SPEARHEADED by Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn F. Diaz, the Philippine weightlifting team is eyeing a minimum of two gold medals and a maximum of five in the Hanoi Southeast Asian (SEA) Games scheduled on May 12 to 23.
“We’re confident of winning at least two golds, we will fight for four or five golds,” said Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella during Tuesday’s online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.
Ms. Diaz was one of the 13-strong team — seven women and six men — from the country seeing action in all but one of the 14 weight divisions calendared in the Hanoi meet.
And she should be the overwhelming favorite to claim her second mint in the biennial event.
Also tipped to strike gold are Asian champion Vanessa Sarno, 2019 SEA Games golden girl Kristel Macrohon, and Olympian Elreen Ando.
Fernando Agad, Jr., Rowel Garcia, Nestor Colonia, Lemon Denmark Tarro, John Kevin Padullo, John Dexter Tabique, Mary Flor Diaz, Rosegie Ramos, and Margaret Colonia are the other members of the national squad.
Mr. Puentevella, however, warned it wouldn’t be a walk in the park as he expects strong challenges to come from host Vietnam and Thailand, which was back after serving a suspension from the International Weightlifting Federation due to alleged doping.
“Vietnam is doing well and I was told Thailand will return to the SEA Games,” said Mr. Puentevella. “But I’m optimistic we will pull off a surprise or two outside those athletes who are expected to contend.”
Mr. Puentevella is also hoping to use the Hanoi experience as a gauge on who to send in the Hangzhou Asian Games set on Sept. 10 to 25 and the World Championships at a still unspecified date and venue this year.
BPI AIA Life Assurance Corp. sees stronger growth this year as the economy continues to reopen and amid the government’s improved management of the pandemic.
“We are very optimistic that the worst is over,” BPI AIA Chief Executive Officer Surendra Menon said. “Maybe fluctuations here and there, and we do not expect Alert [Level] 4 anymore. We expect to grow a lot more in 2022, with a lot less volatility.”
AIA Philippines Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Ang said compared to 2020, which he observed was full of “uncertainty”, he sees stronger growth for AIA in 2022 versus its performance last year.
“2022 is looking good, and with the better management of the COVID-19 situation and the economy recovering, we are very positive [about our growth],” Mr. Ang said. “We have a lot of optimism.”
He said AIA’s target for lives saved or policies claimed in 2022 is 110,000, up from the 80,000 goal last year, which he said is indicative of growth.
“The scary part of 2021 is the on and off of the delta variant. Delta as we know [was] very disturbing to our economy. But it was also a year where we look at things and say ‘let’s not waste a crisis,’ so we fast tracked a lot of our plans,” he said, noting these included its digitalization, BPI AIA’s rebranding — which merited positive response from their stakeholders — and environmental, social, and governance initiatives, among others.
According to Insurance Commission data, both BPI AIA and AIA Philippines saw lower assets, premium income and new business annual premium equivalent (NBAPE) last year. However, AIA Philippines Chief Financial Officer Gary Ogilvie said they see the two firms as one group.
“We look at AIA very much as a group and we seek to manage it as a group,” he said.
He added that the industry saw a robust 70% growth in single premium products last year.
“If you look at many of these products, they’re very savings-focused and very light protection cover. While we do sell single premium products, we are less reliant on it than the rest of our competitors, who are quite heavy on single premiums,” he noted.
Mr. Ogilvie said they also want to improve their single premiums.
“But in addition to that, we also continue to focus on the metrics that matter and we will never lose sight of profitability, because ultimately we believe that gives customers confidence in the long-term sustainability of our business.” — TJT
A SCENE from Doc Resureccion Gagamutin ang Bayan — PHOTO BY MICHELLE ANNE P. SOLIMAN
Theater Review Doc Resureccion: Gagamutin ang Bayan Presented by Tanghalang Pilipino
WITH only a few days before the national elections, Tanghalang Pilipino (TP) is streaming its timely play, Doc Resureccion, a filmed performance.
