The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

The Land Bank of the Philippines has reduced its InstaPay transfer fee for person-to-person transactions from ₱15 to ₱8, in a move aimed at making digital financial services more affordable and widely accessible. The new rate took effect on May 21 and applies to transfers made through the Landbank Mobile Banking App and iAccess platform. To further ease costs for …

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) will dispose of 44 real properties across Visayas and Mindanao through an electronic public bidding (e-bidding) scheduled next month, as part of its continuing effort to liquidate assets of closed banks. In a statement last week, PDIC said bid submissions will be accepted from 9 a.m. on June 17 until 1 p.m. on June …

The Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company is boosting returns for savers by increasing the interest rate of its Online Time Deposit (OTD) to as high as 5% per annum, as more Filipinos seek safer and more structured ways to grow their money amid rising living costs. The bank said the higher rate is intended to encourage disciplined saving and help …

East West Banking Corporation has gathered its Priority clients for an exclusive market briefing titled “Partnership Perspectives: Guiding You Through Today’s Markets,” aimed at providing timely investment insights amid global economic uncertainty. The session featured an outlook from Chief Investment Adviser Bede Gomez, who discussed major global risks such as geopolitical tensions, oil price fluctuations, and persistent inflation pressures that …

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From bento boxes that survive a backpack to study desks built for long afternoons, here’s what SM Home is putting on the shelf this May — with select pieces at up to 50% off. 22 May 2026 MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Every school year has a shopping list. The notebooks, the uniforms, the new shoes. But the list that quietly matters …

The UAE Filipino community is set to gather once again as Kalayaan 2026 returns on June 7, 2026 at Dubai World Trade Centre Halls 1 & 2. Recognized as the Middle East’s largest Philippine Independence Day celebration, Kalayaan continues to draw thousands of attendees each year through a mix of entertainment, cultural showcases, food experiences, and community activities. This year’s …

The Philippine Sport Commission’s innovative national golf grassroots development program, dubbed “Fairway to the Future,” is now in full swing. A well-attended press conference followed by an 18-hole tournament featuring promising Filipino jungolfers and the people and prestigious golf clubs behind the program got the ball rolling yesterday at Club Intramuros in Manila. “This program will prove that golf is …

Remember Ed Finlan? Ed Finlan who? Ed Finlan, the Fil-Am matinee idol who rose to fame via Lea Productions’ teenybopper films “Haydee” and “Happy Hippie Holiday” and other pop movie hits in the 1970s. Ed, Eduardo Valdez in real life, recently passed on due to still undeclared cause. Finlan’s perennial leading lady Hilda Koronel was devastated when the bad news …

Flower girl models Joliena and Angelie Pagsinuhin with an Erick Valena bridal mannequin during the “Bridal Expo Tagaytay” (Photo Credit: Erick Valena) There are not a few established norms and traditions in our society that are already debunked and still being debunked by several harbingers or torch bearers of their advanced notions, beliefs and causes. At least, in the field …