TERM OF THE DAY


Source: Bureau of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development- Department of Trade and Industry


Industrialization The establishment and subsequent growth of industrial


production in a country, usually meaning heavy manufacturing.


business The Manila Times SATURDAY BY KRISTA ANGELA M. MONTEALEGRE REPORTER


OCAL share prices extended their gains Friday on the back of another strong rally in Wall Street because of


higher pending home sales. At the Philippine Stock Exchange, the composite index added 27.58 points, or 0.66 percent to 4,176.48, while the broader all-shares index gained 14.45 points, or 0.51 percent to 2,864.76.


Gainers beat losers, 66 to 50, while 58 stocks were unchanged. A total of 696.89 million stocks worth P5.51 billion.


“This is a snapshot of a holiday rally since all those overseas concerns have already dissipated,” Astro del Castillo of First Grade Holdings said. “The almost-too-sudden turn in sentiments drew inspiration mainly from the Dow’s strong perform- ance,” Jun Calaycay of Accord Capi- tal Equities Corp. said. The Dow Jones industrial average


rose 106.63 points, or 1 percent to 11,362.41, its best two-day perform- ance since July on strong retail and pending home sales.


Also boosting positive sentiment


was a pledge by the European Cen- tral Bank to extend liquidity support to its financial institutions. “The concerns that dragged sen- timents have been partly addressed, easing investors’ fears that the bull run may be close to the finish line,” Calaycay said.


Most Asian stocks extended gains


Friday from the previous day as a fresh batch of US economic figures added to the impression that the world’s biggest economy is on the right track to recovery.


A decision by the European Cen- tral Bank (ECB) to continue buying government bonds also provided a break from lingering concerns over the eurozone debt crisis, while the single currency held its own against major currencies. Sydney added 0.38 percent, or 18 points, to end at 4,694.2 and Tokyo


rose 0.10 percent, or 9.80 points, to close on 10,178.32, while Hong Kong was 0.13 percent higher by the break and Singapore added 0.20 percent. Shanghai was down 0.51 percent in the afternoon on profit-taking. Traders welcomed news that the National Association of Realtors had reported pending home sales jumped 10.4 percent in October, much more than expected, offering a glim- mer of hope to the troubled US housing market. That was coupled with US retailers and department stores saying sales were overall stronger than anticipated in November, stoking hopes for the key holiday shopping season.


“Global markets continued to look to the bright side overnight as investors began to grow more opti- mistic about the US economic re- covery with concerns over European debt woes taking a much needed reprieve,” said Chris Go, sales trader at GoMarkets in Melbourne.


High unemployment But the latest snapshot of the US


manila times@gmail.com D ecember 4, 2010


B 1


labor market due Friday was ex- pected to show painfully high lev- els of unemployment persisting, in more troubling news for President Barack Obama.


ADD


TO YOUR SHOPPING LIST AT


US housing data lift local stocks IMF chief says Europe L


Economists expect the November report will show a jobless rate stuck at 9.6 percent for the fourth consecutive month, as millions of Americans struggled to get back to work. Analysts believe the pri-


vate sector created around 140,000 jobs in Novem- ber after a strong showing in October, when 159,000 jobs were added. But this


growth is unlikely to dent the stub- bornly high jobless rate.


With the employment market unable to untether itself from reces- sion, the jobless rate has remained above nine percent for the last 18 months.


While that high rate of joblessness is a constant worry for the eight-plus million Americans who lost their jobs during the crisis, policymakers are increasingly concerned about how long the trend has persisted.


➤StocksB2 Increase in wholesale prices eases in September


BY DARWIN G. AMOJELAR SENIOR REPORTER


THE National Statistics Office (NSO) said the growth of the gen- eral wholesale price in the Philip- pines slowed down in September compared with the previous month. In a statement, the NSO said the


movement of the general wholesale price index (GWPI) at the national level fell to 3.6 percent in Septem- ber from 3.7 percent in August. NSO said slower annual price adjustments were correspondingly noted in the indices of food and manufactured goods, classified chiefly by materials, at 4.4 percent and 0.9 percent from 5.9 percent


and 1.3 percent, respectively. On the other hand, a higher an- nual price gain was observed in bev- erages and tobacco index at 3 per- cent; crude materials, inedible ex- cept fuels, 33.1 percent; mineral fu- els, lubricants and related materials, 4.1 percent; and chemicals, includ- ing animal and vegetable oils and fats, 3.7 percent.


