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Of China’s ‘One Belt One Road’
Sometime in August 2016, I attended the formal media launch of One Belt One Road, or OBOR, in Beijing, China. I thought then that OBOR, also referred to later as Belt and Road Initiative, must be one of the most, if not the most, significant programs of President Xi Jinping, as it was attended by hundreds of print and broadcast journalists from around the world, the Philippines included. OBOR was to revive the “Silk Road” economic belt of ancient China, a land trade route carrying its finest silk and other goods to its neighboring Central Asian countries and later to as far as Europe; whereas today’s Road refers to the 21st Century land and maritime silk route to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The land route was launched, I think in 2013, while the maritime route was given a big push in 2017. Early on, China set up the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as part of the OBOR mechanism. China sank in the initial capital and was joined later by other member countries. The Philippines was the last country to join AIIB when the late President Noynoy Aquino signed its Charter in the last few minutes of 31 December 2015, and this was ratified a year later during Duterte’s term. In sum, AIIB had 106 members to start. The Philippines, if we look at the records, derived from loans and infrastructure projects, was quite slow in availing of cheap money from this BRI initiative. Indonesia, Singapore, and other ASEAN and African countries had done so for various infra projects, among these railways, dams, and ports. The small loan amount we obtained was later topped up by China in terms of gifts which came in the form of bridges, schools, medical supplies, and vaccines when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. Add to that are the much-needed arms for our armed forces to get rid of the marauding Maute ISIS terrorist group in Marawi City and additional help to rehabilitate it later. Alarmed by the inroads China was making with the BRI through the land and marine infrastructure built with the billions of dollars it loaned to countries along the silk routes, the West was quick to make a big issue of it when Sri Lanka defaulted, calling China’s loans a “debt trap.” Of course, not a few of those struggling economies defaulted as the impact of the new infrastructure on their development had yet to gain traction. However, President Xi Jinping waived the interest dues. How is it for China midway to the Road’s target completion date of 2049? The BRI has covered more than 68 countries with an estimated 65 percent of the world’s population. All told, the largesse from China resulted in the reduction of dependency on the US and it created new markets for Chinese products. The US of A is fast losing its dominance. China, once wallowing in the quagmire of poverty, is now the second-largest economy in the world and growing. Will China then go beyond firing water cannons at Philippine Coast Guard vessels? This could only be answered by another set of questions. Is China willing to cut the marine silk route that passes through or close to the West Philippine Sea? Will its land route suffice to bring its products to its export markets in the event the sea lane is altogether cut off? Will the Chinese people relish going back to poverty and isolation? The answers are a big NO. So why EDCA? Why not pursue the Philippines-China joint oil exploration in the WPS as the offer stands at a 60/40 sharing agreement in favor of the Philippines? Why build more military bases when these are veritable beckons to war which we as a policy abhor? Why not take advantage of the short maritime link between China and the Philippines to enhance our economy? The price of fuel is skyrocketing. Our peso is depreciating as in a free fall. We have solutions and yet these, too have become problems. The post Of China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
El Niño offers opportunities — DA
The Department of Agriculture on Saturday said that El Niño can also increase yield for some crops, especially when its strength is weak or moderate or in water-sufficient irrigated rice areas. While many fear El Niño because of crop losses, reduced food supplies, and water resources depletion, the DA said when El Niño is preceded by normal to above-normal rain, this allows water reservoirs to stock enough water for irrigation. Sunny weather brings higher palay yields and better milling recovery from better quality palay harvest. Agriculture Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian exhorted DA field officials to apply their knowledge of agricultural science (crop science, crop physiology, agronomy, and agro meteorology) when analyzing historical and current data on El Niño’s impact on agriculture. He further advised them to carefully examine the PAGASA El Niño advisories and climate data to guide their decisions. He expected to be negatively impacted by El Niño during the dry season are water-deficient areas like those in the tail ends of irrigation systems and the rain-fed areas. According to Sebastian, when El Niño is weak to moderate, such as those occurrences in 2002, 2004, and 2007, this may lead to increased production, while the weak El Niño of 2019 caused declines in output in non-irrigated areas while production in irrigated rice fields increased. He asked the field officials to maximize production in irrigated areas and diversify crops in areas expected to suffer from water deficits. Seven El Niño episodes have so far hit the country since 2000. These were in 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2015 and 2016, and 2019. During mild El Niño, palay production still increased, such as in 2002, 2004, and 2007. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority from 2000 to 2022 showed that palay production in 2001 was at 12.95 million metric tons, rising in 2002 to 13.27 MMT (El Niño), and then inching up to 14.5 MMT in 2004 (El Niño) from 13.50 MMT in 2003, and from 15.33 MMT in 2006 to 16.24 MMT in 2007 (El Niño). Production declined to 15.77 MMT in 2010 (El Niño) from 16.27 MMT in 2009, and rice production was 18.97 MMT in 2014 before dipping again to 18.15 MMT in 2015 (severe El Niño) and sliding even more to 17.63 MMT in 2016 (continued severe El Niño). Production recovered after the 2015-2016 El Niño more dramatically at 19.28 MMT in 2017, dropping in the 2019 El Niño to 18.81 MMT before recovering ground to 19.29 MMT in 2020. So far, PAGASA has been forecasting moderate to strong El Niño by December this year. This should not indicate a doomsday scenario for the rice sector, depending on the amount of rainfall and water reserves accumulated in the dams and reservoirs for the 2024 dry season. And depending on the availability of precipitation or rainfall and water reserves, this should not indicate a doomsday scenario for the rice sector just yet, Sebastian calculated. The US National Weather Service has forecasted a 96 percent probability of El Niño greater than 0.5 degrees Celsius from July 2023 to January 2024; 93 percent from December to February; 90 percent from January to March further receding to 85 percent in February to April. At 1 degree Celsius, the probability of El Nino is 76 percent from August to October; 82 percent from October to December; dropping to 81 percent from November to January 2024; and 64 percent from January to March to 52 percent by February to April 