The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) has started spread­ing holiday cheer to thou­sands of less privileged Fili­pinos through its traditional Pamaskong Handog gift-giv­ing project this year. Pagcor allocated P21 million for it. The state-run agency’s 12 days of gift-giving started November 27 and will run up December 17. It is expected to benefit 10,000 less fortu­nate Filipinos under the …

It’s over. They’ve left and the traffic and street dwellers are back. One airline is facing a multi-million peso damage suit, another, millions more in dollar-denominated unrecoverable losses. Kris has her tan and her brother, his two-day P10- billion learning experience – a tax-paid tuition the equivalent of capitalizing several world-class universities.

By Maria Cheng / The Associated Press Brussels—After a five-day lockdown prompted by the maximum security alert, Brussels officials are attempting to entice back tourists who may have been scared away by images of soldiers armed with machine guns in the capital’s deserted streets. Their secret weapon? Cats.

Banco de oro Unibank Inc. (BDO) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)-backed Fidea Holdings Co. Ltd.(Fidea Group) signed a memorandum of understanding to promote inward investments, mainly from Akita, Yamagata and Miyagi prefectures in the northern region of Tohoku in Japan.

By Jerry Maglunog Rapid and huge bank financing is expected in 2016, as businesses grow and diversify into other ventures to take advantage of a growing market, a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) official has predicted.

The approval of the $600 million loan by the Asian Development Bank to the Philippines will boost its effort to tap more private participation for urgently needed infrastructure investment.

Current flood models do not account for cities’ impact on local rainfall patterns, an oversight that could lead to significantly underestimating the severity and frequency of floods in urban areas, a study conducted at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana showed.

Additional new units of high performance construction machinery can now be utilized by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 8 to supplement its existing heavy equipment for clearing operations.

By John Duerden / The Associated Press Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia—Fifty years ago, Malaysia and Singapore parted ways to form two separate countries, a decision that helped initiate the economic miracle that subsequently took place in the Lion City.

By Jake Coyle / The Associated Press New York—Is there any better team player in movies than Mark Ruffalo?