Awkward Ads

My mom works in the life insurance industry.  I've been exposed to the rudiments of the industry at such a young age. There's a rivalry between the Philippines' two largest insurance firms, Sunlife Financial and Philam Life (my mom works for the former).

For the past weeks, I've seen Nuffnang show Philam''s Bamboo Manalac ads on my Superb Senora blog. I would have preferred Sunlife since I'm a Sunlife kid, but then again I don't have a choice. Lo and behold, I was stunned to see Philam ads juxtaposed with the Sunlife ad campaign featuring Piolo Pascual!

Awkward, much?

Market Situationer (23-27 July 2012)

Government Securities
Expectations of a cut in benchmark interest rates drove down bids for last week’s Treasury Bill auction. The 91-, 182-, and 364-day bills fetched average yields of 1.80% (- 20.8 bps), 2.117% (- 5.5 bps), and 2.279% (- 20.9 bps), respectively. Total tenders for the fully awarded P7.5 billion offer amounted to P20.69 billion, the largest volume of bids this year.

Secondary market yields fell all throughout the week, as market players priced in a cut in the policy rates and negligible budget deficit. FXTN 20-17 dropped 7.5 bps to hit a low of 5.485% on Wednesday, as RTB 20-1 bottomed at 5.5357% from 5.625% at the start of the week. Likewise, the 10-year FXTN 10-54 retreated by 8.5 bps to close the week at 4.85%. The market’s expectations were confirmed on Thursday, as the Monetary Board cut benchmark rates by 25 bps and the June 2012 budget deficit remained manageable at P11.96 billion.

The rate cut resulted in a slightly higher shorter end, resulting into a relatively steeper yield curve compared to a week before. The difference between 2- and 20-year debt on 27 July amounted to 293 bps, marginally higher than the 290 bps on 20 July. Total weekly volume for the secondary GS market amounted to P175 billion.

Foreign Exchange
The Peso traded on the weaker side against the U.S. Dollar throughout most of the week, as expectations of a rate cut made Peso-denominated assets less attractive for foreign funds. The local currency lost a total of P0.325 in the first three days of trading, closing at P42.185 (-0.14) on Wednesday. A statement by the ECB pledging strong support for the Euro buoyed market sentiment towards the end of the week, despite the 25 bps cut in benchmark policy rates. As a result, the Peso closed at P41.90 (+0.195) on Friday. Total weekly volume for the USD/PHP spot market amounted to $4,534.64 million.

Stock Market
Talk that Spain might require a bailout soured the market’s mood on Monday, resulting in a 71.49 point drop in the PSEi. The main index closed at 5,139.40 on Monday, before rebounding 22.30 points in the next two days as local stock prices were buoyed by rate cut expectations. The PSEi gained 66.99 points on Friday on the encouraging ECB statement, capping the week higher at 5,219.55. Total weekly volume amounted to P26.24 billion.

Rates Forecast
The BTr will issue a new tranche of 10-year bonds on Tuesday. In light of tame inflation expectations and negligible budget data, as well as the upcoming P33 billion in Treasury Bond maturities, rates for the auction could head south. Expect the coupon rate to range from 4.625% to 4.75%, lower than the 4.85% in the secondary market.

Sources: Business World, PDEX, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Bloomberg

Market Situationer (16-20 July 2012)

Government Securities
Yields for last Tuesday’s 7-year Treasury Bond auction fetched a coupon rate of 4.75%, within market expectations. Total tenders amounted to P20.951 billion for the fully awarded P9.0 billion offer.

Secondary GS yields fell throughout most of last week, amidst the absence of any upward pressures in domestic interest rates. Buying interest was stoked by expectations of negligible fiscal deficit, next week’s Monetary Board meeting, and to some extent, hopes of further monetary easing by the U.S. Fed. Yields for FXTN 20-17 dove to 5.555% on Friday afternoon, down 7 bps from Monday’s levels. Likewise, FXTN 25-8 bottomed at 5.725% from 5.80% on Monday. The 10-year FTXN’s also saw relatively higher volumes, as rates for these papers fell below 5.0% for the first time in four months.

The difference between 2- and 20-year debt declined to 290 bps from 298 bps a week earlier, as the longer end of the curve shifted downwards. This is the flattest the yield curve had been since March 2012. Total weekly volume amounted to P172 billion.

Foreign Exchange
Stimulus hopes from China and the U.S. fanned risk appetite. The Peso appreciated by P0.30 against the U.S. Dollar in the first three days of trading. The local currency closed at P41.68 (+0.045) on Wednesday, matching its highest level against the Dollar this year. It closed the week at P41.860 ( -0.105). Total weekly volume for the USD-PHP spot market amounted to $4,401.18 million.

