Ready for Chinese New Year

People look at Lunar New Year decorations at Fo Guang Shan Dong Zen Buddhist Temple in Jenjarom, Malaysia on Friday. Malaysia has eased COVID-19 restrictions for this year's celebrations with lion and dragon dances allowed subject to safety measures. 

-reuters-

Asian stocks on hold for Lunar New Year, bitcoin eyes record highs

TOKYO/NEW YORK - Asian shares hovered just below a record high on Friday as mixed US economic data caused some investors to show restraint after a global stock market rally pushed many bourses to dizzying heights.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.05 percent, trading just shy of an all-time high reached in the previous session. Australian stocks lost 0.63 percent. Shares in Tokyo fell 0.2 percent, pulling back from 30-year highs.

Futures for the S&P 500 declined 0.12 percent. Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.03 percent, German DAX futures slipped 0.14 percent, and FTSE futures eased 0.13 percent, pointing to a subdued start to European trading.

Markets in Greater China and most of Southeast Asia are closed on Friday for the Lunar New Year holiday. China’s stock and bond markets, foreign exchange and commodity futures markets are closed through Feb. 17 for the holiday.

Bitcoin surged to a new record high after BNY Mellon said it would offer custodian services for cryptocurrencies. The dollar headed for a weekly loss, stung by bitcoin’s assent and disappointing U.S. economic data.

Trading in the United States and Europe on Thursday did not move prices enough to provide much direction, said Tom Piotrowski, a market analyst at CommSec in Sydney.

“We didn’t get much of a lead-in from the northern hemisphere,” Piotrowski said. “Markets are in a bit of a holding pattern waiting for the next catalyst and it is just a question of whether that catalyst is going to be a positive one or a negative one.”

World stock markets were holding close to record highs on Thursday as investors weighed some tepid economic data against increasing vaccinations against COVID-19 and the prospect that more government spending and continued cheap money from central banks will drive higher growth and, eventually, inflation.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, fell 0.03 percent on Friday, also pulling back from a record high.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 eked out gains of 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.02 percent.

Prices held near records as investors bet on more government spending, although enthusiasm was tempered when U.S. President Joe Biden said that China was poised to “eat our lunch,” raising fears of renewed strain on Sino-U.S. ties.

U.S. weekly unemployment claims fell less than expected and core consumer prices rose at a slower pace, which caused some traders to temper the optimism about the economic outlook.

Bitcoin reached a record high of $49,000 before erasing gains.

BNY Mellon’s announcement that it will help clients hold, transfer and issue digital assets came just days after Elon Musk’s Tesla revealed it had bought $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency and would accept it as a form of payment for its cars.

Spot gold fell 0.17 percent to $1,822.21 per ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.14 percent to $1,829.50. Gold prices are still on track for their best week in three amid broad dollar selling.

The dollar index edged up by 0.05 percent on Friday but was still on course for a 0.6 percent weekly decline.

Soft demand at an auction of $27 billion of new 30-year Treasuries on Thursday rattled bond investors.

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries rose to 1.1599 percent. The 30-year yield initially rose but then fell back to 1.9398 percent.

Brent crude fell 0.57 percent to $60.79 a barrel, having dropped half a percent the previous session. U.S. oil fell 0.64 percent to $57.88 a barrel, after falling by 0.8 percent on Thursday.

OPEC cut its demand forecast and the International Energy Agency said the market was still oversupplied, which cast a gloom over energy markets.

-reuters-

China stutters back to work as virus deaths rise

BEIJING - Millions of people in China were returning to work Monday after an extended holiday designed to slow the spread of a virus that has already killed more than 900 people.

At least 40,000 others have been infected by 2019-nCoV, which is believed to have emerged late last year in a market in Wuhan.

And although the World Health Organization (WHO) has said there are tentative signs the epidemic is stabilizing, the agency's chief warned there may more infections abroad in people who have never traveled to China.

The comments from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus came as a team of WHO experts departed for China, led by Bruce Aylward, a veteran of previous health emergencies.

In an attempt to contain the virus, cities in Hubei have been locked down and transport links countrywide were cut to stop the movement of hundreds of millions of people who usually visit family during the annual Lunar New Year holiday.

Officially the Lunar New Year holiday was extended by only 3 days, but many cities and provinces pushed the deadline until February 10.

The unprecedented measures have turned cities into ghost towns, with people staying inside.

But there were some signs Monday of the country beginning to make a return to normality.

Roads in Beijing and Shanghai had significantly more traffic than in recent days and the southern city of Guangzhou said it would start to resume normal public transport from Monday.

But for those at work, it was not an easy balance to strike.

"Of course we're worried," said a 25-year-old man surnamed Li in a beauty salon in Beijing, which reopened Monday.

"When customers come in, we first take their temperature, then use disinfectant and ask them to wash their hands."

WORK, INTERRUPTED

However, tens of millions of people in Hubei province were not returning to work, as the province -- the epicenter of the outbreak -- remained under lockdown.

Even outside the quarantined province, many companies were limiting staff.

The Shanghai government suggested reducing large gatherings of people through staggered work schedules, suspending central air systems, avoiding group meals and keeping at least one meter away from work colleagues.

Online office communication tool DingTalk said in a Weibo post last week that nearly 200 million people were using the platform to work from home.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said 60 percent of its member companies were planning mandatory work-from-home policies.

