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Pag-IBIG declares record-high P31.79B as 2021 dividends

Regular Savings at 5.5%, MP2 at 6%

The Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees has approved the dividend for members’ savings for 2021, declaring a record-high amount of over P31 billion which shall be credited directly to its members’ savings accounts, top executives announced on Friday, March 11.

“During the Pag-IBIG Chairman’s Report last February 24, I announced that the rates of Pag-IBIG Savings remained higher than other instruments in the market. This announcement came with a caveat that these were to be approved by the Board. And now, I’m happy to announce once again that the Pag-IBIG Board has approved dividends for our members’ savings in the amount of P31.79 billion – the highest declared amount in the history of PagIBIG! The Board also adjusted upwards the previously announced indicative rates. The final dividend rates are now 5.5% for the Pag-IBIG Regular Savings and 6% for MP2. Giving higher returns on members’ savings is part of our efforts to give the best benefit to our members, especially as they face economic challenges due to the ongoing pandemic, while ensuring the Fund’s sustainability and stability”, said Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario who heads the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and the 11- member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.

Meanwhile, Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy P. Moti explained that the higher rates are a result of a higher dividend pay-out ratio approved by the Board. He said that while the agency is required to give back to members only at least 70% of its annual net income as dividends, the Management and the Board always sought to give back more.

“Pag-IBIG Fund has always looked out for the wellbeing of our members. And when we perform well, it’s our members who benefit the most. For 2021, I’m glad to say that the Board decided to retain the highest payout ratio of 92.15%. We are able to do this for the second consecutive year because of our strong financial position and improving loan portfolio despite the economic effects of the pandemic. We, the Management, thank all members of the Board for recognizing the Fund’s efforts to maintain a stable Fund. We also recognize that the members themselves – their trust and confidence in the Fund’s programs – helped us deliver a great performance year after year. This is your Lingkod Pag-IBIG at work when you need us most,” Moti said.

 

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Online cockfighting wagers rake in billions

PHILSTAR

The roosters stood inches apart, hook-shaped blades strapped to their legs. Cameras surrounded a dirt ring, streaming the fight to thousands of online gamblers huddled over cell phones across the Philippines.

A referee shadowed the animals as they tore out feathers, pounded air and nipped at vulnerable parts of the neck. Less than a minute later, the match was over and a winner declared. The victor squawked over the body of the defeated.

Cockfighting, in which two roosters spar to the death, has become an online craze in the Philippines. Once a declining bloodsport, the centuries-old game is now a major industry across this Southeast Asian nation, pulling in millions of dollars in bets a day and attracting a new generation of gamblers.

Its resurgence in the Philippines, the only country in the world that accepts online bets for game fowl, has shaken traditional players on the casino floor.

Matches are drawing in more monthly revenue than the local ventures of gambling behemoths Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. and Genting Hong Kong Ltd. Investors are taking notes, with countries from Mexico to Papua New Guinea mulling forays into online betting, according to people in the industry.

A taboo in much of the West, cockfighting holds no such stigma in the Philippines, where fights can attract crowds on par with U.S. baseball games or British rugby matches. Cashing in on a surge in popularity, Resorts World Manila, which is owned by tycoon Andrew Tan, opened a betting station in its casino. Two other resort developers are expected to do the same.

At the center of the phenomenon is Charlie “Atong” Ang, a freewheeling fitness buff and the brain behind Pitmasters Live, the top-shelf brand of online cockfighting. His group streams matches round-the-clock, averaging around 350 a day and partnering with breeders across the country. Digital payment platforms and hundreds of agents facilitate access to the Pitmasters webcast, take wagers and disburse winnings.

With minimum bets set at less than $2, online cockfighting is affordable and instantaneous, a sellable diversion for the country’s video game generation. But the industry’s rapid rise is also the story of ruined lives and addiction, of a tug-of-war with regulators and backlash from international animal rights groups.

A senior church official from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines called online cockfighting “one of the most disastrous things ever allowed by the government.” Lawmakers are investigating the disappearance of more than two dozen gamblers, prompting some to propose suspending the sport until cases are solved.

Mr. Ang waved off criticism. In the rough-and-tumble world of cockfighting, he said, bets should only be placed with “your laughing money.”

“Anything that’s more than what we need is addiction — be it food or money,” he said. “Let’s not be hypocrites.”

THE ‘NBA’ OF COCKFIGHTING

Cockfighting has an expansive history in the Philippines, predating the exploits of Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese explorer who landed on the shores of this island nation more than five hundred years ago.

Though illegal in most of the world, sabong, as the game is known locally, has a devoted following in the Philippines. Every year, scores of people gather to watch the World Slasher Cup, a multi-day series of matches held in a coliseum in metro Manila. The event has all the corporate trappings of a modern sports tournament, complete with giant inflatable roosters and a soundtrack that tends to favor “Eye of the Tiger.”

In recent years, the game has waned in popularity. Government rules limit fights with in-person spectators to Sundays and holidays. Cockpits raised entry costs for bettors. When COVID lockdowns shuttered businesses, the country’s most ambitious gaming operators, who had already started streaming matches, sensed an opportunity: Why not digitize many more of them?

