The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

Story and photo by Alvin I. Dacanay  Followers of the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) can expect better films and a streamlined awards ceremony this year after its new, 14-member executive committee introduced sweeping changes to the festival, including a renewed focus on artistic excellence. 

The Philippine Contemporary A cappella Society is proudly presenting Akapela, a unique, one-night-only contemporary a capella concert featuring two of the country’s most talented and in-demand vocal acts today—Pinopela and Baihana—at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in RCBC Plaza, Makati City, at 7:30 p.m. on April 23.

Leading computer and smartphone company Lenovo continues to court tech-savvy millennials seeking better mobile-entertainment options by introducing two new phones embedded with its virtual-reality (VR) technology that promises to enliven whatever multimedia content they play in a new way. 

Kaspersky Lab and Switzerland-based cybersecurity company WISeKey has announced the release of a special edition of cyberresilience app WISeID Kaspersky Lab Security. This new edition integrates the best technologies from both companies to offer mobile users safer and more reliable mobile communications and transactions. 

By Kris M. Crismundo / Philippines News Agency  Automobile sales in the first quarter (Q1) of 2016 increased by 21.6 percent, a joint report of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) revealed last Monday. 

Ford Philippines is optimistic that it would sustain its growth momentum in the local market, one that’s driven by strong demand for sport utility vehicles (SUVs), it was learned recently. 

South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai is considering the Philippines as its new location for a car assembly or car-parts manufacturing plant, Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI) President and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo told reporters recently. 

Honda Philippines Inc. continues to amaze and surprise young motorcycle enthusiasts with the grand launch of its all-new Click125i during the Inside Racing Festival at the World Trade Center in Pasay City on April 2 and 3, 2016. 

By Luis Leoncio  Local executives want President Aquino’s successor to focus on infrastructure, corruption, and peace and order to spur the country’s economic growth, according to the periodic survey of the Makati Business Club (MBC) that covered the first quarter. 

The government missed all of its fiscal targets last year, despite the glowing claims of the Aquino administration on “fiscal space” resulting from its “prudent management” of the government’s finances.