Tag: Mark T. Amoguis

INVESTORS, spooked by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, prompted massive sell-offs, making BDO Unibank, Inc. one of the most actively traded issues last week.

YIELDS ON government securities (GS) declined further last week after the US Federal Reserve implemented an emergency half-percentage-point cut to its key rates to counter the impact of the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

THE FOURTH QUARTER of 2019 saw local financial markets performing relatively sideways with positive factors at home such as the inflation slowdown and catch-up government spending partly cushioning the impact brought by developments abroad.

YIELDS ON government securities (GS) went down last week after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) signaled another rate cut as early as the second quarter.

THE overall year-on-year increase in prices of widely used goods picked up for the third straight month in January by its fastest pace in eight months, the government reported on Wednesday.

CALABARZON, Metro Manila, and Central Visayas are the top preferred destinations among Filipinos wanting to migrate to other regions in the next five years, according to the government’s inaugural national migration survey.

THE year 2019 saw inflation as experienced by low-income families fall to its lowest level in two years despite picking up in December, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

YIELDS ON benchmark government securities (GS) increased last week, fueled heavily by inflation concerns amid the still-ongoing Taal Volcano eruption.

THE recent purchase of PLDT, Inc. shares by Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings, Inc. made the latter one of the most actively traded stocks last week with investors deciding to take profits.

LATEST government data showed imports declining for the eighth straight month in November while exports were flat, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

THE PHILIPPINES remained at the bottom half of an index that tracks human development across economies despite an improvement in overall score, according to a United Nations report released on Monday.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte’s tirade against Metro Manila’s water concessionaires last week led investors to unload shares of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) as it is the controlling stakeholder of water firm Maynilad Water Services, Inc.

MANUFACTURING output declined once more in October, extending its streak to eleven months, the government said Thursday.

THE INCOME GAP between the richest and poorest Filipino families narrowed in 2018 but remained substantial even amid significant increases in family income and savings, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

ONE doesn’t tend to think about where the modern conveniences of life come from. Among the things we take for granted is the dependence on electricity in day-to-day living.

YIELDS ON government securities (GS) ended flat after the US Federal Reserve cut its rates for the third time this year, as widely expected.

GOKONGWEI-LED Universal Robina Corp. (URC) was among the most traded stocks last week as investors started to unload some of their shares after the company’s third-quarter earnings fell below expectations.

NEWS on Jollibee Foods Corp.’s increased investment in the owner of the Asia Pacific master franchise for Tim Ho Wan drove market activity for the former’s stock last week.

YIELDS ON government securities (GS) went sideways last week as the trade spat between the United States and China eased ahead of the meeting between the two countries’ trade deputies.

PLANS OF Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings, Inc. (MPHHI) to embark on an P83.3-billion maiden share sale drove the stock movement of parent Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) last week.

INFLATION clocked in at its slowest pace in three years in August amid a softer increase in food prices, particularly rice, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday.

FACTORY OUTPUT once again declined in July, extending its contracting streak to eight straight months, the government reported on Thursday.

THE GENERAL INCREASE in prices of goods and services used by average Filipinos is expected to have cooled further last month amid slowing food prices as well as base effects.

THE PESO is likely to perform stronger this week amid expectations of a slower August inflation print.

THE general increase in prices of widely used goods may have slowed further in more than three years due to lower fuel, rice, and power prices in August, the central bank said on Friday.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte last week signed into law the regulatory framework for Islamic banks in the Philippines.

THE PESO ended stronger on Friday ahead of the first tranche of the planned tariffs by the United States on some Chinese-made goods on Sept. 1.

IN A COUNTRY where cash still remains king, majority of Filipinos are starting to embrace cashless payments, Visa, Inc. said in a report.

THE PESO finished stronger on Thursday ahead of an expected downward revision in US economic growth data.

WEAK APPETITE for term deposits pushed yields higher on Wednesday as bids for the facility continued to fall below the central bank’s offer for this week.

THE PHILIPPINE Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) sold P223.1 million worth of properties held by 533 shuttered banks through six public biddings from January to July this year.

THE PESO edged lower on Wednesday as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) chief hinted on another rate cut this year.

THE MARKET can expect more monetary policy easing in the remaining months of the year, in terms of tweaks to benchmark interest rates and banks’ required reserves, the central bank chief told economic journalists in a forum on Tuesday.

THE Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) is studying the economic effects of a prospective government decision to close down Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), the central bank chief said on Tuesday.

AYALA-LED Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) secured on Tuesday a “BBB+” long-term and “A-2” short-term issuer credit ratings (ICR) with a stable outlook from S&P Global Ratings.

UNIONBANK of the Philippines, Inc. wants to issue up to P20 billion unsecured subordinated debt as well as to redeem voluntarily P7.2 billion worth of unsecured subordinated debt due 2025.

ASIA UNITED Bank Corp. (AUB) plans to tap the bond market as it looks to raise as much as P30 billion.

THE SECOND PACKAGE of the tax reform program will lift uncertainty over incentives and reverse the slump in foreign direct investment (FDI), a bank economist said Tuesday.

THE PHILIPPINES can be expected to be among Southeast Asian economies least affected by the escalating Sino-United States trade war due to “stronger fundamentals” -- thanks partly to robust construction activity -- and “more limited exposure to global trade,” according to a note of Australia-based BIS Oxford Economics.

THE ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING COUNCIL (AMLC) has tweaked rules on administrative cases to cover casinos -- including their officers, directors and employees -- and introduced gradation of fines according to gravity of violation.

THE PESO could trade sideways this week after the less dovish remarks from the US Federal Reserve chair’s speech last Friday.

MORE foreign capital went into the country in July to yield a net inflow, snapping four consecutive months of outflows, the central bank reported on Thursday.

YIELDS ON term deposits ended mixed on Thursday as banks preferred the longer tenors in anticipation of a long weekend as well as the release of the central bank’s August inflation forecast next week.

THE PESO moved sideways on Thursday following the release of minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s July meeting and as markets stayed on the sidelines ahead of the US central bank chief’s Jackson Hole speech.

HONG KONG is one of the Philippines’ bigger investment and trading partners, but a recession there -- as warned last week -- will likely have limited direct impact on the latter’s economy, ranking state as well as private sector economists said in recent interviews.