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Monday, April 13, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 181
P. | | 7 DAYS A WEEK
2-MO BORROWINGS RISE 60% ON RISKS HEDGING RAISING RATES ’TOO FAST OR TOO MUCH’ TO STIFLE GROWTH B A E. S J
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@andreasanjuan
CONOMISTS are warning against raising interest rates “too fast or too much” as doing so could further stifle economic growth. Days after the release of the March inflation data and two weeks head of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy meeting on April 23, some economists said they don’t see the need for the central bank to raise interest rates in an economy currently marred by supply-driven inflation and slow growth. Jonathan L. Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co. told the BUSINESSMIRROR in a Viber message: “Higher rates are meant to cool inflation, not kill growth. Tighten too fast or too much, and households cut spending,
businesses delay investments, and financial stress builds.” He said: “That’s how tightening can trigger a recession—not automatically, but if policy ignores timing and the economy’s fragility.” As such, Ravelas underscored that the real risk of monetary tightening right now is “overdoing” it. “The goal is a soft landing: slow demand just enough to stabilize prices without choking off jobs and growth,” Ravelas said, adding that the right dose protects the economy while an overdose breaks it. Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Department of Economics Associate Professor Luis F. Dumlao, meanwhile, explained to this newspaper that with March inflation S “R,” A
STALEMATE IN ISLAMABAD
US Vice President JD Vance (left) shakes hands with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saturday, April 11, 2026, while meeting in Islamabad for talks about Iran. The US and Iran ended a historic round of face-to-face talks early Sunday without reaching an agreement and the fate of the fragile, two-week ceasefire still unclear. Vance, who led the US delegation during the 21 hours of talks in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, said negotiations finished without a deal after the Iranians refused to accept American terms to refrain from developing a nuclear weapon. There was no immediate comment from the Iranian delegation, but Pakistani mediators called on both countries to maintain the ceasefire.
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B R J S. A
@reine_alberto
HE national government’s gross borrowings for the first two months of the year soared by 60 percent year-onyear to raise funds early amid geopolitical risks, including tensions in the Middle East. Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed total gross borrowings reached P886.998 billion as of end-February, surging by 60.48 percent, compared to the P552.692 billion in the same pe-
riod a year ago. Broken down, the domestic borrowings amounted to P684.343 billion, while external borrowings accounted for P202.655 S “B,” A
US-Iran talks end sans deal; ceasefire uncertain B M A, E. E C, B F C B The Associated Press
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SLAMABAD—The United States and Iran ended a historic round of face-to-face talks early Sunday without reaching an agreement and the fate of the fragile, two-week ceasefire still unclear. Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation during the 21 hours of talks in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, said negotiations finished without a deal after the Iranians refused to accept American terms to refrain from developing a nuclear weapon. There was no immediate comment from the Iranian delegation, but Pakistani mediators called on both countries to maintain the ceasefire. “It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire,” Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said, adding that his country will try to facilitate a new dialogue be-
tween Iran and the US in the coming days. The discussions in Islamabad began Saturday, a few days after a fragile ceasefire was announced as the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week. Vance said he remained in constant communication with US President Donald Trump and others in the administration during the negotiations. “But the simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” Vance told reporters. “That is the core goal of the president of the United States. And that’s what we’ve tried to achieve through these negotiations.” The vice president said he spoke with Trump “a half dozen times, a dozen times, over the past 21 hours” S “US-I,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES US 59.5020 ■ JAPAN 0.3743 ■ UK 79.9588 ■ HK 7.5958 ■ SINGAPORE 46.7783 ■ AUSTRALIA 42.1334 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 15.8562 ■ EU 69.6352 ■ KOREA 0.0403 ■ CHINA 8.7113 Source: BSP (April 10, 2026)