TUESDAY: JANUARY 19, 2016
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BUSINESS business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com
Oil drops below $28 a barrel Early filing of reports urged By Jenniffer B. Austria THE Securities and Exchange Commission urged publicly listed and private companies to file early their annual audited financial statements and general information sheet as required by the Corporation Code and the Securities Regulation Code. “I am appealing to all companies to file their annual reports early and not wait for the last day,” said SEC chairperson Teresita Herbosa. “They can file at the head office or at our extension and satellite offices for their convenience. Also, companies can now file reports by courier via the SEC Express Nationwide Submission,” she said. The SEC directed all companies, including branch offices, representative offices, regional headquarters and regional operating headquarters of foreign corporations, starting April 18 to May 20, to file their annual reports, depending on the last numerical digit of their registration or license number. Companies with SEC registration number ending in 1 and 2 should file their reports from April 18 to 22, while those ending in 3 and 4 are required to submit from April 25 to 29. Companies with registration number ending in 5 and 6 are scheduled to file their reports on May 2 to 6. Companies with SEC registration license ending in 7 and 8 must file their reports on May 10 to 13 and while those ending in the 9 and 0 are scheduled to submit their reports from May 16 to 20.
By Ben Sharples and Anthony DiPaola
BRENT oil dipped below $28 a barrel as it extended declines after international sanctions on Iran were lifted, paving the way for increased exports from the Opec producer amid a global glut. Futures lost as much as 4.4 percent in London, slipping to the lowest since November 2003. Iran is beginning efforts to boost output and exports by 500,000 barrels a day now that restrictions have been lifted, Amir Hossein Zamaninia, deputy oil minister for commerce and international affairs, said Sunday. Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said prices will rise, and that market forces and cooperation among producing nations will lead to stability. “There is ongoing negative pres-
sure on oil prices from oversupply,” Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, said by phone. “Iran is not new, but we’ve arrived now at the point where sanctions have been removed and it’s going to be a key focus for the markets over coming weeks. The question is how much supply can come online in the short-term.” Brent capped a third annual loss in 2015 as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries effectively abandoned output limits
amid a global surplus. Iran, which was Opec’s second-biggest producer before sanctions were intensified in 2012, is trying to regain its lost market share and doesn’t intend to pressure prices with an export increase, officials from its petroleum ministry and national oil company said this month. Brent for March settlement fell as much as $1.27 to $27.67 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange and was at $28.31 at 2:28 p.m. Hong Kong time. Frontmonth prices declined 13.7 percent last week for a third weekly drop. The European benchmark crude was at a discount of $1.55 to West Texas Intermediate for March. WTI for February delivery fell as much as $1.06, or 3.6 percent, to $28.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract slid $1.78 to $29.42 on Friday. Total volume traded was more than three
times the 100-day average. Prices have lost 22 percent this year. Buyers of Iranian crude are free to import as much of its oil as they want after the International Atomic Energy Agency determined that the country had curbed its ability to develop a nuclear weapon. As holder of the world’s fourth-largest reserves of crude and biggest deposits of natural gas, the nation gains immediate access to about $50 billion in frozen accounts overseas, funds the government says it will use to rebuild industries. “Uncertainty remains regarding how much oil Iran can bring on in the short term as well as their reentry strategy,” Victor Shum, a vice president for Asia Pacific at IHS Inc., said by e- mail from Singapore Sunday. “Export levels could feasibly ramp up quite quickly due to releasing this pent-up supply.” Bloomberg
Down in Tokyo. A
pedestrian passes before a share prices board in Tokyo on January 18, 2016. Japan’s share prices fell 191.54 points to close at 16,955.57 points at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, as the yen’s continuing strength dented exporters and another fall in oil prices hit petroleum-linked stocks after sanctions against major crude producer Iran were lifted. AFP
Highly regarded CB head is a powerful figure ONE of the most powerful figures in a modern democratic country is a highly regarded central-bank governor. Not any central-bank governor, but one who is highly regarded. Who is a highly regarded central-bank governor? Stated differently, how does a governor of a national monetary authority get to be highly regarded? Several factors come into play. First, a central-bank governor must come into the position bearing excellent academic credentials. Possession of a solid reputation as an economist—not necessarily with a Ph.D. in economics, but preferably with one—is the ideal starting point for a claim to be deserving to be a highly regarded central bank governor. A stint as an economics professor at a significant university or college would be a big plus. Another big plus would be authorship of books or treatises or articles on economic topics related to the making of monetary policy. A second factor to be considered in adjudging an individual a highly regarded central bank governor is business experience—whether as adviser or director or consultant—with one or more establishments
engaged in finance, investment, advisory services, banking or economic consultancy. Excellent academic credentials joined to a career in Wall Street, London’s City or their equivalent is a powerhouse combination. A third factor to be considered in deciding whether an individual holding the position of central bank governor is the quality and extent of his involvement in the life of a society. Chief among these involvements is his participation in or contribution to the work of the government. Providing advice, when requested, to the Executive Department or to the legislature will be a big boost for a highly-regardedgovernor assessment. After all, a monetary authority, which is headed by its governor, must not be seen as an institution divorced from the rest of the nation. Undoubtedly because the US economy is the world’s largest and the Federal Reserve System is the world’s largest central bank, the world looks to the head of the Fed (Federal Reserve Board), the Federal Reserve System’s policymaking body, to provide leadership and direction to the international financial system. The Chairman of the Fed is unquestionably primus
inter pares among the world’s central bank governors. This being the case, the Chairmanship of the Fed must perforce go to an individual who will be regarded highly by the international financial community. Little wonder that the scrutiny and vetting that candidates for the Fed Chairmanship undergo at the hands of the US Congress is one of the most intense and thorough scrutinizing exercises in the world. The US Congress—particularly its banking and finance committees—has always done a good job, with the result that the individuals who have sat behind the desk in the Chairman’s office in the Federal Reserve Building in Washington D.C. have comprised a succession of first-rate individuals deserving of the high regard of the world’s central bankers and the International Monetary Fund. William McChesney Martin, Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and, now, Janet Yellen have all proven to be equal to the herculean job of being chairman to the most powerful monetary institution in the world. True, a central bank policymaking
body—this country’s counterpart in the Monetary Board—is a collegial body, but a truly strong and self-assured chairman can, with the exercise of charisma, competence and tact, stamp his will on the decisions made by the body over which he or she presides. In recent years, during the entire length of 2008 world financial downturn, Bernanke put his well-deserved reputation on the line and got his Fed to follow his lead down the path to US and world economic recovery. Now the first female Fed chairman, Janet Yellen, is doing the same. Truly, the US has been very lucky with its choices of Fed chairman. Our own experience? Let me just reproduce the title of this piece. A highly regarded central bank head is a powerful figure. Underscore “highly regarded” and “powerful.” E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com