Dow tumbles to 150-point loss
US stocks closed lower Thursday, skidding into negative territory in the final hour of trade, after President Donald Trump said he would hold a news conference on Chinay, rattling investors who had been enjoying a rally on optimism about an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down by 147.63 points, or 0.6 percent, at 25,400.64, well off its intraday high at 25,758.79, a gain of more than 210 points, MarketWatch reports. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 lost 6.40 points, or 0.2 percent, to end at 3,029.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index finished 43.37 points, or 0.5 percent, lower at 9,368.99. The U.S., Australia, Canada and the U.K. governments issued a joint statement Thursday reiterating their “deep concern regarding Beijing’s decision to impose a national security law on Hong Kong,” after China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress passed legislation Thursday that could greatly curtail democratic freedoms.
Source:The Standard
May 29, 2020 01:41 UTC
Australia likely to postpone Twenty20 World Cup
Cricket Australia is bracing for the "very high risk'' of the men's Twenty20 World Cup being postponed and the resulting financial hit during the coronavirus pandemic. Australia is scheduled to host the tournament in October and November but with global travel restrictions in place it's very doubtful the event will go ahead. And if it does, it's unlikely crowds will be allowed in stadiums because of social distancing requirements. Roberts is more confident about a four-test series against India going ahead, starting at the Gabba in Brisbane on December 3. The Australians regained top spot from India in the last International Cricket Council rankings released before sport was shuttered globally in the pandemic.
Source:The Standard
May 29, 2020 01:41 UTC
US warship challenges China's South China sea claims
The US Navy once again challenged Chinese claims in the South China Sea Thursday, sailing the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Mustin near the Paracel Islands, CNN reports. "By conducting this operation, the United States demonstrated that these waters are beyond what China can lawfully claim as its territorial sea," the statement added. China maintains an airfield on Woody Island and has landed strategic bomber aircraft there in the past. The Paracel Islands are claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan, and the US has long said Beijing has militarized the islands in the South China Sea via the deployment of military hardware and construction of military facilities. The US military has recently accused China of seeking to exploit the coronavirus pandemic to gain military and economic advantages in the region.
Source:The Standard
May 29, 2020 01:41 UTC
Elon Musk gets performance-based payday of nearly US$800m
Tesla confirmed Thursday that Chief Executive Elon Musk will get the first tranche worth nearly US$770 million of a stock-based compensation package triggered by the company meeting several financial metrics. The filing says Musk can buy 1.69 million shares of Tesla stock for US$350.02 each, but it wasn't clear whether he had exercised the stock options. Musk earned the options as part of an audacious compensation package approved by the board in 2018. Musk has to hold the stock for a minimum of five years, under the terms of the compensation package. In the past four quarters, Tesla has reported adjusted earnings totaling US$3.6 billion on revenue totaling US$26 billion.-AP
Source:The Standard
May 29, 2020 01:30 UTC
Retailer Nordstrom books US$521m loss, sales slump
Upscale department store retailer Nordstrom reported Thursday that its sales plunged by nearly 40 percent in its fiscal first quarter when the pandemic forced a temporary shutdown of its stores. Nordstrom announced earlier this month that it was closing 16 of its 116 full-scale department stores. Before the pandemic, many department stores were weakened because of a consumer shift to spending online. The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for an adjusted loss of US$1.21 per share. During the year-ago period, Nordstrom had sales of US$3.35 billion.
Source:The Standard
May 29, 2020 01:30 UTC
Prada's Patrizio Bertelli sees sales rebound in China
Prada SpA’s sales in China increased “significantly” by more than 10 percent in May, co-chief executive officer, Patrizio Bertelli, told a Bloomberg TV interview. This is still far from being enough for a complete recovery of the luxury sector after the end of coronavirus lockdowns, Bertelli added. “Tourism will pick up again when a vaccine will be developed.”Bertelli said he is looking forward to demand recovering more consistently worldwide and has no plan to delist the company. “Our job is focused on brand development, we are not at all thinking about delisting the company” he said. “We are working on new products, on expanding our sale network, on making the most of digital technology.”
Source:The Standard
May 29, 2020 01:30 UTC
Coping in quarantine: Lockdown as a literal anti-anxiety pill to swallow
She shared that she has been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Heightened worry for many patientsFor those living with anxiety and depression disorder, the lockdown also took on a literal form of a pill to swallow. Those with anxiety disorder "experienced a heightened sense of worry over contracting the illness or transferring it to their loved ones," Nepomuceno said. She said she also had new patients "who reported experiencing depression and anxiety for the first time since the quarantine was instituted." "I am somewhat calmer — with the help of yoga and meditation and exercise — but being that I have an anxiety disorder, it's really just about taking it one day at a time."
Source:Philippine Star
May 29, 2020 01:30 UTC
Business groups to Congress: Pass Create quickly – The Manila Times
More than 30 business organizations on Thursday pushed Congress to immediately pass the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (Create), which seeks to lower the country’s corporate income tax (CIT) rate more rapidly and rationalize fiscal incentives. “We…reiterate our strong support for the immediate passage of Create. As an investment-attracting move, the CIT cut drastically alters, for the better, the financial prospectus of the Philippines,” they said. This will make the tax incentives system an agile mechanism that can adapt easily to changes in the global business environment, and can very decisively seize high-value investment opportunities when they are presented,” they added. “We humbly request the Senate and the House of Representatives to move quickly and decisively to push Create forward and ensure its passage urgently, ideally before Congress adjourns on June 3.
