|
|
 |
|
|
Flu blues.
Students wait
in a class to go home at a primary school in Hong Kong
Thursday, March 13, 2008. Hong Kong ordered more than half
a million primary and kindergarten students to stay home
from school for two weeks starting Thursday after three
schoolchildren died amid recent outbreaks of the flu.
--AP |
| HEADLINES |
|
|
|
BSP
keeps rates but tweaks SDA |
|
|
THE Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) kept its policy rates unchanged
Thursday but allowed some modifications to its special
deposit account (SDA) window that effectively released an
estimated P300 billion worth of funds into the banking
system. |
|
Consumer confidence still down |
|
|
THE average
Filipino consumer continues to hold a bearish sentiment even
though the number of pessimists is waning, the Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Thursday.
The consumer
confidence index, which helps the BSP anticipate consumer
activities many months forward, remained negative but
improved to negative 27.1 percent in the first quarter this
year, from negative 33.6 percent at the final quarter last
year and negative 33.3 percent a year ago. |
|
Q4
FDI approvals highest since 1997 |
|
|
FOREIGN
direct investments (FDIs) approved in the last quarter of
2007 represented among the highest number of approved
investments since 1997, according to data collected by the
National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB).
In a
statement, the NSCB said that FDIs approved in the fourth
quarter of last year showed an increase of 492.1 percent to
P102.6 billion, from only P17.3 billion in the same period
in 2006. |
|
Rate
cut 10% in parts of South road |
|
|
ACTING on
orders of President Arroyo, the Philippine National
Construction Corp. has reduced by 10 percent toll-fee rates
in the South Luzon Expressway (Slex) covering the segment
from Alabang to Calamba, Laguna. The order was supposed to
take effect March 9, but announced only Thursday.
Malacañang
said the order is part of government efforts to share with
the public “the benefits of the improving economic
conditions in the country” and to “serve as a cost cushion
to Slex motorists in the wake of rising global fuel prices.” |
|
DBP
tells wholesale lenders to offer easy terms to microbiz |
|
|
THE
Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) served strict
notice to wholesale lenders it deals with that they must
limit their spread on microfinancing of small borrowers as
the bank pays more attention to Mindanao, where the bulk of
its people often do not have access to affordable credit. |
|
Rich
paying poor to clean up their climate mess |
|
|
Rich
countries are buying out their way from doing their part in
reducing greenhouse gases by passing on their part of the
effort to developing countries whom they pay with financial
and other assistance.
This was the
observation of Bernarditas Muller, a former senior
negotiator of the Philippines in the United Nations
Framework for Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC). |
|
Miaa
may control all airports: DOJ |
|
|
WHEN
President Arroyo ordered through Executive Order 341 the Air
Transportation Office (ATO) and the Department of
Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to immediately
transfer control of the Francisco Bangoy International
Airport in Davao City to the Manila International Airport
Authority (Miaa) from the ATO, the order’s legality came
into question. |
|
Waiting game at Masinloc |
|
|
WOULD the
power firm that successfully bid for the 600-megawatt (MW)
Masinloc coal-powered plant, US-based AES Corp., also lose
its performance bond ($18.6 million) like the first, YNN
Pacific, because it also could not come up with the up-front
40-percent payment ($368.8 million)? |
|
MORE STORIES ... |
 |
|
|
DEVELOPMENT
Bank of the Philippines president and CEO Reynaldo David
says the state owned bank is looking forward to expand its
development lending portfolio, with bulk of its funds to
support investments in infrastructure and logistics; micro,
small and medium scale enterprises; social services; and the
environment.
--NONIE REYES |
