Read below for details on how to apply for the scholarship.

What is the CFA Program?

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) is an international professional designation offered by the CFA Institute to financial analysts who complete a series of three examinations. In order to become a “CFA Charterholder,” candidates must pass all three six-hour exams, possess a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent, as assessed by the CFA institute) and have 48 months of work experience in an investment decision-making position.

When are the CFA exams held?

Level I exams are held in June and December. Levels II and III are only held in June. Exams for all levels are held in locations around the world. For a listing of CFA testing centers, visit the CFA Institute website.

How much does the CFA exam cost?

Fees for the December 2009 Level I exam are as follows.

Who are eligible for the CFA Scholarship?

All December 2009 Level 1 Exam candidates in the Philippines can apply for the CFA scholarship. Undergraduate students must graduate before the exam date to be eligible for the scholarship. For the CFA Society of the Philippines, the criteria are financial need, scholastic grades, an essay on why prospective scholars would like to enter the CFA Program, and relevant work experience.

What are the benefits of the December 2009 Level I CFA Scholarship?

The scholarship waives the registration fee and discounts the normal enrollment fee for the Level I exam. Recipients only pay a non-refundable, non-transferable fee of US$220.00.

Where to download the application form?

Click here to download: CFA Level I Exam Scholarship Application.doc

Questions? Submitting application?

For inquiries regarding scholarship or to submit your scholarship application, please address it to:

MICHAEL B. GARCIA, CFA
c/o UnionBank of the Philippines
23/F UnionBank Plaza
Meralco Ave. corner Onyx St.
Ortigas Center, Pasig City
Telephone No.: 944-8084
Fax No.: 638-0234
E-mail address: ekimgarcia@gmail.com

Good luck to all who are taking the CFA Level I Exam this December and to all currently waiting for the results of the June 2009 CFA Exams!

* * * * * * * * * *
This article was originally posted at PinoyMoneyTalk.com. If you’re reading this elsewhere, it’s likely copied WITHOUT permission! Drop by the PMT Forum for more discussions about money, finance, and business.

In the court decision, District Judge Denny Chin described the unprecedented nature of the multibillion-dollar fraud as “extraordinarily evil and that this kind of irresponsible manipulation of the system is not merely a bloodless financial crime that takes place just on paper, but it is instead … one that takes a staggering human toll.”

Who is Bernard Madoff?

Bernard Madoff was born into a New York Jewish family in 1938.  He founded his investment firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, in 1960. By the early 1980s, the firm was one of the largest independent trading operations in the securities industry, and by 2000 it had about $300 million in assets.

He was closely involved in the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), the self-regulatory organisation for brokers and dealer firms. The NASD went on to found NASDAQ, the screen-based equity exchange, in 1971, and Mr Madoff became its chairman in 1990.

Madoff investment scandal

Madoff stated that he began his Ponzi scheme in 1991. He admitted he had never made any legitimate investments with his clients’ money during this time; instead he simply deposited the money into his Chase Manhattan Bank business account.

He was committed to satisfying his clients’ expectations of high returns, despite an economic recession. He admitted to false trading activities masked by foreign transfers and false SEC filings. He said he had always wanted to resume legitimate trading activity, but it proved “difficult, and ultimately impossible” to reconcile his client accounts. In the end, Madoff said, he realized that his scam would eventually be exposed.

On December 10, 2008, Madoff informed his sons that he decided to pay several million dollars in bonuses two months earlier than scheduled. According to federal investigators, Mark and Andrew demanded to know how their father could pay bonuses if he couldn’t afford to pay investors.

Madoff then admitted the asset management arm of his firm was an elaborate Ponzi scheme. Through their attorney, Madoff’s sons reported their father to federal authorities. On December 11, he was arrested and charged with securities fraud.

On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal crimes, including securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, perjury and making false filings with the SEC.

The Philippines’ own Madoff: Celso de los Angeles?

Madoff’s conviction reminds us how the Legacy rural banks scandal has continued to drag on for months now.

Dozens of rural banks have closed down, thousands of depositors are still waiting for their money, and the man supposedly behind all this — Celso de los Angeles Jr. – is still not tried.

Will Celso de los Angeles be the Madoff who was found guilty of investment fraud or the Madoff who, for years, enjoyed luxuries and fame while deceiving the public?

