Luka Dončić, LeBron James combine for 57 points as Lakers halt Nuggets’ win run

February 23, 2025 | 6:53 pm

LUKA DONČIĆ had 32 points and 10 rebounds, LeBron James scored 25 points and the visiting Los Angeles Lakers beat the Nuggets 123-100 on Saturday night to end Denver’s nine-game winning streak.

Dončić logged 31 minutes, his most in four games with Los Angeles, which won for just the second time in its last 15 games against Denver, including the playoffs.

Austin Reaves scored 23 points and Rui Hachimura contributed 21 points for the Lakers. Los Angeles has won 14 of 18.

Nikola Jokic had 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his 26^th triple-doubles, but also committed six of the Nuggets’ 20 turnovers. Aaron Gordon scored 24 points, Jamal Murray added 19, Russell Westbrook finished with 17, Michael Porter Jr. scored 13 and Christian Braun contributed 10 points.

The Lakers led 63-54 at halftime behind 19 points from Dončić. They also capitalized on 12 Denver turnovers that led to 23 points.

The Nuggets opened the third quarter with eight straight points to pull within one, but Los Angeles responded with a 10-0 run to lead by 11. Westbrook’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to 80-74, but Hachimura and Reaves hit two each from long range to extend the lead to 94-82 late in the third.

Westbrook made two driving layups to cut Los Angeles’ lead to 96-87 heading into the fourth.

James opened the final period with a layup, Gordon answered with a short hook, then the Lakers started to pull away.

James hit a jumper, the Nuggets committed their 18^th turnover, Gabe Vincent hit from deep and Jordan Goodwin hit a jumper in the lane and a corner 3-pointer to extend the Los Angeles lead to 108-91 with 7:31 left.

Denver missed out on a timeout and James made two free throws to make it a 19-point game. Braun then drained one from deep, but Jokic turned it over in consecutive possessions and Dončić turned them into buckets to give the Lakers a 117-97 lead with 4:16 left.

The Nuggets emptied their bench and Los Angeles closed it out. — Reuters

Post-Dončić Mavs

February 23, 2025 | 6:52 pm

To argue that the Mavericks were listless when they faced the Cavaliers on the road shortly after the trade deadline would be an understatement. For one thing, they lost by a whopping 43 points, never mind their opponents’ superior win-loss slate at the top of National Basketball Association standings. For another, they had just been dealt a shocker following the deal that sent supposed foundational piece Luka Dončić packing. Considering that only 10 of them suited up for the set-to in the face of injuries to vital cogs, the emotional baggage was simply too much for them to handle.

On the other hand, it would likewise be an understatement to contend that the Mavericks have, at the very least, learned to adjust to their plight three weeks hence. In the seven games since suffering their most embarrassing setback of the 2024-25 season, they have gone a heady 5-2. Among their victims were the highly regarded Celtics (sans new All-Star acquisition Anthony Davis) and the equally dangerous Rockets (in which the latter put up 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks before exiting the set-to due to a groin strain).

It bears noting that while Davis remains out of commission since his sterling debut as Dončić’s replacement, the Mavericks have kept winning all the same. Although he is said to be “making good progress” in his convalescence, his status remains up in the air until he is evaluated anew in two weeks. Today, they’ll be putting their three-match winning streak on the line when they go up against the Warriors at Chase Center. Suffice to say they will not be intimidated by their opponents, rejuvenated by the arrival of two-way veteran Jimmy Butler; after all, they emerged triumphant versus the blue and yellow just one and a half weeks ago.

True, the Mavericks’ small ball predilections given their short rotation will not be sustainable. That said, if they can keep riding on the resolve of such notables as Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, not to mention continue to generate solid numbers from ex-Laker Max Christie, they may yet be able to stay in the running for a play-in slot. And then, when Davis returns, who’s to say they won’t be able to take the measure of the competition? If nothing else, the need for them to prove themselves post-Dončić should provide them with ample motivation to show their best.

