March 20, 2012 Edition

After winning over 4-3 in the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup playoffs, the Azkals are bringing home the bronze!  It was the first time the Filipinos entered this tournament, the lowest-seeded team which battled its way to the semi-finals.

Read more here on Rappler.

On day 31, the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, went back over old ground, going over definitions which define ownership of an Ayala property.  It tackled the SALN errors and asked whether these were impeachable offenses.  Should Filipinos expect higher standards for its Chief Justice?

Read more on Rappler:

Corona’s SALN ‘errors’: Negligence or impeachable offense?

Higher Standrads for Chief Justice? 

Corona’s Columns: Sold but not ‘Accepted’ 

The recent record highs of the Philippines stock exchange is luring more investors than safer but lower-yielding bonds.  The equities market recently breached the 5,100 mark attracting more investors than a March 19 offering of Treasury bills.  The currency is also riding a wave of optimism from foreign fund owners now interested in buying assets in emerging economies.

Read more on Rappler.

The Philippine government was optimistic early this year that a peace pact could be signed soon, but at the Monday start of this round of negotiations, Marvic Leonon, the chief government negotiator, warned of a possible stalemate.  The MILF said both sides have their offers on the table but neither have yet reconciled on key issues.

Read more on Rappler.

Apple announced Monday night in the Philippines that it would pay its first dividend in 17 years of $2.65 per share quarterly starting in its fiscal fourth quarter, which begins July 1.   It will also buy back $10 billion of its shares.  The buyback program will begin next fiscal year, which begins Sept. 30 and will last for three years.  This was a much anticipated announcement received favorably by the market.  In late morning trade,  Apple shares rose $7.93, or 1.3 percent, to $593.50. Last week, the shares hit an all-time record of $600.01. The company is worth $553 billion.

Read more on the LA Times.

The role of drones in a fight against terrorism is the focus of contention as the US and Pakistan try to rebuild relationships.  The military has used drones to target senior commanders of Al-Qaeda, but Pakistanis claim there has been significant collateral damage – innocent civilians.  Drones have cropped up in the Philippines as well, allegedly used to target and kill members of the Abu Sayyaf, specifically a hit last February which killed a senior Abu Sayyaf leader.

Read more on the New York Times.

CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, a brokerage and financial services group, predicts Southeast Asia may have more millionaires in coming days.  It says the number of high net-worth individuals – people with more than US $1 million in assets – could double their spending power within five years, reaching 400,000 individuals (from about half that today) with more than US$1.8 trillion in wealth. 

Read more on the Wall Street Journal.

Reina Reyes is unassuming and down-to-earth, interested in infographics, data visualization and understanding how the universe works.  While getting her PhD in Astrophysics from Princeton University, Reyes led a team of researchers in proving how galaxies up to 3.5 billion light years away are clustered together in exactly the way Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity predicts. 

Read more on Rappler.

Watch the views from the high-definition cameras on the space shuttle’s solid rocket booster (views up and down) and hear the sound with mixing and enhancement by Skywalker Sound.  It’s a must-watch video included in the upcoming Special Edition Ascent: Commemorating Space Shuttle DVD/BluRay.

Read more on IO9.com.

More than 24 million copies of the “Hunger Games” trilogy by Suzanne Collins is in print in the US alone.  On Friday, the first of a planned 4-movie franchise opens in theaters around the world.  It cost $80 million to make and is expected to have opening weekend sales of about $90 million.  Lionsgate generated a high-level of interest by not just using traditional marketing techniques.  Its centerpiece is a phased, year-long digital social media campaign.

Read more on New York Times.