Economy

THE World Bank on Wednesday raised its economic growth forecast for the Philippines starting this year until 2012, citing strong private and public spending as well as the recovery of global trade. In the latest issue of the Philippines Quarterly Update, the Washington-based lender revised upwards its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 4.4…

As in her mother, former President Corazon Aquino’s administration, President Aquino had resorted to dream targeting for the economy.

MANILA, Philippines – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) upgraded anew yesterday the Philippines’ economic outlook for this year after the stronger-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter of the year.

With inflation slowing to 3.9% in June, Philippine monetary authorities are confident inflation for 2010 and next year will not go beyond its targets. I agree. But inflation should be the least of the new administration’s worries. With the global sentiment turning in favor of deficit reduction and against further stimulus, the risk of reigniting…

The President’s three prime tasks PRESIDENT Gloria Arroyo has left her successor a dysfunctional state, falling global competitiveness and continuing mass poverty. Can President Benigno Aquino 3rd begin to set things right?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fears that the economic recovery is fizzling grew Thursday after the government and private sector issued weak reports on a number of fronts: Unemployment claims are up, home sales are plunging without government incentives and manufacturing growth is slowing.

Subesident-elect urged to widen cash transfers THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) will propose higher taxes, rice sufficiency, expansion of conditional cash transfer and bigger infrastructure spending to be included in the country’s economic blueprint. Augusto Santos, acting Socioeconomic Planning secretary, on Monday told reporters that Neda will submit a strategic Medium Term Philippine…

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas believes that the economy has what it takes to avoid a so-called “boom-and-bust cycle,” shrugging off speculations that the rare and robust growth in the first quarter may not be sustained due to financial risks abroad.

I’ve been having an argument with a fellow economist who thinks Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did just great as president. The trouble is that he belongs to a very small minority who thinks so. Overwhelmingly, the rest decry her performance.

MANILA, Philippines – New York-based Moody’s Investors Services said yesterday that the outlook for sovereigns and banks in Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines remained mostly stable despite the full impact of the global financial crisis.

First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC), the investment house of the Metrobank Group, said the second half of 2010 will be a period of economic consolidation while 2011 will lead to a full rebound of the Philippine economy.

Former Budget Secretary and now University of the Philippines professor Benjamin Diokno has insulted the university by issuing “irresponsible” criticisms over alleged misallocation of budget by the Arroyo administration, a senior faculty member of the UP School of Economics said on Monday. During a press briefing in Malacañang, professor Gonzalo Jurado, a former mentor of…

MANILA, Philippines – President Arroyo’s former professor in economics at the University of the Philippines has given her a grade of 1.0 for her poverty-reduction programs and 1.5 for her overall performance in steering the economy.

CAUTIOUS optimism prevailed in the consumer sector after the government raised this year’s economic targets on hopes of brisker household spending. Philippine economic managers on Tuesday revised the country’s growth target upwards following the better-than-expected expansion in the first quarter of this year.

PHILIPPINE economic managers on Tuesday revised the country’s economic growth target to a range of 5 percent to 6 percent from the earlier 2.6 percent to 3.6 percent. Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said the major drivers of expansion would be consumption, investments and exports.

SINGAPORE — Wealth in Asia-Pacific grew faster than in other regions around the world in 2009, according to a new global study. The region, excluding Japan, added 22%, or US$3.1 trillion, to its coffers from the end of 2007, a study conducted by US-based business advisory firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) stated.

The United Nations (UN) identified eight priority areas needed to be worked on so as to achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

Here’s something to think about as we celebrate our Independence Day: the “trilemma” between democratic government, free markets and the processes of globalization. The notion of a “trilemma” has emerged among commentators on the evolving financial crisis in Europe. It refers to the apparently irreconcilable qualities of the three elements characterizing the modern nation-state.

MANILA, Philippines – The World Bank (WB) has raised its forecast for the Philippine economy, saying the country’s GDP (gross domestic product) will grow 4.4 percent in 2010, higher than its original forecast of 3.5 percent.

MANILA, Philippines – Three of every 10 registered voters expect their lives to improve in the next 12 months, results of a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

APEC MINISTERS yesterday promised to hold off on imposing trade distorting measures designed to protect local economies until 2011. This comes as protectionist pressure still remains, along with high jobless rates, despite observations of a pickup in the global economy, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministers said in a joint statement released at the…

SWS poll finds 35% expect life to improve vs 9% who think otherwise LIFE IS LOOKING even rosier for Filipinos, with those expecting gains in the next 12 months far outnumbering compatriots of the opposite view, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

BUSAN, South Korea: Finance ministers from the world’s biggest economies must balance efforts to shore up a fragile global recovery with the need to slash deficits when a G20 meeting gets underway later Friday.

Despite the higher growth rates forecast for the region, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) reminded developing member-countries (DMCs) like the Philippines of the importance of fiscal prudence after the global economic crisis.

First-quarter GDP grew by 7.3% to the surprise of many analysts, including myself. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the first-quarter growth is not the type that you want to build on. It’s unsustainable, largely debt-driven, and non-inclusive.

The country’s economic expansion during the first quarter—the highest in 30 years—is unsustainable because it depended solely on election spending, a former Cabinet secretary said. Benjamin Diokno, the former Budget secretary during the Estrada administration, said the better-than-expected growth the Philippines experienced during the first three months was not sustainable because it was mainly driven…

AS in past election years, the Philippine economy surged in the first quarter of this year with a 7.3-percent growth, driven by the massive spending that accompanies every election, whether from government or otherwise. Also a factor but to a lesser extent has been the general recovery in rich economies from the global financial crisis,…

The world is recovering robustly from the global downturn, but eurozone debt and a risk of overheating in emerging economies are dangers on the prowl, the OECD said.

AMID the uncertainties seen lingering for the rest of the year, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) remains confident that it is possible for the country to sustain a 7-percent growth this year.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s merchandise imports climbed by 38.9 percent to $4.543 billion in March from $3.270 billion in the same period last year as payments for electronics surged by 35.4 percent during the review period, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported yesterday.