MANILA, Philippines – The non-performing loan ratio of universal and commercial banks improved to 3.26 percent in November last year from 3.37 percent a month earlier due to the expansion in the industry’s total loan portfolio, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines shrugged off the global recession and posted a net portfolio investments inflow of $388.02 million last year, a complete turnaround from the $1.784 billion outflow posted in 2008.

Over breakfast at the Tuesday Club this week, Agriculture Secretary Art Yap redeemed this administration from the impression that it does not know what it is doing on the sugar situation. Secretary Yap confessed that he was surprised when he read newspaper stories quoting DTI Secretary Peter Favila saying government-to-government importations will be immediately resorted…

Boost your energy and maintain a healthy body by working out every day. MANILA, Philippines – The New Year always inspires new beginnings and new resolutions to do better. This 2010, why not develop and adopt good habits that could help improve your health and well-being? Here are some tips on how to embrace a…

MANILA, Philippines – The local government is hopeful that the US Congress will pass a vital garments bill known as “Save Our Industries Act of 2009” during the first quarter of this year.

MANILA, Philippines – The Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG has released P100 billion in benefits to its members in 2009, Vice President and Chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Noli De Castro said the other day.

ON JAN. 1, 2010, the China-Asean Free Trade Area (Cafta) went into effect. Touted as the world’s biggest Free Trade Area, CAFTA is billed as having 1.7 million consumers, with a combined gross domestic product of $ 2 trillion and total trade of $ 1.3 trillion.

Experts believe it is the polyphenols in green tea that may make it beneficial Drinking green tea may offer some protection against lung cancer, say experts who studied the disease at a medical university in Taiwan.

THE government has identified 558 election hotspots and at least 170 private armed groups across the country, members of the National Security Council-Cabinet cluster said Wednesday.

The Board of Investments plans to remove the fiscal incentives granted to high-rise housing and condominium development projects from the annual Investment Priorities Plan for failing to address the country’s housing backlog.

More than 500 officials and employees of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reiterated their support to the proposed new immigration bill pending before both houses of Congress.

The Department of Education (DepEd) – National Employees Union assailed Malacanang for allegedly using DepEd’s funds for an emergency employment program that turned out to be a political gimmickry meant to polish President Arroyo’s image.

JAKARTA: Indonesia has asked to rewrite a new regional trade pact with China, citing fears of job losses because of a flood of cheap Chinese imports across various sectors, officials said Wednesday. The government has sought to maintain 228 tariff lines for another two years rather than cut them as required under the Asean-China Free…

MANILA, Philippines – The Dangerous Drugs Board, in an effort to further strengthen the fight against substance abuse in the Philippines, is calling for the conduct of random drug tests for government employees.

“Religions derive their power and popularity in part from the ethical compass they offer. So why do so many faiths help perpetuate something that most of us regard as profoundly unethical: the oppression of women?”

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to release today the official list of candidates for president, vice president and senators in the May elections.

WASHINGTON – Top US bankers Wednesday admitted mistakes that led up to the global financial crisis as they came under intensive grilling at a special inquiry into the economic calamity.

MANILA, Philippines–The economy, gauged using the leading economic indicators (LEI) index, continued to slide for the sixth consecutive quarter in October to December, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board.

Consumers and enterprises alike suffer from green fatigue, an ennui born from too much hype and too little substance around green technology. But as green technology becomes more synonymous with cost-saving technology, enterprises have begun to warm to the idea. Contact centers, in particular, have begun to explore the homeshoring or work-at-home agent model, a…

THE 132 authors of the Reproductive Health bill have promised to block the passage of tax measures and Constitutional Convention bills being rushed by the House leadership in the last nine days of session, and after the House leadership removed the population control measure from the list of priority bills.

A status quo order has been handed down by the Supreme Court (SC) stopping the government from implementing its radio-frequency identification (RFID) decal contract which is expected to raise more than P1.6 billion for the Land Transportation Office (LTO) this election year.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday told the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to put a group representing lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) back on the list of accredited party-list names that may run in the 2010 elections. It issued a temporary restraining order enjoining the Comelec from implementing its resolution denying the application for accreditation…

Outsourcing activities would continue to flourish this year as more companies worldwide would turn to it as an emerging business model rather than just a way to cut costs during a crisis, an IT consulting firm said.

MANILA, Philippines – When it comes to eating food, Filipinos just can’t say “No”, a survey by Reader’s Digest magazine found. The survey, covering 16 countries, asked over 16,500 people around the world about their views on weight and eating.

Local sugar millers should take the challenge of DTI Secretary Peter Favila “to just export all their outputs.” Favila bravely asserted that the government can already take care of domestic sugar supply via government-to-government import deals. True to form, Favila does not appear to know what he is talking about.

MANILA, Philippines – The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) reported another banner year last year after loan disbursements jumped 30 percent as the pension fund manager extended more loans to help members.

MANILA, Philippines – Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap expressed confidence yesterday that the agriculture sector managed to post a slight growth last year in spite of the back-to-back devastation caused by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows posted a double digit growth in the first 10 months of last year due to stronger equity capital inflows and higher reinvested earnings, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. reported yesterday.

This is another labor case of a seaman who incurred work-related disability. The question arising here is the kind of disability he suffered which determines the amount of compensation he should receive. This is the case of Jason, an Able Seaman employed by NB Shipping U.K. Ltd. (NB) through its local agent (PTC) for a…

MANILA, Philippines – Involuntary hunger has reached record numbers, with almost one in four Filipino households going hungry in the past three months, according to a Social Weather Stations survey.