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Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker sees return of emperor Palpatine

CHICAGO — The ninth film in the original Star Wars saga will be called The Rise of Skywalker, and will feature the return of the evil emperor Palpatine to threaten the young heroine Rey and the Resistance, Walt Disney Co. revealed on Friday.

Disney showed fans attending the Star Wars Celebration convention in Chicago the first footage from the movie, which will be released in theaters in December and will conclude the story that began in 1977.

A villainous cackle was heard at the end of the trailer, and the actor who played Palpatine in previous films, Ian McDiarmid, walked onstage to loud applause from an audience of roughly 10,000 fans, many waving colorful lightsabers.

As of Friday afternoon, the Rise of Skywalker trailer had been viewed online about 11 million times.

Director J.J. Abrams, speaking alongside a handful of cast members, said the movie takes place some time after the events of the 2017 film The Last Jedi.

The footage showed a hug between Princess Leia, played by the late Carrie Fisher, and Rey (Daisy Ridley). Fisher died in 2016, but Abrams said that in a “weird miracle,” he was able to piece together unused footage from Last Jedi to continue the beloved character’s story.

“Princess Leia lives in this film in a way that’s mind-blowing for me,” he said.

The director disclosed little about the plot, however.

“This movie is about this new generation, what they’ve inherited, the light and the dark, and are they ready?” he told the crowd.

In an interview, Mr. Abrams told Reuters that writers met with Star Wars creator George Lucas before they started to script the final chapter in one of the world’s most-celebrated movie franchises.

The goal was “to create something that gives a sense of surprise and thrill and heartbreak, and shock and awe, but also feeling like an inevitability,” he said.

The circumstances surrounding Palpatine’s return remain a mystery. The character appeared to die in 1983’s Return of the Jedi. In the trailer released on Friday, the voice of Luke (Mark Hamill) says to Rey that “no one’s ever really gone.”

Luke also tells Rey that “we have passed on all the knowledge,” and that the fight against evil is now hers.

Ms. Ridley, John Boyega, who plays Resistance fighter Finn, and Oscar Isaac, who portrays pilot Poe Dameron, all attended the event.

But the largest ovations came for Kelly Marie Tran, who plays mechanic Rose Tico, and Billy Dee Williams, who returns to the series as con artist Lando Calrissian after last playing the character in 1983.

“Lando never really left me,” Mr. Williams said.

Naomi Ackie, who joined as a new character named Jannah, said she could not confirm or deny speculation that Jannah was Calrissian’s daughter.

A new droid, D-O, also rolled onto the stage, joining BB-8 and R2-D2.

Fans were delighted.

“I got chills. I was pretty emotional from the panel leading into it and then when the trailer kicked off I was just so thrilled. I just can’t wait,” said Jon Barnes. — Reuters

DoubleDragon earnings hit P7.4 billion

DOUBLEDRAGON Properties Corp. reported its earnings soared 193.57% to P7.42 billion in 2018, backed by higher revenues from its hotels and malls.

In a disclosure on Monday, the listed property developer said revenues surged 117% year on year to P14.34 billion, while recurring revenues rose 132% to P3.03 billion.

Rental revenues surged by 174.89% to P2.5 billion in 2018 versus the previous year’s P909.15 million, as the company opened new CityMalls.

Hotel revenues also increased 34.24% to P533.62 million, as its hotels saw higher occupancy and increased room rates. DoubleDragon operates Hotel101 and Jinjiang Inn Philippines.

“2018 has been a fruitful year for the Company as it has generated P3.03 billion in recurring revenue, more than double the amount of recurring revenues in 2018 versus 2017. More importantly, cashflow from operating income, which excludes fair value gains, reached P1.48 billion in 2018 more than triple where it was in 2017, and should continue to jump further in 2019,“ Hannah Yulo, chief investment officer of DoubleDragon, was quoted saying in a statement.

DoubleDragon is bullish on its prospects for 2019, as it has completed 603,000 square meters of leasable space that will generate more recurring income.

“The Company expects recurring income alone will be more than double the cost to service all its interest costs. With this current completed leasable space alone, the Company expects this to deliver an average of P5.4 billion in an annual rental income,” DoubleDragon said.

Also, the property firm said it has P14.53 billion worth of Hotel101 inventory for pre-selling.

Hotel of Asia, Inc., a unit of DoubleDragon, is focusing on generating international sales for its Hotel101 projects this year. Last December, DoubleDragon’s board of directors gave the go signal for the creation of international wholly owned sales subsidiaries in Singapore, Hong Kong, Middle East, Japan, London, Italy, and the United States.

DoubleDragon said it also has P6.9 billion in inventory and turnover balance from homeowners upon turnover of units at The SkySuites Towers, which started last month. The SkySuites Tower, which was acquired by the company in 2014, is now completed.

To further boost revenues, DoubleDragon is tapping new rental revenue streams through roof space leasing for solar power companies, advertising spaces, and roof deck leasing for common telco towers.

By end of 2020, DoubleDragon said CityMall community malls and CentralHub warehouses should have leased out 100 megawatts (MW) of solar space which is seen to generate P100-million annual rental income.

Currently, the company has a total of 77 buildings, ongoing and completed combined, 10 office buildings, eight hotels, 51 mall, and eight warehouses. — V.M.P.Galang

PNB to raise P5 billion in funds via peso bonds

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK will offer P5 billion in bonds. — BW FILE PHOTO

By Karl Angelo N. Vidal, Reporter

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL Bank (PNB) is set to offer about P5 billion in peso-denominated bonds, with the amount raised to be used to support lending activities and diversify funding sources.

In a regulatory filing on Monday, the Lucio C. Tan-led lender said it will raise P5 billion, with the option to upsize, through two-year peso fixed-rate bonds.

The two-year bonds will be offered until April 30 and carry an interest rate of 6.3% per annum to be paid quarterly until 2021.

The bonds, which will not be insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp., will be listed at the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. on May 8.

The notes will be sold in denominations of P100,000 and in increments of P50,000 thereafter.

“Purpose of the bonds is to support the bank’s lending activities and diversify its funding sources,” Nelson C. Reyes, PNB executive vice president and chief financial officer, said in a text message.

The local currency bonds to be offered make up the first tranche of PNB’s P100-billion program approved by its board of directors in January.

“PNB and sole arranger reserve the right to adjust the offer period and issue date,” the bank said.

The fifth-largest lender in asset terms tapped Standard Chartered Bank as the sole arranger and bookrunner of the capital-raising activity. It will also act as a selling agent alongside PNB.

Lenders can now raise fresh funds through corporate bonds with greater ease as new rules do away with having to secure approval from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

In February, PNB issued P8.22 billion worth of 5.5-year long-term negotiable certificates of deposit, with the raised funds to be used to extend the bank’s maturity profile. The instruments carry an interest rate of 5.75% per annum.

Last week, the bank announced its plan to raise P12 billion through a stock rights offering to “strengthen its common equity Tier 1 and enable the bank to sustain its asset growth.”

PNB posted a P9.6-billion net income in 2018, up 17% from P8.2 billion booked the previous year, driven by its core businesses.

Shares of the lender closed at P53.50 apiece on Monday, down P3.15 or 5.56% from the previous day.

Ground breaks for St. Joseph Homes Calamba Phase 2

P.A. Alvarez Properties and Development Corporation (P.A. Properties) recently broke ground for Phase 2 of its residential development in Brgy. Laguerta, Calamba, Laguna.

In a statement, the real estate developer said that St. Joseph Homes Calamba’s new phase will feature Marya units that allow homeowners to maximize space. Marya units are available in 36 square meters (sq.m.) and 54 sq.m. lots.

“St. Joseph Homes Calamba Phase 2 is envisioned to be a place that every Filipino family deserves, where positive inherent values are cultivated and nurtured and complemented by the unique history and culture of Calamba, Laguna,” the company said in a statement.

P.A. Properties said there will be a total of 828 housing units on the 5.8-hectare property. Facilities would include a multi-purpose hall called Audiencia, a recreation area for families, a basketball court, and a jogging path. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Holy Week worthy movies to binge on

THERE are films that are appropriate to watch over Holy Week, and films that are less so. Southeast Asian streaming service iflix have come up with a list of Holy Week-appropriate films to binge on over the next few days.