2024. A recent ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) report said chances of a moderate event are at 84 percent while the odds of it becoming strong at its peak are pretty good at 56 percent. ENSO is a recurring climate pattern involving changes in the temperature of waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. A World Bank study of the impact of El Niño in the Philippines in 2016 cited seven severe ENSO events since 1980, which include both El Niño, ENSO’s warm phase, and La Niña, ENSO’s cold phase. In 1982–1983, El Niño–related droughts affected 450,000 hectares of farmland in the Philippines. The most severe El Niño occurred in 1997–1998, when rainfall fell to half of the historical levels, causing drought in two-thirds of the country. This led to forest fires that destroyed almost 10,000 hectares of natural forests, the WB said. In 2015–2016, dry El Niño conditions lasted for 18 months and affected about a third of the country. In total, six cities, 16 provinces, and 65 municipalities declared a state of calamity. By May 2016, over 400,000 farmers and 550,000 hectares were directly affected by El Niño–induced drought. Later, La Niña caused flooding in low-lying farm areas causing increases in crop pests and diseases. Overall, the most recent El Niño event in 2015–2016 caused $327 million in agricultural production losses, the WB report stated. The post El Niño offers opportunities — DA appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Target of the right, George Soros hands reins to son
As George Soros passes control of his philanthropic empire to his son, the legendary investor and democracy advocate remains subject to unrelenting and often anti-Semitic attacks from the right. Under the transition, Soros, 92, will hand the reins to his 37-year-old son Alexander Soros, according to a Wall Street Journal interview with both men. The shift comes as the elder Soros remains one of the far right's favorite targets. He has been baselessly blamed for propagating migrant crises in Europe and on the southern border of the United States, as well as for orchestrating mass protests against police brutality after the 2020 killing of George Floyd. Soros's army of haters has included right-wing politicians like Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, the media figure Tucker Carlson and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, who tweeted in May 2023 that Soros "wants to erode the very fabric of civilization" and "hates humanity." Soros is known for his financing of the Open Society Foundations, which has supported reforms to liberalize economies, establish governance norms, protect minorities and refugees, and promote freedom of expression. These endeavors followed some wildly successful investment decisions, as in 1992 when Soros bet against the British pound shortly before it was devalued. A leading British newspaper dubbed Soros "the man who broke the Bank of England" over a move that allowed him to pocket $1 billion. The episode won Soros' respect in the financial world, but he also became a much-feared figure among government finance ministers. Progressive causes Born in August 1930 in Budapest, Soros's Jewish family used false papers to pass as Christian during the Nazi occupation of Hungary in 1944 and 1945. "I learned at an early age how important it is what kind of political regime prevails," Soros said in 2019. After the establishment of communism in Hungary, Soros left for London in 1947, obtaining degrees from the London School of Economics before moving to New York in 1956. Soros launched his own speculative fund in 1970, a step in building his wealth to an estimated $6.7 billion, according to Forbes; the figure does not include the $18 billion Soros transferred to his foundations in 2017. He began steering some of his wealth to philanthropy in 1979, backing Black students in apartheid-era South Africa and political dissidents in Central Europe. His activities expanded considerably after the end of the Cold War. In the United States, for example, Soros has supported the progressive side on a host of hot-button issues, including criminal justice reform, same-sex marriage, and the decriminalization of marijuana. A father of five, Soros studied in London under his mentor Karl Popper, a champion of open society and fierce critic of totalitarianism. Intensifying criticisms As Soros broadened his support of politically progressive candidates and philanthropic endeavors in the 2010s, he was met with more virulent criticism, often tinged with anti-Semitism. In 2018, following attacks by the nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Soros shuttered the Budapest branch of the OSF and moved staff to Berlin. Later that year, Soros was named Person of the Year by the Financial Times, a recognition of his role as "the standard bearer of liberal democracy and open society." But the newspaper also alluded to the ugliness of Soros's legion of haters, noting, "There are so many anti-Semitic conspiracy theories targeting Mr. Soros that it is difficult to keep count." In terms of his record in finance, Soros has experienced setbacks in addition to glory. He lost money in the 1987 stock market crash and in the 1998 Russian currency crisis. He has also found himself in the crosshairs of the law. In 2002, Soros was convicted of insider trading in France for trades of Societe Generale, and in 2009 in Hungary, in a market manipulation case. Soros's funds have continued to speculate, with investments running the gamut from new technologies to housing to physical commodities. But Soros has also spoken of the need for strict regulation of markets. Soros has described his efforts as a kind of responsibility. "My success in the financial markets has given me a greater degree of independence than most other people," he wrote in 2011. "This obliges me to take stands on controversial issues when others cannot." The post Target of the right, George Soros hands reins to son appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Xinhua world news summary at 0630 GMT, March 18
MOSCOW -- Russia's incumbent President and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin, who is set to win reelection, said he would do his utmost to achieve national development goals on Monday morning. Putin has won 87.32 percent of the vote after 95.04 percent of all ballots were counted, according to data from the Russian Central Election Commission as of Monday morning. (Russia-Presidential Election) - - -.....»»
Philippines posts 196 mln USD deficit in February
MANILA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' overall balance of payments (BOP) posted a 196-million-U.S. dollar deficit in February, significantly lower from the 895-million-dollar BOP deficit recorded a year ago, the country's central bank said on Tuesday. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the BOP deficit in February reflected outflows arising mainly from the national government's foreign currency deb.....»»
Philippines FDI net inflows drop by 7.8 pct in August
MANILA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) that flowed into the Philippines declined year-on-year by 7.8 percent in August to reach 789 million U.S. dollars, the Philippine central bank said Friday. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the latest figure brought the country's FDI net inflows from January to August to 5.5 billion dollars, a 12.9 percent decline from the same period in 2022......»»
