of justice,” the tribunal said.
The court order is prospective and will only apply to future lawsuits.
Henceforth, special commercial courts will be excluded from the raffle of regular cases unless the Office of the Court Administrator deems it otherwise.
Under the order, these special courts will now hear intra-corporate disputes, cases on intellectual property, rehabilitation, insolvency and liquidation, cyber-crime, competition, letters of credit and violations of the Access Devices Regulation Act. — J.E.G. Tan
Solons back hearing on minimum wage bills, but could be too late to pass law
MEMBERS of the House of Representatives expressed support to a committee’s plan to hold hearings this week on several bills that seek to raise the minimum wage rate, but they are not too optimistic that a consolidated measure will be passed before the current Congress closes.
“We are happy that the Committee on Labor and Employment sees the importance of tackling House Bill (HB) 541 together with other similar measures,” Magsasaka Party-list Rep. Argel T. Cabatbat said in a Viber message.
“With the onslaught of the pandemic and the skyrocketing oil prices brought about by the Ukraine-Russian conflict, the government must take necessary actions to address the declining purchasing power of its citizens,” he said.
“We urge our Senate counterparts to see the same necessity,” he added.
DIWA Party-list Rep. Michael Edgar Y. Aglipay, however, said it is too late to go through the legislative process and get the bill ratified before the 18th Congress ends.
“Sadly, this was last tackled 1st quarter of 2020 and I have been fighting for this salary determination by one entity (the National Wages and Productivity Commission or NWPC) and correspondingly abolish regional wage boards because it has become inutile and anti-labor already,” Mr. Aglipay said in a separate Viber message.
“Two years have been wasted to pass this bill and I think there will be not enough time to pass this into law because Congress will be open for only two weeks after May 27,” he said.
1-PACMAN Party-list Rep. Enrico A. Pineda, who chairs the labor and employment committee, announced Friday that it will hold meetings this week on HB 246, 276, 541, 668, 2878, 668, 2878, 6752, which all relate to wages or amendments in the Philippine Labor Code.
“We will open deliberations once again also so that we can have some discussions on the feasibility of raising minimum wage through the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC),” Mr. Pineda said in a statement.
He said “all stakeholders will be invited,” including representatives from the labor and management sectors.
Under the current wage system, minimum rates are set per region through a wage board and subject to approval by NWPC, an agency under the Department of Labor and Employment.
Among the proposed measures is implementing a nationwide minimum wage rate.
There are currently pending petitions for wage rate increases at the regional boards. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan
Senators divided on opening PHL military facilities to US forces
ONE SENATOR praised the President’s pronouncement of willingness to open Philippine military facilities to American forces should the Russia-Ukraine war spill over to Asia, but an opposition lawmaker pointed out that making such a statement is “irresponsible and premature.”
“The Philippine government should not be issuing statements that are counter-intuitive to conflict resolution and which almost amount to saber-rattling,” opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima said in a statement on Saturday.
The detained senator, known as one of the staunchest critics of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, noted that the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) continue to call for a peaceful resolution and withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.
NATO is a political and military alliance with 30 member countries, including several neighbors of Ukraine, which has been under attack by Russian forces since Feb. 24.
Ukrainian authorities have said that the country’s plan to become a NATO member is among the main reasons for Russia’s unprovoked invasion.
Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, Sr., on the other hand, said it was only right for the country to be prepared for all scenarios.
“We signed the UN General Assembly resolution condemning the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. So, we should walk the talk. If our facilities are needed whether it be on land, sea, or air, it is only proper (to provide assistance),” he said in Filipino in a DZRH radio interview on Saturday.
Mr. Lacson, a former national police chief, is running for president in the May elections.
Mr. Duterte, who is ending his six-year term by June 30, on Friday said that “reality” pushes the country to take a side when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine crisis despite his preference for neutrality.
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel del Gallego Romualdez told reporters that the tough-talking leader has assured the US government that, “If push comes to shove, the Philippines will be ready to be part of the effort, especially if this Ukrainian crisis spills over to the Asian region.”
“He (Mr. Duterte) offered that the Philippines will be ready to open its doors, especially to our ally, the United States, in using our facilities, any facilities that they may need,” Mr. Romualdez said, citing the former US military bases in Clark and Subic.
Both Clark and Subic — which used to be an American air and naval base, respectively — have been developed into special economic zones with air and sea port facilities.
“If this spreads out into our part, the Asian region, for some reason or another, the President obviously sees the need for us to make a choice and our choices, obviously, since we have an MDT (Mutual Defense Treaty) with the United States, we have this special relationship, our military alliance,” Mr. Romualdez said.
Under the treaty, both sides must help each other in case of any external aggression. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan
Rep. Quimbo says MSMEs need more subsidies, not loan windows
MICRO, small, medium enterprises (MSME) need more subsidies rather than financing, said Marikina Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo, citing the latest state auditor’s report showing low uptake of loans offered by the government to help the sector recover from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I hope that the economic managers seriously consider expanding the various subsidy programs for MSMEs, such as DTI’s (Department of Trade and Industry’s) Livelihood Seeding Program – Negosyo Serbisyo Sa Barangay,” Ms. Quimbo said in a statement released Friday.
“This is the way to get small businesses re-started, and eventually, for them to muster enough confidence to avail of the expanded loan programs. Subsidies are especially important today, with the series of oil price hikes,” she said.
The Commission on Audit’s report dated March 2 showed P4.9 billion or over half of the COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) program loans remained untapped as of end-June 2021.
Ms. Quimbo said MSMEs generally have a loan risk aversion while many belong to the informal sector or are unbanked.
“Meanwhile, it would also make sense for the GFIs (government financial institutions) to further streamline the loan requirements and provide more effective credit mediation services. Small businesses need ‘handholding’ now, so they would have the courage to loan,” she said.
MSMEs comprise 99.5% of the 957,620 registered establishments in the country, based on 2020 data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan