Market may trade sideways this week

MANILA, Philippines — The stock market this week may be characterised by follow through buying on Chinese New Year ahead of the release of the January inflation numbers, according to First Metro Investment Corp. vice president Cristina Ulang.

Ulang said investors would closely monitor the corporate earnings report, noting that outperformance versus estimates would hold the key to sustained foreign buying.

Christopher Mangun, head of Eagle Equities, said that there may be lower trading volumes this week.


“This week is the first trading week of February and with only four days of trading we are going to see lower trading volumes as the holiday is in the middle of week and investors may take a break from trading and take the week off,” he said

Thus, he said the market may continue to trade sideways between 8,000 and 8,200.

“The index may end the week lower, but the key is for it to stay above the 8,000 level. If we continue to see heavy foreign inflows, then the market may sustain its current momentum. Local investors have started taking some risk off the table and currently foreign money is supporting the market. With earnings reports set to start coming in this week on top of better inflation numbers for January, we may see the market factor this is and maintain its current trajectory,” he said.

Last week, the market was pulled up by rosy western equities markets which rose after dovish comments from the US Fed.

The main index ended the week 90.96 points higher or 1.13 percent to close at 8,144.16.

In the first three days of trading, there was a pullback, even touching the 7,900 support level.

However, in the last two trading days there was already  a complete reversal, eventually breaking above 8,100 in the afternoon trading session on Friday, Mangun said.

Foreign money flooded the market with net foreign buying at P5.74 billion.

In all, the PSEi ends the month of January 7.3 percent higher which is the market’s best performance since March 2016.

source: philstar.com

Asian stocks extend global rout as traders flee to safety

TOKYO, Japan -- Tokyo stocks led a rout across Asian markets Tuesday, while Japanese government bond yields turned negative, the dollar dived against the yen and gold jumped as fears about the global economy sent investors scrambling to safety.

While most of the region is closed for the Chinese New Year holiday, trading remained thin but dealers took their lead from New York and Europe where banking shares were battered.

The sell-off is the latest this year, which has seen trading screens from Asia to the Americas awash with red.

The latest round of blood-letting came on the back of worries about the financial sector as the global economy slows down, without the support of the Federal Reserve's easy monetary policies.

London, Paris and Frankfurt all finished down more than 2.5 percent, with the German DAX ending below 9,000 for the first time since October 2014. And Wall Street's three main indexes all lost more than one percent.

Financials were in focus as a slowdown in the world economy raises the prospect of loan defaults and lower interest rates, which eat into their bottom lines.

Banking stocks sagged in New York and Europe, with US titan Bank of America, Germany's Deutsche Bank and France's Societe Generale all tanking.

In Asian trade Tokyo slumped 5.3 percent in the afternoon, putting the market back into bear territory, a 20 percent fall from its recent highs.

Financial giant Mitsubishi UFJ plunging almost eight percent and rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group tumbling 7.3 percent. Major brokerage Nomura tanked nearly 11 percent.

Exporters such as Toyota and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing each down around five percent as they were hit by the strong yen.

The dollar sank to 114.50 yen, having sat above 120 yen just a week ago. The unit is considered a safe haven in times of uncertainty.

'Bucketload of concern'

The flight to safety also saw Japanese government bond yields dive below zero, extending a downtrend sparked by the Bank of Japan's surprise move last month to slap a negative interest rate on some commercial lenders' deposits.

And gold, another commodity considered low risk, climbed 1.5 percent Tuesday to $1,193.50.

Sydney shed 2.7 percent, Wellington was 1.4 percent off, Manila dived 1.5 percent and Jakarta was down 0.6 percent.

Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul, among others, were closed.

"Those off celebrating Lunar New Year will be happy their markets are closed," Chris Weston, chief markets strategist in Melbourne at IG Ltd., said in an email to clients.

"These markets need a strong shake up and sharp downside move, followed by a wave of buying to settle things down," he said, according to Bloomberg News.

