NTUC Blog

MANILA, Philippines – The World Bank (WB) expects the Philippines to hit “outright recession” this year with domestic production declining by half a percent before recovering to a 2.4-percent growth in 2010 and 4.5 percent in 2011.

NEDA official disputes World Bank warning   The World Bank predicted on Monday that the Philippines was likely to slip into “outright recession” this year because scenarios for recovery of the global economy remained uncertain, but a top Filipino economic manager belittled the warning.

BODRUM, Turkey (Reuters) –The International Monetary Fund is likely to revise up its 2010 growth forecast for the world economy with signs that the rate of decline in global output has moderated, a senior IMF official said on Friday.

The economy will not go into recession and is expected to grow 2.5 to 4 percent this year, according to economist Bernardo Villegas.

Upbeat economy to happen at end year MEXICO CITY: Economic recovery in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) group of rich countries will begin at around the end of the year, the organization’s head said Tuesday, adding that the worst of Mexico’s recession was over.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected Monday the United States would make a “solid” recovery from recession in mid-2010, but warned of major risks including the real-estate crisis and rising interest rates.

TODAY is the first hearing of Senate committees on Trade and Industry and Public Services on the issue of pre-paid loads of cellular phones that always seem to vanish.

LECCE, Italy (AFP) – – G8 finance chiefs on Saturday warned the global economic outlook remained uncertain and risky despite “signs of stabilisation” after talks in southern Italy.

Q. My mom is 91 years old. She is taking nine prescription medicines and three vitamins every day. Lately, she is often confused, dazed, and slow in moving. Could this be due to her medicines? Can you help us? — Marivic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sounded a cautiously upbeat note on the U.S. economy on Wednesday but warned that corralling government debt was vital to ensuring the nation’s long-term health.

Many past actions and events in our legislative chamber aptly called the “Lower House” have jolted and shocked the public because of lack of any sane explanation. But its passage of Resolution 1109 constituting itself as a Constituent Assembly (Con Ass) to amend the Charter is the real shocker. It is by far the most…

WASHINGTON (AP) – Fresh signs emerged Monday that the recession is letting up in the United States. Manufacturing’s slide is slowing. Builders are boosting spending on construction projects – including homes. And consumers aren’t cutting back as much as some had feared.

BY ALL INDICATIONS, the Philippine economy is already in recession. With last week’s announcement of an insignificant 0.4-percent first quarter growth in the economy, government statisticians forthrightly described the economy as “teetering into recession.”

MADRID/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – World economic grouping OECD said on Monday the global economy had come out of “free fall,” offering hope of incipient recovery late this year to investors and markets unnerved by rising U.S. government debt.

We’re at an all-time low. Today’s voyeur scene is alive and well and overrun by sex videos.There is the Katherine Luna and ex-boyfriend sex video. There are the Hayden Kho and Brazilian, plus celebs, sex videos. And there is the threat of even more sex videos exploding, one of them reportedly involving a young star…

SEOUL (AFP)–The worst of the global economic crisis is probably over but any early recovery is unlikely due to massive debts worldwide, Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said Tuesday.

Economies worldwide may only start to recover after two to five years, especially with the global economic crisis taking its toll on major industries, Japan’s former top currency official said Thursday.

A high official of the National Economic and Development Authority certainly thinks a case can be made for saying so. Key indicators suggest that “the worst seems over … for the Philippine economy,” said NEDA Deputy Director General Rolando Tungpalan the other day.

NEDA: Global recovery will take time   The global crisis is not over, but the worst is over for the Philippine economy,” a senior economic official said on Wednesday.

The uninterrupted receipt of the monthly pension of old-age and survivorship pensioners of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) rests on their dutiful compliance with the annual renewal of active status (ARAS) requirement of the pension fund.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) – A Saudi judge told a conference on domestic violence that a man has the right to slap his wife if she spends lavishly on such things as clothing, a Saudi newspaper reported, drawing criticism from rights activists in the conservative kingdom.

BERLIN–The global economy has already passed the worst of the economic crisis and should soon pull out of its slump, led by Asia and China in particular, Hungarian-born US billionaire George Soros said on Monday.

What you don’t know won’t hurt you” is an adage that we’ve all grown up and old with. Not many have challenged this counsel. Is one truly better off in idyllic ignorance, whether on purpose or unintentionally? Conversely, is peace of mind a lost cause for those who are aware, awake and well- informed?

MANILA, Philippines – Fewer Filipino workers are now getting hired abroad contrary to the government’s claim, the recruitment industry said yesterday.

The current dispute between the book industry and the Department of Finance regarding the imposition of taxes on book importation boils down to this.

ADB compares living standards around the world   It would take nearly two centuries for the Philippines to catch up with the living standards of industrialized countries at its current pace of economic growth, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Evidence that housing is poised to improve and optimism about the results of banking “stress tests” raised hopes Monday, May 4, that the recession is easing.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Barack Obama, decrying “egregious” tax abuses, announced Monday (Tuesday in Manila) savings of $210 billion by squeezing offshore havens and US firms’ ability to profit from outsourcing jobs.

CEBU CITY – Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said unemployment in the country was slowly starting to ease as companies have started to hire workers.

The head of the US central bank, Ben Bernanke, has said he expects the recession to end this year unless there is a major financial setback.