Palace presents priorities A FINAL LIST of 23 priority measures was presented yesterday by Malacañang to the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), meeting for the first time under the Aquino administration. Congress leaders pledged approval of the list, which Palace officials said tackled human development, economic progress, infrastructure development, good governance as well as enhancement of national sovereignty and rule of law. "At the House [of Representatives at least half [of Malacañang’s priorities] are in advanced stages of discussion," House Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr. said in a briefing after the meeting. Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile, meanwhile, said: "we have to support the President, see to it that the legislative program ... will be tackled by the Senate, the sooner the better." The final priority list -- culled from an initial list of 32 identified in January by Cabinet officials -- is a bit lengthier than the 17 measures identified last month by Malacañang. It comprises:
Mr. Belmonte said the LEDAC had discussed all but one of the priority measures during the five-hour meeting. The fiscal responsibility bill, he said, would have required more time than was available. The LEDAC was also forced to defer discussion of the 2011-2016 Medium Term Philippine Development Plan. President Benigno S. C. Aquino III, asked what bills he wanted Congress to pass before the end of its first regular session on June 9, cited the deferment of the ARMM polls. Yesterday’s LEDAC meeting -- originally scheduled for end-January but moved as the Palace worked to trim the priority list -- marked the first time in over a year that the consultative and advisory body was convened. Republic Act 7640, signed by then President Fidel V. Ramos signed into law in 1992 states that the body should meet at least once every quarter. The last LEDAC event, according to state planners, was on Oct. 15, 2009. The LEDAC is chaired by the President with the Vice-President as vice-chairman. The Senate President, Speaker of the House, seven Cabinet secretaries, three other senators and three other congressmen who deal with socioeconomic issues are members. In principle, the council also includes a representative each from the local government, private sector and youth sector. MANILA, Philippines—Still riding the euphoria that followed President Aquino’s election victory last year, Filipino businessmen now count themselves as among the most optimistic in the world, according to a recent worldwide survey. More specifically, the results of the annual Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) showed that Filipino business leaders were now ranked third in the world in terms of optimism with 87 percent of businessmen saying they were more confident about business prospects for 2011. Local businessmen came in just behind their peers from Chile (95-percent optimism) and India (93 percent), and ahead of those in Brazil (78 percent). The IBR—conducted locally by the group’s affiliate Punongbayan & Araullo—is an international survey of the opinions of medium to large privately held businesses. “Some may dismiss this rosy outlook of Filipino executives as simply in keeping with the Filipino’s positive thinking,” said P&A managing partner and COO Marivic Españo. “This year, however, such optimism is backed by the 7.3-percent real GDP [gross domestic product] growth in 2010,” she added. “That’s the highest economic growth rate we have ever experienced, so I would say our optimism is well-founded.” The IBR results echoed similar findings released recently by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which showed local businessmen having record-high confidence levels since the entry of the new administration last year. The Makati Business Club, the group that brings together the country’s biggest businesses, also agreed with the findings. “We share that optimism,” MBC executive director Peter Perfecto said, adding that the key now was to translate this confidence into concrete gains for the benefit of the broader population. “We believe that the government can sustain the growth momentum of 2010, if the [Public-Private Partnership] projects begin rolling out this year,” he said. “I understand that they are committed to rolling out at least 10 projects this year. This will be significant.” Since the Philippines began participating in 2004, optimism among local business leaders has always tracked an upward trend until 2009, when optimism dropped from a high of 95 percent to 63 percent in reaction to the global financial crisis, P&A said in a statement. The following year, confidence level marginally improved to 68 percent as business leaders cautiously looked forward to a rebound, it added. Survey respondents were also asked about their business expectations for this year. Filipino businessmen reported improved confidence in the areas of employment, revenue, selling prices, exports, profitability, investments in new buildings, investment in machinery, and research and development. |
U.S. Stocks Rise Amid Improving Data as Buffett Eyes Takeovers U.S. stocks advanced, extending a third straight monthly gain for benchmark indexes, amid improving economic data and billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s desire to make more acquisitions. Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s Class B shares rose 2.8 percent as Buffett’s company said profit jumped 43 percent to the highest since 2007. Stocks of phone and utilities companies led the gains in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, adding at least 1 percent. Walgreen Co. climbed 3.3 percent after Morgan Stanley raised its share-price estimate for the largest U.S. drugstore chain. Intel Corp. fell 1.8 percent as JPMorgan Chase & Co. said the largest chipmaker may miss revenue estimates. The S&P 500 advanced 0.6 percent to 1,327.22 at 4 p.m. in New York, rallying for a second straight day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 95.89 points, or 0.8 percent, to 12,226.34. Crude oil fell the most in two weeks as Saudi Arabia offered to make up for supplies lost because of unrest in Libya. Warren Buffett is always out there to buy companies at the right price,” said E. William Stone, who oversees about $105 billion as chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management in Philadelphia. “He has enough cash to do what he wants to do. On top of that, the economy continues to recover and earnings will not be affected by the situation in oil prices. We see pressure coming off the oil market.”
“The market is bid given the Middle East news, month-end buying and with the Fed purchases taking supply out of the market,” said John Spinello, chief technical strategist in New York at Jefferies Group Inc., one of 20 primary dealers that trade with the Fed. “There is a lot of data and events to get through this week and the market doesn’t want to be short heading into them.” Three-year notes yields fell three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 1.17 percent at 5:20 p.m. in New York. The 1.25 percent security maturing in February 2014 rose 3/32, or 94 cents per $1,000 0f face value to 100 1/4. Ten-year yields rose two basis points to 3.43 percent after reaching 3.39 percent, the least since Feb. 1. |
| Crude Oil Declines Most in Two Weeks as Saudis Offer Additional Supplies Oil fell the most in two weeks as Saudi Arabia offered to make up for supplies lost because of unrest in Libya and on reports the North African country is exporting crude. Futures slid 0.9 percent in New York after Khalid Al-Falih, the Saudi Arabian Oil Co.’s chief executive officer, said the kingdom is ready to compensate for any shortfall in crude supply. Most ships picking up Libyan oil cargoes have done so successfully in the past week, said Bob Knight, head of tankers at Clarkson Plc, the world’s largest shipbroker. “The threat to supply overall doesn’t look as dangerous as it did last week,” said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York. “Events in Libya seem to be moving steadily in one direction, with oil production apparently not dropping further and some exports being loaded.” Crude oil for April delivery declined 91 cents to settle at $96.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest daily drop since Feb. 11. Futures reached $103.41 a barrel on Feb. 24, the highest intraday price since Sept. 29, 2008. They gained 8.8 percent during February and have advanced 22 percent in the past year. |
Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters, www.inquirer.net, www.philstar.com, www.bworldonline.com, www.cnnmoney.com
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