The One Good News. On the night of the “Monday Meltdown,” the Makati Shangri-La Hotel was an oasis that drew four Philippine companies providing the day’s good news—PLDT, Globe Telecom, Ayala Land Inc. and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI). They made it to the Asean Top 100 List by New York-based Stern Stewart & Co., which ranked companies according to the new Wealth-Added Index measuring shareholder return. Stern Stewart & Co., Makati Shangri-La Hotel and the BUSINESSMIRROR hosted recognition rites for the four Asean listers. From left are the BUSINESSMIRROR’s president Benjamin Ramos and publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon, Stern Stewart’s president-international Erik Stern, PLDT president Napoleon Nazareno, BPI senior executive vice president Gil Buenaventura, Globe Treasury Group head Albert de Larrazabal, Ayala Land’s chief finance officer Jaime Ysmael, BM’s editor in chief Lourdes M. Fernandez, Philippine Stock Exchange president Francis Lim, Securities and Exchange Commissioner (and BM columnist) Jesus Martinez, Globe SVP for Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Rodolfo Salalima and Smart’s Public Affairs head Ramon Isberto. --NONIE REYES

Hunt on for who got burned

THE central bank governor and finance secretary moved on Tuesday to ease fears of a major fallout in the Philippines from the continuing turmoil in US financial markets, amid calls by lawmakers for authorities to compel the two biggest pension funds to make a clear and unequivocal declaration that they had no burned investments globally.

Local market down over 100 pts, again

FOR the second day in a row, local stock prices plummeted more than 100 points as the lingering crisis in the US financial markets continue to drag down most bourses abroad.

Pami appeals to investors to stay calm

PHILAM Asset Management Inc. (Pami) appealed to investors to stay calm amid reports that its US-based parent company, insurer American International Group (AIG), has sought $40 billion in short-term financing from the US Federal Reserve to keep rating downgrades at bay.

Some firms defy equities plunge

BANCO de Oro (BDO) Unibank, the bank unit of SM Group controlled by businessman Henry Sy Sr. and his family, plunged on foreign selling on Tuesday. It closed 15.38 percent down at P33.

ADB lowers RP growth forecast from 6% to 4.5%

THE Asian Development Bank has scaled back the country’s growth potential this year from the original forecast of 6 percent to only 4.5 percent in terms of local output or the gross domestic product (GDP).

‘Use DA fund hike to aid farmers’

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is allotted a much higher budget next year, and rice farmers grouped in the Rice Watch and Action Network (R1) are worried it would be “squandered and plundered by corrupt officials,” even as Sen. Chiz Escudero rebuked the National Food Authority (NFA) for importing “too much rice for this year” at the expense of domestic farmers.

Series of scams gutting food security–Binay

UNITED Opposition (UNO) president Jejomar Binay, the mayor of Makati, accused the government of “lack of transparency and corruption” in the fund disbursements for the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) program and warned that, instead of boosting food security, it is undermining this stated aim of the program.

Palace, VP budgets referral sign of ‘fiscal aristocracy’

THE House Committee on Appropriations abruptly terminated on Tuesday the 2009 budget presentation for the Offices of the President and Vice President as its members agreed to tackle the details on the subcommittee levels. The move sparked criticism from activist groups watching the budget process, who dubbed it a form of “fiscal aristocracy” where the highest offices of the land are spared from intense scrutiny.

July 2008 employment grew by 3.8%, but . . .

AGGRESSIVE programs are needed not only to generate but also improve the quality of employment, the planning agency said on Tuesday, as the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported that employment grew by 3.8 percent in July of this year, bringing the employment rate to 92.6 percent.  

BOP still in surplus at $2.02B for 8 months

THE country’s balance of payments (BOP) remains at a surplus of $2.02 billion in the first eight months.

But the month of August showed a deficit of $54 million, indicating an economy incurring far more foreign exchange expenses than was earned during the period.

‘US troops protecting Exxon oil’

AN academic expert on Islamic secessionism in Mindanao said the strong US military presence is being prolonged in the South not to help the government in its counterterrorism campaign but to protect the biggest American oil exploration—that of Exxon Mobil in the Sulu archipelago.

‘Ms. Earth’ season again, Miss Earth Jessica Nicole Trisko (left) returned to Manila with reigning Miss Philippines-Earth, Karla Paula Henry, and posed for photographers at a press conference launching the Miss Earth 2008, held at Traders Hotel Manila. --ROY DOMINGO