Maniolas

“Tinder” is defined as readily combustible material, like dry twigs, used to kindle fires. You will be surprised at who used the image to describe what the US central bank is sitting on. More on that later; it is best to start with the mess in Europe. The European countries are heavily in debt after the bailouts in the wake of the Great Recession of 2008-2009. The following are the ratios of their debt to gross domestic product (GDP) as of December 2013. (These are Eurostat data published in Bloomberg.) The larger the debt, the greater is the danger for default. For comparison, the ratio of the Philippines is 49 percent. Topping the list is Greece, whose debt is 175 percent of its GDP. That is, its debt is almost twice the size of its economy. Europe is vulnerable A nation’s debt increases every time it posts a budget deficit. Large and persistent budget deficits signal that the debt will remain swollen. The following are December 2013 European data on budget deficits as a ratio to GDP. For comparison, the latest ratio of the Philippines is a deficit of 1.9 percent of GDP. The largest deficits show up in Greece, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Portugal and France. While the deficits shrank compared to the year before, the ratio of Greece actually rose, from 8.6 percent to the current 12.2 percent. Hence, the fiscal situation in Greece has worsened. Another indicator of trouble is the annual yield on bonds. Governments Read More …

SAN FRANCISCO – Philippine Presidential Awards will be conferred on 33 outstanding overseas Filipinos and foreign-based organizations from 13 countries on December 5 at the Malacañang Palace. President Benigno Aquino will personally give the awards, assisted by Secretary Imelda M. Nicolas, the Chairperson of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. The president commended the 33 individuals and organizations not only for their personal and professional achievements, but also for what they’ve contributed to the development of the Philippines and the welfare of their fellow Filipinos everywhere. “I congratulate the Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino, Kaanib ng Bayan, Banaag and Pamana ng Pilipino Awardees for their efforts to better the conditions of our kababayans here in the Philippines and abroad, and representing the Filipino talent and industry in their adoptive homelands,” President Aquino stated. Institutionalized in 1991 through Executive Order No. 498, the Presidential Awards is a biennial search for overseas-based individuals and organizations that have dedicated their work in the service and improvement of lives of Filipinos worldwide, selflessly supported relief, rehabilitation and development programs in the home country, or who have excelled in their field or profession. The awardees were thoroughly screened from a total of 157 nominations from 29 countries by three different committees with representatives from the government, civil society, media, academe, religious and business sectors, and finally the President of the Philippines. The Presidential Awards has four categories – Kaanib ng Bayan Award, Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino Award, Banaag Award, and Pamana ng Pilipino Award. Kaanib ng Bayan Read More …

The Bureau of Internal Revenue. AFP FILE PHOTO Tax collections in October rose by 6.5 percent year-on-year, but it still fell short of the target for the month. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Monday said in a statement that its collections last month reached P101.8 billion—higher than the P95.6 billion registered in the same month last year. But October’s tax take fell short of the P114.1-billion goal earlier set for the beginning of the fourth quarter. In the first 10 months of 2014, the monthly targets were exceeded only in July and September. From January to October, BIR collections totaled P1.098 trillion. But total collections were 7.7-percent lower than the P1.190-trillion goal set for the 10-month period. Tax payments collected under the Large Taxpayers Service comprised the bulk of last month’s haul, with big firms contributing P60.03 billion, or 59 percent, of the total. Collections from large taxpayers last month, however, slightly went down by 0.79 percent year-on-year. Taxes collected by regional offices last October jumped by over a fifth year-on-year to P39.61 billion. Collections from BIR operations in October reached P99.64 billion—up 6.88 percent year-on-year. Last month’s collections from non-BIR operations worth P2.16 billion were 8.6-percent lower than that of last year. The agency aims to collect a total of P1.456 trillion in taxes this year. The BIR and Bureau of Customs are the largest collection agencies of the government. The bureaus are under the Department of Finance. The Aquino administration targets to jack up tax collection to Read More …