THE peso yesterday extended its plunge, falling 19 centavos from the previous day’s close, after jitters set in following reports of low returns in local equities and low volume of overseas remittances, currency traders said.

“Investors at this time are still digesting first quarter-reports, and, to add to that, corporate demand for dollars coming from oil firms is still strong,” a currency trader said.

The local currency closed at P42.855 per dollar, down from the previous day’s close of P42.66. It went as high as P42.70 and as low as P42.86. The volume of trade dropped to $594 million from the previous day’s $850.76 million.

Another trader said remittances, which are expected to prop up the peso, are still not enough to offset offshore demand.

“Remittance inflow is still thin. It usually thickens at the end of May. But right now, there is still not enough to prop up the peso. The overall sentiment is still for a weaker peso,” the trader said.

THE World Bank board of directors has “unanimously” approved the National Roads Improvement and Management Project Phase 2, or NRIMP 2, and imposed several anticorruption measures to ensure that the projected is shielded from corrupt and colluding people.

ASIA Trust Development Bank, a thrift bank whose shareholders include the two state-owned pension funds and the Asian Development Bank, is for sale.

THE government bared on Wednesday the likelihood of increasing its foreign borrowings this year to its original plan of $1 billion.

The amount was previously halved to $500 million on account of low interest rates in the country.

THE peso yesterday extended its plunge, falling 19 centavos from the previous day’s close, after jitters set in following reports of low returns in local equities and low volume of overseas remittances, currency traders said.

FROM a handful of microlenders whose loan outstanding was a few million pesos in 2000, the number of microlending institutions today have swelled past 200 and their loan portfolio has reached P6 billion.

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has eased the rule on proof of identity and cut the number of ID cards that clients must show from the mandatory two to one.