Shaun T. Dy's Business & Economics Perspective Blog

I can't be sure if Alice Leal Guo (if that's ever her real name) is either a spy for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or a criminal hiding from Chinese justice. As much as I'm now wary of the Philippines doing business with the CCP-- I believe that the POGO operations are actually run by Chinese criminals hiding from the CCP. The CCP isn't just notorious for its brutal policies on its citizens but also for crime . Do drug dealing in China and you may face the same fate as the three Filipino drug mules last 2011 . In my own speculation , Alice is actually an illegal migrant hiding from the long arms of the CCP. Either way, she's getting very suspicious. My stand will always be if a Filipino does wrong abroad--the law of that country will deal with that Filipino. The same applies to any foreigner who breaks the law in the Philippines--the Philippine law will deal with that foreigner.  However, it's no surprise some people take advantage of the Alice Leal Guo issu

Bulatlat In 2022, I wrote an article about anti-capitalists having no choice because the capitalists hold the means of production . Recently, I've been raising the issue, "Are you sure your gadgets are all imported?" Instead of falling into silence, they throw the mockery, "Oh no! Not the gadgets question again!" They would go as far as to say, "We have no choice but to use imported equipment because foreigners own the means to produce foreign equipment!" Oh, that's a very brutally honest answer! They might say that buying imported equipment isn't exploitative. Then I say, "If you can have a MacPRO and an iPhone, why don't we let Apple do more than open Apple stores. Why not let Apple have a factory in the Philippines?" They might shout out, "You're letting foreigners do business here, run away with the profit, and leave us poor? Only they will get rich (read rebuttal here )!" They'd throw in as many childish ins

As the call for economic charter change goes on, I feel the need to educate some people with common sense . I'm reading comments on Facebook that 60-40 (or any similar ownership restrictions) is for the "security of the Philippines" or that certain sectors can't be allowed 100% ownership on the part of the MNC. Once again, do I need to remind people for the nth time that 100% FDI ownership is all about share ownership ? Sadly, many Filipinos misunderstand what 100% FDI means (read here ). What 100% FDI ownership means is that MNCs don't need to look for a Filipino partner, only to be burdened with having to give up 60% (or more) of the net profits after taxes  and they only keep 40% (or less). That's why I called such an arrangement as overpriced rent (read here ). Some of these people I ran into on Facebook (of all places) are too beholden to Atty. Hilario G. Davide Jr. It was last 2018 when Davide Jr. also said that the Philippines may become a "colony

  Today, I just got a warning from someone about the Press 9 scam. Somebody claimed to be from PLDT saying that the phone and Internet will be cut off. The next thing required was the press 9 procedure. Fortunately, the person called 171 to ask if it was such a thing. If the bills were paid properly  then one can say, "Wait, this is really another scam!"  I Googled "Press 9 scam" and found that one can lose a lot of money by just pressing 9 . Here's an excerpt from that article that was a warning. The article is written in India by an Indian. However, with the incident happening in the Philippines (and I wouldn't be surprised if my Indian friends warn me about it)--I'd like to share it nonetheless: “ These types of fraud usually try to create a sense of urgency or employ scare tactics to coerce the victim into complying with the attacker’s requests ,” Lukas Stefanko, Malware Analyst, ESET explains what makes these scams work. The biggest weapon that thes

  The last time I ate at a Hussam Middle Eastern Restaurant branch last year, I couldn't give a good assessment. I haven't been to Hussam's main branch at Il Corso, so I didn't formally meet its owner, Hussam Alfakeh Alkourdi. The branch I ate was in Ayala Center Cebu instead. This is the interior of the restaurant. Ayala Center Cebu has Persian Palate on the third floor, above Timezone. Hussam is near one of the entrances of Ayala Center Cebu--near a Chinese restaurant. Persian Palate was my entry point to Middle Eastern cuisine.  Hussam serves authentic Syrian food. There are dishes similar to those from the Persian Palate. They serve Syrian bread, different from my favorite Pita bread served at Shawarma Gourmet (read my review here ), a Lebanese restaurant. So far, I tried their mixed meat platter with Syrian bread. My second dish there was actually baked Arabic rice with grilled beef kebab. I love their tomato sauce (which I mistook for ginger sauce) and garlic sauc

Last 2022, I wrote two articles on the means of production. One article I wrote refutes the idea that workers, not the business owners, own the means of production . Another article discussed whether or not anti-capitalists have no choice because capitalists own the means of production . The other day, I wrote a dare where I want people who insist on #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba economics (higher salaries, lower prices) to open stores that operate on that mindset . I'm afraid that what I wrote was merely the tip of the iceberg . With that in mind, I'd like to ask people who say that the workers own the means of production to open a business, where the workers own the means of production. What's their reasoning behind the logic that the workers own the means of production? The common logic is that because the workers did all the hard work they own the production. They say that the businessman can die but not the workers. It's because according to these smart alecks--it's b

Happy Labor Day anyone? It's this time of the year when labor groups like Kilusang Mayo Uno (literally the May One Movement) would protest. They would raise banners demanding #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba. For those who don't speak Tagalog, it means raising salaries and lowering the prices of goods. However, basic cost accounting will tell you that salaries are part of the cost of production . People ignore facts and choose their feelings a lot . I tell them that salaries are part of the cost of production (no need for a Ph. D for that, which I no longer aim to get) but they just sneer at it . They think the government has absolute control over the economy like magic . Members of Filipino labor groups may even say that wage hikes aren't inflationary even when evidence shows otherwise.  The  Economics Help   website presents why doing so can actually  worsen  inflation: Wage Push Inflation.  If labour is able to push for higher wages, despite lower growth, then we could get a combi