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IMF issues warning on capital outflows

Economy

Jul 142013

MANILA, Philippines – On what seemed to be a reverse of what it warned about months back, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) now wants emerging markets, such as the Philippines, to prepare for capital outflows. “In emerging market economies, the focus should be on boosting potential growth while dealing with the capital outflows, which may follow from the exit of the US from quantitative easing (QE),” IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard said last week. “We have to accept the fact that as monetary policy normalizes in the US…some of the investors which had gone to emerging market countries in particular will want to repatriate (back their funds),” he explained. His statements were made on a press briefing held by the IMF last Tuesday to mark the release of its World Economic Update. The transcript of the briefing was posted on the IMF website. In the past, the multilateral agency had warned against capital inflows, which had seen Asian currencies rising in value to the detriment of exports as well as concerns of asset bubble formations. This time around, Blanchard said, the already slowing growth in developing nations will come under threat once the QE, the $85-billion monthly bond buying program in the US, tapers off later this year as indicated. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Based on the IMF’s latest projections, emerging markets are projected to grow 5.4 percent this year and the next, slower than the 5.3 percent and 5.7 percent for 2013 and 2014 Read More …

EcoWaste group finds lead on labels of 3 soft drink products

News

Jul 092013

EcoWaste group finds lead on labels of 3 soft drink products

Aside from the threat to health due to high sugar content, bottled soft drinks may endanger children due to lead on the label of the bottles, an ecological group said Sunday. The EcoWaste Coalition said it found the lead on the labels after subjecting the bottles to a test with an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer. “Lead was specifically detected on the paints used for the product labels, and not on the actual beverage,” said coordinator Anthony Dizon. Dizon said soft drinks are among the most widely distributed products and are easily available to children. He also said that while lead from the label may not leach into the liquid inside the glass bottle, lead may get into the bottle when it is washed for recycling, or ingested by a consumer, “particularly a child, when she touches the leaded part and then put her fingers in her mouth.” The group reiterated lead may be harmful even in small amounts, and may cause mental, physical, developmental and behavioral problems and even reproductive disorders. Dizon said the group will write to the soft drink companies and ask them to stop using leaded paint on their product labels. “If most soft drink companies can have their product names and emblems made with unleaded paint, we see no reason why other companies cannot do the same,” he said. Three products The group tested 15 soft drink products last July 5 and 6, and found three to contain lead way above the 90 ppm US limit Read More …

Tropical cyclones to become stronger, more frequent, says study

News

Jul 082013

Tropical cyclones to become stronger, more frequent, says study

Agance France-Presse 6:52 am | Tuesday, July 9th, 2013 This Aug. 14, 2010, file photo shows an aerial view of the flooded Rohjan area in southern Pakistan. Prominent climate scientist Kerry Emanuel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said Monday, July 8, 2013, that rising greenhouse gas emissions could lead to a 10 to 40 percent increase in the frequency of tropical cyclones by the year 2100. AP PHOTO WASHINGTON—The world typically sees about 90 tropical cyclones a year, but that number could increase dramatically in the next century due to global warming, a US scientist said Monday. Rising greenhouse gas emissions could lead to a 10 to 40 percent increase in the frequency of tropical cyclones by the year 2100, said prominent climate scientist Kerry Emanuel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Those storms could be up to 45 percent more intense, making landfall 55 percent stronger—a “substantial” increase, said the research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Stronger storm surges, winds and rain would likely be felt most acutely in the southern Indian Ocean, North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocean, and could raise risks of damage in coastal areas, he said. Satellite data has shown that cyclones—which are rotating systems of clouds and thunderstorms—have remained relatively consistent in frequency and power over the past 40 years. But he projected a steady uptick in the future using six different climate models combined with forecasts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which predicts carbon Read More …

SC urged to issue opinion on bid to let US, allies to use PH bases

News

Jul 082013

SC urged to issue opinion on bid to let US, allies to use PH bases

By Tetch Torres-TupasINQUIRER.net 3:35 pm | Monday, July 8th, 2013 Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Fisherfolk group on Monday urged Justice Secretary Leila De Lima to issue a legal opinion that puts question on the constitutionality of the proposal to allow the US government and other military allies of the Philippines to use military bases across the country. In a three-page letter to De Lima dated July 8, members of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) through its Vice Chairperson Salvador France and Peter Gonzalez, Chairperson-Southern Tagalog said they believe the Justice Department is “constitutionally, politically and morally obliged to issue a legal opinion that questions the legality of such proposal. “We ask the honourable chief of the justice department to break her silence and tell the people in Malacañang that the proposal to give greater access to US, Japan and other junior partners of Washington DC for rated-A military intervention and aggression all over the country is a flagrant violation of the 1987 Constitution and grand affront to the sovereign rights of more than 100-million Filipinos,” they said in their letter. President Benigno Aquino III defended the plan to give the US and Japan access to the former US bases in the Philippines. The government has dismissed report that the Philippines is planning to build new air and naval bases that US forces could use to counter China’s creeping presence in the West Philippine Sea. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on Read More …

Palace considers senators’ concerns on planned bases agreement with US

Entertainment

Jul 082013

MANILA (Mabuhay) – Malacañang said it is open to having discussions with lawmakers to allay fears of some senators who said the planned bases access agreement with the US may be violating the Constitution. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Aquino administration is willing to discuss the issue with the senators while the defense […]

