Term deposit yields mixed on weak demand due to ongoing RTB offer

August 7, 2025 | 12:02 am

YIELDS on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) term deposits were mixed on Wednesday, with the one-week tenor going undersubscribed for a second straight week as the government’s ongoing retail Treasury bond (RTB) offer likely cornered some of the market’s excess liquidity.

The central bank’s term deposit facility (TDF) fetched bids amounting to P103.771 billion, higher than the P100 billion placed on the auction block and the P88.578 billion for the same volume offered a week earlier. However, the BSP only awarded P88.846 billion in papers as the one-week deposits were undersubscribed.

Broken down, tenders for the seven-day term deposits stood at only P38.846 billion, lower than the P50 billion placed on the auction block but higher than the P31.69 billion in bids seen last week for the same offer volume. The BSP accepted all the submitted bids for the tenor.

Accepted yields were from 5.23% to 5.265%, unchanged from the margin seen the week prior. However, the weighted average accepted rate for the one-week deposits inched up by 0.28 basis point (bp) to 5.2549% from 5.2521% previously.

Meanwhile, the 14-day papers attracted P64.925 billion in bids, well above the P50 billion auctioned off by the BSP and the P56.888 billion in tenders fetched last week for the same offer volume. The central bank fully awarded P50 billion in two-week deposits.

Banks asked for yields ranging from 5.265% to 5.305%, narrower than the 5.25% to 5.33% margin seen last week. This caused the average rate of the 14-day deposits to decline by 1.08 bps to 5.2901% from 5.3009% previously.

The BSP has not auctioned off 28-day term deposits for nearly five years to give way to its weekly offerings of securities with the same tenor.

Both the TDF and BSP bills are used by the central bank to mop up excess liquidity in the financial system and to better guide market rates towards the policy rate.

“The BSP TDF auction yields were mixed after being slightly lower for most weeks over the past three months in view of the ongoing RTB offering that could be siphoning some of the excess liquidity in the financial system,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

The National Government raised an initial P210 billion via its latest RTB offering at the rate-setting auction held on Tuesday, well above the P30-billion program.

The public offer period for the five-year retail bonds that have a coupon rate of 6% will run until Aug. 15, unless closed earlier by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr). Settlement is on Aug. 20.

Mr. Ricafort added that TDF yields were little changed following the release of data showing that Philippine inflation slowed to 0.9% in July that could justify further monetary easing by the BSP, with a third straight rate cut likely as early as this month.

Headline inflation eased to 0.9% in July from 1.4% in June and the 4.4% clip in the same month a year ago, the government reported on Tuesday.

This was the lowest consumer price index (CPI) in nearly six years or since the 0.6% print posted in October 2019. It also marked the fifth straight month that inflation settled below the central bank’s 2-4% target range.

The July print was within the BSP’s 0.5%-1.3% forecast for the month, but below the 1.2% median estimate yielded in a BusinessWorld poll of 17 analysts conducted last week.

For the first seven months of the year, the CPI averaged 1.7%, a tad higher than the BSP’s 1.6% full-year forecast.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. told Bloomberg on Tuesday that the benign July inflation reading makes a rate cut “more likely” at the Monetary Board’s Aug. 28 meeting.

“Something unexpected would have to happen for us not to cut rates,” Mr. Remolona said. That will likely be followed by another reduction in the fourth quarter, the governor said.

After this month’s review, the Monetary Board’s remaining meetings for this year are scheduled for Oct. 9 and Dec. 11.

With inflation this year likely to average below the central bank’s 2-4% goal and within that range in 2026, it gives the BSP leeway to further lower borrowing costs “as long as the numbers look good, inflation remains low and the economy can still afford” more easing, he said.

“You can still cut some more,” the governor said, while adding that any decision now on the central bank’s rate path would be premature. “There’s so many things going on globally. There’s less certainty about the global economy.”

