ADDIAM

My Girl cast spreads Tira-tira fever in Novaliches

After invading the hometown of the Ilonggos, the cast of the highly popular teleserye My Girl will visit Robinson's Novaliches this Sunday, August 10, at 4:00 in the afternoon.

In the past week, the My Girl love triangle composed of Kim Chiu, Gerald Anderson and Enchong Dee had a mall show at SM Iloilo, along with other cast members.

The audience enjoyed the show, especially when Gerald decided to carry Kim when fans were going wild, and this made the fans scream and shout even louder.

Kim, Gerald and Enchong were pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome and support their love triangle received. There was almost a stampede because of the excitement of the audience.

If you missed the trio's visit to Iloilo, then go to Robinson's Novaliches this Sunday, August 10 to catch them.

Catch the thrilling scenes in My Girl, weeknights on ABS-CBNs Primetime Bida.

For other showbiz news, log on to www.ABS-CBN.com . and mygirltv.multiply.com.

LPA sighted off Zambales

A Low Pressure Area was spotted settling off Iba, Zambales as of 2 a.m. Tuesday, weather bureau PAGASA reported.

The LPA was estimated based on satellite and surface data at 390 kilometers west southwest of Iba. The LPA was estimated 480 kilometers from Iba Monday afternoon.

PAGASA said that the surge of southwest wind flow associated with the LPA is expected to affect the western seaboards of Southern Luzon and Visayas with occasional to frequent rains

The weather bureau advised owners of fishing boats and other small sea crafts not to venture out into the sea. Bigger vessels, meanwhile, were alerted against moderate to high waves.

As of Tuesday, no tropical cyclone exists within the Philippine Area of Responsibility.

RP second to last among ASEAN in ease of doing business

The Philippines ranking in ease of doing business has declined: it has fallen by seven notches, a recent study by the World Bank and the International Finance Corp showed.

The Philippines ranked 140th out of 181 economies in the Doing Business 2009 report, which compares the regulations that enhance or constrain business activity. This years ranking was a decline from last year, when the country ranked 133rd out of 178 economies.

Last years ranking, however, was adjusted to 136th place because of the inclusion of three new countries—Qatar, Bahrain and the Bahamas.

The Philippines was behind most of its Asian neighbors. Singapore, for the third consecutive year, topped the ranking. Thailand and Malaysia landed on the 13th and 14th spot, respectively, while Brunei ranked 88th. Vietnam was on the 92nd spot while Indonesia and Cambodia ranked 129th and 135th, respectively.

The Philippines performed better than Asian neighbors Laos and East Timor .

The Doing Business 2009 is the sixth in a series of reports that rank economies based on regulations affecting 10 stages of the life of a business: staring a business, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business.

The report, however, does not cover quality of infrastructure, investor perception or crime rates, macroeconomic policies, and currency volatility.

Reform in trade regulation

But the report noted that the country implemented positive reform in regulating trading across border. The Philippines upgraded the risk management and electronic data interchange system for customs, reducing the time to import by a day.

Despite this improvement, the countrys ranking in the trading across border indicator fell from 57th to 58th place because of the increase in the cost of importing and exporting. The study showed that the cost of exporting rose from US$800 last year to US$816 while the cost of importing increased from US$800 to US$819.

Rising fuel cost and currency appreciation caused the rise in the cost of importing and exporting, said Kim Jacinto-Henares, senior private sector development specialist of IFC-WB.

Among the indicators, the Philippines ranked high on trading across border but very low in closing a business . Below is a table showing the Philippines ranking in the 10 indicators of the report.

Greatest momentum

East Asia and the Pacific region, the study showed, had the greatest momentum in reforming business regulations. The study identified 26 reforms between June 2007 and June 2008 that make it easier to do business in 24 economies in the region.

Countries in the region are clearly committed to reform agendas, said Dahlia Khalifa, a co-author of the report, in a statement. Regardless of their stage of economic development, they are recognizing the role that regulatory reform can play in staying competitive while boosting entrepreneurship and job creation.

China, one of the worlds emerging markets, landed on the 83rd spot but was cited for positive reforms in getting credit, paying taxes and closing business.

The study showed that Thailand implemented reforms that protect investors and make it easier to get credit, pay taxes, and trade across borders. It made paying taxes easier by reducing some fees and facilitating online filing and payments. An internet-based customs clearance system reduced the number of documents that must be submitted for imports and exports.

Vietnam, meanwhile, was cited for reforms in getting credit by making its public credit registry keep records longer and provide financial institutions data on repayment history and debt capacity of potential borrowers.

Singapore reduced the number of days spent for dealing with construction permits from 102 days to 38.

Economies need rules that are efficient, easy to use, and accessible to all who have to use them. Otherwise, businesses get trapped in the unregulated, informal economy, where they have less access to finance and hire fewer workers, and where workers lack the protection of labor law, said Michael Klein, World Bank/IFC vice president for financial and private sector development, in a statement.

