Good morning. Today’s word is bounty as the town of Lucban in Quezon is celebrating the vibrant Pahiyas Festival to honor San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers.

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Business

👨‍🏫 The Great FMCG Split: Premium vs. Value Showdown

By Tobias Bautista

Buckle up, FMCG fans, because the market is pulling a real-life "Richie Rich" vs. "Dollar Store" move. The fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) world is undergoing a category polarization, splitting into high-end luxury and budget basics. Why? Blame it on the widening wealth gap and some hefty inflationary pressures, especially post-pandemic.

Riding the Wealth Gap Wave

Globalization might have brought millions out of poverty, but it’s done squat for the income gap between the top 10% and the bottom 50%. Since the mid-'90s, the chasm has only widened, and crises like the 2008 financial meltdown and the Covid-19 pandemic have turbocharged this inequality rocket.

Middle Class, Who?

With the middle class becoming an endangered species, we're seeing consumers split into two camps: those who splurge on premium goods and those hunting for value deals. For FMCG companies, this means juggling very different business models. Premium brands need snazzy marketing and posh distribution channels, while value brands thrive on cost-cutting and economies of scale.

What’s Next for FMCG?

Expect a whirlwind of mergers and acquisitions in the FMCG sector as companies scramble to adapt. According to a KPMG report, we’re in for a high-stakes game of buy and sell in the coming years.

Want More Deets?

Check out the full KPMG Thought Leadership publication for a deeper dive into market polarization and what it means for the future of consumer goods.

Finance

🤑 Top 13 Managed Funds to Watch in 2024

by Tobias Bautista

Looking to invest but not sure where to start? Here’s a cheat sheet of the best managed funds in the Philippines, courtesy of the CFA Society Philippines.

In case you’re new to the game, managed funds are financial instruments handled by investment experts. These funds pool money from various investors and aim to grow it by investing in bonds, stocks, foreign currencies, or a mix of everything.

Ready to dive in? Just open an account with your bank or an investment house. Remember, while it’s helpful to check out top performers from 2023, past performance isn’t a crystal ball for future results.

Here are the 13 best bond, balanced, equity, index, and feeder funds for 2024, identified by the CFA Society Philippines:

So, whether you’re looking to go high-risk, high-reward or play it safe, there’s a managed fund here for you. Happy investing!

Tech

🤖 AI Just Leveled Up: Meet GPT-4o!

By Tobias Bautista

Just when you thought AI couldn't get any better, OpenAI drops GPT-4o, their latest brainchild that promises to be the Swiss Army knife of artificial intelligence.

The “o” in GPT-4o stands for “omni,” which means “all” in Latin. This fits perfectly since GPT-4o can handle audio, vision, and text responses in real time. Imagine Siri, but on supercharged AI steroids.

On May 14, 2024, at the crack of dawn, OpenAI’s CTO Mira Murati hosted a livestream demo of GPT-4o. Key highlights? This bad boy processes audio inputs in a snappy 232 milliseconds on average, matching human response times. Hello, Voice Mode – now you can chat with ChatGPT as smoothly as talking to a friend.

GPT-4o also holds its own against GPT-4 Turbo in English text and coding tasks, while being faster and 50% cheaper in the API.

Later in the demo, AI researchers Barret Zoph and Mark Chen joined in. They showcased GPT-4o’s eerily human-like voice, complete with emotions and intonations. For a bit of fun, they switched to a classic robotic voice mid-story. Spoiler: it nailed both.

Next up, GPT-4o showed off its vision skills by solving a linear equation on the fly and helping with Italian-English translations – basically, a math tutor and language translator rolled into one.

This Spring Update proves GPT-4o isn’t just book-smart; it’s also ready to be your personal assistant. And the best part? Both free and paid users can access it.

OpenAI hints that we’re just beginning to see what GPT-4o can do. So, stay tuned for more AI magic!

So what? AI is continually becoming integrated into our daily lives, with advancements like this, enabling us to use it seamlessly. Soon, we might be like Tony Stark talking to Jarvis while saving the world (from evil AI like Ultron?).

Sports

🏀 Thunder, Celtics close out Mavs, Cavs in nip-and-tuck Game 4’s

By Koby del Rosario

A tale of two different stories unfolded in the double-header Game 4’s yesterday, May 14th, for the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

The Dallas Mavericks unfortunately choked their lead in the dying minutes of Game 4 against the OKC Thunder as the latter pulled through in the end, 100-96, making the series a 2-2 deadlock. Spearheading the comeback was MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as he had 34 points, eight rebounds, and five assists while big man Chet Holmgren and wing Lu Dort pitched in 18 and 17, respectively.

After leading for the majority of the fixture, Luka Doncic (18 pts, 12 rebs, 10 assts) and company had a potential 3-1 series advantage stolen from them as they look to get back on track in Game 5.

For the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers matchup, the former managed to secure the victory at the end, 109-102, to take a 3-1 series lead. The duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown came alive with a combined 60 points and 19 boards in front of an away crowd that even had Lakers’ Lebron James present in the arena. 

The Cavs still gave a good fight despite the absence of their star, Donovan Mitchell, as Darius Garland put up 30 markers and seven dimes while Evan Mobley and Caris Levert scored 19 apiece.

This morning’s NBA Playoff showcase hosts Game 5’s of a couple tied second round series.

🏐 Creamline Cool Smashers clinch the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference Championship

By Koby del Rosario

Cementing their place in PVL history was the Creamline Cool Smashers, as they won their 8th overall title after a five-set thriller, 20-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11, against the Choco Mucho Flying Titans in the 2024 PVL All-Filipino Conference Championship.

This was the legendary squad’s 3rd straight crown as they were led by standouts Jema Galanza and Bernadette Pons who had 20 and 19 points, respectively, while Tots Carlos was big in the clutch with her 16 markers. Displaying grit and grind, the Cool Smashers came from a 1-2 set deficit en route to the triumph. 

Galanza went on to take home the Finals MVP trophy as well for her stellar performance thus far.

Even with the loss, the Flying Titans are adamant for their next outing as a team. They were paced in the Finals by Sisi Rondina’s 34-point explosion, which was followed up by Royse Tubino’s 20.

News Roundup

• Meralco electricity rate hikes by 46.2 centavos per kWh. So you might wanna hold off on your air conditioners despite this heat 🥵

• The Government is debating on allowing sugar importation given the shortage

• GameStop shares surge nearly 75% after the infamous Roaring Kitty posts on X after a 3-year hiatus

• Philippine bank assets rose by more than 10%, now at 25.6 Trillion Pesos

Games

🎯 Fun Brain Teasers

• Wordle: guess the random five letter word

• Connections: match four words of the same category

• Strands: word search but it depends on the category

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