The story introduces Boy Pogi Resureccion (played by Jonathan “Tad” Tadioan) standing outside his iron-sheet home and enjoying a song blasting from speakers. He is interrupted by an unannounced visit from his cousin Jess (Marco Viaña) — a young doctor — whom he has not seen in a long time.
Set in a poor fishing village, the play follows an idealistic Jess Resureccion, who running for mayor with the promise of helping uplift the status of its residents. However, Boy Pogi, paid by the incumbent mayor to run as a nuisance candidate for the same post, stands in the way of Jess’ electoral victory. While Boy Pogi’s wife Elsa (Lhorvie Nuevo) tries to be hospitable to Jess, the latter tries to convince his cousin to back out from the race.
The play is an intimate conversation revolving around their opposing principles on self-worth, value for their family, and their community.
It was a joy to watch a live theatrical performance for the first time in two years of lockdown, even if it was one of TP’s technical dress rehearsals. I saw the play for a second time onscreen over the long Easter weekend. Both live and onscreen performances succeed in powerfully confronting the issues we continue to face as a country.
Directed by Dennis Marasigan, the framing and camera angles used for the filmed performance immerse the audience in the story, as if they were watching a film or television series rather than a stage play. The onscreen version has added sound effects of waves that enhance the atmosphere of its setting, a fishing village. There is a two-second overhead shot of the set which looks like the characters are in a real fishing village.
The close-ups of Messrs. Tadioan and Viaña’s dialogue highlighted the actors’ expressions. I noticed while watching the show again onscreen that Sherry Lara (who plays Mamang) was the comic relief. Nanding Josef, who plays Papang, represents those who remain unaffected by their surroundings, despite his probable awareness of it.
One difference between the live performance and the filmed version was the difference in time of day — live, it felt like the story happened during the day, but the cool color grading in the filmed version made it seem as if it were set during nighttime.
With a running time of about 50 minutes (and almost nine minutes of credits), the filmed version is worth seeing for a break from work-from-home duties, or a weekend watch.
However, the show contains foul language and acts of violence which require adult supervision for young audiences when watching onscreen.
Fourteen years after its first staging in 2009 as part of the Virgin Labfest, and 10 years since TP staged it as part its Eyeball production, the message of the play remains relevant as it mirrors the recurring socio-political situation of our country.
It is recommended for first-time voters as it encourages critical thinking. The play leaves the audience reflective of who they are as a person, a voter, and a Filipino, and what they desire not only for themselves but for the country.
Doc Resureccion: Gagamutin ang Bayan is currently streaming until April 30 via www.ticket2me.net. Tickets are priced at P350 (general audience), and P550 (a barkada promo for three tickets). Access to the show is for 24 hours on the buyer’s chosen date starting at 10 a.m. to 10 a.m. the following day. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman
CTS GLOBAL Equity Group, Inc. on Tuesday reported that its net income fell by 57% to P20.1 million in 2021 from P46.9 million the previous year.
The company’s annual report showed its revenues dropped by 24% to P130.6 million from P172.3 million in 2020.
Meanwhile, operating expenses grew to P31.9 million last year from P30.8 million.
The investment firm made its market debut on April 13, selling 1.375 billion primary common shares during its initial public offering (IPO).
It tapped SB Capital Investment Corp. as the issue manager, underwriter, and bookrunner of the offer.
The company said proceeds from the IPO will be used to improve its trading operations.
CTS Global was the fifth company that conducted an IPO this year and the second to list on the small, medium and emerging (SME) board of the stock exchange since the start of 2022.
“For the past decade, the company maintained its capital stock at P200 million, only raising it to P500 million in the last quarter of 2019 and an additional P50 million in 2020,” CTS Global said in a past statement.
CTS Global’s business segments include proprietary trading, brokerage services, and investment income.
Under proprietary trading, CTS has over 30 traders with exposure in global markets including the United States, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and the Philippines.
Under its brokerage services, the company renders stock brokerage and dealership services.
CTS Global is currently a standalone entity, but the company has said that it is “open to the possibility of incorporating subsidiaries in the future.”
