The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

LOVE FOR ALL​By: Virginia Rodriguez President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s recent launch of the Biyayang Bigas para sa Maynila (BBM) program signals a direct and immediate response to the mounting economic strain felt by many urban Filipinos. With 80,000 families set to receive rice assistance over six months, the initiative offers timely relief, particularly to transport workers, service employees, and low-income …

Operating your vehicle in a crowded metropolis requires investing in insurance from a reliable company. That’s why you need Uni-Vanguard, which is more than just your typical insurance agency. Under the supervision of the Insurance Commission, Uni-Vanguard is a system-driven institution designed to lead, standardize, and scale the delivery of non-life insurance services in the Philippines. As a multi-division structure …

Suzuki Philippines Incorporated is expanding and has recently broken ground for the construction of its Integrated Parts Warehouse, Service Training Center and Office Facilities in Carmelray Industrial Park 1 in Laguna. More than P900-million has been earmarked for the project which is scheduled for construction starting this May and is expected to be finished by August next year. “This groundbreaking …

REALPOLITIKBy Benjie Alejandro The Department of Justice’s recent decision to prosecute a mother for selling her newborn child is being hailed as another triumph in the government’s campaign against criminality. On the surface, it is a clear victory: the law has spoken, justice has been served, and society can breathe a sigh of relief. Yet to stop at the press …

By DIEGO C. CAGAHASTIAN TWO business-related developments coming from the United States government dominated the headlines in local media over the weekend—the first about the US Department of War’s plan to develop an oil storage facility in the Davao Region and second, the construction of a sprawling industrial hub in Central Luzon to secure Artificial Intelligence (AI) and semiconductor supply …

“Go easy on helping the poor.  Make your ayuda program only temporary, you do not have much money.” This was— in layman’s language— what Krishna Srinivasan, director for the Asia and Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), advised the Philippine government under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other similarly situated states in Southeast Asia, in the face of …

Users of electricity within the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) franchise will face higher electricity rates starting in September after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved the recovery of more than P4 billion in costs tied to a major gas plant owned by its affiliate. In an order promulgated on April 14, the ERC gave Meralco the go signal to recover …

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to apply space technology in improving irrigation systems and water resource management across the Philippines. The agreement, signed by PhilSA Ad Interim Director General Gay Jane P. Perez and NIA Administrator Eduardo Eddie G. Guillen, sets the stage for using satellite data …

The Philippines is a finalist for International Mollusc of the Year, and representing our country is one of the strangest and rarest species in the world. The antingaw is the first known shipworm that lives within and eats through rock. Closely related to the tamilok and ugaong, it is unique in the shipworm family because it bores through limestone rather …

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) welcomes Moody’s favorable assessment of the country’s banking system and external accounts.  BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said, “We welcome Moody’s positive assessment. It confirms what we have been seeing: our banks are strong, and our external buffers are solid. At the BSP, we will continue to safeguard financial stability through sound regulations …