Source:Manila Times
May 29, 2020 00:33 UTC
COVID-19 watch: 3 new patients, 1 healed in Quezon province
LUCENA CITY — Three more confirmed COVID-19 cases and one recovered patient have been recorded in Quezon province. ADVERTISEMENTThe province has recorded a total of 97 COVID-19 cases – still the lowest in the Calabarzon region. Real Mayor Bing Diestro-Aquino, revealed that the latest COVID-19 patients from the locality are relatives of two previously recorded coronavirus cases, all from Barangay Ungos. Real has six recorded COVID-19 cases but one of them had already recovered. The province has recorded a total of 69 recoveries and eight deaths among confirmed COVID-19 patients, as of Thursday.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
May 29, 2020 00:22 UTC
Mindoro town to ask IATF to retain its GCQ status
In a Facebook post on “Ang Pamahalang Bayan ng Lubang,” the town’s Task Force COVID-19 committee on Thursday said it would opt that Lubang remains under general community quarantine (GCQ) status. The statement also said that with the expected arrival of stranded Lubangeños, more caution is needed. The meeting last Thursday was attended by Lubang Mayor Michael Lim Orayani, town and village officials, and representatives from the national agencies, and community sectors. Madonna T. Virola, @mvirolaINQ, Inquirer Southern LuzonFor more news about the novel coronavirus click here. Read NextEDITORS' PICKMOST READ
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
May 29, 2020 00:11 UTC
Senators ask PNP to remedy De Lima’s ‘solitary confinement’
Opposition senators have questioned the Philippine National Police’s move to hold detained Sen. Leila de Lima in incommunicado status or solitary confinement since April 25 at the PNP custodial center in Camp Crame, Quezon City. In a letter dated May 23, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Senators Risa Hontiveros and Francis Pangilinan asked PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa for “remedial action” for De Lima, a vocal critic of President Duterte who has been detained since February 2017. ADVERTISEMENTThe senators described De Lima’s incommunicado status as “unconstitutional, illegal … and universally outlawed.”De Lima is not allowed visitors or physical meetings, an incommunicado detention and solitary confinement that is contrary to the Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the senators said. They said the custodial center had denied De Lima’s request to lift the restrictions on the pretext of enforcing a modified enhanced community quarantine within the facility. De Lima is facing what she described as trumped-up charges of facilitating the drug trade in the national penitentiary.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
May 28, 2020 21:41 UTC
UP researchers: Premature to ease quarantine in ‘high-risk’ capital
It may be premature to ease the Metro Manila quarantine because the capital remains a high-risk area for coronavirus infection, a group of researchers from the University of the Philippines said in a forecast report published on Tuesday. The researchers also pointed out that from May 16 to 22, the number of new coronavirus cases in the cities of Makati, Las Piñas and Pasay increased substantially by 170, 60 and 58 percent, respectively. The group urged the government to review the minimum health standards and quarantine measures in high-risk areas, but balance the health risks and economic impact of the pandemic. Doubling time now 7 daysOn Thursday, the DOH reported 539 new coronavirus cases, bringing the national total to 15,588. ADVERTISEMENTWith the slower doubling time, Vergeire said she was confident the government could handle the spread of the coronavirus after easing quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
May 28, 2020 21:33 UTC
DepEd firm to resume classes on Aug. 24
The Department of Education (DepEd) stood pat on its decision to resume classes by Aug. 24 even if President Rodrigo Duterte appeared to push for an indefinite delay to the upcoming school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Education Secretary Leonor Briones, however, clarified on Thursday that there would be “no face-to-face classes until safe,” a position she said was consistent with the President’s remarks on Tuesday. The DepEd position was more in line with presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s clarification that in-person classes would be prohibited in areas under community quarantine. While the DepEd did not echo the President’s ultimatum of the need for a vaccine before face-to-face classes could resume, the department indicated it would defer to his judgment on the matter. “If in his view it is not safe to conduct face-to-face classes, then that is the position we are following,” said Education Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
May 28, 2020 21:33 UTC
Teacher in Duterte threat asks court to quash charges
OLONGAPO CITY—A Zambales high school teacher on Thursday asked a court here to quash the charges filed against him by the government for putting up in a Twitter post a supposed P50-million reward for anybody who could kill President Duterte. Ronnel Mas, 25, of Sta. Cruz town, was charged with inciting to sedition related to cybercrime and violating the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. His arraignment on Thursday was moved to June 25. —JOANNA ROSE AGLIBOTADVERTISEMENTRead NextEDITORS' PICKMOST READ
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
May 28, 2020 20:06 UTC
Robot arms just what sleepless doctors ordered
To date, more than 160 robotic procedures have been performed successfully, with all patients making good rehabilitation progress. He expected the technology to be in widespread use for joint replacement procedures in future. The conventional procedure sees doctors use manual instruments to remove weakened bone structure with cutting jogs and then place artificial joints with their hands. The new technology enables doctors to precisely remove undesirable parts of the joints before inserting the artificial joints. Yan said Queen Mary conducts around 500 joint replacement surgeries each year and the hospital wishes to do 200 of them with the new robotic technology.
Source:The Standard
May 28, 2020 19:11 UTC