🚀 Good morning and happy May Day! While some might be calling "mayday" for an extra day off, we're diving headfirst into the latest buzz in the world of business and beyond. So grab your coffee, kick back, and let's make this Labor Day a little less laborious with some light reading and a dash of wit.

Stocks

Stocks snap 6-day win streak

Local News

💦 Fintech Finale: Salmon Group Hooks Big Fish Investment from IFC

By Tobias Bautista

In the financial ring of the Philippines, it's time for a fintech face-off! The International Finance Corp. (IFC), the World Bank's private sector sidekick, is diving into the fray with a cool $7 million investment in Salmon Group Ltd., a local consumer fintech firm.

This cash injection, part of Salmon's larger $25-million fundraising shindig, is like a power-up for the fintech champ. With pals like Singapore's Northstar Group and ADQ/Lunate joining the party, it's shaping up to be quite the financial fiesta.

Salmon, known for tossing short-term loans to folks who feel like traditional banks left them out in the cold, is gearing up for a makeover. Think new credit products and a swanky lifestyle banking offering, all set to hit the streets in the second half of 2024.

IFC isn't just tossing cash into the pot; they're rolling up their sleeves and diving into the fintech fray. Together with Salmon, they're plotting to be the Robin Hood of the banking world, bringing modern, affordable financial services to every Filipino.

With Salmon already owning a rural bank and snagging a shiny new banking license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), they're gearing up to expand their financial empire. Picture debit cards, credit cards, and a whole buffet of transactional treats coming your way.

Founded back in July 2022, Salmon isn't just swimming with the fintech fishes; they're using AI to turbocharge their credit scoring and offering loans like Salmon Credit, where you can snag up to P50,000 quicker than EDSA can build up traffic.

Territorial Tensions: China’s Water Cannon Incident Sparks Concern

by Tobias Bautista

The China Coast Guard (CCG) fired high-pressure water cannons at Philippine vessels near Scarborough Shoal. It was a watery tango, leaving one Philippine vessel, the BRP Bagacay, with a souped-up starboard after a collision with a Chinese ship.

Meanwhile, four CCG vessels and six maritime militia ships engaged in maritime maneuvers, playing a game of cat and mouse with Philippine patrol boats.

Adding to the spectacle, China erected a 380-meter barrier around Scarborough Shoal.

Philippine officials expressed dismay, with Senator Tolentino likening the situation to dealing with a party pooper, while Senator Estrada called on China to chill out and follow international rules. The Pilipinong Nagkakaisa para sa Soberanya (P1NAS) condemned the water cannon attacks, likening them to someone crashing a pool party and hogging the snacks.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Navy raised eyebrows at the unprecedented appearance of three Chinese research vessels near Ayungin Shoal during the Balikatan Exercises. Despite assurances from the Navy that the vessels weren't up to anything sinister, their presence added a mysterious twist to the maritime drama.

World News

🙅‍♂️ Trump Violates Gag Orders

By Titus Bautista

Many of us dream of making history and being remembered for generations to come. Former US President Donald Trump is not like many of us, because he actually is making history: he is the first current or former US President to face criminal prosecution. Already on its third week of trials, the judge on Trump’s New York hush money trial has held the former President in contempt of court for continuing to violate a gag order. Trump, according to the order, was not allowed to speak publicly and post online about individuals involved in his trial, which he only violated nine times.

The judge also asked Trump to take down several offending posts on Truth Social account (this is like a Twitter space for the former President. It’s worth checking out to see what his posts are about!) and two from a campaign website. Currently, Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records connected to transactions that were allegedly used to silence adult film star, Stormy Daniels, who claims she had sexual relations with Donald Trump. Last week, former tabloid publisher David Pecker came into the stands as a witness to testify against Trump. He claims that he came into an agreement with Trump to be the eyes and ears of his 2016 presidential campaign. He also claims to have worked closely with Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to stop any negative stories that may pop up in the news during that time. Imagine how difficult it would be to stop the Karens from talking about things like that!

