FUNDING to boost lending by government financial institutions (GFIs) has been reduced to P10 billion from the original P55 billion in a committee-level decision made on House Bill (HB) No. 7749, the panel’s chairman said.

THE Trade department said it is once again looking into possible participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

THE ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) said it lowered the threshold for participating in the retail competition and open access (RCOA) scheme to users with average monthly peak demand of between 500 kW (kilowatts) and 749 kW in the past year.

THE year 2020 rendered sports activities limited because of the coronavirus pandemic, but Filipino athletes still managed to squeeze in some action internationally and actually did well — particularly the women.

LUKA Doncic had 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and the Dallas Mavericks set an National Basketball Association (NBA) record for the largest halftime lead in the shot-clock era in a 124-73 win at the Los Angeles (LA) Clippers on Sunday afternoon.

WHILE the ongoing episode with the coronavirus pandemic has effectively halted affairs of various forms, nonprofit and nongovernment organization Football for Humanity (FFH) has been resilient, determined to see its vision of inspiring people through despite the prevailing challenges.

FROM INTEREST RATES to fashion, pandemics in the past — like the Black Death in the 14th century — have left deep imprints on economic life. This time may be no different. In the aftermath of the coronavirus, governments can reimagine capitalism by giving all of us a stake in the most valuable byproduct of our day-to-day living: data. But make no mistake. It will still be a Faustian bargain.

Here is my modest list of the major economic events of the year.

Flood can be very terrifying if you live near rivers. Though called in much literature as a source of life, rivers can actually take lives when they overflow. Rivers carry many risks, especially when there is heavy rainfall and overtopping happens. When there is too much water because of very high volume of rainfall, water can burst the river banks, causing dry areas to be flooded.

PALM BEACH, Fla./WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump on Sunday signed into law a $2.3-trillion pandemic aid and spending package, restoring unemployment benefits to millions of Americans and averting a federal government shutdown in a crisis of his own making.

LONDON — Britain will ban “buy one get one free” promotions for food high in fat, sugar or salt and free refills of sugary soft drinks in restaurants from April 2022, the government said on Monday, its latest step in its plan to tackle obesity and improve public health.

SHANGHAI — A Chinese court handed a four-year jail term on Monday to a citizen-journalist who reported from the central city of Wuhan at the peak of last year’s coronavirus outbreak, on grounds of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” her lawyer said.