Mayweather-Pacquiao Fight: Big Money

After five years of trading verbal and contractual jabs – Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao – are already winners before even setting foot in the ring. The May 2nd match is expected to be boxing’s most lucrative fight to date with Mayweather pulling in a reported $120 million, Pacquiao about $80 million and potentially millions more in pay-per-view dollars going to Time Warner’s (TWX) HBO Sports, CBS (CBS) and its Showtime cable channel, who all share PPV rights to the fight. All in all it may generate $400 million, according to ESPN.

Beyond the fat purse, ESPN also reports the fight may be the biggest since the legendary 1971 showdown between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, which many believe is exactly what boxing needs. “It’s going to put boxing back in the limelight,” said ringside boxing announcer Marc Lichtenfeld. “I do think this will be something good for the sport.”

Fans got their first taste of Mayweather-Pacquiao together as the two hyped their fight at a press conference in Los Angeles. It was hardly reminiscent of the Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed heated exchanges, as portrayed in the Oscar winning film “Rocky”, but it is generating the much needed buzz for the sport. “I would not be surprised if we will look back at 2015 as the year that boxing kind of turned the corner and went back to the upswing.”

The fight itself will be the deciding factor. With both boxers in their mid-to-late thirties some critics are questioning whether the fight, by boxing standards, will be a match to remember in the ring. “I think it will be a better fight than people think it will be,” predicts Lichtenfeld, who points to a key contractual stipulation. “There is no rematch clause in the contract,” which simply means they’ve got one shot. “With all the dollars they are going to do, if they want to do it again they have to put on a good fight to create demand.” The May 2nd match will be broadcast from MGM Grand (MGM) in Las Vegas and will will air on HBO/Showtime PPV at 9pm ET.

 

Philippines faces challenge of unequal growth even as economy takes off

By Karen Lema and Nicholas Owen

MANILA/JAKARTA, Feb 2 (Reuters) – The Philippines may surpass China to be Asia’s fastest growing economy this year, but its bigger challenge is working out how to sustain and share the gains of the past five years to secure longer-term prosperity.

Since President Benigno Aquino came to power in 2010 and embarked on a reform and governance push, the Philippines has become a hot investment favourite and one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Investors now want to know how the Southeast Asian country will be able to sustain fiscal and economic policies that have spurred growth and reduced poverty after Aquino’s term ends next year.

“We think that 2016 is critical in terms of the long-term outlook of the Philippines,” said Eugenia Victorino at ANZ bank

. The Philippines defied the region’s slowdown in the fourth quarter by regaining momentum, bringing full-year growth to 6.1 percent – the fastest expansion in Asia after China.

This year, Aquino is aiming for growth of 7-8 percent, while China’s growth is expected to slow to around 7 percent.

Aquino has fought corruption and prioritised infrastructure improvements that are pivotal to raising growth potential. However, the economy is still mired with high unemployment.

The World Bank has said Philippine growth is now “more inclusive”, and there are signs benefits are trickling down. More than one million jobs were created in 2014 and unemployment fell to 6 percent, the lowest for at least a decade.

But job creation has still struggled to match the number of people looking for work; 42 percent of the population still live on less than $2 per day.

Vibrant sectors, such as booming back-office firms, earn foreign exchange but don’t spread a lot of prosperity.

“To have one of those jobs, you need some skills. At a minimum, decent command of English and computer literacy, but often a bit more than that,” said Dan Martin at Capital Economics.

Manufacturing, the sector probably best able to raise productivity and the income of low-skilled workers, could benefit as low wages and a competitive currency help the Philippines grab some of the production that is leaving China because of rising costs.

Aquino, limited by the constitution to a single term in office, has improved public finances and boosted investment in roads, ports and schools through public-private partnerships.

Last summer, wrangles with the Supreme Court caused a seize-up of government spending, but it resumed after Congress passed a supplementary budget in December.”

We’re very hopeful that the Aquino government will be able to release the funds to continue with its infrastructure programmes,” said Victorino.

The outlook from mid- 2016, following the elections for a new president and half of Congress, is far less certain.

Poor leadership in the past has sparked uprisings, largescale protests and military revolts, and populist politics have weakened national finances.

Vincent Lazatin, head of the Transparency and Accountability Network, a think tank in Manila, reckons it will take longer than a single presidential term to entrench good governance and sound policies.

“We definitely are very concerned about continuity of the reforms,” he said.

 

BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS ISSUES REMINDER ON CROSS BORDER TRANSPORT OF LOCALAND FOREIGN CURRENCY

The Philippine Consulate General in Chicago received an advisory from the Central Bank of the Philippines reminding the public on the policies and regulations in effect on the cross border transport of local and foreign currency.

As regards the local currency, Section 4 of the Manual of Regulations on Foreign Exchange Transactions (FX Manual) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), as amended, states that, “no person may import of export nor bring with him into or take out of the country, or electronically transfer, legal tender Philippine notes and coins, checks, money order and other bills of exchange drawn in pesos against banks operating in the Philippines in an amount exceeding PHP10,000 without authorization by the BSP.”

With regard to foreign currency, “any person, who brings into or takes out of the Philippines foreign currency as well as other foreign currency-denominated bearer monetary instruments, in excess of USD10,000 or its equivalent, is required to declare the same in writing and to furnish information on the source and purpose of the transport of such currency or monetary instrument.”

Furthermore, the FX Manual states that, “a special authority to bring in or take out of the country Philippines legal tender currency in excess of the PHP10,000 limit is issued by the BSP upon request and only for numismatic purposes and testing machines.”

The BSP advisory and FAQ flyer on foreign exchange regulations are posted on the Consulate’s official website (www.chicagopcg.dfa.gov.ph) and a complete copy of the FX Manual and other related materials are available at: http://www.bsp.gov.ph/downloads/Regulations/MORFXT/MORFXT.pdf http://www.bsp.gov.ph/downloads/Regulations/MORFXT/MORFXT.faas.z