Your Morning Fix

• The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) proposed changes to regulations on non-deliverable exchange forward and swap contracts involving the peso, allowing for pre-termination or cancellation before the maturity date.
• Due to record-high rice imports last year, the farm gate price of unmilled rice dropped by 18.9% compared to the previous year, averaging PHP 20.29 per kilogram.
• Starting in April, Manila Water Co., Inc. customers will incur higher bills due to a tariff increase approved by the MWSS Regulatory Office to recover foreign exchange losses.
• New applications for unemployment benefits in the US fell to 220,000, slightly below economists’ expectations. However, sharp government spending cuts and an escalating trade war remain as risks to prolonged market stability.
• US President Donald Trump announced plans to impose a 200% tariff on European alcohol imports in retaliation to the EU’s proposed tariffs on American goods, further escalating the trade war.