No one knows.

Source: Yahoo News

Related readings:

• The cunning but wise Celso delos Angeles Jr.
  
• What is a Ponzi scam?
• DEADBOL Group – Depositors Enabling All Depositors for Banks of Legacy
• All about the collapse of the Legacy Group
• Forum Discussion: Bernard Madoff gets 150 years in prison

* * * * * * * * * *
This article was originally posted at PinoyMoneyTalk.com. If you’re reading this elsewhere, it’s likely copied WITHOUT permission! Drop by the PMT Forum for more discussions about money, finance, and business.

You have been scammed.

If you know where they are, you can report scammers to the authorities in the Philippines.

But if they cannot anymore be found, you can resort to creative means of finding them. Just like having a paid advertisement on newspapers.

I was browsing through old newspapers at home when I found a relatively large (read: expensive) paid ad in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. It’s not advertising a company or product but, rather, plastering the faces of two people being hunted down by the police for Syndicated Estafa.

The ad goes:

Notice to the Public

The Regional Trial Court, Branch 24, of Cabugao, Ilocos Sur, issued a Warrant of Arrest against the abovenamed persons for Syndicated Estafa, punishable under Section 1 of Presidential Decree 1689.

P500,000 will be rewarded for information leading to the arrest of the abovenamed individuals (Lucien Balteza and Milagros Balteza).

They are residents of Imus, Cavite.

Please call or send text message to:

Smart – 09182581440
Globe – 09151147520
Sun – 09229590677

A big-sized ad such as the one above surely was an expensive ad that may run in the thousands of pesos.

But if that’s an effective way of locating the scammers and retrieving money lost to them, it just might be worth it.

Related reading:

• Where to report scammers in the Philippines
• Scams Discussion in the PMT Forum

* * * * * * * * * *
This article was originally posted at PinoyMoneyTalk.com. If you’re reading this elsewhere, it’s likely copied WITHOUT permission! Drop by the PMT Forum for more discussions about money, finance, and business.

This issue is surely going to be one of the few priceless Time collector’s editions. Here’s the cover of the magazine expected to hit the newsstands today, June 29.

Some rare photos of the young Michael Jackson from the Time commemorative issue below.

Whether we like Michael Jackson or not, we can’t deny the fact that he has made a lasting impact in the world. He may be gone too soon, but his legacy will remain.

Rest in peace, MJ.

Remember the King of Pop here: Michael Jackson dead at 50

Images Source: Time Magazine

* * * * * * * * * *
This article was originally posted at PinoyMoneyTalk.com. If you’re reading this elsewhere, it’s likely copied WITHOUT permission! Drop by the PMT Forum for more discussions about money, finance, and business.

If not, then it’s time to use Google Analytics to find out.

The integration of Google Adsense and Analytics is, without a doubt, very helpful. Because Analytics can now monitor Adsense ads, you can be equipped with knowledge that can further improve the performance of your ads — leading to higher online income.

Our 2-month Adsense stats on our Analytics account below shows that the bulk of Adsense earnings in the PinoyMoneyTalk.com site is generated in the morning, peaking during the 12 noon to 1 p.m. time period.

This coincides with the lunch break of most people and we can deduce that the visitors may be employees surfing the PMT site right before they go back to work in the afternoon. This is confirmed by the fact that the site also receives more visitors during this time period.

Another peak period in the Adsense earnings of the site is the late-night time period of 10 p.m. to 12 midnight. Probably, more Philippine visitors visit the site again right before they sleep. Also, visitors from other countries probably start to flock to our site during this time because, as in the case of the US, this is the morning period where people surf the net.

Why does it pay to know the best time periods of the day with the highest Adsense income?

Well, for one, you might want to schedule a new post right before the peak period so that when your visitors drop by for a visit, they will find a new article to read.

More importantly, a site downtime should not be scheduled during these peak periods because obviously, income may be adversely affected. Instead, have your downtime coincide with the time of the day with the lowest Adsense income.

Do you know what time of the day when you make more money online? Share it to us!

Other readings:

• Adsense ads gone = Banned Adsense account?
• The beginning of the end of Adsense?
• How to make money online
• On click fraud and invalid clicks

Starting last week, publishers were given the option to change the font sizes from small to medium or large. A sample of how each size looks like is shown below.

