GSIS mulls return to int’l financial markets next year

 Economy
Jul 152013
 
GSIS mulls return to int’l financial markets next year

MANILA, Philippines – State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is reconsidering tapping the international financial markets next year with a placement of between $300-$400 million amid improving economic prospects for the United States and Japan. In a briefing yesterday, GSIS president Robert Vergara said the plan is hinged on several domestic factors such as the stock market’s performance by the end of the year.  “We haven’t definitely decided whether we’re going international.  It all depends on domestic valuations, how the market performs at the end of year but I think it’s time for us to reconsider whether deploying assets externally will help dampen the volatility,” Vergara said. Volatility in emerging markets has been rising as foreign investors pull out of the world’s most expensive equities given the US Federal Reserve’s moves to scale back its massive bond-buying program. “If the market continues to correct, then why should we go outside and take foreign currency risk?  At the moment investing abroad is not something in the cards, although we’ll look at it as the market progresses.  It could be placements in stocks, bonds or private equity,” Vergara said. Vergara said the fund is looking to invest around $300 million to $400 million in the event it decides to go back to the overseas markets. This is roughly the same amount it shelled out for its first infrastructure project. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Like all things we do, we never go out there and take Read More …

Pay taxes in anticipation of immigration reform

 News
Jun 262013
 
Pay taxes in anticipation of immigration reform

By Edgardo M. LopezINQUIRER.net US Bureau 6:37 am | Thursday, June 27th, 2013 UNITED STATES, New York : NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 14: Immigration reform advocates stage a demonstration, organized by the New York Immigration Coalition, outside a detention facility run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on June 14, 2013 in New York City. Demonstrators staged the event ahead of Fathers’ Day to draw attention to the thousands of undocumented immigrant fathers deported by ICE and separated from their families in the United States. John Moore/Getty Images/AFP While 11 million undocumented immigrants are nervously anticipating the immigration reform bill pending in the US Congress, the government is happily anticipating the addition of 11 million new taxpayers. A study by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the passage of the bill would reduce the US deficit by an estimated $200 billion in the first 10 years and another $700 billion in the second decade. The CBO study indicates that with 11 million new taxpayers, the United States could substantially reduce its budget deficit in the next 20 years after the law is implemented. An expected stipulation in the immigration reform bill is the requirement for immigrants to pay back taxes before being allowed to acquire permanent legal status. Therefore, it would be wise for affected immigrants to start filing returns and paying the corresponding taxes, for past years and in tax years to come. You do not want to be caught in a situation where your tax Read More …

PSEi posts biggest one-day gain since 2007 after entering bear market

 Economy
Jun 262013
 
PSEi posts biggest one-day gain since 2007 after entering bear market

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) on Wednesday made its biggest one-day gain since August 2007 after entering bear territory on Monday, the local bourse reported. The bellwether PSEi returned to the 6,000 level after closing 329.88 points or 5.7 percent higher than Tuesday’s 5,789.06, bringing its current level to 6,118.94. Positive news from the United States economy and listed companies’ impressive first quarter income performance gave PSEi a push after a massive selloff wiped its gains for the year. On Monday, the main index slumped 3.05 percent or 181.99 points to 5,789.06, sinking by 21.68 percent after posting 7,392.20- its highest record- on May 15 this year. A decline of 20 percent or more signals the market’s entry into the bear market. “Against a backdrop of solid fundamentals that have not changed even amidst the volatilities in the past weeks, the declines have served to put some stocks at attractive prices. I think this is what we saw today with the strong recovery of the market,” PSE Chairman Jose Pardo said. He added that volatility is a natural effect of uncertainties due to policy announcements abroad. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “When the market goes past the overreaction phase, countries with strong fundamentals and buffers against uncertainties should be able to stay the course of their growth. The causes for the Philippines’ impressive growth continue to persist and should remain strong moving forward,” Pardo said. Earlier, the local bourse reported that earnings Read More …

PH failed to restrain human trafficking–US

 News
Jun 202013
 
PH failed to restrain human trafficking–US

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:29 am | Friday, June 21st, 2013 US Secretary of State John Kerry. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines retained its Tier 2 status in the United States’ annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report as US authorities noted a “paucity of arrests and convictions” despite the country’s strong resolve to arrest trafficking incidents. In a report released in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, the US Department of State said the Philippines had failed to comply with standards for curbing trafficking, particularly with the country’s poor judicial system. “As both a source country and, to a lesser extent, a destination and transit country for sex trafficking and forced labor, the Philippines remained at Tier 2 on the state department’s three-tier ranking system. Despite making significant efforts to combat trafficking, the government of the Philippines does not yet fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking,” the TIP report said. The report, released by Secretary of State John Kerry on June 19, is considered “the most comprehensive report” on efforts of the world’s governments to stop human trafficking. The Philippines was first upgraded to Tier 2 in June 2011, considered an improvement after the country’s initial convictions of individuals involved in human trafficking. It had been at risk of being downgraded to Tier 3, which would have led to sanctions on US aid to the Philippines. In retaining the country at its current rating, the state department noted the Philippines’ “weaknesses in its judicial system,” Read More …

