Fed’s patience on interest rates to last ‘for some time’
WASHINGTON -- US Federal Reserve officials at their last meeting agreed that their current patient approach to setting monetary policy could remain in place “for some time,” a further sign policy makers see little need to change rates in either direction.
IMF flags gaps in state spending practices
THE GOVERNMENT is on the right track in ramping up spending, especially on infrastructure, but much remains to be done to improve project planning and implementation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a May 16 report that was e-mailed to journalists on Wednesday.
PHL growth outlook eases with rest of the world
SIMMERING trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, the United States and China, will weigh on global economic prospects, the United Nations (UN) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported on Wednesday -- a factor that led Fitch Solutions Macro Research to slash its own gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection for the Philippines in particular for this year.
Gov’t exempts gold sales to central bank from taxes to boost reserves
THE GOVERNMENT has exempted from excise and income taxes the sale of gold by small-scale miners to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in a bid to “further build up” the country’s foreign exchange shield against external financial shocks.
Five charged for $81-million 2016 Bangladesh Bank heist
THE DEPARTMENT of Justice (DoJ) charged five current and former officials of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) with money laundering in connection with the February 2016 Bangladesh Bank heist.
Regulator calls Maynilad to account
THE METROPOLITAN WATERWORKS and Sewerage System’s Regulatory Office (MWSS-RO) has issued a notice of service obligation failure to Maynilad Water Services, Inc. for not meeting requirements under its concession agreement, the chief regulator said on Tuesday.
Privacy watchdog probes erring online lending apps
THE NATIONAL PRIVACY COMMISSION (NPC) has begun looking into 48 online lending applications that have been subject to almost 500 harassment complaints.
PEZA chief addresses talk she is at risk of losing post for opposition to...
THERE IS TALK in the foreign business community that the head of the government’s economic zone promotion agency is at risk of losing her job due to a drop in committed investments and her opposition to the Finance department’s push to remove tax incentives deemed redundant.
BoP marks 6th month of surplus in April
THE COUNTRY’s balance of payments (BoP) -- a summary of the Philippines’ economic transactions with the rest of the world for a given period -- registered a surplus for the sixth month in a row in April due to inflows from the central bank’s foreign exchange operations and income from its investments abroad that were partially offset by state foreign debt payments, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Monday.
Gov’t on road show to draw interest to energy auction
THE DEPARTMENT of Energy (DoE) is taking to the United States and other parts of the globe its road show to drum up interest in the Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP) after it extended the deadline for investors to submit their application to explore pre-determined oil and gas reserves in the country.
No more tax reforms to make it out of 17th Congress
THE 17th CONGRESS will likely end with enactment of the anti-terrorism, the security of tenure and the expanded anti-wiretapping measures, but without any of the remaining tax reforms wanted by the Executive, Senate leaders signaled on Monday.
Trade department notes investors lured from China
THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry says the Philippines has been able to attract investors from China, which is in the middle of a trade war with the United States.