Google Adsense ads: Small, Medium, Large

If you did not make any change yet, your settings is set to default. As we’ve seen now, the default font size of the ads is medium.

If you want to change or decrease the font size, follow these steps.

How to make a default font size applicable to all ad units

1. Log in to your Google Adsense account and go to My Account > Account Settings.
2. You will see the Ad Display Preference options. Choose from the drop-down menu the default font size you want to use on your ad units.
3. Click Save Changes.

How to edit the font size of an existing ad unit

1. Log in to your Google Adsense account and go to Adsense Setup > Manage Ads.
2. Look for the ad unit you want to edit and click the corresponding Edit Ad Settings link.
3. In the Fonts option, choose from the drop-down menu the font size you want to use for the ad.
4. Click Save Settings to implement the change.

According to Google, having medium-sized ads will supposedly help publishers get more income from the ads. In our case, though, there is no change yet in the performance of the ad before and after the implementation of the new font sizes.

What about you? Did the bigger font size give you more ad clicks and more online income?

* * * * * * * * * *
This article was originally posted at PinoyMoneyTalk.com. If you’re reading this elsewhere, it’s likely copied WITHOUT permission! Drop by the PMT Forum for more discussions about money, finance, and business.

According to an Inquirer report:

A 49-year-old woman from Metro Manila with Influenza A(H1N1) has died, the Department of Health (DoH) said Monday.

However, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said it could not be immediately confirmed if the woman, who also had heart disease, died due to the A(H1N1) virus.

According to the woman’s autopsy report, she died of “congestive heart failure and acute myocardial infraction aggravated by pneumonia,” Duque said.

Like in other countries, majority of deaths related to swine flu are those with pre-existing medical conditions. According to the DoH, people with medical conditions such as heart disease and asthma are at higher risk of A(H1N1).

A reminder to everyone: don’t panic, but be careful.

Read more about the symptoms, prevention measures and treatment against swine flu here.

A list of the early cases of swine flu in the Philippines is here.

* * * * * * * * * *
This article was originally posted at PinoyMoneyTalk.com. If you’re reading this elsewhere, it’s likely copied WITHOUT permission! Drop by the PMT Forum for more discussions about money, finance, and business.

The Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative (EMI) report published in 2004 predicts that an earthquake with a high magnitude will surely occur because of the Philippine Fault Zone (also called the Marikina Valley Fault System), but experts cannot predict when this may happen.

According to the report, the death toll may reach 35,000, some 120,000 people may be injured while around 175,000 buildings will be damaged.

Where exactly is the West Marikina Valley Fault Line? It lies northeast of Manila and traverses Marikina, Pasig going to Muntinlupa down to the south.

Instead of being afraid and all panicky, we should make sure we are ready should an earthquake happen.

Here are some earthquake safety tips to remember.

What to do – Before the Earthquake

• Arrange your home for safety: Store heavy objects on lower shelves and store breakable objects in cabnents with latched doors. Don’t hang heavy mirrors or pictures above where people frequently sit or sleep.
• Store flamable liquids away from potential ignition sources.
• Stock up on emergency supplies. These include: battery operated radio (and extra batteries), flashlights (and extra batteries), first aid kit, bottled water, two weeks food and medical supplies, blankets, cooking fuel, tools needed to turn off your gas, water and electric utilities.
• Learn what to do during an earthquake (see During the Earthquake)

What to do – During the Earthquake

• If outdoors, move to an open area where falling objects are unlikely to strike you.
• If driving, slow down smoothly and stop on the side of the road. Avoid stopping on or under bridges and overpasses, or under power lines, trees and large signs.
• If indoors, quickly move to a safe location in the room such as under a strong desk, a strong table, or along an interior wall. The goal is to protect yourself from falling objects and be located near the structural strong points of the room.

What to do – After the Earthquake

• Check for injuries and attend to people who may need help.
• If the power is out, unplug appliances to prevent possible damage when the power is turned back on.
• If you smell or hear a gas leak, get everyone outside and open windows and doors. If you can do it safely, turn off the gas at the meter.
• If the building is badly damaged, evacuate immediately.

