THE PESO weakened Friday after a pickup in infrastructure spending was taken by traders to mean an increase in dollar outflows stemming from expanded imports of raw materials and capital equipment. The peso closed at P47.945 against the dollar Friday, against the Thursday finish of P47.94, according to the Bankers Association of the Philippines. Week-on-week, the peso retreated from its P47.81 close on May 14. The peso opened Friday at P47.85. The low was P47.93, while the high […]
Category: Hot News
Financial regulators wary of ‘unconventional interventions’ sparking future crises
Regional financial regulators believe the economic downturn resulting from the pandemic could warrant “unconventional interventions” from governments beyond the normal toolkit for dealing with crises, which in themselves could also be sources of future financial instability. Benjamin E. Diokno, governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), co-chaired a meeting Tuesday of the Regional Consultative Group for Asia (RCGA), during which participants sought to […]
Cyprus Eurovision entry makes some see red
NICOSIA — It may have won audiences in Europe, but Cyprus’s entry for the Eurovision song contest has raised hackles at home, scandalizing the faithful for paying homage to the devil. “El Diablo” (The Devil), a dance mix performed by Greek singer Elena Tsagrinou, sailed through the first semi final of the contest held in […]
E-commerce firm Great Deals raises P1.4 billion
GREAT Deals E-Commerce Corp. announced on Wednesday that it raised $30 million (P1.4 billion) in its Series B funding round led by logistics firm Fast Group. The Philippine-based e-commerce company will deploy this growth capital in technology development and the construction of an automated fulfillment center, Great Deals said in an e-mailed statement. “Both [are] […]
Nestlé, TESDA sign deal to train Mindanao Robusta coffee farmers
NESTLÉ PHILIPPINES, Inc. and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) have entered into a partnership to train agricultural workers in sustainable coffee farming in the southern Philippines, with the aim of increasing the domestic supply of coffee beans. On Wednesday, Nestlé and TESDA signed a memorandum of agreement for an initiative called the […]
Stuff to Do (05/21/21)
1 of 2 KTX.PH/ Ayala Museum holds interactive virtual tour IN CELEBRATION of International Museum Day, Ayala Museum will present “Where is the Filipino: An Interactive 8-Bit Tour Around the Philippines” on May 22 to 30. This unique experience, in partnership with Globe, takes viewers through multiple stops around the archipelago, encountering indigenous and ethnographic […]
Alliance Global posts 13% income drop with pandemic restrictions
TAN-LED Alliance Global Group, Inc. (AGI) finished the first quarter with P2.6 billion in net income to owners, a 13% decline from P3 billion in the same period last year after renewed pandemic restrictions hit its businesses. “During the first two months of the year, most of our businesses have already rebounded, sustaining the momentum […]
EastWest Bank’s net earnings down 10% in the first quarter
EAST WEST Banking Corp. booked a lower net income in the first quarter due to a decline in interest earnings and trading gains. — BW FILE PHOTO EAST WEST Banking Corp. (EastWest Bank) saw its net income drop by 10% in the first quarter due to lower interest earnings and trading gains, as well as […]
Entertainment News (05/21/21)
1 of 5 KMJS is most followed PHL TV show on Facebook WITH over 23 million followers, Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS) marks another milestone as the most followed Philippine TV program on Facebook. Data as of May 13 showed KMJS’ official Facebook page leading Eat Bulaga and Wowowin which have 18.9 million and 14.7 […]
LBC Express Holdings net income falls despite higher revenues
LBC Express Holdings, Inc. saw a 21.5% decline in its first-quarter attributable net income despite higher revenues, mainly due to higher expenses. In a disclosure to the stock exchange, LBC Express said its attributable net income stood at P139.73 million, down from P177.89 million the previous year. This is despite a 14.7% increase in the […]
How to find and hire scarce, hot talent
We are a small, five-year-old factory that manufactures inexpensive but effective detergents for home and industrial use. Our challenge is how to discover, attract, and hire licensed chemists because our turnover is high. Could you please give us some advice? — Orange Juice. A proud grandmother told her neighbors about her five-year-old granddaughter. Noticing something […]
Vax populi
While the government and the private sector continue to directly source COVID-19 vaccines for Filipinos, senior executives of Republic Gas Corp. (Regasco) and South Pacific, Inc. (SPI) launched a three-pronged vaccination plan for their 3,000-strong workforce dubbed as “Secure. Promote. Initiate.” Both owned by the Ty family of Isabela, Regasco and SPI have been assisting […]
Philippines rejects 3-month Chinese fishing ban
THE PHILIPPINES on Tuesday rejected China’s fishing ban in parts of the South China Sea and asked it to stop violating the Southeast Asian nation’s sovereignty. In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said China’s three-month fishing moratorium that started on May 1 covers areas over which the Philippines controls. “These waters include […]
Senate OK’s tax amnesty extension bill
THE Senate on Wednesday approved on second reading a bill extending estate tax amnesty for two years. Senate Bill 2208 will amend Republic Act 11213 or the Tax Amnesty Act by extending the availment period to June 14, 2023. Senator Pilar Juliana S. Cayetano, who sponsored the bill, earlier said travel restrictions amid a coronavirus […]
Filipinos scramble to get coronavirus shots from Pfizer
ALMOST half of almost 200,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer, Inc. have been given out, the Health department said on Tuesday, almost two weeks after the government received the shipment under a global initiative for equal access. About 30,115 Filipinos have received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, Health Undersecretary Myrna […]
Hospitals in tight financial spot due to unpaid PhilHealth claims, says group
THE PHILIPPINE Hospital Association on Wednesday said members are in a tight financial spot due to unpaid claims from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) for coronavirus patients since the start of the pandemic. “This is now causing severe financial distress to private hospitals as well as the government hospitals,” the association’s president, Jaime A. […]
UNFPA report highlights Filipino women’s need for better access to reproductive health services
FILIPINO women and girls are among the world’s female population with restricted power, rights, and choices over their own body, the 2021 State of the World Population report of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) showed. “The annual report documents the realities of issues and concerns surrounding ways and means of upholding bodily autonomy. Here […]
Charter changes could hurdle House by next week
THE PROPOSED amendments to certain provisions of the Constitution could be approved by the House of Representatives by next week, according to Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez. In a virtual briefing on Wednesday, he said lawmakers are committed to speedy deliberations of Resolution of Both Houses No. 2 in the plenary and […]
P5.2B spent so far for COVID-19 facilities
THE GOVERNMENT has so far spent P5.2 billion for the construction of modular hospitals and isolation facilities in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar said. Mr. Villar said they have established about 25,000 beds for COVID-19 patients and healthcare workers. “At the latest, by next month we […]
Ban on light trucks along EDSA, Shaw Boulevard resumes May 24
LIGHT trucks, or those with a gross capacity of up to 4,500 kilograms, will again be banned from traversing EDSA and Shaw Boulevard starting May 24, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). The ban along EDSA will be in effect from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily except Sundays. It covers the stretch […]