The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

The Philippines on Saturday welcomed Japan’s landmark legislation that would allow its military to fight overseas for the first time in 70 years and respond to threats against its allies.

By Riza Lozada The government and the mining industry were encouraged to adopt international standards in revenue-sharing on mining operations to avoid the prevalence of disputes among players in the local mining industry.

The National Food Authority (NFA) approved on September 17 the awarding of contract for the supply of 750,000 metric tons (MT) of long-grain white rice 25 percent brokens to Thailand and Vietnam, based on the results of the government-to-government procurement.

The country’s foreign debt reached $75 billion at the end of the second quarter of this year, $3.6 billion lower than $78.6 billion during the same quarter last year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed.

Some people are undeniably so extremely ugly that one look at their mugs is enough to launch a thousand Spartan ships in the opposite direction. The hapless owners of such faces are, however, in constant denial and their failed attempts to hide the repulsive truth have been spun in various ways so creative that the synonym entry for falsehoods, self-deception …

Lavished with unabashed emotion as if she were our mother, and crowned twice in the only way humans know how, we have been profuse with gestures to honor her, our Heavenly Queen.

By Jim Gomez / The Associated Press A Muslim rebel leader has said changes that would water down a proposed Muslim autonomy law under a peace deal with the Philippines government are unacceptable and that insurgents are appealing to lawmakers to pass legislation that would help end a decades-old rebellion in the country’s south.

By Mari Yamaguchi / The Associated Press Tokyo—Japan’s parliament early Saturday approved contentious legislation that enhances the role of the country’s military by loosening post-World War II constraints, after the ruling bloc defeated opposition parties’ last-ditch effort to block a vote.

By Jerry Maglunog To avoid inconvenience because automated teller machines (ATMs) are limited in some areas in the country, an increasing number of executives are turning to their smartphones to do mobile banking.

Tokyo—Standard & Poor’s lowered Japan’s sovereign credit rating and said it doesn’t expect Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic revival strategy to reverse deteriorating government finances within the next three years.