NTUC Blog

The swelling public deficits in Portugal, Spain and Greece have plunged the eurozone into the biggest crisis in its 11-year life, presaging years of belt-tightening, analysts warn.

LAST week, while touring the country’s so-called cyber corridor, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo bragged that she would be turning over to her successor a $7 billion call center industry that is second only to India globally.

WITH THE ENACTMENT OF THE Credit Information System Act, or Republic Act No. 9510, a comprehensive and centralized credit database will soon be in place in the country.

Trust the machine, Chairman Jose Melo of the Commission on Elections told me last year. Yesterday I looked at a Precinct Count Optical Scan or PCOS machine, now attached to a model of the new-generation ballot box, as it was used in a simulated voting exercise to kick off the voter education campaign of the…

THE savings and time deposits of members of credit cooperatives are exempt from the 20-percent withholding tax, the Supreme Court has ruled.

There was a news report published in the inside pages of this paper last week, which was sadly largely ignored by other media networks.

MANILA, Philippines – With only one session left today, the House of Representatives has shelved the Church-opposed reproductive health bill.

PETTY, POPULIST: The title “Le coeur d’un homme, le cerveau d’un cochon” of the CTalk column yesterday of Cito Beltran may have sounded Greek (it was French) to some readers, but I do agree with him when he said:

THE reproductive health bill appeared dead after Senator Benigno Aquino III, the last presidential candidate favoring it, on Friday withdrew his support of the measure, and apparently following pressure from the powerful Catholic Church.

THE Board of Investments (BOI) is dropping the “contingency list” from the 2010 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP), after the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) declared that the economic crisis ended last year.

Now that I have your attention, allow me to translate today’s heading: “The heart of a man, the brains of a pig”.

We all have a bias, some stronger than others. If you happen to be above 50 years old, like me, or someone with dual citizenship status (a Filipino citizen who is also a Senior citizen), chances are you will not be inclined to listen to the advice of people half your age.

The Philippine Government Service Investment System (GSIS), a state-managed pension fund for government employees, has failed to reveal the extent of losses incurred by its Global Investment Program (GIP) in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, according to a top union official in the Philippines. Instead, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) Secretary-General…

Urgent Action Needed on Financial Reform and Jobs Brussels, 26 January 2010 (ITUC OnLine):  Trade union leaders attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos this week will use the occasion to maintain pressure on governments to act urgently to tackle the deepening global employment crisis, and to move ahead with reform and restructuring…

TAIPEI: Wrong-footed by rocketing consumer demand, Asian technology suppliers are scrambling to expand capacity before inventories run dry of everything from semiconductors to flat-panel screens.

WASHINGTON – Top US bankers Wednesday admitted mistakes that led up to the global financial crisis as they came under intensive grilling at a special inquiry into the economic calamity.

MANILA, Philippines–The economy, gauged using the leading economic indicators (LEI) index, continued to slide for the sixth consecutive quarter in October to December, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board.

Many hope 2010 holds a brighter economic future than last year’s sliding profits and mass layoffs. A recent survey of 2,700 HR professionals conducted by CareerBuilder.com shows companies are revisiting strategies, headcount and cost containment to position for measured growth in 2010.

Contact center executives concerned that a recovering economy may force up wages and benefit costs and staff turnover thanks to competition for labor from other employers need not worry about it.

The summit failed to deliver a way to halt dangerous climate change About 45,000 travelled to the UN climate summit in Copenhagen – the vast majority convinced of the need for a new global agreement on climate change.

A US-led initiative called the Copenhagen Accord has formed the centre-piece of a deal at UN climate talks in Copenhagen, despite some countries’ opposition. Below is an explanation of the main points in the agreement.

The climate negotiation in the Fifteenth Conference of Parties (COP 15) in Copenhagen has come to a sour end. The world’s high expectation for a meaningful and binding agreement is doused with icy cold water by a non-binding deal dubbed as “Copenhagen Accord” – a deal primarily brokered by the most powerful and leading polluter…

Trust the Filipinos and their optimism. Despite all the bad things that have happened this year, nearly nine of 10 Filipinos are hopeful the coming year will be better, according to a survey by pollster Pulse Asia.

COPENHAGEN (AFP) – A UN climate summit Saturday rammed through a battle plan against global warming forged by US President Barack Obama and other top leaders, sidelining smaller states which lashed the deal as betrayal.

“Where the law is subject to some other authority and has none of its own, the collapse of the state, in my view, is not far off; but if law is the master of the government and the government is its slave, then the situation is full of promise and men enjoy all the blessings…

HONG KONG (AP) — The fallout from Dubai’s debt crisis rippled across the globe Friday, raising concerns of another wave of financial turmoil and showing how vulnerable the world economy remains despite signs of recovery.

Social Security System (SSS) President and Chief Executive Officer Romulo Neri recently said that the SSS would like to ask Congress to find ways to increase the contribution of members, in order to expand services and secure the financial stability of the fund.

PARIS: China, Asia and the United States are pulling the world out of an economic vortex with surprising if “modest” speed, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) declared on Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines – The business sector’s outlook improved for the third straight quarter this year as companies expect low inflation and interest rates, stable peso, sustained foreign exchange inflows, and robust remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

While most economies and peoples worldwide are going through hard times, there’s no stopping Manila’s rich and famous from enjoying the good life, a new survey shows. “Affluent consumers in Manila continued to spend despite the recession in the past year,” according to the findings of the 2009 PAX survey conducted by market intelligence firm…