Double-dip recession jitters

Jitters are spreading like a virus as the global markets watch and wait for developments to see whether the dreaded “R” word – recession – will hit the US. Coupled with the crisis in Europe with Greece, Italy, Portugal and Ireland treading on dangerous grounds now that they can’t borrow on the market, the prospects do not seem to bode well according to policy makers. Even Canada – which has the US for its largest trading partner – is being affected with profit growths expected to slow down.

 Economists from Morgan Stanley observed that the US and Europe are veering “dangerously close to recession” and that “it won’t take much in the form of additional shocks to tip the balance.” According to Morgan Stanley’s recent report, events surrounding the lifting of the US debt ceiling, plus Europe’s insufficient response to the sovereign crisis created a negative impact on the financial markets, which in turn eroded business and consumer confidence. In Asia, among the countries closely watched is Japan whose economic prospects further weakened due to delays in post-earthquake recovery activities, with woes compounded by power shortages. It looks like even China’s growth is ready to slow down.

In some places like North Colorado and Texas, however, consumers continue with their old shopping and spending habits, blissfully unconvinced that the dreaded “R” word is about to happen. As a matter of fact, some who have been jobless in the last two years recently found employment and proudly say they are spending more money since they are making more now. In any case, this seems to be the right attitude according to some analysts who warn that austerity is not the cure, saying it was unwise for governments to cut public spending when in fact, they should have been spending more to counteract the slowdown in private spending, adding that it’s foolhardy to think that less government spending will mean more jobs. Makes sense.

Guns, gold, Greece

Many people normally shun the idea of guns and gold because of its association with “dirty politics.” But if there’s any kind of gun slinging and shooting that Filipinos should indulge in, it should be the kind promoted by the IPSC or the International Practical Shooting Confederation which will be holding the “World Shoot” in Greece this October. Many still remember the late ’80s up to the early ’90s when Jethro “The Jet” Dionisio became a byword among gun enthusiasts when he dominated the world speed shooting championships, even beating prominent American shooters Michael Voigt and Jerry Barnhart to become “The Fastest Gun in the World.”

Shooting may not as popular as basketball, boxing or even billiards and gets little support from government, but Filipino marksmen command respect and recognition from their international peers. The IPSC is promoted by the Philippine Practical Shooting Association headed by its founder and president, Jack Enrile. Fortunately, businessmen are beginning to see the potential of Filipinos in the sport, such as Manny Pangilinan whose Smart Communications will be supporting the Philippine contingent which includes Dionisio, Jag Lejano, Jay Morales and Captain Ed Martin of the Philippine Army. The Smart-Pilipinas Shooting Team will be gunning for gold in the World Divisional and Category honors.

Starstruck Mike

Our local debonair Weber Shandwick CEO Mike Toledo was “starstruck” during the Manila visit of Paris Hilton who breezed into town to promote her realty project with Century Properties. Mike was at the Manila Peninsula where the celebrity heiress also held a press conference together with Century Property’s Robbie Antonio. Despite being late – fashionably so as commented by a blasé observer – Mike patiently waited for the bubbly Paris making sure he got his photo-op. In fact, the press themselves “turned into fans trying to outdo each other having photos taken with Hilton,” observed our Spy Bits source. 

The tablet wars

With Manny Pacquiao as the HP model, it looked like the HP TouchPad would pose a serious challenge to the iPad, but the negative reviews quickly killed that notion. Despite a price adjustment ($99 for the 16-GB and $149 for the 32-GB model), reviewers found the classy-looking piece underwhelming and disappointingly slow. Among its flaws: a shorter-lived battery life than the iPad and the frequent crashing.

Less than 10 percent of the TouchPad stock was sold –the reason HP is set to junk the gadget for now – until they can come up with a better version. One thing is clear: Some other pretender to the tablet throne will surface again, sometime soon.

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