BSP hikes rates6.5%, off-cycle
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Thursday raised its policy rate on an off-cycle period to 6.5 percent from 6.25 percent to manage a likely inflation uptrend this year until July next year. The BSP has, thus far, raised its policy rate by 450 basis points after inflation peaked at 8.7 percent in January and re-accelerated again to 6.1 percent last month from 5.3 percent in August. The BSP move will increase borrowing costs, with new interest rates on the overnight deposit at 6 percent and lending facilities at 7 percent. BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said the country’s inflation rate might settle at 4.7 percent next year, higher than the central bank’s previous target range of 2 percent to 4 percent for this year and 4.3 percent in the next. He added inflation might quicken further above 4.7 percent from July to March next year. “The balance of risks to the inflation outlook still leans significantly toward the upside, due mainly to the potential impact of higher transport charges, electricity rates, international oil prices, and minimum wage adjustments in areas outside the National Capital Region,” he explained. Limit spending With the higher interest rates, Remolona said consumers will likely limit their spending which will discourage businesses from raising prices. “The BSP’s Monetary Board recognized the need for this urgent monetary action to prevent supply-side price pressures from inducing additional second-round effects and further dislodging inflation expectations,” the BSP chief said. Remolona added the slow global economic recovery and effects of the weather disturbances from El Niño on food supply might also restrain consumption toward a moderated inflation. “Meanwhile, the effect of a weaker-than-expected global recovery as well as government measures to mitigate the effects of El Niño weather conditions could temper inflationary impulses,” he said. The BSP Monetary Board will again announce to the public on 16 November whether to change its policy rate in compliance with its normal cycle period happening every six weeks. However, Remolona already cautioned the public of likely controlled consumer spending in the medium term as the BSP expects to maintain high interest rates in the near future. Tighter settings “Looking ahead, the Monetary Board deems it necessary to keep monetary policy settings tighter for longer until inflationary expectations are better anchored and a sustained downward trend in inflation becomes evident,” he said. “We will consider another rate hike if things are worse than we thought,” Remolona continued. The BSP has raised its policy rate by 425 basis points after inflation peaked at 8.7 percent in January and re-accelerated again to 6.1 percent last month from 5.3 percent in August. The Philippine Statistics Authority attributed this to persisting higher food and fuel prices partly driven by global food trade restrictions and oil trade disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine war. Falls a little behind “In my view, I think we fell a little behind that’s the reason for this effort to catch up. We didn’t look closely enough at expectations,” Remolona said as he reflected on the BSP’s unchanged rate at its September 21 meeting. “One of them that was very striking was our consumer expectations survey which said about 92 percent think that in the next 12 months inflation will be above 4 percent, similar to expectations by firms,” the BSP chief continued. The post BSP hikes rates6.5%, off-cycle appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Crypto crackdown intensifies on Hamas finance
Cryptocurrency has become the latest front in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, analysts say. Israeli and US authorities have intensified their financial hunt into Hamas in recent days as they track illicit funds via digital currencies. Ari Redbord, global policy head at crypto tracking specialist TRM Labs, said there is now less crypto transfer activity on pro-Hamas support networks as a result. "We are seeing a lot less activity in some respects since the war began," Redbord told AFP. This is "primarily because Israel has been very aggressive and successful in taking down these fundraising efforts", he added. Israel has bombed Gaza in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack by Hamas militants who, while firing a massive rocket barrage, killed more than 1,400 people and took 222 hostages on 7 October, according to Israeli authorities. Israeli strikes have now killed more than 6,500 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Shadowy world Cryptocurrency is regarded as a speedy way to move cash that is unregulated by any central bank and is less traceable than a traditional bank transfer. The shadowy world of digital units, based on decentralized blockchain technology, has gained notoriety for illicit transactions due to its under-the-radar appeal. Two weeks ago, Israeli police revealed they had located and frozen accounts linked to Hamas that sought "to solicit donations on social networks" via Binance, the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange. A Binance spokeswoman said it "follows internationally recognized sanctions rules, blocking the small number of accounts linked to illicit funds". Redbord, formerly a senior US government adviser, said Hamas had adopted crypto from 2019 at the latest, to seek funding via the Telegram messaging network and even on its own website. Hamas decided in April that it would no longer accept cash via Bitcoin due to increased global surveillance of the world's biggest digital unit. Crypto fundraising is now operated via a network of Hamas-linked support groups. TRM Labs has closely monitored virtual crypto wallets linked to such support groups since the start of the war. And it has concluded that much smaller amounts of cash than usual are being moved. Two weeks after the attacks, support group Gaza Now received less than $6,000 in one of its crypto wallets, Redbord noted. That compared with $800,000 in total since the wallet's creation in August 2021. Meanwhile, authorities are well aware that digital assets are a minor part of a complex funding picture. The US State Department estimates that Iran funnels $100 million per year to Palestinian groups including Hamas. 'Small piece of puzzle' "Cryptocurrency is a very small piece of a larger financing puzzle for Hamas," said Redbord. "They are looking to Iran; they're... imposing taxes on the Palestinians; they have a network of charities and a diaspora of supporters who are sending donations not in cryptocurrencies." "But crypto does play a role," he said. Digital currencies still represent a significant revenue stream for Hamas and other allied groups. Crypto addresses identified by Israel as being linked to Hamas received about $41 million between August 2020 and July 2023, according to Israeli analytics and software firm BitOK. Other crypto addresses linked to Islamic Jihad received in excess of $154 million between October 2022 and September 2023, with some still active, it adds. Some players in the sector simply turn a blind eye. "Some cryptoasset businesses are intentionally or unwittingly allowing misuse of the crypto ecosystem," said Joby Carpenter, an expert on the industry. "This trend is magnified where exchanges are based in lightly or unregulated jurisdictions," he told AFP. The post Crypto crackdown intensifies on Hamas finance appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Apple scraps Jon Stewart show over China, AI clashes: report
US comedian Jon Stewart's talk show on Apple TV+ has reportedly been canceled after just two series due to clashes between its host and the company over topics such as China and artificial intelligence. Stewart told staff that executives from Apple -- which has vast commercial interests in China and AI -- had expressed concern over proposed new content for "The Problem with Jon Stewart," The New York Times said. Apple did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment. Stewart became a household name in the United States as the host of Comedy Central's long-running "The Daily Show," before stepping down to pursue other interests in 2015. Streaming platform Apple TV+ launched "The Problem with Jon Stewart" as a flagship current affairs show in 2021. The show takes a satirical look at a different topical issue each week. Episodes in the most recent season included "Globalization: Made In America" and "Searching for Allies." Since Apple first established a presence in China in 1993, the US tech giant has grown into a major provider of smartphones, laptops and consumer electronics in the country. Apple chief Tim Cook made a surprise visit to China this month, and he has previously spoken of his company's "symbiotic" relationship with the nation. In an earnings call in August, Cook said Apple views AI and machine learning as "core fundamental technologies that are integral to virtually every product that we build." amz/hg/sst © Agence France-Presse The post Apple scraps Jon Stewart show over China, AI clashes: report appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Philippine remittances grow by 2.8 pct in August
MANILA, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos reached 3.10 billion U.S. dollars in August, 2.8 percent higher than the 3.02 billion dollars recorded in August last year, the Philippine central bank said on Monday. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the remittances from January to August grew by 2.9 percent to 24.01 billion dollars from 23.34 billion dollars recorded during the.....»»
