By Jerry Maglunog A growing population, booming industries, mining potentials and tourism growth are just some of the reasons Maybank, Southeast Asia’s fourth biggest bank by assets, said the world is coming to Asia, specifically the Philippines. 

By Jerry Maglunog With the aim of servicing more Filipinos, the state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank or LBP) has launched a massive expansion in the provinces to reach a bigger number of unbanked Filipinos. 

By Riza Lozada RCBC Bankard credit cards are now embedded with Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV)-chip technology to comply with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s (BSP) Circular 808, issued in August 22, 2013, requiring all BSP-supervised institutions (BSIs) to shift from the traditional magnetic stripe to the more secure EMV-chip technology by the start of next year. 

Washington—The head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank (NY Fed) said he’s less inclined to support a Fed rate hike in September amid recent global turmoil, including falling oil prices and a slowdown in China. 

New York—This probably isn’t what the United Nations had in mind when it established the International Day of Peace: Burger King is asking McDonald’s to join forces to create a “McWhopper.” 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia—Defying authorities, thousands of Malaysians wearing yellow T-shirts and blowing horns gathered last Saturday in Kuala Lumpur for a major rally to demand the resignation of embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak. The crowds were undeterred by heavy police presence after authorities declared the rally illegal, blocked the organizer’s website and banned yellow attire and the logo of Bersih, …

Charleston, South Carolina—If there was ever a week for the 2016 Republican presidential candidates to talk tough on China, this was it. Spurred by the stock market’s wild ride, they lashed out at the world’s most populous nation. 

Middle East (ME) carriers that are being investigated by the US and European governments for receiving over $23 billion in government subsidies can use their unfair financial advantages against local carriers if they manage to secure new entitlements in the forthcoming bilateral air talks with the Philippines. Philippine Airlines (PAL) predicts a repeat of the Philippines’ bitter experience with abusive …

By Jerry Maglunog  An estimated 70 percent of the country’s 38 million credit and automated teller machine (ATM) cards may not be able to migrate to the Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV) chip from the current magnetic strip in the next two years, which should be a cause of worry for an ATM or credit-card owner. 

By Riza Lozada The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is beefing up coins in circulation by bidding out a contract for the supply of P1.2 billion worth of new metal currencies this year, based on a bid procurement offer issued this month.