The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

THE Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) recently announced the winners of its 2016 Ballet Competition, held at the CCP Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (Little Theater) last month. 

Christmas may be the season of generosity, but it doesn’t mean we should go on endless shopping sprees and host furious binge parties every night to celebrate it. 

For Filipinos, December is always associated with the Christmas season. It is a time marked by longer nights and shorter days, as well as that all-too-familiar chill in the air. But while the cooling climate signals the start of the holidays, Christmas has always been the warmest season for Filipino families. It is a time when we all come together …

Worrying about what to give your friends and loved ones this Christmas? Take the stress-free route and treat them to heavenly baked treats that are sure to put them in a festive mood. 

By Luis Leoncio The unsound policies of past administrations will affect unprogrammed govern­ment payments amounting to at least P25 billion for this year alone, according to the Department of Finance (DOF), slicing off huge amounts that should otherwise be spent for infrastructure, human cap­ital and social protection for the poor and other vulnerable sectors.

Early this month, almost unnoticed by the media, the Senate ratified the membership of the Philippines in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which is seen as a potential instrument to enable the country to catch up with the infrastructure advances of its neighbors but which then-President Benigno S. Aquino III did not pursue vig­orously in the final months of …

The Philippines has main­tained its status as a global proponent of financial in­clusion, as a worldwide sur­vey of microfinance by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) consistently ranked the Philippines as No.1 in the world in terms of regula­tory framework for microfi­nance until this year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Gov. Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said.

By Riza Lozada Consumer confidence surged in the fourth quarter due to “improved peace and order,” “effective government poli­cies” and the “availability of more jobs,” according to a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Convenience store chain Family Mart is now accepting loading and pay­ments through beep card, the same tap-and-go card you use for your train and bus rides.

By Riza Lozada The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) has released the rules for Dollar De­nominated Securities (DDS) that provides the framework and guidelines for the listing, trading and clearing and set­tlement of dollar-denominated shares.