Israel says at ‘war’ after rocket barrages, militant infiltration
Palestinian militants have begun a "war" against Israel, the country's defense minister said Saturday after a barrage of rockets were fired and fighters from the Palestinian enclave infiltrated Israel, a major escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Violence between Israel and the Palestinians has been surging for almost two years, with fatalities in the occupied West Bank hitting a scale not seen in years. At least two people were killed in Israel, officials said. Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Palestinian militant group Hamas has "launched a war against the State of Israel." "Troops are fighting against the enemy at every location," he said in a statement. AFP journalists said Israel's military began air strikes on Gaza, following the rocket barrage from inside the territory which is sealed off from Israel by a militarized border barrier. "Dozens of IDF fighter jets are currently striking a number of targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip," the military said. Rockets had earlier streamed across the sky repeatedly after the first launches from multiple locations across the Palestinian territory from 6:30 am (0330 GMT), AFP journalists in Gaza City reported. The armed wing of Hamas, which controls Gaza, said it was behind the aerial assault, saying its militants had launched thousands of rockets and its fighters seized an Israeli tank. Israel's army did not immediately comment on the tank claim when contacted by AFP. Israeli security chiefs convened over the violence, which occurred on Shabbat and during a Jewish holiday. Air raid sirens wailed across southern and central Israel, and the army urged people to stay near bomb shelters. AFP journalists in Jerusalem heard multiple rockets being intercepted by Israeli air defense systems. Sirens blared across the city on more occasions than in any Gaza conflict in the past three years. "We decided to put an end to all the crimes of the occupation (Israel). Their time for rampaging without being held accountable is over," the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said. "We announce Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and we fired, in the first strike of 20 minutes, more than 5,000 rockets." Hundreds of Gazans flee Hundreds of residents fled their homes in eastern Gaza to move away from the border with Israel, an AFP correspondent said. Men, women and children carrying blankets and food left their homes, mostly in the northeastern part of the territory, the reporter said. Israel's military said Hamas launched "massive shooting of rockets", while at the same time "terrorists infiltrated into Israeli territory in a number of different locations". Hamas "will face the consequences and responsibility for these events", it said in a statement. In Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, some Palestinian residents cheered and blew their car horns as sirens blared. A regional council for Israeli communities northeast of Gaza said its president was killed in an exchange of fire with attackers from Gaza. Separately, a woman in her 60s was killed "due to a direct hit" in Israel, the Magen David Adom emergency services said. Fifteen others were wounded, two of them seriously, medics said. An AFP photographer in the coastal city of Tel Aviv saw a gaping hole in a building, with residents gathered outside. Hamas calls to 'join battle' Hamas called on "the resistance fighters in the West Bank" as well as "our Arab and Islamic nations" to join the battle, in a statement posted on Telegram. The United States condemned the Hamas fire and urged "all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks." "Terror and violence solve nothing," the US Office of Palestinian Affairs wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza since 2007 after Hamas took power. Palestinian militants and Israel have fought several devastating wars since. The latest violence follows heightened tensions in September, when Israel closed the border to Gazan workers for two weeks. The shutdown of the crossing came as Palestinian demonstrators along the border burned tires and threw rocks and petrol bombs at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas and live bullets. Resuming workers' passage on 28 September had raised hopes of calming the situation in impoverished Gaza, home to 2.3 million people. In May, an exchange of Israeli air strikes and Gaza rocket fire killed 34 Palestinians and one Israeli. So far this year at least 247 Palestinians, 32 Israelis and two foreigners have been killed in the conflict, including combatants and civilians on both sides, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials. The vast majority of fatalities have occurred in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. There has been a rise in army raids, Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis and Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property. The rising violence this year came against the backdrop of divisive judicial reforms introduced by the hard-right government of President Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges he denies. Several far-right ministers in Netanyahu's cabinet live in West Bank settlements deemed illegal under international law. The post Israel says at ‘war’ after rocket barrages, militant infiltration appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Phl economy still strongest this year — RCBC
The Philippine economy will remain among Asia’s strongest in the fourth quarter despite a possible higher interest rate because of strong consumer demand for certain products and services and more employed Filipinos, the chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation said Saturday. “This growth forecast is still among the fastest in the region because our economy is doing well,” RCBC’s Michael Ricafort said. The World Bank recently downgraded this year’s Philippine economic growth to 5.6 percent from 6 percent due to inflation risks, apart from lower government spending and weaker demand for exports. However, it is still higher than China’s 5.1 percent, Indonesia’s 4.9 percent, and Malaysia’s 4.3 percent growth forecast. Ricafort said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) might raise its policy rate this year to slow inflation to 4 percent by year-end after it accelerated again to 6.1 percent last month. “The BSP is working to bring down prices of goods and services. As an unintended consequence, the economy could slow down. Borrowing costs for business owners also increase and consumer demand weakens,” he said. Ricafort said global oil prices have started falling which could discourage the central bank from raising its rate drastically. “Global oil prices have declined to $82 to $83 per barrel from a peak of $95 per barrel last month or since the war between oil-rich countries Russia and Ukraine began,” the economist said. He also expected a downtrend in rice prices starting this month as he said local farmers have begun collecting fresh harvests. “Inflation quickened last month mainly from higher prices of rice which accounted for nearly 9 percent of the inflation basket and grew 17 percent year-on-year,” Ricafort said. While a higher interest rate aims to slow consumption, Ricafort said the continued flow of remittances from overseas Filipino workers, or at least 3 percent growth yearly will still support substantial levels of consumer spending, especially during the Christmas season. “That is more than $40 billion a year. That’s the fourth largest in the world after India, China and Mexico,” the economist said. He added more Filipinos or 800,000 could earn from business process outsourcing or BPO this year as the industry’s revenue could rise from $32.5 billion to $59 billion based on data from the Contact Center Association of the Philippines. Another growth area is tourism, which Ricafort said saw 4 million foreign visitors last month, nearing the 4.8 million full-year target of the government. He added higher productivity among Filipinos is also expected as the country’s unemployment rate declined to 4.4 percent in August from 4.8 percent in July, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. Moving forward, Ricafort said the government must improve science and technology education for higher quality jobs and increase spending on infrastructure amid the full reopening of most economies. “We are now fully reopened. Students are also back in schools which encourages putting up food businesses. Labor market in the US also improved which will affect export trade,” he said. Ricafort added the government could continue distributing financial and other assistance to farmers to control inflation. He believed the inflation rate will approach 3 percent next year, close to the ideal 2 percent for healthier economic growth. The post Phl economy still strongest this year — RCBC appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Asian markets fall on rate fears as bond yields rise
