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Showing posts from December, 2020

Why Does The BSP Hold Gold?

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In 2013, Ron Paul, former US congressman asked Ben Bernanke, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve why central banks held gold . The former fed chair answered that it's simply because it's a long-term tradition. During the height of the Coronavirus lockdowns, gold prices went up rapidly. This trend did not go unnoticed among Filipinos. Cebuana Lhuillier reported high turnover of rematado  (foreclosed) jewelry  during that time period.  Perhaps due to the heightened interest of gold during this time, the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas received several questions regarding the purchase of gold in the Philippines and in June of 2020 decided to release an infographic where they answer some common questions that we might have about gold. Why does the BSP hold gold? The Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas gives us a more honest answer to this question compared to the Federal Reserve.  Gold is a real asset and no one's liability! It couldn't get any more honest than that. That means that

How To Get Better Internet Connection With Globe My Business Huawei B312-939 Modem

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My mom recently bought a Globe My Business modem which is actually a Huawei B312-939 modem in Pagadian city but said that it was too slow. She sent it to me because she thought that I would have better luck with Globe's internet signal here in Manila. I already knew that Globe's internet signal is too weak where I live but it's still usable if I closed my eyes, held my breath and counted to one hundred. Anyway, when I got the Huawei B312-939 modem, I was surprised because it was even slower than the usual slow internet I experience with my Globe Prepaid SIM which I use on my phone. I figured it had something to do with the settings since I'm using both of them in the same place. For several hours, I tried tinkering with the settings to no avail. I researched about it and found out that the Huawei B312-939 modem's settings is severely limited. Apparently, there is a wider array of options available if you logged in as an 'administrator' and not simply as a &#

PhilPost Rates International Shipping 2020

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It has been two years since I last went to the post office. I was shocked to learn that prices have more than doubled but later I found out that prices have indeed gone up significantly but only by as much as 50% since August 2020. It turns out that the item I sent two years ago were lighter than the one I sent a few weeks ago. Here are the updated PhilPost international shipping rates for 2020. I decided to post them here since they are very hard to come by. I'm not sure if this list is complete though and I was told that not all countries are currently accepting shipments from abroad. For me, international registered mail is still one of the best options to send stuff abroad. Yes, it is slow but it is very dependable and affordable. Based on my experience, as long as it is registered (meaning there is a tracking number), your parcel will never get lost.

SM's S-shaped Building

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I have always loved skyscrapers ever since I started playing Sim City when I was in high school. One of the things that really caught my attention when I first went to Manila were the skylines of Ortigas Center and Makati. Over the years, odd-shaped buildings have sprouted in different parts of the world but none in the Philippines. However, a few years ago SM began constructing an S-shaped building adjacent to SM Megamall, the first odd-shaped building in the country, I believe. Here are some photos of SM's S-Shaped building that I took today, my first time to visit SM megamall since the pandemic began.