“Online cockfighting wouldn’t be this big were it not for the pandemic and the game’s accessibility through mobile phones,” said Claire Alviar, an analyst at Philstocks Financial Inc. in the Philippines.

The sport’s spike in popularity is really the rise of Pitmasters, which has a near-monopoly on the business model. According to data from Mr. Ang, the group generates more than 700 billion pesos ($13.4 billion) annually in wagers. That figure is more than double the estimated gross gaming revenue of the country’s casinos in 2019, based on figures provided by the Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corp.

“We are the superstar of sabong. We are the NBA of this sport,” he said, likening his brand to the US National Basketball Association.

The purported profits are staggering. The platform collects an average of 2 billion pesos to 3 billion pesos each day, according to Ang. Of that amount, 95% goes to bettors as winnings and the remaining 5% to Pitmasters and its agents as commission. Another 135 million pesos is paid as a monthly tax to the state-run gaming regulator, which has used funds to fight the pandemic.

Mr. Ang, 63, said his group’s revenue each month is P1.5 billion, a huge sum considering Bloomberry Resorts Corp., which operates one of the country’s biggest casinos, pulled in profits of about P10 billion in 2019.

Agents who joined Pitmasters early stumbled into a modern-day gold rush.

Within weeks of starting his job in Aug. 2020, one said he was earning at least 3 million pesos a month, or nearly $60,000 — more than enough to buy a new car and house. After technology giant Globe Telecom Inc. started facilitating bets and linking games to its platform, cutting out the need for middlemen, his pay fell to a more modest $2,300.

“It was easy to sell online sabong,” said the agent, who uses the alias Edwin Cruz. “The pandemic provided great timing because many Filipinos are gamblers and they were stuck at home getting bored.”

THE RINGLEADER

Mr. Ang has spent practically his entire life in the business. As a teenager, he frequented cockpits and casinos. During the reign of former president Joseph Estrada, he worked as a consultant for the government’s gaming regulator.

His reputation is checkered. In 2001, Mr. Estrada was ousted from office after evidence surfaced that Mr. Ang had helped him divert P130 million in tobacco taxes. With pressure building, Ang fled to the US, where he was caught gambling in Las Vegas and placed under house arrest. In 2006, he was extradited to the Philippines and later pleaded guilty to a corruption charge.

After serving time in jail, Mr. Ang sought to reinvent himself. In 2019, he drafted his business plan, drawing inspiration from off-track betting for racehorses and the success of online casinos. He studied laws governing cockfighting and convinced the city of Manila to allow him to set up offsite betting stations.

When the pandemic shut down the world, Mr. Ang pounced. He started streaming matches with the blessing of the government. Globe Telecom’s GCash and later PLDT Inc.’s Paymaya joined to process payments. Last September, the House of Representatives approved a 25-year franchise application for Pitmasters. Its fate now rests with the senate.

“There’s a lot of room for expansion,” Mr. Ang said, estimating that his 900 betting stations cover only 20% of the Philippine archipelago.

DEBTS, DEATHS AND DISAPPEARANCES

Still, the sudden success of online cockfighting has engendered scrutiny and lurid tales of bets gone awry.

In the coastal town of Hagonoy, a man stabbed to death his 87-year-old neighbor after he refused to lend him money. At a press conference, Senator Panfilo Lacson recounted the story of a gambler who killed himself after accumulating debt totaling 600,000 pesos.

In response to the disappearance of a few dozen people last seen at cockfighting arenas, the senate recently summoned Mr. Ang for questioning. In January, at a Pitmasters cockpit in Manila, a grenade was found. “We have nothing to do with these incidents,” Mr. Ang said.

As investigators probe further, the industry’s future is unclear. Ahead of presidential elections in May, Leni Robredo, one of the leading candidates, said she’s generally not in favor of gambling. The frontrunner, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has yet to publicly comment on the issue.

Then there are the animal rights advocates who find the sport unconscionable. To amp roosters for a fight, breeders sometimes slip cayenne pepper into their anuses. Jason Baker, a senior vice president at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, lamented the rise of e-sabong.

“Moving this cruel and unethical practice online is a desperate move by a dying industry,” he wrote in an email. “Birds are mutilated, injected with steroids, and forced to fight until their unnecessary death.”

To this, Mr. Ang scoffed. His company has given more than 800 million pesos to charity. Not only is the sport honorable, he said, but it is here to stay.

“Among the games you can bet on, cockfighting’s 50-50 odds of winning is the best there is,” Mr. Ang said. “They say gambling is bad, but why are casinos, liquor and cigarettes legal? It’s because they’re paying taxes.” — Cecilia Yap and Clarissa Batino/Bloomberg

A dozen new mines to begin operations this year, mostly nickel

STOCK PHOTO | Image by David Hellmann from Unsplash

About 12 new metallic mines should begin commercial operations this year, mostly nickel projects, adding to a “bright” outlook for a sector enjoying cash windfall from high prices, the local industry regulator said on Friday.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) also said in a report the Philippines’ nickel output last year totaled 386,359 tonnes, 17% higher than the previous year’s production and the highest in six years. 