Sources: GMANews.tv, Earthquake.usgs.gov, Geology.com

Tags: earthquake Philippines, Philippine fault lines, Metro Manila fault line, Marikine Valley fault zone, 7.2 earthquake, June 1991, July 1990 Baguio earthquake, safety precaution tips

* * * * * * * * * *
This article was originally posted at PinoyMoneyTalk.com. If you’re reading this elsewhere, it’s likely copied WITHOUT permission! Drop by the PMT Forum for more discussions about money, finance, and business.

Wrong move! It crashed this blog and the site won’t load anymore!

For almost an hour yesterday, this blog was inaccessible. I tried logging in to the Admin Panel but I just got redirected again and again to the Admin login page.

How to downgrade a Wordpress version?

I thought the only solution left was to downgrade the Wordpress version. After searching online, I wasn’t able to find some easy way to do it. The ones I saw involve restoring the database backup but I did not bother with it because I know it would take hours since our WP blog database is huge.

Any other easy ways to downgrade a Wordpress blog? Please post below.

Incompatible plugins

Fortunately after further searching online, I read that the common cause of  Wordpress crashes after a version upgrade is incompatibility with the installed plugins. Usually, the solution is to uninstall all plugins then re-install them one by one to see which ones are causing the error. But then again, I can’t simply uninstall the plugins because I cannot login to the Admin Panel.

That’s when I stumbled upon a quick and easy but effective solution. Using my FTP software, I accessed my blog’s Wordpress files.

Solution to WP 2.8 upgrade problem

Under the wp-content folder is the plugins folder which I renamed (to any name!). After doing so, all plugins became deactivated.

I then changed the folder name back to plugins and, fortunately, I did not encounter any problems anymore logging in to the Admin Panel. One by one, I activated the plugins but decided not to activate the following for the meantime because I read that they might be incompatible with the recent Wordpress version.

• All-in-One SEO Pack
• Exec-PHP
• Google XML Sitemaps
• qTranslate
• Wordpress Mobile Edition

This blog is now running version 2.8 and, fortunately, is currently problem-free.

Hope the above post will help those searching for a solution to the same WP 2.8 upgrade problem we had.

* * * * * * * * * *
This article was originally posted at PinoyMoneyTalk.com. If you’re reading this elsewhere, it’s likely copied WITHOUT permission! Drop by the PMT Forum for more discussions about money, finance, and business.

The simple answer: we were banned in Google Adsense — although temporarily.

A few days before the ban, we received an email warning from Google about a policy violation we supposedly committed. The email goes:

While reviewing your account, we noticed that you are currently displaying Google ads in a manner that is not compliant with our policies.

For instance, we found violations of AdSense policies on pages such as http://www.pinoymoneytalk.com/forum/archive.php?BetDos+March+Madness+Special!/18820. Please note that this URL is an example and that the same violations may exist on other pages of your website.

As stated in our program policies, AdSense publishers are not permitted to place Google ads on sites with content related to gambling or casinos. This policy includes driving traffic to online gambling sites through links or advertisements.

Please make any necessary changes to your webpages in the next 72 hours. Once you update your site, we will automatically detect the changes and ad serving will not be affected. If you choose not to make the changes to your account within the next three days, your account will remain active but you will no longer be able to display ads on the site.

Now, you should feel lucky if you receive such an email. Why? Because Google still gave you a chance to correct your mistake. There are several instances before wherein Adsense publishers were not given any warning emails. Their Adsense accounts were instantly banned on the first policy violation.

In our case, upon receiving Google Adsense’s email, we removed the post from the PMT forum. What we didn’t know, however, was that the archived page of that post is not automatically deleted even if the forum post is already removed. Thus, the page in question remained and Adsense did not recognize any change made. As a consequence, ad serving was disabled on our site.

We wrote Adsense to ask why the ads went missing and they replied that the page about gambling which they want removed is still on the site. We then manually removed the archived page and wrote Google back about the change. Their reply:

Thank you for making the requested changes to your site in order to comply with our policies. We have now re-enabled ad serving to your site.

Please note that because ad serving to your site was temporarily disabled, there may be a delay of up to 48 hours or more before ads begin appearing on your site again.

Adsense ads on our site reappeared one and a half days after ad serving was disabled. Income was slightly affected but still we’re happy we were not banned permanently.