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Ukraine opposes size of minerals fund to pay back US war aid

February 23, 2025 | 6:11 pm

Bloomberg-Zelensky-Kellogg — KEITH KELLOGG, US special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, right, and Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s President, during a meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine on Feb. 20, 2025. — ANDREW KRAVCHENKO/BLOOMBERG

UKRAINE has pushed back against US demands for a $500-billion fund that would be part of a deal to give Washington a cut of the country’s mineral wealth, a Ukrainian official familiar with talks said.

The fund would compensate the US for its assistance provided to the war-torn nation since the start of Russia’s invasion. Ukraine is arguing the actual amount is about five times lower at more than $90 billion, said the person who asked not to be named because the talks are private.

Negotiators need more time to finalize the deal as the current draft agreement proposed by the US has some questionable elements and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky isn’t ready to approve it, another person with knowledge of the talks said.

US President Donald Trump has piled pressure on Mr. Zelensky to accept the deal that’s been coming together against the background of escalating tensions between the two leaders and growing worries Ukraine will be shut out of eventual peace talks.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in the Financial Times on Saturday that the deal proposes that revenue received by the government in Kyiv from natural resources, infrastructure and other assets is allocated to a fund focused on long-term reconstruction and development of Ukraine, in which the US will have economic and governance rights.

This would ensure the transparency, accountability and corporate governance necessary to attract private investment, Mr. Bessent wrote.

“Let’s also be clear as to what this is not. The US would not be taking ownership of physical assets in Ukraine,” Mr. Bessent wrote. “Nor would it be saddling Ukraine with more debt.”

Ukrainian officials discussed the potential minerals accord with US special envoy Keith Kellogg during his visit to Kyiv this week, after Mr. Zelensky rejected an initial offer from Washington earlier in the month. The proposal envisaged securing 50% of license sales and other proceeds from the minerals, oil, gas and ports, which critics denounced as reminiscent of colonialism of centuries past.

There is currently no such a straightforward demand, but the lack of assurances of future military and financial aid remains a sticking point in the talks, the Ukrainian official said.

Mr. Bessent said in an interview with Bloomberg Television earlier this week that the minerals deal would lay the groundwork for a plan put forward by Mr. Trump to end the war by binding Ukraine to the US through economic ties, thereby providing a security shield.

Addressing a Conservative Political Action Conference audience outside Washington, Mr. Trump said “we’re going to get our money back” and “we’re asking for rare earth and oil — anything we can get.”

“I think we’re pretty close to deal — and we’d better be close to a deal,” he said.

Today, Ukrainian and US teams are working on a draft agreement between our governments. This agreement can add value to our relations—what matters most is getting the details right to ensure it truly works

The US pressure on Ukraine to sign the deal comes as Mr. Trump has made a series of statements that have put Mr. Zelensky in an uncomfortable spot.

The US president has also signaled he wants to reach a deal with Moscow on how to end the conflict without Ukraine at the table, and called the democratically-elected Mr. Zelensky a “dictator” with a 4% approval rating.

The Ukrainian leader, whose approval stood at 57% in a recent poll, fired back, saying the US president had fallen for Russian “disinformation.”

Kyiv would ideally want a final deal on the minerals to be signed in the presence of the US and Ukrainian presidents, according to the person familiar with the talks. Mr. Zelensky, who met with Mr. Kellogg on Thursday, has pushed for a meeting with Mr. Trump before any potential sit-down the US leader has with Russian President Vladimir Putin. — Bloomberg

Latin America prays for Francis, region’s first pope

February 23, 2025 | 6:10 pm

BUENOS AIRES — People across Latin America prayed for Pope Francis, the first leader of the Catholic Church to come from the region, as the Vatican reported on Saturday the Argentina-born pontiff was in critical condition in a Rome hospital.

