The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

By Alvin I. Dacanay Last week was a good one for Philippine independent films and their admirers. For one, prize-winning director Brillante Ma. Mendoza’s latest film, Taklub (Trap), started its run at cineplexes last Wednesday, after serving as the opening film at the 20th French Film Festival in June and at the 11th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival in August.

By Lynn Elber and Frazier Moore / The Associated Press Emmy will dispense her favors on Sunday night (Monday morning in Manila), when the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards airs at 8 p.m. (New York time) In the meantime, television’s biggest guessing game moves into high gear, with its players including two sure-of-themselves Associated Press television critics. Will Modern Family continue its …

The winners in the Full-length Documentary and Short Fiction Feature categories of the Sineng Pambansa Climate Change Scriptwriting Contest were awarded the certificates and the cash prizes promised to them at the Film Development Council of the Philippines’ (FDCP) headquarters on September 17.

By Jocelyn Noveck / The Associated Press New York—New York Fashion Week always has its share of memorable moments: the weird and the wonderful, and everything in between. Here are some highlights of the eight jam-packed days:

Leading international hotel brand Dusit International has announced its intention to increase its presence in the Philippines, beginning with reaching out to the upscale, long-staying travel sector.

By Luis Leoncio  The much-awaited proposed tax cuts may not come about, after all, despite earlier assurances that Malacañang was open to them. 

The monstrous daily traffic snarls have apparently pushed many motorists to desperation, and some are now demanding that President Aquino declare a state of national emergency in Metro Manila to stop the anarchy on the streets that the problem has spawned. 

The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Executive and Legislative branches to explain not later than Friday allegations by watchdogs of public funds that certain provisions in the 2015 national budget resurrected the already outlawed Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and the voided practices under the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP). 

By Riza Lozada  The government continues to use huge allocations for state workers in the 2015 budget to raise savings for the future use of the Executive as “discretionary funds.” 

Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo has resigned from the Cabinet, Malacañang confirmed, but President Aquino has yet to act on the resignation.