The Philippines has been China’s biggest supplier of nickel ore after Indonesia banned exports of the material from 2020, to try to develop a full supply chain that includes processing of the metal used in stainless steel and batteries for electric vehicles. 

The medium-term outlook for the mining industry is rosy “unless the war in Ukraine will spill over to Asia and cause disruption to trade,” MGB Director Wilfredo G. Moncano said.

He is hopeful the next administration will support policies of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, whose term ends in June, including ending a four-year-old ban on open-pit mining for copper, gold, silver and complex ores.

While existing local nickel miners “have always been operating at an optimum capacity”, the entry of new producers will increase domestic ore output, said Dante R. Bravo, president of Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., the country’s second-largest nickel ore miner.

Despite high metals prices, however, Mr. Bravo told Reuters challenges remain for a local industry now burdened by rising fuel prices, higher inflation, a manpower shortage, supply chain disruption and potentially, rising freight charges. — Reuters

Obesity policy to be approved in April

UNSPLASH

A National Policy on Addressing Overweight and Obesity is in its final review stage, and is scheduled for approval in April by the governing board of the next National Nutrition Council (NCC).

The multisectoral policy addresses the growing obesity rates in the Philippines by providing guidance for population-based approaches for prevention, mechanisms to influence the food environment, and management of existing cases of obesity.

Around 27 million Filipinos are overweight and obese, based on the latest survey of the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute.

Whether or not the over 50 genes associated with obesity are activated in individuals depends on their exposure to environmental factors such as nutrition, stress, physical activity.

“Developing countries have the same issues. Are there more options [for healthy living], more investment in infrastructure for making better choices? Not so much,” said Dr. Miroslava Guajardo, senior medical manager of Novo Nordisk Southeast Asia, in a March 4 webinar organized by the same pharmaceutical firm.

“We have so much to do in terms of awareness,” she added.

Southeast Asian countries share an increasing prevalence of obesity, which has been recognized as a chronic disease since 2013. More than 30 million individuals in the region live with obesity.

Aside from setting national policy, NCC also coordinates the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN), the 2023–2028 iteration of which will focus on childhood obesity. (The 2017–2022 PPAN addresses childhood stunting, which has remained high for the last three decades.)

The NCC also recently approved the Philippine Nutrient Profile Model, which will provide guidance in determining food and beverages that can be marketed to children and as the basis for front-of-pack labeling of food products, according to Azucena M. Dayanghirang, NCC executive director assistant secretary.

“This tool is intended to influence food manufacturers to produce and reformulate to offer healthier food to consumers,” she said in a press statement.

Dr. Mia C. Fojas, an endocrinologist with Medical Center Manila, reminded parents to be role models for their children. Children don’t buy their own food, she said at the March 4 webinar.

“A lot of children tell me, ‘Daddy doesn’t eat vegetables. Why should I?’” she said.

Dr. Fojas also noted the need to incorporate physical activity in one’s lifestyle with the acronym SIPA or “short incidental physical activity.” “Move more, use the stairs more,” she said.

Among the local governments that have heeded the call to provide spaces for physical activity include Iloilo City, whose esplanade has promoted walkability among its residents, and Marikina City, which has introduced a bikeway system that also facilitates people-to-people interaction. — Patricia B. Mirasol

Facebook allows Ukraine war posts urging violence against invading Russians, Putin

REUTERS

Meta Platforms will allow Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukraine invasion, according to internal e-mails seen by Reuters on Thursday, in a temporary change to its hate speech policy. 

The social media company is also temporarily allowing some posts that call for death to Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, according to internal e-mails to its content moderators. 

“As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.’ We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. 

The calls for the leaders’ deaths will be allowed unless they contain other targets or have two indicators of credibility, such as the location or method, one e-mail said, in a recent change to the company’s rules on violence and incitement. 

Citing the Reuters story, Russia’s embassy in the United States demanded that Washington stop the “extremist activities” of Meta. 

“Users of Facebook & Instagram did not give the owners of these platforms the right to determine the criteria of truth and pit nations against each other,” the embassy said on Twitter in a message that was also shared by their India office. 

The temporary policy changes on calls for violence to Russian soldiers apply to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine, according to one e-mail. 

In the e-mail recently sent to moderators, Meta highlighted a change in its hate speech policy pertaining both to Russian soldiers and to Russians in the context of the invasion. 

“We are issuing a spirit-of-the-policy allowance to allow T1 violent speech that would otherwise be removed under the Hate Speech policy when: (a) targeting Russian soldiers, EXCEPT prisoners of war, or (b) targeting Russians where it’s clear that the context is the Russian invasion of Ukraine (e.g., content mentions the invasion, self-defense, etc.),” it said in the e-mail. 

“We are doing this because we have observed that in this specific context, ‘Russian soldiers’ is being used as a proxy for the Russian military. The Hate Speech policy continues to prohibit attacks on Russians,” the e-mail stated. 

