Global economic growth is estimated to hit 5.3 percent this year with the recovery from the pandemic, its fastest rate in nearly five decades, according to a UN report released Wednesday. “The recovery, however, is uneven across geographical, income and sectoral lines,” the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in the report. “Within advanced economies, the rentier class has experienced an explosion in wealth, while low-earners struggle.” The UNCTAD said policymakers in advanced economies have not yet realized the size of economic shock to developing countries, or its persistence, adding “Many countries in the South have been
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Thursday said the Philippines is unlikely to acquire Lockheed Martin F-16 jet fighters for its multi-role fighter (MFR) program for now due to budgetary constraints. “Sa ngayon, malabo pa dahil yun pera natin, yun perang nakalaan ay kung bibili tayo ng F-16 jets, ay dalawa lang ang mabibili natin. Samantala kung bibilhin tayo ng Gripen, yung Swedish-made fighter aircraft, ay anim (For now, it is very unlikely that we will be able to acquire F-16s as our budget for (the MRF project) will only allow us to get two (if we will proceed). And if
Doing financial transactions amid the pandemic-related movement restrictions boosts opportunities for the central bank to hit its 70-percent target in the number of adult Filipinos with bank accounts by 2023. In a virtual briefing on Thursday, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said registration for the national identification (ID) or the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), which requires registrants to have bank accounts, as well as the whole-of-government approach in addressing issues on financial inclusion, are pluses to the achievement of this goal. “I’m optimistic that the 70 percent target for 2023 is doable for (these) three reasons,” he
The Ilocos Norte government continues to boost its economic recovery program focusing this time on small businesses. As part of its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) business rehabilitation projects, the micro, small and medium enterprise office (MSMEO) of the provincial government calls on eligible applicants to avail of another round of “zero interest” loan program ranging from PHP50,000 to PHP100,000. Elma Gabriel, head of the MSMEO, on Thursday said submission of application is now ongoing through a designated small and micro-enterprise coordinator in their respective local government units. “For interested applicants whose LGUs are under lockdown, you may submit your applications
Universal and commercial banks (U/KBs) and their subsidiaries are now required to submit quarterly reports on their remaining exposures to London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR). “The regular reporting of exposures will help the BSP and the banks themselves in gauging banks’ progress in actively winding down LIBOR exposures,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a virtual media briefing on Thursday. This, as LIBOR, which is used to price or value financial instruments and contracts amounting to hundreds of trillions of US dollars, will cease to be a benchmark after the end-2021. In 2017, the United Kingdom’s
The overall tally of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) recoveries nationwide rose to 2,090,228, with another 13,644 new recovered cases reported on Thursday. In its latest Covid-19 bulletin, the Department of Health (DOH) said the figure is equivalent to a 90.7-percent recovery rate out of a total of 2,304,192 who have contracted the disease nationwide. The number of new infections, meanwhile, breached the 20,000-mark anew at 21,261, raising the active case tally to 177,946. Of the active cases, 86.1 percent are mild, 9.2 percent are asymptomatic, 1.4 percent are severe, 2.65 percent are moderate, and 0.6 percent are in critical condition.
