Hamas chief due in Egypt for Gaza ceasefire talks
ISRAEL — The head of Hamas was due in Egypt on Wednesday for talks on a fresh ceasefire in Gaza, after Israel said it was willing to agree to another pause in exchange for more hostages.
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‘Chinese envoy actively working to improve ties’
MANILA, Philippines — China’s top diplomat in the Philippines is doing his job for “better” relations with the Philippines, the Chinese embassy in Manila said yesterday.
Amsterdam unveils planned site to replace red light district
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Amsterdam city executives Monday named a location in the Dutch capital's south as its preferred site for an out-of-town "erotic center", in a controversial plan to move away from its famed red light district.
Wins, personal bests highlight Asics Meta time trials Malaysia
MANILA, Philippines – The Asics Meta: Time: Trials Malaysia Edition concluded on a high note at Persiaran Flora in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, drawing the participation of 3,000 runners.
Covid-19 cases up 50 percent – DoH
(UPDATE) THE Department of Health (DoH) on Monday reported a 50 percent rise in new Covid-19 cases nationwide.
Funds to reimburse offloaded passengers to come from BI excess income — senator
MANILA, Philippines — Funds that will be used to refund passengers who will miss their flight or become offloaded due to long immigration assessments will be taken from the Bureau of Immigrations’ excess income and not from deductions of employees’ salary, Sen. Chiz Escudero said on Monday.
PH’s success in bond issuances in 2023 underscores strong investor confidence on PBBM watch
The Philippines, through the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), has efficiently raised funds for economic development through its successful local and international bond issuances in 2023, which underscores strong investor confidence in President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s administration.
US and Philippine central banks continue 'pause' on rate hikes
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) joined its American peer, the US Federal Reserve (the “Fed”), in deciding to do nothing with interest rates yesterday. The Fed was the first to act, electing to pause for the third straight cycle, and guiding the market to expect at least three interest rate cuts in FY24. According to this CNBC article, the number of cuts is less than the market was pricing in, but more than the Fed had been previously talking about. The BSP then did the expected, which was to decide to do nothing. The BSP said that the government’s “non-monetary interventions will remain crucial” in FY24 to “sustain the disinflation process”, and that the “the Monetary Board continues to see the need to keep monetary policy settings sufficiently tight to allow inflation expectations to settle more firmly within the target range”.MB BOTTOM-LINE: I’ve seen a ton of blue checkmark accounts on X talking about how the Fed’s sudden willingness to flip from hawkish scold to dovish flirt is just part of their election cycle politics, and while this line of thinking has some basis in reason (rate cuts would benefit the economy, and a hot economy is good for electoral politics), it just doesn’t align with all the unpopular moves that the Fed has made over the past year. Maybe the Fed has seen something in the data that has allowed it to soften its stance and consider talking about 2024 cuts. The more interesting question is on our side, where the BSP performed the same action (smashed that pause button) but with background music that was a lot less peaceful and serene. The BSP’s focus is again on the government’s role, and while the Marcos administration has been better than the Duterte administration in terms of economic management, it doesn’t inspire confidence that our situation relies on the government’s performance.