The Monetary Board has slashed benchmark borrowing costs by a total of 50 bps this year via two consecutive 25-bp cuts in April and June, with the policy rate now at 5.25%. This brought cumulative reductions since August 2024 to 125 bps. — Katherine K. Chan with Bloomberg

Dining In/Out (08/07/25)

August 7, 2025 | 12:02 am

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Oatside brings down prices

OATSIDE has lowered its suggested retail prices (SRP) by as much as 25% with the goal of making healthy oat milk available to more people. Consumers can now find the one-liter Barista Blend at P120 SRP, and the 200-mL Original variant at P29 SRP in supermarkets or P34 SRP in convenience stores. The price drop has taken effect across all major retailers nationwide. “The oat milk category in the past has had relatively higher prices. As we have scaled over the last three years, we’ve worked hard to find efficiencies through our supply chain and we are passing these savings on to consumers as part of our mission to make oat milk a staple in more households,” said Benedict Lim, founder and chief executive officer of Oatside, in a statement. “While the prices are new, there has been no change to our product formula and Oatside has the same creamy, malty taste you’re used to, made with roasted oats and our proprietary enzyme extraction process. Oatside’s oat milks are lower in sugar, lactose-free, contain no cholesterol, and have similar levels of calcium as dairy milk per serving.” The price reductions are effective across major supermarkets, groceries, and convenience stores nationwide. For more information, visit the website at https://oatside.com.

Discovery Samal introduces The Bistro

DISCOVERY SAMAL opens The Bistro, a refined dining concept nestled beside its villa pool. The Bistro’s menu features globally inspired cuisine and island freshness, offering selections such as Taste of Italy for its pasta selections, Gourmet Plates for the mains, Curated Meats for the steak selection, and Sweet Endings for the desserts. Starters include USDA Prime Beef Carpaccio or Gratinated Angel Hair Scallops. The Taste of Italy selection highlights options such as the Classic Cheese Wheel Carbonara or Cream Cheese and Portobello Lasagna, while the Gourmet Plates present items such as Surf n Turf (Lobster Tail Thermidor with USDA Prime Tenderloin), Sous Vide Pork Chop, Herb Cruster Rack of Lamb, or Herb and Feta Chicken Roulade. The Curated Meats selection features grilled steaks and slow-roasted specialties. Desserts range from Rose Water Chocolate Mousse, Malagos Chocolate Lava Cake, Flaming Baked Alaska, and Classic Crepe Suzette. The Bistro also boasts a wide wine selection. The Bistro at Discovery Samal is open daily for lunch from noon to 2 p.m. and dinner from 6 to 10 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome, but reservations are recommended. For more information, visit www.discoverysamal.com/dining/the-bistro.

Kenny Rogers presents new Chipotle Double Dippers

KENNY ROGERS Roasters is making double-dipping acceptable with its new creation: Chipotle Double Dippers — dip once for flavor, dip twice for crunch. This offering brings together flavor and texture. The Chipotle Double Dippers Roast Whole Roasted Chicken is marinated in chipotle spices, served with salsa and crunchy BBQ sprinkles for added flavor and crunch. It’s also available as the Chipotle Double Dippers Solo B (chicken, served with salsa and crunchy BBQ sprinkles, two side dishes, a muffin, and rice), Chipotle Double Dippers Ribs, and Chipotle Double Dippers Salsa and Sprinkles (tomato-based salsa made with garlic and herbs paired with crunchy sprinkles). The Chipotle Double Dippers will be available for dine-in, take-out, or delivery. Customers can order online at www.kennysrogersdelivery.com.ph, via Grab Food, Food Panda, or by calling the hotline: 8-555-9000.

OpenAI releases open-weight reasoning language models optimized to run on laptops

August 7, 2025 | 12:02 am

SAN FRANCISCO — OpenAI said on Tuesday it has released two open-weight language models that excel in advanced reasoning and are optimized to run on laptops with performance levels similar to its smaller proprietary reasoning models.

An open-weight language model’s trained parameters or weights are publicly accessible, which can be used by developers to analyze and fine-tune the model for specific tasks without requiring original training data.

“One of the things that is unique about open models is that people can run them locally. People can run them behind their own firewall, on their own infrastructure,” OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman said in a press briefing.

