What say you, Say?

A former Cabinet secretary told Spybiz the other day that the peso is actually undervalued. According to the former secretary, the peso-dollar exchange rate could now have gone better from its present 50-49 levels to as high as 44 or 45 to the dollar by now, if not for the Bangko Sentral’s alleged intervention by continually buying dollars, effectively controlling the exchange rate and along with it the value of the peso. The Bangko Sentral’s move is ostensibly designed to protect exporters, but in reality exporters will not suffer that much with the continued strengthening of the peso because the prices of imported raw materials could go down and with debt servicing also going down. All these gains will obviously sift down to the poor because of the lowering of the prices of commodities, specially the oil-dependent products and services. The Bangko Sentral should really consider letting the peso float and allow market forces to determine the exchange rate the way it should be, the informant said. Perhaps Bangko Sentral Governor Amando M. "Say" Tetangco Jr. should think about this. So what do you say, Say?

Breastfeeding sucks?

The battle between the breast and the bottle has been raging for some time, but statements by some advocacy groups that breast milk substitutes are causing infants to die seem a bit sweeping, if not totally misleading. These breastfeeding advocacy groups’ claims are also striking a sour chord among mothers who, for one reason or another, could not breastfeed, and therefore rely on milk formulas to raise healthy, happy babies. These mothers point out that they have raised generations of healthy, bright and smart kids, and have yet to see really convincing proof that powdered baby milk is the cause of pneumonia, congenital sepsis, respiratory distress – and all those other leading causes of infant mortality listed by the Department of Health. While some groups paint an alarming picture about the supposed decline of breastfeeding in the country, UNICEF itself had said the Philippines ranks high among nations when it comes to breastfeeding, with an 88-percent rate of initiation among mothers. Unfortunately, the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), whose members include big milk formula companies, has recently come under attack by these groups claiming that the promotion of milk formula and breast milk substitutes are undermining breastfeeding efforts in the country. Industry observers say this is unfair considering PHAP’s strict adherence to the Milk Code in labeling every can of infant formula saying "Breast milk is still best for babies up to two years."

Philtrust, PBCom deal: What gives?

Regulators should take a closer look at the announced buy-out by Philippine Trust Bank (Philtrust) of the Nubla-Chung stake of 58 percent in the Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom) for P3 billion, or P30 per share. It looks like a case of a medium bank swallowing a slightly bigger but problematic bank – which could only create a slightly bigger but still problematic bank. A couple of years ago, taipan Lucio Tan threw PBCom a P1-billion lifeline to bail it out of its financial quagmire, with the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. extending bigger loans to keep PBCom afloat. But what’s disconcerting to industry observers is how Philtrust owners coughed up only P30 per share for the Nubla-Chung stake, when in fact, the current market price of PBCom stock is within the range of P60-P70 per share. Under normal business practices, an interested buyer would even pay a premium over the current market price of the shares of the company it wants to acquire. However, the opposite seems to be happening with the Philtrust-PBCom deal. Observers also noted that if Philtrust is buying the controlling stake in PBCom using bank funds, then it could be in violation of its fiduciary obligations to its depositors and shareholders – whose funds cannot be touched without their explicit approval. Was due diligence conducted, and was the deal cleared with the BSP, PDIC and other regulatory bodies? Seems like the deal is raising more questions than answers, and regulators should find out what gives, before small stockholders and depositors of both banks end up holding the proverbial empty bag again.

Spy tidbiz: Pranksters victimize Tom Hanks

Pranksters who probably hate award-winning actor Tom Hanks circulated emails saying the actor died while filming in New Zealand. The hoax email hit inboxes more than a week ago and claimed Hanks fell more than 60 feet to his death on the Kauri cliffs while on the set. Curiously, the email had a dearth of information about the actor, but included several movies that have been filmed in New Zealand. Apparently, the hoax mail was taken directly from a prank website that allows users to put anybody’s name on ready-made news stories. News of Tom Hanks death have been obviously exaggerated, because the actor was never even anywhere near New Zealand at the time, and in fact is still very much alive and well in the US, filming Charlie Wilson’s War.

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