Where to buy cheap iPod
September 24, 2007
The new iPods are now in the Philippines but where to get them the cheapest seems to be the challenge for those wanting to get their hands on the new iPod Touch, iPod Classic, and iPod Nano (that plays video).
We visited several authorized Apple resellers in Glorietta in Makati and Virra Mall in Greenhills and found that prices vary from store to store.
One reseller in Virra Mall (Digital Eye) currently sells a brand new 80GB iPod Classic for P13,500 (US$297.95) and the new 8GB iPod Nano for P10,500 (US$231.74). That was already the cheapest we found in Virra Mall, the rest of the stores there are pricier by at least P500.
Prices are more expensive in Park Square 1 in Glorietta, with the cheapest 80GB iPod Classic we found costing P14,200 (US$313.40) and the cheapest 8GB iPod Nano at P11,250 (US$248.29).
We searched online and the cheapest iPods we found are being sold by Ynzal Marketing Corp. (www.ynzal.com) of Diliman, Quezon City.
Their (introductory) prices are as follows:
Vanessa Hudgens’s nude pictures searched more by male teens
September 23, 2007
Majority of those searching for the controversial photos of Vanessa Hudgens (pics in this link are not safe for work!) are not “dirty old men” but male teenagers aged similar to the High School Musical star.
That’s according to adCenter Labs, Microsoft’s search keyword demographics technology that predicts the age, gender, and other demographic information of people making a search query or viewing a site.
Query: nude pictures of vanessa hudgens
According to Microsoft adCenter Labs, around 50% of those searching for “nude pictures of vanessa hudgens” are aged below 24 years old, with males comprising 52% of the total.
PointShareXtreme (PSX) payments to resume?
September 22, 2007
At the same time PSX investors are engaged in fiery debates about Henry James Banayat's letter in the article "PointShareXtreme (PSX) admin responds to scam accusation," an announcement was posted at Compumatrix.biz announcing that PointShareXtreme.com and other related sites will be offline during the weekend supposedly in preparation for the upcoming processing of member payments.
Successfully merged my Yahoo and MyBlogLog accounts today
September 21, 2007
I tried logging in to MyBlogLog account today and got surprised that a Yahoo login form greeted me instead. Aah, I figured, the merger of Yahoo! and MyBlogLog accounts has started.
In January this year, web portal Yahoo! purchased blogger networking site MyBlogLog for over $10 million. At that time, MyBlogLog has over 140,000 registered members, 45,000 blogs subscribed, and approximately 100 million visits to pages with MyBlogLog widgets per month.
The purchase was part of Yahoo!'s attempt to get a strong grip on the online social networking community, proven by their previous acquisition of social bookmarking web service del.ici.ous, photo sharing site Flickr and video competition site Bix.com.
Anyway, back to MyBlogLog.
PSE to honor winners of 2007 Open Stock Trading Tournament
September 21, 2007
The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is set to award on October 3 the top players of its recently concluded Open 2007 Stock Trading Tournament.
The stock trading simulation game started in March 2007 and attracted more than 500 students from over 40 colleges and universities in the Philippines. Participants used P1 million virtual funds to trade stocks of PSE listed firms in the hopes of increasing the value of their portfolio.
The Top 10 players of the Tournament with the highest ending portfolio value are:
Legend: Rank. Name (Organization) - Portfolio Value in Philippine Peso
- Eugene Sejalbo (University of St. Louis) - 1,723,458.42
- Wellington Yap (De La Salle University) - 1,389,385.82
- Marc Anthony Ordinanza (De La Salle University) - 1,380,477.98
- Albert Louis del Monte (University of Saint Louis) - 1,266,478.73
- Mark Anthony Galicha (Far Eastern University) - 1,220,991.89
- Angeli Layug (University of Santo Tomas)- 1,159,862.53
- Jemar del Rosario (University of Saint Louis) - 1,158,117.34
- Delbert Baron Lee (Far Eastern University) - 1,117,670.26
- Grace Marcaida (Far Eastern University) - 1,106,162.19
- Jay-ar (PMA) - 1,098,580.24
Join stock trading-related discussions in PMT's Stock and Forex Trading Forum.