Open-weight language models are different from open-source models, which provide access to the complete source code, training data and methodologies.

Separately, Amazon announced OpenAI’s open-weight models are now available on its Bedrock generative artificial intelligence (AI) marketplace in Amazon Web Services (AWS). It marks the first time an OpenAI model has been offered on Bedrock, said Atul Deo, Bedrock’s director of product.

“OpenAI has been developing great models and we believe that these models are going to be great open-source options, or open-weight model options for customers,” said Mr. Deo, in an interview. He declined to discuss any contractual arrangements between AWS and OpenAI.

Amazon shares tumbled last week after the company reported slowing growth in its AWS unit, particularly compared with rivals.

The landscape of open-weight and open-source AI models has been highly contested this year. For a time, Meta’s Llama models were considered the best, but that changed earlier this year when China’s DeepSeek released a powerful and cost-effective reasoning model, while Meta struggled to deliver Llama 4.

The two new OpenAI models are the first open models OpenAI has released since GPT-2, which was released in 2019.

OpenAI’s larger model, gpt-oss-120b, can run on a single GPU, and the second, gpt-oss-20b, is small enough to run directly on a personal computer, the company said.

OpenAI said the models have similar performance to its proprietary reasoning models called o3-mini and o4-mini, and especially excel at coding, competition math and health-related queries.

The models were trained on a text-only dataset which in addition to general knowledge, focused on science, math and coding knowledge. OpenAI did not release benchmarks comparing the open-weight models to competitors’ models such as the DeepSeek-R1 model.

Microsoft-backed OpenAI, currently valued at $300 billion, is currently raising up to $40 billion in a new funding round led by Softbank Group. — Reuters

PXP draws $600,000 loan from Philex Mining, Kirtman

August 7, 2025 | 12:02 am

UPSTREAM oil and gas firm PXP Energy Corp. has tapped a $600,000 (P34.6 million) loan from Philex Mining Corp. and Kirtman Ltd., both shareholders of the company, to finance its working capital.

PXP borrowed $300,000 each from Philex and Kirtman, with the loan carrying an interest rate of LIBOR plus a 3.5% margin per annum, the Pangilinan-led firm said in a stock exchange disclosure on Wednesday.

“The proceeds of these notes will be used to partially fund the group’s working capital at least during the next 12 months,” the company said.

Philex, another Pangilinan-led firm, holds a 30.4% interest in PXP.

For the second quarter, PXP posted a wider attributable net loss of P13.37 million, compared with P6.55 million in the same period last year, amid lower revenues and higher expenses.

Petroleum revenues declined by 22.9% to P12.82 million, while costs and expenses rose by 14.6% to P25.21 million.

Last week, PXP said it subscribed to an additional 131.56 million ordinary shares in Canada-based FEC Resources, Inc., effectively raising its stake to 81.25% from 78.39%.

FEC holds a 6.8% interest in Forum Energy Ltd. (FEL), the designated operator of Service Contract 72 Recto Bank, an offshore petroleum license located off the western coast of Palawan in the West Philippine Sea.

At the local bourse on Wednesday, shares of the company declined by 0.42% to P2.35 apiece. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Job Gains by Industry

August 7, 2025 | 12:02 am

PHILIPPINE unemployment eased to 3.7% in June, as more Filipinos found job opportunities during the month, according to the local statistics agency. Read the full story.

The doctor is in

August 7, 2025 | 12:01 am

smiling-asian-doctor-nurse-writing-down-clipboard-standing-medical-uniform-blue-backgroun — STOCK PHOTO | Image by Benzoix from Freepik

IT CAN be just a recurring headache that you complain about occasionally. Somebody tired of this griping may suggest — why don’t you see a doctor?

Which doctor to see is determined by referrals from friends including relatives in the medical profession. The specialization is supposed to match the discomfort being experienced — I have this sense of vertigo every time I wake up and check my bank deposit balance online.

