00:51.2
Safe haven assets earlier rose on the news with gold touching a new all-time high.
00:57.3
As for Wall Street futures.
00:58.8
Futures are also pointing to a negative open with the S&P 500 potentially headed for a six-straight losing session,
01:05.9
its worst week in six months.
01:07.6
The tech-heavy Nasdaq, meanwhile, is set for its longest weekly losing streak in over a year.
01:14.1
Wall Street's fear gauge hit its highest in more than five months on Friday
01:18.5
due to a sharp pullback in U.S. interest rate cut expectations and escalating geopolitical tensions.
01:26.2
Meanwhile, oil prices have turned lower.
01:28.8
After briefly spiking more than 3% on the Middle East conflict, both oil benchmarks are currently down 1% each.
01:39.0
Here are some stocks to watch out for.
01:41.2
We're monitoring shares of Paramount Global after reports said Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management are discussing a joint bid to acquire the media company.
01:50.8
Paramount Global shares surged 9% in pre-market trading.
01:54.5
Also in focus, shares of Netflix, which unexpectedly stopped reporting.
01:58.8
Subscriber counts, while its second quarter revenue forecast fell short of Wall Street expectations.
02:04.8
The streaming giant shares plunged 6% before the bell.
02:09.3
We're also keeping a close watch on shares of Tesla.
02:12.3
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the EV maker is recalling over 3,800 cyber trucks over a faulty accelerator pedal.
02:23.5
Tesla shares are down 2% in the pre-market.
02:27.0
We're also keeping an eye on shares of Tesla.
02:28.8
The company's first quarter earnings report in which it dialed back its expectations for the global chip sector's growth.
02:37.4
New York listed shares of the world's largest contract chip makers slid 2%.
02:41.9
Its Taipei listed shares earlier sank 6.7%.
02:46.8
Asian markets ended the week on a sour note as the Middle East tensions rattle investors.
02:53.8
Japan's CK225 posted its worst day in more than two and a half years.
02:58.8
For the week, it saw a 6.2% loss, its biggest fall since June 2022.
03:05.7
Here at home, Philippine shares joined the plunge with the main index notching its third weekly loss.
03:13.8
I think fear is an understatement.
03:15.8
What I sense right now is extreme fear, maybe even unjustifiably so.
03:22.0
Today, naturally, we saw strong selling, but even more so given that it's a Friday.
03:28.8
Obviously, people are afraid of the geopolitical conflict and they want to play it safe in case things escalate over the weekend.
03:36.6
I think what the silver lining here is, is that for one, U.S. futures have already recovered.
03:44.4
They're basically back to where they were before the missile strike.
03:48.8
As for the Philippine peso, it marked its seventh day of depreciation, falling to 57.35 against the U.S. dollar.
03:57.0
That's a new 17-month.
03:58.8
A Reuters poll of 100 economists sees the U.S. Federal Reserve cutting interest rates only twice this year.
04:08.7
Fifty-four of the respondents believe the first cut will happen in September instead of the initially projected June,
04:14.7
while the second could come in November or December.
04:18.2
The change in outlook follows evidence of persistent strength in the U.S. labor market
04:22.9
and a series of stronger-than-expected inflation data.
04:26.7
Fed Chief Jerome Powell also said,
04:28.8
Recently, policymakers are in no rush to cut rates and it will take longer to have confidence that inflation will fall back to the central bank's 2% target.
04:41.6
After sliding below $60,000, Bitcoin prices are seeing a rebound ahead of its so-called halving.
04:48.4
Halving is when the cryptocurrency's mining reward will be split in half.
04:52.7
It happens every four years as written into Bitcoin's code at its inception.
04:58.1
The halving is expected to happen in the early hours of Saturday.
05:03.2
Bitcoin saw an all-time high of $73,000 in March,
05:06.9
driven by the U.S. approving Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in January.
05:14.0
European Union leaders agree on reforms to revitalize the bloc's economy
05:18.7
and help it catch up with the U.S. and China in the global tech race.
05:22.8
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said,
05:26.2
During an EU summit in Belgium, leaders have discussed the next steps to create the EU Capital Markets Union despite disagreements on funding.
05:35.8
The Capital Markets Union aims to create a single market for capital in the 27-nation bloc.
05:42.2
For French President Emmanuel Macron, reaching an agreement on the Capital Markets Union is key to strengthening the region's economy.
05:53.4
It has been a very long debate.
05:56.2
Because our starting points are different.
05:58.6
But it is also an essential battle if we are to succeed in the next stages.
06:03.3
It is this union of capital markets that will allow us to respond and to build a genuine single market in savings and investments,
06:11.2
which is a key condition for better mobilizing private capital around our priorities.
