
Philippine annual inflation at 0.9% in July
The headline rate was the lowest reading since October 2019.
Economists in a Reuters poll had expected an annual inflation rate of 1.1 per cent, within the central bank's forecast range of 0.5 per cent to 1.3 per cent for the month.
The annual core inflation rate, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was 2.3 per cent in July.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNA
a few seconds ago
- CNA
Duolingo raises 2025 revenue forecast as AI tools boost user engagement
Language-learning app Duolingo raised its annual revenue forecast and beat second-quarter revenue estimates on Wednesday, anticipating broader adoption of its AI-enhanced subscription tier among its global user base. The company's shares rose about 20 per cent in trading after the bell. Duolingo operates on a freemium model, offering basic language-learning features for free while providing premium capabilities through monthly or annual paid subscriptions. The company now expects revenue for 2025 to be in the range of $1.01 billion to $1.02 billion, compared to analysts' estimates of $996.6 million. It had earlier projected revenue between $987 million and $996 million for the year. Revenue in the April-June period was $252.3 million, compared with analysts' estimates of $240.7 million. Duolingo's two subscription tiers — Super, designed for frequent learners, and Max, tailored for advanced users — include AI-driven features such as video-call conversation practice with chatbots, personalized error analysis and enhanced feedback tools. Since launching an AI-powered video-call tool for Android in January, Duolingo has expanded the feature to additional languages, aiming to boost subscription growth by enabling users to practice natural conversations across a broader linguistic range. Duolingo's gross margin benefited this quarter from lower-than-expected AI costs, as the decline in margin from expanding Max and AI features was much smaller than the company had originally expected. "The cost of calling AI tools has come down a lot. Ads also did better; ads are not a big part of our business, but it turned out that it helped margin a little bit as well," CFO Matt Skaruppa told Reuters. Duolingo leverages generative AI to create and personalize bite-sized lessons across more than 100 language courses. In April, CEO Luis von Ahn said that after taking 12 years to develop the first 100 courses, the company's AI tools helped it introduce 148 new courses in roughly one year. Duolingo expects revenue for the third quarter to be in the range of $257 million to $261 million, compared to analysts' estimates of $253 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Straits Times
a few seconds ago
- Straits Times
'I won't humiliate myself': Brazil's president sees no point in tariff talks with Trump
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva poses for a picture after an interview with Reuters at the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, August 6, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado BRASILIA - As U.S. tariffs on Brazilian goods jumped to 50% on Wednesday, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Reuters in an interview that he saw no room for direct talks now with U.S. President Donald Trump that would likely be a "humiliation." Brazil is not about to announce reciprocal tariffs, he said. Nor will his government give up on cabinet-level talks. But Lula himself is in no rush to ring the White House. "The day my intuition says Trump is ready to talk, I won't hesitate to call him," Lula said in an interview from his presidential residence in Brasilia. "But today my intuition says he doesn't want to talk. And I won't humiliate myself." Despite Brazil's exports facing one of the highest tariffs imposed by Trump, the new U.S. trade barriers look unlikely to derail Latin America's largest economy, giving Lula more room to stand his ground against Trump than most Western leaders. Lula described U.S.-Brazil relations at a 200-year nadir after Trump tied the new tariff to his demands for an end to the prosecution of right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is standing trial for plotting to overturn the 2022 election. The president said Brazil's Supreme Court, which is hearing the case against Bolsonaro, "does not care what Trump says and it should not," adding that Bolsonaro should face another trial for provoking Trump's intervention, calling the right-wing former president a "traitor to the homeland." "We had already pardoned the U.S. intervention in the 1964 coup," said Lula, who got his political start as a union leader protesting against the military government that followed a U.S.-backed ouster of a democratically elected president. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore MRT track issue causes 5-hour delay; Jeffrey Siow says 'we can and will do better' Singapore ST Explains: What is a track point fault and why does it cause lengthy train disruptions? Singapore Three people taken to hospital after fire in Punggol executive condominium Singapore Elderly man found dead in SingPost Centre stairwell could have been in confused state: Coroner Singapore 81 primary schools to hold ballot for Phase 2C of Primary 1 registration Singapore S'pore and Indonesia have discussed jointly developing military training facilities: Chan Chun Sing Singapore Two workers died after being hit by flying gas cylinders in separate incidents in 2025 Sport Young Lions and distance runner Soh Rui Yong left out of SEA Games contingent "But this now is not a small intervention. It's the president of the United States thinking he can dictate rules for a sovereign country like Brazil. It's unacceptable." The Brazilian president said he had no personal issues with Trump, adding that they could meet at the United Nations next month or U.N. climate talks in November. But he noted Trump's track record of dressing down White House guests such as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. "What Trump did with Zelenskiy was humiliation. That's not normal. What Trump did with Ramaphosa was humiliation," Lula said. "One president can't be humiliating another. I respect everyone and I demand respect." Lula said his ministers were struggling to open talks with U.S. peers, so his government was focused on domestic measures to cushion the economic blow of U.S. tariffs, while maintaining "fiscal responsibility." He also said he was planning to call leaders from the BRICS group of developing nations, starting with India and China, to discuss the possibility of a joint response to U.S. tariffs. Lula also described plans to create a new national policy for Brazil's strategic mineral resources, treating them as a matter of "national sovereignty" to break with a history of mining exports that added little value in Brazil. REUTERS

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Lula plans new 'national sovereignty' policy for strategic minerals
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, August 6, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado BRASILIA - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Reuters on Wednesday of his plans for a new national policy treating strategic minerals as a matter of "national sovereignty" in order to avoid exporting minerals without adding value locally. "We won't allow what happened in the last century to happen again, where Brazil exports raw minerals and then buys products with very high added value," the president, known as Lula, said in the interview. "We want to add value in Brazil." Lula's comments came as a new 50% tariff hit U.S. imports from Brazil amid a political spat between the two countries linked to an investigation against the South American country's former president, Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro, under house arrest since late Monday, is standing trial on charges of plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 electoral defeat. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing. U.S. President Donald Trump, seen as a Bolsonaro ally, has decried what he calls persecution of Brazil's former leader. Trump has long sought to secure U.S. supplies of critical minerals, complaining of China's near-total control of the industry and striking deals with Ukraine to secure critical minerals in exchange for defense help. Currently, Brazil lacks a complete mapping of its mineral wealth, Lula said, adding that his government would start this process by setting up the national council on mineral materials and standards. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore MRT track issue causes 5-hour delay; Jeffrey Siow says 'we can and will do better' Singapore ST Explains: What is a track point fault and why does it cause lengthy train disruptions? Singapore Three people taken to hospital after fire in Punggol executive condominium Singapore Elderly man found dead in SingPost Centre stairwell could have been in confused state: Coroner Singapore 81 primary schools to hold ballot for Phase 2C of Primary 1 registration Singapore S'pore and Indonesia have discussed jointly developing military training facilities: Chan Chun Sing Singapore Two workers died after being hit by flying gas cylinders in separate incidents in 2025 Sport Young Lions and distance runner Soh Rui Yong left out of SEA Games contingent The council will safeguard Brazil's control of its mineral wealth, allowing the country to become a global leader in the energy transition, Lula said, adding that businesses will not face difficulties following the council's creation. "Few countries in the world have the opportunity that Brazil has in this area," Lula said. REUTERS