Best UITFs in the Philippines, as of Feb. 2008
February 13, 2008
Here’s a list of the top performing Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITF) in the Philippines, as of February 7, 2008.
UITF is an investment product very similar to Mutual Funds. It is a “trust” product, meaning, the entity offering the UITF (the trustee) administers the fund in behalf of individuals (trustors) whose resources have been combined into the fund. It is normally offered by a bank or financial institution and, as a non-deposit product, is not guaranteed by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation or PDIC.
The returns shown below are Year-to-Date (YTD) performance, meaning, from January 1 until the current date, i.e., February 7, 2008. Take note that historical performance is never a guarantee of future results.
The 5 biggest Google Adsense checks
February 12, 2008
With amounts ranging from almost a million dollars to US$636,000 to US$132,000, the following are the biggest known checks ever received from Google Adsense.
Check amount: CAD 901,733.84 (US$900,000)
Website: PlentyofFish.com
Markus Frind runs the online dating site, www.plentyoffish.com, with only one employee: his girlfriend. The site, now ranked by Alexa.com as the 760th most visited site worldwide, receives up to 500 million pageviews a month and makes up to $10,000 a day. According to Frind, the check represents his Adsense earnings for 2 months.
Payment amount: US$636,524.75
Website: Unknown
This does not necessarily fall under the list of “Biggest Adsense Checks” because the money was sent via EFT or Electronic Funds Transfer, but who gives a damn if the payment amount is worth more than $600,000? The check owner understandably does not want to announce what his site is, but for now, just drool at this check and the other check of his below.
Yahoo rejects Microsoft bid; Google to buy CNET?
February 10, 2008
Too cheap.
That’s basically Yahoo!’s response to Microsoft’s unsolicited offer of $44.6 billion. Media reports are abound that Yahoo! is set to reject the world’s largest software maker’s acquisition bid.
According to an insider, the board decided that Microsoft’s $31-a-share offer “massively undervalues” Yahoo!. The company is unlikely to consider any offer below $40 per share, the insider said.
That obviously means Yahoo! is interested in accepting a bid offer, as long as the price is right.
It still is all about the money, baby.
Google to acquire CNET?
And what’s this?
Google is rumored to be eyeing tech news provider CNET as its latest acquisition. Nothing is finalized or confirmed, but the rumor is enough to bump up the CNET stock by 7% to $8.09 on February 8.
Is it happening or not? Ironically, the answer cannot simply be Googled.
Philippine stock market lost 9% in January 2008
February 10, 2008
If you placed money in the Philippine stock market from the beginning of January this year, you would have already lost 9% by now. That translates to a million pesos worth only P910,000 as of January 31.
That is based on the performance of the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi), a basket of 30 listed common stocks representing the overall movement of market prices and the general state of the Philippine economy.
On January 31, the PSEi closed at 3,294.08, down 9.04% compared to its original level at the start of the year. Badly hit were the Mining and Oil sector which lost 15.12% and the Holding Firms sector which declined in value by 14.74%.
Paypal promises to resolve pending withdrawals today
February 8, 2008
Update 2/9/2008 : The good news: As promised, Paypal did process some of the delayed withdrawal transactions yesterday. The bad: Not all pending requests were completed. Elaine and Jerome commented that their funds have finally been credited to their cards, and Jonathan showed a screenshot of his completed transfer. Several members, though, are still waiting.
A follow-up to the pending Paypal withdrawals problem currently plaguing users: Paypal has issued an official announcement at the eBay site claiming they plan to resolve the issue by today, February 8.
The announcement, posted on February 5, goes:
February 05, 2008 | 12:54PM a PHT
We are aware that users in certain countries such as Malaysia, India, Indonesia and the Philippines, are currently unable to complete withdrawals to their Visa credit, debit or prepaid cards. We are working diligently to resolve this as quickly as possible so that you can access your funds. We hope to have this resolved in the next 72 hours and will let you know once we have more updates.
Thank you for your patience.
The PayPal Team
The “next 72 hours” lapses 3 days from February 5 so if the announcement is to be believed, Paypal should have resolved the issue by today, February 8.
New scam using fake Paypal email
February 7, 2008
A Pinoy Money Talk (PMT) member emailed me yesterday to ask whether a Paypal transaction she is planning to enter into is a scam or not.
Apparently, some guy supposedly from the UK contacted her asking help to transfer Paypal funds. The guy claims he plans to visit the Philippines and needs help moving funds to the country.
This should already raise a red flag. Never, ever agree to such transactions because you may unwittingly be a conspirator to money laundering. A suspiciously large amount being withdrawn to a Philippine bank account raises the bank’s alarm and if you could not properly explain how you got the amount and why you are transferring money, you may be charged under the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Law.
Phishing email, fake website: e-buiilon.com
February 7, 2008
In the tradition of fake Paypal, eGold, E*Trade, Gmail, and YouTube emails designed to steal your personal information, here comes another phishing email that attempts to deceive you into logging to a fake website so it can hack your e-Bullion funds.
The well-designed email comes complete with the logo of online currency e-Bullion.com and a header image that ironically announces, “Eliminate Risks & Fraud.”
Win $75 in ‘Pinoy Money Talk’ SEO contest
February 6, 2008
In celebration of our upcoming 3rd Year Anniversary this March, here’s our Countdown #3 Contest: The ‘Google my PMT’ $75 SEO contest.If you have a blog, just make any post from February 4 onwards and if that post lands on the top spot of Google’s search results for the phrase pinoy money talk (3 words), then you win $75!
Who can join?
Anyone with a blog who can optimize it so that it becomes the top-ranked search result in Google.com.
How to start?
On your blog, simply create an article about Pinoy Money Talk, our Countdown to 3 Contest, or just about anything, but optimize it so that it becomes the top Google search result for the keywords “pinoy money talk“.
Of course, the article must contain at least one link back to our site (www.pinoymoneytalk.com) or to any page on the PinoyMoneyTalk.com domain.
There is NO limit on the number of articles you may make and submit but only articles posted on or after February 4, 2008 are valid.
Again, the keyword is “pinoy money talk” (3 words, all in lower case, no quotes).
Are Paypal bank codes really important?
February 5, 2008
When PayPal first launched the withdraw to bank account feature, it did so without coordinating with local banks in the Philippines.
An obvious proof is that banks did not have a clue what a Bank Code is. The Bank Code is a 9-digit number unique to a Philippine bank that Paypal requires before a bank account can be attached to one’s account.
On the first days of the new withdraw feature, banks such as Metrobank and BPI told their clients a bank code which proved to be different from the official Paypal Philippines Bank Codes.
Post a Valentine’s Day message and win $25!
February 4, 2008
Update: This contest has ended. The winners are announced here.
Before we turn 3 years old this March, we’d first want to celebrate Valentine’s Day with you, our dear Pinoy Money Talk readers and visitors.
And to commemorate the event, we’re launching our $25 Valentine’s Day Message Contest!
How to join?
1. Post a short Valentine’s Day message as a comment to this post. Make it as sweet, romantic, or heartwarming as possible. It may be written either in English or Filipino but the entire message should be no longer than 5 sentences.