Japan logs $10.4 billion trade deficit for May

 Economy
Jun 182013
 
Japan logs $10.4 billion trade deficit for May

Agence France-Presse 9:35 am | Wednesday, June 19th, 2013 Money traders work under a screen indicating the U.S. dollar is traded at 100.845 yen at a foreign exchange company in Tokyo, Friday, May 10, 2013. INQUIRER file photo TOKYO – Japan’s trade deficit for May expanded 9.5 percent from a year earlier to $10.4 billion, official data showed Wednesday as import costs rose on a weak yen. Data from the finance ministry showed Japan incurred a trade deficit of 993.9 billion yen, the 11th straight monthly shortfall. That was the longest run of monthly deficits since a 14-month string from July 1979 to August 1980. But May’s deficit was smaller than expected as the market had forecast a shortfall of around 1.2 trillion yen. Exports rose 10.1 percent to 5.76 trillion yen, growing for the third straight month on higher shipments to the United States and China. Imports also climbed 10.0 percent, an increase for the seventh consecutive month, as costs of fuel and other items jumped due to a weaker yen. A lower yen helps make Japanese exporters more competitive overseas but pushes up import bills. Japan’s fuel imports have soared as most of its nuclear reactors remain off-line since the huge earthquake and tsunami in 2011 sparked the world’s worst atomic accident in a generation. 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 Read More …

BRP Ramon Alcaraz weapons ‘accurate’

 Entertainment
Jun 162013
 

CHARLESTON, South Carolina, June 10 – More than a year after it was turned over by the United States, the Philippine Navy’s latest acquisition, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz finally sailed for Manila on Monday in a voyage that would take almost two months. The Alcaraz left shortly before 10 a.m. on Monday, a day after Ambassador Jose L. […]

Hot money outflow in May largest since 1999

 Economy
Jun 142013
 
Hot money outflow in May largest since 1999

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign portfolio investments slumped the most last month since 1999 after investors shied away from emerging markets on indications US stimulus measures will be scaled down. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday that portfolio placements— usually placed in the bond and stock markets— reversed to a net outflow of $640.84 million in May, the first for the year. A net outflow indicates more investments left the country than entered. The May tally was also the highest monthly outflow based on available records from the BSP website that dated back to 1999.  For the first five months though, portfolio investments— also called hot money for the ease they enter and exit economies— remained on the positive territory at $1.577 billion, up 74.4 percent from last year’s $904.16 million. The BSP expects hot money net inflow to reach $3 billion this year, although that amount may be revised next week. “The announcement of a possible scaling down of quantitative easing (QE) in the United States” drove investors to withdraw funds from emerging markets such as the Philippines last month, the BSP said in a statement. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 As the United States economy showed signs of recovery, the US Federal Reserve has signaled last month that some of its members favor a “downward” adjustment to its QE, which involves the purchase of $85 billion worth of securities every month. The measure, instituted five years ago, was meant to flood the Read More …

Severe Weather Advisory for East Coast, Midwest

 Entertainment
Jun 132013
 

The Filipino Community is being advised to prepare for a derecho—large clusters of thunderstorms with damaging winds, hail and possibly some tornadoes—that is expected to hit the East Coast, the Mid-Atlantic and the Mid-West of the United States from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning. The Philippine Embassy said the derecho, with winds as strong as 50 to 100 mph, could have […]

Market bloodbath as PSEi plunges 6.75%

 Economy
Jun 132013
 
Market bloodbath as PSEi plunges 6.75%

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) ended in the red on Thursday as massive selling pulled the bellwether PSE index to 6,114.08, 442.57 points or 6.75 percent lower than its previous close. The broader all shares index similarly dipped by 5.63 percent or 228.84 points to 3,834.870 while all six subindices plunged. The property subindex suffered the most with a 7.3-percent or 190.88-point drop to 2,422.740. By midday, the main index plummeted by 4.75 percent or 311.52 points before hitting 6,245.13. Elsewhere in the region, major bourses suffered a similar bloodbath, with Nikkei, Kospi, Straits Times and Shanghai Composite plunging over uncertainty with the United States’ monetary policy.

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