06:15.8
Every year, 300 billion euros of European savings are diverted abroad, mainly to the United States.
06:24.7
That is money missing.
06:26.2
For the development of our companies in the European Union.
06:29.9
And it is due to the fragmentation of our capital markets and finance system.
06:38.4
Other news, the World Bank vows to support the Philippine government's infrastructure program and help improve tax collection efforts.
06:46.4
The Bank made that commitment during a meeting with Manila's Finance Department at the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund's spring meeting in Washington, D.C.
06:56.2
World Bank President Adai Banga says they will assemble a team to conduct a workshop and assist the DOF in enhancing digital infrastructure to improve tax collection efficiency.
07:06.8
He also pledged to provide more advisory works on several public-private partnership projects.
07:16.8
Global Prime Residential prices strengthened in 2023 with Manila topping the rankings, according to the Prime Global Cities Index by real estate consultants.
07:26.2
The Bank also pledged to provide more advisory works on several public-private partnership projects.
07:26.9
For the development of our companies in the European Union.
07:27.0
For the development of our companies in the European Union.
07:27.0
For the development of our companies in the European Union.
07:27.2
For the development of our companies in the European Union.
07:27.2
For the development of our companies in the European Union.
07:27.4
The luxury housing market in the Philippine capital grew by 26.3% in the fourth quarter.
07:34.3
The firm says this increase is driven by rising housing demand, with agents reporting a surge among expatriates returning to manage local businesses.
07:43.7
Coming in at second is Dubai with a 15% growth, followed by Mumbai in India.
07:48.7
But Night Frank notes, while 82% of markets experience price increases over the 12-month period,
07:55.2
only 64% of markets experience price increases over the 12-month period.
07:56.2
Only 64% witness growth in the last three months of 2023, indicating continuing volatility in certain cities.
08:04.2
That's amid high interest rates and high inflation.
08:08.8
President Marcos witnessed the grand launch of the National Fiber Backbone Phase 1 project of the ICT Department.
08:16.6
That project is expected to enhance internet speed in the country.
08:20.3
Phase 1 spans 1,245 kilometers, bringing high-speed internet access,
08:26.2
to at least 14 provinces in northern and central Luzon.
08:31.3
President Marcos said the government hopes to complete the next five phases of the project in two years.
08:39.4
Nationally, this is the infrastructure that will open employment opportunities,
08:44.8
improve market efficiency, attract foreign investment,
08:48.5
and stimulate livelihood across the different sectors of our economy and our society.
08:56.2
It will close the digital divide and bring to our people the transformative power of free and fast access to information.
09:04.5
It will allow the state to guarantee the people's enjoyment of the internet as a basic human right.
09:11.4
Once finished, the DICT expects to increase the internet penetration rate from the present 33% to 65%,
09:19.8
reaching 70 million Filipinos.
09:22.4
It will also lower the price of internet connectivity to as much as 5%.
09:26.2
It will also lower the price of internet connectivity to as much as 5%.
09:28.4
It will also lower the price of internet connectivity to as much as 5%.
09:30.4
And we're taking a quick break.
09:31.7
Up next, agri-losses due to the El Niño phenomenon in the country nearing 4 billion pesos.
09:37.5
That and more when Business Outlook returns.
09:47.4
Electricity supply in the Philippines remains precarious,
09:50.4
with power plants across the country taking a hit due to scorching temperatures.
09:55.3
The energy chief,
09:56.2
now calling for more infrastructure as a long-term solution to the issue.
10:01.0
Jackie Pascual reports.
10:04.0
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines has placed many parts of the country under a red or yellow alert.
10:10.6
Red alert is issued when power supply is insufficient,
10:13.5
while yellow alert is adopted when the operating margin is insufficient to meet contingency requirements.
10:19.7
This week, the red alert was first issued after almost a year due to the forced outage of many power plants.
10:26.2
In Luzon, for example, peak demand is 13,127 megawatts,
10:31.9
but available capacity is only 13,594 megawatts.
10:37.1
The performance of the grid, particularly of thermal power plants,
10:42.1
is affected by extreme high temperatures as we have experienced for the several past weeks.
10:50.0
As the temperature increases, the demand also increases.
10:56.2
Lotilia clarifies, a red alert does not automatically mean there will be power interruptions,
11:01.3
but consumers and stakeholders are encouraged to manage power consumption.
11:06.9
The energy chief adds, contingency measures are in place,
11:10.4
but the high temperature was just too much for the power sector.
11:14.0
They will also be checking why many plants went offline simultaneously.
11:18.6
I'm concerned about the possibilities of pollution or manipulation.
11:26.2
If the results of the study show a correlation on aberrant behavior,
11:36.2
then that is going to be brought to the attention of both the Energy Regulatory Commission
11:43.2
and the Philippine Competition Commission.