State media reported that passenger numbers on the Beijing subway was down by about 50 percent Monday compared to a normal work day.

Large shopping malls in the capital were deserted.

A bank employee in Shanghai told AFP he was heading to work for a half-day, with other employees taking over in the afternoon. 

The rest of the day, staff are instructed to work from home.

"It makes our work more difficult because we need to access the systems in our office," he said.

Other employers, including auto manufacturer Toyota, simply delayed work for another week.

Schools and universities across the country remained shut.

DIFFICULT JOURNEYS

Those returning to work faced fresh travel difficulties. 

The eastern city of Wuxi said anyone trying to enter the city from provinces with high numbers of cases would be "persuaded to go back" while Suzhou city, near the financial hub of Shanghai, suspended all passenger transport to the surrounding counties.

"I just checked and it would takes 18 hours for me to go to work by bicycle," wrote one frustrated commuter on Weibo.

"It's time to work now. Should I walk???" wrote another.

On Saturday, travel authorities said there were 11 million journeys by train, road or plane -- 84 percent down on the same day last year.

The tourism industry remains in the doldrums, with several countries banning arrivals from China, major airlines suspending flights and international and domestic tour groups being halted. 

'TIP OF THE ICEBERG'

The death toll from the novel coronavirus has overtaken global fatalities in the 2002-03 SARS epidemic, when China drew international condemnation for covering up cases.

The WHO has praised the measures Beijing has taken this time, while warning figures could still "shoot up".

WHO chief Tedros said there had been some "concerning instances" of cases overseas in people with no travel history to China.

"We may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg" of these cases, he tweeted.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, thousands of people stranded aboard the World Dream cruise ship for five days were allowed to disembark Sunday after its 1,800 crew tested negative for the new coronavirus.

The ship carried three Chinese passengers to Vietnam between January 19 and 24 who were later found to be infected with the SARS-like coronavirus.

Agence France-Presse

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Dragon dancers perform in the middle of a crowd in Binondo, Manila celebrating the Lunar New Year on Saturday, one of the most important and festive events in the Chinese calendar.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

PH among top Lunar New Year destinations for travelers from China, Japan

MANILA – The Philippines has become a top destination for Chinese and Japanese travelers during the Lunar New Year celebrations.

Citing data from its hotel bookings from China and Japan, Agoda said the Philippines is among the Top 3 Lunar New Year destinations of both countries from 2018 to 2020.

It ranked third among Chinese travelers over the past three years, with Japan and Thailand at first and second place, respectively.

Most Japanese travelers who booked their hotels with Agoda, meanwhile, have been going to Thailand for Lunar New Year. South Korea and the Philippines ranked second and third place, respectively, in 2018 and 2020. 

The United States managed to break into the Top 3 in 2019, edging out South Korea.

According to Agoda, Cebu in particular was the Philippine city of choice for travelers from China. Japanese visitors, on the other hand, have been flocking to Manila, Pampanga (Angeles/Clark), and Cebu. 

Across travelers from Asia, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand were the Top 3 countries for Lunar New Year from 2018 to 2020. 

Taiwan is slowly becoming a key destination, with four spots making it to the booking website’s Top 10 Lunar New Year cities – Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung, and Tainan.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Chinese communities around world welcome Year of the Pig

HONG KONG - Chinese communities began welcoming the Year of the Pig on Tuesday, ushering in the Lunar New Year with prayers, family feasts, and shopping sprees after embarking on the world's largest annual migration.

In mainland China over the past week, hundreds of millions of people have crammed into trains, buses, cars, and planes to reach family and friends, emptying the country's megacities of much of the migrant workforce.

Celebrations will take place across the globe, from Southeast Asia's centuries-old Chinese communities to the more recently established Chinatowns of Sydney, London, Vancouver, Los Angeles, and beyond.

The most important holiday of the Chinese calendar marks the New Year with a fortnight of festivities as reunited families wrap dumplings together and exchange gifts and red envelopes stuffed with money.

Pigs symbolize good fortune and wealth in Chinese culture and this year's holiday brings a proliferation of porcine merchandise, greetings, and decorations.

During the Spring Festival season -- a 40-day period known as "Chunyun" -- China's masses will be on the move, chalking up some 3 billion journeys, Chinese state media reported.

Streets and busy thoroughfares were uncharacteristically empty in Beijing on Monday, with many shops and restaurants closed until next week.

A growing number of Chinese are also choosing to travel abroad, booking family trips to Thailand, Japan, and other top destinations.

An estimated 7 million Chinese tourists will head overseas over Spring Festival this year, according to official news agency Xinhua, citing numbers from Chinese travel agency Ctrip.

PRAYERS, GREETINGS

In Hong Kong, flower markets were filled with residents picking out orchids, mandarins, and peach blossoms to decorate their homes -- with stalls also boasting a dizzying array of pig-themed pillows, tote bags, and stuffed toys.

Thousands of incense-carrying petitioners crammed into the city's famous Wong Tai Sin temple overnight, a popular location to mark the first prayers of the New Year.

In Malaysia -– where 60 percent of the population is Muslim, and a quarter ethnic Chinese -– some shopping centers chose not to display pig decorations, while some shops kept them inside.

But shoppers and traders said that was usual in a country where the Muslim majority are sensitive about an animal considered unclean in Islam, and overall there had been little controversy this year.