Catholics from Mexico to Argentina and the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts attended masses, lighted candles and said prayers individually for the pope’s recovery.

“We … pray for him with trust in God and pray for his health with joy,” said Argentine priest Adrian Bennardins. He praised Pope Francis for making the global Catholic Church “closer, simple, fraternal, without leaving anyone out.”

About 54% of Latin Americans identified as Catholic in a 2024 survey by Latinobarometro that interviewed people in 18 countries, down from 80% in 1995.

Among the faithful, people said they felt kinship with Francis, who became Pope in 2013 and was admitted to hospital on Feb. 14, because of cultural affinity.

“Since he’s a Latino, he speaks our language and he shares the feelings of the Latino community because we come from a similar culture,” said Grisel Jimenez who was attending mass at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

Francis began his career as a Jesuit priest in Argentina and later served as archbishop of Buenos Aires and a cardinal.

In Buenos Aires, a picture of the pope with the phrase “the city prays for you” was being projected on the city’s famed Obelisk at nighttime from Friday to Monday.

Argentina issued a nationwide call earlier in the week to all “villas” and “barrios” — poor neighborhoods and towns — to pray for the Pope.

Gabriel Indihar, 50, heeded the call, believing in the power of collective prayer.

“When the community prays together, it has greater reach to God so he can make these miraculous transformations,” Mr. Indihar said. “That is the request we make for the pope.”

In neighboring Brazil, the largest Catholic country in the world, people also joined prayers.

“As a Catholic, it’s not just about worshipping Christ, but also praying for the pope, praying for our church and praying for the world,” said Helio Martins Da Silva, a churchgoer in Sao Paulo. — Reuters

Musk orders US federal workers to report on work by Monday or resign

February 23, 2025 | 6:09 pm

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration sent e-mails on Saturday evening to US federal government employees telling them to detail their work accomplishments from the previous week by Monday night or risk losing their jobs.

The e-mails came shortly after Elon Musk, the billionaire head of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), posted on the social media site X that not responding to the e-mail request would be viewed as a resignation.

“All federal employees will shortly receive an e-mail requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Mr. Musk posted on X. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”

Mr. Musk issued his post just hours after President Donald Trump posted on his own social media network, Truth Social, that DOGE should get more aggressive in its attempts to downsize and reshape the 2.3 million-strong federal workforce.

As of Saturday evening, e-mails were sent to employees across federal agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others with the subject line, “What did you do last week?”

The e-mail, seen by Reuters, asks employees to reply with five bullet points summarizing “what you accomplished at work last week,” and to copy their managers.

It was sent from a human resources address from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and gives employees until 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday to respond.

It is unclear what legal basis Mr. Musk has to terminate federal workers if they fail to respond to his request and what would happen to employees that cannot detail confidential work.

Some federal judiciary employees received the e-mail on Saturday from OPM, even though the court system is not part of the executive branch, people familiar with the matter said. The Administrative Office of the US Courts, the judiciary’s administrative arm, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Workers at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also received the e-mail, according to people with knowledge of the matter. However, most agency staff had been ordered not to perform any tasks since early this month, creating a conundrum. The agency is also under temporary court order not to resume mass firings pending the outcome of legal proceedings.

A spokesperson for DOGE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

UNION PROMISES FIGHT
The AFGE, the union representing federal employees, said in a statement it will challenge any “unlawful terminations.”

“Once again, Elon Musk and the Trump administration have shown their utter disdain for federal employees and the critical services they provide to the American people,” said Everett Kelley, the AFGE’s president.

The Trump administration’s fast-paced and controversial process to reduce government spending by shrinking the federal workforce spearheaded by Mr. Musk and his young aides at the cost-cutting DOGE has led to haphazard firings that resulted in numerous mistakes and forced several agencies to quickly rehire vital employees, such as those working on nuclear safety, defense and power generation.

The first wave of job cuts has targeted workers who are easier to fire, such as probationary employees on the job for less than two years or those who have started new roles within an agency.

