Business

By Nicole Friedman The Wall Street Journal Leslie Scism Fri., July 20, 2018 Many U.S. homeowners are inadequately insured for natural-catastrophe damage ahead of the height of the Atlantic hurricane season. Three major landfalling hurricanes in 2017 — Harvey, Irma and Maria — revealed a widespread lack of full insurance coverage for homeowners in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and elsewhere. Those storms served as a wake-up call to some, but the underinsurance of Americans persists, according to regulators, trade groups and government data. While most people have home insurance, many lack flood insurance, which is typically purchased from the U.S. government as a separate policy. Many homeowners also have home-insurance policy limits that are too low to cover the full cost of repairing or rebuilding their properties. “Many people thought that they had a fully insured home or fully insured business” before last year’s catastrophes, said … [Read more...] about American homeowners still have a big underinsurance problem

WHERE: A couple and their three teenage children HOME: Five-bedroom penthouse apartment in Simei SIZE: 2,700sqf After 10 years in their penthouse apartment, Mr & Mrs Mah felt they needed a change of scenery. Instead of moving out, however, the couple tasked Kelvin Bing from Renaissance Planners & Designers to give their beloved family home a makeover. The anchor feature of the home, located in the dining area, reflects the heart and soul of the Mah family. "The family gathers in the dining room not only for meals and catch-ups, but also to conduct weekly Bible studies. This inspired me to fashion a screen that projects Bible verses which they can change, or that can be switched to regular television mode any time," says Kelvin. The screen is incorporated into a series of floor-to-ceiling cabinets, which the client had requested, to accommodate the family's growing storage needs. The cabinets are clad in a dark mahogany finish which, when complemented with other minimalist yet … [Read more...] about A 5-bedroom penthouse in Simei with modern and sophisticated features

REUTERS: The latest round of U.S. tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods could hit the Apple Watch, health trackers, streaming music speakers and other accessories assembled in China, government rulings on tariffs show.The rulings name Apple Inc's watch, several Fitbit Inc activity trackers and connected speakers from Sonos Inc. While consumer technology's biggest sellers such as mobile phones and laptops so far have faced little danger of import duties, the rulings show that gadget makers are unlikely to be spared altogether and may have to consider price hikes on products that millions of consumers use every day.The devices have all been determined by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials to fall under an obscure subheading of data transmission machines in the sprawling list of U.S. tariff codes. And that particular subheading is included in the more than 6,000 such codes in President Donald Trump's most recent round of proposed tariffs released earlier this month.That US$200 … [Read more...] about Apple Watch, FitBit could feel cost of US tariffs

MANILA -- Potential locators in First Philippine Industrial Park are watching how the second tranche of tax reforms will shape up before pushing through with their investments, the operator of the economic zone said Friday. Companies are looking for "predictability" before investing, said First Philippine Industrial Park president and chief operating officer Francis Giles Puno. The government is pushing for the second package of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN 2, which aims to "rationalize" fiscal incentives. "It’s a bit a worrisome, to be honest. I’ve heard of stories where there’s no decision for expansion, they’re holding that decision. That’s a more common story compared to 'we’re going to expand next year, we need more land next year'," Puno said in an interview with ANC's The Boss. "That for me is sort of a waste, I don’t want to waste an opportunity. [Embed Cathy.jpeg: First Philippine Industrial Park president and … [Read more...] about News Ecozone investments rest on tax reform outcome: FPIP boss

Asian markets fall as China, US ready for more tariffs (Associated Press) - July 20, 2018 - 10:30am SINGAPORE — Asian markets wobbled Friday on signs that China and the U.S. were preparing to impose more tariffs on each other's products. KEEPING SCORE: Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.5 percent to 22,652.42 and South Korea's Kospi dropped less than 0.1 percent to 2,281.69. Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.6 percent to 27,858.02. The Shanghai Composite Index edged 0.1 percent lower to 2,769.06. Australia's S&P-ASX 200 bucked the regional trend, adding 0.4 percent to 6,286.00. WALL STREET: U.S. indexes finished mostly lower. The S&P 500 index lost 0.4 percent to 2,804.49 on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 0.5 percent to 25,064.50. The Nasdaq composite dipped 0.4 percent to close at 7,825.30. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gained 0.6 percent to 1,701.31. Smaller companies tend to do … [Read more...] about Asian markets fall as China, US ready for more tariffs