Inconsistency in Referees' Calls damaging to UAAP

My writer-friend, Pete Adapon, asked me a favor to publish his observation regarding the basketball game between the Ateneo de Manila University's Blue Eagles and University of the East's Red Warriors last October 4. Perhaps, due to his hard-hitting comment about the game and the UAAP referees in particular, sports publishers might have refused to publish this write-up lest they too might run into trouble.

Nonetheless, I decided to publish his piece for the sake of upholding the writer's freedom of speech and expression.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The UE- Ateneo game on Channel 23 last Sunday was disgusting. UE played tough and aggressively. Ateneo could have done the same. But the Ateneo players were constraint by frequent foul calls. The referees were inconsistent with the way they enforce rules, too harsh on Ateneo, too lenient on UE. Under the circumstances, it would be extremely difficult for the Eagles to play regular basketball, much less to win it.

A case in point was when Pari Llagas shoved Rabeh Al-Hussaini hard that caused the latter to fall face down on the floor. This happened in full view of the referees. It was shown and replayed clearly on television. But the referees did not call Llagas for foul. At another point, Paul Lee, ran into the right side of the goal where Kirk Long was standing. Whether by accident or by intent, he pushed himself into Kirk Long. This resulted to contact between them. Long was fouled when in fact, it was Lee who caused the incursion. This was replayed on TV too. Even sports commentator TJ Manotoc wondered why Long was fouled for it. “You be the judge”, he said.

There were many bad calls on Ateneo all throughout the game even if it was obvious that the Ateneo players were too careful not to commit violations. They could hardly play with confidence. A review of Channel 23’s coverage of the game would confirm this. Towards the end of the UE-Ateneo game, the referees began to call fouls on UE but it was too late. Their inconsistent foul calls already caused Ateneo irreversible damage. It was as if the referees only called fouls on UE to pretend to be fair. It was as if too, that the referees were determined to make Ateneo lose at all cost. The scheme was obvious right from the start but even more so towards the end.

What’s disturbing with this seemingly intentional inconsistency in referees’ foul calls were their frequency. The Ateneo-UE incident was not an isolated case. Throughout the season, the referees have been consistent in their inconsistency. In the FEU- UE game, FEU’s Glenn Capacio mentioned about a foul that was called on them and another foul ( by Elmer Espiritu ) that was not called on UE at a crucial time. Granting that the UE players played better and therefore, with higher chances of winning than FEU, the referees inconsistency contributed significantly to FEU’s defeat.

In the UP-UST game, a UST player who reacted to UP’s Alvin Padilla’s provocation was thrown out of the court but Padilla was not reprimanded. In the UST-Ateneo game, the referees were practically encouraging the UST players to harass Ateneo players by continuously ignoring their violations. Ateneo’s coach, Norman Black, and his assistant coaches felt so helpless, they just sat down and waited until it ended. Ateneo, La Salle, FEU , NU, etc. went through similar experience with the same referees but they will not file protests. They do not want to be labeled as “sour losers”. That is the sad thing. Who would correct a wrongdoing? Who would bring it to the attention of those concerned? The cycle continues.

This writer is not in anyway connected with Ateneo. He is a DLSU alumnus, a plain citizen. He has been watching UAAP games for years but this is the first time that he has seen such a glaring show of dishonesty and bias on the part of so-called professional referees. There is need to speak up, to call a spade a spade because this can happen again, to anyone, to any school or university. It will start a trend. It would discourage many aspiring honest players in college basketball especially in UAAP.

The referees have no right to make or unmake champions. Their authority to administer games must not be abused. Otherwise, it would reduce an otherwise prestigious competition among university leagues into a sham where the only factor for winning is provoking the referees’ deep-seated prejudice or perhaps, providing them with financial incentives.

Let the players, Blue Eagles or Red Warriors, play under normal and fair circumstances, free from the manipulation of the referees. It would be easier for a losing team to accept defeat out of an honest failure instead of being harassed by referees while their contenders are favored. On the other hand, it would be sweeter for a winning team to achieve victory out of their own honest endeavor, without the assistance of or connivance with referees and without resorting to foul means.