The indiscriminate firings have led to DOGE terminating people whose jobs are not funded by taxpayers and have begun to anger people across the country who are concerned about a loss of services and the impact of federal job losses on local economies.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly talked about Mr. Musk as the functional leader of DOGE, which is not a cabinet-level department, but the White House said in a court filing this month that Mr. Musk had no authority over DOGE and was not an employee of the program.

Some federal agencies sent follow-up e-mails to employees advising staff not to respond to the e-mail over the weekend as they assess its validity and devise a protocol for responding to the message.

“To be clear, this is irregular, unexpected and warrants further validation by management,” said one e-mail sent to NOAA employees and seen by Reuters.

The Executive Office for United States Attorneys also sent an e-mail, seen by Reuters, to employees, advising them to wait to respond until they verify the validity of the e-mails.

Some federal employees, already on edge after two weeks of mass firings, expressed outrage after receiving the e-mail.

“After more than two decades of working in federal service, which includes all outstanding performance reviews and something like 18 performance awards, someone at OPM is going to read my five bullets and decide if I’m productive enough?” a source at a federal agency said. — Reuters

US exempts security funds from aid freeze — but little for humanitarian programs

February 23, 2025 | 6:09 pm

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration released $5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, mostly for security and counternarcotics programs, according to a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters that included only limited humanitarian relief.

President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe.

The freeze sparked a scramble by US officials and humanitarian organizations for exemptions to keep programs going. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said all foreign assistance must align with Mr. Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers in late January on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the top US allies in the Middle East, and for life-saving humanitarian aid, including food. The waivers meant those funds should have been allowed to be spent.

Current and former US officials and aid organizations, however, say few humanitarian aid waivers have been approved.

Reuters obtained a list of 243 further exceptions approved as of February 13 totaling $5.3 billion. The list provides the most comprehensive accounting of exempted funds since Mr. Trump ordered the aid freeze and reflects the White House’s desire to cut aid for programs it doesn’t consider vital to US national security.

The list identifies programs that will be funded and the US government office managing them.

The vast majority of released funds — more than $4.1 billion — were for programs administered by the US State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military affairs, which oversees arms sales and military assistance to other countries and groups. Other exemptions were in line with Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown and efforts to halt the flow of illicit narcotics into the US, including the deadly opioid fentanyl.

More than half of the programs that will be allowed to go forward are run by the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, or INL, and are aimed at helping fight drug trafficking and illicit migration to the US, according to the list.

Those exemptions were worth $293 million and included funds for databases to track migrants, identify possible terrorists and share biometric information.

A State Department spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Reuters could not determine if some exemptions had been granted but were not on the list.

Mr. Trump has long railed against foreign aid, which has averaged less than 2% of total federal spending for the past 20 years, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Mr. Trump has described the US “foreign aid industry” as “in many cases antithetical to American values.”

Billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has led an effort to gut the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the main delivery mechanism for American foreign assistance and a critical tool of US “soft power” for winning influence abroad.

In contrast to security-related programs, USAID programs received less than $100 million in exemptions, according to the list. That compares to roughly $40 billion in USAID programs administered annually before the freeze.

Exempted USAID programs included $78 million for non-food humanitarian assistance in Gaza, which has been devastated by war. A separate $56 million was released for the International Committee of the Red Cross related to the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the list showed.

The list did not include specific exemptions for some of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, including Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Myanmar and Afghanistan, which means funds for those places appeared to remain stopped.

Security exemptions included $870 million for programs in Taiwan, $336 million for modernizing Philippine security forces and more than $21.5 million for body armor and armored vehicles for Ukraine’s national police and border guards, the list showed.

The biggest non-security exemption was $500 million in funding for PEPFAR, the flagship US program fighting HIV/AIDS, which mainly funds healthcare services in Africa and is credited with saving millions of lives. That compares with PEPFAR’s annual budget in 2024 of $6.5 billion. PEPFAR is administered by the State Department’s global health bureau.