APARISYON — Sister Lourdes (Jodi Sta. Maria), is a newcomer to the convent. She avoids Mother Superior, as she sneaks away to attend political rallies with Sister Remy (Mylene Dizon), a young nun suffering from a crisis of faith after her brother’s disappearance.

NIÑO — Saddled with a failed marriage, a vanishing career, and mounting debt, Celia sells her share of their house to her bedridden brother Gaspar. A fervent believer of the Sto. Niño, she hopes to invoke a miracle, as she dresses up her grandson, Antony, in Sto. Niño robes for the coming fiesta. What she doesn’t know is her own son is working towards taking the family home away from her.

ANG PAGLIPAD NG ANGHEL — Gabby, a young accountant, leads an uneventful life. Every day is routine, until he sees a beggar on his way to work. He brings the old woman to a hospice where the nuns can care for her. After this, he starts noticing feathers growing on his back. As the feathers grow into full wings and complicate his life, he starts to face the reality of being an “angel.”

MAGNIFICO — Magnifico and his family lives an impoverished life in the province. His sister suffers from cerebral palsy, his older brother, who studies in Manila, has just lost his scholarship, and his grandmother has stomach cancer. Pikoy (Magnifico), who is failing in school himself, often hears his parents arguing about money. All this misfortune urges him to think of ways to help his family. With his young, kind and sympathetic heart, he eventually helps his family and his townspeople.

MYSTIFIED — The first iflix original movie for the Philippines tells the story of four sorceresses (Iza Calzado, Sunshine Dizon, Karylle and Diana Zubiri) who, through their combined strengths, have successfully banished the evil witch Hellga. Now, the four women have been sent to live in the real world to protect the magic portal — except they are not allowed to use any of their powers. Many years later, they must come together anew to protect mankind from a great evil that is coming their way.

FORREST GUMP — Slow-witted Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) has never thought of himself as disadvantaged, and thanks to his supportive mother (Sally Field), he leads anything but a restricted life. Whether becoming a college football star, fighting in Vietnam or captaining a shrimp boat, Forrest inspires people with his childlike optimism. But one person Forrest cares about most may be the most difficult to save — his childhood love, the sweet but troubled Jenny (Robin Wright).

ONE MAN’S HERO — The film tells the little-known story of the “St. Patrick’s Battalion” or “San Patricios,” a group of primarily Irish-Catholic immigrants who deserted to Mexico after encountering religious and ethnic prejudice in the US Army during the Mexican-American War. At the center of the story is Army Sergeant John Riley, an Irishman. He was commissioned as captain in the Mexican army, leading his men in battle and struggling with authorities on both sides of the border

ALIVE — The amazing true story of an Uruguayan rugby team’s plane that crashed in the Andes mountains, and their immense will to survive. They are forced to do anything and everything they can to stay alive on meager rations and through the freezing cold.

MILA — An inspiring story of a woman who shares her life with everyone she encounters, empowering them to find their purpose and potential, and through her example, find ways to realize their mission in life.

TANGING YAMAN — Siblings Danny (Johnny Delgado), Art (Edu Manzano), and Grace (Dina Bonnevie) are leading separate lives, until they come together for their ailing mother Dolores “Loleng” Rosales (Gloria Romero) who is slowly wasting away from Alzheimer’s in their family’s ancestral home.

OUT OF THE DARK — A documentary about the extraordinary international efforts to find and rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach from a remote cave in northern Thailand.

BLOOD BROTHER — a documentary about a young man’s decision to move to India and restart his life after meeting a group of children living in an orphanage with HIV.

LITTLE AZKALS — A documentary about the search for the next Philippine Azkals football team who will undergo training for the 2019 World Cup qualifier. Of over 1,000 boys from around the country, only 22 are selected.

CAB: Fuel surcharge to remain unchanged

THE Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) is keeping the allowable fuel surcharge for airlines unchanged until the end of June as the price of jet fuel around the world starts to stabilize.

