The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

By Alvin I. Dacanay  Amid the outcry over the changes in the submission rules that were implemented by the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) Executive Committee (Execom) recently, one of its members defended the revisions and assured critics that the panel has taken steps to try to ensure that the shortcomings of the festival’s previous editions would not be …

Renowned Filipino singing icon Lea Salonga will perform her hit songs and other memorable tunes with the Brigham Young University (BYU) Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of Kory Katseanes, in a concert at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater) on May 30, 2017, at 8 p.m.

Masbate may be best known as the Philippines’ rodeo capital, thanks to its annual Rodeo Masbateño Festival, but this island-province in the Visayas offers more than just strong cowboys, tough cowgirls, and cattle to be tamed for entertainment. It also offers tourists, particularly nature lovers, several splendid destinations that may lead them to think that they’re on the edge of …

A study by Watsons Insights on Shoppers Experience (WISE), a research division of the A.S. Watson Group, the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer, says 66 percent of Filipinos believe they have good knowledge on health, but 57 percent surprisingly do not exercise regularly to stay healthy. 

By Riza Lozada  Since the Duterte administration had made it policy to reject financial aid with strings attached to it after rejecting 250 million euros. or P14-billion European Union (EU) grants, a think tank said that it might as well look into the United States’ aid programs. 

By Chito Lozada  Last of two parts  Many considers the current phase of uninterrupted progress in China as the bold new world of money, in which capital moves unceasingly everywhere in the country. 

By Luis Leoncio  The lower-than-expected 6.4 percent growth in the first quarter is not a source of worry for President Duterte’s economic managers, as the country remains one of the strongest performers among major emerging economies in Asia. 

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has ordered dominant power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to refund P6.9 billion in over-recoveries to electricity users within three months instead of 36 months based on its petition to firm petitioned. 

The trend in economic risks facing financial institutions operating in the Philippines has become positive, based on improving credit fundamentals, S&P Global Ratings said in its latest “Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment: Philippines.” 

In a bid to build an advanced version of strategic partnership, China and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) unanimously agreed to formulate a 2030 Vision.