It would be expedient for UE’s Lawrence Chongson too to disallow his players from resorting to foul means even if the so-called professional referees allow them. It would be a tough act to follow. But winning through intimidating or by inflicting physical injury on contenders is like cheating. It would not do well for an academic institution like UE or Ateneo to create the image of a cheater even if only in basketball.

Let us not allow the forces of deceit, disguised as professional referees to maneuver the game to suit their own agenda. Let us not allow them to snatch victory from the real victors.

Techie bigwigs settled for a buck each

What do you think is the common denominator among Steve Jobs, Jerry Yang, Larry Page and Sergey Brin?

Aside from being founders and top executives of their respective IT companies, these techie moguls have each received the same amount of meager salary last year.

Steve Job is Apple Inc.'s founder and CEO. Ditto with Jerry Yang, who found Yahoo Inc. and served as its CEO until 2008. On the other hand, Larry Page and Sergey Brin are Google Inc.'s co- founders and leading executives.

All of them were paid just US$1 salary each in 2008 by their respective companies.

Sunday's One-Two Punch

At last, I finally had a good time to relax and enjoy my weekend after taking up a month-long review for a series of exams (i.e., Series 7 and 63). And what a pleasant Sunday to start the week!

First, our very own Pambansang Kamao Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao had won a title bout over the British boxing pride Ricky “Hitman” Hatton via a knock out on the second round. I've just watched the fight on television as I've ran out of tickets to view the fight on some theaters or sporting venues which would telecast it on real-time mode. Nonetheless, I still had a really good time watching the ring duel while munching peanuts and popcorn.

However, I just find it too short for a classic match. Although, I had a hunch that the Pacman would win the bout, but I never thought that it would be that fast and easy. Well, it only shows that Pacquiao's victory over Oscar Dela Hoya is no fluke!

With that very impressive win, no doubt that our Manny is the best pound-for-pound boxer in this era. In fact, boxing promoter Bob Arum had said in one of his interviews that he thinks that the Pacman is the greatest fighter of all time.

Thus, I am rarin' to see the match between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., which may be staged this coming October as per some ring insiders.

Right after watching Manny Pacquiao in action, I proceeded to the PICC Plenary Hall to attend the coronation night of the Slimmers World Miss Bikini Philippines 2009 (thanks to Emilou of Slimmers World for the tickets).

The girls were all stunning in their swimsuits and evening gowns. And all of my bets had won an award.

The lovely Contestant No. 17, Kim De Guzman, had bagged the title of Miss Bikini Philippines World and the top prize worth around Php2-million, and the right to represent the Philippines in the Miss Bikini World contest which will be held in Europe. My other bet, Contestant No. 1 Kimberly Brandon, a tall and gorgeous mestiza, had won the Miss Bikini International and the right to represent the country in the Miss Bikini International to be held in China this coming October.

On the other hand, black beauty Contestant No. 8 Mariella Castillo won the 1st Runner-Up, while the 2nd Runner-Up went to Contestant No. 20 Jocel Kusain.

The event was hosted by Paolo Bediones with guest singer Richard Poon, serenading the lovely candidates during the latter part of the show prior to the question-and-answer portion. Much like the Pacquiao-Hatton fight where several celebrities were spotted in like Hollywood actor Jack Nicholson, sultry singer Miriah Carey, local showbiz couple Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres-Gomez, ex-Ilocos Sur governor Chaviy Singson, etc., there were also guest celebrities posing as judges in the bikini pageant. They were former beauty queen Miriam Quiambao, dramatic actress Eula Valdes, showbiz talkshow host Butch Francisco, and showbiz columnist Ricky Lo.

Miss Bikini Philippines 2008 titleholder Elena Lopena, on the other hand, graced the awards night for the turn-over ceremony. Likewise, Slimmers World bigwigs like Joseph Roy, Maureen Roy, Helen Camacho, Angeli Chua, to name a few, were in attendance to provide full support to their big event.

