Economy

US firms doubt ASEAN 2015 single market goal SINGAPORE – Two leading American business groups Tuesday said US firms operating in ASEAN countries are skeptical the regional bloc can meet a 2015 deadline to establish a single market.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is seeing a continued positive performance of the Philippine economy in the coming months.

SEVERAL months ago our No. 2 son moved out of our house and into a condominium near his office. For the first two months we barely saw him, as his newfound freedom from the watchful eye and protection of his parents and family meant late nights and long weekends of enjoying that freedom.

MANILA, Philippines – The government’s economic team is confident that the country could exceed growth targets this year with the economy seen expanding more than seven percent on the back of robust consumer spending and an improving global investment climate.

MANILA, Philippines — The economy is growing, but who’s enjoying it? President Aquino’s financial managers painted a generally rosy picture of the economy as the House of Representatives formally began deliberations Wednesday on the proposed national budget for next year.

The construction business that 47-year-old Alejandro Anareta Jr runs has seen brisk business in recent years, going from eight to 12 people when he first started to about 80 workers now.

The Philippines is seen to lead Southeast Asia in terms of growth as what was once regarded as Asia’s laggard spearheads an “outperforming” region this year until 2015 amid a weakening China.

MANILA, Philippines – Despite the reported economic gains achieved under the Aquino administration, four in 10 Filipinos think the state of the economy remained “unchanged” from the previous year, according to a recent survey by Pulse Asia.

“Mahigit apat sa kada 10 Pinoy o 43% ang nagsasabing walang nagbago sa sitwasyon ng ekonomiya kumpara noong isang taon.” Mas marami pa ring Pinoy ang naniniwalang walang nagbago sa ekonomiya ng Pilipinas.

ING Bank has significantly upgraded its growth forecast for the Philippines to 7.3 percent this year from its original projection of 6.1 percent.

For years Brazil, Russian, India and China were the world’s emerging market darlings. But concerns have grown around each of these.

Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday raised its Philippine economic forecast for the year but cut its growth projection for Asia-Pacific as a whole and citing the impact of a slowing growth in China, the world’s second largest economy.

Zamboanga Peninsula’s economy soared 12.4 percent in 2012 from 0.1 percent in 2011. This was the fastest growth in 2012 among the country’s 17 regions. The impressive economic performance of the region was brought about by the accelerated growths of the Industry and Services sectors.

LONDON (Reuters) – Global consumer confidence rose in the second quarter with more optimistic perceptions about jobs, personal finances and spending intentions in the United States, China and Japan, a survey shows.

MANILA, Philippines – Local and foreign banks have upgraded their growth forecasts for the Philippines this year on expectations that robust consumer spending and investments would thwart the impact of still-weak trade demand.

Creating better jobs for Filipinos and reducing the underemployment rate by half to about 10 per cent over the next two years would help the Philippines achieve the nearly impossible 2015 Millennium Development Goal on poverty reduction, the country’s top economic manager said.

MANILA, July 6 (Bernama) — Despite having glossy economic indicators, the Philippines has lagged behind other member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the year of 2012, according to a report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The Philippines faces tough challenges of reducing poverty, raising investments in the country and generating quality jobs for its people even as it enjoys impressive economic figures starting last year, the government’s chief socio-economic planner said Friday.

MACROECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS and fiscal targets for this year and 2014 were retained yesterday by economic managers as they chose to keep a “conservative stance” on growth goals.

Last June 19, Francis Estrada, former president of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), spoke before the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX). It was vintage Francis… incisive and to the point. He talked about the Philippines today… what is right with it… what are the challenges.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s top economic manager said he remains unperturbed by the weakening of the peso and the local bourse, saying these barometers are going into a ‘dip’ cycle.

MANILA — At his vegetable stand on a busy street in the Philippine capital, Lamberto Tagarro is surrounded by gleaming, modern skyscrapers, between which a river of luxury vehicles flows.

The Philippines needs to attract more foreign direct investments to complement domestic market-driven investment which it do by easing systems in doing business and by providing better infrastructure.

THE FIRST HALF of 2013 saw several positive developments in our country. The two recent credit upgrades obtained by the Philippines from Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s have placed the country in the investment radar of the international community.

THE PHILIPPINES will be able to withstand the turbulence in financial markets even as sell-offs look likely to continue in the short term, observers said. “Fitch Ratings thinks the Philippines is relatively well-placed among emerging market peers to absorb current market volatility…,” Fitch Asia-Pacific Sovereign Ratings head Andrew Colquhoun said.

WB says developing nations face risk of overheating The global economy is now poised to recover from a crippling crisis that started in 2008, with the Philippines and other developing countries driving expansion, according to a report from the World Bank.

MANILA, Philippines – Joblessness rose to a three-year high in April amid record economic growth as new graduates flooded the job market while unfavorable weather conditions stymied hiring in the agricultural sector, officials said yesterday.

Now it’s official: the Philippines is the fastest-growing economy in Asia. Beating China’s first quarter growth (7.7 percent) by a hair, our 7.8-percent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) was proudly homegrown, achieved in the face of a hefty drop (-7 percent) in exports. This implies that domestic demand for our economy’s goods and services…

MANILA – The Philippines’ faster economic growth and the gains in the stock market cannot be sustained, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

The Philippines is growing at a faster pace among the five biggest economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation or ASEAN-5, supported by robust government spending and increased business confidence, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).