At the stock exchange on Tuesday, CTS Global shares went down by 10 centavos or 9.26% to close at P0.98 per share. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
CHICAGO — Reports of two patients who found relief from long COVID after taking Pfizer, Inc.’s antiviral Paxlovid, including a researcher who tested it on herself, provide intriguing evidence for clinical trials to help those suffering from the debilitating condition, experts and advocates say.
The researcher said her chronic fatigue symptoms, which “felt like a truck hit me,” are gone after taking the two-drug oral therapy.
Long COVID is a looming health crisis, estimated to affect up to 30% of people infected with the coronavirus. It can last for months, leaving many unable to work. More than 200 symptoms have been associated with the condition, including pain, fatigue, brain fog, breathing difficulty and exhaustion after minimal amounts of physical activity.
Dr. Steven Deeks, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and an expert in HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) cure research, said drug companies tend to discount single-patient case studies. But such instances have helped drive HIV cure research, and Dr. Deeks thinks these Paxlovid cases could do the same for long COVID.
“This provides really strong evidence that we need to be studying antiviral therapy in this context as soon as possible,” said Dr. Deeks, adding that he has heard of yet another anecdotal case at UCSF in which a long COVID patient’s symptoms cleared after taking Paxlovid.
Scientists caution that these cases are “hypothesis-generating only” and not proof that the drug caused relief of lingering symptoms. But they lend support to a leading theory that long COVID may be caused by the virus persisting in parts of the body for months, affecting patients’ daily lives long after acute symptoms disappear.
The best evidence so far comes from a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study, currently under peer review, in which researchers conducted autopsies in 44 people who died of COVID-19 or another cause but were infected with COVID. They found widespread infection throughout the body, including in the brain, that can last more than seven months beyond the onset of symptoms.
Paxlovid, which combines a new Pfizer pill with the old antiviral ritonavir, is currently authorized for use in the first days of a COVID infection to prevent severe disease in high-risk patients. Pfizer spokesman Kit Longley said the company does not have any long COVID studies underway and did not comment on whether it would consider them.
The drugmaker has two large clinical trials testing whether Paxlovid can prevent initial COVID infection. That “may provide us with relevant data to help inform future studies,” Mr. Longley said.
Patients who have been suffering for months are growing frustrated with the lack of pharmaceutical research for their condition.
There are currently fewer than 20 clinical trials led by individual researchers or small drugmakers testing treatments for long COVID, only a handful of which have moved beyond early stages, a Reuters review found.
Diana Berrent, founder of grassroots COVID advocacy group Survivor Corps, has been lobbying the Biden Administration to fund large long COVID clinical trials.
“We shouldn’t be doing our research based on anecdotal reports,” she said. “That’s not good enough.”
‘BACK TO NORMAL’ In one of the case reports, published as a preprint ahead of peer review, a previously healthy and vaccinated 47-year-old woman became infected with COVID in the summer of 2021. Most of her acute symptoms dissipated within 48 hours, but she continued to have severe fatigue, brain fog, exhaustion after exercise, insomnia, racing heartbeat, and body aches severe enough that she could no longer work.
About six months after her initial infection, she was reinfected, likely with COVID, and many of her acute symptoms also returned. Her doctor prescribed a five-day course of Paxlovid.
On day 3, she noticed a rapid improvement of long COVID symptoms. “She’s back to normal,” said Dr. Linda Geng, co-director of Stanford Health Care’s long COVID clinic and author of the case report posted on Research Square.
In the second case, Lavanya Visvabharathy, 37, an immunologist working at Northwestern Medicine’s long COVID clinic, was infected in Dec. 2021. Her initial symptoms were mild, but she later experienced chronic fatigue, headaches and sleep disturbances for four months after infection. She also kept testing positive on rapid antigen tests, a sign of viral persistence
Ms. Visvabharathy was aware of the NIH study and the Stanford case, and decided to try Paxlovid to see if it could clear any lingering virus. Toward the end of the five-day course, her fatigue and insomnia had improved, and her headaches were less frequent. Two weeks after treatment ended, her fatigue was gone.
“That’s 100% fixed,” she said. But to prove Paxlovid provides that kind of relief would require carefully controlled clinical trials, Ms. Visvabharathy said.