Next door in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country, which also has a sizable ethnic Chinese population, the Lunar New Year is a public holiday.

Events like traditional lion dances are held in decorated public spaces while supermarkets stock up on moon cakes and tangerines.

In Japan, the capital's famous Tokyo Tower was due to turn red in celebration of the New Year -- a first for the city. 

Parades and lion dances in Western cities such as New York and London were expected to draw large crowds.

Beijing-friendly figures like Pakistani president Arif Alvi and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen extended new year greetings to China.

Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen used her social media accounts to deliver a political sideswipe at Beijing with a message highlighting the island's democratic credentials and linguistic pluralism.

"In Taiwan we are able to maintain our cultural traditions," she said in a video in which she delivered the traditional new year greeting in 5 Chinese languages: Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka, Teochew and Cantonese.

Mainland authorities have long been accused by critics and minorities of pushing Mandarin at the expense of other languages.

China still sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the 2 sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949.

Relations between Taipei and Beijing have had a rocky start to 2019 after Xi Jinping delivered a bellicose speech last month describing the island's unification with the mainland as "inevitable."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Asia stocks quiet, dollar firm after upbeat US job data

TOKYO -- Asia stocks hovered near four-month highs on Monday after a mixed performance on Wall Street at the close of last week, while the dollar firmed against the yen following strong US job and manufacturing data.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was almost flat. It had scaled a four-month peak on Friday along with a surge in its global peers.

Trade was subdued with many of the region's markets closed for the Lunar New Year. China's financial markets are closed all week, while those in South Korea are shut until Thursday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng, which is trading for only half a day, edged up 0.2 percent.

Japan's Nikkei added 0.5 percent.

On Wall Street on Friday optimism from a surge in January US job growth was offset by a weaker-than-expected outlook from Amazon.com Inc that battered retail stocks. The Dow nudged up 0.26 percent while the Nasdaq shed 0.25 percent.

"Key points for the markets this week will be how the remaining US corporate earnings releases turn out, and whether they are in line with recent upbeat data," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.

"While corporate earnings and fundamentals remain key, political developments, notably the US-China trade situation, remain potential risk factors," he said.

A US Labor Department report on Friday showed non-farm payrolls jumped by a stronger-than-forecast 304,000 jobs last month, the largest gain since February 2018.

That report, along with better-than-expected ISM manufacturing activity numbers for January, pointed to underlying strength in the world's biggest economy.

"After last week's risk appetite revival, the data pulse and the tone of Fed speakers will be important. For the Goldilocks market to continue, we need to find a delicate balance between improving data and still-neutral central banks," strategists at ANZ wrote.

Global equity markets performed strongly last week after the Federal Reserve pledged to be patient with further interest rate hikes, signalling a potential end to its tightening cycle.

Friday's robust economic data triggered a sharp rebound in US Treasury yields, in turn lifting the dollar.

On Monday, the US currency was a shade higher at 109.555 yen after advancing 0.6 percent on Friday.

The euro was little changed at $1.1456 after getting pulled back from a high of $1.1488 on Friday.

The Australian dollar was mostly steady at $0.7244 after slipping 0.4 percent the previous session.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield was at 2.686 percent after climbing nearly 6 basis points on Friday to pull away from a four-week low of 2.619 percent earlier last week.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) US crude oil futures extended Friday's rally and were last up 0.3 percent at $55.42 per barrel.

On Friday, WTI futures had rallied 2.7 percent on the upbeat US job report, signs that Washington's sanctions on Venezuelan exports have helped tighten supply and data showing US drillers cut the number of oil rigs. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

8 Ways to Attract Good Fortune this Chinese New Year

MANILA -- It’s that time of year when dragons come out to play. The Chinese New Year, also called the Lunar New Year, and also known as the Spring Festival, falls on February 5 but celebrations begin today on what the Chinese consider as the New Year’s Eve.

But don’t think the festivities only run for two days – the Spring Festival actually lasts for 15 days, beginning from the new moon on New Year’s Day until the full moon on the Lantern Festival.

In China, stores are closed for the first five days of their longest holiday season so much of the shopping must be done before the red letter date. The Chinese can enjoy no work for at least a week, some as long as 10 days, or even until the Lantern Festival.

Why such a long vacation? Well, it could be because the advent of a New Year is welcomed with great ceremony and a host of traditions designed to bring families together and attract prosperity in the coming year.

In fact, their planning involves two main themes: first has to do with cleansing or clearing away all of the previous year’s bad luck; and second, preparing the home to receive the next year’s good fortune.

Considering the prosperity they enjoy in China and elsewhere in the world, if you want to make merry along with our Chinese brothers and sisters and also attract good fortune, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Sweep away bad luck with a clean home.

In the days leading up to New Year’s Day, the Chinese are busy giving their homes a thorough cleaning. It’s not just to see what items they own still spark joy so they can keep it and throw the rest away. Ceilings are dusted, windows are scrubbed, floors are mopped, and furniture all wiped clean to sweep away the bad luck of the past year. A clean home is a happy home so what are you waiting for?

2. Prepare to feast on New Year’s Eve.

If you’ve enjoyed a Chinese Lauriat, you know that the Chinese are serious about their feasts. In a Lauriat or special occasion, at least 10 dishes are served and guests dine for hours. You could serve your and your family’s favorites but do not forget to include fish. That’s because the Chinese word for “surplus” or “profit” sounds similar to the word for fish. That’s why they believe eating fish will bring wealth in the new year. It’s an excellent source of protein and healthy too so why not?

