Being the Odd One Out Is Working for the Philippines

Give the Philippines its due. The country could emerge as one of the winners from the trade war. Ironically, this reflects shortcomings from an earlier chapter in Asian commercial history.
Victory in the tariff era is relative. Few countries, if any, will come out ahead. Confidence was badly shaken by the vast scale of duties imposed by the White House in April, even if many were suspended for several months after a market swoon. The Philippines has a decent shot at being harmed least. The levy thrust on Manila by President Donald Trump was 18%; within Southeast Asia, only Singapore fared better.

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While the conflict in the Middle East will complicate the picture in markets, the plan to reduce sales of 20-, 30- and 40-year bonds by a total of ¥3.2 trillion ($22 billion) through March next year was initially judged by rates strategists in Tokyo as a calming factor for trading in this key sector. The changes were presented by officials late Friday during a meeting with primary dealers. 'The bond market is being weighed down by concerns over rising oil prices and the upcoming 20-year bond auction,' said Naoya Hasegawa, chief bond strategist at Okasan Securities. But 'the direction of supply and demand for super-long government bonds has become clearer after the revised issuance plan.' The latest plan includes a reduction in 20-year bond sales that is twice the size suggested in earlier draft documents seen by Bloomberg and other media. A poorly received auction of this maturity debt last month set a fire under super-long yields in Japan and that spread in global markets. 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CNBC Daily Open: Have Trump's strikes on Iran bolstered or eroded his credibility?

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