By the way, you may watch for the TV telecast of Miss Bikini Philippines 2009 on May 9 at around 10:30 p.m. at Channel 23.

Avoid market turmoils; park in Kenya

The stock markets are one of the lifebloods of economic development without which, it's hard for any nation to reach its full potential. While Africa still has a long way to go, it has made some promising strides in developing its stock markets.

Currently, there are only about 16 African bourses. The region's stock-market capitalization as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is less than 30% . Liquidity is a pressing problem.

At the Uganda Securities Exchange in Kampala, just nine companies are listed with an average daily volume of merely over US$200,000.

However, there are some African nations like in Nairobi, Kenya wherein stock exchange transactions are very active. The country's biggest mobile-phone service provider Safaricom, raised a whopping US$800-million last June 2008 in an initial public offering (IPO) that was heavily oversubscribed. Also, Celtel Zambia raised US$200-million in the same month last year.

As a result, Nairobi stock market was up by about 5% last year as against double-digit plunges in the United States and Europe, and it turns out, Kenya has been a much better place to park investments in this period of market turmoil than the Dow Jones.

"Chicken Money"

"Chicken money" is money a person can't afford to lose. For most individuals, it's all the money they'll ever have, and at their age or stage in life, they can't afford risking it.

The top priority for chicken money is safety and a certain degree of liquidity to keep up with inflation. Hence, a chicken money investor tends to put his funds to ultra-safe vehicles like savings or time deposits in banks, treasury bills, and money market mutual funds.

As such, chicken money investor is not so much concerned about the return on his money, but he is more concerned on the return of his money.

John Maynard Keynes' key to successful investing

You probably know John Maynard Keynes (born June 5, 1883) as an economist whose ideas called Keynesian economics have had a major impact on modern economic and political theory as well as on many governments' fiscal policies. But little you know that he was also a great investor, maybe the most successful of the Great Depression era.

Keynes managed Cambridge's King's College Chest Fund. The Fund averaged 12% per year from 1927-1946, which was remarkable given that the period seemed to be all about gray skies and storm clouds – it included the Great Depression and World War II.

Keynes also made himself a personal fortune as an investor. When he died on APril 21, 1946, he left an estate worth some US$30-million in present-day dollars.

However, like any investor, Keynes investing career was a flop during its initial phase. He started as a run-of-mill speculator, trying to anticipate trends and forecast cycles. Keynes was, in fact, nearly wiped out in the Great Crash of 1929. His personal net worth fell by more than 80%.

After the crash, he became an investor, rather than a speculator. He now focused less on forecasting the market. Instead, he cast his keen mind on individual securities, trying to figure out their "ultimate values".

He also became more patient. Keynes learned to hold on to his stocks "through thick and thin" to let the magic of compounding do its thing in a tax-free fashion, too, by avoiding capital gains taxes. It also meant limiting his activities to buying only when he found intrinsic values far above stock prices.

Moreover, he learned to trust more in his own research and opinions, and not let market prices put him off a good deal.As he went along, he was able to develop a fierce contrarian streak. One of his greatest personal coups came in 1933 during the period of The Great Depression. Then U.S. president Franklin Delano Roosevelt's speeches gushed with anti-corporate rhetoric. The market sank. America's utilities were became extremely cheap. He bought the depressed preferred stocks, and in the next year, his personal net worth would nearly triple.

At times during Keynes' career, half of his portfolio might be in only a handful of securities, though he liked to mix up the risks he took. So though five names might make up half of his portfolio, they wouldn't be all gold stocks, for instance. They were well diversified.

Keynes, perhaps reflecting on this experience, said that investors need to take losses with "as much equanimity and patience" as possible. Investors must accept that securities prices can swing wide of underlying values for extended stretches of time.

Soothing experience at Canyon Cove

I'm sharing with you some snapshots of my visit to Canyon Cove. Please refer to the photo gallery below.

This exclusive beach resort is located in Nasugbu, Batangas.