In an announcement on its website on Monday, the government regulator said the allowable fuel surcharge that airlines may implement from May 1 to June 30 will stay at Level 2, or an added collection of P45-P171 for domestic flights and P218-P2,076 for international flights, depending on distance.

“For February to March 2019, the price of jet fuel averaged $80.01 per barrel, with the US dollar exchange rate of 52.30 for the same period. This is equivalent to P26.32 per liter, which corresponds to Level 2 of the Passenger Fuel Surcharge Matrix,” the CAB said.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific are two of the local airlines that started collecting fuel surcharges in September to help recoup investments hit by the global hike in jet fuel prices last year.

The CAB started implementing the fuel surcharge matrix in September, which requires a review of global jet fuel prices every two months to determine the allowable surcharge level for the next two months.

A Level 2 surcharge was also allowed by the CAB for the months of March and April. This was previously at Level 3 in January and February, and Level 4 in November and December 2018.

According to the CAB fuel surcharge matrix, once the price of jet fuel goes as low as P21-P24 per liter, a Level 1 fuel surcharge limit will be in place. Once it falls below P21 per liter, the CAB will stop allowing airlines from collecting a surcharge.

The price of jet fuel as of last week was at $82.75 per barrel based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This is approximately P4,275.8 per barrel, or P26 per liter. — Denise A. Valdez

China’s savers ignore gov’t efforts to cool $3-trillion WMP market

CHINA’S SAVERS are turning a deaf ear to government warnings about one of their favorite investments.

Individuals hold nearly 90% of instruments known as wealth management products (WMP), a record share, because many believe they’re shielded from losses — a view officials have tried hard to discourage. The assumption of safety has been buttressed by the fact that the large banks that issue WMPs have at times dipped into their own balance sheets to protect investors from losses or even outright defaults.

That retail buyers have kept piling into WMPs even as corporate investors and financial institutions pared their exposure presents a quandary for Chinese policy makers preoccupied with controlling risks. While they want to stress that WMPs aren’t immune from losses to curb moral hazard, they must also avoid sparking a stampede for the exit among China’s millions of yield-hungry savers.

“Regulators face the tough task of having to educate investors about the risks without actually having these risks play out,” said Dexter Hsu, a Taipei-based analyst at Macquarie Research.

WMPs are issued by banks and typically offer yields of 3% to 5%, more than double that of one-year bank deposits. They can invest in anything from bonds and stocks to property.

Demand for WMPs boomed in recent years as palatable investment options narrowed amid a sluggish stock market and tighter curbs on moving money out of China. Policy makers have been trying put a damper on the market, with the chief banking regulator stressing that with high returns come high risks.

Rules published in April 2018 capped leverage and banned banks from guaranteeing returns.

The changes seem to have done little to curb savers’ enthusiasm. While there’s no official data on the number of people who buy WMPs, industry reports show that small savers raised holdings to a record 19 trillion yuan ($3 trillion) last year. If anything, the crackdown seems to have driven away institutional investors even as individuals increased their exposure.

Spurred by the rule changes, banks are spinning off their wealth management units, a shift that should insulate their mainstay operations from any risks. Having a separate unit, rather than a consumer bank brand, offering the products could also help make it clear that investors can’t rely on being rescued from losses. — Bloomberg

Oyo Hotels sales surge in 2018

OYO Hotels and Homes reported its global sales grew by 4.3 times year-on-year in 2018, as it continued to expand around the world.

In a statement, the tech-based hospitality company said it had 458,000 rooms worldwide with a realized value run rate of $1.8 billion as of end-December 2018.

Oyo saw a surge in global stayed room nights (SRN) across its properties to 75 million in 2018, from 13 million SRN in 2017 and 6 million SRN in 2016. Properties under Oyo reported higher occupancy rates ranging from 25-65%.

“We marked our presence in a total of eight global markets in 2018 — a milestone for Oyo. We are optimistic that we will maintain this momentum in 2019 as we continue to redefine the hospitality experience around the world. We will continue to invest in technology, build long-term capabilities and onboard top talents to sustain this growth,” Abhishek Gupta, Oyo Hotels & Homes chief financial officer, said.

As of March 2019, OYO is present in more than 500 cities across 10 countries. In the Philippines, it has over 515,000 rooms under management.