Asian markets fell across the board Wednesday following Wall Street's lead after robust US employment data and rising Treasury yields exacerbated fears that interest rates will be higher for longer. The labor report, known as JOLTS, showed a surprise increase in the number of job openings to 9.6 million, a sign of continued tightness in the market and fuelling worries of a further rate hike by the Federal Reserve before year's end. The report comes ahead of Friday's highly anticipated September US employment report. Following the JOLTS report, 10-year US Treasury note yields climbed to levels last seen in 2007. Treasury bond yields are seen as a proxy for US interest rates and are closely watched. All three major US indices closed in the red, falling by more than one percent. "Stock market investors were sent reeling after US job openings unexpectedly rebounded in August, adding to concerns that the Federal Reserve could hike rates in November but unquestionably maintain elevated borrowing costs for an extended duration," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes. Tokyo and Seoul, which resumed trade after a long holiday weekend, led the Asian selloff Wednesday, both falling around two percent, while Hong Kong, Taipei, Jakarta, Singapore, Sydney, and Wellington were all sharply lower in a sea of red. Markets in mainland China were closed for a week-long holiday. "It is difficult (for investors) to move towards bargain-hunting as yields in US Treasury notes keep climbing," analyst Shutaro Yasuda of Tokai Tokyo Research Institute said. On forex markets the yen was trading at 149.28 to the dollar after hitting 150.16 in London on Tuesday, its weakest level in a year. Japan's top finance officials declined to comment Wednesday on whether Tokyo had intervened to support the yen after it had breached the psychological 150 level. In recent months, the yen has plummeted against the dollar in part because of the widening gap in interest rates set by the Bank of Japan and the US Federal Reserve. The post Asian markets fall on rate fears as bond yields rise appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Philippines foreign investments yield net inflows in August
MANILA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' foreign investments yielded net inflows of 153 million U.S. dollars in August 2023, the Philippine central bank said Thursday night. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the August net inflows resulted from the 1.4 billion dollars in gross inflows and the gross outflows of 1.3 billion dollars for the month. "The recorded net inflows are smaller compared.....»»
September inflation settles at 5.3 to 6.1 percent — BSP
The country's headline inflation for September 2023 likely settled within the range of 5.3 to 6.1 percent mainly due to significant rises in rice and fuel costs, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said on Friday. Should this prediction materialize, August's inflation rate would surpass the central bank's target range of 2 to 4 percent for the 18th consecutive month. Additionally, this rate will reach the 5.3 percent headline inflation in August. The Philippine Statistics Authority is scheduled to unveil the consumer price index data for September on 5 October. "Higher prices of fuel, electricity, and key agricultural commodities, as well as the peso depreciation, are the primary sources of upward price pressures in September," BSP said. "Meanwhile, lower rice and meat prices could contribute to downward price pressures for the month," it added. BSP assured it will continue to monitor developments affecting the outlook for inflation and growth in line with its data-dependent approach to monetary policy formulation. The post September inflation settles at 5.3 to 6.1 percent — BSP appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Central banks in no rush to cut interest rates
Investors were hoping to hear central banks finally signal this week that they were close to being done raising interest rates in their battle against inflation. Instead, policymakers indicated that high rates are here for a while yet, with more hikes on the cards and few, if any, cuts in the near future. The US Federal Reserve set the tone on Wednesday when it paused its rate-hike campaign but caused a stir by leaving the door open to another increase before the end of the year. The central bank also unsettled investors by saying that only two cuts were expected next year instead of four as anticipated. The Fed has more room to keep its "hawkish" stance as the US economy has performed better than feared despite the rate increases. This firm position is shared by other central banks. Norway's rate hike Thursday was anticipated, but it also warned further tightening was "likely" in December, while ruling out any easing before next year. Growth or inflation This firm tone came "as a surprise to the markets," which have "decided that the peak" of rate hikes is "happening right now," HSBC economist Fabio Balboni told AFP, even though "central banks' communications leave the door open to the possibility to further hikes". It leaves "real uncertainty about the level of inflation next year", he said. Their decision "reflects a compromise between growth and inflation", he added. The rate hikes raise the cost of credit for businesses and consumers, which theoretically in turn reduces demand and inflationary pressures. But if demand slows too much, it runs the risk of triggering a recession. Faced with this dilemma, the European Central Bank (ECB) chose inflation-limiting measures, with a 10th consecutive rate hike. That took its benchmark rate to 4.0 percent, the highest since 1999. "We can't say we have peaked," ECB president Christine Lagarde said, although other officials indicated that the cycle of raising rates might be coming to a close. "Our future decisions will ensure that the key ECB interest rates will be set at sufficiently restrictive levels for as long as necessary," the bank's chief economist Philip Lane said Thursday in New York. Return to lower rates There are other signs, however, that rates are reaching their peak. The Bank of England on Thursday announced its first pause on raising rates since December 2021, following a slight decline in UK inflation in August. Switzerland and Japan -- like half of all central banks -- have also chosen to halt raising rates in the past 10 days. "We expect no more rate hikes in the future" for the US, England and Europe central banks, said Balboni. Jennifer McKeown of Capital Economics said she expected the last hikes to come in the fourth quarter, and that the easing cycle would take hold as 2024 approaches. "By this time next year, we anticipate that 21 out of the world's 30 major central banks will be cutting interest rates," she wrote. Although Balboni, taking a more measured stance, said "in the context of weak growth, it will be very complicated to reduce rates" while inflation remains "too high". Instead, he believes reductions to US rates won't be seen until the third quarter of 2024, while the rest of the world will have to wait until 2025 for rate relief. The post Central banks in no rush to cut interest rates appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
