Business

New York—Standard & Poor’s on Wednesday downgraded Greece’s credit rating one notch further into junk territory, saying it’s likely the country will default on its commercial debt within a year if it can’t strike a deal with its creditors.

Listed housing developer 8990 Holdings Inc. has earmarked P850 million to construct 12 medium-rise four-story buildings for a total of 1,024 units for the Urban Deca Homes Campville project, located at Km 23 East Service Road in Muntinlupa City.

No. 1 Philippine mobile brand Globe Telecom leads the drive toward positioning the country as the “Digital Lifestyle Capital of the World” through fast and easy data access, as well as highly affordable content and apps.

As the demand for Internet connectivity increases, more customers are looking for establishments that offer wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) access, as today’s lifestyle has become more on-the-go and digital. The same is true for establishments, such as restaurants, cafés, and bed-and-breakfast inns, which are looking into growing their businesses with Wi-Fi availability. From a customer’s point of view, an establishment with Wi-Fi …

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) defended its Treasury bill (T-bill) trading strategy, as it said it sold securities as market prices were dropping globally to limit its losses and protect the bank’s financial condition.

By Jerry Maglunog The strict capital requirement that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) had imposed on rural banks (RBs) are affecting what are considered the last resort of people in the countryside to gain access to the financial services of the government.

Washington—United State President Barack Obama said China has made inquiries about potentially joining a Trans-Pacific trade agreement in the future, introducing a new variable to an unfolding debate in Congress over granting him the power to negotiate such international deals.

Vienna—The price of crude remains too low for most Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) member-nations. But with the 12-nation cartel’s control of supply and demand slipping, its oil ministers may have little choice this week but to sit back and do nothing.

By Riza Lozada The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised the need for the government to increase the fuel tax to recoup lost revenues as a result of the dwindling prices of oil products. Chikahisa Sumi, the head of the IMF mission that recently visited the country, said the increase in fuel excise taxes becomes more urgent if a tax package …

By Riza Lozada State scientists fear that 31,000 people would perish and structural losses could reach P2.3 trillion in the event a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hits Metro Manila, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said, based on simulations it made.