The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

The comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP) bill now pending in Congress is the “key link” to the “grand effort” to break out from the cycle of low growth and deliver a dynamic and truly inclusive economy to Filipinos, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said. 

State pension fund Social Security System (SSS) said loan penalty condonation ends on April 27. 

By Riza Lozada  The Ayala group’s banking unit Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) posted a 25.6 percent net income growth in the first quarter to P6.25 billion. 

By Riza Lozada  Total deposits in the Philippine banking system grew by 14 percent to P10.5 trillion as of December 31, 2016 from P9.2 trillion the previous year, data from state-owned Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) showed.

The Board of Investments (BOI) has approved the P48.5 Billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) project of MPCALA Holdings, Inc. (MHI), qualifying as an Infrastructure of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Project under the Preferred Activities of the current Investment Priorities Plan (IPP). 

The Department of Trade and Industry-Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (DTI-Ciap) held its 2nd dialogue with the key players in the industry to keep up with the latest in the Philippine construction scene. 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a new procurement framework that will cut down on procurement processing times and improve quality. 

Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar announced that the P1.6 billion Urdaneta Western Bypass Road Project being constructed parallel to the Manila North Road to ease the traffic congestion in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan will be complement by before the year ends. 

The government launched the newly established Philippine Infrastructure Transparency Portal: http://www.build.gov.ph/, highlighting several Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects that are already on different stages of the current PPP pipeline. 

The pale brass yellow sheen of iron pyrite has earned it the colloquial monicker “fool’s gold” and for the overly reckless miner wildly screaming “Thar’s gold in them hills!”, its discovery could very well have led to premature claims more deservingly a tall tale than the genuine thing.