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| REVIEWS AND OPINIONS |
The price of corruption
EDITORIAL – The price of corruption
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
The budget secretary tossed the blame to the World Bank while the secretary of public works and highways said the government would push through with the affected road projects even without funding from the bank.... |
A LAW EACH DAY HELPS
Opinion
Useful conflict
A LAW EACH DAY (KEEPS TROUBLE AWAY) By Jose C. Sison
Monday, November 12, 2007
I am sure the silent majority is fervently wishing that the Enrile-De Venecia word war will escalate to greater intensity unlike the short-lived GMA-De Venecia feud that abruptly... |
Musharraf yields to pressure
Musharraf yields to pressure
General Pervez Musharraf's weekend declaration of a state of emergency in Pakistan was yesterday unravelling fast in the face of furious domestic and international reaction. Elections are now to be held in January as scheduled and he said he will resign as army ch... |
PNP flip flop about Glorietta
EDITORIAL – Flip-flop
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
What do you know — the explosion at the Glorietta shopping mall might not have been an accident after all. Didn’t the chief of the Philippine National Police himself announce that methane and diesel fumes that had ... |
Philippines 'Family Business'
Opinion
EDITORIAL – Family business
Friday, November 2, 2007
Will there ever be a limit to the reach of political dynasties? This question must be asked if the nation wants to maintain a system of checks and balances, discourage corruption and strengthen democracy at the gra... |
Rich social lessons from Estrada pardon
Rich social lessons from Estrada pardon
GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc
Monday, October 29, 2007
“I’m not against pardon per se, I’m against the undue haste to grant it.” Thus Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio explains his objection to President Gloria Arroyo&... |
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| OFW remittances spent mostly on food in 3rd qtr |
Families who received remittances from their relatives abroad spent more on food and other household needs and less on acquisition of cars and houses in the third quarter of the year compared to their spending habits in the previous quarter.
The third quarter Consumer Expectations Survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that 94.1 percent of the 5, 093 households polled (2, 558 in Metro Manila and 2, 535 outside the NCR) spent the monies they received primarily on food and other household needs, from 91.8 percent in the second quarter.
However, the survey indicated an increasing trend in the number of households setting aside part of the remittances for savings from only 15.7 percent in the second quarter to 19.8 percent in the third quarter. In the first quarter, only 7.2 percent of households said they placed an amount for savings.
More than 50 percent of these households (53.9 percent) spent their remittances on education, about one in every three spent it to pay debts, and one in every four spent on medical expenses.
Despite a slight improvement in outlook for the third quarter, consumer expectations remained negative nationwide as economic improvements remained largely unfelt by broad sectors below high-income groups.
The latest BSP consumer expenditure survey indicated that overall consumer confidence index was still in the red zone at negative 23.6 percent albeit better than the negative 26 percent in the second quarter.
Bangko Sentral Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. explained that the decline in the negative index indicated that the "number of optimists increased relative to the previous quarter" although pessimism outlook still overwhelmed.
The third quarter CES was conducted during the period 2-27 July 2007 with a sample size of 5,093 households, broken down into 2,558 households (50.2 percent) in NCR and 2,535 households (49.8 percent) in AONCR.
The BSP said the households interviewed were drawn from the National Statistics Office's (NSO) Master Sample List of Households, which is considered a representative sample of households nationwide.
Tetangco said that based on the survey results, more households anticipate better economic and family financial conditions in the fourth quarter as the index turned positive at 4.1 percent.
Moreover, Tetangco said most consumers saw better prospects one year down the road, with the confidence index increasing to 7.9 percent from 5.8 percent in the previous quarter survey.
The CES results indicated however that consumer outlook on economic conditions, family income and finances remained bleak and firmly in the negative territory, despite a slight improvement in the latest survey.
Whether this long-term optimism would translate to an increase in buying intentions, however, was another matter altogether.
The BSP revealed that in the survey, consumers nationwide anticipated that their expenditures on basic goods and services in the fourth quarter would rise in preparation for the holiday season.
The expenditures index, according to the CES results, went up to 35.1 percent compared to 33.4 percent in the second quarter. The expenditure items with higher confidence indices were those on food, clothing and footwear, electricity, and hotel and restaurants.
On the other hand, the CES results indicated that "majority" of respondents indicated that the prospects for buying consumer durables, motor vehicles, and residential properties were appreciably better in the third quarter of 2007.
The survey reported that buying condition indices exceeded the 50 percent mark at 53.6 percent nationwide, 56.4 percent for the NCR, and 53.2 percent for AONCR.
In the next twelve months, the BSP said the buying intentions of consumers appeared upbeat as the index inched up from 19.6 percent in the last quarter's survey to 21.4 percent. |
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