Dr. Igor Koralnik, who heads Northwestern Medicine’s clinic focused on the neurological effects of long COVID, noted the long list of widely-used medications that are affected by ritonavir and said Paxlovid “can’t be used willy nilly.”
“Paxlovid is not a benign medication,” he said. “There should be studies.” — Reuters
MAPUA coach Randy Alcantara pleaded to his Cardinals to continue to trust their shooters despite being horrid from beyond the three-point arc to start their season. Their faith paid off.
Firing on all cylinders from rainbow country for the second straight game, Mapua outgunned College of St. Benilde (CSB), 84-65, on Tuesday to keep its grip of the third spot in the 97th NCAA basketball tournament at the La Salle Greenhills Gym.
Brian Lacap and Paolo Hernandez presided over CSB’s three-point shooting spree as each fired four of their team’s 12 treys and helped lift the Blazers to their fifth win in seven outings while closing in on a spot to the play-in phase.
Letran and San Beda led the way with perfect 5-0 records.
It was another shooting feast for the Cardinals after draining a season-high 16 triples in a 95-83 win over the Perpetual Help Altas on Wednesday.
Mapua’s two-game total of 28 threes surpassed the 27 (out of 115 attempts) it made in its first five outings.
And all of it was because the Cardinals responded to Mr. Alcantara’s call.
“Coach kept telling us in practice to keep our trust on each other and believe in our open teammates from the outside and pass it to them. We also did extra shooting after practice,” said Mr. Lacap, who finished with a career-high 22 points.
“We’re thankful that our faith and efforts paid off,” he added.
While Mapua hummed from the perimeter, CSB just utterly stunk and hit just one — courtesy of Fil-Kiwi Taine Davis in garbage time — of 18 shots from there.
Mr. Lacap, who honed his crafts playing street ball in Valenzuela, ended up with a well-rounded effort as he complimented his spectacular scoring game with four rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Mr. Hernandez, for his part, wound up with 17 points.
MVP candidate Will Gozum saw action after coming into the game as doubtful to play due to a sore foot and led his squad with 13 points, 14 boards and two blocks.
It wasn’t enough though to negate the Mapua barrage as the Blazers fell to fourth with a 4-3 mark.
BANK INDONESIA kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged to support the economy’s recovery. — REUTERS
INDONESIA’S central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged to support the economy’s recovery, while downgrading its growth outlook and saying it will keep a watch on price pressures fueled by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Bank Indonesia (BI) held the seven-day reverse repurchase rate at a record low 3.5% on Tuesday as expected by all 29 economists in a Bloomberg survey. The key rate was last adjusted in February 2021.
“The decision is consistent with the need to maintain exchange rate stability and control inflation, coupled with efforts to revive economic growth despite a build-up of external pressure,” Governor Perry Warjiyo said, citing Russia’s war in Ukraine and faster global monetary policy normalization as risks.
The rupiah, which has been among the least volatile currencies in Asia, was trading around 0.15% stronger against the dollar after the decision. The currency has weakened just 0.6% so far this year.
Like most of its neighbors, Bank Indonesia is waiting for a recovery in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy to take hold before unwinding pandemic-era monetary support. Policy makers have pledged to keep borrowing costs low to boost bank lending as the economy reopens, even as peers in advanced economies have turned to tightening policy settings to combat inflation.
The central bank lowered the economy’s growth forecast this year to a range of 4.5%-5.3% from 4.7%-5.5% earlier, underlining the need for continued support. Bank Indonesia also sees global expansion slowing to 3.5% from 4.4% amid supply chain disruptions caused by the war.
Indonesia has policy space to stand pat, for now, with inflation hovering below the midpoint of its 2%-4% target band despite rising food and fuel prices. Warjiyo said on Tuesday that inflation remains manageable, with the forecast for price growth kept steady at 2%-4% for the current year while watching for any risks from global spillovers.
“Slower growth and higher inflation mark an uneasy combination for many policymakers now,” said Wellian Wiranto, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore. “Despite such budding growth concerns, we expect BI to start to prioritize inflation fight” going forward.
