The World Bank warned that the Philippines’ broad-based economic slowdown in the first quarter of 2026 could spill over into weaker household incomes and higher food prices as the country grapples with an escalating energy price shock triggered by tensions in the Middle East. In its latest...
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. appointed former Undersecretary Kim Robert de Leon as the new Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management, charging the policy veteran with accelerating state spending to counter the slowing economy and an ongoing energy crisis. De Leon, who becomes the...
De La Salle University (DLSU) economists slashed their 2026 Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 3.11 percent from 3.79 percent previously, warning that the economy is facing mounting pressure from the Middle East conflict, elevated inflation, and lingering domestic...
The peso’s descent to unprecedented lows is facing a volatile new headwind, with MUFG Bank Ltd. warning that an escalating political feud between the nation’s two most powerful dynasties threatens to upend investor confidence. The Japanese financial institution said that the deepening rift...
The Philippines is facing a deepening cost-of-living crisis and a sharp economic slowdown driven by escalating tensions between the United States (US) and Iran, according to a report by BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions. While the government has introduced relief measures, a narrowing fiscal window...
Even as the Philippines is seen posting its weakest post-global financial crisis (GFC) growth, think tank Oxford Economics still stands firm on its assumption that local monetary authorities will emerge among the “active hawks” on monetary policy, with jumbo rate hikes looming. Louise Loo, Asia...
Efforts to tame surging consumer prices may come at a steep cost to the Philippine economy, placing the economic team and monetary authorities in the difficult position of containing inflation while grappling with mounting growth pressures. British banking giant Barclays has turned more bearish on...
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...
President Marcos’ chief economic manager brushed off concerns over the country’s fiscal position, assuring markets that the government remains financially stable and still has room to borrow further if needed to cushion the economy from energy shocks. This comes against the backdrop of...
Samarkand, UZBEKISTAN — Amid comparisons by some local firms claiming that the ongoing oil crisis triggered by the conflict in the Middle East is hurting their business operations more severely than the Covid-19 pandemic, economists from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said the broader...
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...
Public debt in the Philippines moved closer to the 60-percent level at the end of the first quarter of 2026, as the government continued to ramp up borrowings while the private sector remained cautious amid risks stemming from the war in the Middle East. The latest Global Debt Monitor of the...
