THE timing was so exquisite almost everyone who spoke at the affair alluded to it. After all, the world was still busily trying to digest the full implications of the latest blows to the United States’ financial system in what was billed as the “Monday Meltdown”—the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers, the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, and the ripening crisis (at that time) of insurance giant AIG, which two days after would be rescued by the Fed with a $85-billion bridging loan to prevent its collapse, seen as hurting not just America’s but the global financial system as well.

But that same Monday night, September 15, at the elegantly furnished Pasay Room of the Makati Shangri-La Hotel, a small group of people gathered for the one big piece of good news for the day. BusinessMirror, along with New York-based management consultancy group Stern Stewart & Co. and Makati Shangri-La, hosted a recognition dinner and ceremony for the four Philippine companies that made it to Stern Stewart’s list of the Asean Top 100 in terms of Wealth-Added Index (WAI). These four that gave their shareholders maximum value are Philippine Long Distance & Telephone Co. (PLDT), Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), Globe Telecom and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).

The PSE’s top honcho Francis Lim caught up with the honorees and the night’s organizers, saying the event was the oasis in a desert of bad news. And the universal wish at the Shang? May the four be multiplied many times over next year. 

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All aboard with Dennis Trillo

DESPITE all the intrigues that have recently come his way, the much-awarded young actor Dennis Trillo seems to be the right guy in the right place at the right time. GMA Films’ ITALY (I Trust And Love You), which opened in theaters on Wednesday nationwide, is proof of that. For a refresher, it was intended to be the comeback film of the controversial Gabby Concepcion, who is now a contract talent for ABS-CBN. For Dennis, he doesn’t mind that he’s second choice.

4 RP firms shine at the Shang on bloody Monday

THE timing was so exquisite almost everyone who spoke at the affair alluded to it. After all, the world was still busily trying to digest the full implications of the latest blows to the United States’ financial system in what was billed as the “Monday Meltdown”—the bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers, the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, and the ripening crisis (at that time) of insurance giant AIG, which two days after would be rescued by the Fed with a $85-billion bridging loan to prevent its collapse, seen as hurting not just America’s but the global financial system as well.

Cooks: Now I lay me down to soup

Sauteed Chicken Breasts

BETTER baking and cooking can start today. We asked chef Susan Callahan, an instructor at the Shady Grove campus of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, to share professional tips that aren’t hard to do yet make a big difference.

Something Like Life: Go ahead, Skype me!

NOW that I’ve gotten most of my friends and family into Facebook, the social-networking site, I’m now egging them on to try Skype. In this age when our careers make us too busy and harassed to really connect with one another, Skype and other applications that allow us to actually see the people we are speaking with, across millions of miles, separated by several continents and time zones, help bridge that divide.

IN CONCLUSION: Maternal Truths
A more polarized time

THE CDC, which gathers data about risky behavior by teenagers, pointed out the percent of high schoolers who have had sex also declined, from 54 percent in 1991 to 47 percent in 2005. A Child Trends report points out that teenage smoking, pregnancy and violence also have declined, noting that most “American adolescents are psychologically, socially and physically healthy” and that “parent-child interactions and bonding greatly influence adolescents’ choices and attitudes.”

Share Your Past? What Do the Experts Say?

AS we pursue the goal of protecting our children from some of our more boneheaded and/or high-risk antics, we face one of the essential dilemmas of parenting: What do children need to know about their parents’ pasts, and when do they need to know it?