3. Paint the town red.

When you have the feast planned out, time to decorate and there is only one color to keep in mind: red. Chinatowns around the world transform into scarlet parades from red lanterns to posters and papers bearing lucky characters. It’s not just the streets that undergo the red change – businesses, storefronts and homes – basically every place that wants to attract good fortune dress up in the festive décor. The color red is associated with wealth in Chinese culture, and this is one tradition that they embrace not only in China but also in their diasporas worldwide.

4. Get ready with ear plugs for the Dragon and Lion dances.

The Chinese believe that dragons bring luck, and that’s why dragon dances are performed in almost all special occasions. And if you are wondering why some dances go on and on and on until you are nearly deaf thanks to the gongs, cymbals, and drums, well that’s because they also believe the longer the dragon is in the dance, the more luck it will bring to the community. One more plus: they say the dances also scare away evil spirits.

5. Stockings are out, and red envelopes are in.

The Chinese are also big on exchanging gifts for the New Year, but they prefer to hand it over as cash gifts in red envelopes or ang-paos. As a child, I used to look forward to New Year because all your older relatives are sure to hand you one. Some will have token amounts (hey it’s the thought that counts) but others tend to be a bit more generous and you can feel it from the thickness of the envelope as they hand it over. Ang-paos are usually given by adults to children and from married couples to their younger, unmarried family members. Some bosses also present them to employees (sadly, this has yet to happen to me).

6. Don’t forget the tikoy!

You’ll know it’s Chinese New Year when these red boxes of sticky treats start arriving. Another preferred gift, many Chinese present this to one another, or to their non-Chinese friends to also wish them prosperity. This usually comes in a round shape like a pie, but there are also gourmet varieties and for twice to thrice the price, you can get one shaped like a fish or the Chinese zodiac symbol for the year (for 2019, that’s the pig).

7. Are you ready for it?

When your home is sparkling, the feast about to be served, and gifts waiting to be exchanged, make sure you are personally ready too! The Chinese like to visit the barber or salon and get a fresh haircut or trim. They also have the excuse to shop for a Spring Festival wardrobe, and of course, new red clothing is best. A new you – thanks to a new hairstyle and outfit – are also believed to bring good luck, ensuring a fresh start for the new year.

8. Make sure to settle your debts.

This one may be a tough thing to do unless you have a lot of cash lying around, but still a healthy practice so people stay disciplined about their finances. Again for the Chinese, this has a traditional and symbolic meaning, which is to “close the books” at the end of the year and start a more fortunate page in the new year. But what happens if you don’t? You can expect red paint to be splashed on your door, as one multinational bank discovered after the new year. Allegedly, one of its employees owed money and the debt collectors decided to spill some (figurative) blood, just enough to scare them into paying up!

I admit none of these are guaranteed to pad your pockets, but traditions that survived thousands of years did so for good reason so where’s the harm? Wishing you all Xin Nian Kuai Le! (Happy New Year), or even better Gong Xi Fa Cai! (Wishing you Prosperity).

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Looking for their fortunes

Mallgoers check their fortunes based on their Chinese zodiac animal at a Chinese New Year display at the Centris Mall in Quezon City on Friday. Many Filipinos consult or check zodiac signs for their luck despite their Catholic upbringing.

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Sparkling Chinese New Year dance

People perform a fire dragon dance under a shower of sparks from molten iron during the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on Monday. Chinese New Year festival normally runs for 2 weeks and ends with a Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the year, which falls on February 11.

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China girlfriend rental app gets leg up from Lunar New Year demand

BEIJING - As millions in China head home to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday with their families, 24-year-old Luoluo is busy answering messages on a mobile app from desperate men looking to hire an instant girlfriend whom they can present to mom and dad.

On visits home during the holiday, which kicks off on Friday, single people are often subjected to tough lectures from relatives keen on reinforcing the importance of marriage and securing the family blood line.

Some singles resort to hiring fake girlfriends and boyfriends to appease their parents. But an explosion in smartphone use in recent years means one can now pay for such a date through a handful of mobile apps, with just a few clicks.

"Over 1,000 users on our platform have signed up as dates for hire for the New Year break," Cao Tiantian, founder of date-for-hire app Hire Me Plz, told Reuters.

Subscribers to the app pay from as little as 1 yuan ($0.15) to 1,999 yuan an hour for a dinner date, a chat, a game of mah-jong or even a foot massage.

Prices surge around the time of Lunar New Year, with thousands of attractive twenty-somethings like Luoluo commanding fees of 3,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan a day.

"I'm still seeking people to fill my time slots," said the woman from the southwestern province of Sichuan, who has just two half-day slots left to fill over the next seven days.

"But only those who stay in the same province as me. I don't have time to waste on travel," she added.

Apart from Hire Me Plz, there are five major date-hiring apps in China, which make their money by taking a cut from hires, and also from subscription fees.

"Our business model is still new, though an increasing number of young people have accepted the idea of selling their time as commodity," said Beijing-based Cao, who expects date-rental to become a multi-billion dollar market in five years.

Since its launch in 2015, Hire Me Plz has garnered a user base of 700,000 and 1.7 million followers on Tencent's (0700.HK) WeChat, China's biggest mobile social media network.