Last week, Russia said it was banning Facebook in the country in response to what it said were restrictions of access to Russian media on the platform. Moscow has cracked down on tech companies, including Twitter, which said it is restricted in the country, during its invasion of Ukraine, which it calls a “special operation.” 

Many major social media platforms have announced new content restrictions around the conflict, including blocking Russian state media RT and Sputnik in the European Union, and have demonstrated carve-outs in some of their policies during the war. 

E-mails also showed that Meta would allow praise of the right-wing Azov battalion, which is normally prohibited, in a change first reported by The Intercept. 

The Meta spokesperson previously said the company was “for the time being, making a narrow exception for praise of the Azov Regiment strictly in the context of defending Ukraine, or in their role as part of the Ukraine National Guard.” — Munsif Vengattil and Elizabeth Culliford/Reuters

Priests opposed to Marcos turn pink

FERDINAND “BONGBONG” R. MARCOS, JR. -- REUTERS

WHEN Philippine Catholic priest Father Nap Baltazar raised his hands to bless the people attending mass, the sleeves on his white vestment slid back to reveal a pink bracelet inscribed with the words “Let Leni Lead.”

Fr. Baltazar, 47, belongs to a group of like-minded priests in Asia’s biggest Catholic nation who have abandoned their neutrality to oppose the presidential bid of Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr., the late dictator’s son and namesake, and openly endorse his closest rival Maria “Leonor” Leni G. Robredo, whose team color is pink.

The presidential election is set for May 9, and latest opinion polls show Mr. Marcos holds a double-digit lead over closest rival Ms. Robredo, while his running mate, Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of incumbent President Rodrigo R. Duterte, remained the top choice for the vice presidency.

“I will do everything I can to make sure he does not sit as president,” Fr. Baltazar said of the 64-year-old Mr. Marcos.

The priest, who says he has never before campaigned publicly for a politician since being ordained, drives a van adorned with an image of Ms. Robredo and the words “Pray and Choose Wisely. Your future depends on it” written in pink.

Back in 1986, the Catholic Church championed a “People Power” uprising that overthrew Mr. Marcos’s father and drove his family to exile.

But now, Marcos Jr., a former congressman and senator, appears poised to clinch the presidency, following a decades-long political fight back by a family accused of leading one of Asia’s most notorious kleptocracies.

The elder Marcos ruled for two decades, almost half of it under martial law during which thousands of his opponents were beaten and tortured, and disappeared or were killed.

UNTHINKABLE 

Ms. Robredo, 56, narrowly defeated Mr. Marcos in the 2016 vice presidential contest. She is the leader of the opposition and the only female candidate in this year’s presidential race.

A former human rights lawyer, she has been a thorn in Mr. Duterte’s side, questioning his war on drugs, his embrace of China and recently the handling of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). “Leni happens to encapsulate the values of the Church and that is why I am not afraid to show my face and support her,” said Father Edwin Gariguez, while meeting with people in his diocese in Calapan, south of the capital, in a pink mask and pink shirt promoting Ms. Robredo.

The return of a Marcos to the country’s seat of power is unthinkable for millions of Filipinos, including for Father John Era, who started the “Pari, Madre, Misyonero Para Kay Leni (Priests, Nuns and Missionaries for Leni),” hoping to use their “influence” to rally support behind her.

Mr. Marcos has been campaigning on a promise to bring unity to the Philippines but is not entertaining questions about atrocities during his father’s rule, which his critics say his family has neither apologized for, nor properly acknowledged.

“While presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos is calling for unity, we are saddened by the men and women of the Catholic clergy who are doing the exact opposite and have abused the pulpit, allowing it to become a platform for hateful and negative campaigning,” his spokesman, Victor Rodriguez, said.

“As men and women of the cloth, they should be more circumspect, refrain from openly meddling with politics and stop making reckless imputations or statements that only serve as spiritual, moral, social and cultural poison,” he added.

The Catholic Church, which also participated in a popular movement in 2001 that led to the ouster of another president, Joseph E. Estrada, is at the Philippines’ core.

Four-fifths of the nation’s over 110 million population are Catholics, and many still practice their faith with gusto.

PARTISAN POLITICS 

Not everyone in the Church approves of the priests’ actions, which have also drawn mixed reactions from Filipinos, who have taken to social media to either praise or decry the clergymen for taking political sides.

Father Jerome Secillano, Public Affairs executive secretary at the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said the Church law forbids clergymen from engaging in partisan politics, and the role of the Church and clerics is “only for education and formation of consciences.”

Leaders of other religious groups in the Philippines, like the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and El Shaddai, which politicians have courted in the past because their members are known to follow their leaders’ advice, have also come out to back Mr. Marcos’s candidacy.

And while Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, the president of CBCP, said the Church would not dictate who its members should vote for in the election, he has hinted which side he favors.

