THE WORLD BANK has approved a $232-million loan for Philippine road projects, resuming funding for a program highlighted as an example that the lender was serious in addressing corruption.

HONG KONG -- Investors should sell bonds from Philippine conglomerate JG Summit Holdings, Inc. in favor of bonds issued by Indonesian coal producer Indika Energy, investment bank ING said yesterday.

BY THIS TIME next year, Filipinos traveling for business or pleasure to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia will no longer need to bring dollars that they have to exchange for the local currency in order to pay for their food or purchases.

PHILIPPINE SHARE prices closed 0.5% higher yesterday on continued bargain hunting, with the index hitting its highest level in more than three weeks, dealers said.

PRESIDENT Gloria M. Arroyo has ordered the release of P12.58 billion to cover the amount of Internal Revenue Allotment, or IRA, not disbursed to local government units (LGUs) due to the reenactment of the national bud-get in 2001 and 2004.

COOKING GAS prices will be more expensive by P0.50 per kilogram starting 12:01 a.m. tomorrow.

IT WILL only open its doors to the public tomorrow, but this Japanese restaurant chain already has Manila's fashionable set in a tizzy.

DETROIT, Michigan — Richard Hamilton scored 31 points and the Detroit Pistons advanced to the National Basketball Association semifinals for the sixth year in a row by defeating Orlando 91-86 yesterday.

Arsi Baliscan recounts that he was at a dinner with members of the foreign community when a German guest waxed eloquent about Palawan. The German said that he had been all over the world and had visited famous resorts, but none of these could hold a candle to what Palawan had to offer: "as close to Paradise as one can get on Earth" is how the province was described. Naturally, Arsi went to see for himself, and was impressed -- and berated me for not having yet seen the place.

BY THIS TIME next year, Filipinos traveling for business or pleasure to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia will no longer need to bring dollars that they have to exchange for the local currency in order to pay for their food or purchases.

A METRO MANILA WAGE DECISION could be announced today, with the regional board leaning towards a cost of living allowance (COLA) instead of an actual pay hike.

CONGLOMERATE Ayala Corp. expects moderate growth under a challenging operating environment this year, with the US credit crisis and rising commodity prices likely to affect its key businesses.

DESPITE a drop in oil prices, most Asian currencies fell against a stronger US dollar yesterday, with the peso hitting a five-and-a-half month low of P42.66 per dollar, as there was still no positive factor to give the local currency a boost, local currency traders said.

SHARE PRICES yesterday closed higher for a fifth straight session as oil prices eased slightly and investors hunted select blue chips, analysts said.

MALACAÑANG yesterday pressed Congress to "seriously consider amending the Electric Power Industry Reform Act," or EPIRA, citing the Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) "own admission that it had been passing on to hapless consumers its own sys-tems losses."

LEADERS of the three branches of government yesterday agreed to provide a higher budget for the Judiciary to make it competitive and responsive to the speedy resolution of cases.

Auctions, by their very nature, are speculative. And whether they occur in New York, London, or Southeast Asia, bidders have to deal with an element of the unknown.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — LeBron James scored 21 points while adding six rebounds and a play-off career-high 13 assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past Boston 88-77 yesterday to level their second-round series.

The delegates to the Global Filipino Nation international conference, held at the University of Makati from May 8 to 11, were, expectedly, as idealistic as Don Quixote. The discussions and subsequent recommendations coming out of the social, economic, and political modules would have made a believer out of the worst cynics. They certainly confirmed my own insistence that we overseas Filipinos do not lack in love for the Motherland.

THE NUMBER OF FILIPINO FAMILIES which consider themselves "mahirap" or poor has increased to around nine million, a new Social Weather Stations survey (SWS) showed.