AN upscale Italian-products boutique at the recently opened TriNoma mall in Quezon City reflects business confidence that people will still buy for the holidays despite concerns over rising oil prices. Monetary authorities on Thursday decided to cut policy rates by 25 basis points, setting interest rates at a 15-year low and putting the economy on a potentially higher growth plane than forecast. A World Bank report was also upbeat about Philippine growth, which it said could hurdle problems from the soaring oil prices and a feared slowdown in the US economy. --ROY DOMINGO

THE monetary authorities decided to cut policy rates by 25 basis points effective Friday, setting interest rates at a 15-year low and putting the entire economy on a potentially higher growth plane than originally forecast.

THE Philippines can only resort to a fixed exchange-rate system to achieve a more stable economy if it has achieved a balanced budget and if there is strong leadership in the government, Nobel laureate for economics Robert Mundell said on Thursday.

THE Philippines has a good chance of hurdling high oil prices and the projected contraction of the United States economy in the medium term, according to the World Bank (WB), which released on Thursday its latest East Asia and Pacific Update.

GOVERNMENT-RUN Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) has prequalified four of five interested bidder groups for the 25-year concession to operate the National Transmission Corp. (Transco).

MACAU—Yahoo! Inc., the Internet destination with the highest traffic in the world and a global Internet- services company, now offers Yahoo! Answers and Wikipedia content on Yahoo! oneSearch in the Philippines as part of continuing efforts to improve the delivery of quick answers from a variety of sources and increase content information available to mobile Internet users. 

THIS is the sort of story with an interesting timing, coming during budget season in Congress and amid an inquiry into how easily millions of pesos are dispensed for political allies of the Executive, thus raising once more the question of twisted priorities.

SENATORS confirmed having qualms over the House version of the P1.227-trillion budget bill approved on third reading this week and due to be transmitted to the Senate for concurrence, which includes P17.8-billion House cuts in annual appropriations for debt payments that were reportedly realigned to some congressmen’s pet projects.

DAVAO CITY—The poor girl who hanged herself here and whose death triggered a national discussion on poverty was raped, initial results of the autopsy conducted on her Thursday indicated.

A GROUP of manning agencies said it has convinced the government and other educational institutions in the country to create an assessment system of maritime students, which intends to weed out the “weak” ones at the early stages of their course, in hopes of increasing the passing rate of those taking the licensure examination.

THE Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) has warned of higher water rates as well as disruption in Metro Manila’s water supply if the Court of Appeals does not enjoin the Quezon City government from auctioning off its real properties and facilities for failure to pay tax dues of P230 million that have accumulated since 1993.

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UNDER the subdued glow of controlled lighting, air-traffic controllers watch dozens of aircraft converging in Manila, using the rectangular strips on the board to track their position, altitude and various information—instead of the radar scope in front of them, which is practically useless these days. Four scopes are supposed to work in unison but only three are working because of a lack of parts. --RECTO MERCENE