Date rentals - offline or online - have drawn criticism in recent years, with some netizens on social media and legal experts questioning the morality and legality of the business.

"There are no clear prohibitions in Chinese laws regarding date rentals. But risks exist among such deals, which may also violate the law to some extent," state-run China News Services this month cited Li Hongzhao, an official of the Beijing Lawyers Association Criminal Law Committee, as saying.

Li said it is sometimes hard to define the boundaries of appropriate intimacy and when an act of intimacy becomes sexual assault.

Sex is not part of the services offered on any of the mobile apps. Prostitution is illegal in China.

Dating services are also offered by individuals on Baidu's (BIDU.O) Tieba classifieds and Tencent's QQ messaging service. But buyers beware - those services provide no identity authentication, unlike the mobile apps.

Hire Me Plz's Cao said the initial aim of her app was to help overcome the problem of loneliness experienced by young people leaving home to work alone in big cities.

"I was seeking a more effective way to ask someone out. Who wants to chat for months via social networks and end up with nothing?"

Elsewhere in Asia, online date-for-hire services are mostly found on website-only platforms, such as Soulmate in South Korea and Pally Asia in Singapore.

Pally Asia, which calls itself a "rent-a-friend" platform, plans to push out an app in the first half of this year.

($1=6.8758 Chinese yuan)

(Additional reporting by Fathin Ungku in SINGAPORE and Nataly Pak in SEOUL; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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Asian shares slump in holiday-thinned trade

TOKYO - Asian shares got off to a rocky start on Monday after mixed U.S. jobs data helped sink shares on Wall Street, but trade was thin with many regional markets closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.2 percent, with Australian shares slipping 0.3 percent. Japan's Nikkei skidded 1.2 percent in early trade.

With Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China all closed for the new year holiday, "volumes will be well below average and there tends to be a build-up of global leads that is released once Asian investors return to their desk – expect 'release valve trading late in the week," Evan Lucas, market strategist at IG in Melbourne, wrote in a note to clients.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by just 151,000 jobs last month, falling well short of expectations for a rise of 190,000.

But the unemployment rate fell to 4.9 percent, the lowest since February 2008, and wages rose, indicating some signs of underlying strength in the labor market despite the weak headline figure.

Recently weak U.S. economic data has led investors to pare bets on a steady pace of interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve.

Markets in China, a focus of recent market concern, will be closed for the entire week for the holiday.

Data released over the weekend showed China's foreign reserves fell for a third straight month in January, as the central bank dumped dollars to defend the yuan and prevent an increase in capital outflows.

Beijing has been struggling to underpin the yuan, which faces depreciation pressure as China's growth rate slows to its lowest levels in a quarter of a century.

"Just as China's persistent accumulation of foreign reserves in the first decade of the 21st century signaled that its managed currency was undervalued, its persistent loss of foreign reserves signals that the yuan has become overvalued by market criteria," economist Bill Adams at PNC Financial Services Group said in a research note.

"There is a large probability that China's central bank tires of spending its foreign reserves to defend an overvalued currency in the near future. The People's Bank of China will likely widen the currency's trading bank and permit a larger managed slide against the dollar in coming months."

Also over the weekend, North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket drew international condemnation.

On Wall Street, major U.S. indexes logged both daily and weekly losses. The Nasdaq Composite led session losses, plunging 3.25 percent after a spate of disappointing forecasts from the technology sector.

In currency markets, the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was steady at 97.038, well above a nadir of 96.259 plumbed last Thursday, its lowest since October.

The dollar edged up about 0.1 percent to 116.96 yen, moving away from Friday's 2-1/2 week low of 116.285 in a week in which it logged a 3.6-percent slide, its biggest weekly drop since July 2009.

The euro edged down about 0.2 percent to $1.1142, though it remained in sight of Friday's three-month high of $1.1250 scaled immediately after the headline figure of the payrolls data led investors to reduce their bets on further Fed rate hikes.

Crude oil futures slipped in thin trade, but were underpinned by glimmers of hope for steps by oil producers to address the global supply glut that has led to recent steep selloffs.

Saudi Arabia's oil minister Ali al-Naimi discussed cooperation between OPEC members and other oil producers to stabilize the global oil market with his Venezuelan counterpart on Sunday, according to state news agency SPA.

Brent crude was down 0.4 percent at $33.91 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures shed about 0.2 percent to $30.84.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Apple shares drop below $100 for first time since August

Apple Inc. shares dropped below $100 for the first time in nearly five months on Wednesday following reports of slowing shipments of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.

Taiwan-based Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, will cut working hours over the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, according to a person familiar with the matter, a rare move that analysts said could be a sign of softening demand for the iPhone.

Japanese daily Nikkei, citing parts suppliers, said output of the iPhone models would be cut by about 30 percent in the January-March time frame so dealers could offload stock.

"I don't think anyone expects growth to accelerate from last year's hyper growth. The only question that remains is whether they will grow at all in 2016," said Walter Piecyk, an analyst with BTIG.

The iPhone accounts for the vast majority of Apple's revenue and profits, and worries about slowing sales have weighed on the stock, which has fallen nearly 19 percent over the last six months.

"We were already conservative about the first quarter," said analyst Kylie Huang at Daiwa-Cathay Capital Markets in Taipei, in response to Foxconn's Lunar New Year plans. "It's not just iPhone slowdown, but all of the Chinese economy."