CPG eyes another bond issuance to finance its affordable housing projects

By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-Editor

CENTURY Properties Group, Inc. (CPG) expects to return to the bond market towards yearend or early 2020 to source at least P3 billion to fund its affordable housing and leasing business segments, company officials said on Monday.

Jose Marco R. Antonio, CPG co-chief operating officer and managing director, said the company’s plan to build about 30,000 affordable homes in the next four to five years would be partly funded again by proceeds of a capital raising at the bond market.

“That’s roughly broken down to around 15 projects, around four per year in terms of project launches for the affordable segment,” he told reporters.

Mr. Antonio said for now, the company is fully secured with its capital expenditure program for the year of around P8-P10 billion.

Ponciano S. Carreon, CPG chief financial officer, said the property developer plans to return to the market “maybe later part of this year, first part of quarter next year.”

“The thrust of the company now is to grow the affordable and the leasing segment,” he told reporters.

“Maybe the minimum will be this size,” Mr. Carreon said, referring to the listing of the three-year bond issuance.

On Monday, CPG announced the completion of its retail bond offering at the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp.

The company raised P3 billion in fresh funds that it will use to partially finance the development costs for its affordable housing and townhouse projects.

It initially planned to raise P2 billion and because of the strong demand, it exercised its oversubscription allowance and raised a total of P3 billion.

Because of the significant interest in the offering, the three-year unsecured fixed rate peso bonds due in 2022 were priced at the tighter end of the indicative spreads at an interest rate of 7.8203%.

Mr. Antonio described bond issuance as a “significant milestone for CPG as it continues to expand into various asset classes and diversify its funding sources towards becoming a bigger and more profitable company.”

CPG, which had been focused on developing high-rise condominiums, rolled out its business expansion program five years ago to diversify into other areas of the real estate business.

In 2017, it launched its first affordable housing community in Tanza, Cavite under the brand PHirst Park Homes, in partnership with Mitsubishi Corp. The brand has so far launched two more communities in Lipa, Batangas and San Pablo, Laguna, with a total 33,000 housing units in the pipeline in the next four to five years.

“Ultimately, we hope that the affordable housing platform will contribute around 35% to 40% to our topline and bottom line,” Mr. Antonio said. “Right now it’s 10% contribution to the bottom line.”

“Calabarzon remains to be prime target market, but we’re also hoping to launch in the north as well,” he added.

Asked about when the company plans to expand to the Visayas and Mindanao, he said: “Probably we’ll do that in the medium term but for the short term, we’re gonna concentrate in Luzon.”

It lives up to its billing

Just Cause 4
PlayStation 4

WHEN Just Cause 4 was announced at E3 2018, Square Enix foresaw a quick turnaround time. In fact, Avalanche Studios was tasked to oversee a June-December affair, no mean feat given the weight of expectations accompanying the projected release of the latest title in the action-adventure franchise. Still, confidence accompanied the development, spurred in no small measure by upgrades to the Apex game engine; most significantly, the souped-up version of the software environment figured to enable the in-game portrayal of extreme weather effects. Needless to say, the feature was right in line with the over-the-top predilections of the decade-old series.

To be sure, foremost among the creative minds at Avalanche Studios was the need to minimize, if not altogether eliminate, the technical issues that prevented Just Cause 3 from being a critical hit. Shiny new playthings were all good, but improvements to the old had to be addressed as well. And so they went to work, pledging, among other things, to get rid of long load times, to tweak interactions with non-playable characters, and to enhance freedom of movement — all crucial to making Just Cause 4 not just bigger, but better.

Fast forward to the holiday season, and Square Enix found itself reaping the benefits of its latest release. For all intents and purposes, Just Cause 4 represents all the best of the franchise. Positive reviews accompanied red-hot gamer reception, and with reason. It wasn’t that Avalanche Studios managed to reinvent the wheel; it was that edges got smoothened to ensure complete and efficient delivery of promise. Gorgeous visuals are the norm rather than the exception, with images jumping off the screen even — and, perhaps, especially — during frenetic action and frame rates staying constant throughout. Track modulation is an option, but, really, at full blast is the only way to appreciate the superb sound mix; no distortion is evident even during spectacular sequences featuring explosion after explosion after explosion.