The place is like the ones you see in Europe, according to one frequent European traveler. In addition, one Fil-American guest even said that the resort is even more beautiful than the beach resorts in Guam. No wonder, the swim wear segment of the recent Miss Earth beauty pageant was held at Canyon Cove.

Indeed, the place is really nice. The tropical atmosphere and the views are magnificent. You will feel a soothing experience as the cool wind wafts through your hair while watching the sunset under the shade of palm fronds or simply viewing the vastness of the sea with wavelines responding in azure caress of white crescent shore.

Those who have stayed overnight at Canyon Cove waxed rhapsodic about how the evening became a virtual invitation to romance as a crisp, nippy air circling about the place.

Moreso, its amenities are great! You have choices of accommodation, whether to stay in the condotel suite or apartment unit. The foods that are being served have a wider variety from native to oriental and western dishes. The water recreation facilities are almost complete. Aside from the big swimming pool, there are these water sports equipment like the banana boats, motorized bancas, water bicycles and jet skis, which you can ride for a minimal fee. Likewise, scuba diving and snorkeling activities are being offered.

Visiting Canyon Cove is worth the while, and I'm raring to go there again this coming summer.

<>

Topping-off of Ridgewood Tower 1

Last Saturday (Dec. 20), I was in C-5 Road in Taguig to attend the topping-off ceremony of the Tower 1 of Ridgewood Towers. The condominium project, as per the head of marketing, is the lowest priced top notch condominium in The Fort Global City. In fact, it is lower by 35% to 50% than the neighboring residential establishments.

So what do you think? Is this a bargain or a rip-off?

The price is so affordable for a prime condominium that is strategically located in a high-growth business area.

Going back to the topping-off ceremony, actually, the event was just a repeat performance. It was intended for the sales and marketing people and their buyers / clients to witness the unfolding development that is happening in the project.

The ceremony proper started at about 10:30am, which was led by the president of the marketing subsidiary. The event was attended by top brokers and agents in the real estate industry, together with some clients. A very short program was held, followed by a brief discussion on the project.

By the way, original topping-off ceremony, was held on Dec. 10, wherein top honchos of the parent company, affiliate developer and marketing subsidiary were in attendance.

The Complex Structure of Collateralized Debt Obligations

The US subprime crisis began to unfold when the American housing market was burst with record-level delinquencies and defaults coupled with negative economic sentiments that led to broad sell off of collateralized debt obligation (CDO) holdings by investors. So what kind of financial animal is this so-called CDO?

CDOs are consolidations of a group of fixed income assets divided into tranches in accordance with the cash flow and risk category. Higher rated tranches, protected by the subordinated security structure, offer lower coupon rates or interest rates, like the triple-A and mezzanine tranches. Meanwhile, the lower rated tranche, i.e., subordinated tranche, offers higher coupon or interest rates to compensate for the higher risk.

Furthermore, CDOs are complex financial instruments born out of the concepts of securitization or the process of transforming illiquid financial assets, like mortgages and credit card receivables, into marketable securities. The results that spawned from this innovative process are called structured finance instruments, which are backed by the cash flow of the underlying pool of assets. Such instruments include asset-backed securities (ABS), mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and CDO. ABS are bonds or notes collateralized by the cash flows from a specified pool of underlying assets, while MBS are ABS which cash flows are backed by the principal and interest payments of a set of mortgage loans.

The are two major types of CDOs, such as the collateralized loan obligations, which are backed primarily by leveraged bank loans, and structured finance CDOs, which are backed primarily by ABS and MBS. The latter type, backed by subprime mortgages, is the main culprit in the present credit crunch.

When American subprime borrowers started to default on their obligations, the effect was so devastating in the US housing market. The damage was so severe especially for the subprime backed CDO that the effects even went up to the higher rated tranches. These higher rated tranches had also found its way to the portfolio of investors outside the US due to its investment-grade appeal. Thus, when the credit crisis broke out it rippled globally.

On the othere hand, since there is no formal exchange for CDOs, valuation, transparency and credit rating became a concern by major banks and investment firms. As a result, massive writedowns took place among the financial heavyweights like the Citigroup, HSBC, Bear Sterns, Morgan Stanley, among others, which prompted rating agencies to downgrade their credit ratings on these investments.

