It’s been 15 years since I came out as a gay woman in the Philippines, and even if Aiza Seguerra is now an out adult lesbian with a girlfriend, Rustom Padilla is now BB Gandanghari, Pinoy Big Brother always has gay characters, and Boy Abunda is now out and proud, an educated Pinay I met…

THE GOVERNMENT will soon allow importation of “sensitive” commodities prone to smuggling only through select ports, the Department of Finance (DoF) said in a statement yesterday.

THE BENEFITS of the first ever investment-grade upgrade are grossly exaggerated. The behavior of the stock market last Monday, rising tentatively, retreated, and finally fell, supported this view. The stock markets’ hyperactive reaction to the upgrade before the Holy Week break was totally irrational.

The corruption and lack of transparency continuing to plague the Philippines are having a negative impact on trade and investments, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said in its latest report released Tuesday.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Unemployment across the 17 European Union countries that use the euro has struck 12 percent for the first time since the currency was launched in 1999.

ZAMBOANGA CITY—An estimated 100,000 Filipinos in Sabah are expected to flee to the Philippines by May, according to a government “worse case scenario” following an incursion by supporters of the sultan of Sulu in February and a subsequent crackdown by Malaysian forces in the area.

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MANILA – Optimism is soaring that the Philippines is finally becoming an Asian tiger economy, but critics caution a tiny elite that has long dominated is amassing most of the new wealth while the poor miss out.

Armed men believed to be NPA guerillas chopped down undetermined number of banana plants 8:00 p.m. Wednesday at Ortiz and Pagaran areas of DOLE STANFILCO, located at Brgy. Anahao Daan, Tago in Surigao del Sur.

Political and economic alliance Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of the Middle East is mulling over creating a unified recruitment system for domestic workers.

The Philippines has just achieved another key milestone — an upgrade to “investment grade” status. Investment grade typically ushers two possible benefits. First, the country’s risk premium (the extra interest rate that international lenders charge for relatively weaker macroeconomic fundamentals like tax collection, debt sustainability and low and stable inflation) could decrease, which means there…

Fitch Ratings on Wednesday gave the Philippines a historic thumbs up, rating the economy “investment grade” for the first time ever. There is no spoiling this development. It is good news. Our leaders deserve credit as well as some basking in the limelight. By leaders though, it’s important to stress that this refers to both…

Early Easter gift for PH “It’s an early Easter for the market,” said a fund manager after Fitch Ratings raised the Philippine credit rating to investment grade on Wednesday, a move expected to boost investments and lift the country’s long-term growth potential.

THE Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) cases recorded in Northern Mindanao have already reached to more than a hundred, an official from the Center for Health Department in Northern Mindanao (CHD-NMR) said.

An association of recruitment agencies in the Philippines lifted on Wednesday its self-imposed ban on the deployment of domestic workers to Hong Kong. According to a report of the South China Morning Post (SCMP) news site, the Society of Hong Kong Accredited Recruiters of the Philippines, Inc. (SHARP) imposed the ban after the Philippine government…

PARIS – Life expectancy in Russia has marked time since the collapse of the Soviet Union but risen in its former eastern-bloc allies, The Lancet reported on Wednesday.

LONDON — Europe’s financial crisis is costing lives, with suicides and infectious diseases on the rise, yet politicians are not addressing the problem, health experts said on Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines – “Mission Impossible.” This was how President Aquino described the proposed Magna Carta for the Poor that he vetoed, as the government had no means to allocate around P3.3 trillion from the P2-trillion annual national budget to uplift the lives of the poor.

MANILA – (UPDATE 4, 5:19 p.m.) Fitch Ratings has lifted the Philippines’ credit ratings to investment grade, the first time the country has bagged the seal of good fiscal housekeeping. In a statement, the international credit rating firm on Wednesday said it hiked the country’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BB+’.…

MANILA – (UPDATE 3, 5:17 p.m.) The business community on Wednesday welcomed the Philippines’ upgrade from Fitch Ratings, but reminded the government that foreign direct investments (FDI) — the kind that creates jobs — won’t be forthcoming if constraints to doing business in the country remain.

The following statement was released by Fitch Ratings on Wednesday, as it upgraded the Philippines to investment grade:

In their rush to approve the Magna Carta of the Poor, lawmakers put in funding provisions that raised questions from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), President Benigno Aquino III said on Tuesday.

MANILA — The number of Filipinos getting married has continued to decline, the National Statistics Office reported on Wednesday.

Traders urged to strengthen forex sources other than remittances The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas wants an export sector development agenda drawn up to ensure that the country’s foreign exchange reserves remain at a healthy level in the face of worsening global economic conditions.

(CNN) — As leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa convene in Durban, the term “BRICS” used to describe these rapidly growing economies is so last year; today everyone is talking about the “CIVETS.”

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) — The Philippine government admitted Wednesday that it is more difficult to pursue peace talks with the leftist rebels than with the Muslim insurgents.

FOR the first time, the Philippines has attained investment-grade status, courtesy of the UK-based Fitch Ratings, in the first of an expected series of upgrades seen to result in even more foreign inflows to help accelerate the economy down the line.

The Philippines secured its first investment grade credit rating on Wednesday, courtesy of debt watcher Fitch Ratings, along with a stable outlook that is expected to lead to more foreign investments, increased access to credit and reduced borrowing costs.

MANILA (2ND UPDATE) — The Philippines got its first long-coveted investment-grade rating on Wednesday, as Fitch Ratings gave the country a ‘BBB-‘ with a stable outlook. An investment grade status opens up the country to more investments that can lead to additional jobs and funds for infrastructure, and help create sustainable economic growth.

MANILA, Philippines – What it means for Phl: An investment grade rating means the Philippines has a strong ability to meet its financial commitments fully and on time. While credit ratings do not indicate investment merit, credit risk is one of the factors taken into consideration by businessmen. An investment grade sends a message that…