Seeing a doctor for consultation is seldom time-bound the way a business meeting or even a social gathering usually is. A confirmed appointment to see the doctor needs to be given some leeway in terms of precision. A one-hour delay from the expected medical consultation’s end is routine. So, it’s best not to schedule anything else two hours after the expected end of the visit.

The doctor does not have full control of his schedule, except perhaps when planning for his vacation out of the country. Who can predict when some patient will need his services immediately or how long that will take? (Can you just come back on Thursday?)

Only doctors involved in optional procedures like a dental implant or stem cell treatment can have a more predictable schedule. Also, doctors in demand usually hold clinic hours in different hospitals and at different days and times. They may be in one of the designated venues, diagnosing a difficult case which can overlap with the start time of the next clinic stop.

The first-time consultation with a doctor seldom connotes urgency. So, queueing protocols follow the same one for taxis and airport check-ins, using the first-come-first-served model, including those who arrive before the actual clinic hours and log in, before taking their breakfast downstairs.

When the secretary takes your weight, height, and blood pressure, you are sure to be next in line. Is the blood pressure above normal? It must be the result of the “white coat syndrome.” This psychological anxiety comes from the mere sight of a doctor and what possible diagnosis he will render. The worst-case scenarios are always at the top of the mind.

The time speeds up as soon as the receptionist calls out your name — the doctor will see you now. Here at last is the person one waited to see.

There is no time for small talk on the traffic or distant relatives. The doctor checks the blood pressure taken by the secretary. Then it’s straight to the questions about the complaint and how long this has been going on. There follows the obligatory stethoscope procedure. (Breathe deeply. Hold it. Exhale.)

A seemingly healthy individual, walking on his own and not being wheeled in with a trailing dextrose bottle, but still needing to see a medical specialist, must be asked what his problem is. The interview, which is what the initial consultation is all about, delves on complaints, observed disorders, and particular pains that recur.

Maybe the doctor asks the patient to stand up for a cursory physical examination or even lie down on a bed — please pull your pants up. More questions and answers follow. A possible scenario is discussed on ailments and procedures that will need to be considered. And then, like a power point presentation, the last slide calls for “next steps.” These are written down for the patient or his companion to handle.

There are instructions given on medicines and tests that need to be taken to have a proper diagnosis of the ailment. A list is provided without the corresponding costs. These tests may include blood sampling, MRI, maybe a treadmill session.

Are you sleeping well? Do you snore? (The wife is asked for her inputs.) There may be a sleep test that may indicate an undiscovered case of sleep apnea. The need for equipment and medication may follow.

The patient then goes out to pay the consultation fee to the receptionist, net of the senior discount. She then calls for the next one in line — the doctor will see you now.

On the second visit, this time with the test results in hand, comes the dreaded comment from the doctor — I have some good news and bad news. (Which one do you want to hear first?)

Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

Peso up on BSP intervention signals

August 7, 2025 | 12:01 am

THE PESO appreciated against the dollar on Wednesday after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) chief said they would actively intervene in the foreign exchange market to manage sharp swings in the currency.

The local unit closed at P57.475 per dollar, strengthening by 15.5 centavos from its P57.63 finish on Tuesday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

The peso opened Wednesday’s session a tad stronger at P57.60 against the dollar. Its worst showing was at P57.78, while its intraday best was at P57.41 against the greenback.

Dollars exchanged climbed to $2.49 billion on Wednesday from $2.11 billion on Tuesday.

The local unit rebounded against the dollar after BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said the central bank would intervene more forcefully in the market during extended periods of peso weakness due to its effect on inflation, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

“The dollar-peso closed lower as the market responded to the BSP governor’s comment saying the central bank will intervene more forcefully on peso weakness,” a trader likewise said in a phone interview.

For Thursday, the trader sees the peso moving between P57.20 and P57.60 per dollar, while Mr. Ricafort expects it to range from P57.35 to P57.65.

Mr. Remolona told Bloomberg on Tuesday that the BSP is intervening more forcefully during periods of extended peso weakness as part of a new strategy, gradually moving away from day-to-day intervention.

The BSP adopted a new formula that determines the magnitude of peso losses that require stronger intervention to curb price pressures, Mr. Remolona said in an interview Tuesday. He declined to elaborate on the formula.

