Global Financial Crisis – Philippines

Electronics and semiconductor firms have started recalling 7,000 workers that were earlier displaced due to the global economic crisis.

MANILA, Philippines – The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) expressed optimism that this year’s target growth rate of 3.1 to 4.1 percent could still be attained now that there are indications that the global financial crisis is bottoming out.

Businessmen sent a strong signal yesterday to the government on what important concerns should be addressed most to help companies reduce their operating expenses.

THE Philippine jobs situation remains uncertain amid the global economic slowdown, according to the International Labor Organizations (ILO), even as some employers see joblessness bottoming out soon.

MANILA, Philippines–True to form, economists can’t agree on the likely shape of the recovery from the current global economic downturn precipitated by the US financial meltdown. The most pessimistic see an L-shaped trend, implying that the world economy will be lingering at the bottom for a long time. The more sanguine see just a year…

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The government is gearing up for a “rebound mode” following upbeat indicators in the global economy, officials said yesterday.

FACTORY output continued to contract for the fourth consecutive month in February as manufacturers in all major sectors cut capacity due to weak demand brought about by the global economic crisis.

I HAVE said it before. If we are to change the 1987 Constitution, if we are to go through with it at all, the best option is through a constitutional convention. The Constituent Assembly is not an option because people don’t trust the politicians in Congress.

Cuts on ‘non-people-related expenses’ MANILA, Philippines — Local companies are shunning staff cuts as a means of reducing costs and are instead focusing on improving operating efficiencies, according to a survey being conducted by the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).

The government is closely watching the current economic situation and is ready to revise its growth projections again if “hard numbers” come up, the National Economic and Development Authority said.

Citibank said it is seeing more opportunities in corporate and consumer banking in the Philippines despite the downscaled forecast in the country’s economic growth.

MANILA, Philippines — The worst shock waves from the global financial crisis and commodity price spikes may be over for the Philippines and other emerging markets which can now “decouple” from the slump in the West, an economist from British banking giant HSBC said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its growth projection for the country for this year from 2.25 percent to zero, with remittances from overseas Filipinos actually declining by 7.1 percent.

The economic slowdown in the Philippines has started to bottom out and growth will pick up in the third quarter of the year as the impact of the world financial crisis on the country subsides, Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto said yesterday.

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it is seeing early signs of economic growth as the US, the Philippines’ major export market, showed slower contraction in the housing and manufacturing sectors.

President Arroyo is reminding all government agencies to set aside 1.5 percent of their operating budget for job-creating activities as part of measures to shield the Philippine economy from the adverse effects of the global financial crisis.

Some 6,000 Filipinos have found new jobs from March to the middle of April this year under the Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP) of the government, according to the National Anti-Poverty Commission.

The global financial crisis has forced Philippine economic managers to lower the country’s economic targets from 2009 until the end of President’s Gloria Arroyo’s term in 2010 and beyond.

NINE out of 10 Filipinos in Metro Manila have cut down on their spending out of fear they will make less money as a result of the economic crunch, but are optimistic the economy will get better, a survey says.

Foreign companies represented by four major foreign chambers indicated plans for reduced work hours to cope with a worsening global recession.

THE Philippines’ huge population growth may shield the economy from contracting as domestic demand would boost growth, a high-ranking official of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

MANILA, Philippines — Local and foreign firms operating in the country have resorted to cutting employee bonuses and benefits just to keep from laying people off.

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang claimed yesterday that job losses have started to taper off now that businesses are starting to recover from the effects of the global financial slowdown.

MANILA, Philippines – Majority of Filipinos are still scared that they will lose their jobs and have cut their spending habits in light of the weak economy, a survey by a global market research group showed.

MORE Filipinos are poised to lose their jobs as the government is set to cut anew its economic growth target for this year, according to pundits.

JOB losses as a result of the global economic meltdown have begun tapering off, with some 14,000 workers retrenched in the first quarter regaining employment in companies that are beginning to recover, an official said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines—Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto has announced that job losses resulting from the global financial crisis were “tapering off.”

SIXTY-TWO companies in the various economic zones are back in the hiring mode and will be employing 4,902 workers within the month, according to Lilia de Lima, director-general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

The number of Filipinos without jobs is likely to worsen until 2010 as the domestic economy is seen to grow at a slower pace because of declining demand for export products, the World Bank warned on Tuesday.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is not receptive to the call of domestic industries to delay the full elimination of tariffs on intraregional trade, as mandated for 2010 by the Asean Free Trade Area-Common Effective Preferential Tariff (Afta-CEPT) scheme. The agency, however,  recognized that it remains a possibility, as it is still a…