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Poverty
poetic. A
one-legged beggar sits beside a poster advertising foot
massage as he waits for passersby Thursday in Manila.
Spreading poverty, seen to deepen as workers groan under
the twin burdens of rising prices of basic goods and low
wages, has prompted raging debates over prices of power
and farm policy. --AP |
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TOP STORIES |
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Lopez, Palace trade barbs |
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FIRST
Philippine Holdings chairman Oscar Lopez has offered to sell
the family’s 33.4-percent shares in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco)
amid government interventions and threats of takeover.
Lopez, who
was one of the speakers at the meeting of the European
Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP) in Makati City
Thursday, said it is the government’s responsibility to
bring down the electricity rates by removing the value-added
tax (VAT) and royalties on natural gas, effectively accusing
the government of turning the Lopezes into a bogey. |
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P4-B
loss in share value turns fund investment sour |
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THE
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) may have seen
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) as the best stock to invest
its funds in, so that it increased its stakes in the company
to 245.819 million shares or 22.05 percent as of March 14,
2008, from 82.437 million shares or 8.20 percent in February
2007. To GSIS’s over one million member-government workers
and the managers of their funds, Meralco may not be a bad
choice. Lately, however, the fund’s investments have gone
sour. |
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Oil
trades near record on gasoline output concern |
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CRUDE oil
was little changed near a record in New York on concern
gasoline production in the
US
may be insufficient to meet peak demand during the summer
driving season. |
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Initial summer harvests reach 6 MMT, says DA |
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THE
Department of Agriculture (DA) reported Thursday that
initial summer harvests of palay have already reached 6
million metric tons (MMT) or 77 percent of the projected
7.1- MMT yield during the season. |
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Rice
gains for 5th day on Myanmar cyclone, demand |
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RICE gained
for a fifth day as the extent of the devastation in Myanmar
from a cyclone became clearer with as many as 100,000 people
dead, and as Nigeria suspended levies to encourage purchases
from overseas. |
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ADB:
Safeguard policies stay strong |
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MADRID,
Spain—The
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has once again reiterated its
commitment to keep its safeguard policies strong and
responsive particularly to the needs of developing
countries. |
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MORE STORIES ... |
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PRESIDENT
Arroyo listens as Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez (left)
briefs her during her visit at the Department of Justice.
President Arroyo said she made the visit to check on the
status of cases filed against traders for rice manipulation.
--AP |
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Laotian guest.
Ambassador
Antonio L. Cabangon Chua gives a copy of the book ALC Saga
of Success 2 to Laos Deputy Prime Minister Thonglou
Sisoulith during a dinner that he tendered for the Laotian
guest at the Citystate Hotel on Mabini Street, Manila.
--ROY DOMINGO |