‘DYSFUNCTIONAL’
A current USAID employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the process for requesting exemptions as “very dysfunctional” and said the agency’s remaining staff have sought clarity on what criteria are being used. Mr. Rubio has said the Trump administration reached out to USAID missions overseas to identify and designate programs that will be exempted.

J. Brian Atwood, USAID’s administrator from 1993 to 1999, said reducing foreign aid to a narrow set of exemptions was shortsighted. “When people are starving or feeling desperate, they are going to become a security problem eventually,” he said. “They’ll migrate or become an immigration problem, or they will be more inclined to move to terrorism.”

The foreign aid that was paused by Mr. Trump had previously been approved by Congress, which controls the federal budget under the US Constitution. As a candidate and as President, Mr. Trump has said he opposes foreign aid for “countries that hate us” and would prefer to instead spend the money at home.

The exemptions in the list were granted before a federal judge last week ordered the Trump administration to restore funding for foreign aid contracts and awards that were in place before Jan. 20. Reuters was unable to establish what exemptions, if any, had been granted since Feb. 13.

Many of the unfrozen programs reflect Mr. Trump’s focus on drug trafficking, including funds supporting fentanyl interdiction operations by Mexican security units and efforts to combat transnational criminal organizations. Mr. Trump’s aid freeze has thrown a wrench into those efforts, however.

Reuters reported last week that the pause halted anti-narcotics programs funded by the INL Bureau in Mexico that for years had been working to curb the flow of the synthetic opioid into the United States.

More than $64 million was released to support Haitian police and a UN-approved international security force that is helping Haiti’s government fight escalating gang violence that has displaced more than one million people.

The money covers supplies of small arms, ammunition, drones, night vision goggles, vehicles and other support for the force, according to the list. The force is led by Kenya and includes personnel from Jamaica, Belize, the Bahamas, Guatemala and El Salvador.

The Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, focused on preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, received 17 exemptions worth more than $30.4 million, the list showed.

Also released was $397 million for a US-backed program in nuclear-armed Pakistan that a congressional aide said monitored Islamabad’s use of US-made F-16 fighter jets to ensure they are employed for counterterrorism operations and not against rival India.

Some of the released funds were for small expenditures — including $604 for Mr. Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system to run biometrics registration programs in the Darien Gap, a treacherous 60-mile route linking South and Central America used by US-bound illegal migrants. — Reuters

EU to pare back sustainability rules for companies, draft shows

February 23, 2025 | 6:08 pm

BRUSSELS/LONDON — The European Commission plans to cut back the number of companies facing European Union (EU) sustainability reporting requirements, as part of its drive to cut red tape for businesses, a draft document seen by Reuters showed.

Brussels plans to publish next week an “omnibus” proposal to simplify green rules for businesses, aiming to make local industries more competitive and respond to US President Donald Trump’s promise to scrap regulations.

The European Union is also facing competing calls from member countries including Germany and France demanding the green reporting rules are weakened — and others, including Spain, which have argued the rules are key to upholding the EU’s values on the environment and human rights.

A partial draft of the upcoming proposals, seen by Reuters on Saturday, showed the Commission is planning changes to the EU’s corporate sustainability reporting directive, which requires companies to disclose information about their environmental and social sustainability.

Under the draft proposal, which could still change before it is published, only companies with more than 1,000 employees and a net turnover exceeding 450 million euros ($471 million) would be subject to the rules’ obligations.

Currently, the rules apply to firms with more than 250 employees and a 40-million-euro turnover. The EU would also cancel its plans to adopt sector-specific reporting standards by next June, the draft said.

The document also detailed plans to delay the EU’s due diligence law — known as the CSDDD — which aims to ensure companies find and fix human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains, by imposing due diligence requirements upon large companies.

