April 23, 2012 Edition

A New York Times investigation showed that Walmart, the world’s biggest retail chain, has allegedly bribed officials in Mexico, allowing the company to expand at a faster rate than normal. Top executives and board members were aware of these allegations since a Mexico official involved in the bribery but was kicked out, reported the wrongdoings to the decision makers, prompting an investigation on possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The probe fizzled out as profits contributed by the Mexico unit soared, indicating that problems may go all the way to the top and among the company leaders who have tried to position Walmart as a good company committed to the highest moral and ethical standards.

Read the New York Times investigation,  Business Insider’s coverage of WalMart’s response and Reuters analysis of why this could result departures at the top.

“It’s the economy, stupid!” This old line is a truism in both sides of the Atlantic this election year. On Sunday, April 22, incumbent French president Nicolas Sarkozy placed 2nd to socialist champion Francois Hollande in the first round of polling. French voters are reeling from austerity measures and rising joblessness–points that Hollande has raised against Sarkozy as the May 6 presidential election nears. This economy theme is also Mitt Romney’s case against US president Barack Obama, himself an incumbent. Romney is rallying voters on the fact that the economic recovery and Obama’s strategy to create jobs are yet to be felt, giving Romney a breathing room ahead of the November election.

Read more about the French election and US election in Rappler.
Read more about the anti-Sarkozy vote on Economist.com

In the annual remembrance of Earth Day — which fell on April 22 this year — various groups turned to new ways to highlight environmental issues. Rappler, for example, conducted a Twitter discussion, using #SaveTheTrees as hashtag, to focus on the importance of forests and how to protect them. The 3-hour online chat mainly delved into the contentious definition of forests, the threats they face, and ways to address the problem. Meantime, a long lasting LED bulb by electronics firm Philips hit the shelves and retailed for $50. The 10-watt light bulb, which was packaged to be a more environmentally friendly alternative to the standard 60-watt incandescent bulb, can last an impressive 27.4 years. 

Read more about the #SaveTheTrees discussion and the 20-year-long light bulb on Rappler

Hackers have taken the already-shaky bilateral relations between the Philippines and China to another level. At the heart of the online dispute is a shoal near the western Philippines where both countries are in a standoff as each shows off battle ships (or fisheries ships). After the website of the University of the Philippines was hacked allegedly by some Chinese who splashed “We come from China! Huangyan Island is Ours!” on the state-owned university’s website, Filipinos reportedly retaliated and defaced several Chinese websites. During the weekend, the China University Media Union was vandalized with the words “Chinese government is clearly retarded. Scarborough Shoal is ours!”  Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte appealed for cooler heads, stressing that the online war is an exercise in futility.

Read more on ABS-CBN.

The historic parliamentary debut of prisoner-turned-politician Aung San Suu Kyi has been delayed over her party’s refusal for her to take the oath and say the words, to “safeguard” the constitution. The NLD said it wants to pursue constitutional amendments to reduce the military’s role in politics marked by ineptitude and brutality over the past 5 decades. The decision reportedly did not sit well with some quarters who would have wanted to add Suu Kyi’s new role in the parliament as part of a string of good news, particularly the lifting of economic and trade sanctions by European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, and others, ending a 2-decade-long isolation for Myanmar.

Read more on Rappler and The Guardian.

As the Philippines and US military officers hold their regular 2-week Balikatan or shoulder-to-shoulder exercises in various parts of this southeast Asian country, China and Russia are also holding their  first navy exercises. The irony is evident: China and the Philippines are in a territorial dispute over areas in the South China Sea. Meantime, the 6-day navy drills for the officers of China and Russia are taking place off China’s east coast, also known as the Yellow Sea. Boosting military might, skills or budgets are in full display.

Read more on Rappler.

Thursday and Friday mornings are usually when American Idol fans in the Philippines listen to the performance and the fate of Jessica Sanchez, the 16-year-old Filipino-Mexican-American contestant on the hit TV show. But producers of American Idol, now on its 11th season, are usually on the alert for updates on the live show’s audience share, which has been declining by as much as 30%. A New York Times report showed that declining ratings among a key market — the 18- to 49-year-olds — has been experienced across all networks. It said a “tipping point” seemed to be emerging: Viewing behavior has been changing with the introduction of built-up libraries, or those catch up episodes of a TV series that hook viewers preparing to watch the live finale on TV. Idol’s ratings would dip when their key audience are into nonlinear viewing.

Read more on New York Times.

Swiss food giant Nestle beats Danone for the control of Pfizer’s infant nutrition business. This $11.9 billion cash deal allows Nestle to expand its footprint in the global baby food market, while Pfizer could now focus on its core drug-making business. The baby infant nutrition business has been a growing segment in the healthy food category, with the emerging markets contributing most of the growth.

Read more on Dealbook.

Discussions on — and the jokes about — the 3-inch difference between the heigh of the South and North Koreans have resumed after the failed long-range rocket launch. Actually, the height difference is 1.6 inches among pre-school boys and 1.2 inches among pre-school girls, according to a BBC report. Since genetics could not be blamed (they belong to the same population) nor migration, economic growth (or the lack of it) has been the culprit. Poverty, the lack of industrialization, and no trade with the outside world, resulted in poor diet for the young North Koreans. Meantime, people in South Korea are getting taller. In fact, the average South Korean woman is approaching the height of the average North Korean man, the report said. It seems that heigh statistic just reveals the tragic fact about the different economy of the two.

Read more on BBC.

The world’s biggest chipmaker launched its Intel-designed microprocessors that power smartphones on Sunday, April 22. This marks Intel’s attempt at breaking through the competitive world of phones where it hopes to be one-generation ahead in the phone world by pushing a manufacturing technology that it aims to transition to faster than anyone else. The plans include a new family of Core microprocessors, called Ivy Bridge, which could offer better performance, including faster web browsing, super-responsive apps, and effortless multi-tasking. Intel launched its first smartphone in India powered by its Atom ‘medfield’ processor.

Read more on CNN.