Decisive policy action is needed to ensure the world is not “plunged back into recession”, according to the OECD. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which represents the world’s richest nations, also lowered its growth forecasts.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney) — Europe’s economy will contract next year and the United States will see slower growth than previously forecast, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned Tuesday.

Philippine stocks gained again on Tuesday, sending the benchmark index to a new high of 5,586.46, up 0.13 percent, as investors continued to take a favorable long-term view on local equities.

THE PHILIPPINE economy could grow by 5.3% next year, Citigroup, Inc. yesterday said, as public spending and low interest rates support consumption and investment.

PHILIPPINE GROWTH will likely be capped at 6% over the next two to three years given the weak global economy, economists yesterday said as they urged the government to boost development via other sources.

Invest in initiatives that help low-income groups Tycoon Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala has urged private enterprises to join the bandwagon on “inclusive growth,” saying business initiatives that help address inequality in the country can be profitable.

Big money is about to descend once again upon the media industry, if it hasn’t already. Election campaign seasons always bring the industry a windfall, via both legitimate political ads and illicit payments to buy favorable coverage from members of the press. The magnitudes are now so staggering that in the last election year of…

THE PHILIPPINES has been ranked 87th among 141 nations in terms of being the best for business, a development officials said reflected rising investor confidence.

COMPANIES should practice “inclusive business” to help the Philippine government’s push for inclusive growth, speakers urged in a conference at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters yesterday.

The Philippines has a huge market potential for increasing so-called inclusive businesses (IBs) that could help address poverty, a study prepared for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) disclosed.

MANILA, Philippines – If the Philippines wants to significantly increase Filipinos’ incomes in the next 15 years, it must post an average annual growth of 6.7% during the period.

TOURISM Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. is confident the Philippines would break the 4.5-million tourist forecast for this year, revealing that the Department of Tourism continues to grow at 9.9 percent yearly average and even reaching 15-percent gross on some months.

President Benigno Aquino III has ordered the creation of special teams to exclusively handle cases of extra-legal killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and other forms of human rights violations by state and non-state forces.

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MANILA, Philippines – Thirteen organizations whose nominees come from the same families have been accredited for next year’s party-list polls, according to the complete list released by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday, November 29.

DOHA: Pilipina domestics have been hot favourites of Qatari households for decades. There have occasionally been talks of exploitation of these hapless workers — like their counterparts from other countries — in Qatari as well as expatriate homes, but there have also been reports of how many of them were pampered by their employers and…

Editor’s note: Janet Walsh is the deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Women’s Rights division. You can follow her on Twitter: @JanetHRW. The views expressed are her own. “If I looked nice, he hit me,” Ana L., a mother of five in Colombia, told me.

More than six million youths worldwide have either stopped searching for a job or had to take up additional studies due to the intense competition in the labor market, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said.

Many countries have ratified ILO conventions on maternity protection, but pregnant women still face workplace discrimination. Marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25), the ILO publishes guidelines on how to implement maternity protection policies.

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – Three miners drowned when sea water flooded their tunnel on Tuesday afternoon in Barangay Palanas in Paracale, Camarines Norte, police said yesterday.

LONDON – The euro zone economy is on course for its weakest quarter since the dark days of early 2009, according to business surveys that showed companies toiling against shrinking order books in November.

Business activity in the eurozone continued to contract in November, a survey suggests. The Markit eurozone Purchasing Managers’ Output Index was little changed from October, up to 45.8 from 45.7. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Cristobal said industrial roadmap finished and Industry Development Council revived by first quarter of next year. At least three basic industries – iron and steel, petrochemicals and copper – may start a sustained industrialization of the economy, and consequently increase the share of manufacturing to 30 per cent of GDP by 2016.

MANILA, Philippines – The 2011 list of government’s top earners is quite different from 2010. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) chairman used to top it. Not anymore.

PRESS RELEASE UNAIDS reports a more than 50% drop in new HIV infections across 25 countries as countries approach the 1000 day deadline to achieve global AIDS targets In addition, the number of people with access to antiretroviral therapy increased by 63% in the last 24 months—AIDS-related deaths fell by more than 25% between 2005…

The 25th of November will be the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It kicks off 16 days of global activism against gender violence. Two initiatives, one global and one in the Philippines, give an insight into the lessons we must learn and the future we can build.

While South Asia is still lagging in curbing child labour, South American countries like Brazil and Chile have made significant strides. From 33 countries of the Asia and Pacific, 12 countries have achieved moderate advancement, seven countries minimal, eight no advancement whatsoever while six were not even assessed, according to the latest findings on the…

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) – Let’s talk about sex. “Do we talk about sex? How many of us are openly talking about it,” Dame Carole Kidu, a member of the High Level Task Force for International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), asked members of parliament and civil society organisations from 13 Asian countries in…

The number of HIV/AIDS cases in the Philippines increased by 25 percent in the span of 10 years despite the 50 percent drop in the rate of infection worldwide, a United Nations (UN) report released on Wednesday shows.

BUSINESS CONFIDENCE recovered strongly this quarter as firms expected improvements in their operations and the macroeconomy, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday. Business optimism slips in third quarterBusinesses more upbeatBusinesses more upbeat in Q4