The draft proposal would require companies to only undertake in-depth assessments of their direct business partners, and subsidiaries, leaving out other subcontractors and suppliers in their supply chains. — Reuters

[B-SIDE Podcast] Unleashing Pandora’s Box: DeepSeek, LLMs, and the AI race

February 23, 2025 | 1:54 pm

Follow us on Spotify BusinessWorld B-Side

DeepSeek is a Chinese AI company that develops large language models, which is a type of AI program that can recognize and generate text, among other tasks. Its new AI model, R1, is said to rival the capabilities of leading AI models, while reportedly costing less to develop.

In this episode, BusinessWorld talks about LLMs, DeepSeek, and the AI arms race with Satnam Narang, a senior staff research engineer at Tenable Inc., a cybersecurity company.

Follow us on Spotify BusinessWorld B-Side

Interview by Patricia Mirasol
Audio editing by Jayson Mariñas

Philippines exits global watchdog’s dirty money ‘gray list’

February 23, 2025 | 1:50 pm

Bloomberg-Makati-buildings skyline — The Central Business District in Makati City, the Philippines. — VEEJAY VILLAFRANCA/BLOOMBERG

The Philippines has been taken off a global watchdog’s dirty-money list, a move that could spur remittances and foreign investments in one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force said on Friday that the Southeast Asian country is no longer on the list of nations under increased monitoring after a government push to step up efforts to counter money laundering and terrorist financing.

Bloomberg News reported earlier this month that the FATF was poised to make the move.

The removal from the so-called gray list should make it easier and cheaper for Filipinos working overseas to send money home — a key driver of domestic consumption — and may boost investments in a country where monthly inflows dropped 20% from a year ago in November.

The Philippines was the only country removed from the list, and the potential boost comes at a time of global uncertainty arising from US policies under President Donald Trump and Manila’s mounting tensions with Beijing in the South China Sea. Separately, Laos and Nepal were added to the FATF’s gray list.

A study by the International Monetary Fund found that gray-listings result in a “large and statistically significant reduction in capital inﬂows.”

The Philippines landed on the gray list in June 2021 after the FATF cited shortcomings in the nation’s efforts to fight illicit financial flows. The rise of offshore gaming operators across the country drew particular scrutiny.

The Philippines’ Anti-Money Laundering Council said that since its inclusion in the gray list the country has implemented key regulatory and operational reforms to mitigate dirty-money risks.

“These reforms have led to a marked improvement in the development and application of financial intelligence, enhanced financial investigative capabilities among law enforcement agencies, and a significant increase in money laundering investigations and prosecutions,” the council said in an emailed response to a query ahead of the FATF decision. — Bloomberg

Pope Francis in critical condition after health deteriorates, Vatican says

February 23, 2025 | 11:38 am

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican said on Saturday that Pope Francis’ health had deteriorated over the past 24 hours and for the first time described his condition as “critical”, reporting he had needed supplemental oxygen and blood transfusions.

The pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 after experiencing difficulty breathing for several days, and was subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.

In a statement on Saturday evening, the Vatican said the 88-year-old Francis had suffered a “prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis” during the morning that had required the administration of “high-flow oxygen”.

“The Holy Father’s condition remains critical,” the statement said. “The Pope is not out of danger.”

It added: “The Holy Father remains alert and has spent the day in a chair, though he is suffering more than yesterday. At the moment, the prognosis remains guarded.”

Besides the additional oxygen, the Vatican said he had also needed blood transfusions because tests showed he had a low platelet count, which is associated with anaemia.

A US-based doctor said the Gemelli team was probably using the transfusions to raise the pope’s levels of both red blood cells and platelets, which are small cell fragments in the blood that help form clots and stop or prevent bleeding.

Dr. Andrea Vicini, a Jesuit priest and professor at Boston College, stressed he only knew of the pope’s case through the Vatican’s public statements. “It seems it is under control, but his body is showing signs of difficulty to overcome (the) situation,” he said.

