Bad News

WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday that downside risks to global recovery have intensified due to recent turbulence in sovereign debt markets and continued financial sector weakness.

WASHINGTON – Singapore, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia would see their populations triple if everyone who wants to move there were allowed to, a poll released Friday by Gallup shows.

Out of 100 countries, the Philippines ranked a poor 63rd in a Newsweek magazine study of the world’s best countries in terms of health, education, economy and politics. In Asia, the country was the third to the bottom in the Newsweek ranking in its latest edition.

MANILA, Philippines – Some 17.3 million or 28 percent of Filipinos 15 years and older are smokers, according to the National Statistics Office.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) has activated its annual Oplan Balik Eskwela (OBE) Information and Action Center where parents, students and the general public can seek assistance on matters concerning the start of classes.

Like many people, I’ve become cynical of politicians’ promises so I have a suggestion. Each of the presidential aspirants must commit to 10 major policy changes he will implement within the first two years of his presidency. The commitment should be made publicly, in the form of a covenant with the people.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines dropped from 48th to 50th in ranking among 55 of the world’s leading financial systems and capital markets, according to the World Economic Forum Financial Development Report 2009.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines went down two notches in the most recent IT competitiveness index by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a division of the UK-based publication the Economist.

DESPITE the tax and credit reforms the Philippines instituted the past year, the country fell three ranks to place 144th in a list of 183 economies in the 2010 Doing Business Report as it remains one of 10 places in the world investors find most difficult to start and close a business.

The Philippines’ progress in governance and anti-corruption over the past decade failed to make improvements and was still behind its neighboring countries, the World Bank reported.

The United Nation’s Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) issued a stinging slap on the face of the country’s anti-drug czar President Arroyo after it named the Philippines a major transshipment point for methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu and ranked it among the top five sources in the world of the illegal drug.

Because it dismantled labs MANILA, Philippines—The branding of the Philippines as a top producer of shabu stemmed from its law enforcement agencies’ success in dismantling illegal drug operations and clandestine laboratories, a Malacañang official said Saturday.

GENEVA—Because of its exposure to natural hazards, the Philippines is one of the unsafest places on earth.

Funds parked at the Bangko Sentral continued to rise in May despite a series of rate cuts aimed at increasing lending to businesses.

Household savings rates of Filipinos have been declining over the years because of the impact of a growing young population on the economy, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported Thursday.

About P80 billion worth of funds lay idle in the banks in the first quarter of 2009, as news of global economic recession forced families of migrant Filipino workers to save their money instead of spend them, resulting in a dismal 0.4-percent growth in gross domestic product during the period.

Affluent Filipino consumers are holding back on spending because of economic uncertainties they anticipate in the next 12 months caused by the financial turmoil, according to Nielsen Company survey.

DESPITE the current economic slowdown, listed companies raised the amount they paid out to stockholders at the end of the first quarter this year, based on data released by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Internal Revenue believes that several corporate taxpayers have been dodging payments of their tax obligations.

MANILA, Philippines – Only about three million Filipinos are registered as individual taxpayers with the Bureau of Internal Revenues (BIR), the Department of Finance (DOF) announced yesterday.

NINE out of 10 Filipinos in Metro Manila have cut down on their spending out of fear they will make less money as a result of the economic crunch, but are optimistic the economy will get better, a survey says.

TOP companies raised by a fifth the cash reward for their owners last year amid an economic slowdown that has seen more firms slash jobs.

MANILA, Philippines – Business process outsourcing (BPO) firms are still struggling to find qualified workers from the ranks of graduates of Philippine colleges and universities.

MANILA, Philippines – Families of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are saving more of their family income as consumers brace against the full impact of the economic slowdown.

MOST of the rich Filipinos evade taxes, and many are members of civil society groups preaching compassion and demanding the rule of law, an official said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos start thinking about retirement early but still end up the least prepared when they actually reach old age, prompting most to seek work past retirement, according to a global retirement study conducted by Paris-based AXA.

PARIS, March 17, 2008 (AFP) – The IMF and OECD, two top world economy forecasters, struck alarmist notes Monday about crisis and threatening stagflation in the financial system and the need for measures to shore it up as markets sent distress signals. Only hours after the US Federal Reserve took emergency weekend action to keep…

FILIPINOS trust their religious leaders more than politicians and would probably elect them.

FILIPINOS are not financially savvy enough to help them tide over rough times and plan for a comfortable retirement, a survey by Citibank N.A. showed.

BAGUIO CITY – Filipinos are big “rice wasters.” The National Food Authority (NFA) said at least 25,000 sacks of rice amounting to about P22 million are wasted daily.