During a mass on Feb. 8 at his diocese in Caloocan, he gave his blessing over the decision of its lay leaders to support Ms. Robredo. “It is not right to be neutral when truth and the country’s future are at stake,” said the bishop, who was wearing a pink face mask. “To be neutral means that you support evil.” — Karen Lema/Reuters

Ukraine is model for Taiwan defense should China violate its ‘sovereignty’ — US official

REUTERS

WASHINGTON — Ukraine’s stiff resistance against the invasion by Russian forces could be a model for Taiwan to defend itself should China choose to violate the island’s “sovereignty” by attacking, a senior US defense official told a Senate hearing on Thursday.

The United States, like most countries, does not have formal ties with Taiwan but is its main arms supplier, and has long urged it to buy cost-effective and mobile defense systems — so-called “asymmetric” weapons — to counter China’s more powerful military.

“I think the situation we’re seeing in Ukraine right now is a very worthwhile case study for them about why Taiwan needs to do all it can to build asymmetric capabilities, to get its population ready, so that it can be as prickly as possible should China choose to violate its sovereignty,” said Mara Karlin, assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans and capabilities.

Under the United States’ “one China” policy, Washington only acknowledges China’s stance that the island belongs to it, but takes no position on Taiwan’s sovereignty.

China bristles at any reference to democratically self-governed Taiwan as independent, and Beijing’s ambassador to Washington warned in January that US encouragement of independence could trigger a military conflict between the two superpowers.

Asked about Ms. Karlin’s remark to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, said some in the United States have abetted forces for Taiwan independence in a bid to hold back China’s rejuvenation.

“This would not only push Taiwan into a precarious situation, but also bring unbearable consequences for the US side,” Mr. Liu said in an e-mail.

Jessica Lewis, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, told senators that the United States continues to urge Taiwan to procure asymmetric systems, which had been “used to great effect in Ukraine.”

Taiwan needs to prioritize short-range air defense, naval sea mines and coastal defense and cruise missiles, Ms. Lewis said, adding that the United States and Taiwan were increasingly seeing eye-to-eye on what qualified as an asymmetric system.

“We’re working with them on that today. I think we have a much deeper understanding of that right now,” Ms. Lewis said.

Ms. Lewis said Taiwan also needed to take a cue on reserve force reforms from Ukraine, which has volunteer territorial defense units and around 900,000 reservists, and that its population “has to be ready to fight.”

“Obviously we don’t want there to be a conflict in Taiwan,” Ms. Lewis said. Taiwan has just created “an all-out defense mobilization organization” and is working with the US National Guard in the development stage, Ms. Lewis said. — Michael Martina/Reuters

IMF chief Georgieva says Ukraine war to lower global growth forecast

WASHINGTON — The war in Ukraine and massive sanctions against Russia have triggered a contraction in global trade, sending food and energy prices sharply higher and forcing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to lower its global growth forecast next month, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday. 

The global lender had already lowered its economic forecasts for the United States, China and the global economy in January, citing risks linked to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, rising inflation, supply disruptions, and US monetary tightening. 

At the time, it projected global economic growth would reach 4.4% this year, a downgrade of 0.5 percentage point. 

Ms. Georgieva told reporters the unprecedented sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine had caused an abrupt contraction of the Russian economy and it faced a “deep recession” this year. She said a default by Russia on its debt was no longer seen as “improbable.” 

The chief economist of the World Bank told Reuters this week that both Russia and Belarus were squarely in “default territory.” 

Ms. Georgieva gave no detailed forecast for Russia or the global economy. The IMF is due to release its updated World Economic Outlook in mid-April. 

In a separate interview with CNBC, Ms. Georgieva said the fund still expected “a positive trajectory” for the world economy, but said the duration of the war would play a crucial role in determining growth and the future of multilateral cooperation. 

The IMF’s executive board on Wednesday approved $1.4 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine to help meet urgent spending needs and mitigate the economic impact of the invasion. 

Ms. Georgieva told reporters on Thursday that the IMF was preparing to present a “funding mechanism” that would allow others to help Ukraine, but gave no details. 

She told CNBC that she expected mounting pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine given the spillover effects it is having on economies around the world, including China. 

She said she had spoken on Wednesday with a Chinese central bank official who expressed great concern about the loss of human life and suffering in Ukraine. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we actually see a bit more pressure on Russia to stop the war, because of the spillover it has on … all economies,” she said. 

Ms. Georgieva told reporters that China had more policy space to cushion the impact of the war, but it might find it hard to achieve its target growth rate of 5.5%. 

She said the IMF had no program or policy relations with Russia at this point and its Moscow office was not operating. Members have condemned the war, which Russia calls a special military operation, but there has been no discussion about ending Russia’s membership in the global lender. 

Ms. Georgieva added that it was “highly, highly, highly improbable” that Russia would be able to find a central bank to exchange its IMF Special Drawing Rights into currencies. 

She said the surge in inflation triggered by the war meant monetary tightening already underway in many countries would “go faster and go further” than expected. 

It would also have serious consequences for Latin America, the Caribbean, some Middle Eastern countries like Egypt and many countries in Africa. — Andrea Shalal/Reuters

Dubai a favorite destination as some Moscow-based bankers beat path to exit

REUTERS

In the scramble by some bankers and financial industry executives to leave Moscow, Dubai is turning out to be a favorite location to land. 