Another Gmail phishing email
September 20, 2007
Just a few minutes ago, we received the following “Security Alert” email purportedly from Gmail:
from: Gmail Team <mail-noreply@google.com>
date: Sep 20, 2007 1:44 PM
subject: Security AlertYour account has been randomly flagged in our system as a part of our routine security measures. This is a must to ensure that only you have acces and use of your Google account and to ensure a safe Gmail experience. We require all flagged accounts to verify their information on file with us.
This is the right link for edit account page
After you verify your information, your account shall be returned to good standing and you will continue to have full use of your account. Please note that if you don’t verify your ownership of account in 2 x 24 hours we will block/ susspend your Google account.Thanks,
The Gmail Team
The text “edit account” in the second paragraph contains a link that redirects to the following site: < http://www.uk-google.com/account > (Screenshot of the website below.)
This site is a PHISHING website. Phishing is a type of deception designed to steal one’s personal data such as credit card numbers, passwords, account login information, etc. The phishing email usually looks like an official letter from a trusted source, such as a bank, credit card company, payment processor, or online merchant. Phishing emails normally direct recipients to a fraudulent website where they are asked to provide personal information. This information is then used for identity theft.
Although the header included a line saying the mail was sent by the “Gmail Team,” the server that actually sent the mail was “crater.myserverhosts.com” — definitely not a Gmail or Google server.
Note as well the typographical and grammatical errors in the email (acces, 2 x 24 hours, susspend). If that guy was indeed working in Google, he should be fired for sending a crappy, unprofessional email like that.
More info on how to detect phishing emails in the article What is Phishing?
US Federal Reserve’s ‘funds rate’ explained
September 20, 2007
On September 18, 2007, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) cut half a percentage point from its target Fed funds rate to 4.75%, giving a boost to stocks markets worldwide.
The Fed also cut its discount rate by another half of a point to 5.25%.
(September 18 official statement of the Federal Reserve below.)
What is the federal funds rate?
The funds rate is the rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans of federal funds, which are bank reserves at the US Federal Reserve System. Reserves are held at the Fed to meet reserve requirements of banks and to clear financial transactions. Banks with excess of reserve requirements can lend to institutions with reserve deficiencies. These loans are usually made for 1 day only, that is, "overnight," and the interest rate at which these transactions are done is called the federal funds rate.
How does the funds rate affect the economy?
Lower interest rates stimulate economic activity by lowering the cost of borrowing, making it easier for consumers and businesses to buy and build. Higher interest rates slow the economy by increasing the cost of borrowing.
How exactly does it affect consumers?
The rate influences the amount of interest that financial institutions charge for various types of debt, such as credit cards, home equity lines of credit, and auto loans. In the US, the rate cut is expected to help some beleaguered home borrowers who are set to see monthly payments on adjustable rate mortgages rise later this year.
Philippine stocks soar on US Fed rate cut
September 20, 2007
The Philippine stock market welcomed the decision of the US Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points, ending the trading day higher by 2.23% or 73.23 points to close at 3,362.98.
Total shares traded yesterday were 3.3 billion valued at P3.9 billion. Gainers swamped decliners 96 to 23, with 40 stocks unchanged.
Online trading site BPITrade expects the market to continue its upswing today, with initial resistance at 3400.
ingenieure starts blogging about experiences in the financial jungle
September 20, 2007
Journey with Pinoy Member Talk member ingenieure as she relates her experiences traversing the financial jungle.
PMT moderator ingenieure starts blogging today about money, investments, and life in general in the blog Grownup Baby Steps in the Financial Jungle.
In her first post, The Journey Begins Here, ingenieure shares some of the lessons she learned while trying "to climb out of my financial pit to reach the mountain of financial stability."
The blog is accessible at http://www.pinoymoneytalk.com/financial-jungle/.
Which type of stock trader are you?
September 19, 2007
You buy and sell stocks so that makes you a stock trader. But which type of trader are you?
The type of stock trader you are determines the kind of stocks you buy, the time frame you trade, and the period you buy and sell. The "KNISPO Guide to Stock Trading" site divides stock traders into the following four types.