Lessons from the experience:

1. If you received an email from Adsense stating you violated one of their Program Policies, act immediately to rectify your mistake. Not acting on it might cause ad serving to be disabled which means no income for you.
2. Do not argue with Google regarding the violation you  committed. They know it best because they created the rules. Ask them what you need to do in order to bring the ads back to your site.
3. Make sure you follow Adsense’s Program Policies every time. Ignorance of the rules excuses no one.

Other related readings:

• Banned by Google Adsense? Here’s how to reinstate your account
• The beginning of the end of Adsense?
• Google Adsense, click fraud and invalid clicks

* * * * * * * * * *
This article was originally posted at PinoyMoneyTalk.com. If you’re reading this elsewhere, it’s likely copied WITHOUT permission! Drop by the PMT Forum for more discussions about money, finance, and business.

Members can now share news and updates about each PSE-traded company and discuss their forecast and opinion on the future prices of these stocks.

Here’s the link to the forum discussing PSE-listed firms: PSE Stocks Discussion

* * * * * * * * * *
This article was originally posted at PinoyMoneyTalk.com. If you’re reading this elsewhere, it’s likely copied WITHOUT permission! Drop by the PMT Forum for more discussions about money, finance, and business.

All cases showed only mild symptoms and 1,485 or 86% of the cases have fully recovered. One swine flu death, however, was reported — a 49-year-old woman who had heart disease.

More details about the Swine Flu A(H1N1) symptoms, prevention, and treatment here.

List of the first confirmed cases of Swine Flu in the Philippines below.

Confirmed Cases of Swine Flu A(H1N1) in the Philippines

1. Girl, 10 years old, Filipino, who traveled with family in the US and Canada (reported May 21)
2. Woman, 50 years old, Filipino, arrived from Chicago in the US (May 25)
3. Girl, 1 year old, Filipino, came from the US (May 27)
4. Boy, 13 years old, Filipino, visited Hong Kong (May 27)
5. Man, 55 years old, Filipino, no history of travel but attended a wedding in Zambales and came into contact with two Taiwanese guests confirmed to have swine flu after returning to Taiwan (May 27)
6. Woman, 26 years old, Filipino, also present at the wedding (May 27)
7. Woman, 24 years old, Filipino, also attended the wedding (May 28)
8. Girl, 1 year old, Filipino, daughter of Case #7 (May 28)
9. Man, 47 years old, Filipino, also present at the wedding (May 28)
10. Boy, 13 years old, Foreigner, also attended the wedding (May 28)
11. Woman, 42 years old, Filipino, also present at the wedding (May 30)
12. Man, 20 years old, Filipino, also attended the wedding (May 30)
13. Girl, 7 years old, Filipino, who returned from the US (May 30)
14. Woman, 19 years old, Filipino, who also came from the US (May 30)
15. Man, 51 years old, Filipino, arrived from the US (May 30)
16. Man, 21 years old, Filipino, son of Case #15 who came from the US with his father (May 30)
17. Woman, 40 years old, Filipino, present at the Zambales wedding (June 1)
18. Man, 51 years old, Filipino, also present at the Zambales wedding (June 1)
19. Man, 19 years old, Filipino, arrived from the US (June 1)
20. Man, 45 years old, Filipino, came from the US (June 1)
21. Woman, 39 years old, Filipino, common-law-wife of Case #20, also came from the US (June 1)
22. Woman, 21 years old, Japanese, foreign exchange student at De La Salle University (DLSU) Taft, Manila (June 3)
23. Man, 20 years old, Japanese, graduate student at DLSU, classmate and dorm-mate of Case #22 (June 4)
24. Woman, 52 years old, Filipino, employee of Asian Development Bank (ADB) who returned from the US (June 4)
25. Girl, 12 years old, Filipino, arrived from the US together with Cases #26 and #27 (June 4)
26. Girl, 16 years old, Filipino, arrived from the US together with Cases #25 and #27 (June 4)
27. Man, 18 years old, Filipino, arrived from the US together with Cases #25 and #26 (June 4)
28. Man, 22 years old, Filipino, came from the US (June 4)
29. Woman, 33 years old, Filipino, pregnant woman who came from the US (June 4)
30. Man, 17 years old, Filipino, third case in DLSU, did not travel outside the Philippines and could not recall if he had contact with the two (2) confirmed DLSU cases (June 5)
31. Woman, 29 years old, American citizen, came from the US (June 5)
32. Girl, 7 years old, Filipino, arrived from the US (June 5)
33. Girl, 9 years old, Filipino, sister of Case #32 who also came from the US (June 5)
34. Man, 20 years old, Japanese, fourth confirmed DLSU case, no history of travel to swine flu-infected countries, like Cases #35, #36, and #37 (June 8)
35. Man, 20 years old, Korean, fifth student of DLSU infected by the virus (June 8)
36. Man, 16 years old, Filipino, also a student of DLSU, sixth case (June 8)
37. Man, 22 years old, American, DLSU student, seventh confirmed case (June 8)
38. Woman, 18 years old, Filipino, student of East Asia College of Far Eastern University in Manila, also with no history of travel to infected countries (June 8)
39. Woman, 22 years old, Filipino, traveled to the US (June 8)
40. Man, 18 years old, Filipino, history of travel under investigation (June 8)
41. Boy, 12 years old, Filipino, came from the US (June 8)
42. Girl, 14 years old, Filipino, traveled to Canada (June 8)
43. Girl, 14 years old, Filipino, traveled to the US (June 8)
44. Man, 18 years old, Filipino, arrived from the US (June 8)
45. Man, 27 years old, Japanese, came from Japan (June 8)
46. Man, 63 years old, Japanese, came from Japan (June 8) – END
47. De la Salle University (DLSU) student, age and nationality unknown, eighth case of swine flu in DLSU (June 9)
48. Another DLSU student, age and nationality unknown, ninth case of swine flu in DLSU (June 9)
49. Another student, age and nationality unknown, 10th case of swine flu in DLSU (June 9)
50. Another student, age and nationality unknown, 11th case of swine flu in DLSU (June 9)
51. Another student, age and nationality unknown, 12th case of swine flu in DLSU (June 9)
52. Another student, age and nationality unknown, 13th case of swine flu in DLSU (June 9)
53. DLSU – College of St. Benilde student, age and nationality unknown, first case of swine flu in CSB
54. Another patient, details not provided by DOH
55. Boy, age and nationality unknown, high school student of Ateneo de Manila University (June 9)
56. Boy, age and nationality unknown, high school student, 2nd case of swine flu in Ateneo de Manila (June 9)
57. Boy, age and nationality unknown, high school student, 3rd case of swine flu in Ateneo de Manila (June 9)