Apple did not return requests for comment.

Foxconn said in a statement that it was "in the midst of planning operational schedules for the Lunar New Year holiday," but gave no details.

Since early December, about a third of analysts tracked by Thomson Reuters have trimmed their estimates on Apple. On average, they expect Apple to increase revenue this year by less than 4 percent, a far cry from the 28 percent achieved in the business year that ended in September.

"We can see per survey data that this decline in units is not a result of iPhone users switching away from the iPhone, but is simply due to the tough compare of the iPhone 6," said analyst Nehal Chokshi from Maxim Group, a brokerage firm.

"There is really no way that they could have produced the number of incremental users that they did on the iPhone 6 cycle with the iPhone 6S cycle," Chokshi added.

Lukewarm forecasts in December from suppliers such as Dialog Semiconductor GmbH and casing maker Jabil Circuit Inc. stoked fears that iPhone shipments could fall on an annual basis for the first time.

But some analysts questioned the extent of any slowdown.

"Apple has been gaining significant market share in pretty much every region, and I'm not seeing a global slowdown," said analyst Patrick Moorhead at Moor Insights & Strategy.

Apple's shares fell briefly to as low as $99.87 in Nasdaq trading on Wednesday, their lowest level since Aug. 24, when the shares fell to $92 as the entire stock market suffered a brief 'flash crash.'

Apple stock closed down nearly 2 percent at $100.70, amid a broadly lower stock market. The stock has not closed below $100 since Oct. 20, 2014.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Asia rings in Year of the Sheep with fireworks, festivities

BEIJING - Fireworks illuminated the skies across China as millions around Asia ushered in the Year of the Sheep Thursday, kicking off festivities with an annual televised gala that got a thumbs down on social media for heavy Communist Party preaching against corruption.

China officially counts the New Year as starting from January 1 but culturally its citizens place greater importance on the lunar computation of days, reflecting centuries of traditional practice.

Ahead of the festivities, President Xi Jinping proffered a Lunar New Year's greeting to a gathering of more than 2,000 people inside Beijing's ornate Great Hall of the People.

"We are proud of our great country and we are proud of our great people," he said in the speech on Tuesday, which was also attended by other top leaders, including Premier Li Keqiang.

Wednesday night, or lunar New year's eve, was marked by loud booms as people shot off firecrackers in various parts of the country, filling the air with the pungent smell of explosives.

Indoors, hundreds of millions of Chinese tuned in for the annual televised Spring festival gala, which lasts for about four hours and is broadcast nationwide, featuring singing, dancing, skits and comedy performances.

Social media users, however, complained Thursday that the show was ruined by Communist Party sermons against corruption, which has been the pet policy of Xi since becoming head of the party.

The performance included comic dialogues criticising the endemic culture of bribe-taking.

"It was the most disgusting Spring Festival gala," read a post on microblog Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter. "It was just for the state leaders, not for common people."

"The gala is a political performance, the so-called anti-corruption-themed performances are for licking the shoes" of state leaders, another user said.

The day varies annually due to the nature of the lunar calendar which follows the cycles of the moon. It was celebrated last year on January 31, which marked the Year of the Horse.

Traditional astrology in China attaches different animal signs to each lunar year in a cycle of 12 years.

Lunar New Year is also celebrated in other parts of Asia, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, North and South Korea, Mongolia and among ethnic Chinese communities in Southeast Asia.

Fortune tellers in Hong Kong said that the Year of the Sheep should be calmer in general than the previous Year of the Horse, which was characterised by catastrophic international air accidents, brutal terror attacks, global political upheaval, a resurgent Ebola virus and war.

In Taiwan, President Ma Ying-jeou prayed for "safety, health and happiness for the country" in the coming year while attending a religious ceremony in New Taipei city late Wednesday.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

8 predictions for the super-rich in Year of the Goat

MANILA, Philippines - The Chinese Year of the Goat starts today, February 19.

Wealth-X gave 8 predictions for the ultra high net worth (UHNW) population in China for the coming year:

1. Social mobility will drive an increase in China’s UHNW population in the lowest wealth tiers;

2. UHNW wealth is expected to grow at a faster rate than the Chinese UHNW population, with an additional $80 billion of wealth being created during the year;

3. Flows of UHNW wealth outside of China will increase, with 5 percent more of UHNW assets held in foreign businesses;

4. Tier 1 cities will increase in relevance with 60 percent of China’s UHNW population calling the four cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou home by the end of the year;

5. Public wealth is expected to grow faster than private wealth in China with an additional $45 billion held in public companies;

6. Luxury spending in China will decrease by 4 percent due to the government’s anti-corruption crackdown;

7. Chinese philanthropy will increase this year, with a 24 percent rise in the number of private foundations established;

8. The number of UHNW expatriates in China will increase by 40 percent over the course of the year.

The Goat is the eighth zodiac sign in the 12-symbol Chinese horoscope.

Wealth-X data shows that 8.4 percent of the world's UHNW population was born in the year of the Goat, the fourth most common Chinese Zodiac sign for UHNW individuals.

Goat UHNW individuals have the lowest proportion of fully self-made UHNW individuals and these individuals are 10 percent wealthier than the global average for UHNW individuals.

Although only six percent of all Goat UHNW individuals are involved in the technology sector, the most prominent "goat" is Bill Gates.

