The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

By Rose de la Cruz Top economists of the country, led by Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority, met with Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, who is here for three days as UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, for a strategic dialogue to amplify inclusive finance innovations that tackle financial inclusion challenges …

By Rose de la Cruz What else is new? We’ve known it all along– the  agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors– are now haunted by lack of skilled workers. The Philippine Statistics Authority said majority of job vacancies in these sectors are considered hard-to-fill jobs based on the latest Integrated Survey on Labor and Employment (ISLE), which shows that 78.4 percent …

Staying true to its mission of expanding the reach of financial education initiatives nationwide, BDO Foundation, together with the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) and Empower and Transform Philippines, hosted a four-part webinar series tackling fundamental finance knowledge for human resource professionals. The webinar series aim to provide a focused understanding of financial markets, investing principles, and ethical …

The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) has released new commemorative stamps to mark the 425th Foundation Day of the City of Malabon on May 21, 2024. The commemorative stamps symbolized the rich history, culture and culinary tradition of the City known during the Spanish era as Tambobong.  City Mayor Jeannie N. Sandoval and Postmaster General Luis D. Carlos unveiled the said commemorative …

By Rose de la Cruz Should all go well, the Philippines will soon be producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) once a plant– to be set up by the private sector– would materialize. Offhand, the Philippines is in talks with some parties to develop SAF which would help decarbonize the atmosphere and produce cleaner and cheaper fuel for airplanes. So those …

Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) will soon use cards with quick response (QR) code functionality to facilitate more convenient and secure cash aid disbursement to beneficiaries of the National Government’s social amelioration programs. The LANDBANK cards with QR code will provide beneficiaries an alternative method to immediately receive and access their funds, ensuring timely assistance from government agencies especially …

It was a Saturday to remember for Alex–one of MR.DIY’s employee volunteers–who for the longest time, has been looking for an opportunity to teach young people.  For him, there is a sense of fulfillment seeing students understand and learn from their activities as they form genuine connections with their “teachers for a day.” Meanwhile, employee-volunteer Claire felt like it’s a …

Surf2Sawa (S2S), the prepaid fiber internet brand of Converge ICT Solutions, has served as a gateway for many Filipinos to benefit from broadband connectivity. For an affordable price, it has allowed people to embrace a lifestyle where their day-to-day activities are powered by technology.  But apart from the value it brings to users, this prepaid broadband solution has, likewise, significantly …

How innovative Filipinos are especially in trying times and in the most convenient atmosphere of freedom and broadmindedness? Limitless flow of ideas in any situation is how we measure our creativity and innovativeness to bring out the best in each of us. How about established institutions?  How do they gauge and evaluate the Filipino innovation spirit through policies in various …

By Rose de la Cruz Today, (May 22) is the 24th celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity (IDBD) which highlights the importance of biodiversity. To celebrate, a small community iin Panay Island– members of the Imparayan Bantay Gubat Association– launched a new type of eco-tour that they designed. The tour teaks visitors around the Sibalom Natural Park, which …