Most analysts say that the credit crisis could be averted had the holders of the higher rated tranches did not hit panic button and unload their investments; however, “herd mentality” prevailed among them which had caused a downward spiral of CDO prices.

Yet, for all its flaws and the havoc it wrought, CDOs are still a good investment choice for those who are seeking higher yields and diversification. It is only a matter of time that investors should wait for the CDO market to recover itself from its downfall and correct itself on its next sojourn.

Two straight guys trapped in a gay-lesbian affair

Last week, I asked a friend, my high school buddy, to go with me to attend a launching of a new publication, Ketchup Magazine, on Dec. 18. I thought it was another sexy magazine for men because the image in the invitation depicts two seductive women in their lingerie. (By the way, thanks to Mr. And Mrs. Joseph Yu for the invites.)

In a nutshell, we went to the event which was held at The Library in Malate, Manila. We arrived at around 9:00pm. The front desk staff advised us that the main show had just finished. Nevertheless, we proceeded inside the venue. But we were surprised to learn that we were actually attending a gay-lesbian affair. Ketchup Magazine is a publication designed for the third sex – homosexuals, bisexuals and transgenders. And we've seen a lot of them roaming about and socializing with one another inside the venue hall.

Now, we suddenly became conscious and paranoid that we felt like being regarded as one of them.

After taking some pictures of the models still on-stage for the photo-ops, we hurriedly left the hall and proceeded to the buffet area. Although, the usual guest accommodation and hospitality accorded to us by the events staff made us a bit comfortable; however, it somehow made us all the more feel uneasy. What if someone out there who knew us, saw us in the event and made a big fuss out of it?

To relinquish our dire situation, we just went with the flow of events so as not to be out-of-place. We happily conversed with some of the models and staff. I also took snapshots every now and then while I and my buddy enjoyed our flavored vodka and sumptuous hors d' oeuvres.

By the way, I'm blogging this new experience to make the record straight. :)

XX-Mas Parties

If there is such a thing as “gross redundancy”, then this one would be very much qualified.

Imagine, this is my first time to attend a Christmas party held in two distant venues. Likewise, this is my first time to attend two separately-dated Christmas parties held by virtually one organization, and held on the same venue.

Got confused? Well, here are the details.

• Last Dec. 5 and 6, the parent company of our subsidiary firm hosted a Christmas party. The first night was held at the exclusive Canyon Woods in Metro Tagaytay, then the extended party (the following day) was held at the Canyon Cove, a private beach resort in Nasugbu, Batangas.

• On Dec. 17 and 18, the subsidiary firm hosted a Christmas party at the Canyon Cove. The big boss of the parent company, who is also the big boss of the subsidiary firm, was also in attendance.

Based from the information above, here are the double-double incidents:

• Two Christmas parties held by one organization (i.e., holding firm G2 Global).
• Two Christmas parties held on a common location (i.e., Canyon Cove).
• Two separately-dated two-day events (Dec. 5-6 & Dec. 17-18).
• Two venues with both names start with “Canyon” (Canyon Woods & Canyon Cove).
• Two related companies – parent firm and its marketing subsidiary.

Nonetheless, I'm still thankful to the organization and never mind if it's redundant. It's free, anyway.

Former Nasdaq chairman nabbed for allegedly running a US$50-billion Ponzi scam

The former chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market Bernard Madoff, the owner of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, was arrested, but released after posting a US$10-million bond secured by his Manhattan apartment, for operating a hedge fund that U.S. prosecutors said racked up US$50-billion of fraudulent losses.

The $50-billion allegedly lost to investors would make it as one of the biggest frauds in history, after Enron which filed for bankruptcy in 2001 where it had about US$63.4-billion in assets that were wiped out.

According a the report of Forbes.com, Madoff told senior employees of his firm about a couple of days ago that "it's all just one big lie" and that it was "basically, a giant Ponzi scheme."

