BY GILBERT BAYORAN, Visayan Daily Star, January 10, 2017 The sugar industry loses about P10.5 billion due to the importation and use of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) by beverage and food producers in the country, the Confederation of Sugar Producers Inc. said. Records of the Bureau of Customs for 2016 showed that HFCS imports…

By Christopher Lloyd T. Caliwan (philstar.com), January 10, 2017 MANILA, Philippines (Philippines News Agency) — Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Tuesday said that persons especially Indians engaged in the lending business more commonly known as “5-6” would be arrested even without a warrant of arrest.

Rey Galupo (The Philippine Star), Jan. 9, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – A construction worker died of electrocution while his fellow worker was severely injured when a steel pipe they were carrying got entangled with a live wire in Tondo, Manila on Saturday.

Windows is still No. 1, but as the PC market continues to decline, it only has less than half of the market. By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols for Between the Lines, Jan. 9, 2017 The real reason Windows has sunk below the 50-percent mark is that smartphones and tablets are continuing to grow while the desktop…

by DAVID RYAN POLGAR, Jan 8, 2017 34 workers at a Japanese insurance company are being laid off and replaced with an artificial intelligence (AI) system. Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance, seeking greater efficiency in calculating their payouts to policyholders, will soon replace many of its office workers with an AI system based on IBM’s Watson…

Romina Cabrera (The Philippine Star), Jan. 7, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – One woman was killed while six others were injured in an air tank explosion at a plastics factory in Quezon City before dawn Thursday.

AT GROUND LEVEL By Satur C. Ocampo (The Philippine Star), Jan. 7, 2017 President Duterte enters the second half of his first year in office unrelentingly pursuing his bloody war on illegal drugs, which during the electoral campaign he had promised to complete in six months. The fulfillment of another campaign promise has now been…

Written by Kris De Meyer, Jan 6, 2017 Finally a new year is here after the most politically divisive 12 months in a very long time. In the UK, Brexit shattered dreams and friendships. In the US, the polarisation was already huge, but a bitter election campaign made the divisions even deeper. Political rhetoric doesn’t persuade…

by ROBBY BERMAN, Jan 4, 2017 For everyone, there are times when a dark cloud just seems to be following you around. You may not even even know why. While we don’t mean to minimize the value of medication for those who experience this on a daily basis, UCLA neuroscientist Alex Korb, author of The…

by Jess Shankleman and Chris Martin, Bloomberg, Jan. 3, 2017 Global average solar cost may fall below coal within 10 years Countries from Saudi Arabia to Mexico planning auctions Solar power is now cheaper than coal in some parts of the world. In less than a decade, it’s likely to be the lowest-cost option almost…

By James Manyika, Michael Chui, Mehdi Miremadi, Jacques Bughin, Katy George, Paul Willmott, and Martin Dewhurst Automation is happening, and it will bring substantial benefits to businesses and economies worldwide, but it won’t arrive overnight. A new McKinsey Global Institute report finds realizing automation’s full potential requires people and technology to work hand in hand.

By Federico D. Pascual Jr. (The Philippine Star), Jan. 1, 2017 YOU have seen or survived the first six months of the six-year Duterte regime. For the new year starting this blessed day (killers do not rest even on the Sabbath), it will be more of the same – only stricter, meaning bloodier.

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), Dec. 29, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – Japanese companies operating in the Philippines are the second most bullish across Asia and Oceania in terms of being profitable this year, a new survey by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) showed.

By Jose C. Sison (The Philippine Star), Dec 28, 2016 The general rule in Labor Law is that the burden rests on the employer to prove payment, rather than on the employees to prove non-payment of the wages she is entitled to. This is one of the issues raised and resolved in this case of…

by E.J.C. Tubayan, Businessworld THE PHILIPPINES is gearing up to negotiate two big free trade agreements (FTA) next year, as countries under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) approach a consensus on the partnership’s terms, and with trade talks with the European Union (EU) set to resume in the first quarter next year.

by PHILIP PERRY, Dec 27, 2016 The Trump campaign ran on bringing jobs back to American shores, although mechanization has been the biggest reason for manufacturing jobs’ disappearance. Similar losses have led to populist movements in several other countries. But instead of a pro-job growth future, economists across the board predict further losses as AI,…

ABS-CBN News, Dec 27 2016 MANILA – The peso could weaken to P51 to the dollar next year and P55 in 2018, as policy tightening in the US drives funds out of emerging markets like the Philippines, UBS said. The peso touched the P50-per dollar level twice in the last two months. It weakened to…

By Czeriza Valencia, Philstar, Dec 25, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – While it remains to be seen if the Duterte administration can deliver the promises under its massive infrastructure push, the groundwork for game changing projects is being laid down at an unprecedented speed and with promise of greater resources.

by Janine Marie D. Soliman, Businessworld, Dec 24, 2016 FILIPINOS HAVE increased their use of basic financial services offered by banks after individuals gained more access to banking establishments in the past five years, according to the central bank.

By BusinessMirror, Dec 24, 2016 FUNDING for free education to all public-school students from grade school to college has been approved in the P3.35-trillion 2017 national budget. But assuring continued annual allocations for scholars in State-run universities and colleges, also known as SUCs, is still a work in progress.

By: Tarra Quismundo – Reporter / @TarraINQPhilippine Daily Inquirer, Dec 23, 2016 As she accepted the nation’s highest honor as a patron of arts and culture, Sen. Loren Legarda called for greater action on an “escalating social chaos” besetting the country, including political bickering, violence and attacks against indigenous peoples.

By Jose C. Sison (The Philippine Star), Dec 23, 2016 Change has indeed come to our country this year 2016. Since we became a Democratic Republic, this is the first time for us to have a President like Rodrigo Roa Duterte. And the change here is not only because he is the first President who…

By Maine Manalansan (The Philippine Star), Dec 23, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – For most people, Christmas is a time of celebration. Families shop for gifts together at the mall; they go to Ayala Triangle to take photos at the light show, and go on vacations in far-off places just to replicate the spirit of winter.…

By Al Jacinto, Abante, Dec 23, 2016 ZAMBOANGA CITY — Isang lalaki ang dinakip ng pulisya matapos na diumano’y mapatay ang baklang ­live-in partner nito sa Davao City.

By Business Mirror – DECEMBER 23, 2016 THE bonus that millions of Japanese seniors enjoyed in recent years when their pension income remained the same while consumer prices and wages fell is about to end.

By Louella Desiderio (The Philippine Star), Dec. 23, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines had the fastest average mobile internet speed in Asia Pacific in the third quarter, according to the latest report of content delivery network services provider Akamai.

By Alexis Romero and Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star), Dec. 23, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – President Duterte yesterday signed into law the next year’s P3.35-trillion budget 2017, which he said would benefit the poor and vulnerable sectors. Duterte said the first ever budget of his administration would be “pro-people, pro-investment, pro-growth and pro-development.”

By Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star), Dec. 23, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – Children make up almost a third of all human trafficking victims worldwide, while women and girls comprise 71 percent, according to a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report.

By Janvic Mateo With Alexis Romero, The Philippine Star, Dec. 23, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – President Duterte’s trust rating is declining in most areas but it is still “excellent,” the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey shows. Duterte’s net trust rating remained in the excellent threshold, obtaining a +72 in the results of the Dec.…

CTALK By Cito Beltran (The Philippine Star), Dec. 23, 2016 You know we have a problem if business executives are more worried about the business environment than enjoying the Yuletide season. Instead of ticking off “must attend parties,” a number of company presidents and CEOs have been preoccupied meeting with government officials, stakeholders, crisis managers,…