Economy

MANILA, Philippines – The Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) expects the Philippine economy to fall close to recession due to falling exports and declining remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

MANILA, Philippines – Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto yesterday assured that the government would step up efforts to address the rising unemployment rate in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – Despite its resilience, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the Philippine economy is still sensitive to a deeper and protracted global economic downturn requiring prompt and decisive policy action.

MANILA, Philippines – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed concern over the government’s swelling budget deficit.

FILIPINOS remain pessimistic in the first quarter as concerns over unemployment and low incomes outweighed the easing of inflation, according to a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) survey.

MANILA, Philippines – Despite the global credit crisis and its impact on most financial systems, the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) is still bullish over the growth prospects of the Philippine economy and its financial system.

MANILA, Philippines – The economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP) may grow by just three percent this year from 4.6 percent in 2008, according to the latest study on the Philippines by Barclays Capital.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP), may grow between 3.8 percent and 4.3 percent this year, an economist from the University of Asia and the Pacific (UAP) told an economic forum yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The government is set to revise downward the economic growth forecast for the year given the global economic recession, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto said yesterday.

Recovery from the current global financial crisis could even take longer than the 1997 Asian financial crisis, various international organization officials said Wednesday.

THE Philippines is likely to incur a bigger budget deficit for this year than what the government has programmed due to weak revenue collection and high expenditures, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Wednesday.

The Philippine economy as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP) will grow 4.3 percent this year even if the global financial crisis worsens, a government development think-tank said.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s economic growth is set to slow sharply this year as the economy faces “strong head winds” from falling global demand and a drop in remittances from Filipinos working abroad, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday.

The government will forego roughly P20 billion in potential revenues this year from the full-year implementation of the tax relief law, which increased the personal exemptions of taxpayers and waived the withholding tax on minimum wage earners.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s economic managers are sticking to the 3.7-4.7 percent growth target for the gross domestic product (GDP), saying the growth momentum would continue in 2009.

MANILA, Philippines – Economists see the country’s growth slowing down to 2.5 percent this year, despite the surprisingly strong performance in 2008, weighed down by declining remittances that has consistently funded domestic consumption.

THE Philippines may cut its forecasts for this year’s exports and inflation as the global recession deepens, forcing the government to increase spending and threatening to widen the budget deficit, an official said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Moody’s Investors Service affirmed yesterday its positive outlook on the Philippines’ credit ratings, retaining the country on its path towards a possible upgrade in the actual ratings.

ANGELES CITY, Philippines — President Arroyo said yesterday she is convinced that the country, despite the exports slowdown and rising layoffs, remains outside the scope of the global recession.

The Philippines is expected to sustain economic growth this year and outperform many of its Asian neighbors, according to a report by Moody’s Eco­nomy.com Inc.

MANILA, Philippines — The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has downplayed the bleak economic forecasts made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and US-based rating agency Standard and Poor’s for the Philippines.

Standard & Poors (S&P) has downscaled its growth projection for the Philippines in 2009 from the original forecast of 3.3 percent to only 2.2 percent.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) downscaled again its 2009 economic growth projections for the Philippines from its 3.5-percent estimate in November last year to only 2.25 percent.

MANILA, Philippines — A recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that more Filipinos expect their quality of life to improve in the next 12 months despite the global economic crisis.

The Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) is keeping its bleak economic growth projection for the Philippines this year despite what it termed as a surprising gross domestic product (GDP) growth last year.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. ruled out the possibility of an economic recession, expressing optimism that private consumption would continue to support economic growth.

The economy is likely to grow by 4.1 percent this year or within the government’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for the year of 3.7 percent to 4.7 percent, an economist from the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) said yesterday.

The economy is likely to grow by 4.1 percent this year or within the government’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for the year of 3.7 percent to 4.7 percent, an economist from the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) said yesterday.

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it has downgraded its growth projection for the world economy for this year as the financial markets remain under stress despite the policy measures introduced to provide additional capital and reduce credit risks.

ECONOMIC growth beat expectations in the fourth quarter as higher remittances helped sustain consumer spending.