The Philippine economy is unlikely to recover beginning next year due to chronic underspending on health and the government’s anemic fiscal response to the coronavirus-induced crisis, the Duterte administration’s former chief economist said. At a virtual forum, Former Socioeconomic Planning...
Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez expects the decline in the country’s GDP and unemployment rate will further slowdown to single digit in the last fourth quarter of this year as the economy continued to reopen. “We’re hoping for a single digit decline by the fourth quarter,” said...
After 8 years of negotiations, trade ministers from 15 countries are set to sign tomorrow, Nov. 15, the China-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), creating the world’s biggest free trade area (FTA) agreement. “The RCEP has finally been concluded and finalized by all trade...
Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez said the GDP growth rate of -11.5% in the third quarter of this year still conforms with the country’s economic recovery trajectory, coming from the previous quarter’s -16.9 percent during the peak of the COVID-19 health crisis. “While the...
The local stock market surged past the 7,000 level as investors celebrated positive reports on breakthrough in COVID-19 vaccines. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) leaped 349.63 points, or 5.23 percent ,to close at 7,035.48 as share prices rose across the board with the Holding Firms...
The Philippine economy contracted for three straight quarters as consumer spending and business activity remained depressed owing to stringent quarantines imposed on key economic hubs to contain the spread of the coronavirus infections. Shoppers wearing protective masks shop for vegetables in...
PSA revises data The country’s economic contracted deeper than initial estimated in the second-quarter of the year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced. Based on the latest PSA report, the local economy, as measured by its gross domestic product (GDP), declined by 16.9 percent in...
Movements in the local stock market this week will continue to be influenced by the US elections as well as the announcement of the third quarter economic performance and more corporate earnings releases. “Headlines on the US presidential race should remain a volatility churner in the corning...
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts a stronger GDP growth for the Philippines in 2021 at 7.4 percent higher than the previous estimate of 6.8 percent it announced last June, but also sees “significant scarring effects” to future growth because of the pandemic-induced recession this...
BDO Unibank’s Trust Group is expecting the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to contract by of 9.6 percent in the third quarter and by 6 percent contraction in the last quarter to bring its full year 2020 GDP projection to negative 8.3 percent. BDO Chief Investment Officer Frederico Ocampo...
Economists from Japan-based MUFG Bank Ltd. see continued strong peso vis-à-vis the US dollar despite the pandemic-induced economic recession and increasing COVID-19 cases which is the highest in the region. MUFG analyst Sophia Ng for Global Markets Research forecasts the peso to keep its strength...
The Duterte administration has so far borrowed close to $10 billion to fund the national government’s coronavirus response, the Department of Finance (DOF) said. In a statement, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the national government’s financing support for COVID-19 from...