"But until that comes there will be no clarity, absolutely no confidence and a bucketload of concern. It almost feels as though the markets are pushing central banks into some kind of action, but they don't know exactly what it is they want."

However, while regional equities were being scythed, crude prices staged a rebound after US benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell back below $30 a barrel on Monday.

WTI was up 1.4 percent at $30.10 and Brent added 0.7 percent to $33.12.

Both contracts lost more than 3.5 percent Monday after weekend talks between OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and Venezuela dashed hopes for a reduction in production, with Riyadh unwilling to move from its position.

Key figures around 0400 GMT

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 5.3 percent at 16,107.26

Sydney - S&P/ASX 200: DOWN 2.9 percent at 4,829.30

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1212 from $1.1193 on Monday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 114.50 yen from 115.84 yen

New York - Dow: DOWN 1.1 percent at 16,027.05 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 2.7 percent at 5,689.36 points (close)

source: interaksyon.com

Raucous celebrations as Asia greets Year of Snake

BEIJING - A billion-plus Asians ushered in the Year of the Snake on Sunday with a cacophony of fireworks, after a Chinese televised gala featuring megastars including Celine Dion kicked off a week of festivities.

From Australia to South Korea, millions of people travelled huge distances to reunite with their families for Lunar New Year -- the most important holiday of the year for many in Asia -- indulging in feasts and celebrations.

As the clock struck midnight, Beijing's skyline lit up with color as residents braved freezing temperatures to set off fireworks, traditionally believed to ward off evil spirits -- a scene repeated across China.

But the capital' streets were eerily quiet on Sunday, with nine million out of 20 million residents returning to their ancestral homes for the festival, according to the state-run China Daily.

This year also saw a sharp reduction in the sale of fireworks as heavy smog in recent weeks has fuelled fears that Beijing's notorious air pollution levels could touch dangerous highs during the festival.

More than 260,000 boxes of fireworks were sold in the city in the days leading up to the New Year, a 37 percent drop compared to last year's sales, after the smog left citizens "worried", the Beijing News reported.

State broadcaster CCTV aired its annual gala variety show during the countdown to the New Year -- which rakes in hundreds of millions of viewers -- featuring a gamut of iconic stars including Celine Dion who sang in Mandarin.

Dion performed the classic Chinese folk song "Jasmine Flower" in a duet with local idol Song Zuying, before launching into her global hit "My Heart Will Go On" from the Hollywood blockbuster Titanic.

Celebrations were also reported aboard Chinese patrol ships in waters surrounding East China Sea islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, which are at the center of a bitter territorial row with Japan.

According to reports, the dispute had led to a ban on sales of fireworks labelled "Tokyo Explosion", though a stall in southern Beijing visited by AFP was still offering them on Saturday.

In China the snake has traditionally been seen as a symbol of wisdom, wealth and longevity, but it is considered less auspicious than other animals in the 12-year Chinese Zodiac such as the Dragon.

In Taiwan temples were thronged with the faithful seeking blessings, with President Ma Ying-jeou seen handing out traditional "red envelopes" with money (a token Tw$1) to well-wishers in Taipei.

People also rushed to lotto booths to buy special Lunar New Year lottery tickets with a jackpot of Tw$200 million ($6.89 million).

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong used the occasion to exhort his compatriots to extend a baby boom in the just-passed Year of the Dragon, which saw a 7.4 rise in the birth-rate amid rising complaints over the number of foreign workers.

"We gladly welcomed more babies during the Dragon Year and hope that this continues into the Year of the Snake," he said.

In the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city of Hong Kong, thousands of people are expected to watch the annual night parade Sunday, at which illuminated floats will be showcased in a giant outdoor party with the city's iconic Victoria Harbour as the backdrop.

In Sydney fireworks overnight welcomed the Lunar New Year though the city's major event, the annual Twilight Parade featuring some 3,500 performers, will not be held until next weekend.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard wished the country's 900,000 people of Chinese ancestry a "healthy and prosperous Year of the Snake" on Twitter. Ministers in her government said it was an important celebration of Australian diversity.

