In a drastic reversal of fortunes, the stock markets of developed countries such as Japan and the United States were big winners in 2013, while stock markets of most developing countries — previous top performers in 2012 — barely rose with some even registering negative returns.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, for example, was the world’s 4th best stock market in 2013, surging an unprecedented 56.72% in the past 12 months ending December.
A coordinated response by the world’s leading central banks to the Eurozone crisis led U.S. stocks to score their biggest daily percentage gains yesterday (November 30), with three benchmark indices ending with at least a 4% gain.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) closed at 12,045.68, up 490.05 points or 4.24%. It was the Dow’s biggest one-day gain since March 23, 2009.
The S&P 500 also surged, ending the trading day up 51.77 points, or 4.33%, to 1,246.96. It was the S&P’s highest daily gain since August 11, 2011.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index also soared yesterday closing at 2,620.34, up 104.83 points or 4.17%.
Tuko for sale!
We buy geckos for millions of pesos!
You’ve probably seen such lines in classified ads websites, watched the reports on TV about the supposed “tuko trading,” or heard the rumor from a neighbor or friend, but is it really true?
Can tokay geckos or tuko — supposedly with their medicinal properties that can cure AIDS or HIV — really be sold for hundreds of thousands or even millions of pesos?
PinoyMoneyTalk did a bit of online research and it seems to us that the current frenzy over the sale and trade of tuko in the Philippines stemmed from a news report published more than a year ago in an Indonesian newspaper claiming that a 64-kg gecko was sold for $20 million.
Last year when the first Apple iPad was launched, we compared prices in various online Apple stores in Asia to determine where the cheapest iPad price can be found. We discovered that in Asia Pacific, the cheapest Apple iPad can be found in Apple’s online store Hong Kong, then Singapore, then Japan.
Is the same pricing applicable in the case of the new Apple iPad 2?
Is this another case of “accidental deletion of sources” or a new instance of plagiarism in the Supreme Court (SC) of the Philippines?
No, we’re not talking about the Vinuya vs. Executive Secretary, G.R. No. 162230 (28 April 2010) decision penned by Associate Justice Mariano C. del Castillo but another decision penned by the same Justice which seemingly contains parts copied from various sources without proper attribution.
Where can you buy the cheapest official Apple iPad in Asia?
That’s what we also wanted to know. So what we did was compare the prices of the iPad offered in official Apple online stores in each country. In Asia Pacific, the iPad is being sold in Apple Online Stores in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore.