And then there is the gameplay. Just Cause 4 widely sticks to script, getting familiar do-it-all protagonist Rico Rodriguez to go up against yet another dictator, albeit with a twist. As the series shifts to the wide expanse of fictional Solis in South America, it takes on a more personal turn; he endeavors to learn more about Project Illapa, tasked with creating weather cores capable of controlling nature, because Miguel, his father, appears to have had a hand in it. En route, he is given free rein in an open-world setting, able to commandeer any vehicle and wreak havoc on all that stand between him and his purpose.

Needless to say, Just Cause 4 proves true to its roots, unleashing hell in creatively destructive ways. Concomitantly, Rodriguez is near to invincible as he redefines the depth and breadth of his capacity to cause chaos, but within the story structure. The narrative moves forward through missions he must undertake and fulfill, with every completed task unlocking another part of the map that serves as a guide to his father’s home country. And side quests aren’t merely game fillers aimed at creating the impression of heft; they add variety and value, with vehicle and weapon bonuses awaiting gamers upon their completion.

Parenthetically, Just Cause 4 is propped up by the sheer size of Solis. It isn’t just sweeping and spacious, as Just Cause 3’s playing field of Medici was ultimately exposed to be. Rather, it’s very cleverly designed to avoid any impression of repetition. For all the freedom Rodriguez is given, and for all the work he needs to do, no area seems similar or glossed over. And while not all goals require destruction and debris, there can be no downplaying the sense of satisfaction derived from finishing a mission and getting to explore another part of the map — not to mention acquiring new toys to use on it — as a result.

Admittedly, Just Cause 4 panders to its target audience. From the outset, Avalanche Studios was determined not to mess with the formula that made the franchise’s previous releases fly off store shelves. And so, in polishing the series’ latest offering, they highlighted factors that made it unique, if seemingly devoid of challenging mechanics. They retained Rodriguez’s virtually indestructible persona; he’s still quick to the draw, able to heal quickly and often, and armed with a do-it-all tethering device that maximizes mobility and turns enemy equipment into personal playthings. And in their belief that success is defined by the journey and not the destination, they made sure to accentuate the fun factor through the inevitable completion of a given mission.

All things considered, Just Cause 4 can be termed a retread of Just Cause 3, but justly developed, and with cause. It’s bigger and badder, and, in the final analysis, better — precisely what Avalanche Studios envisioned it to be. It lives up to its billing, fulfilling its promise to diehards of devilish demolitions presented in ways only the Just Cause franchise can. Finishing it is a foregone conclusion, but the thrill of the ride en route is its real purpose, and, to this end, it delivers. The series lives on.

THE GOOD:

• The best in the series to date

• Improved Apex game engine amps up visual effects

• Over-the-top action

• Addresses technical issues of previous release

• Map is expansive and not repetitive

THE BAD:

• Principal protagonist close to indestructible

• Completion of missions inevitable

• Improves but not innovates on gameplay

RATING: 8/10

POSTSCRIPT:
The first hour of Neo Atlas 1469 pretty much sums up what it requires most: patience. It serves as both a fitting preamble for the main storyline and a thorough tutorial of gameplay mechanics. Players take on the role of the head of a trading company, and, within that time frame corresponding to the three years prior to the title date, build the firm up for what’s to come. Following the completion of the period of instruction (which cannot be skipped), they are asked by the king of Portugal to look for new potentially valuable-resource-bearing territories beyond Europe, and specifically that of Zipangu.

The premise of Neo Atlas 1469 is nothing new. Early generation consoles are replete with titles that provide simulations of relationship building across continents. In fact, it’s a port of a Vita release of the same name, which was a remake of Neo Atlas II on the Sony PlayStation. For all its supposed negatives as just the latest in a long line of point-and-click adventure releases, however, it’s the best of the lot to date and a decidedly unique offering on the Nintendo Switch. Rewards await, but aren’t collected merely by going from Point A to Point B; en route, players are compelled to make budget and personnel decisions that affect their capacity to meet their objectives within the allotted 30 years.