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said 86% or 1,485 cases have fully recovered while the remaining 224 were still being treated, most of them under home management.

Of the total cases, 92% are Filipinos while the rest are foreigners, mostly from the United States (17 cases), Japan (8), China (4), Korea (3), Germany (2) and one each from Australia, Canada, India, Iran, Lebanon, Sweden, Thailand and Turkey.

About 17% or 285 cases have traveled to countries with A(H1N) cases such as the US, China, Japan and Singapore.

Source: News articles from Inquirer.net and GMANews.tv

Related post:

• Swine Flu A(H1N1) symptoms, prevention, and treatment
• One (1) Swine Flu death in the Philippines

* * * * * * * * * *
This article was originally posted at PinoyMoneyTalk.com. If you’re reading this elsewhere, it’s likely copied WITHOUT permission! Drop by the PMT Forum for more discussions about money, finance, and business.

The next step now is to choose a stockbroker.

A stockbroker is a person or a corporation authorized and licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to trade securities.

The stockbroker can be a live person or an online system. A discussion of the pros and cons of each is in the forum thread Do you prefer live or online stockbrokers?.

List of Online Stockbrokers in the Philippines

Here is a list of registered online stock brokers in the country. Normally with an online broker, you are not assigned a live trader. Instead, you do trading all by yourself using the broker’s online system.

Visit each online broker to compare their fees, support and service, and quality of their trading system. You may also visit the forum discussion threads below to read PMT members’ opinion on each broker.

