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By Luis Leoncio  The government will widely miss its forecasts in 2015 and this year due mainly to troubles brewing in major economies and the chronic underspending of the current administration. 

Washington—A scary sell-off in Chinese stocks is magnifying concerns about the health of the world’s second-biggest economy. 

By Jerry Maglunog  Former National Treasurer Leonor Magtolis Briones asked voters to challenge those running for Congress to reveal their positions on the P3.0002-trillion 2016 national appropriations that her group, Social Watch Philippines (SWP), has described an “election budget loaded with lump-sum appropriations and pork.” 

By Christopher Bodeen / The Associated Press Beijing—Two civilian jets landed on the airstrip of a new island that China built in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea, drawing more protests over China’s activities in disputed waters. 

By Luis Leoncio The property sector is expected to make a strong comeback this year, with eight areas, led by Metro Manila cities, seen to fuel strong growth through new projects, according to online real-estate market site Lamudi in a report. 

By Rowena C. Ocfemia After more than six months of vacillation, the government has officially signed an agreement to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

The proven faith and resilience of Filipinos, not the claimed achievements of the Aquino administration, prompted the optimism for the new year expressed by about 90 percent of Filipinos in a Pulse Asia survey, according to former National Treasurer Leonor Magtolis Briones, lead convenor of the budget watchdog Social Watch Philippines (SWP).

By Riza Lozada  The stock index is expected to hit the 8,000-point mark anew this year amid the continued upbeat sentiment in the local market and in spite of the overall gloom abroad.

Hanoi—Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has hailed the formation of the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Community as a historic milestone in the regional connectivity process in Southeast Asia.

By Luis Leoncio Government collections from the excise tax on “sin” products, such as cigarettes and alcohol, in November 2015 increased by 39.58 percent to P16.298 billion, compared to those in the same period in 2014, according to the latest data of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).