The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

The government must ensure mitigation measures are in place to cushion the transitory inflationary impact of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, following recorded increases in the country’s inflation rate, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Rice prices are expected to trend downonce the amendment of the agricultural tariffication law is enacted, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

Power grid operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has offered to provide its fiber optic grid which it uses for communication as the backbone for the government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) for free.

To mitigate the effects in the event, God forbid, the “Big One” would hit Luzon, the Metropolitan Waterworks Sewerage System (MWSS) has undertaken safety measures to secure the Angat Dam, the main source of water for Metro Manila and its environs.

Every successful business explores every possible opportunity and advantage. Businesses need to stay ahead not just of the competition, but also of the consistent demand of a profitable bottom line. That means making the most of resources that may be overlooked or underutilized. Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) represent a vast wellspring of untapped potential in terms of skill and productivity.

Contecon Guayaquil SA (CGSA), a subsidiary of global operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) at the Port of Guayaquil in Ecuador, recently received President Lenín Moreno, who lauded CGSA’s contributions to the growth of Ecuador.

The Monetary Board has approved the adoption of minimum prudential liquidity requirements for thrift banks (TBs), rural banks (RBs), cooperative banks (CBs) and quasi-banks (QBs) which are designed to enhance the covered BSP-supervised financial institutions’ resilience to liquidity stress events. With this new development, all banks and QBs will be subject to calibrated minimum prudential liquidity requirements. The BSP first …

Preliminary data showed that the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) level as of end-January 2018 slid marginally to US$81.2 billion from the end-December 2017 GIR of US$81.6 billion, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. announced today.1 At this level, the GIR represents more than ample liquidity buffer and is equivalent to 8.2 months’ worth of imports …

At its meeting on monetary policy today, the Monetary Board decided to maintain its policy rate, the interest rate on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP’s) overnight reverse repurchase (RRP) facility, steady at 3.0 percent. The corresponding interest rates on the overnight lending and deposit facilities were also kept unchanged.

Risk-off sentiment overseas impacted on the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) and the peso Friday.