Pro-cyclical Fiscal and/or Monetary Conditions Have Been Attached to IMF Agreements During the World Recession Washington, D.C. – A new discussion paper from the Center for Economic and Policy Research finds that 31 of 41 of countries with current International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreements have been subjected to pro-cyclical macroeconomic policies that, during the current…

Brussels, 5 October : In a statement prepared by the ITUC, Global Unions Federations and TUAC for the annual meetings of the International onetary Fund and the World Bank (Istanbul, 6-7 October), the international trade union movement urged the international financial institutions (IFIs) to put job creation at the centre of their countrystrategies and programmes,…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The US unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in September, the highest since June 1983, as employers cut far more jobs than expected.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines ranked third in a global survey on microfinance, even topping the category on regulatory framework, a new report released by the International Finance Corp. (IFC) showed.

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo has ordered state pension funds to defer collecting loan repayments from its distressed members to allow them as well as the economy to recover from the devastation caused by tropical storm “Ondoy” by freeing up money for consumer spending.

THE Social Security System yesterday cut the interest rate on home repair loans to 9 percent from 13 to help members whose homes were damaged by tropical storm Ondoy.

China’s growth next year could be hit by credit strains and east Asian economies face the risk of inflation if they hold interest rates low, World Bank chief Robert Zoellick warned on Friday.

Dear Atty. Josie Lichauco, It is a great pleasure to be once more working with you in this our common objective, indeed a rare opportunity, to contribute to our country’s “democratic aspiration” in this “recent phase of human history”.

“Life is a game of chess, wrote Benjamin Franklin. Chess is life, according to Bobby Fischer. Just apply the lessons with love, patience and understanding. And passion. The whole world is the chessboard, the space that holds the chessmen, each an independent piece, but collectively interlinked in all they do. Like in real life, the…

This is how disaster management in our country has progressed through the years. Commonwealth toPost-Commonwealth Era During the Commonwealth days, two (2) executive orders were issued by the late President Manuel L. Quezon, namely, Executive Order 335 and 337. Executive Order 335 created the Civilian Emergency Administration (CEA), which was tasked primarily through the National…

MANY sections of the citizenry and media, including this paper, have expressed dissatisfaction with the way the government has handled the latest, and most devastating, physical disaster Metro Manila and its environs have suffered in 40 or more years.

IMF expresses concern over fiscal situation MANILA, Philippines – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the Philippine government should put on the breaks on its stimulus spending next year to prevent the country’s fiscal situation from deteriorating further.

THE CONVERSION of several public schools into evacuation centers for tens of thousands rendered homeless by Storm “Ondoy’s” floods should worsen the short shrift public school students have been getting from the Department of Education’s decision last August to cut class hours to five or even four hours. DepEd officials have justified the truncated class…

ANSWERING the question let me cut to the chase, and offer my answer to the question which entitles this piece. As a professional economist who has directed national sample surveys of Philippine poverty dozens of times for over two decades, I think that the current global slowdown is not worsening it, in the same way…

Can the lumbering elephant overtake the hyperactive dragon? What appeared unthinkable for decades, if not for more than half a century, may actually happen soon, perhaps as early as next year.

State-run Social Security System (SSS) cut down the interest rates of its loan window for home repairs and improvements from 13 percent to 9 percent to help members affected by tropical storm Ondoy.

PARIS (AP) — Unemployment is rising around the world as the recession leaves few corners untouched — but sharp differences remain between companies directly hit by financial or housing-market collapses and those that have deliberately protected jobs with expensive measures — including subsidizing shorter working weeks.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is set to adopt a package of relief measures for banks to enable them to extend assistance to bank customers adversely affected by tropical storm “Ondoy.”

MANILA, Philippines – The visiting high-level mission of the International Labor Organization (ILO) has gathered sufficient but “contradictory” evidence on the alleged extrajudicial killings of labor leaders in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo ordered yesterday that the list of basic commodities placed under price control be expanded to ensure that all residents affected by tropical storm “Ondoy” would be protected from profiteers.

The Supreme Court (SC) has decided in favor of the employer of a Filipino seaman by not ordering to give full death compensation to the latter’s family because of official findings that he committed suicide.

Malacañang yesterday welcomed the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) move to determine if the Philippine government is abiding by international labor laws by sending a mission to the country to investigate reports of abuse and state-sponsored killings of local labor leaders and members.

The Social Security System (SSS) has cut down its interest rate on home repair and improvement loans from 13 percent to nine percent to help members affected by tropical storm “Ondoy,” a top official said yesterday.

Two legislators yesterday blasted both the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for their utter failure to address the sorry plight of many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

ISTANBUL (Xinhua) – International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Friday that resuming economic growth does not mean the crisis is over, warning against risks of a stalled recovery and urging for reforms of the 186-nation agency.

INDIANAPOLIS — Before she dies, Dorothy Kuykendall wants her day in court. The 76-year-old from Terre Haute was exposed to asbestos, a toxin that can lead to a deadly cancer called mesothelioma, more than three decades ago when she handled the material regularly as a worker at the city’s Glas-Col Apparatus Co.

Most countries today encourage investment in the private sector to grow the economy and create jobs. The Philippine government is apparently an exception to this trend. Businessmen invest in a business to make money, and any sensible government encourages them to do so and be successful. Then other investors will come.

President Gloria Arroyo has ordered all government agencies to mobilize their employees to assist in ongoing relief and clean-up efforts in the aftermath of the devastation wrought by tropical storm Ondoy. The death toll from flooding unleashed by Ondoy has risen by more than 30 to 277, the government reported Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the Philippines to post stronger economic growth this year and next year after successfully weathering the global financial storm mainly due to fiscal and monetary reforms.

Apparently, if government heeded the findings of a study done 32 years ago, people shouldn’t even be living in those deadly subdivisions in Marikina. Felino Palafox Jr., a leading Filipino environmental planner, told Business Mirror and ANC that government had been warned about the serious consequences of allowing residential subdivisions in those places that experienced…