The New Year typically marks the largest annual movement of people as millions of people across China and other Asian countries squeeze into packed trains and buses to journey home to spend the season with their families.

source: interaksyon.com

Bring in some luck at home in the Year of the Water Snake

The start of the year of the water snake on February 10, 2013 is closely inching in and accompanying this event are questions on what rituals  one should do in order to usher in the Chinese New Year full of good luck and prosperity.

Jean Chua of the Dragon Phoenix Enterprise in Ongpin Street, Manila shares feng shui tips one could do or prepare to shoo away negative energies and welcome the year ahead with blessings.





 
Here are her tips to celebrate an auspicious beginning.

1. Clean house.
Before welcoming the New Year, conduct a general cleaning of the house in order to cleanse the house from all the negative energies of the past year.

2. Display red lanterns.
Apart from being a festive ornament, one should also display pineapple lanterns, red lanterns or dragon lanterns to attract and welcome good fortune in our homes.

3. Place prosperity baskets on the table.
Dining tables in our homes should have prosperity baskets with charms inside it. To further enhance the energy of the charms, place rice and money inside. Nine days after the celebration of Chinese New Year, the rice put inside the basket should be cooked and the money should be deposited in your bank accounts for good luck.

4. Prepare round fruits and eat tikoy.
To usher the New Year, the presence of round fruits in dining tables could not be missed. Round fruits like apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries and cherries represent abundance. On Chinese New Year’s Eve till Chinese New Year’s day keep the table filled with food to live in abundance for the whole year.

Eating tikoy, a Chinese delicacy made up of glutinous rice, is also advisable to eat for it represents unity among family members. Glutinous rice treats like bilo-bilo were also recommended to be eaten for it represents coins, indicating financial fortune.

5. Make a wish.
One can write a wish on a yellow wishing paper. Afterwards, the wishing paper should be burned after the Chinese New Year celebration.

6. Put lucky charms around areas of the house with “violent stars.”
Pinpoint areas in your home that are unlucky for this year which includes the center, southwest, southeast, west and east directions. For the center of the house, one can put crystals to drive away negative energies. It is also advisable to put charms at the southwest part of the house to have good health.

Making noise in the southeast part of your home is discouraged to avoid misfortunes. On the other hand, rhino elephants are advised to be put on the western part of the house to avoid “violent stars”, which means robbery, accidents, bad intentions and jealousy. Lastly, fire wheels and three celestial guardians are encouraged to be put on the eastern part of the house to avoid arguments.

Putting “cures” or lucky charms inside the house can make not only your abode lucky but the people living inside it as well.

It is also advisable to put charms inside cars to avoid unlucky incidents.

7. Install protection amulets on doors.
To enhance good energy, protection amulets are encouraged to be placed on doors as well as peace and harmony amulets to enhance a peaceful and harmonious relationship inside the house.

8. Wear new clothes.
For personal luck, it is advisble to wear new clothes, prefereably yellow, green and red ones which are lucky colors for the year.

9. Burn incense.
One can burn nine sticks of incense and visit a temple or church for prayer petitions and blessings.

10. Be happy.
It is always good to usher the new year full of happiness and it is a must to be happy on the day of Chinese New year to attract prosperity throughout the whole year.

Chua also added that those born in the year of the Dog, Rat, Horse, and Ox will be lucky for this year in the areas of career, love business, health and family relationships. On the other hand, those born on the year of the Sheep, Rabbit, and Rooster are unlucky and need to wear protection amulets to prevent any untoward incident.

source: interaksyon.com

Sophie Albert, Vin Abrenica get K-pop makeover on ‘Pinoy Explorer’

With only two days to go before the much-awaited airing of “Never Say Goodbye” this Monday on TV5, Sophie Albert and Vin Abrenica continue to promote their first ever romantic drama series with an extremely busy weekend schedule.