Some bankers at Moscow offices of financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Rothschild & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have either left or are considering moving, as operating in Russia becomes increasingly difficult, several sources familiar with the matter said. 

Goldman Sachs on Thursday became the first major Wall Street bank to say it was exiting the country following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, followed swiftly by JPMorgan Chase while Citigroup Inc. said on Wednesday it was limiting operations. 

Employees in Russia worry that they could get caught in the middle of rising tensions between Moscow and the West, sources said. 

It was unclear exactly how many bankers have left Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 and how long they might stay abroad. 

Around half of Goldman Sachs employees in Moscow have moved or are in the process of moving to Dubai, sources familiar with the matter said. The bank had around 80 staff in Moscow. 

Bloomberg previously reported some Goldman bankers were moving to Dubai. 

A handful of JPMorgan bankers from Moscow are in Dubai, but the bank did not have a formal relocation program, a source familiar with the matter said. JPMorgan has about 160 staff in Moscow. 

One Dubai-based banker at a separate international bank said the firm had relocated about four people from Moscow to Dubai, and a few more were coming in the next few days. 

Separately, two sources familiar with the situation said Rothschild is considering moving bankers from Russia, and one of the options being considered was Dubai. Rothschild declined to comment. 

While Dubai has emerged as a favored destination for many of these people, the sources said, one of the sources said other destinations for departing bankers included Turkey. 

“There’s no particular playbook,” said one of the sources, a Moscow-based financial industry professional now in Dubai, when asked how long people were planning on staying. 

Gulf Arab states have so far taken a neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They have deep ties with Russia through stakes in companies and the oil cartel OPEC+. 

Part of the draw of Dubai is logistics. While a number of countries closed their airspace to Russian planes after the Ukraine invasion, flights have been operating between Moscow and Dubai, a major financial center about five hours away with a time-zone difference of just one hour. 

In a sign of demand, the cheapest one-way airfare from Moscow to Dubai on Emirates jumped as much as 30-fold to $2,369 for departures between Wednesday and Friday, Google Flights data showed. — Megan Davies, Davide Barbuscia and Aziz El Yaakoubi/Reuters

Households squeezed as US consumer prices accelerate; more pain coming

gas-pump-automobile-3153420_1280

WASHINGTON — US consumer prices surged in February, forcing Americans to dig deeper to pay for rent, food and gasoline, and inflation is poised to accelerate even further as Russia’s war against Ukraine drives up the costs of crude oil and other commodities.

The broad rise in prices reported by the Labor Department on Thursday led to the largest annual increase in inflation in 40 years. Inflation was already haunting the economy before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, and could further erode President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.’s popularity.

The Federal Reserve is expected to start raising interest rates next Wednesday. With inflation nearly four times the US central bank’s 2% target, economists are expecting as many as seven rate hikes this year.

Lower-income households bear the brunt of high inflation as they spend more of their income on food and gasoline.

“Consumers’ shock at rapidly rising gas prices at the pump will continue to put pressure on the Fed and policymakers to do something, anything, to slow down the speed at which prices everywhere are moving higher,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The consumer price index increased 0.8% last month after gaining 0.6% in January. A 6.6% rebound in gasoline prices accounted for almost a third of the increase in the CPI. Gasoline prices had declined 0.8% in January. Food prices jumped 1.0%, with the cost of food consumed at home soaring 1.4%.

Prices for fruit and vegetables increased by the most since March 2010, while the rise in the cost of dairy and related products was the largest in nearly 11 years.

In the 12 months through February, the CPI shot up 7.9%, the biggest year-on-year increase since January 1982. That followed a 7.5% jump in January and was the fifth straight month of annual CPI readings north of 6%. February’s increase in the CPI was in line with economists’ expectations.

Last month’s CPI data does not fully capture the spike in oil prices following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Prices shot up more than 30%, with global benchmark Brent hitting a 2008 high at $139 a barrel, before retreating to trade around $112 a barrel on Thursday.

The United States and its allies have imposed harsh sanctions on Moscow, with Biden on Tuesday banning imports of Russian oil into the United States. Russia is the world’s second-largest crude oil exporter.

US gasoline prices are averaging a record $4.318 per gallon compared with $3.469 a month ago, AAA data showed.

Mr. Biden on Thursday acknowledged the hardships Americans were facing from sky-rocketing prices, but blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions.

“As I have said from the start, there will be costs at home as we impose crippling sanctions in response to Putin’s unprovoked war, but Americans can know this, the costs we are imposing on Putin and his cronies are far more devastating than the costs we are facing,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.

Soaring inflation is wiping out wage gains. Inflation adjusted average hourly earnings fell 2.6% on a year-on-year basis in February, the Labor Department said. Moody’s Analytics estimates that inflation at February levels was costing the average household $296.45 per month, up from $276 in January.

Economists expect the annual CPI rate will peak above 8% in March or April and start to slow in the following months as the high readings from last spring drop out of the calculation.

