The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

By Luis Leoncio  The glowing claims of President Aquino on the economy, notwithstanding, the Philippines remains the poorest among the original five members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean 5), former Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said. 

The integrity of the Makati Business Club’s (MBC) Executive Outlook Survey is being questioned by the camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay, which said the 67 wealthy members of the MBC “cannot represent” the sentiment of all Filipinos nationwide. 

By Riza Lozada  While some P400 billion in potential pork-barrel funds were found embedded in the 2015 budget, according to studies conducted by former Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, the 2016 budget has as much as P500 billion in lump sums, former National Treasurer Leonor Briones told The Market Monitor. 

Online accounts surged by 35.1 percent to 174,592 last year from 129,255 in 2013. Of this total, 99.6 percent or 173,895 were retail accounts. Since 2009, online accounts have grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 43.9 percent, the 2014 Stock Market Investor Profile report of the Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) showed. 

SM Supermalls, through its technology and lifestyle center Cyberzone, held this month its annual Cyber Month Tech Sale, a month-long indulgence for the tech-savvy, game geeks and gadget lovers. 

The Aquino administration’s blitzkrieg counterattack against the Vice President’s True State of the Nation Address (Tsona) centered on several aspects that ranged from the Vice President’s recognition of the heroic deaths of the 44 Special Action Force personnel (SAF 44) from the President’s twice-bungled Mamasapano massacre to accusations that issues tackled were old media headlines and, eventually, to criticism of …

What more powerful word-pair spurts adrenaline sky high, literally, than a wild ride? Out of maybe dozens to choose from, any pick catapults and then, takes you crashing hard enough, so much so that, for a minute, one feels alien on the ground.

Last week, we woke up to yet another horrific road accident, this time involving a passenger bus of the Valisno Express Liner that crashed into the concrete boundary marker of Quezon City and Caloocan, killing four passengers and leaving 18 others with wounds and broken bones.

By Jerry Maglunog  Despite their generous-sounding pitches, consumer loans give banks the biggest margins on lendings. An average of 15 percent to 20 percent in interest goes to a bank that approves either a car, housing, salary or personal loan. 

Kuala Lumpur—Malaysia’s central bank said there is no need for “extreme measures,” such as pegging the currency or capital controls, to halt a slide in the ringgit.