The BSP used to intervene to smoothen day-to-day volatility, the BSP chief said. “We now understand there are thresholds: a depreciation of the peso doesn’t cause inflation to go up until it’s enough of a depreciation,” he said.

The governor also said “there’s a risk” of the local currency dropping again to the record low of P59 per dollar given the peso’s volatility though he said authorities aren’t worried about specific levels. — A.M.C. Sy with Bloomberg

Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars lead nominees for MTV Video Music Awards

August 7, 2025 | 12:01 am

Lady-Gaga,-Bruno-Mars---Die-With-A-Smile-(Official-Music-Video) — Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga in the music video for the song “Die With A Smile.” — YOUTUBE.COM/LADYGAGA

LOS ANGELES — Pop singer Lady Gaga and her “Die With A Smile” collaborator Bruno Mars landed at the top of the list of nominees announced on Tuesday for this year’s MTV Video Music Awards (VMA).

Gaga scored 12 nominations, including artist of the year and best album for Mayhem. Mars received 11 nods for “Die With A Smile,” his Grammy-winning song with Gaga, and for “APT.,” a duet with K-pop sensation Rose.

Both Mars collaborations will compete for video of the year against “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish, the Kendrick Lamar diss track “Not Like Us,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” and others.

Superstars Beyoncé and Taylor Swift both received nominations for artist of the year. The two women have the most career VMA awards with 30 each. Other nominees in the category are Lamar, Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny, country singer Morgan Wallen, and Canadian pop star The Weeknd.

The VMAs began airing on MTV in 1984 and became known for memorable moments such as an onstage kiss between Madonna and Britney Spears and Lady Gaga’s appearance in a raw meat dress.

Fans can vote online in 19 of this year’s categories. Winners will be announced on Sept. 7 at a ceremony broadcast live from New York on the CBS network.

New categories were added this year for best country video and best pop artist.

The nominees for country video include “Think I’m in Love with You” by Chris Stapleton, “Liar” by Jelly Roll, and Wallen’s “Smile.”

Carpenter, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and Tate McRae are among those in the running for pop artist. — Reuters

Senators ask US to probe data security issues with DeepSeek

August 7, 2025 | 12:01 am

A GROUP of seven Republican US senators on Tuesday asked the Commerce department to evaluate potential data security vulnerabilities posed by Chinese open-source artificial intelligence (AI) models like DeepSeek.

The senators led by Ted Budd and include Jon Husted, Todd Young, John Cornyn, John Curtis, Bill Cassidy and Marsha Blackburn want the Commerce department to detail any threats from data collected by applications being fed back to Chinese servers or whether the AI models are feeding American personal or enterprise data to China’s military or to companies with Chinese military ties.

The letter also asks for details on “any findings related to how Chinese open-source models may have improperly accessed export-controlled semiconductors or violated use terms of US models to advance their capabilities.”

Senators have introduced bipartisan pieces of legislation to prohibit DeepSeek from operating on any federal government devices or networks and to prohibit federal contractors from using DeepSeek in government contracts.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in January it appeared DeepSeek had misappropriated US AI technology and vowed to impose restrictions.

The Commerce department did not immediately comment.

In June, Reuters reported DeepSeek is aiding China’s military and intelligence operations, citing a senior US official, adding that the Chinese tech startup sought to use Southeast Asian shell companies to access high-end semiconductors that cannot be shipped to China under US rules.

The US conclusions reflect a growing conviction in Washington that the capabilities behind the rapid rise of one of China’s flagship AI enterprises may have been exaggerated and relied heavily on US technology.

Hangzhou-based DeepSeek sent shockwaves through the technology world in January, saying its AI reasoning models were on par with or better than US industry-leading models at a fraction of the cost. — Reuters

DMCI Q2 income drops 27% to P4.02B on weaker core units

August 7, 2025 | 12:01 am

DMCI_Homes_Marubeni_The_Valeron_Tower_C5_Pasig_roofdeck — The Valeron Tower will soon rise along the C-5 Ortigas Corridor in Metro Manila. — COURTESY OF DMCI HOMES

CONSUNJI-LED conglomerate DMCI Holdings, Inc. saw a 27% drop in its net income for the second quarter (Q2) to P4.02 billion from P5.53 billion a year ago due to lower contributions from its core units.

