Business

Expert: Fed's move to hike rates 'disappointing'

ISTANBUL -- The United States Federal Reserve raising interest rates once again despite the banking crisis is "disappointing," according to the chief economist at Moody's Analytics."The quarter percentage point rate hike won't be what breaks things, but it shows the Fed's willingness to take that... Read More

Biz groups: Spend con-con budget to priority projects

MANILA – Several business groups said Friday the government can shift the budget for the proposed constitutional convention (con-con) to priority projects and measures that will address the current challenges of Filipinos. In a joint statement, the Filipina CEO Circle, the Financial Executive... Read More

PH stocks up on Fed rate hike; peso almost flat

MANILA – Local shares mostly rallied on Friday after the 25 basis points increase in the Federal Reserve’s key rates on Thursday while the peso ended the week sideways against the United States dollar.The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 1.01 percent, or 65.81 points, to... Read More

Romualdez asks Filipino-Chinese community to help in job creation

MANILA – Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Friday urged the Filipino-Chinese business community to help the government and Congress in creating more jobs so Filipinos would not have to go abroad for employment opportunities.“We hope we can count on the support of the federation in... Read More

BSP 28-day securities rate up, post undersubscription

MANILA – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 28-day bills registered undersubscription on Friday and its rate rose a day after the central bank again hiked its key rates. Data released by the central bank showed that the average rate of the debt paper rose to 6.7650 percent from... Read More

Innovation pushed to boost agri logistics, lower food prices

MANILA – Local food producers are proposing innovative ways to improve the overall system of transporting produce from the farm to the consumer to reduce the retail prices of agricultural goods.Speaking at the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc. (PCAFI) press briefing Wednesday,... Read More

Oil prices fall amid US banking crisis, low demand

ANKARA – Oil prices fell on Thursday amid concerns surrounding the United States banking sector and worry over lower oil demand.International benchmark Brent crude traded at $76.27 per barrel at 10:14 a.m. local time (0714GMT), a 0.55 percent decrease from the closing price of $76.69 a barrel... Read More

Medalla discounts negative impact of BSP rate hikes on GDP

MANILA – The sustained hikes in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) key rates are not expected to negatively impact domestic growth this year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla said on Thursday.In a briefing, Medalla said they expect this year’s economic... Read More

PSEi slips after Fed rate hike decision; peso strengthens

MANILA – The within-expected hike in the Federal Reserve’s key rates resulted in the negative close of the local bourse’s main index on Thursday but the peso gained against the United States dollar.After a two-day winning streak, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 0.15... Read More

3 energy firms vie for co-dev’t of Tanay wind farm

MANILA – Three foreign and local energy companies are vying for the co-development of Alternergy’s 100-megawatt (MW) Tanay wind project, the pioneer renewable power firm said in a statement Thursday.Alternergy president Gerry Magbanua said these energy companies have expressed strong... Read More

UAE becomes Ayala Land’s fastest growing int’l market

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), the largest property developer in the Philippines, recently marked its 10th anniversary in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with a growth of 157 percent, surpassing all other international sales and making it the company’s... Read More

BSP hikes rates anew by 25 bps

MANILA – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy-making Monetary Board (MB) on Thursday hiked by 25 basis rates after citing the elevated inflation rate.This brought the overnight reverse repurchase (RRP) rate to 6.25 percent, the highest after the 7.5 percent in May 2007.In a... Read More

BCDA, JICA ink deal on promoting transport-oriented dev’ts

MANILA – The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) on Thursday bared it has signed a technical cooperation agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in promoting transport-oriented developments (TODs), particularly in two BCDA properties where there are major... Read More

DBP unveils loan window for coco farmers

MANILA – State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has launched a special credit facility focusing on coconut farmers in support of the national government’s efforts to strengthen the development of the coconut industry, one of the major segments of the local agriculture... Read More

PH miners to search partners in Australia

MANILA – Twelve business persons from different mining companies in the Philippines will be seeking partners in Australia, according to Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Hae Kyong Yu PSM.In an interview with the Philippine News Agency Wednesday, Yu said the business delegation will be... Read More

Legazpi No. 1 in tax collection among Bicol cities

LEGAZPI CITY – This city is Bicol's No. 1 in local tax collection for 2022, according to the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) under the Department of Finance (DOF).BLGF-Bicol noted that Legazpi recorded the highest nominal locally sourced revenues (NLSR) among the region’s seven... Read More

PH stocks index rise again, peso finishes sideways vs. US dollar

MANILA – The local bourse’s main index gained anew on Wednesday and the peso finished the day sideways as investors took note of measures to address banking-related issues in the US and in Switzerland.The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) inched up by 0.24 percent, or 15.52 points,... Read More

TDF rates up, 7-day facility posts undersubscription

MANILA – The rates of the central bank’s term deposit facility (TDF) rose on Wednesday ahead of the policy rate setting meet of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).The average rate of the seven-day facility rose to 6.6152 percent from the 6.5537 percent during the auction last March... Read More

Ransomware attacks in PH jump by 57.4% in 2022

MANILA – Cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks reported that incidents of ransomware, a malicious software that blocks access to a computer system demanding money to be paid to unlock it, in the Philippines surged by 57.4 percent in 2022.Eleven ransomware attacks were reported in the... Read More

Moody's Analytics forecasts sustained rise in BSP rates

MANILA – A pause in Federal Reserve’s rate hikes this month is seen to give central banks in Asia Pacific a leeway to also do the same but not in the Philippines given the elevated inflation rate.In a commentary dated March 20, 2023, Moody’s Analytics said “the Federal Open... Read More