The loveteam fans refer to as Sovin began their promotional blitz with a Saturday morning motorcade at Binondo, Manila in celebration of Chinese New Year.

By noontime, Sophie and Vin joined the rest of the cast of “Never Say Goodbye” and the rest of their “Artista Academy” batchmates on “Wowowillie” and had fun with Willie Revillame and the rest of his co-hosts.

But fans won’t be seeing a different side of Sovin until later when their recent South Korean trip with Aga Muhlach is aired on “Pinoy Explorer” in the the first of three episodes.

Undergoing a K-pop makeover like we’ve never seen them before, Sovin and Aga will invade the now famous Gangnam district of Psy and parade their barely recognizable “Gangnam Style” when they try out the latest trends in Korean fashion.

“Manika ba ito o si Sophie Albert?” Aga tweeted earlier in the day before following it up with “Ang di manood ng #PinoyExplorer mamaya, lagot kay Vin Abrenica!”





In addition to their quirky new fashion sense, the trio will get a taste of the Hallyu wave that is also known for bringing its famous Korean dramas all over the world. Stopovers include the Star Avenue which houses costumes from different Korean TV series.

The Korean experience would not be complete without a dash of K-Pop. Aga and SoVin will also catch an entertaining K-pop concert as the two emerging stars rub elbows with upcoming K-pop icons.

In the next two episodes, “Pinoy Explorer” will introduce viewers to traditional Korean dishes while also checking out the exciting street food trip around the colorful shopping and art district of Insadong.

Of course, no show that features Sovin would be complete without some romance in the air.

As the two take a romantic trip to the iconic snow-capped landscape of Nami Island, swooning fans are likely to wonder once again if their on-screen romance would eventually blossom into something more real. Just like their favorite Koreanovelas, fans will just have to wait and see.

The three-part special of “Pinoy Explorer” that takes host Aga Muhlach and special guests Sophie Albert and Vin Abrenica to Seoul, South Korea begins this Saturday, February 9, at 7PM.

 source: interaksyon.com

Miraculous Mandarin tea for the Year of the Snake at TWG

MANILA, Philippines - TWG Tea, the world's finest luxury tea brand, celebrates Chinese New Year with the unveiling of new products for the occasion. In a tribute to the upcoming Year of the Snake, the brand launches the bewitching Sahara teapots and teacups and saucers in gold and in silver. And, to fill your cups with brimming prosperity and happiness and to perfume the air with an ambience of rare and precious essences, TWG Tea suggests the Miraculous Mandarin Caviar tin tea and Miraculous Mandarin tea scented candle.

A legendary symbol of knowledge and immortality, the serpent is a potent guardian of good fortune, health and vigor. The spectacular design and detailing of this majestic creature on each Sahara Teapot require weeks of precise handiwork by a master craftsman. The 18-carat gold Sahara Teapot boasts alluring green Swarovski crystal eyes, while the silver plated version has the same in red.

Star the Year of the Snake with a lucky pot of Miraculous Mandarin Tea, packaged in a perfectly round Caviar tea tin. This modern twist to your customary Chinese New Year offerings of mandarin oranges brings an extra tinge of sweetness to reunions. A mélange of warm, rich black tea blended with the fresh tartness of orchard fruits and notes of delicate sweetness, the blend is a miraculous tea of delight.

TWG Tea's talisman red scented candle, accented by alluring notes of Miraculous Mandarin Tea, is a perfect addition to your home during these festivities. Welcome the Chinese New Year with the color that wards off bad omens and the fragrance of sweet fruits that represents good luck for the future. This sensory feast of fresh tonalities of tea leaves, rare resins, warm spices and mythical blossoms bring to mind fond celebrations of family traditions. Miraculous Mandarin Tea Scented Candle is also available elegantly packaged in TWG Tea Gift Box with Sleeve accompanied by Saturn Tea Tin in Red filled with 100 grams of Miraculous Mandarin Loose Tea.

source: philstar.com