BSP maintains policy rate at 6.25%
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas maintained its policy rate at 6.25 percent on Thursday to control the rise in inflation due to the looming higher food and transportation costs. Consequently, BSP retained interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities at 5.75 percent and 6.75 percent, respectively. BSP said overall inflation might accelerate to 5.8 percent this year, up from its previous estimate of 5.6 percent and official level of 5.3 percent in August. The central bank also adjusted its inflation forecast upward to 3.5 percent from 3.3 percent for next year, while it kept initial projection of 3.4 percent for 2025. “The upward adjustments in the 2023 and 2024 projections reflect the spillovers from weather disturbances, rising global crude oil prices, and the recent depreciation of the peso” BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said. He said drought from El Niño might reduce agricultural supply which would force businesses to increase food prices to sustain their operations and fulfill customer orders. The weather bureau said El Niño might persist until the first quarter next year. Food as a major inflation growth driver comprises over 30 percent of all the items in the consumer price index. Rice prices recently rose to P60 per kilo, forcing the government to impose price caps for regular and well-milled rice. “No fireworks were seen from the BSP with the central bank simply maintaining its current policy stance. The BSP opted for another “hawkish hold” by keeping policy rates at 6.25 percent while maintaining readiness to hike should data conditions warrant further tightening,” according to Nicholas Mapa, ING senior economist for the Philippines. High global oil prices Remolona added transportation fares and electricity charges will also likely increase as the commodities’ providers aim to recoup losses from higher global oil prices. These have increased by 15 percent over 11 weeks and amid the persisting war between oil exporting countries Russia and Ukraine. With its previous rate hikes of up to 425 basis points post-pandemic, BSP said consumption of certain goods and services has tempered, resulting in lower inflation rates in recent months from a peak of 8.7 percent in January. “At the same time, the BSP Monetary Board noted that recent indicators of domestic economic activity pointed to waning pent-up demand, even as the impact of prior monetary policy tightening continues to weigh on credit,” Remolona said. BSP said inflation would decelerate to government target of 2 percent to 4 percent in the last quarter of this year as long as supply issues do not surface. However, Remolona said the central bank’s Monetary Board is ready to increase its policy rate when supply shocks occur, especially of rice. To prevent rice supply issues, Remolona said the board supports the reduction of 35 percent tariff on rice imported from the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Department of Finance suggests lowering the tariff to 0 percent to 10 percent depending on local rice production data. “The Monetary Board also reiterated the need for non-monetary interventions, including the temporary reduction of import tariffs with calibrated volumes and timely arrival of import commodities,” he said. The post BSP maintains policy rate at 6.25% appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Nina Lim-Yuson — A lifetime of girl scouting
The president of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines, Nina Lim-Yuson, grew up in a family and home of Girl Scouts. Her grandmother, Pilar Hidalgo-Lim, was one of the co-founders of the GSP. “It was actually my Lola Pilar who suggested to Josefa Llanes Escoda, the GSP founder, to go to America to learn about girl scouting.” This tidbit of history, Nina shared in an online interview with the DAILY TRIBUNE. Pilar Hidalgo-Lim became GSP president, and so did Nina’s mother, Estefania Aldaba-Lim, who served as secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Nina’s sister too, the eminent broadcast journalist, Cheche Lazaro, was a Girl Scout. Coming from a lineage of women achievers, Nina could not have chosen a different path. It was scouting that formally introduced the family to social responsibility, skills development and citizenship. Her brothers were also Boy Scouts. “I started when I was six years old and it was my Lola Pilar who inducted me as a Brownie. It used to be called Brownie because we were still using the American pattern,” she related. She belonged to Troop Number One, the first to be organized by the GSP national headquarters. In high school at the Jose Abad Santos Memorial School of the Philippine Women’s University, she became a junior and later a senior Girl Scout. College would briefly end her Girl Scouting as she focused on her studies. Along the way, she also danced with the Bayanihan Folk Dance Company. It was not unexpected that she would return to scouting, her first love, and her first extra-curricular activity. For the last 36 years, she has been active in various organizations and volunteer work. She founded the Museong Pambata. She is a recipient of The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service and is active in its various social development efforts. What Nina brings to her post is the legacy of leadership that had been passed on to her through generations of women leaders in the family. “My Lola Pilar was my idol. She was such a nice person and I never knew her totally as a president. I knew her more as a loving lola from all the stories she related when we rode up to Baguio. “My mother, on the other hand, was the opposite. She was very career-minded. I learned naman from her a lot of things, like being thrifty and having a list of things to do. In terms of organization, she was like that. Because she was in government. And, you know, when we started Museo, while it was actually my concept, I learned a lot from her. She would call me up at 5 o’clock in the morning and she would rattle off what needed to be done, like ‘number one, number two and so on.’ That was her. And I’m glad that I worked with her for six years in Museo. She was the president and I was the executive director for six years. I took over in 2000 as president and chief executive officer. And then, I stepped down in 2017.” Girl Scouts who read and tell stories Nina was elected president of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines for the term 2021-2024 during its 2021 national convention. From day one, she shared, “My purpose was to reach out to the community-based troops because we have always been school-based. Many young women now have social problems so we need to reach out to the communities through our community-based troops.” Also on top of her priorities is literacy development, a cause that she addressed even in the Museo Pambata. She explained, “My advocacy has always been education. So, I was very concerned because the Asian Development Bank reported in 2022 that the World Bank found out that our Filipino children at ages 9 and 10 cannot read. So, I felt that because girl scouting is all over the country, with 96 local councils, the organization could serve as a vehicle for improving literacy in our country. “We started the Girl Scout Storyteller project because storytelling affects the heart first before the mind. When young people start with storytelling, they will love the stories and then the written word. They would then want to read. “We now have storytelling in economically challenged communities and we have partners. We sent out 2,500 books throughout the country with the help of our partner couriers.” Initially, she sought the help of her family foundation “to give a donation. I also sought the help of Ging Montinola, who is into literacy development. Together, we founded the literacy program. We are