Stock Market
After gaining 83.47 points on Monday (5,297.99) on stimulus news, the PSEi shed 108.62 points in the next three days, amidst lower economic growth forecasts by the IMF and disappointing retail sales data in the U.S. The main index rebounded by 21.52 points on Friday, to cap the week at 5,210.89. Total weekly volume amounted to P31.72 billion. 

 

Rates Forecast
Expect yields for this Monday’s Treasury Bill auction to fall by 5 to 10 bps, as it aligns with the lower secondary market yields. The 91-, 182-, and 364-day bills last fetched 2.008%, 2.172% and 2.488%, respectively, in the secondary market.

The Monetary Board will meet on Thursday, coinciding with the release of the budget data. Downward momentum might continue prior to the 26th of July, especially if foreign news turn out to be conducive for speculative flows into the local markets.

Sources: Business World, PDEX, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Bloomberg

"Blue Eagle, The King"

I can still remember my first ever Big Blue Eagle Cheer Rally back in 1999. I was a high school freshman, a product of a small, tight-knit learning institution in Don Antonio Heights. Unlike most of my classmates who came from the Ateneo Grade School, I stood out like a sore thumb. I had a hard time taking in all the foreign notions of Ateneo Spirit. The cheers, in particular, were unintelligible jibberish I found difficult to appreciate.

Soon enough, the school spirit rubbed off on me, probably because of all the hurdling and sprinting I did donning the old Blue and White. Or maybe I was just brainwashed. Save for the Alma Mater song, I still found the cheers and most of the school songs pretty much alien. 

In light of my ignorance of the other school songs, I wondered where those "Ateneo Will Fight Today" tarps came from. A quick Google search answered my query. In the midst of last year's UAAP cage wars, I also found the lines "Fly high, Blue Eagle Fly and carry our cry across the sky" perfect for Facebook status messages and tweets. I developed a certain fondness for "Blue Eagle The King."

The song traces its origins from the pre-World War II Ateneo and the late Raul Manglapus. Back in those days, local schools usually borrowed the cheers and songs from its colonial counterparts in America, according to the University Archives website. "Blue Eagle The King" was unique since it was completely home grown. 

I scoured the web for copies of the song. I found a Youtube clip of Eddie Mercado and the Executives Band performing the song:

Blue Eagle The King

by Raul Manglapus (1939)

Fly high!
Blue Eagle fly
And carry our cry
Across the sky!
Cast your shadow below
Swoop down on the foe,
Then sweep up the field away!

Fly high!
Over the trees
Make known to the breeze
Our victories!
Spread wide each wing
For you are the King
Blue Eagle the King!

Oh the Eagle's the King of them all
And his blue feathers never will fall
For the Blue and the White
And the Eagle in Flight
Ateneo will fight today!

Fly high!
Over the trees
Make known to the breeze
Our victories!
Spread wide each wing
For you are the King
Blue Eagle the King!

Source:
Ateneo de Manila University Archives

That Gotye Song

Friggin' hilarious!

For more of the BreakfastToms, visit their Youtube Channel.

Market Situationer (9-13 July 2012)

Government Securities
The Bureau of Treasury made a partial award of last Monday’s Treasury Bill auction. Average yields for the 91-, 182- and 364-day bills were at 2.008% (- 16.6 bps), 2.172% (- 10.2 bps), and 2.488% (+ 3.8 bps), respectively. The rates fell amidst benign inflation data and S&P’s credit upgrade the previous week. The BTr put a cap on the bids for the year papers, as it accepted only P3.2 billion out of the P4.0 billion offer. Total tenders amounted to P13.755 billion.

Read: "Track Beauty of the Week - Murielle Ahouré"

Secondary market rates inched upward during the early parts of last week. Yields again dove in the last two days of trading, as news of BIR’s larger June 2012 collections and the BSP’s slashing of the SDA rates by 3.25 bps drove up demand for long-term government securities. FXTN 20-17 fell from a weekly high of 5.7725% to 5.6575% on Friday. RTB 20-1, meanwhile, dropped from 5.86% to 5.75%.

Market Situationer (2-6 July 2012)

Government Securities

The Bureau of Treasury awarded last Tuesday’s Treasury Bond auction in full. The newly issued 5-year paper fetched a coupon rate of 4.625%, a bit lower than the prevailing secondary market rate for outstanding securities of the same tenor. Total tenders for the fully awarded P9.0 billion offer amounted to P28.049 billion.

Read: "Track Beauty of the Week - Mary Onyali-Omagbemi"

Secondary market yields dropped dramatically last week, as (1) S&P upgraded the Philippines’ sovereign debt rating to BB+, (2) expectations of tame June 2012 inflation, (3) signals of monetary easing by Chinese and European policy makers. GS market rates fell to its lowest levels in four months, as both domestic and foreign financial institutions went on a buying spree. Yields for FXTN 20-17 hit a low of 5.59% on Thursday morning, down from a high of 5.8695% on Monday. Likewise, the 25-year FXTN 25-8 shed 35 bps to trade at 5.70% as 10-year papers fell by an average of 10 bps. 