Overall, for Trump’s felony charges to stand, the jury has to be convinced that Trump falsified records in service of other crimes, like his questionable efforts to influence the outcome of the 2016 elections against Hilary Clinton. He remains to be the presumptive Republican candidate for the upcoming elections. But between now and November, he will face three more criminal indictments.

Grab your popcorn folks because we will be watching to see what will remains standing by the end of the 2024 elections: Trump’s indictment charges or Trump’s successful candidacy.

Sports

🏀 Nuggets & Thunder send Lakers & Pelicans home, respectively, while Celtics go up 3-1

By Koby del Rosario

Two teams went to Cancun after last night’s 2024 NBA Playoff action while one is now facing a 3-1 hump.

With another Jamal Murray game-winner, the Denver Nuggets (No. 2) eliminated any dreams of a historic 3-0 comeback by the Los Angeles Lakers (No. 7) after they won with a gentleman sweep, 108-106. Murray, to go with the aforementioned series decider, had 32 points and seven assists while former MVP Nikola Jokic had a monster double-double of 25 markers and 20 rebounds. Swingman Michael Porter Jr. also poured in 26 points.

As they now head into an off-season of uncertainty, Lebron James (30 pts, 10 rebs, 9 assts) and Anthony Davis (17 pts, 15 rebs) still had their numbers despite the disheartening loss. For the Nuggets, they will be facing the red hot Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round.

On the other hand, the first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder swept the New Orleans Pelicans (No. 8) in their first round series matchup after their 97-89 victory puts the nail in the coffin. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his consistently productive numbers with 24 points and 10 caroms while wing Jalen Williams tallied 24 and 8 of his own.

In the loss, the Zion Williamson-less Pelicans had 20 points from CJ McCollum and a double-double from Jonas Valanciunas with 19 and 13. Surely, Zion would’ve been the difference-maker of the series if he played.

Heading to Miami, the Heat (No. 8), who are still without Jimmy Butler, have dug themselves a 3-1 hole after their loss to the first-seeded Boston Celtics, 102-88. The men in Green enjoyed a playoff career-high from guard Derrick White, who dismantled Miami with 38 huge points. Meanwhile, All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 20 and 17, respectively.

Hoping for another Cinderella run despite losing their leader, Bam Adebayo had a stellar game 25 points and 17 boards even with the setback.

An Eastern Conference triple-header will frontrun the NBA Playoffs later today.

Lifestyle

👑 Kendrick Lamar claps back with “euphoria”

By Koby del Rosario

Hiphop legend Kendrick Lamar has finally released his diss back to Drake.

In a surprise tweet that leads to the Youtube track posted on his official account, “euphoria” is a six-minute record that has Lamar rapping on three different beats—going bar-for-bar on shots against the “OVO” rapper.

The song serves as his retaliation after Drake dissed the Compton native, among many others, on “Push Ups”, then uploaded and since deleted, “Taylor Made Freestyle”, on his social media accounts. The latter song, in fact, possessed A.I.-produced verses from LA legends Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg that were allegedly written by Aubrey Graham himself.

The worldwide hiphop community will for sure be needing some time to digest the lengthy track before we can come to a conclusion on who’s now on top. Needless to say, “euphoria” is evidence that you shouldn’t ever poke the bear—especially if it’s K.Dot himself.

News Roundup

• The LA Dodgers played an entire MLB game without striking out, for the first time since 2006

• Pia Wurtzbach was awarded Global Fashion Influencer of the Year in the 2024 Emigala Awards in Dubai

• Famine is plaguing Sudan as their civil war ensues, forcing people to eat soil and leaves.

• Despite the scorching heat in Manila, Baguio experienced a hailstorm yesterday.

Games

🎯 How well do you know the Philippines? (Answers in the bottom)

1. A 1977 David Lynch movie inspired what Filipino alt rock band formed in 1989?

2. Head of a monarchy in the Philippines is known as what?

3. What is our national animal?

4. Which city is the financial heart of the Philippines?

5. First Filipino winner of Olympic Gold?

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Feedback

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Answers

1. Eraserheads

2. Sultan

3. Carabao

4. Makati

5. Hidilyn Diaz