The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

By Luis Leoncio  The Senate is proposing the establishment of an “urban traffic management authority,” the sole function of which would be to streamline the management of traffic in urban areas. 

By Riza Lozada  The country’s business leaders appear to have been totally won over by the pithy 15-minute speech of President Duterte last Thursday that directly addressed red tape and the sanctity of contracts —the two greatest concerns of  the business sector during the past administration.

As a fitting prelude to the flag carrier’s 75th year, Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) achieved its most impressive financial performance yet with a P6.3-billion profit for last year or a six-fold increase over the previous year.

A Commission on Audit (CoA) report on the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) last year said that, despite incidents of train faults and failures, no penalties were ever imposed on the maintenance contractor, hence, the train faults and failures continued unabated. 

Share prices rallied above the 7,800-mark amid raised optimism in the business sector after the oath taking of President Rodrigo Duterte and prospects that the United States (US) interest rate hike will be deferred until next year.

Gokongwei group flagship JG Summit Holdings Inc. (JGSHI) has agreed to purchase 577.2 million shares of Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC) consisting of 423.3 million shares from GT Capital Holdings Inc. and 154 million shares from Manila Electric Co. generation unit PowerGen Corp to expand its exposure in the energy business.

By Luis Leoncio  The Department of Finance (DOF) will review the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) as part of the agency’s effort to connect with the people, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said. 

President Duterte’s pro-reform administration will likely to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, US-based think-tank IHS Global Insight said. 

The Caltex brand of US oil giant Chevron has reformulated its signature additive package with the addition of a new Clean & Glide technology. 

A self-contained classroom, aptly named EGG, will be sent to remote areas through a partnership between the Department of Education (DepEd) and Microsoft Philippines.