US warns against travel to Mindanao

News

Jul 062013

Agence France-Presse 2:24 pm | Saturday, July 6th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—The United States has warned Americans against travel to Mindanao just days after Australia and Canada issued similar advice. A “security message” from the US embassy in Manila earlier this week said diplomatic staff had been restricted from travelling to three cities on the southern island of Mindanao. It was followed by a US State Department travel warning dated July 5 advising Americans to exercise extreme caution when travelling to Mindanao, citing “criminal gangs… (and) terrorist groups” in the area. It also called on Americans to defer non-essential travel to the Sulu archipelago, a chain of islands off Mindanao where Al-Qaeda-linked extremists are active. “It (the travel warning) reflects continuing threats in the Sulu archipelago and the island of Mindanao due to terrorist and insurgent activities,” the US embassy said in a statement. Australia and Canada issued warnings on Wednesday about fresh threats of terrorism and kidnapping in the southern Philippines. Canberra has barred its diplomats from travelling to Davao, Cotabato and Zamboanga — the same three Mindanao cities that US embassy staff are not allowed to travel to. An embassy spokeswoman declined to comment on the nature of the threat against Americans. The Philippine National Police also did not know of any specific threat against Americans in Mindanao, said spokesman Senior Superintendent Reuben Sindac. Mindanao and surrounding islands are a hotbed of various armed groups including communist guerrillas, bandits, Muslim insurgents and the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic extremist group Read More …

Positive sentiments boost share prices

Economy

Jul 052013

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) advanced 0.56 percent or 36.22 points to settle at 6,500.48, ending the week with a two-day climb as investors turned positive following a streak of favorable foreign news. The broader all shares index added 0.44 percent or 17.31 points to 3,972.63. “The trend is that global markets remain cautious but positive and the local market continued to be overwhelmed by bargain hunters,” Astro C. del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Finance Inc., said in a phone interview. Asia Pacific also ended the week with another gain, giving local investors a positive sign as jitters eased in the past few days, Del Castillo said. Asian shares rose on Friday as investors take position ahead of the US Labor Department’s release of employment data. A weaker job market is seen to convince the US Federal Reserve not to ease its bond buying stimulus program. US financial markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In the local bourse, counters were mixed, led by holding firms that added 1.28 percent or 75.54 points to 5,960.72. Decliners were paced by 0.56 percent or 82.45 points to 14,532.53. The value of shares traded fell to P5.18 billion compared with P5.43 billion on Thursday. Net foreign selling hit P188.49 million. Advancers outplayed decliners, 86 to 64, while 46 stocks did not change.

Oil above $101 on US supply drop, Egypt

Economy

Jul 042013

Trader Peter Iocolano works in the oil options pit at the New York Mercantile Exchange. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) NEW YORK — The price of oil rose to its highest level in 14 months on concerns about possible disruptions to Middle East supplies and signs of an increase in U.S. demand for fuel. U.S. benchmark oil gained $1.64 to $101.24, its highest close since May 3, 2012. Brent crude, which is used to price oil used by many U.S. refineries to make gasoline, rose $1.76 to finish at $105.76. Two events propelled the price of oil above $100 a barrel for the first time since the middle of September: unrest in Egypt, and a big drop in U.S. oil supplies. Traders were worried that political upheaval in Egypt could slow the flow of oil from the Middle East to world markets. Embattled Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi vowed not to give in to protesters’ demands for his resignation. But the head of Egypt’s military announced late Wednesday night local time that Morsi will be replaced and new elections will be held. Egypt is not an oil producer but it control of one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes gives it a crucial role in maintaining global energy supplies. The Middle East accounts for about a quarter of the world’s crude oil output, or 23 million barrels per day. About 2 million barrels of that, or 2.2 percent of world demand, are transported daily through the Suez Canal, which links the Mediterranean with Read More …

BSP asks banks to prepare for US FATCA implementation

Economy

Jul 032013

BSP asks banks to prepare for US FATCA implementation

MANILA, Philippines – Financial institutions were asked to prepare for the effectivity of a US order next year targeted at running after American tax evaders offshore and seen having an impact on their operations. Local and foreign firms transacting with “US persons” will be hit next year by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which orders the charging of taxes against any non-compliant financial institution engaged with US citizens. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), in a memorandum, said its supervised institutions – including commercial and investment banks – must “evaluate” if they are covered by FATCA and if applicable, must “establish a policy” to comply. “They are advised to study the potential effects of FATCA to their businesses and determine the necessary steps to take to avoid the unfavorable consequences of non-compliance with FATCA requirements,” said Memorandum 2013-030 dated July 1. FATCA is part of the US’s Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act enacted into law in 2010 as part of stimulus measures to boost US economic activity and employment. According to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), firms may register between this month until Oct. 25 through its online portal to become “FATCA-compliant.” In doing so, they are agreeing to provide “certain information” to the IRS concerning US accounts they hold. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In addition, US citizens who have foreign assets in excess of $50,000 must report their holdings to the IRS. If they chose not to register though, FATCA Read More …

Bonds to benefit from calm – Barclays

Economy

Jul 032013

MANILA, Philippines – The bond market is likely to benefit from the calm in the financial markets with investors expected to prefer “safer” investment instruments once they return to Asia, an investment bank said. For the first time in more than two weeks, British bank Barclays said investors have shifted to buying mode in Asian markets, as fears of US’s trimming down stimulus measures later this year recede. “Going forward, we expect more of the same: bonds performing in line with the risk indicators as we think investors will likely to get back into safer markets first,” the bank said in a research note. On Tuesday, Barclays noted bonds from India, Malaysia and Thailand benefitted from huge inflows, followed by those in South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia. There was no mention of the Philippines in the report. The performance of regional bonds, the bank said, could be partly attributed to the participation of local investors in the market, which cushions outflows coming from the flight of foreign placements. Even then, Barclays said there has been some “resilience” in the bond market even during the financial turbulence driven by fears cheap money from the US – most of which flowed to emerging markets – would soon be gone. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Even though external risks loom large, the resilience of institutional portfolio flows is encouraging and challenges the assumption that large foreign holdings of local government debt are the key to underperformance in a sell-off,” Read More …

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