The annual rate for machinery and transport equipment index re- mained at 1 percent.


In Luzon, the NSO said the GWPI


went down to 3.2 percent in Sep- tember from 3.5 percent in August. For five consecutive months, an annual price reduction of -0.7 percent was still posted in the in-


DENR wants transparent remedy to Makati oil leak


BY JAMES KONSTANTIN GALVEZ REPORTER


THE Environment department said it wants a transparent remediation work by the Lopez-owned company on the site affected by the pipeline leak in Makati City. “Our objective now is to do remediation. And we are very happy that FPIC [First Philippine Industrial Corporation] is very re- sponsible in handling this matter that they want to do full-blown remediation,” Ramon Paje, De- partment of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) secre- tary, said in a statement. “But, I have asked the FPIC that it should not only be full-blown remediation but they should also be transparent so that the people would know what will happen af- ter,” he added.


The official said he has ordered FPIC to submit their remediation plan for evaluation as part of their response to an earlier show cause order issued by the DENR’s Pollu- tion and Adjudication Board (PAB). The order was for the oil leak traced to the 117-kilometer pipeline that the FPIC owned. The PAB order, which imposes a maximum penalty of P200,000 a day, was received by the company on November 25, 2010. However, Paje said the board has acceded to


FPIC’s request for an extension of 15 days, to expire by December 14, to submit their reply. Prior to remediation, Paje said that a thorough assessment shall be conducted to determine the extent of contamination. “What we are doing now is ap- proaching the situation very scien- tifically. We cannot just go there and treat it. We have to determine first the extent of the pollution be- cause we could not provide the correct solution if we have not ex- actly defined the problem,” the DENR chief said. “As much as possible, every step of the way should be known to the public, it should be disclosed, so that later on, we will not run into complaints that certain things have not been done, or have not been included in the rehabilitation ef- fort,” the official added. Meanwhile, Paje ordered the En- vironmental Management Bureau to closely monitor the assessment and remediation activities, in coop- eration with the local government unit of Makati City.


“This is environmental reme- diation, and this is fully under the control of the DENR. Start- ing today, we are assigning our personnel to monitor the daily activities, along with representa- tives from the Makati local gov- ernment,” he said.


dex of miscellaneous manufac- tured articles.


In addition, the annual growth rate in the food index eased to 3.5 percent from 5.6 percent and manufactured goods classified chiefly by materials, 0.9 percent from 1.2 percent. However, the annual growth rate in crude materials, inedible except fuels was higher at 35.8 percent from 24 percent; mineral fuels, lu- bricants and related materials, 3.6 percent from 3.2 percent; and chemicals, including animal and vegetable oils and fats, 5.0 percent from 3.7 percent. The annual growth in the indices of beverages and tobacco and ma-


chinery and transport equipment were at their corresponding previ- ous month’s rates of 3.1 percent and 0.8 percent.


On the other hand, the annual increase in the wholesale prices of commodities in Visayas jumped to 5.1 percent in September from 3.9 percent in August.


The annual wholesale prices in Mindanao moved at its last month’s rate of 4.5 percent.


An annual price addition was posted in the food index at 8.1 per- cent from 7.7 percent; machinery and transport equipment, 0.2 per- cent from 0.1 percent; and miscel- laneous manufactured articles, 3.7 percent from 2.7 percent.


NEW DELHI: The chief of the Interna- tional Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday the debt crisis in Europe remained serious but he tipped Ire- land to recover rapidly after its week- end bailout. On Sunday, the European Union and the IMF announced an 85-bil- lion-euro ($111-billion) rescue package for Ireland to shore up its banking sector and enable the coun- try to meet its debt obligations. “The crisis in Europe is still strong” with Ireland and Greece “at the edge of a cliff” and some other nations are “not far from the edge of the cliff,” IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn told re- porters in New Delhi.


But the Irish rescue “should fix the problems” and the country’s economy “will come back on track rather rapidly,” he said, adding the IMF stood poised to assist other nations if needed,


His comments came as the Eu- ropean Central Bank announced it would keep buying government bonds, a key part of its stimulus measures to support indebted eurozone nations, and fight the debt crisis. Ireland’s bailout has calmed fears about its economy but intensified worries the debt crisis could engulf financial stragglers Portugal and Spain. Greece, which has chronic finance problems, received a 110- billion-euro bailout in May. Strauss-Kahn contrasted Asia’s economic vitality with a sluggish recovery in Europe and the United States. “In parts of world, in Asia, South America and parts of Africa, growth is going well,” Strauss- Kahn added, paying tribute to In- dia which he said has “become an economic superpower.”


