The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

Ed Javier / Where I stand As we write this piece, the Metro Rail Transit- Line 3 has suffered another glitch. The government pays Global APT, MRT-3’s service maintenance provider, the amount of P57 million a month, but many are wondering: Where does the money go?

Clyde Mariano In an effort to give bowling a shot in the arm, the Philippine Bowling Association is planning to get the services of four-time World Cup champion Rafael “Paeng” Nepomuceno to train the bowlers and bring back the respect and adulation of Filipinos in the world stage.

Sebastian Santiago Baguio City—Ageless veteran Santy Barnachea mustered the old form that snared him the inaugural Ronda Pilipinas title with another 15th place finish in Stage 7 over the weekend to virtually secure his second Ronda championship with still a stage to go.

Tom Withers / AP Sports Writer As a teenage basketball sensation, LeBron James went through the craziness of being recruited by universities. Now, he’s living it as a dad.

Tim Dahlberg / AP Sports Columnist LAS VEGAS—Manny Pacquiao slept through the big announcement, secure in knowing that the fight was already made and the questions would finally stop.

Seth Borenstein / AP Science Writer Washington— Computers already have bested human champions in “Jeopardy!” and chess, but artificial intelligence now has gone to master an entirely new level: “Space Invaders.”

Lucio Gabor / Gadget Review RARELY, if ever, have I had a chance to celebrate Chinese New Year right at the heart of Chinatown in Manila.  So when a friend of mine asked me to join him for a Food Wok in Binondo for the countdown on the ‘Year of the Wooden Sheep’, I dropped all plans for that day …

Beirut—Little known to the wider world 18 months ago, the Islamic State extremist group has muscled its way into the international spotlight by carving out a self-declared caliphate in the heart of the Mideast, beheading its opponents and foreign journalists, and attracting radicalized youth as far afield as Paris, London and New York.

Sydney—Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia will lead a trial to enhance the tracking of aircraft over remote oceans, allowing planes to be more easily found should they vanish like Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Australia’s transport minister said Sunday.

By Vijay Joshi / The Associated Press Burhanpur, India—It is no secret that the Taj Mahal is a monument of love, built by a Mogul emperor as the final resting place for his beloved empress who died giving birth to their 14th child in 1631.