Gates, who founded Microsoft, is the world's richest man. He was born in 1955, another year of the Goat.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Year of the Sheep: An overview

MANILA – Are you curious about what the Year of the Sheep will bring? Feng shui expert Princess Lim Fernandez of Yin and Yang Shop of Harmony in New World Makati shares an overview of the coming Chinese New Year.

Fernandez said that while the Lunar New Year will officially start on February 19, spring season has begun on February 4. This means that a baby born from the noon of February 4 onwards already belongs to the Year of the Sheep zodiac, also called the Year of the Goat, and no longer the Year of the Horse.

She advised businesses to open not on February 19 but on February 23 to welcome more wealth. Some of the “lucky” industries this year, according to her, are related to wood (textile, garments, environment, paper, print media, logging, furniture, design, manufacturing and books) and fire (restaurants, energy, power, electronics, sports, exercises and entertainment).

Weaker businesses, on the other hand, are industries related to water such as tourism, shipping, transportation, logistics, water supply, hospitality and trading. Fernandez stressed, however, that these industries can still do well if owners and employees put in extra effort.

She went on to share that the generally favorable direction in the home and office this coming Year of the Sheep is north, which is home to the “wealth star.” The northwest contains the “promotion and academic star,” while the northeast has the “travel star.”

The “romance star” and the “prosperity star,” on the other hand, are in the east and the southwest areas, respectively.

Meanwhile, the unfavorable directions include the west, which has the “disaster star,” and the southeast, which has the “sickness and backstabbing star.” Other not-so-good areas are the center (“conflict star”) and south (“robbery and scandal star”). Fernandez advised people to place lucky charms to attract good fortune and to counter negative energies.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Why China is entering New Year with more thrift

SHANGHAI - The coming Lunar New Year will be a damp squib for Ding Shen, the 34-year-old owner of Beautiful Scenery Fireworks, who like a lot of China's entrepreneurs is counting the cost of an economy growing at its slowest for nearly a quarter of century.

"If you don’t have money, you’re not going to buy fireworks," said Ding, who runs a store in Shanghai and a factory in the south-central province Hunan.

Fireworks, an essential part of the celebrations, are traditionally set off everywhere - on streets, in courtyards and even off rooftops - during the week-long holiday.

But they are an expense that people can easily cut.

"We’ve seen our domestic sales drop 40 percent and the fundamental reason has been because of China’s economic slowdown," said Ding.

His comments were echoed by other firework makers who also listed stricter safety regulations and heightened concerns over air pollution as reasons for depressed sales.

For many Chinese the coming year holds even less promise than 2014, when growth slowed to a 24-year-low of 7.4 percent. A weak property market, slowing inflation and deteriorating domestic and foreign demand all point to further gloom.

As consumers tighten their belts, the price of pork - known as China's indispensable meat - has also been hit.

Pork prices tend to rise in the month before the holiday. But this year, according to official data, they slipped, albeit marginally, to 24.8 yuan ($4) per kilogram in January from 24.9 yuan in December.

"Usually corporate gifts include pork products like dried meat but that has declined significantly this year," said Pan Chenjun, a senior analyst at Rabobank.

Other analysts said record levels of pork production in 2014 also kept prices under pressure.

Bookings for the Lunar New Year Eve dinner on Feb. 18 are as high as ever, according to Zhu Xiaochao, media manager for Xiao Nan Guo Restaurants, which serve Shanghainese food in 80 restaurants across China.

Customers, however, were opting for cheaper set menus.

On the Internet, some bloggers complained about their pathetic New Year bonuses - so-called "hongbao" because they are handed out in red envelopes.

"Our company gave me a bonus - three boxes of apples to share between six people, what is this!" said Weibo user 'Duzuo Chitang'.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Feng shui expert cites 'luckier' bets in 2013

MANILA, Philippines -- On February 10, the Chinese community will usher in the Lunar New Year and the "Year of the Water Snake."

Feng shui expert Master Joseph Chau said 2013 is a year of “challenges” and “conflicts.” Tensions may also escalate as election day draws near.

But candidates in the May 13 elections who are under the zodiac animal signs dragon, dog, rabbit, monkey, and snake are luckier.

Couples planning a wedding this year may want to postpone the date to next year. Chau said 2013 is a “blind year” because spring will come earlier on February 4 than the Chinese New Year. In the Chinese tradition, this is bad luck for weddings.

But, Chau added, money will be easier to earn this year.

Some good business opportunities are in the tourism sector, hotel and restaurant, transportation and even the stock market.

According to the 2013 feng shui chart, there are areas in the house or office that are luckier, such as the northeast where the wealth star is located, and south, for the prosperity star.

To start the year right, place five kinds of fruits like pineapple, apple, banana and orange at the dining table on the eve of New Year's day.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

New Year revelry in Boracay

MANILA, Philippines — The Yuletide season is all about celebrations. And, in a tropical country like the Philippines, perhaps we’re lucky that beaches like Boracay are just within reach if we want to spend the holidays away from the hustle and bustle of Manila. For urban dwellers, it seems like an alluring idea to just walk on shores with powdery white sand and frolic in the sea during Yuletide vacation.

According to Alfonso Chusuey, COO and assistant to the president for Boracay Garden Resort, the Yuletide season is a peak period for travelers, with an influx of guests checking in for the holidays.

