United Airlines will begin charging passengers $25 starting May 5 to check in a second piece of luggage for US domestic and Canada travel if they are not part of its most-frequent-flier programs.

The new charge applies to those who purchase nonrefundable domestic economy tickets, and will allow customers to check in up to four additional bags at $100 per bag.

The DMCI-Metro Pacific consortium that now controls Maynilad Water is planning to transferr the company headquarters to the former Intel factory in Bangkal, Makati, which the Consunji company had acquired.

Acer founder Stan Shih will visit Manila on March 5.

A light brown Isuzu Trooper (plate number XPK 615) with a prominent Supreme Court windshield sticker was seen parked by the ACCRA law office building Saturday afternoon, along with a silver Mercedes-Benz E 280 (plate number ZFW 201).

A small office party was thrown Wednesday within the Inquirer to mark the retirement of readers’ advocate Lorna Kalaw Tirol from the country’s largest broadsheet-tabloid.

The atmosphere, according to the grapevine, was cordial even among the sniping staff members and editors, with a sprinkling of the staffers who had been on the receiving end of encircled daily exhibits from the advocate showing an unpolitically-correct elation about the latest departure.

An upbeat Thunderbird Resorts in Binangonan reports that it will start building in March a 2,000-square-meter event center and another 200 new “gaming positions” within the golf course-hotel-casino resort.

Another Thunderbird resort in Poro Point will open 40 lodging units and a golf driving range by April in preparation for the expected influx of visitors when a bigger, regional airport opens by the first quarter of next year.

The Philippines received an unexpected worldwide publicity when no less than Coca-Cola chairman and CEO Neville Isdell paid tribute to the country’s improved economic fundamentals during a live interview with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo aired the other night from Davos.

Cash and Carry supermarket near the corner of Buendia and South Luzon Expressway has quietly and certifiedly been transformed into a mini-mall with the addition to two movie houses on its new, second floor.

Incidentally, the “two” floors are deceiving, because each floor has a loft-like mezzanine on top of each, thus giving the restaurants like the bi-level Luk Yuen and Teriyaki Boy an expansive feel not common to similar branches.

Deutsche Bank has signed a $40 million pre-export financing facility with Platinum Group Metals chairman Ramon Atayde to help support the acquisition, rehabilitation and development works at the company’s two ferronickel smelter plants in Iligan and Manticao, Misamis Oriental.

Luck apparently is on the side of GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia. He will be formally outsourcing the GSIS multi-billion fund management on Friday, when the fundamentals of both the local and regional markets are all screaming buy.