The top 25 economies are, in order, Singapore, New Zealand, the United States, Hong Kong , Denmark, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Norway, Iceland, Japan, Thailand, Finland, Georgia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Bahrain, Belgium, Malaysia, Switzerland, Estonia, Korea, Mauritius, and Germany.
We do not know if they are making reforms in response to the slowing global economy but they are making reforms to be more competitive, said World Bank economist Rita Ramalho.

New overseas Filipinos political party born

Jun Aguilar and other overseas Filipinos during the formation of the new overseas Filipino political party at the University of MakatiA national political party of overseas Filipinos has been created to champion the interest of Filipinos living or working abroad. Francisco “Jun” Aguilar said the Partido ng Pandaigdigang Pilipino or PPP will be much like the Liberal Party and the Nacionalista Party “where only one part of it will be devoted to elections.” “The rest will have other concerns like getting OFW representation in related government agencies like the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration" Aguilar said, who is also one of PPPs prime movers. Aguilar said the party will open more slots and positions to willing, capable and qualified PPP members who want to serve the sector. “It will create a tremendous clout in any administration which could result in better consultation and cooperation to lead to the improvement of the sector and to good governance. We have never been consulted in any policy issue simply because there is no structured party that any ruling party has to consult with," said Aguilar. Aguilar, who also serves as the chair of the Filipino Migrant Workers Group and PPPs chairman, said they have come up with a constitution and by laws for the party. “We are setting up different chapters in different parts of the world. We have PPP in Canada, Saudi Arabia, Dammam and Riyadh,” he said. He added that they are now gearing to be accredited by the Commission on Elections. “We are trying to comply with all the requirements so that by the time we apply it will be difficult for them to refuse,” he said. PPP, he added, will serve as a party for overseas Filipinos regardless of status in their respective host country, as well as those who returned home and the families of overseas Filipinos. Despite the large number of overseas Filipinos, their number has never maximized its potential to address its numerous concerns. Aguilar worked as an analyst in Saudi Arabia for 13 years. He is now actively running businesses in the country along with other Filipino expatriates who belong to the FMW Group. The PPP global leaders are among the delegates coming from all over the world who are attending the on going "Global Filipino Nation International Conference" at the University of Makati. With reports from Ging Reyes

Oil slips from record $143 on US demand worries

Reuters

NEW YORK - Oil slipped from a record high above $143 a barrel on Monday as weak US demand countered mounting tensions between OPEC nation Iran and Israel.

US crude settled 21 cents lower at $140.00 a barrel, after hitting an all-time high of $143.67 earlier. London Brent crude settled 48 cents lower at $139.83.

The US Energy Information Administration revised downward US April oil demand by 863,000 barrels per day to 19.77 million bpd -- 3.9 percent below year-ago levels -- as surging fuel costs erode demand in the world's top consumer.

The revision showed April demand was the lowest for the month since April 2002, and came even before gasoline prices scaled to new highs in June.

"This revision of the US oil demand for April has certainly put pressure on crude futures. This is demand destruction before our very eyes," said Phil Flynn of Alaron Trading. "This is a huge revision, and it happened when prices were still lower, so you can expect that there could be more future downgrades in demand data."

Earlier, crude prices rushed to a fresh high on the weaker dollar and escalating tensions between Iran and Israel over Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard said Saturday Tehran would impose controls on shipping in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, if it were attacked. Roughly 40 percent of the world's traded oil flows though the narrow waterway separating Iran from the Arabian Peninsula.

The US Navy's Fifth Fleet said on Monday the United States and its allies would not allow Iran to hamper shipping in the Gulf. Iran's foreign minister said Sunday he did not believe Israel was in a position to attack.

Tehran's dispute with the West over its nuclear development program has supported the 40 percent rise in oil prices this year, as has an influx of cash from investors seeking to hedge against inflation and the slumping US dollar.

Oil prices have jumped nearly seven-fold since 2002 as part of a broader commodities rally sparked by surging demand from emerging economies like China and India.

Inflation in the euro zone rose to a record high of 4 percent in June, data showed Monday.

High fuel prices have hit the economies of some consuming nations, prompting some countries including the United States to call on OPEC to increase output.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi reiterated his country's position that oil prices were being driven mostly by speculation and said the OPEC kingpin was prepared to supply all the oil its customers needed.

The heads of some of the biggest oil companies, gathered at an oil conference in Madrid, said fundamentals, not investor flows, were the main driver of prices.

"This is a fundamental signal. This is not about speculation," said Tony Hayward, chief executive of BP.

A Reuters poll of analysts forecast weekly government data due out on Wednesday will show a drop in US crude inventories and a build in distillates and gasoline for the week ending June 27.