OUT OF SIGHT
The Vatican announced earlier on Saturday that the pope would not appear in public on Sunday to lead prayer with pilgrims, the second consecutive week he will have missed the event.

It is believed to be the first time he has missed two consecutive Angelus prayers for health reasons. After undergoing intestinal surgery in 2021, he led the Angelus just one week later, and skipped one public Sunday prayer in 2023 following another operation.

Double pneumonia is a serious infection that can inflame and scar both lungs, making it difficult to breathe. The Vatican has described the pope’s infection as “complex,” saying it is being caused by two or more micro-organisms.

In a briefing on Friday, two of his doctors said the pope was highly vulnerable due to his age and frailty.

Dr. Sergio Alfieri, a senior member of the Gemelli staff, said there was a risk the lung infection could spread to his bloodstream and develop into sepsis, which “could be very difficult to overcome”.

Francis, who has been pope since 2013, has suffered bouts of ill health in the past two years. He is particularly prone to lung infections because he developed pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed. — Reuters

Philippine central bank cuts reserve requirements further

February 21, 2025 | 4:04 pm

MANILA – The Philippine central bank on Friday said it was reducing the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks by 200 basis points from late March.

The reduction will bring the reserve requirement for universal and commercial banks down to 5% and will take effect in the week of March 28, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said in a statement.

The reserve requirements for digital and thrift banks will fall by 150 bps and 100 bps, respectively, on the same date.

The announcement comes after the BSP last week unexpectedly kept interest rates steady at a policy review. At the time, Governor Eli Remolona said the BSP would likely further trim the reserve requirements for banks but the timing was uncertain.

The BSP last cut RRRs in September by 250 basis to 7%.

“The BSP reiterates its long-run goal of enabling banks to channel their funds more effectively toward productive loans and investments. Reducing RRRs will lessen frictions that hinder financial intermediation,” the central bank said. – Reuters

Bridging financial gaps: Global Dominion’s support for women entrepreneurs

February 21, 2025 | 1:43 pm

By Sarah Tabing

Women entrepreneurs fuel innovation, create jobs, and drive economic growth. At Global Dominion, we empower women-led SMEs and MSMEs by providing accessible financing solutions to help them expand, invest, and sustain their businesses.

In the Philippines, women-led businesses continue to rise, demonstrating resilience, creativity, and leadership across industries such as retail, services, manufacturing, and logistics. Despite challenges like limited access to capital and resources, they thrive and make significant contributions to both local and national economies.

According to a 2024 article by the Philippine Commission on Women, more than half of women-owned MSMEs perceive access to finance as a significant challenge, compared to only one-third of men-owned MSMEs.

Additionally, a 2024 report by the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (PBCWE) highlights that women now comprise 40% of executive leadership teams in publicly listed companies in the Philippines, with the number of female CEOs gradually increasing. These findings underscore the critical role of women entrepreneurs in the country’s economic landscape and the ongoing efforts to promote gender equality in business leadership.

At Global Dominion, we are committed to supporting these businesses through customized financing solutions that meet their evolving needs. Our loan products—such as Sangla OR/CR (Car and Truck), Second-Hand Car and Truck Financing, Brand-New Car Financing, Real Estate Mortgage, Real Estate Financing, and Doctors’ Loan—offer flexible options to help businesses secure capital, scale operations, and invest in their future.

As of 2024, about 25% of Global Dominion’s financed portfolio consists of women-led businesses, reinforcing our commitment to empowering female entrepreneurs and promoting inclusive economic growth. By bridging financial gaps and providing tailored solutions, we help businesses overcome barriers and achieve long-term success.

At Global Dominion, we remain steadfast in our mission to support women in business by offering financial tools, resources, and opportunities to help them thrive. As more women explore financing options, we stand ready to turn their business aspirations into reality.

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