AB Capital Securities, Inc.
Website: www.abcapitalonline.com
Forum Discussion: Online Stock Brokers

Accord Capital Equities Corporation
Website: www.philstocks.ph
Forum Discussion: Online Broker: PhilStocks.ph

BPI Securities Corporation
Website: www.bpitrade.com
Forum Discussion: Online Broker: BPI Trade

CitiSecurities, Inc.
Website: www.citiseconline.com
Forum Discussion: Online Broker: CitisecOnline

Diversified Securities, Inc.
Website: www.dfnn.com
Forum Discussion: Online Stock Brokers

F. Yap Securities, Inc.
Website: www.2tradeasia.com
Forum Discussion: Online Stock Brokers

First Metro Securities Brokerage Corporation
Website: www.firstmetrosec.com.ph
Forum Discussion: Online Broker: First Metro Securities

RCBC Securities, Inc.
Website: www.rcbcsec.com
Forum Discussion: Online Stock Brokers

Related reading:

• Tutorial on Stock Trading
  
• Help in choosing an online stockbroker
  
• Stock Discussion of all PSE Listed Firms
• PhilStocks or CitisecOnline?

* * * * * * * * * *
This article was originally posted at PinoyMoneyTalk.com. If you’re reading this elsewhere, it’s likely copied WITHOUT permission! Drop by the PMT Forum for more discussions about money, finance, and business.

According to the PSE, the extended trading hours will deliver more investments to the country because investors now have more time to trade in the local stock exchange.

Shortest trading hours

The PSE currently trades for only two and a half hours, from 9:30 am until 12 noon, one of the shortest trading hours in the world.

The proposal to extend trading hours would make the PSE operate an additional two hours in the afternoon, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. There will be a 2-hour break from 12 noon to 2 p.m.

Longer trading hours = more trades, more investments?

In 2002, the PSE experimented on extending trading hours from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. but discontinued this after eight months. The expected increase in investments did not materialize supposedly because it coincides with the mid-day trading breaks of other stock markets in the region.

I personally think it’s worth trying this longer trading hours again. With the market starting to pick up, more and more investors — local and foreigners alike — might be interested to be more involved in the Philippine stock market now.

Do you yourself think longer trading hours is good for the local stock market?

Related reading:

• Tutorial on Stock Trading
• Facts about the Philippine Stock Exchange
• The Dante Tan – BW Resources scandal
• Discussion Forum on Stock Trading
• Stock Discussion of all PSE Listed Firms

* * * * * * * * * *
This article was originally posted at PinoyMoneyTalk.com. If you’re reading this elsewhere, it’s likely copied WITHOUT permission! Drop by the PMT Forum for more discussions about money, finance, and business.

That seems to describe the status of refunds owed to thousands of depositors of the failed rural banks under the Legacy Group.

Almost six months after Legacy banks closed and declared bank holiday, majority of depositors are still not paid by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC).

The PDIC claims they have started making payments and have already settled a quarter of the alleged Php 6 billion “doubtful” accounts.

And yet most, if not all, members of the PinoyMoneyTalk Forum who are also members of the DEADBOL (Depositors Enabling All Depositors for Banks of Legacy) Group report that they have not seen even a single cent of refund from the PDIC.

The goal of the DEADBOL Group is simple: to call on the PDIC to act on its mandate which is to protect depositors.

According to one of its members:

It is DEADBOL’s mission to expose PDIC’s role in the Legacy mess and push government leaders to find ways and means  for the PDIC to get back on track on its mandate to strengthen public confidence in the banking system by protecting the depositor. So far, the actions and pronouncements of PDIC president Jose Nograles have only served to protect his job by pandering to misinformed grandstanding legislators while creating consternation and anxiety among the depositors.

We fully support the DEADBOL Group in this crusade.

We join them in reminding the PDIC that trust is what makes the banking industry, and if the PDIC cannot be trusted with its mandate to protect depositors, the Philippine banking industry may well soon be deadbol.

Related reading:

• Discussion forum: DEADBOL – Depositors Enabling All Depositors for Banks of Legacy
• Guide for Legacy depositors: How to claim money from PDIC
• Petition to PDIC: Do NOT mail valid claims payment!
• Increased PDIC coverage of P500,000 to take effect in June

* * * * * * * * * *
This article was originally posted at PinoyMoneyTalk.com. If you’re reading this elsewhere, it’s likely copied WITHOUT permission! Drop by the PMT Forum for more discussions about money, finance, and business.