11:48.1
The average on the similar situation in the past four years is 700 megawatts.
11:53.4
That's the assumption on the forced outages.
11:56.2
But in April 16, the forced outages was at 1,811.
12:03.7
So that's about more than double.
12:07.0
Power utility firm Meralco says one of the things which helped the industry this week
12:11.2
was the Interruptible Load Program or ILP.
12:14.6
It is when big companies voluntarily deloads by using their own generation facilities instead of the grid.
12:22.2
300 to 400 megawatts a day were deloaded in the past two decades.
12:26.2
Which benefited households.
12:41.9
While the ILP helps ease the burden on the power grid,
12:46.0
Lotilia highlights the need to construct more power plants as a long-term solution.
12:50.8
We must encourage the builders,
12:56.2
building and construction of new power plants.
12:59.6
Some power plants are, or proposed power plants for example,
13:04.2
are facing delays because of delays in the issuance of permit.
13:12.0
Lotilia is now expecting improvements in the power sector this weekend
13:15.1
as more power plants may go online again.
13:18.0
But he also warns the risk of a red or yellow alert persists amid sizzling temperatures.
13:24.6
Jackie Pascual, ABS-CBN.
13:26.2
DAMAGE AND LOSSES TO THE PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE SECTOR DUE TO THE EL NINO NEARING 4 BILLION PESOS
13:35.2
According to the Agriculture Department, rice crops were hit the hardest, reaching 2.36 billion pesos.
13:41.9
Despite that, the agency does not see a significant effect on the country's rice production.
13:47.4
This, as it expects, a good harvest season.
13:50.9
In terms of rice,
13:54.9
the damage is still more than 30,000 hectares.
13:59.9
Overall area damage is about 2%
14:04.9
of our projected area.
14:07.9
In terms of volume, it's about 1.5%.
14:10.9
So it's still not that big.
14:12.9
And we're not seeing that big of a significant effect overall on our productivity level
14:18.9
in the production of rice throughout the country.
14:21.9
DAMAGE AND LOSSES TO THE PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE SECTOR DUE TO THE EL NINO NEARING 4 BILLION PESOS
14:23.9
In local corporate news, fresh from its sugar house acquisition,
14:27.9
Frutas Holdings is ready to add more brands in its 2024 mergers and acquisition pipeline.
14:33.9
It's looking at adding at least two more new brands this year.
14:37.9
Esther Yu's firm signed a deal Thursday to acquire the 40-year-old sugar house bake shop
14:42.9
for a still undisclosed amount.
14:47.9
We are looking at a number of segments,
14:51.9
both food and food-ingredient-related segments.
14:56.9
We are looking at potential targets.
14:59.9
We may also look at building them by ourselves.
15:02.9
So that's as much as I can disclose at this time.
15:05.9
At least another two.
15:07.9
I think that's a safe assumption for us.
15:14.9
Over in France, retailers are now required to notify shoppers
15:18.9
about products that have been reduced in size
15:20.9
due to so-called shrinkflation.
15:22.9
The French Finance Ministry on Friday said
15:24.9
retailers will have to display for two months beginning July
15:28.9
when food and other common consumer goods like detergent
15:32.9
have been downsized without a corresponding cut in prices.
15:35.9
The move is meant to boost consumer confidence and purchasing power
15:39.9
which have taken a hit due to the high inflation.
15:44.9
A former Google software engineer speaks out
15:47.9
after 28 employees were laid off.
15:50.9
He was also accused of participating in a protest
15:52.9
against Google's cloud contract with Israel.
15:55.9
Ray Westrick, who has worked in Google for over two years,
15:59.9
was among those who joined the protest
16:01.9
at the Google Cloud CEO's office Tuesday.
16:04.9
Protestors claim the project supports Israel's development of military tools.
16:09.9
Westrick and her colleagues were terminated the next day.
16:15.9
I think it's incredible that seeing such a clear actor
16:20.9
of retaliation actually motivates people to do more,
16:23.9
to be more brave.
16:24.9
And I think it's like really inspiring for me.
16:26.9
And yeah, I think people will continue to speak out about this
16:29.9
and I think, yeah, I think hopefully leadership sees that
16:34.9
and sees that this is not something that their employees
16:38.9
or the public or anyone wants them to be engaged in.
16:43.9
Google and Amazon were awarded a $1.2 billion contract in 2021
16:48.9
to supply the Israeli government
16:49.9
with cloud services.
16:54.9
That's your Business Outlook.
16:56.9
And I'm Salve Duplito.
16:57.9
The world tonight comes your way at the top of the next hour.
17:00.9
Keep it here on ANC.
