The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

Riza Recio Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries can emulate the Philippines initiative on credit surety fund that allows cooperatives to borrow 10 times of their minimum P100,000 contribution, Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said last Friday during the culminating event of the APEC Finance and Central Bank Deputies’ Meeting after the two-day discussion held in …

Dean dela Paz / The Next Page Overwhelmed by compelling issues of national importance and thus, tucked in unobtrusive corners of the major broadsheets, disturbing questions have been festering on our national electricity transmission grid. These range from questions of regulation, basically the province of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), to controversial internal procurement practices, surrendered to the independent management …

Alegria A. Imperial / Peregrine Notes Blessed are the many who don’t wage a daily battle with their hair, but more blessed would be those who have won with grace, a crown that has weathered the seasons. Woe to those who haven’t, or worse, carry on with nonchalance yet in secret, plot conspiracies beyond hair; the saying, “bad-hair day,” proves …

Ed Javier / Where I stand Last week, we wrote about the dilapidated state of the Metro Rail Transit-Line 3 (MRT-3) and the never-ending misery of commuters, despite the P57-million monthly maintenance budget and billions of pesos the railway system receives from the national government.

The bourse index surged to a fresh all-time high last Friday, its 19th record for this year, on the back of good earnings reports and tracking the uptrend in the United States market.

Listed International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) reported a consolidated profit of $182 million, up six percent from the $172.4 million profit a year ago.

Jerry Maglunog Most rural banks (RBs) collapse due to mismanagement and cruel dynasty led by kin who run the bank, according to Sen. Sergio Osmena III, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banks and Financial Institutions.

Beijing — China announced a lower economic growth target for this year and promised to open more industries to foreign investors as it tries to make its slowing, state-dominated economy more productive.

Washington—As the Great Recession inflicted worsening damage on the US economy, the Federal Reserve struggled during 2009 to determine the best corrective steps to pursue.

London—The British government has agreed to sell its stake in Eurostar, the high-speed rail service that connects London with Paris and Brussels through a tunnel under the English Channel, for 757 million pounds ($1.1 billion), a move that’s prompted accusations that it is selling the family silver.