Maniolas

More heavy rains threaten the Philippines even as parts of Luzon have yet to recover from floods brought by enhanced southwest monsoon rains. This, as the low pressure area seen east of Dinagat Islands developed into a tropical depression named “Nando,” state weather bureau Pagasa said in its 11:30 a.m. update Sunday. “At 10:00 a.m. today, the center of tropical depression ‘Nando’ was estimated based on all available data at 290 kilometers east of Borongan City,” Pagasa said. “Nando” had maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour (kph), it added, noting that it is expected to move north northwest at 13 kph. “Estimated rainfall amount is from 5-15 millimeters per hour (moderate – heavy) within the 300 km diameter of the tropical depression,” Pagasa said further. “Nando” is forecast to be at 270 kilometers east of Virac, Catanduanes Monday morning and at 340 kilometers east of Casiguran, Auroroa by Tuesday morning. By Wednesday morning, the tropical depression is expected to be at 310 kilometers northeast of Aparri, Cagayan, Pagasa said. “Nando” threatens the Philippines only days after Metro Manila and nearby provinces have been swamped by heavy southwest monsoon rains enhanced by storm “Maring.” Persistent floods amid days of torrential downpour have killed at least 18 people and driven thousands of Filipinos out of their homes.

By Paolo G. MontecilloPhilippine Daily Inquirer 10:48 pm | Friday, August 23rd, 2013 The government is confident that the economic impact of recent calamities that shut down the country’s financial centers this week, however minimal, can be recovered in the third quarter. In a statement, Department of Finance’s (DOF) Chief Economist Gil S. Beltran said the agriculture sector likely took the brunt of the effects of tropical storm Maring and Typhoon Labuyo. Despite this, Beltran said floods that hit Metro Manila and most parts of Luzon would have minimal impact on output for the third quarter. “Losses from the two major typhoons that hit the country in the third quarter can be recovered,” Beltran said. According to the Department of Agriculture, combined damage to agriculture by Typhoon “Labuyo” and the southwest monsoon—as enhanced by tropical storm “Maring”—amounted to P2.6 billion, equivalent to 0.09 percent of projected third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP). Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Short URL: http://business.inquirer.net/?p=139933 Tags: Business , calamities , economy , floods , Philippines Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer’s Reader’s Advocate. Or write The Readers’ Advocate:

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 9:57 am | Wednesday, August 21st, 2013 Photo released by the Philippine Air Force shows vehicles lined up as they wait for floods to subside in Pasay city, south of Manila, Philippines on Tuesday Aug. 20, 2013. Some of the Philippines’ heaviest rains on record fell for a second day Tuesday, turning the capital’s roads into rivers and trapping tens of thousands of people in homes and shelters. The government suspended all work except rescues and disaster response. AP/Philippine Air Force MANILA, Philippines — International flights going into the country were cancelled anew Wednesday morning due to the continuous rains and floods brought by the southwest monsoon. In the latest announcement by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) through its twitter account @DOTCPhilippines, the flights cancelled as of 7:30. a.m. are as follows: PR-383 Guangzhou-MNL2P-801 Singapore-MNLPR-538 Denpasar-MNLPR-399 Beijing-MNLPR-313 Hong Kong-MNLPR-437 Nagoya-MNLPR-407 Osaka-MNLPR-431 Tokyo (Narita)-MNLPR-733 Bangkok-MNLPR-210 Melbourne-MNLPR-220 Darwin-MNL2P-875 MNL-Kuala Lumpur and return flight 2P-876 Kuala Lumpur-MNL Tropical storm “Maring” (international name Trami) has left the Philippine Area of Responsibility as of 7:00 a.m. according to the state-run weather bureau but the southwest monsoon continues to affect large parts of the country. RELATED STORIES: ‘Maring’ exits PH, but rains to continueFloodwaters in most areas of Metro Manila gone—MMDAWater levels of Marikina River, La Mesa Dam still on alert status Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your Read More …

Agence France-Presse 1:37 pm | Wednesday, August 14th, 2013 SEOUL – Workers at top South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor voted Wednesday to strike for better pay and working conditions — a year after ending the costliest dispute in the company’s history. Ignoring an appeal from management, labor unions at Hyundai and its affiliate Kia Motors opted for industrial action, which will begin after a legally-binding period of mediation which typically lasts around 10 days. Hyundai’s union wants a 130,500 won ($120) increase in basic monthly salary for workers, a performance-based bonus equivalent to eight month wages and a one-off shared cash payment for members amounting to $2.4 billion — or 30 percent of last year’s net profit. Kia’s union has presented similar proposals. The Hyundai management had tried to avoid a costly stoppage with a message to unionized workers saying the company could not afford to meet their demands at a time of heightened competition and slowing growth in overseas markets. “We’ve seen a decline in our earnings because foreign brands quickly eat into our domestic market share and the economy at home and abroad remains sluggish,” the message said. The union staged 28 partial strikes between July and September last year, cutting production by more than 82,000 vehicles valued at 1.7 trillion won ($1.5 billion). Kia lost an estimated 1.03 trillion won to industrial action in 2012. Hyundai’s second quarter net profit this year fell 1.0 percent from a year earlier to 2.52 trillion won. Follow Us Recent Stories: Read More …

IF the purpose of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) is to liberalize trade among its member-nations, will the Philippines benefit from it? This question was often raised during the Forum on Asean Economic Integration held Friday. For Philippine Stock Exchange president and chief executive officer Hans Sicat, a good question would be to find out if Asean is a big trading partner of the Philippines that removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers would be advantageous. Sicat believes integration will be a challenge for the Philippines, as the Asean only constitutes a 17 percent share of its exports. The biggest trading partner of the country is in the East Asia economic bloc, which comprises China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North and South Korea, and Taiwan, constituting 50.1 percent. “Do we have the right group of economic partners?” he asked participants. Examples Aside from this, Sicat cited other challenges for the Philippines–it is a small economy, its citizens have a low awareness about the integration initiative, it has limited products and a small investor base. Still, he believes businesses can overcome the challenges, noting Filipino companies that have already conquered Asean long before integration was conceptualized. He cited as an example the case for Universal Robina Corp., which has established a foothold in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam with their array of snack food. “Even without the grand plan for integration, companies have figured out what Asean means to them,” he said. Sicat said an integrated financial Read More …