MANILA, Philippines – As Japan pursues its growth strategy, the Philippines remains an attractive investment destination for manufacturers, officials said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Combined earnings of all locally-listed firms climbed in the first quarter on strong performance of the retail, banking and infrastructure sectors.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s top economic manager said he remains unperturbed by the weakening of the peso and the local bourse, saying these barometers are going into a ‘dip’ cycle.

PRESS RELEASE Position paper calls for freedom from violence, equality in capabilities and resources, and women’s voice to be the cornerstones of a stand-alone gender equality goal (New York, 26 June) Drawing global attention to the persistent factors that block the achievement of gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment worldwide, UN Women has launched…

MANILA, Philippines – A new report raised urgency for further mainstreaming climate change into the government’s planning and budgeting process so that archipelagic Philippines — the world’s third most vulnerable to weather extremes, sea level rise and temperature increase — can better build its resilience amidst projections that climate-altering global warming will worsen in forthcoming…

The Philippines ranks as the eighth biggest contributor in the global value chain, according to the World Investment Report 2013, a study conducted by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which was launched on Wednesday at the Great Eastern Hotel in Quezon City.

Data collection on social and economic development has come a long way, particularly since the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) — the eight anti-poverty goals internationally agreed upon more than a decade ago. Yet, much remains to be done, particularly in the area of gender statistics, which can help to illustrate the impact development policies have…

As a former oil industry executive, looking at how the new independent oil companies are gnawing away at the market share of the majors day in and day out, I can’t say I envy my former colleagues, some of them I had welcomed into the fold fresh out of college those days.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines risks losing “over $2.5 billion in potential renewable energy investments” due to delays in the crafting of rules and mechanisms that were causing investor uncertainty, a 2013 World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report said.

Every year, an estimated 14 million girls are forcibly married before they turn 18 . . . that’s something like 39,000 girls everyday! That was what girls-not-brides panelists told a 13,000-strong Women Deliver 2013 conference in Kuala Lumpur recently. Pictures on video and publications show girls ages 8 to 13, were looking so unhappy and…

Despite the (new) labor relations law, despite the watered-down rules issued, and despite DOLE’s oft-repeated commitment to speedy labor justice, a front-line med-arbiter in Southern Luzon continue ‘unintentionally’ delaying releasing decisions on certification elections in enterprises in export processing zones.

All poor families covered by 2015 State subsidy to the poor via the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program will further go up so that practically all of them are covered in two years’ time, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said on Monday.

BEIJING (AP) — An American executive said he has been held hostage for four days at his medical supply plant in Beijing by scores of workers demanding severance packages like those given to 30 co-workers in a phased-out department.

MANILA, Philippines – In what could be a test case for its strengthened powers to prosecute cases of oil cartelization, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been asked to indict officials of oil giant Chevron Philippines Inc., producers of Caltex petroleum products, for alleged predatory pricing through its service stations in Metro Manila.

ITUC calls on World Bank to implement key review panel recommendations 24 June 2013: The International Trade Union Confederation has called on the World Bank to adopt and implement key recommendations made by the independent Doing Business Report Review Panel, headed by South Africa’s Minister of Planning Trevor Manuel.

‘In the Philippines, call centers are not known to rotate their worker’s schedule because their operation is mostly at night. This takes a dangerous toll on their health.’

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) announced Monday that it is now opening the registration for Accreditation and Equivalency test takers from July 4 to August 2 for the exams to be administered in October this year in 17 regions nationwide.

Asbestos is a building material that is made from a collection of naturally occurring silicate minerals. It was popular with 19th century builders and manufacturers because it has a number of beneficial commercial qualities including good tensile strength, resistance to fire, affordability and sound absorption. However, asbestos has been banned by the European Union due…

MANILA, Philippines – More than a third of women worldwide are affected by physical or sexual violence, mostly at the hands of their intimate partners, according to a report by the United Nations.

MANILA, Philippines – Individuals whose taxes are automatically deducted from their salaries are increasingly paying a larger share of income taxes than the self-employed and professionals, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

Some P1 trillion worth of funds which are kept by the nation’s lenders with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) are set to be flushed out in accordance with the latest central bank mandate to rid the special deposit account (SDA) facility of retail placements.

JUST TWO weeks after the government announced a much-better-than-expected 7.8% GDP growth in 1Q2013 that bucked the regional growth slowdown, local stock prices grabbed headlines with the worst one-day dive since the Lehman crisis in October 2008. Many were stunned by the steep fall, especially following a new round of upgrades in analysts’ growth forecasts.…

SENTIMENT-LED volatility is expected to continue affecting markets, banks said, but investors will still see value in the Philippines given the country’s strong fundamentals.

RIYADH – More than 1.5 million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia have changed their residence status since April ahead of a planned crackdown on illegally registered expatriates in the world’s leading oil exporter, the labour ministry said on Saturday.

BEAT VIRUS THE NATURAL WAY. Mom Susan Quimpo shares her recipes for natural home remedies MANILA, Philippines – As a mom, at the first sign of a cold, fever or sore throat, I would shun the use of aspirin, paracetamol or the all-too-often prescribed antibiotic. I resort to these only as my last option.

The central bank has once again called for reforms in its charter, saying monetary authorities need additional powers to counter the current and potential future volatility in the country’s financial markets.

SWITZERLAND – Since moving to Switzerland 19 years ago, I have experienced my fair share of discrimination: My race, job, size and religion among others.

A World Bank-commissioned study revealed that eight out of 10 Filipinos “personally experienced” the impacts of climate change in the last three years.

BAGUIO CITY—Many children dream of becoming scientists and professionals, but their future careers used to be defined by the work they did for the family to help bring food to the table.