Stocks on Wall Street were lower. The dollar gained versus a basket of currencies. US Treasury yields rose.

SOARING RENT COSTS 

Inflation was ignited by a shift in spending to goods from services during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and trillions of dollars in relief from the government. The resulting surge in demand ran against capacity constraints as the spread of the coronavirus pushed millions of workers out of the labor market, making it harder to move raw materials to factories and finished goods to consumers.

Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI increased 0.5% last month after advancing 0.6% in January.

A 0.5% rise in the cost of shelter like rental accommodation as well as hotel and motel rooms accounted for more than 40% of the increase in the so-called core CPI. The cost of rent jumped 0.6%, the most since March 2005. Rental costs are sticky and will keep core CPI hot.

“Due to the way rents are sampled in the CPI, resampling every six months, the index tends to lag other indicators such as the Zillow Observed Rent Index, suggesting CPI rents will likely continue to rise strongly for a while yet,” said Daniel Vernazza, chief international economist at UniCredit in London.

Consumers paid more for household furnishings and operations, motor vehicle insurance as well as clothing and personal care. Airline fares soared 5.2% as sharply declining coronavirus infections boosted demand for travel.

But prices of new motor vehicles rose modestly while used cars and trucks fell, suggesting some easing in pent-up demand. Motor vehicles were one of the main drivers of inflation because of a global semiconductor shortage.

In the 12 months through February, the core CPI vaulted 6.4%, the largest year-on-year gain since August 1982, after increasing 6.0% in January.

Despite high inflation, tighter monetary policy and the conflict in Ukraine, a recession is not expected. Demand for labor is strong, with a near record 11.3 million job openings at the end of January. Households are sitting on about $2.6 trillion in excess savings.

“The cost to consumers is high,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “However, there are also reasons to be optimistic that consumers can weather a temporary spike in gasoline prices, as household balance sheets in aggregate are in great shape. Gasoline spending as a share of total nominal consumption is low.”

Though a separate report from the Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 227,000 for the week ended March 5, they remained at levels consistent with a tight labor market. — Lucia Mutikani/Reuters

Jobs open up for homeless people in UK labor market squeeze

REUTERS

WATFORD, England — When Zara Asamoah graduated early in the coronavirus pandemic, she had no fixed abode and her chances of finding work looked remote.

Now, thanks to an acute lack of job candidates as Britain’s economy reopens and to support from Beam, a crowd-funding social enterprise that helps homeless people into work, Ms. Asamoah has a job with a London railway operator and lives in a shared house.

“It’s taken a huge pressure off of me,” said the 25-year-old, who found it hard to apply for jobs without a stable address, and to get a home without regular income.

Globally, a shortage of people to fill jobs after the pandemic wrought changes to labor markets is worrying central banks who fear wage demands will fuel inflation already at multi-decade highs.

In Britain, the problems are exacerbated by a drop in EU workers after the country left the European Union. Vacancies are the highest on record. As a result, organizations that work with people employers were long wary of, including homeless people as well as other typically marginalized groups such as ex-offenders, say more opportunities are opening up.

Beam estimates interest from employers in its services has tripled since the start of the pandemic. It has ramped up operations to help nearly 30 people a month into jobs so far this year, compared with about 3 a month in 2019, before the pandemic.

While firm numbers of how many homeless people are now being drawn into the workplace are hard to come by, the potential pool of labor is large.

In December, charity Shelter estimated 274,000 people were homeless in England, most of them like Ms. Asamoah crashing with friends and family, rather than sleeping rough.

VACANCIES SURGE, WORKFORCE SHRINKS 

Britain’s ratio of 4.1 vacancies to 100 employee jobs is a record.

During the pandemic many older workers took early retirement and young people opted to stay in education. In late 2021, the share of 16- to 64-year-olds not in work and not looking for it stood at 21.2%, up from 20.2% in early 2020, government data shows, equivalent to around half a million missing workers.

Sonali Punhani, chief UK economist at Credit Suisse, said the problem was currently even more acute in the United States, where emergency welfare payments have sidelined many workers.

But Brexit meant Britain’s recovery would likely be slower.

“Workers will come back over this year but I don’t think participation will come back to pre-pandemic levels,” Ms. Punhani said.

Emily Hocking, head of talent acquisition for buses and trains at Arriva Group, the parent of Arriva Rail London which hired Asamoah, said the situation was “incredibly tough” for employers.

“Brexit, COVID — it’s completely changed the landscape,” she said.

Faced with candidate shortages that were “not sustainable,” Arriva looked for more hires from new sources. After a successful trial between Beam and its London unit, Arriva now plans a national-level partnership.

A WEEK TURNS TO YEARS 

As well as the high demand for labor, organizations such as Beam are key to breaking the cycle that keeps homeless people out of work.

Ms. Asamoah was first left without a fixed address in 2016 when her mother was evicted over rent arrears. She stayed first with her boyfriend at the time, then a family friend, then her sister, doing only occasional part-time work.

