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Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the country’s macroeconomic environment, one of the 12 major pillars of the competitiveness report, has improved by 44 ranks from 68th to 24th. He also reported that Congress enacted “game-changing” laws to bolster competitiveness of the economy and sustain economic growth that made the nation one of the best performers among the emerging economies. The …

London-based Barclays does not see the need for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to raise rates until the second quarter of 2017 because of the stable economy and low inflation rate. 

By Luis Leoncio  The Philippines has the potential of becoming a $1-trillion economy, from the current $200 billion, to rank among the world’s 20 biggest economies in 2030, if it can maintain its economic momentum, the Washington-based think tank and credit watchdog IHS Global Insight said. 

More than 3 percent of the country’s economic output each year become illicit funds, based on a study conducted by the Washington DC-based Global Financial Integrity (GFI). 

A noted economist pronounced grim prospects for the economy next year, with exports receipts continuing to fall and El Niño feared to vastly reduce agricultural output.

Consumers remain generally pessimistic, but the negative views are subsiding with the confidence index (CI) in a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Consumer Expectation Survey (CES) improving in the final quarter to a net negative 8.1 percent from a net negative 11.6 percent a year ago. 

By Riza Lozada Manila Water has haled the government to an international court to demand reimbursement for expected losses computed at P79 billion, as a result of the government’s violation of the terms of its contract. 

By Luis Leoncio  Corporate giants Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), Globe Telecom and San Miguel Corp. (SMC) are girding up for what is expected to be a protracted, megabuck confrontation over the allocation of radio frequency that has been identifi ed for new-generation mobile technology.

By Riza Lozada and Jerry Maglunog  The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) has placed “honoring the sanctity of contracts” on top of its wish list for the incoming administration, as it lamented the Aquino regime’s “unclear policies on government deals.”

The Philippines faces economic headwinds in the first half of 2016 despite the start of the campaign period for the national elections when consumer spending related to the polls are expected to surge, the United kingdom-based Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) said in a report. Still, SCB said the overall outlook is good in the second half.