Holidays in Boracay often have a happy and laid back atmosphere. However, the revelry goes on a fever pitch after Christmas Day, when people flock to the beach after spending time at home with their families during Christmas Eve. “We’re expecting full occupancy for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day,” Alfonso shares.

In anticipation of the New Year, Boracay lives up to its epicurean reputation for the next few days, becoming a party-filled venue. The merry-making series hits a crescendo on New Year’s Eve, when hotels and resorts host New Year’s Eve feasts and promote special holiday promos.

To illustrate, Boracay Garden Resort offers a special package up to January 2, 2012. Based on triple sharing, guests may avail of four days’ accommodation in a deluxe room for as low as P7, 924.00 net per person. The package includes breakfast and dinner meals together with roundtrip transfers via Caticlan.

The resort is also gearing up for a lavish Medya Noche (New Year’s Eve dinner) buffet spread at its beachfront. “We all look forward to Medya Noche to share warm, hearty meals with our loved ones,” says Mario Gatmaitan, Boracay Garden Resort’s food and beverage manager.

Set to be served buffet-style are Pinoy Roasted Calf Leg with onion gravy, Lechon de Carajay, Adobong Sugpo sa Aligue, Chicken Galantine, Beef Bulalo with Bone Marrow, Chicken Sisig, Tokwa’t Baboy, Arroz Valenciana, Rellenong Sugpo with Crab Roe Sauce, Lengua con Setas and Seafood Kare-Kare.

Other treats include Maple-brown Sugar Glazed Christmas Ham, Lemongrass Grilled Salmon Fillet in Green Thai Curry Sauce, Kalbi Tang (boiled Korean Ox-Tail), Southern Fried Chicken, London Fish and Chips, Roasted Steamship with Au Jus, Roasted Tom Turkey with Chestnut stuffing, Giblet gravy and Cranberry Sauce and Braised Duck in Star Anise.

Desserts spanning from Filipino to international cuisines will also be present. Examples include buko fruit salad, tiramisu, cheesecake, leche flan, bibingka, among others. “We have also included in the menu popular holiday drinks like hot chocolate, peppermint tea, salabat, ginumis, and buko pandan,” adds Gatmaitan.

If you want to have your food any time of the day, the resort has the Garden Café, an al fresco restaurant serving local and international cuisines. Those looking to cool off may take a dip in the resort’s 450-square meter main pool with poolside bar and deck.

But more than gastronomic fare and fun-filled days, Boracay is one of the safest places to spend the holidays. Henry Chusuey, chairman of the Henann Resorts group, which operates the Boracay Garden Resort, says that crime rates are low in Boracay. Save for petty mischief, no major crimes have been committed in the ‘island paradise’ for a long time.

In relation to New Year’s Eve, Henry also shares that igniting fireworks on the beach grounds per se is forbidden. This seems like a reassurance for guests who may worry about possible incidents of fireworks-induced injuries on hand and on land.

But for those who look forward to some fireworks, no worries. Henry says that Boracay Garden Resort, along with sister resorts Boracay Regency Beach Resort and Spa and Regency Lagoon Resort, will showcase the best fireworks display in Boracay—in a safe manner, of course.

For more information, visit www.boracaygarden.com.ph.

source: mb.com.ph

Chinese shoppers to Japan set to surge for lunar holiday

TOKYO — Japan is expecting a surge in Chinese visitors during the lunar New Year holiday period, with tourists eager to snap up electronics and other goods in a welcome boost for retailers.

A record 9.44 million foreigners visited Japan last year, with inbound Chinese tourists rising over 34 percent to about 1.6 million, surpassing Taiwan to become no. 2 after South Korea, the nation with the most visitors to Japan.

Even before the start of the holiday on Feb. 3, Chinese shoppers were piling off buses in Tokyo's Akihabara electronics shopping mecca, which some 40 percent of inbound Chinese are believed to visit.

"The number of Chinese customers in our store has increased a lot compared to last month because of the Chinese New Year holiday," said Chen Rui, a sales clerk at the Laox electronics shopping centre, who is originally from the Chinese city of Xian. "Most of them buy electronics such as watches, rice cookers, cameras and camcorders."

To deal with the influx of Chinese shoppers, who surged after visa restrictions were eased last year, the shopping centre has Mandarin-speaking staff, uses signs written in Chinese, and accepts mainland credit card without additional processing fees.

Many customers said they were attracted by the high reputation of Japanese goods as well as a sense that better quality products might be found within Japan itself.

"Japanese products have good quality, and we don't have to worry about buying imitations because they are all genuine," said 50-year-old Li Tienan, who works for a Shanghai-based electronics company.

Chinese tourists spend an average of $1,300 per person, according to estimates by Japan's tourism agency, and are not put off even by the strength of the yen, which last year hit a record high against the yuan.

"I don't care. I would definitely buy some 'Made in Japan' goods since I'm in Japan now," said Liu Hailing, a 39-year-old visitor from Qingdao.

Though the number of Chinese visitors to Japan fell off in the last quarter of 2010 as a long-term territorial dispute between the two nations flared up, Japan's foreign ministry expects that inbound Chinese visitors will eventually reach 10 million a year.

To make visiting still easier, Japan also plans to offer multiple-entry visas for frequent Chinese visitors from this summer. — Reuters

Article source: gmanews.tv