Policy makers have reason for caution as government price-controls that kept inflation benign earlier this year are rolled back to ease pressure on the state budget. Value-added taxes were also raised this month, with power tariffs possibly next.
A more aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve could add another layer of risk to Indonesia’s policy outlook. The Fed is seen weighing a hike of as much as 50 basis points at its May meeting — a move that could spur a sell-off in emerging-market assets and weaken the local currency. — Bloomberg
JERUSALEM — Pressed against a wall in a back corridor of Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a stone slab bore testimony only to the graffiti etched on it by multitudes of pilgrims through the ages.
But the 2.5 x 1.5 meter stone turned out to be far more precious when its other side was exposed during recent renovations at the church, the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial.
Researchers believe the elaborate looping ornaments they found on the long-hidden part of the slab indicate it was once the decorated front of a medieval high altar that took pride of place centuries ago in one of Christianity’s holiest sites.
“You cannot see it now, but originally it was inlaid with pieces of precious marble, pieces of glass, pieces of small, finely made marble,” said Amit Re’em, Jerusalem regional archaeologist for the Israel Antiquities Authority.
“It was shining and this was a really amazing artefact,” said Mr. Re’em, who conducted the research with Ilya Berkovich of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
They identified the unique decoration method as “Cosmatesque,” which combines Classical, Byzantine and early Islamic art in which finely cut tiles of colorful marble are used to fill in circular engravings on the stone.
“It stood at the apex, at the sanctuary of the Church (of the Holy Sepulchre),” Mr. Re’em said.
“All the eyes of the believers, of the pilgrims, (went) to this object. And right above it and around it, all the high priests, the priests and the monks of the church did all the liturgy, the main liturgy of the church, on the table, right here on the table of this altar,” he said.
Similarly decorated altars have been found inside churches in Rome dating to the 12th and 13th centuries, the researchers said.
They believe the relic in Jerusalem corresponds with past archaeological findings and with pilgrims’ accounts of the consecration of the church by the Crusaders and the forming of its main altar in 1149.
The altar was used by the Catholic clergy to celebrate mass until the Crusaders left Jerusalem, Mr. Re’em said. Afterwards it was used by the Greek Orthodox church until it was damaged in a fire in 1808, cast aside and forgotten until the recent renovations, he said.
Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, the chief secretary of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, welcomed such research at the church.
“Works from people of art, people of archaeology, contribute to us, contribute to the belief of the church, to the conviction of the church, that this is the place… on which Jesus Christ was crucified… buried and from which he came to resurrection,” he told Reuters.
The researchers’ findings are due to be published by the end of the year by Israel’s Exploration Society. — Reuters
SPC POWER Corp.’s attributable net income went down by 25.74% year on year to P1.19 billion in 2021 due to its weaker fourth-quarter performance.
In a disclosure, SPC Power said its net income translated to earnings per share of 81 centavos from P1.07 in 2020 and return on equity of 11.99% versus 15.8% the prior year.
The company said its full-year income was dragged down by its financial performance in the last quarter of 2021. However, no fourth-quarter figures were provided.
SPC Power’s end-September 2021 net income was at P1.38 billion, higher than the P1.31 billion in the comparable year-ago period.
The company said its performance in the fourth quarter was hit by the delayed recovery of purchased power costs following Typhoon Odette, since the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market’s (WESM) operations in the Visayas grid only resumed on Jan. 17.
It also recorded lower revenues due to cheaper sales of power generated and sold to distribution utilities and electric cooperatives, as well as the expiry of power supply contracts, which were not offset by increased capacity sold to WESM.
Due to higher pass-through costs of fuel and power, SPC Power logged operation costs that were higher than its revenues, slashing its gross margin by 6.3% to P516.9 million in 2021.
“The power distribution business segment bore the brunt of the typhoon damage,” the company said, citing a 68.9% decline in the segment’s contribution to its net income.
Meanwhile, its power generation business segment’s earnings also dropped by 17.8% to P317.8 million.