Most of the map that governs activities in Neo Atlas 1469 is unavailable at the outset, and is made clear only upon exploration of the fleet at the company’s disposal. As the designated admirals set sail for lands far and wide, costs mount, but so, too, do opportunities for favorable trade through proper inventory management and efficient transport of goods. Gamers benefit from added play through knowledge amid the expansion of routes, but are occasionally presented with the risk-reward dilemma of treasure hunting.

For all intents, the level of micromanagement required by Neo Atlas 1469 should please quarters literally and figuratively comfortable playing the long game. And, in this regard, NIS America rightly believes there is a viable market, having just released a physical copy of the title out West. (8/10)

Hard West is exactly that: a gritty 19th-century Western that boasts of an outstanding story told from varying points of view via distinct character campaigns. Heavily influenced by XCOM: Enemy Unknown, it features turn-based tactical gameplay through a handful of modes that serve to drive the narrative forward. Even seemingly inconsequential decisions to further strategic objectives weigh on how events unfold and are appreciated. In this regard, the text-heavy interface benefits from tight editing (although, admittedly, sometimes too tight as to border on dismissive).

Lest Hard West be judged as a copycat, it separates itself from other similar tactical titles, and even from XCOM, in its conscious effort to avoid randomness and instead introduce “luck” as an integral component to character development and advancement; depending on circumstances and turns of events, it can either be replenished or reduced to positive or negative effect. Additionally, CreativeForge Games chucked experience points in tracking protagonists’ upgrades, instead relying on playing cards — collected following the attainment of specific mission parameters — to form poker hands that provide corresponding buffs and bonuses.

The enemy artificial intelligence is occasionally a letdown, but, overall, Hard West delivers on its premise and promise of a Cowboys and Aliens experience. At $19.99, it’s a good buy, especially since it runs well on the go and includes from the outset all content previously released on other platforms. Recommended. (7.5/10)

How PSEi member stocks performed — April 15, 2019

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Monday, April 15, 2019.

 

BIR collections may drop at first post-TRAIN tax deadline

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said income tax collections could fall year on year at the April tax deadline, which represents the first time income tax returns are filed under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

“Compared with 2018 collections… maybe it might be lower but we are hoping we still exceed the actual April 2018 collection because kahit bumaba ang personal income tax ng individual, mas dumami naman ang filers (even though personal income tax fell for individuals, more people are filing),” BIR Deputy Commissioner Marissa O. Cabreros said in a briefing in Quezon City Monday, the last day for filing income tax.

Ms. Cabreros said that BIR collected P140 billion at the 2018 income tax deadline, while total tax collections amounted to P230 billion during the period.

Ms. Cabreros said there were 19.2 million registered taxpayers at the 2018 deadline, of which 16.2 million were compensation earners who no longer need to file their own returns due to substituted filing, which their employers perform for them. The remaining 3 million are self-employed professionals or single proprietors.

“For our corporate taxpayers, there were 932,000 registered, pero sa TRAIN, walang change sa corporate income tax (there was no change in corporate income tax under TRAIN). It’s the personal income tax which had a drastic change,” Ms. Cabreros said, noting that TRAIN exempted from filing all minimum wage earners and those earning less than P250,000 annually.

“This is the first filing (of) income tax for TRAIN. Once we get the final figure, makikita natin ang performance and comparative before TRAIN and after TRAIN (We will get an idea of the year-on-year performance and be able to compare before-TRAIN and after-TRAIN implementation),” Ms. Cabreros said.

The BIR still expects higher collections overall in 2019, with growth in the double digits, after P1.962 trillion was collected in 2018.

“We expect to have a growth rate of a double-digit figure… because the increase in the goal for this year is about 14.8% so we should try to hit that figure as much as possible but it shouldn’t be less than double-digits,” BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay said.

“Hopefully, we should go above P2 trillion in 2019,” Mr. Dulay said.

Mr. Dulay also added that the tax amnesty program, which will allow delinquent taxpayers to seek compromise settlements for their accounts starting on April 24, is expected to contribute to the increase of collection for this year.

“The tax amnesty is intended to increase our collections,,” Mr. Dulay said. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio