Low SE Asia inflation puts analysts on rate-cut watch
JAKARTA/MANILA -- Low inflation sweeping across Southeast Asia is here to stay, raising the odds some of the region’s biggest economies may reverse course on interest rates this year.
Record-high current account gap marks 2018
THE COUNTRY’s current account deficit ballooned in 2018 to exceed an official full-year forecast, fueled by a wider merchandise trade gap, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday.
Cash remittances, a key economic support, off to strong start
MONEY SENT HOME by Filipinos working abroad grew at the fastest clip in three months as this year began, even as the latest amount was less than December’s record-high inflows, according to data the central bank released on Friday.
SEC sets rules for forming one-person corporations
THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released on Friday draft guidelines listing documentary requirements for putting up a one-person corporation (OPC) and providing how ordinary stock corporations can be converted into OPCs.
Remittance impact on peso flagged
SLOWING growth of remittances from Filipinos abroad is not likely to cause a significant dent in overall economic expansion, although it will make the peso “more vulnerable to sudden shifts in global risk appetite” through a widening current account deficit, Capital Economics said in a March 14 note.
Sales of imported cars increase in February but down year to date
SALES of imported automobiles increased by 12% year-on-year in February, although year-to-date sales still dropped, according to data released on Thursday by the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, Inc. (AVID).
‘Investor optimism’ makes hot money rebound in Feb.
FOREIGN portfolio investments -- referred to also as “hot money” for the ease by which these funds enter and leave the economy at the slightest stimulus -- turned around in February from a year ago on the back of sustained “investor optimism” even as they were more than halved from January, according to latest data which the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released on Thursday.
Why the worst may be over for the global economy
LONDON -- The world economy may be the rockiest it’s been since the financial crisis, yet there are reasons to expect the current slowdown will prove short-lived.
Dev’t planners turn cautious on outlook
STATE ECONOMIC MANAGERS on Wednesday slashed gross domestic product (GDP) expansion targets for this year and 2020, citing 2019 constraints from the delayed enactment of the national budget that will make it “very difficult” to catch up with spending which, in turn, could even push growth to an eight-year low.
Duterte fails to break deadlock over budget
LEADERS of the Senate and of the House of Representatives failed to mend their differences over the ratified P3.757-trillion national budget for 2019 during a meeting with President Rodrigo R. Duterte in Malacañang on Tuesday evening.
Year-to-date car sales down even as they steady in Feb.
A SLIGHT ANNUAL PICKUP of automobile sales in February was unable to send year-to-date performance into positive territory, according to latest joint data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association that were e-mailed to journalists on Monday.
BSP chief mulls 4-point reserve ratio cut
NEWLY APPOINTED Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno is looking to cut the “very high” reserve standard for banks in four successive moves this year, even as he noted that local infrastructure projects remain well-funded even without injecting fresh liquidity.