building this fund to cover the cost of buying children’s books. We will have a storytelling contest next year.” Raising funds for Camp Escoda Nina then shifted the conversation to another major endeavor that she is spearheading as GSP president — fundraising for the 27-hectare Camp Josefa Llanes Escoda in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija, which was donated by the provincial government during the term of Governor Amado Aleta, the father of consul and civic leader Fortune Ledesma. “Palayan is beautiful because it has rolling hills, but it doesn’t have electrical and water facilities and roadworks. It doesn’t have a swimming pool, and it’s so hot in Nueva Ecija. It also does not have a conference hall. This is a big one-time fundraising project because it’s for the future of the girls who are going to the camp. Because as of now, if you go camping there, you have to walk up the hills to get your drinking water. You have to make buhos to take a bath.” She recalled, “In my time as a young Girl Scout, which was of another era, we had to walk in the dark to fetch water to fill up two drums. I was so scared because there were tuko in Los Baños. That taught me to be courageous. Camps really build up your lifetime skills and attitude. Camping is very integral in girl scouting and boy scouting. So, this camp will serve a purpose. It just needs various basic facilities to make it world-class and convenient with the proper amenities, but the girls will continue to learn all those survival techniques and appreciate nature right on the camp.” She praised architect Pippo Carunungan, “who is an environmental planner. He surveyed the site and drew up everything. It will be a beautiful camp, he said, because it’s a gift of nature.” First Lady as Chief Girl Scout Nina recently led the Girl Scouts in a fundraising ball attended by the “First Lady, Liza Araneta-Marcos, who is our Chief Girl Scout. It’s mandated in the GSP constitution that whoever is the female president of the country or the First Lady is the Chief Girl Scout. In the past, we had Imelda Marcos, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. All the first ladies were all Chief Girl Scouts. “Mrs. Liza Marcos spoke before us and she promised to help. She said, ‘We will make it the best campsite.’ Everyone was excited to see her and she obliged everyone who asked to have selfie with her. She is very friendly. She is really a Girl Scout.” Nina shared, “A generous couple is sponsoring the swimming pool at P6 million, while a gentleman entrepreneur is sponsoring the perimeter fence at P1.5 million. Many other businessmen and leaders have pledged to help build this dream GSP project. “We really need to raise about 50 million to have a very good camp. But when the First Lady heard about it, she said, ‘It has to be P250 million.’ But, really, when we have the funds, we can have deep toilets that have running water instead of tabo-tabo. Since we have a little Pampanga river that runs across the camp, we can build a bridge that crosses it and then the girls can have white-water rafting there in the Pampanga river. “Camp Escoda will be a very important and significant venue for our Girl Scouts to gather, bond, learn new skills and develop as morally upright citizens of the country and the world. It is especially so because camping is integral in any Girl Scout’s life. If you don’t have camping, it’s like half of your scouting life is missing. Every Girl Scout remembers that time of her youth. And being the national camp, it will welcome Girl Scouts representing the 96 councils from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao who will participate in various events and trainings.” Girl Scouts of all ages As GSP president, Nina travels to various parts of the country. “We have regional conferences aside from the meeting of the Central Board when regional heads and executives come to Manila. “I had just come from Baguio where I stayed for two-and-a-half days. I met our young Girl Scout representatives from ages 14 to 18. I enjoyed listening to them and exchanging ideas with them. I am so happy that we have a wealth of intelligent girls who want to serve the country. They are the ones who are going to take over. “It’s amazing that GSP is no longer limited to old people on the board. We finally have young ones on the board. Our Escoda committee is headed by Jade Delgado from Iloilo. Then we have Justine Bautista. She’s a psychometrician. She heads the Program Committee, which is a big committee because when we were in Baguio, we had 86 girls from all the councils throughout the country. Many of them are running for SK. “So, in my 70s now, which I don’t feel at all, I don’t take any medicines or something like that. Being with young people is what inspires me. Because at 15, 16 or 17, they already know that they have some kind of a mission.” Nina proudly shared that the venue of the Baguio conference, 'Ating Tahanan' on the South Drive was bought during the tenure of my Lola Pilar. We have four buildings there, including the houses of Senator and actor Rogelio de la Rosa and Carlos Valdes, the accountant. Lola Pilar, according to Carlos Valdes, twisted his arm to get a low price. I’m so thankful for all those who preceded me because they bought these places. It’s on South Drive which is so valuable. We even have a reserved forest behind us.” As she looks forward to the next camping and gets even busier raising funds for Camp Escoda, Nina feels elated that “every one of us in the Girl Scouts has been together in our various undertakings. The nice thing is we are now intergenerational because we try to bring in the old with experience, institutional memory and their wisdom born of their long life, and the young who are full of enthusiasm, energy and new ideas.” A star scout for a granddaughter While Nina does her part for the bright future of girl scouting in the country, her personal family too has not stopped contributing to the roster of members to this worldwide organization. Today, a granddaughter of hers, seven-year-old Rocio Yuson de Guzman, is a Star Scout. She is the daughter of Nina’s daughter, Nicky. No grandmother could have been prouder. Nina said, “Rufio loves being a star scout. When I arrived from the recent world conference in Cyprus, I came back with some badges and I gave some to Rufio who is very proud of the little badges that I got for her.” For sure, Nina will pass on not just the badges to Rufio. More importantly, she will give her granddaughter the once-in-one’s-childhood experience of being a Girl Scout and learning “the values that are identified in the Girl Scout Promise and Laws. I think that while there is so much to enjoy and learn, it is the inculcation of these values that would mold her into a well-rounded human being. As we all know, a Girl Scout’s honor is to be trusted. A Girl Scout is loyal, thrifty, courteous… and so on. It’s like a mantra -- the values that one lives by. “I have reached that point when it is not about success or what one accumulates in life, whether awards or accomplishments or material things. It is more about what I can share and scouting gives me that honor and privilege — to do my part in helping mold our young girls and making them aware even at an early age that they have a mission and worthy purpose in life. It is not just about being good and outstanding on your own but it is also about helping others to become better in what they’re doing and live better lives. “And I need not look far. As a grandmother, I dote on my Star Scout granddaughter, Rufio. There’s a world out there for her to discover and in which she has a role to play and use the skills and values she will learn from scouting.” The post Nina Lim-Yuson — A lifetime of girl scouting appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Argentina monthly inflation highest in three decades
