NSCB says global crisis trimmed median-income group   A FILIPINO household has to earn close to half a million pesos this year to remain in the middleclass, according to the National Statistical Coordinating Board (NSCB).Romulo Virola, NSCB secretary-general, said the country’s middle class is likely to have shrunk in light of the global financial crisis.

The town of  Marshall, North Carolina, according to story in the News-Record & Sentinel, has been cited by the state department of labor for several serious violations regarding the removal of asbestos-containing tiles from its city hall.

I’m not one for cliches, but whoever said “You are what you eat” was onto something. Fill up on doughnuts and pizza, and you’re more likely to sport a round shape with a soft center. But if you munch on fresh produce, fish and poultry, chances are you’ll be as lean as what’s on your…

THE country is sending fewer domestics to Hong Kong, Singapore and Italy, where Indonesian women are willing to work for less than the $400 a month that Filipinos charge, Labor officials said yesterday.

111th Anniversary of Philippine Independence Kalayaan 2009 MEGA JOB & LIVELIHOOD FAIR June 12-14, 2009 In 19 cities involving 1,000 employers offering at least 170,000 vacancies.

Diokno, Salceda says 2nd quarter may get worse   The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Monday described the worse-than-expected first quarter economic growth results as “a mild recession.”

MANILA, Philippines—Like breast cancer, abuses against women in the Philippines are as rampant and as deadly if left undetected.

MANILA, Philippines – More decent and high paying jobs await Filipino workers with higher job orders abroad, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.

The casualties are increasing around the world and tension has reached fever pitch. Even church authorities have declared a holy war against this modern-day evil. Now, you don’t have to hold hands with the persons next to you when you pray or sing Our Father during Mass.

Q. My mom is 91 years old. She is taking nine prescription medicines and three vitamins every day. Lately, she is often confused, dazed, and slow in moving. Could this be due to her medicines? Can you help us? — Marivic

Exercise: It’s cheap, readily available, and the single most effective step people can take to avoid chronic and potentially fatal diseases. If it were being hawked on late-night TV, you’d think the phone lines would be tied up for hours.

HAGONOY, Davao del Sur, Philippines – Residents of a village here have called on the Department of Health (DOH) to reconsider its call for a stop to aerial spraying of fungicide in view of its serious repercussions to the banana industry and to their livelihood.

MANILA, Philippines – Government employees will receive higher salaries starting July 1, Malacañang announced yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Noli de Castro has remained as the country’s top performing and most trusted government official in the country while President Arroyo continued to receive the highest disapproval rating, a recent survey by Pulse Asia revealed yesterday.

The New People’s Army staged a daring daylight attack on a military camp in Baragay Polangi, Catarman, Northern Samar. Killed were two soldiers belonging to the Philippine Army’s 20th Infantry Battalion. The attackers carted away firearms and ammunition. Fr. Santiago Salas, spokesperson of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines Eastern Visayas, congratulated the NPA…

MANILA, Philippines – Various groups have expressed support for the creation of a special court that will try intellectual property (IP) violations.

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Energy (DOE) expects to draw in as much as $27 billion in new investments in the country’s renewable energy sector over the next 20 years.

MANILA, Philippines—A member of an international mission has recommended that the Philippine government condemn all forms of attacks against lawyers and judges, and prosecute all perpetrators “with urgency and fervor.”

Movie directors, composers, authors, legal experts, policy-makers and others are meeting here this week to discuss the “threats and opportunities” the Internet poses to copyright in the digital age.

Slump worse than the 9/11 aftermath   KUALA LUMPUR: The world’s airlines are expected to lose nine billion dollars this year, industry body IATA said Monday in a drastic reassessment of the worst slump the industry has ever faced.

AUTOMOBILE sales picked up in May from the previous month, but the number of vehicles sold in the first five months was still lower than last year, according to industry groups.

Despite being hit by the global financial crunch, South Korea is expected to employ some 5,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the next 10 months under a memorandum of understanding that was signed recently between Seoul and Manila.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has joined the new Buy Pinoy campaign that seeks to encourage Filipinos to favor the consumption of locally produced goods and services, over those imported or smuggled into the country, in order to stimulate the domestic economy and create new jobs.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The rescue of US auto icons General Motors (GM) and Chrysler signals a new focus in Washington on preserving a manufacturing sector seen as critical to the fragile economy, analysts say.

THIS entry is based on the study this author made on the survey released this April by the National Statistics Office on all types of private building construction in the Philippines. The study focused on residential construction since it is meant for prospective Pinoy homeowners and residential developers.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Manuel Roxas said yesterday he will ask the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to look into the reported influx of Chinese electrical engineers into the country, to the disadvantage of their Filipino counterparts.

MANILA, Philippines – Many children in the Philippines, especially in Mindanao, go to school hungry, according to the United Nations.

MANILA, Philippines – The recovery has not been spectacular, but the country’s electronics industry has been inching up since the month of March.

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines – Another worker died at the Hanjin shipyard at the Subic Bay Freeport, reportedly the 27th fatality in the shipbuilding facility.

The government will likely drop a plan to draw up a separate development program for the motorcycle industry following the lack of interest on the program.