The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

Jocelyn Noveck / The Associated Press The actor’s recent success doesn’t surprise the dean of his former acting school; That would be James Lipton, host of Bravo’s Inside the Actors Studio, who auditioned Cooper when he was a student at Georgetown.

In the country’s largest-ever security preparations, Philippines authorities will deploy more than 37,000 military and police personnel, and ban backpacks and umbrellas at the Rizal Park during an open-air Mass as Filipinos eagerly await the arrival of Pope Francis, the third Vatican prelate to visit Asia’s largest Catholic nation.

For 19 hours last Friday, a throng of 5.5 million painfully wound through the streets of Manila in what has become an annual massive show of veneration for – some say fanaticism over – a 300-year old burnt wooden figure of Jesus Christ called the Black Nazarene. This year’s toll of the centuries-old ritual: Two dead and hundreds seeking medical …

Security concern for Pope Francis, who opens his four-day visit on January 15, runs deep. Authorities have not forgotten November 27, 1970, the day an attempt on a pope’s life, believed to be the first in modern history, took place in Manila.

Riza Lozada The goal of the Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas (BSP) on financial inclusion is gaining headway as the number of cities and towns without banking services went down to 12.6 percent from 37 percent in 2012, BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said.

Luis Leoncio Apart from manufactures, total agro-based products also managed to sustain its robust growth in November 2014, with their exports value reaching $354.3 million, or up by 34.5 percent from $263.5 million in the same period last year.

Luis Leoncio How does one measure the success of the concepts “tuwid na daan” (straight path), no “wang wang” (equal treatment to all), and good government is good economics that are the lynchpins of the social and economic policies of the Aquino administration?

The Next Page by Dean dela Paz Part one of a two-part series The corruption continues. And how insulting it is. As prefaced by the President’s spokesman, the budget for 2015 “stands as a testament to the lengthy reviews and planning undertaken by agencies, in order to improve the way they serve the public.” Let us peel away the lies. …

Peregrine Notes by Alegria A.Imperial But I can’t claim the small miracle for myself alone. Hundreds or maybe thousands, including those outside of Vatican Square—packed almost breath-upon-breath of each other, eyes raised to the sky against which his apartment building rose above the colonnade—received the gift of his voice, and from his raised hands, when he made the Sign of …

Where I Stand by Ed Javier If ordinary people cannot expect the government to defend their rights and protect them from abuses, then I guess we should turn to the Pope for a special blessing to grant us more strength, fortitude, patience and understanding to be able to survive 2015.