Supporting the Kick-It Foundation

I've been watching quite a lot of tennis the past few weeks. Since it's Wimbledon season, the internet is abuzz with news from the Championships. While browsing through the news feed of my Facebook account, I came across photos of Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic Ана Ивановић, and Victoria Azarenka (Вікторыя Азаранка Виктория  Азаренко) pledging their support for the Kick-It Foundation.

Click this link to read the full article...

Muse – Survival (Official Song of the 2012 London Olympic Games)

I got goosebumps watching this. Let the Games begin!!!

Blog Ads!

Around a month after reactivating Nuffnang ads on this blog and Superb Senora, I've started earning from the latter. I've been posting my thoughts online since 2004. The prospect of actually making a buck from blogging is a welcome thought, in light of my need for additional income. 

The first ads that popped out of Senora was a Safeguard promo about Rio dela Cruz, the celebrity running coach. I've known the humble Rio from our college track & field days. His success story is truly remarkable. I'm honored to run Coach Rio ads on my blog!

A food ad whose title I've forgotten and an Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter movie header came next.

This morning, Nuffnang began showing promo about a Beauty Bar sale. Since Superb Senora is a blog that honors female athletes, the aforesaid ad relates well with the content of the site.

The amount I've accrued from the blog ads are still pitifully small, considering the relatively light traffic of Superb Senora (Around 4,000 hits last month, thanks to hurdler49 referrals), but it's a good start. Senora has only 52 posts, only a handful of which are popular. It doesn't generate that many daily hits (around 200 on a given day), but a consistent stream of new material could change its fortunes in the coming months.

Market Situationer (25-29 June 2012)

Government Securities
The Bureau of Treasury awarded last week’s Treasury Bill auction in part, as it rejected all bids of the 91-day tenor. Had the BTr made a full award of the three-month papers, yields would have risen to 2.895%, up 72.1 bps from the previous auction. The 182- and 364-day T-Bills fetched average yields of 2.274% (- 2.6 bps) and 2.45% (- 5 bps), respectively. Total tenders for the P7.5 billion offer amounted to P10.663 billion. The BTr raised P5.5 billion in short-term debt.

Read: "Track Beauty of the Week - Dafne Schippers"
 

Secondary market yields fell marginally due to half-year window dressing. The (1) release of negligible budget deficit data, despite accelerated government spending, and (2) the smaller volume of 20- and 25-year in the BTr’s 3Q 2012 borrowing program spurred demand, as well. FXTN 20-17 shed 4.5 bps to hit a low of 5.88% on Friday morning, while FXTN 25-8 dipped 8.5 bps to 6.10%. 

Dealing With Technological Stress

My friend Ivan calls it "technological stress." 

We live in a day and age where gadget use is inevitable. Broadband connection makes information exchange instantaneous. People are interconnected, thanks to social networking, computers and the ever-increasing use of mobile devices. The time we spend on websites like Facebook and Twitter has grown considerably the past few years. 

With this change in lifestyle, the virtual has an obvious effect on real life. 

For instance, I get easily pissed off when my internet connection conks out. Although it is a rare occurrence (PLDT My DSL is reliable enough), I get these mild withdrawal symptoms whenever it happens. A computer failure is even more stressful. Yes, I am a cheap skate. My being frugal (and at times, cash-strapped) has forced me to use obsolescent gadgets.

I bought my main PC second-hand three years ago. It is a cannibalized IBM ThinkCentre, originally manufactured back in 2003. Come to think of it, my motherboard is now approximately 9 years old! In terms of gadget age, my trusty old PC is a dinosaur. And yet, I've been prolonging purchasing a new machine for the longest time, opting to use my computer know-how to prolong its shelf life. 

Despite the occassional coughs and colds, my PC works like a charm. I'd have to put in new RAM chips, though, to ensure that it stays this way.

When it comes to my choice of cell phones, I follow the same, no-frills mantra. Instead of shelling out a good Php 15,000.00 for a savvy smartphone, I have opted to make do with my mom's hand-me-down Nokia 5130. I love the fact that it's lightweight. It also doubles as an mp3 player. I've been tempted to join the smartphone bandwagon many times. But a deeper reflection of my personal needs and wants always reiterates the foregone conclusion: I do not need 24/7 Facebook and Twitter connection. 

With my three blogs and active social networking presence, getting a smartphone might just be the last nail on the coffin of my social life!

Gadgets and the our oh-so-precious internet connection are bound to conk out once in a while. Perhaps the best - and cheapest - way to mitigate the effects of "technological stress" is to keep things simple.