SPC Power’s shares went down by 20 centavos or 1.38% to close at P14.30 each on Tuesday. — R.C.S. Agustin
OUR recent experience with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlights the need to build the health workforce back better. Health workers served as frontliners, with many of them getting sick or even dying from COVID-19 and its complications.
It is high time to do more to support the health workforce with necessary investments, and with policies that will better train, deploy, equip, protect, retain and support health workers.
Organized by the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, the WHO and other partners, Health Worker Week celebrates and raises awareness of the important role of health workers everywhere. Celebrated April 4–8, this year’s World Health Worker Week theme is “Build the Health Workforce Back Better.”
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PHAPCares Foundation spearheaded a campaign that seeks to strengthen health care system capacity, and protect health care workers.
PHAPCares members provided personal protective equipment sets, test kits, ventilators, medicines, vitamins, vaccines, personal hygiene items, disinfectants, and food packs for frontline health workers, patients and affected communities.
The commitment to support health workers and the communities impacted by the pandemic, disasters, and armed conflicts will continue this year as the PHAPCares Foundation names its new officers and trustees.
This year, the PHAPCares Foundation will be led by its officers: President Lotis Ramin (President, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Phils.); vice president Jugo Tsumura (President and Managing Director, Novartis Healthcare Pharmaceutical, Inc.); and treasurer Melissa Belvis (General Manager, Abbott Philippines).
Also serving as trustees are Yee Kok Cheong (General Manager, Boehringer Ingelheim Philippines); Janette Jakosalem (Market Managing Director, Zuellig Pharma Philippines); Angel-Michael Evangelista (Managing Director and Country Division Head, Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Philippines); Maria Rosarita Quijano-Siasoco (Executive Director, PHAPCares Foundation); Dr. Corazon Maglaya (Honorary Trustee); and myself.
By partnering with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the PHAPCares Foundation added Earthquake, Landslide, Search and Rescue Orientation Course (ELSAROC) training for health workers to improve disaster response.
Guided by the whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, the 2020–2040 Human Resources for Health (HRH) Masterplan of the Department of Health (DoH) serves as the long-term strategic plan for the management and development of HRH in the country.
Its guiding principle is to provide qualified HRH with rural background with scholarships in learning institutions near their places of origin; learning and development opportunities; and improved working conditions with their protection and wellbeing in mind.
The HRH Masterplan is implemented through a multi-stakeholder HRH Network composed of both public and private organizations and agencies. The HRH Masterplan is composed of short-, medium- and long-term plans. Each plan defines the scenarios that need to be addressed, strategic focus of interventions, resource requirements, and monitoring and evaluation considerations.
To strengthen primary care services in the country, the World Health Organization (WHO) Workload Indicators of Staffing Needs (WISN) study in 2019 estimated a requirement of 240,780 physicians, nurses, midwives, and medical technologists in all rural health units (RHUs) and 12,950 nurses and midwives in barangay health stations (BHS).
Seeking to achieve a more equitable HRH distribution, the DoH has deployed health workers in Geographically-Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs), low-income class municipalities, municipalities with Indigenous Peoples, and national priority areas for poverty-reduction and peacebuilding efforts.
In 2020, the DoH deployed a total of 29,509 health professionals and public health associates and complemented the health workforce in 1,634 municipalities and cities. Of the total health workforce that were deployed, 15,441 physicians, nurses and midwives were assigned in 978 municipalities with GIDAs, while 8,681 were assigned in 749 fourth- to sixth-class municipalities.
Good health and thriving economies are inextricably linked, and hinge on access to quality and effective health services necessary for all citizens to lead healthy, safe, and productive lives.
Building robust health economies requires the commitment of resources not only in infrastructure and systems, but also in investing in and supporting health workers who are able and fully equipped to serve the people in their communities.
Teodoro B. Padilla is the executive director of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), which represents the biopharmaceutical medicines and vaccines industry in the country. Its members are at the forefront of research and development efforts for COVID-19 and other diseases that affect Filipinos.
AFTER six well-fought legs, the top 10 teams of the PBA 3×3 led by No. 1 Limitless and No. 2 TnT battle it out for the ultimate prize in the Second Conference Grand Finals on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Appmasters seek to live up to their billing as the most accomplished squad in the standalone league, having previously won the First Conference crown and topping a total of four legs prior to the one-day finale.
