Market rallies after Moody's upgrade

 Economy
Oct 032013
 
Market rallies after Moody's upgrade

MANILA, Philippines – The investment grade status the Philippines received from Moody’s Investors Service propelled the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to positive territory on Thursday. The benchmark PSE index closed 0.4 percent or 25.39 points higher at 6,387.65. This brings the main index’s year-to-date gains to 9.9 percent. Intraday, the local bourse hit 6,418.15. “Now that all three major rating agencies have an investment grade rating on the country, we are even more excited about the economic prospects of the Philippines. The investment grade rating is a vote of confidence in the fundamental strengths of the economy. As investors train their eyes on us, we hope to continue to interest them behind the growth outlook of our listed companies and the variety of investment products that we will soon be offering,”PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Hans Sicat said. The broader all shares index similarly grew, adding 5.52 points or 0.14 percent to close at 3,842.32. Four subindices advanced, led by the holding firms. The financials and industrial subindices dipped, on the other hand. Total volume reached 921.63 million, valued at P6.11 billion. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Decliners outpaced gainers 72 to 62, while 52 issues were unchanged.

Asia stocks muted on US government shutdown

 Economy
Oct 032013
 
Asia stocks muted on US government shutdown

BANGKOK — Asian stock markets Thursday withstood some of the gloom seeping into other financial markets as the partial shutdown of the U.S. government dragged on for a third day. Some nonessential public services across the U.S. ground to a halt earlier this week after Congress failed to approve short-term funding for the government after the fiscal year ended Monday. Some 800,000 federal workers have been put on unpaid leave and many agencies and programs across the U.S. have been idled. Analysts said investors in Asia were more or less expecting lawmakers from the two political parties to negotiate a solution or put the shaky U.S. economic recovery at risk. “I think people believe the Republicans and Democrats will come to their senses sooner or later, so they should stop behaving like children,” said Francis Lun, chief economist at GE Oriental Financial Group in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1 percent to 23,214.40. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.1 percent to close at 14,157.25. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4 percent to 5,234.90. Benchmarks in India, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand also rose. Singapore’s benchmark index fell. Markets in mainland China and South Korea were closed for public holidays. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 European stocks presented a mixed picture. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent to 6,451.14. Germany’s DAX was down less than 0.1 percent to 8,625.28. France’s CAC-40 lost 0.3 percent to 4,147.13. Stocks on Wall Street appeared on their way to losses, with Read More …

Moody's gives Phl 3rd major investment grade rating

 Economy
Oct 022013
 
Moody's gives Phl 3rd major investment grade rating

MANILA, Philippines – Moody’s Investor’s Service on Thursday upgraded the Philippines’ credit rating to Baa3, becoming the last major credit rater to give the country an investment grade rating. Moody’s cited the sustainability of the country’s robust economic performance, ongoing fiscal and debt consolidation, and political stability and improved governance as reasons for the upgrade. The rating comes with a positive outlook for the Philippines. “In addition, the stability of the Philippines’ funding conditions- during the recent bout of market volatility in emerging markets- points to the country’s relative lack of vulnerability to external financial shocks, such as those arising from anticipated tapering by the (United States) Federal Reserve of its quantitative easing policy,” the credit rater added. Moody’s likewise upgraded the government’s foreign currency shelf rating to (P)Baa3 and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ liabilities have also been assigned a Baa3 rating and a positive outlook. According to Moody’s, “obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.” The Philippines was previously rated Ba1, the highest mark in the junk grade status. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Fitch Ratings and Standars & Poor’s Ratings Services, two major credit raters, have already given the country an investment grade rating. An investment grade status translates to lower debt interest payments, opening up more credit avenues and luring more foreign investments to the Philippines.

A Professional’s Plea

 Economy
Oct 022013
 

IF YOU ASK children about their career ambitions in life, the likely response would be the occupations of doctor, lawyer, dentist or other professionals. Even at a young age, cultural dictates have created an abstraction of professionals — noble vocations held in esteem and admired for their self-giving role to society.

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