U.S. prosecutors charged Madoff, 70, with a single count of securities fraud. They said he faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to US$5-million. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed separate civil charges against him.

According to prosecutors, Madoff had long kept the financial statements for his hedge fund business under "lock and key" and was "cryptic" about the firm as the hedge fund business was located on a separate floor from the market making business. Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities has more than US$700-million in capital, and it is a market maker for about 350 Nasdaq stocks, including Apple, EBay and Dell.

An investor in the hedge fund said it generated consistent returns, which was part of the attraction. The fund strategy was a "split strike conversion" scheme, which entailed owning stock and buying and selling options to limit downside risk. Since 2004, annual returns averaged around 8%, but last decade returns were typically in the low-double digits, the investor said.

The company's web site may be found at http://www.madoff.com/

*Source: www.forbes.com

The Fed's quick-fix solution to avert global stagflation

The scenario called stagflation is characterized by a condition of slow economic growth and relatively high unemployment rate accompanied by a rise in prices of commodities. And the United States (US) is bracing for a repeat of what transpired in the 1970's when world oil prices rose sharply.

However, this time, the crisis is spawned by the subprime meltdown. Financial shocks are now spilling over into a global credit squeeze as more and more banks and financial institutions are writing off losses in their financial statements.

But the apprehensions over the domino effects of stagflation across the globe became more restrained as the probability of a US recession seemed more inevitable. The quick-fix that was immediately implemented by the federal government (i.e., slashing benchmark interest rate) somewhat preempted the occurrence of another stagflation.

The short-term effect of this quick-fix solution is that it serves as a cushion in the event of any drastic stock market fall. The monetary easing done by the US central bank forced investors to go to the stock market once again in search for higher yields.

Glimpses of future developments at the Coastal Bay City

The final layout was the one on top. But I also posted the other two designs so that you may have an idea on how we came about with the final one.

As you can see, the first version had a bluish hue. As much as I would like the bluish background; however, blue is not the color motif of the client. So, second revision was rendered based from the preferred color of the client. Then again, the background rendered was too futuristic and grandeur as it depicted a sort of another Makati City in the offing; hence, it was subjected to another revision.

After some collaboration, the bluish background was retained which covered about two-thirds of the poster, while a third of the space was based from the client's motiff of orange and green. Furthermore, the tall building structures in the poster design were removed in order to align with the captive and target market of the commercial complex - i.e., the future residents of the surrounding residential area that belonged mostly to the low-middle to middle income brackets.

Now, the design is more of a Sta. Rosa commercial complex, which is quite alright.

*Poster tagline and some design concepts contributed by Ludwig Ritchel A. Kalambacal for AMCreative House Concepts Designs (Nov. 26, 2008).

Opportunites in the Chinese hog market

The price of pork in China has increased more than 50% in one year, yet the meat shops remain packed. There's so much money to be made in the Chinese meat trade nowadays. Did you know that the Chinese eat more pork than the rest of the world combined. The country consumes seven times as much as the United States. And consumption is increasing as per USDA as Chinese pork consumption rose 22% between 2002 and 2006.

Although in 2007, a shortage of pork hit China as a series of calamities, such as the earthquake, huge snowfalls, and an outbreak of swine disease have resulted in a 9% decline in the country's pork production. As a result, Chinese pork prices rose 68% between April 2007 and April 2008.

Meanwhile, there's a glut of pork in North America. The situation is so bad in Canada as its government is giving Canadian hog farmers C$225 for every breeding pig they "cull." To qualify for the money, hog farmers must agree to "depopulate" an entire breeding barn and promise not to house more hogs in the same barn for three years.

Meanwhile in the U.S., hog prices are so low that farmers are killing their piglets and using them as compost.

Thus, I think there's a big opportunity for America and Canada to export pork to China as the potential for further Chinese importation of pork is almost incomprehensible. Also, the Philippines must be on the look out for some opportunities to tap the Chinese hog market. A 1% market share from a nation with more than a billion people means a lot. Putting it into perspective, say 10,000,000 multiplied by the price of the pig . . . it's a lot of money!