Inflation may have surged to as high as 7.9 percent in May, driven by soaring basic commodity prices and the weakening local currency, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Amid intensifying macroeconomic headwinds, global supply shocks filter into the domestic economy, the central...
Economic officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have concluded negotiations for the bloc’s first region-wide digital economy agreement, marking what regional leaders described as a major milestone toward a more integrated and competitive digital economy. In a statement...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is facing a delicate balancing act as foreign and local lenders price in a minimum five percent benchmark interest rate by the end of 2026. Economists said that mounting stagflationary pressures and the potential de-escalation of geopolitical conflicts in the...
Nomura Holdings Inc., a Japanese investment and brokerage giant, has significantly downgraded its economic outlook for the Philippines as the nation struggles with energy security vulnerabilities and mounting inflationary pressures. A new report showed that Nomura has slashed its real gross...
The Philippines’ debt as a share of economic output is expected to remain elevated above 60 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year as the government ramps up borrowings to support its response to the national energy emergency amid the prolonged war in the Middle East. Based on the...
The peso risks sinking to an all-time low of ₱65 against the United States (US) dollar over the next three years if the government maintains its passive stance toward escalating global tensions. Jonathan Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., said during a Pandesal Forum on Wednesday,...
More than a decade after the World Bank approved financing for the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project, the flagship urban transport initiative remains far from achieving its original objectives, with only a short section of the corridor substantially completed before the loan expires in...
Four Asian economies—India, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Vietnam—are expected to outpace Philippine economic growth this year, as the country’s expansion remains muted amid pressures from overheating inflation, rising unemployment, and slowing remittances. American financial giant Goldman Sachs...
The Philippines has the youngest population in East Asia, with a median age of 26. In contrast, South Korea is the oldest, with an average age of 46. Although there is hope that South Korea 's demographic crisis might ease—given that its birth rate rose for a second straight year in...
Following weaker-than-expected Philippine economic expansion in the first quarter of 2026, Singapore-based United Overseas Bank Ltd. (UOB) slashed its full-year growth forecast to 3.2 percent from a more optimistic five percent previously. Excluding the contraction during the peak of Covid-19...
It has been nearly 10 weeks since the eruption of the Middle East conflict, which has negatively impacted the world economy, completely disrupted what was otherwise smooth-sailing business outlook at the onset of the year, and drastically altered our daily lives. The conflict is wreaking commercial...
The country’s economic growth slowed to its weakest pace since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in the first quarter of the year, prompting the government’s top planner to dismiss concerns that the nation is entering a period of stagflation or reverting to its historical status as the...