“A week turned into two weeks. Two weeks turned into a month. A month turned into a year,” she said. “I realized that we were just not going to get the family home back.”

Ms. Asamoah stuck to her filmmaking course at university despite the upheaval. After graduating in 2020, she was struggling again to find somewhere to stay when her local council put her in touch with Beam.

Crowd-funding of just over 3,000 pounds ($3,936) got Ms. Asamoah into a shared house a year ago and covered the cost of a laptop and other expenses. Beam coached her on job interviews and introduced her to employers, including Arriva.

Alex Stephany, Beam’s founder, said companies could meet the challenge of worker shortages by doing “the right thing for society” and hiring ethically and diversely.

Interventions Alliance, an organization that helps former offenders find jobs, said it was now much easier to place its clients with a wider range of companies, including transport and hospitality businesses that were previously reluctant.

“There is now much more openness,” said Suki Binning, the group’s executive director for justice and social care.

For Fox Group, a haulage and construction firm in Blackpool, northwest England, there is potential in nearby Kirkham Prison.

A shift to online shopping in the pandemic made drivers some of the most sought-after workers, compounding the loss of about 4% of Fox’s drivers and construction staff after Brexit.

Fox currently employs two former inmates of the prison and seven others who are allowed out to work during the day. In the next few weeks, Fox will open an academy to train and potentially hire 45 inmates as machinery drivers on day release and once they are fully released.

“It’s a bit of a no-brainer,” director Lee Hardy said. “There are loads of guys out there who want to work and we’ve got work that we can offer.” — William Schomberg/Reuters 

Exports quicken, imports ease in January

The value of locally made products grew to its fastest pace in five months in January thanks to strong external demand while imports eased to its lowest in three months, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Friday.

Preliminary data from the statistics agency showed merchandise exports went up by 8.9% year on year to $6.043 billion that month, faster than the revised 7.3% growth in December and a turnaround from a 4.4% decline in January last year.

It was the quickest pace since the 18.9% increase logged in August last year. Export growth has remained in the positive territory for the 11th straight month.

January import bill meanwhile increased annually by 27.5% to $10.739 billion, easing from 39.1% growth in December but higher than 22.1% recorded in January 2021.

It was the slowest reading since 25.2% growth in October last year. This marked the 12th straight month that imports’ growth stayed in positive territory.

This brought trade-in-goods deficit of $4.696 billion in January, smaller than the $5.273-billion gap in the previous month but wider than $2.878-billion deficit in the same month last year.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee expects goods exports and imports to rise by 6% and 10% this year.

All major export products showed an expansion in January.

Exports of manufactured goods, which accounted for 83.7% of the total overseas sales for January, climbed by 7.2% year on year to $5.057 billion.

Exports of electronic products increased by 8.2% to $3.508 billion, accounting for more than half of total exports in January. Of the total, semiconductors, which made up the bulk of electronic products, contributed $2.62 billion, up by 10.5% year on year.

Agro-based products increased by 29.2% to $459.21 million, which accounted for 7.6% of the total exports.

Meanwhile, forest products grew by 9.5% to $34.44 million; mineral products increased by 17.2% (to $401.27 million); and petroleum products by 152.6% (to $1.14 million).

The imports of raw materials and intermediate goods reached $4.432 billion, up by 29.6% in January.

Mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials climbed by 97.2% to $1.413 billion. Similarly, purchases of capital and consumer goods grew by 16.1% to $3.185 billion and 11.4% to $1.637 billion, respectively.

Economists attributed the increase in demand for locally made goods to the reopening of most economies that month.

“As most economies open, particularly our trading partners, trading activities began to spike up again,” Asian Institute Management (AIM) Economist John Paolo R. Rivera said in an e-mail interview.

Exports expanded on the back of improved external demand in January and preorders, Security Banking Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan. J. Roces said in a separate e-mail interview.

“However, supply chain difficulties may have blunted its full growth potential,” Mr. Roces said, expecting the February trade data to rebound further as markets reopened.

In January, Metro Manila and surrounding areas were placed under Alert Level 3, which imposed strict mobility restrictions to contain the surge of new infections brought by the coronavirus disease 2019’s Omicron variant.

It was gradually lifted to less severe Alert Level 2 in February and the capital region and other locations are now on relaxed Alert Level 1.

Meanwhile, Mr. Rivera said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this February may have an impact on the Philippines’ trade figures going forward.

“The supply chain is disrupted by the war. We need to look for alternatives — strengthen local supply chain and or coordinate with our regional supply chain ASEAN, East Asia, and APAC,” he said.

The Duterte administration’s economic managers had said that the crisis between Russia and Ukraine — that saw global oil prices skyrocketing — will have minimal impact on the Philippine economy and will not last very long.

The United States, which accounted for 15.5% (or $934.77 million) of the total receipts, was the top export destination in January. It was followed by China’s 14.6% share and Japan’s 13.7%.

China, meanwhile, was the country’s main source of imports in January, with a 19.3% share (or $2.069 billion) of the total bill, followed by South Korea’s 9.8% and Japan’s 8.8%.

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