Out to provide a serious challenge to the Southeast Asian Games-bound Limitless are the Almond Vosotros-led Tropang Giga, who are determined to go all the way after taking bronze in the maiden conference finals.
Similarly tipped to contend is No. 3 Meralco, which is embarking on a redemption tour after a disappointing exit in the quarterfinal round of the previous grand final.
No. 4 San Miguel Beer, meanwhile, looks to carry over the momentum from its amazing triumph in last week’s Leg 6 to vie for top honors.
Sitting in the lower ranks but definitely capable of springing surprises are Pioneer Pro Tibay (277), Barangay Ginebra (267), Platinum Karaoke (266), Purefoods (238), Sista (180) and Terrafirma (136).
The Appmasters, the Tropang Giga, the Bolts and the Beermen are seeded straight into the quarterfinal round while the six others have to dispute the four remaining berths in the preliminary phase beginning at 9 a.m.
Pioneer, Purefoods and Sista vie in Pool A while Ginebra, Platinum and Terrafirma slug it out in Pool B with the top 2 squads in each group advancing to the quarters.
A cool P750,000 awaits the conference champion while P250,000 goes to the runner-up and P100,000 to the third placer. — Olmin Leyba
FEDERAL RESERVE Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the central bank needs to move quickly to raise interest rates to around 3.5% this year with multiple half-point hikes and that it shouldn’t rule out rate increases of 75 basis points.
“More than 50 basis points is not my base case at this point,” Mr. Bullard said in a virtual presentation to the Council on Foreign Relations on Monday, adding the Fed under Alan Greenspan did such a hike in 1994 leading to a decade-long expansion. “I wouldn’t rule it out, but it is not my base case here.”
Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said that a 50 basis-point increase is possible at the Fed’s May 3-4 meeting. Comments by colleagues since then have hardened expectations they’ll make that move, as officials extend a hawkish pivot to curb the hottest inflation since 1981.
Mr. Bullard repeated he favors an interest rate of about 3.5%, citing a version of the Taylor rule, a guideline developed by Stanford University’s John Taylor that uses inflation, the unemployment rate and an estimate of the neutral interest rate —a rate neither contractionary nor expansionary — to come up with his estimate.
“You can’t do it all at once, but I think it behooves us to get to that level by the end of the year,” Mr. Bullard said.
The Federal Open Market Committee’s first goal should be getting to a neutral rate soon, Mr. Bullard said. The committee estimates that rate at about 2.4%.
“We want to get to neutral expeditiously, I guess is the word of the day,” he said, repeating a word used by a number of colleagues. “I’ve even said we want to get above neutral as early as the third quarter and try to put further downward pressure on inflation at that point.”
The St. Louis Fed official said talk about recession was premature, with the Fed having only raised rates once at this point. He predicted that the US economy would grow at a healthy rate in excess of its long-term trend both in 2022 and 2023, adding he expects unemployment to fall below 3%.
Minutes of their March meeting showed many Fed officials favored raising rates by a half point and only opted for the more cautious 25 basis-point move because of the uncertainty around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The account showed officials expect to start shrinking their balance sheet by $95 billion a month, or more than $1 trillion a year, and could announce a decision in May. Governor Lael Brainard said April 12 that could mean roll-off as soon as June.
A known hawk, Mr. Bullard has been favoring faster and more aggressive rate hikes by the Fed. He was the lone dissenter in the 8-1 policy vote in March having favored a 50 basis points move and has also pushed for balance sheet reduction.
That hawkishness is being mirrored by other central banks too. The Bank of Canada and Reserve Bank of New Zealand both this month raised their benchmark rates by 50 basis points — their biggest moves in 22 years — indicating a new sense of urgency among policy makers to rein in inflation.
Mr. Bullard’s hawkishness could yet prove to be a defining pivot for Fed policy makers, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
“The fact that Bullard is talking about a seventy-five basis point hike suggests other hawks are on the same page,” he said. — Bloomberg