DMCI attributed the lower second-quarter profit to weaker performances in its coal, real estate, and construction businesses, as well as the ongoing integration of its cement operations, the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

However, the conglomerate said the decline in income was mitigated by higher earnings from its water distribution, nickel mining, and off-grid power units.

Total revenues for April to June increased by 6% to P29.74 billion from P28.09 billion a year earlier, led by contributions from the cement business, stronger nickel and off-grid power sales, and higher construction accomplishments.

“Business transition and integration take time, but our diverse business mix and engineering ecosystem continue to support the group,” DMCI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Isidro A. Consunji said.

“We believe that the improvements we are making today will lead to meaningful value for our stakeholders in the long run,” he added.

Coal subsidiary Semirara Mining and Power Corp. accounted for P2.3 billion in earnings, down by 32% from P3.4 billion, due to lower selling prices amid soft energy market conditions.

The real estate business led by DMCI Project Developers, Inc. contributed P678 million in profit, down by 8% from P737 million, due to higher operating and finance costs amid improved revenue recognition from newly qualified accounts.

The earnings contribution from associate Maynilad Water Services, Inc. grew by 33% to P973 million from P732 million, driven by an increased average effective tariff and prudent cost management.

DMCI Power Corp. accounted for P374 million in profit, higher by 5% from P355 million, on the back of higher energy sales and the addition of new bunker-fired and wind power capacities in Palawan and Antique, respectively.

Mining subsidiary DMCI Mining Corp. generated P344 million in net income, a turnaround from a P43-million net loss, driven by better selling prices and improved operational performance with the full activation of Zambales Chromite Mining Co.

The construction business led by D.M. Consunji, Inc. contributed P18 million, down from P250 million, due to higher project costs, delays, and conservative revenue recognition.

Cement subsidiary Concreat Holdings Philippines Inc. posted a P682-million net loss due to higher interest expense and softer revenues. The company’s recovery efforts are ongoing, with improvements aimed at increasing sales and lowering costs.

For the first half, DMCI posted an 18% decline in consolidated net income to P9.1 billion from P11.1 billion a year ago.

Total revenues climbed by 11% to P61.6 billion from P55.52 billion a year earlier on construction accomplishments from new projects, higher real estate accounts qualifying for revenue recognition, improved nickel shipments and prices, and one full quarter of cement revenue contribution.

DMCI shares rose by 0.20%, or two centavos, to P10.22 apiece on Wednesday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

How PSEi member stocks performed — August 6, 2025

August 7, 2025 | 12:00 am

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesday, August 6, 2025.

DBM to pre-select vetted infra projects for legislators

August 6, 2025 | 9:19 pm

THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is working on creating a “menu” of ready-to-implement infrastructure projects for legislators to include in the budget, Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said.

“We are going to have a menu for our legislators. If they want to add to the budget or if they see something from our list of projects, for example, flood control, farm-to-market roads, school building programs, they can choose from that menu,” she said on a radio program on Wednesday.

She said the menu system ensures that a project is pre-vetted or validated.

Ms. Pangandaman has indicated a move to a more coordinated, efficient and data-driven approach in selecting priority projects.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee has proposed a P6.793-trillion spending plan for 2026. This is 7.4% higher than this year’s budget and is equivalent to 22% of gross domestic product.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in his State of the Nation Address last month said he would not approve any 2026 national budget that significantly deviates from his government’s national expenditure program.

This could lead to a reenacted budget, under which the government is forced to operate under the preceding year’s budget. The last major reenacted budget crisis was in 2019 under President Rodrigo R. Duterte, during which the new year’s budget was left unsigned for four months.

The House of Representatives is expecting to receive the proposed national budget for 2026 by next week. Budget hearings are set to begin in September. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson