Maniolas

(Updates prices. For midday report, double-click ) SEOUL, Oct 9 (Reuters) – The Malaysian ringgit hit a near three-week high on Thursday ahead of the country’s budget for 2015, leading gains in emerging Asian currencies as minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting eased concerns that it may raise interest rates more quickly than expected The ringgit rose as high as 3.2310 per dollar, its strongest since Sept. 22, ahead of the country’s 2015 budget announcement on Friday. Investors are hoping the government will follow up on the increase in administered fuel price announced on Oct. 1, by announcing changes to the fuel subsidy regime when Prime Minister Najib Razak delivers the 2015 budget proposals. An aide to the prime minister has said the government is considering moving off the current blanket subsidy for all consumers to a system that only benefits middle and lower income groups. Thailand’s baht advanced on stop-loss dollar selling and exporters’ demand for settlements. Local stocks and bond prices rose. The Philippine peso touched a two-week high on stop-loss dollar selling. The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback’s performance against six major currencies, fell to a two-week low. Minutes of the Fed’s September meeting released on Wednesday suggested the central bank was in no hurry to raise interest rates. Policymakers were worried the recent rally in the greenback might slow the gradual increase in inflation towards the Fed’s 2 percent goal. Emerging Asian currencies had been under pressure as recent solid U.S. Read More …

THE country’s real estate industry is expected to grow further next year with the upcoming Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) Economic Integration in 2015, which is expected to attract foreign investors, and with the region’s increasing role in global economy. Noel Cariño, president of Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Association, said the country’s largest organization of key players in the domestic real estate industry, the Asean integration in 2015 will change the economic landscape of the whole region, particularly the real estate market. The elimination of tariffs on goods and services by a single Asean economy would drive consumer spending higher. “The demand for residential spaces adjacent to malls, retail complexes and other recreational spaces would go up and will likely increase the already healthy real estate market,” Cariño explains. The influx of investment and elimination of trade barriers will allow each country in Asean to enjoy unimpeded and free flow of goods, services, labor and capital. The potential impact of the integration would require more commercial and residential infrastructure for highly urbanized cities within the region including key cities of the Philippines. “Residential, commercial and retail developers, which will be exposed to international market will expand their operations and acquire properties inside and outside the country. While foreign investors and corporate executives with local operations in the country will look for residential spaces for a place to stay,” Cariño added. Creba, however, reiterated the country must continue to pursue relevant market reforms in order to remain Read More …

By Paolo G. Montecillo |Philippine Daily Inquirer 5:56 am | Wednesday, October 8th, 2014 MANILA, Philippines–The Philippines’ foreign exchange reserves slipped in September as the dollar strengthened, bringing down the value of foreign currency-denominated assets, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed. Despite the decline last month, the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) level remains well above international average and enough to cover several months’ worth of imports—giving the country substantial buffer from external shocks. “The decrease in reserves was due mainly to revaluation adjustments on the BSP’s gold holdings and other foreign currency-denominated reserves,” the central bank said in a statement. Preliminary data showed that the country’s GIR, held by the BSP, stood at $80.43 billion as of end-September. The BSP said this was lower than the $80.87 billion recorded the month before. The GIR level remains ample as it can cover 10.9 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and income. It is also equivalent to 8.4 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity. Apart from the effects of foreign exchange valuation adjustments, the country’s reserves also declined as a result of payments of maturing foreign exchange obligations of the government. These outflows were partially offset by the foreign exchange operations of the BSP, net foreign currency deposits by the National Treasury and income from the BSP’s investments abroad. Dollar reserves serve as a line of defense to allow the economy to withstand external financial crises that may lead to Read More …

By Matikas Santos |INQUIRER.net 3:11 pm | Tuesday, October 7th, 2014 MANILA, Philippines—Five overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were killed in a vehicular accident in Qatar, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed Tuesday. The accident occurred Monday past noon (Qatar time) near the Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, DFA spokesman assistant secretary Charles Jose said in a briefing. “The three fatalities [were] a family based in Qatar while the other two are Saudi Arabia-based nurses who were visiting during the Eidul Adha holidays,” Jose said. “One survivor, a nurse from Saudi Arabia who is the sister of the Qatar-based family, is pronounced out of danger and is recuperating at Hamad hospital,” he said. The Philippine Embassy in Qatar has not yet provided the names of the casualties or the exact details of the accident. A Gulf Times report of the accident, however, said that the car of the Filipinos caught fire after being hit by another vehicle driven by a young Qatar citizen. “The bodies have so badly been burnt that even the gender of the deceased could not be verified. Forensic examination would be required to identify the victims,” a Philippine Embassy official was quoted as saying to Gulf Times. RELATED STORIES OFW, sole breadwinner of family, killed in Macau accident Kin of OFW who died in oil rig crash to get aid Follow Us Other Stories: Tagalog 3rd most widely spoken foreign language in US homes—study Philippine tracker dogs to help look for hostages Self-taught Cebuano surfer wins 2 titles in Newport Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The more successful, popular and wealthier you are, the more you attract attention. You and your family become a target of bad publicity and criminals. To prevent this from happening, the Center for Global Best Practices, in partnership with Kroll, an international technology-enabled intelligence organization renowned and highly respected in the field of investigative work, security and wealth protection, is launching a pioneering one-day seminar entitled “Best Security and Safety Practices for Business Owners, Top Executives, High Net-Worth Individuals and their Families,” scheduled on Saturday, October 11, 2014 at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel, Mandaluyong City, Philippines.  For details and a complete list of upcoming best practices seminars, you may log on to www.cgbp.org or call (02) 842-7148 / 59 and 556-8968 / 69; Cebu lines (032) 512-3106 or 07 or Baguio line (074) 423-5148. Wealth creation and preservation should go hand in hand with personal and family protection. At times, we become so busy with our businesses that we forget to address personal family safety issues.   Many don’t realize this until they or their families become victims of crimes including kidnap-for-ransom, abduction, assassination, extortion, scams, stalking, unwanted public exposures vs paparazzi, and many more! Be proactive by spending one Saturday with us with your family.  This special learning session can make a difference in staying safe all the time especially with the increasing number of crimes lately. We are flying in the expert for this world-class program, Ilya A. Umanskiy, PSP. He is the associate director, security Read More …