Super bazaar. A Voltes V booth makes a commanding presence at the opening of the 7th World Bazaar Festival at the World Trade Center. Bazaar organizers tout the festival as the biggest venue for Christmas shoppers, offering a wide range of goods. --ROY DOMINGO

THE Philippines is perceived to be among the countries with the highest incidence of petty bribery, the results of a new poll conducted by Transparency International (TI) showed.

AS THE Philippine peso strengthened against the dollar for a fifth day after foreign investors bought the nation’s stocks, gaining to as much as P41.865 at one point, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo tried to soothe the fears of Filipinos in London, assuring them measures were being done to blunt the impact of the rising peso on the value of their remittances.

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Thursday it may have slightly exceeded its target collection in November, but hinted that the agency may not be able to reach its year-end goal as a result of a stronger peso, and because the cargo volume has not picked up as much as they would have wanted.

PORTFOLIO investment, more known as speculative or “hot” money, poured inward in such volume the past 10 months it already pushed past last year’s net inflows totaling $3.205 billion.

BALI, Indonesia—The world’s top climate scientists issued Thursday a dire warning to urgently commit deep cuts in greenhouse gases, with reductions of at least 50 percent by 2050.

Bali, Indonesia—The United Nations is pessimistic that the “adaptation fund” being developed under UN climate agreements will be operationalized in the ongoing conference here in Bali to urgently help poor countries deal with the adverse effects of climate change.

Invoking cross-default risks, JPE restores P12B of House cuts

SEN. Juan Ponce Enrile confirmed the Senate has restored P12.1 billion of the P17-billion House cuts in automatic appropriations for debt service tucked in the Palace-proposed 2008 budget bill because of fears the country could be “paralyzed” if foreign lenders invoke cross-default provisions in the loan agreements should government fail to meet its debt obligations.

Life for Abus in Dos Palmas

FOURTEEN Abu Sayyaf members who were among those who kidnapped  20 people, including an American couple, in 2001 from the Dos Palmas Resort in Palawan were sentenced on Thursday to life imprisonment by the Regional Trial Court in Taguig City.

Hanjin completes Phase 1 of Subic shipyard, its global base

REDONDO PENINSULA, Subic, Zambales—South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corp. announced on Wednesday the completion of the first phase of its $1.6-billion project here, hastening its bid to carve in the rocky hills of this peninsula a 2.3-million-sq-m global shipbuilding base which is seven times bigger than its original facility in Busan.

$420-M coal-fired plant eyed in Subic

REDONDO Peninsula Energy Inc. will start construction of a $420-million coal-fired power plant in the Subic Bay Freeport in anticipation of new locators in the zone that would need more power.

House approves civil aviation authority

THE House of Representatives approved on third and final reading Wednesday night the creation of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines under the proposed Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008, or House Bill 3156.

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Motoring’s Best. Popong Andolong, Motoring editor of BUSINESSMIRROR, displays the trophy for Best Motoring Section, the top prize in the Henry Ford Awards, the most prestigious in the motoring journalism sector. He is fl anked by Noel de la Paz (left), vice president for human resources of Ford, and Ford president Richard Baker at the ceremonies in Makati City Wednesday night. BUSINESSMIRROR contributing photographer Ed Simon also bagged the prize for best Motoring Photo. --NONOY LACZA