But he said India, along with other fast-growing Asian nations, now needed to play a bigger role in the global financial system, say- ing “with economic strength comes responsibility.”


“It is impossible to be a free rider,” he said.


He cautioned that Asian nations including India, which posted nearly nine percent economic growth in the last financial quar- ter, could face overheating prob- lems as they bounce back from the global crisis.


But he said Indian authorities


were managing the country’s infla- tion and other problems well. Globally, Strauss-Kahn said, re-


covery was “moving along, but is still emerging and fragile.” The former French finance min- ister said he was happy about opinion polls in France indicating his popularity among the French public, but dodged questions about whether he would be a can- didate in the presidential polls slated for 2012. “I am happy that my fellow citizens


like me,” said Strauss-Kahn, whose visit came two days before an official trip to India by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose popularity ratings are plumbing all-time lows. “But I have some political experi- ence and I know polls shouldn’t be taken too seriously.” Strauss-Kahn, whose IMF term ends in 2012, added it was urgent that nations continued their eco- nomic cooperation as the world pulls out of the global slump. “Growth policies must be as sup- portive as possible in advanced economies” that are facing difficul- ties, he added, defending a recent move by the United States to pump 600 billion dollars into its economy. “If growth stalls in the US, the consequences for the rest of the world would be huge,” he said. The IMF does not think there is a high chance of a double-dip recession, he said, but added the “downside risk is too great to accept.” Developed “countries must avoid


any risk of going back to negative growth” while adopting strong me- dium-term policies to roll back stimulus packages and reduce debt, he said.


AFP Nido’s exploration block positive for gas reserves


BY EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO REPORTER


An independent study on hydrocar- bon traces discovered in Nido Pe- troleum Ltd.’s exploration block in offshore Northwest Palawan Basin has confirmed the area’s potential for petroleum reserves.


In a regulatory filing, the Austral- ian firm said that initial geochemical analysis confirmed the presence of liquid hydrocar- bons, the building blocks of petro- leum resources, in the subsurface structure of Service Contract (SC) 58—similar to the source of the


Malampaya field, the country’s largest natural gas producer to date. ”SC 58 can now be considered as viable source systems to charge the large Balyena, Butanding and Dorado prospects mapped in the block. This is a very exciting devel- opment. Not only are individual prospect probability of success im- proved, but it highlights the sub- stantial upside in the SC 58 deepwater fairway,” Jon Patillo, Nido exploration head, said. SC 58 is located in the deep wa- ters of Northwest Palawan covering an area of 13,440 square kilometers.


Nido earlier estimated that the structures in this permit have the potential to contain over five bil- lion barrels of oil.


In April, the oil and gas firm found traces of liquid hydrocar- bons detected in cores acquired during a multi-beam and deepwater sea-bed coring project in the exploration block.


With the confirmation of its findings, Nido plans to focus its ex- ploration program in the area on full integration of geochemical re- sults with ongoing seismic reproc- essing studies aimed at detailing the extent of the source rock sys-


tems within the block. ”This work will conclude in


early 2011 following final risking/ ranking of the prospect inventory and the selection of drilling can- didates,” Jocot de Dios, Nido president and chief executive of- ficer, said.


The exploration block is run by Nido, which has a 50 percent stake, together with state-controlled Phil- ippine National Oil Co.-Explora- tion Corp., which holds the re- maining interest in the contract. The joint venture earlier planned to start drilling activities in SC 58 by 2012.


Importers deny unsafe meat flooding local markets


A GROUP of meat importers and trad- ers on Friday dismissed earlier reports over “unsafe” imported meat flood- ing the wet markets in the country. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, the Meat Importers and Traders Association Inc. (MITAI) said that it is unreasonable and unscientific to claim that all imported meat products that were deemed “safe” in other countries were “unsafe” in the Philippines. The group said all legally imported meat products were sourced from foreign meat establishments (FMEs) that are Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)-certified. “These foreign meat establish- ments are accredited by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAS) and Na-


tional Meat Inspection Service (NMIS). The meat products came with International Health Certifi- cates issued by the exporting coun- try,” the group said. MITAI claimed that once in the


country, the commodities are still sub- jected to BAI quarantine clearance and NMIS food safety inspection. The group also said that imported meat products are stored in duly accredited cold storages under the supervision of the NMIS and that these are delivered to customers rock-frozen. The importers are not involved in its thawing or repacking. They also said that if the bacte- ria count in all imported meat goes beyond the recommended range, the NMIS would not allow its re-


lease into the market and it would be condemned. “Thus, we are assured that the meat is fit for human consump- tion,” the group said, adding that importers are more cognizant of proper handling procedures than the meat vendors.


“The difference between im- ported and local pork meat is that in the former case, after the animal is slaughtered, the carcass is sani- tized, chilled, dressed, and frozen all within an allotted time, while local meat is hung and sold as ‘fresh’ meat throughout the day, also at the am- bient temperature,” MITAI said. Whatever remains unsold in the locally produced meat are stored in a normal freezer (not a blast freezer)


and will be brought out again to the market the following day—other- wise processed into tocino, longganisa, and other items. “On the other hand, FMEs’s car- casses are kept chilled while await- ing fabrication in a sanitized meat establishment, before being blast frozen with the final product be- coming quick-frozen fresh meat, as compared to unsold remnants in the wet market improperly frozen at the end of the day, which should aptly be called slow-frozen stale meat,” the group said.


“Quick-frozen fresh meat when stored and handled properly can have a shelf life of several years, unlike slow-frozen stale meat,” MITAI added. JAMES KONSTANTIN GALVEZ


FertAlive – all organic, Philippine-made soil & plant booster (Part 1) I AGAIN will write about my


favorite topic—organic farming. The whole world is agog about the topic because of, among others, the population explosion all over, glo- bal warming, and the realization of the unspeakable damaging effects of chemical inputs to farming (i.e. fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide, insec- ticides and other such petrochemi- cal products) to farmers, to con- sumers and to the environment. I have also found an anchor in


my growing interest in farming— Masanobu Fukuoka who started natural farming or do-nothing farming in 1940 in Japan. Satavic Farming Org blog says: “The most essential aspect of natural farming


MOJE RAMOS- AQUINO, FPM


is to let nature play a dominant role to the maximum extent pos- sible. Hence, no-till, farm biodiversity, integration and sym- biotic farm components and pro- tection of soil cover all have a place in this method of farming. The immense importance placed


on no-tillage has led to natural farming also being referred to as No-till farming. The term ‘Do Nothing Farming’ originated be- cause the farmer is considered only to be a facilitator - the real work is done by Nature herself.” Farmers usually engage in sus- tainable farming practices such as crop rotation, resting the soil, intercropping, integrated pest management and the like. Of course, farmers could always make their own compost, vermiculture, indigenous micro organism, fish amino acid, fermented fruit juice, fermented plant juice, vermitea and other fertilizers and ino- culants from the materials in their


own farm. Now there is a simple way for farmers who do not have the time, energy and farmhelps to make farming an effortless and enjoy- able job. The principle behind FertAlive is a divergence of micro- organism living in a symbiotic community which increases nutri- ent uptake on plants. I am happy that there is now


FertAlive. It is a product formulated by John Evans, 9-time Guinness World Record Holder for growing the World’s Biggest Vegetable. It is manufactured locally, with local all-organic materials, by


Rarefruit Farmers Cooperative in Lumban, Laguna. Ped Unson,


brewmaster, says it is now for lab testing and crop trials. According to the FAQ of


the


FertAlive, the prodcut is a bio-or- ganic plant booster and soil condi- tioner. It is the right combination of different types of beneficial mi- croorganisms and fungi. It is a liq- uid concentrate derived from or- ganic components, such as humus soil, sea minerals and earthworm castings, specially processed and cultured to fit the nutrient require- ments of tropical climate plants. FertAlive is neither a fertilizer nor a pesticide but a plant booster and soil innoculant. It helps the plant absorb nutrients available in the soil and air by breaking the nutri-


ents down into forms easier for the plant to use. FertAlive helps the plant fight off diseases and pests at- tack due to balanced plant nutri- tion resulting to better plant health. Unhealthy plants are easily at- tacked by pest and disease. What are its effects on the plants and the soil? The beneficial mi- crobes in FertAlive make their way into the plant and soil. You will notice that after 2 weeks of spray- ing FertAlive in your plants, the leaves turn into bluish-green or deep green color which is a good sign of a healthy plant. For more inquiries and to try


FertAlive, please email me moje629@gmail.com.


debt crisis still serious


LEARNING & INNOVATION


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