The yield on the one-year treasury bill rose at a fortnightly auction yesterday despite the government rejecting most bids. Banks were seeking even higher yields because of rising domestic inflation, but the Bureau of Treasury tempered the interest rate rise by accepting only a quarter of the tenders. The yield on the 364-day debt paper rose to 6.915 percent from the 5.993 percent fetched during the April 14 auction. The government rejected all tenders during the April 28 auction. Total tenders for the P6-billion offering reached P6.46 billion, but the government accepted only P1.97 billion in tenders to keep the yield down. Had the government awarded the entire lot, the average yield would have risen to 7.110 percent.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Four Asia-Pacific mobile providers — Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., Globe Telecom Inc. and SingTel subsidiary Optus Monday — said Monday they have signed an agreement with Apple Inc. to offer the iPhone in their respective markets later this year. SingTel will sell the multimedia gadget in Singapore, Bharti Airtel Ltd. in India, Globe Telecom Inc. in the Philippines and Optus in Australia, the companies said in a brief joint statement, without giving details. SingTel owns Optus and holds a 30.5 percent stake in Bharti and 44.5 percent in Globe. As of Dec. 31, 2007, SingTel had about 2.3 million mobile subscribers in Singapore and around 7 million in Australia. Bharti currently has about 64 million subscribers, while Globe reported a 21.3 million mobile subscriber base for the quarter ended March 31.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said banks’ foreign currency deposit unit (FCDU) deposit liabilities as of March decreased by 4.6 percent or $ 882 million to $ 18.14 billion. However, March’s FCDU deposit liabilities are 0.34 percent or $ 62 million higher than last year’s $ 18 billion. "The month-on-month net decrease of $ 882 million was attributed to the decline in both resident and non-resident deposits," BSP said. For the full year 2007, FCDU deposit liabilities were up 1.98 percent year-on-year to $ 18.26 billion. This is about $ 354 million more than 2006’s $ 17.905 billion. An FCDU is that unit of a local bank or local branch of a foreign bank authorized by the BSP to engage in foreign currency- denominated transactions such as accepting deposits and lending in foreign currency. More than half or 51 percent of the FCDU loan portfolio had medium to long-term maturities, and reflected a growth of 24 percent from the previous quarter. This would allow FCDU borrowers longer period to service their obligations. Last December, the Monetary Board of the BSP approved policy reforms revising the FX rules, which includes expanding the authority of FCDUs of thrift banks and rural/cooperative banks to deposit and borrow.

PERTH, May 12 (Reuters) — Oil fell on Monday, after topping $ 126 a barrel last week, as the market focused on a stronger US dollar and put aside supply worries for now. US light crude for June delivery fell 54 cents to $ 125.42 a barrel by 0630 GMT. It struck a new record high of $ 126.27 on Friday, thanks to fuel supply concerns and a rush of speculator buying. London Brent crude fell 77 cents. "The dollar has strengthened so that could have pushed down oil prices. I think some people in the market are also taking profit after the strong rally last week," said Robert Nunan, assistant manager of risk management at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo. The US dollar climbed back towards a two-month high versus a basket of currencies on Monday as weak economic data in Australia and New Zealand showed more signs of a global slowdown, giving the battered US currency a boost. Oil has jumped about 13 percent since slipping as low as $ 110.53 a barrel on May 1.