Argentina recorded an inflation rate of 12.4 percent in August, the highest monthly change in over three decades in a country dogged by chronic economic instability, its statistics agency said Wednesday. Prices also rose 124 percent over the past 12 months, according to a report by the Indec agency published a little over a month before general elections. "There is nothing, no money to save. We live day to day," said teacher Karina Sablich, while doing her grocery shopping. Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who is running for president, said Wednesday that "August has been one of the worst months... of the past 30 years" for Argentina's economy, blaming an "imposition by the International Monetary Fund." The increase in inflation had been expected after the peso was devalued by 21 percent in August, which had been agreed with the IMF in order to unblock part of a $44 billion loan package. The last time monthly inflation hit double digits was in April 2002, when it stood at 10.4 percent. Prior to that, the highest monthly rate was recorded at 27 percent in February 1991. The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages saw the highest jump in August, at 15.6 percent. "An anti-inflationary plan is needed, but obviously that won't happen until" a new government takes over in December, said economist Victor Beker, from the University of Belgrano. 'The saddest thing' Argentines are no stranger to inflation woes, with several periods of hyperinflation in the late eighties and early nineties, which reached up to 3,000 percent. To exit that crisis, the government pegged the currency to the US dollar, but a worsening economic situation made that untenable by 2001. When the peso was uncoupled from the greenback, its value plummeted, causing a run on banks as people's savings were wiped out, and deadly social unrest. A few days after that devaluation, Argentina defaulted on its foreign debt, further deepening its economic and social crisis. Since then, Argentina has battled with boom and bust cycles, inflation, currency devaluations, and debt restructuring. "We continue despite everything, knowing that for now, things are not going to change," said the teacher Sablich. "That's the saddest thing about being in this country right now, the uncertainty, that we don't know how we're going to get out, who's going to get us out, how we're going to do it." 'A disgrace' Many weary Argentines are backing a radical political outsider in October's presidential race. Buenos Aires lawmaker Javier Milei, who has vowed to dynamite the central bank and dollarize the economy, in August scored the most votes in a joint primary election between all parties, seen as a litmus test for the main vote. His main rivals will be former security minister Patricia Bullrich on the right, and economy minister Massa from the ruling center-left coalition. Bullrich slammed the inflation figures on social media as "a disgrace," saying they "summed up the tragedy" left by Massa and the rest of the government. Massa, scrambling to ease the pressure on citizens' pockets, on Monday announced an increase in the minimum taxable monthly income to 1.7 million pesos ($4,850 official rate, $2300 on the parallel market). This is double the previous amount, and would leave fewer than 800,000 people in the country of 45 million paying income tax, Massa said. The post Argentina monthly inflation highest in three decades appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
UBS’s Credit Suisse takeover, ‘deal of the century’?
Did banking giant UBS make "the deal of the century" when it bought one of the world's biggest banks for a pittance as it teetered on the edge of the abyss? Switzerland's largest bank was in March strong-armed by Swiss authorities into a $3.25-billion takeover of Credit Suisse, to keep its closest domestic rival from going under. At the time, investors gasped at the risks UBS was taking on with the purchase. But by August, the bank said it would not need the billions in support offered by the Swiss government and central bank to offset any surprises that might pop up in its stricken rival's accounts. That must mean that Credit Suisse's situation was "much better than described in March", Thomas Aeschi, a member of parliament with the populist rightwing Swiss People's Party (SVP), wrote on X, formerly Twitter. UBS seemed to prove him right when it unveiled its second-quarter results on August 31. The bank posted a towering net profit of $29.2 billion for the three-month period, thanks to an exceptional gain due to the gulf between the amount paid for Credit Suisse and its book value. 'Godsend' "UBS has pulled off the deal of the century," Switzerland's Socialist Party said, maintaining the "rescue" was more of a "godsend", allowing it to snatch up a bank at a dramatically reduced rate. "If we had chosen another path, (like) a temporary or partial nationalization," said Samuel Bendahan, a Socialist MP and economics professor at the University of Lausanne, the Swiss state "would have taken on the risk, but those $29 billion would have gone to the population". Instead, the takeover has created "a monopolistic situation", he told AFP, warning that while this might strengthen UBS, it puts Switzerland in an extremely risky position if the new mega-bank were to one day face a crisis. Politicians are not the only ones taking issue with the takeover. Gisele Vlietstra, founder of the Swiss Investor Protection Association, told public broadcaster RTS that UBS's towering quarterly profit confirms that the "intrinsic value" of Credit Suisse was "far higher" than the purchase price. She said she hoped that the lawsuits brought by her association and others on behalf of thousands of Credit Suisse shareholders will help determine "the correct value" that they should be compensated. 'Nickel and dime' "UBS paid a nickel and dime" and "got rid of its main competitor" in one fell swoop, Carlo Lombardini, a lawyer and banking law professor at Lausanne University, told AFP. The coming restructuring will clearly carry risks, "but having paid just three billion, it can't go wrong", he said, slamming the option chosen by the Swiss authorities. Like UBS, Credit Suisse was listed among 30 international banks deemed too big to fail because of their importance in the global banking architecture. But the collapse of three US regional lenders in March left the firm looking like the next weakest link in the chain. The Swiss government feared Credit Suisse would have quickly defaulted and triggered a global crisis, shredding Switzerland's reputation for sound banking. But its chosen option for dealing with the issue was certainly a boon to UBS, which will now swell to manage $5 trillion of invested assets. Confidence 'evaporated' UBS chief Sergio Ermotti acknowledged in a recent interview with the SonntagsZeitung weekly that the bank had been "worried" about its competitor since 2016, and had among other things looked into the possibilities of buying it, for fear a foreign lender might snap it up. He acknowledged that Credit Suisse may have survived for a time if the central bank had injected more cash, "but it would not have been enough, since confidence had evaporated". Since the takeover announcement in March, UBS has seen its share price soar 31 percent. But the bank still faces significant challenges, Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti told AFP. The $29 billion "is a huge one-off gain, but this is just accounting", he said, stressing that "the losses and costs will come later". The analyst, who a few months ago wondered in a note whether UBS had secured "the deal of the decade or a decade of headaches", stressed that "it's going to be a huge task". He said it would only become clear "whether it was worth it" after most of the restructuring is done three years down the line. Parts of the business are continuing to "produce huge losses", he said, warning "many things can still go wrong". Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya agreed, recalling that "UBS was forced" into the merger. Now it is up to the bank to "transform an 'obligation' to its advantage". The post UBS’s Credit Suisse takeover, ‘deal of the century’? appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»