By Jerry Maglunog As the integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is almost here, another proposal that is facing a lot of scrutiny is the single currency similar to the euro in Europe.

By Jerry Maglunog No less than the queen of one of the world’s earliest monarchies has cited the effective national strategy for financial inclusion of the Philippines.

Washington—US employers likely hired at another strong pace in June, a sign that the job market is nearing full health and giving the US Federal Reserve (Fed) reason to raise interest rates as early as September.

Athens, Greece—Greece braced for more chaos on the streets outside its mostly shuttered banks, as Athens and its creditors halted talks on resolving the country’s deepening financial crisis until a referendum set for last weekend.

Beijing—China needs fundamental reform of its state-dominated financial system to keep economic growth on track, the World Bank (WB) said.

The combined net income of companies listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) grew 13.9 percent in the first quarter to P158.28 billion, from P138.96 billion in the same period last year. The increase was mostly driven by significant profit gains in the property and services sectors.

By Riza Lozada The absence of an all-purpose reinsurer for the operator of the electricity network National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has contributed to the high cost of electricity, as natural accidents that result in damages in the transmission grid are always charged to electricity users, instead of the state-operated insurer.

Honda Philippines has launched the New Generation BeAT-FI eSP series as the “Scooter for All,” which has been especially developed for the Philippine and Indonesian markets in 2015 and serves as the latest iteration to the BeAT scooters currently doing well in both countries.

By Luis Leoncio The Philippines’ financial sector has a lot of catching up to do to improve its competitiveness and be on a par with the leading members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), according to state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which groups Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and Maguindanao, has the smallest bank representation in the country, according to Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) President Lorenzo Tan.